A Celebration of Life, Love... and Food!

January 23 marked our birthday--I turned 27 and Paul turned 31. I hardly feel a day older (people still mistake me for being 21), but I suppose the years show in how I've become much more grounded in my expectations, goals, and desires. Life's no longer about how MUCH I can achieve or acquire, but about how WELL I live the one life that's given to me.

Anyway, the day was spent going around Market! Market! in Fort Bonifacio, going through the rows and rows of goodies that were available in the stalls, and pigging out at the buffet at Kamay Kainan. For anyone who enjoys Filipino food and is on a tight budget (this buffet's only for Php218, with free tempura and sorbetes from 11AM to 1PM and 6 to 8PM!), this one's really sulit. I must've had around six or seven mini-servings! Yummy! (That's Paul digging in; I think he ate LESS than I did...)

Of course, aside from the food, there were the usual gifts--which makes it feel like Christmas all over again! Paul's really GREAT at picking out gifts; this year he gave me a really nice skirt, a nice pink reading lamp for my side of the bed, a wonderful pearl-and-Swarovski brooch that he got from a store named Kikay (which, of course, he thought was soooo me), and three well-cut roses. *Sigh*

(Top courtesy of my friend, Pat Gallardo. Thanks, Patster! I love it!)

I think this is our first birthday so far where we had zero dramas--no quarrels with our parents or siblings, no awkward get-togethers, no let's-just-hole-ourselves-up-in-our-own-little-world statements. Maybe it's because we're getting older and wiser--and therefore a bit more realistic about our expectations--or maybe it's because we've truly made peace with ourselves, our families, and the world around us, and we're now a bit more secure about our place in the world. Or, maybe, everything in our world really is smooth-sailing...

Whatever it is, we thank God and the Universe for a great start to what we hope to be a great year (and a great lifetime) ahead. Cheers to life!