Frannywanny

Today I celebrate a milestone. Turning 40.  It seems like my 30s was so eventful and packed with so much changes and adventures that somehow it flew by so fast. I still remember celebrating my 30th birthday with family and my bestest friends . It was at a nice cozy restaurant in Quezon City and I even had lechon flown in from Davao! How cool was that?! Who would have thought that months after that, Paul and I would be packing our bags and bidding our lives in Manila temporarily goodbye as we relocated to Singapore . We spent the next 4 years of our 30s living abroad and would just fly in and out of Manila for quick weekend trips to see the family. My 30s was also when I have experienced my two biggest heartbreaks -- the death of my Ama and Kongkong who both have played very important roles in my life. Somehow, not having them around feels like missing two very important puzzle pieces that I'll never ever be able to have back.  As they say though, at the end of a thunderstorm...

Dearest J & L, Where did the days go? Just last year, I remembered throwing your first birthday party together with our family and our closest friends. I can't believe it has been a year since then and you're now blowing out two candles from your cake.  This year, Mommy and Daddy became really busy with work. I still feel bad that I no longer can spend every waking hour with the two of you but someday, I hope you'll understand why Mommy had to go to the office or when Daddy and I had to leave you with Ama and Kongkong to attend meetings. Everything that we do now is for the two of you and as I reach home at night, nothing makes my stress and fatigue go away in a snap than with your warm hugs and never-ending kisses. I love it when you would continue to increase your daily count of saying "Mama" day after day. Mama loves you both super duper duper too. 

Just like that the 1st of June is over and I'm officially 34 years old. Yay? Definitely, another year hopefully filled with more blessings, more adventures and more happiness. So how did I celebrate my birthday? I'd say, I got what I wished for. I simply just wanted to relax all day and waking up past the normal waking hour on a weekday was definitely a good way to start my birthday. This was followed by a delicious Japanese lunch buffet with Paul and a trip to our happy place -- IKEA. After this, I pretty much stayed home and relaxed some more. As you all know, my birthday celebration doesn't end with just one day. I can't wait to celebrate this with my closest friends here in Singapore too! It was definitely a day filled with so much love. I have yet to reply to all 100++ messages that friends have sent to wish me a happy birthday and there were those surprises that made my day extra special. Like that yummy Cedele Carrot Cake that my best friends T and E sent ...

Another year, another chapter. Yesterday, I celebrated my 33rd birthday. Gosh, I can't believe I'm this old! For a moment there, I had a quick flashback of that one time my 7-year-old self was telling Mommy that I wanted to grow up faster. Oh why did I ever said that?! *sigh* Well, my birthday was simpler this year. A bit more quiet than usual but still one for the books. It began with our traditional birthday salubong with the NKids. They play an important role in my life now and I purposely flew back to Singapore to celebrate my birthday with them. I'm so touched that Paul took charge of buying the cake and of course, he made sure it was yummy one! We're missing I  who's out of the country for work right now but my birthday celebration shall continue once she's back! Of course, we're family and no one gets left behind (or forgotten). Ohana ♥

Back when I was a kid, I always thought and believed that I was somehow a princess living in my own fairy tale. My world back then was filled with happiness that for me, life was simply a bed of sweet-smelling roses. That, I have my dear parents to thank for. Growing up, obstacles and heartaches were thrown my way but I still continued to keep my head up high as I know I will be able to surpass them all and deep inside my heart I know that someday... someday my prince will come . Then you came along like my knight in a shining armor, silent yet sincere you stood by me and never left my side. Through the good times and bad you lent me your shoulders to cry on while wrapping me in your arms to give me the comfort that I needed. You were like the son that my parents' never had and the older brother that my sister has been hoping to have. In other words, you were the missing piece to my small and loving family. My life has been more colorful for the past 7 years. It is because o...

Happy Birthday to the man who first showed me what LOVE is.... my Papa . I love you very much!!! Will always be Papa's little girl, Fran

Today was truly a great day. It began with that much-awaited breakfast with Paul at Mcdonald's Wilson followed by our schedule Canonical Interview with the Parish Priest and then a series of wedding-related errands here and there. It surely was a busy day but it was a memorable one thanks to the well wishes that I have received all day via SMS, Facebook , Email, calls and Plurk shout outs. My dear friend Didi even created a birthday entry just for me ! *hugs* My sister Steph gave me a plate filled with Uni Sushi! The first wish that was granted from my birthday wish list ! I'm so happy that I was able to spend this special day with the people who means the world to me! The celebration does not end here...there will be more dinner outs and birthday celebrations in the following days! Thank you dear readers for celebrating my 28th birthday with me! Hooray! :)

I can't believe almost a year has already passed. I can still remember blowing out my 27 candles and here I am again, looking forward to another birthday in a week's time! This birthday will be extra special though, it will be my last birthday as a single lady and I'm making sure I'm gonna party ! Ok, so maybe to throw a big birthday bash with overflowing food and drinks would highly be unlikely right now given that I hardly have time to do anything beyond planning for our BIG day...nonetheless I have already requested my dearest friends and relatives to save certain dates for ME ! :) Before blowing out my birthday candle/s, I have the habit of closing my eyes and making a big big big wish. Since I have 28 candles this year, I guess I am entitled to have 28 mini wishes right? Let me share them all with you! 1) to have a problem-free, stress-free BIG day 2) to finally get a laptop 3) to live a healthier life and to stay in tip-top shape 4) to be the best ...

The month of May always begins with a full day celebration as it is my not-so-little sister's birthday! This year, we had the usual Cha Misua for breakfast as this is a tradition here in our household (yes, even our household cook can cook this very well already!) followed by a full lauriat with my Dad's side and later on a delicious Japanese dinner at Kimpura with my Mom's side. Our family loves Japanese cuisine! We love dining in restaurants that have private Tatami rooms available. Such is the case for Kimpura Greenhills. My sister specifically requested that we be given a Tatami room for her birthday dinner. As soon as her guests were complete, my sister began to order. I'm so happy that she asked me to help her choose as well. Here are some of the dishes that we ordered that evening: Unagi Maki . We were actually debating whether to go for the usual California Maki or to try the Unagi Maki. Apparently, eel won over kani, mangoes and cucumber. This one i...

I'll always remember how you would make sure to bring me yummy snacks everyday after school... How you would support my ever-changing cravings by filling up our cupboard with boxes of my favorite cookies or chips up until our cravings go away...How you would put us before anything else...Thank you for fighting AVM for us... We love you very much... Happy Birthday Papa!!!