My (HAPPY) Birthday Weekend!

Gosh~ Time flies and this was the first time that I did NOT have time to look forward to my birthday at all. It was here even before I knew it.

BUT I still had a wonderful birthday with my loved ones - because they made it an awesome one for me! 

I don't know where to start off, but I guess I shall begin with my unexpected Saturday (which was my actual birthday) last week.

So my BFFs (Pei Wen and Miao) called me out for a *simple* lunch at Manhattan Fish Market (JCube), while plans had it that I would be meeting my momo boyfriend at later part of the day.

Miao said that she would be reserving the place for us; hence she was the one "who reached the earliest".
Well.. To cut the long story short....

Halfway through while I was occupied at the lunch table, both my BFFs disappeared to the toilet.

Well.. I did not think much of it until....

SOMEONE suddenly came up to where I was sitting from nowhere and spluttered "Happy Birthday".

There was something- which I later realized was a small birthday cake after being stunned for a mere 5 seconds - presented to me on the table.

No, the SOMEONE wasn't any of my BFFs. (Initially I thought the "someone" was a Manhattan waiter)

But .. It turned out UNEXPECTEDLY to be... ...

My Momo..
(He was grinning so happily in this photo. Hahaha)

*starts to shed tears of joy*

I couldn't believe my eyes for a second. (All the while I thought he was at home sleeping or something)

Soon, both of my BFFs reappeared along with him and started singing a birthday song for me at the top of their voices.
(Gosh, I love it how they were not afraid to be embarrassed while singing aloud in the restaurant!! *touched*)

Personally, this was really a huge surprise as my BFFs and momo do not quite know each other well.

AND they actually went through the effort to contact him just to plan this for me on my special day.

Gosh, how touched could I not be?! 

They then later told me that they had actually reached the venue earlier than I expected (while keeping me in the dark) and already planned everything.

Even the seat that I was sitting at was a specially chosen one after having tried and tested by them that it was a confirmed blind spot.

Our delicious seafood platter:

And I was soon presented a beautifully wrapped present from my BFFs:

Striking a pose with my pressie:

With my momo:

My BFFs requested me to open the pressie; and so I did:

(I was feeling so excited!)

 I opened it slowly and carefully (they said that it was fragile) ; to reveal a ... handmade DOMO.

I did not realize that I was actually KISSING the domo and my action was captured in action on camera:

Seriously, no words can describe how touched I was when I saw the handmade domo right in front of my eyes... So touched that I literally went speechless.

My facial expression does not lie. Even the blind can see that I was at the peak of happiness:

The feeling was indescribable.
I knew that the Domo was definitely not an easy one to make, and requires a hell load of time and effort to do it. Even as an ex-art student myself, I doubt it would have been a possible task for me. I am not good with clay and handicrafts.
And it really warms my heart when I held onto the Domo, knowing that it is a creation of blood and sweat from both my BFFs; whom had came together to make it specially for me.
Girls, thank you soooo, sooo much for the valuable present. It means alot to me, and I'll absolutely treasure it for as long as I live. It sure is a one-kind Domo that I will not be able to find anywhere else in the world. Even if there is a similar one, it will NEVER be the same or comparable (not even close) with the one that you girls had made for me.
It isn't just any ordinary gift, but a gift of love, sincerity, thoughts and friendship, etc...
Thank you for making me feel like the happiest birthday girl on earth!

A picture with my lovely ones:

(I stole this picture from Pei Wen's Facebook. Thanks, Wen! Haha)

And one from my camera: (I realized that the flash was too strong and momo was trying to open his eyes so hard as depicted in this picture. HAHAHA)

And here's a collage of the domo-making process - in courtesy of Pei Wen:

(Look at the amount of hard work they have invested!)

Awww.. I just love my BFFs, lah!!

My day was just full of surprises, and all did not end just there. My momo had prepared his own individual surprise for me ; which was later revealed to me at night.

(He had been dropping me hints prior to my birthday that there would be a "treasure island" for me... I was like "What the heck is this treasure island about??!")

It was simply an emotional day for me when all was finally revealed -(No, no - don't get me wrong - it isn't the SAD kind of emotional; but happiness, touched, etc... All mixed in one in a good way. :)

Momo told me that he had actually planned everything from scratch for months (Awwww)... and that he was nervous himself when the day was finally here.

Well, I was just as nervous as he was!

He brought me to his house, "blindfolded" me and led me in... slowly and carefully..

When it was ready for me to open my eyes, he switched off the lights.

There was a beautiful green glow around his room.

