in full bloom

it was a dreary saturday morning of 30th april 2016, the last day of my birth month. i jogged my way to the imaging clinic to get a follow-up ultrasound to something which turned out to be just a lymph node near my axilla.

on my way back home, i took shots of the damask roses in full bloom that ran the stretch of prince alfred square, strikingly attractive on a backdrop of a gloomy surrounding. i was suddenly lost in my pensive thoughts of the past years. so, this is the feeling to be in this age.  i smiled to myself.

i began to look forward as the day unfolded.

three weeks ago, my friend lina reminded me that we should celebrate my birthday. some weeks before that, i was thinking of just having roasted chicken and ice cream at home together with kitt and kaela, a very humble celebration that relives my childhood birthdays of just having baliwag lechon manok and a gallon of selecta on the dining table. better things have transpired instead.

my birthday coincided with the picnic at olympic park with old friends who just migrated here in australia. they were my close colleagues back in makati in my 20s before i moved to singapore for a stint. all at once, i have people to share my special day with. it's like being transported back in my early 20s and being fast forwarded with our partners and children plus a few pounds (or more) on.

having palabok, sausage and chicken barbeque for lunch

priceless walk at the park

only age has changed :P

on the last day of my birth month, lina booked catalina rose bay for lunch. it is a fancy restaurant next to the wharf with a superb view of yachts and sailboats scattered across the bay, a  picturesque scene that only accentuate the lovely vaucluse suburb.

the food was fantastic, the best i've had so far in sydney! kaela was at her best behaviour, munching everything i forked her way. it was an afternoon of just bliss and indulgence.

wine:

pinot noir

shiraz

entree:

white peaches

baby octopus

brocollini with cheese

mashed potato

main:

grass-fed beef tenderloin, baby vegetables, king brown mushroom, anchovy butter and red wine jus

glacier 51 toothfish with baby octopus in consomme

dessert:

a selection of 5 smaller desserts

- mango panna cotta, mango lime salad and coconut sorbet

- caramelised fig with bitter caramel mousse, brik pastry and sugared pistachio

- valrhona dark chocolate and caramelia mousse with caramel ice cream

- classic lemon tart with mascarpone

- vacherin of coconut ice cream and raspberry sorbet

the sky cleared out in the middle of our lunch that we had the time to take more pictures.

my beautiful family

 our dear friends, willy and lina

 photo with backdrop of the bay and vaucluse

"i want to go down now nanay!" 

posing at the roses

with our corvette :P

i didn't regret celebrating my birthday the fancier way. nine years ago, i told myself that at thirty-five i would make it as an option to stop working and to focus on being a mom. it was just a vision that time. i know that God had been so faithful to all my prayers all along. yes, giving up work at any moment is just a matter of choice now.

at thirty-five, at the height of motherhood and a happy marriage, it feels that all i dreamt are just there in front of me, ready to be savoured to the fullest.  and like the rose budding out until its petals stretch out in full length, i'm grateful to have lived to this year,  undoubtedly fulfilled and contented.