There it was -a magical glow on his table. He led me closer and I was amazed at the sight before me.

It was a round tank that was glowing with my favorite items inside - including a Halloween-themed bearbrick:

The picture was actually taken with lights switched off.

Trust me, it looks so much more amazing in real life. 

He gave me a "glow-in-the-dark" door gift as well - a mini treasure chest that looked like it came out from a fairytale:

I did not even think this is possible:

Lying in it was a glow-in-the-dark nail polish.

Well, if you are wondering why was everything in a "glow-in-the-dark" mode - it was because I have always loved such stuff and anything pertaining to Halloween. Hence, Momo was trying to give me a "Halloween-themed" birthday surprise; something he knew that I would love - and I really did.

Fancy that - He actually went through alot of hard work and effort to get everything in place, to the extent of searching for a supplier to get that special glow-in-the-dark ingredient to make the items GLOW.

There was a sweet love letter that came with it as well...

(The heart-shape was drawn on by him using glow-in-the-dark paint too! And it glowed really beautifully with lights off)

There was a real cactus in the tank!

(He remembered that I mentioned once that I would like to keep a cactus... And so he got me one as part of my surprise *sobs*)

It was like staring into another world whenever I looked into the tank.

It's so freaking beautiful, right?!

Here's the overall outlook:

(I just could not have enough of spamming photos of the same thing over and over again!)

My lovely birthday gifts from the lovely one of my life:

most And his mum prepared me a gift as well!

Awwww.... Thank you, auntie! I really love the doggy pillow!! :D

 

My birthday in 2013 may not be the most significant one ; but it sure was one of the most memorable ones as it marked the first time that I was celebrating it with my dearest momo.

Truth to be told, I have never had any boyfriend celebrating my birthday with me before ; and he was my very first.

I was touched beyond words when I heard how much he went through just to prepare everything from scratch - to the final product that I am looking at now.

To me, the price of a gift does not matter. What matters most is the sentimental value of it, and I am proud to say that it is one of my most treasured possessions.

There may be millions of people around the world who were celebrating their birthdays the same day as me, but one thing for sure - I felt like the most blessed and happiest one on 19th October 2013.

Thank you for coming into my life and painting it with such fanciful colors, momo.

I may not be sweet with words ; but I hope you can feel how much I appreciate everything you have done for me...

I love you.

......

And I have a special mention here for my laopo a.k.a Shreky - my dearest friend whom I have known since my early polytechnic days. I still remembered the first day of how and when I met her (Yes! It was during our school's freshman orientation) ; and the positive impression she left on me.

She struck me as a humble, nice and shy girl... and she indeed is!

I am always thankful for the friendship; and am glad that we are still in contact years after our graduation. (I actually married her on Facebook! AND MANY PEOPLE THOUGHT I WAS A LESBIAN. No, no. I am legally straight!!! Hahahaha. It's all just in the fun of Facebook.)

She met me out specially for lunch on 17th October 2013; and gave me a glass of MARIMO balls!

Too darn cute!!!!

Look at those balls. They are actually alive and can GROW!

It's like taking care of a plant; and water has to be changed weekly.

CUTE, RIGHT?!?!

Hahaha, I have since placed it in my bedroom and taking out to see it whenever I am free.

Thank you, my dearest laopo shreky... Although we are leading different working lives now- but I really appreciate the fact that we still managed to meet out every now and then. I am always happy even when it is just a simple lunch or dinner!

I thank God that our paths crossed - and Shreky friends forever! :)

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And the following Sunday was another birthday celebration with my secondary school clique - Pei Wen, Shi Yun and Si Ling.

We had a buffet at Orchard Grant Court!

As below is a compilation of our food... We actually spent more than three hours chatting, resting and chiong-ing for MORE food.

(The dory fish slices, mango cake and durian melaka were the most delicious of the lot!)

Ling and Yun gave me a laptop bag and a laptop fan cooler; which I really love as it is just the perfect bag for the new laptop that I recently purchased! (I shall blog more about this in future posts)

Both Ling and Yun wrote me a sweet note and birthday card as well; and Ling gave me this handphone jack -which I immediately put it to good use. Hahaha.

Thank you to all my dear friends who have made my birthday in 2013 such an eventful one. I am thankful for each and every birthday messages, Facebook posts, text messages (You know who you are) that I received during my birthday. I appreciate even the simplest thoughts!

 It's people like you that make me feel blessed ; and there is nothing more I can ask for.

I LOVE YOU GUYS!

THANK YOU, FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART!