Hello Steemians! I haven't posted for a few days because my birthday celebration lasted longer than I expected. My heart is so full of happiness and love from all the people who cared and considered my existence essential in their lives. Until now, I still feel myself floating on cloud nine. I feel like my "thank you" will never be enough in exchange to all the greatness and love the people around me has showered me on my special day. Since I am a Steemian, I'd gladly share my birthday experience to everyone.

March 15, 2018: A day before my Special Day

"I'll greet you ahead of time because I might not be able to greet you on time due to time difference" (@akielle, my bestie, isn't very good at knowing the time difference that it becomes really funny. She often says we have an hour difference even though it's around 13 hours... Crazy, but I love her craziness!)

Those 4 recordings were all her singing "Happy Birthday" in different languages. There was Korean, Chinese, Filipino and English. Aside from that she also told me to drop by their house (her mom is still in the Phils, but will leave for the US by tomorrow), and her mom is going to give me something for my birthday. I have shared it on steepshot, but I'll be sharing it again here.

_{This was what I got from her. It's a female manikin which will aid me in sketching whole bodies in various position.}




A day before my birthday, I received tons of messages and recordings from my bestie @akielle. As most of you know, she's now in the US and we're currently in a long distance friendship. I woke up that day and checked my phone. I got several messages in LINE all from the same person. I was surprised when I opened the chat box because there were 4 different recordings and a message saying My bestie has always been so supportive of me. She never fails to encourage me when it comes to the things that I want to pursue. I am indeed very lucky to have someone like her. Distance and time difference is and will never be a barrier on our friendship. These will only make our bond stronger than ever. From the bottom of my heart, thank you so much @akielle neechan! I love you!

March 16, 2018: The Main Event

First up was going to church to light some candle and say our thanks to our Almighty Father for all the blessings we have received. The picture above was taken at Santo Niño Church in Cebu. At this time, we were staying in the church's garden as we call my grandmother who is far away from us. She greeted me and gave me her best wishes. I miss my grandma, so I'm planning to go to my papa's hometown again this year with my parents.

After visiting the church, we went to a supermarket to buy the lacking ingredients and headed home to prepare for dinner. My parents invited some of my close friends, relatives and some of papa's friends over. It was supposed to be a surprise for me but the secret was exposed due to my "detective intuition". lol xD

I actually never planned on celebrating my birthday with lots of people. I wanted it to be simple... just my parents and I eating out and spending time together. However, my papa @jhunalvarado really wanted me to celebrate it with other family members and friends. He wanted my day to be extra special, so he and mama @arashikawaii did all the preparation. Just how lucky can this only child get?

The Preparation

Since our house is pretty cute, we decided to hold the celebration outside. My papa was able to borrow some extra chairs, tables and other stuff from his friend. Preparing everything was exciting, tiring yet fulfilling.

Here's my thoughtful, loving and hardworking parents setting the table and food for their celebrant. I am indeed the luckiest because I am blessed with parents who are not perfect but parents who made my life close to perfection. I love you mama @arashikawaii and papa @jhunalvarado.

The Food

I am very proud of my parents! The make the best food ever and my visitors can attest to that. Aside from the roasted pig or "lechon" which my papa bought for this celebration, mama and papa prepared all the other food. Let's check them out one by one!

<sub>SPICY TUNA FETTUCCINE PASTA: This is actually my mom's experiment dish years ago. A few days back, I requested her to cook it again since it's one of my favorites. I will be posting its recipe soon since I documented it that time.





SWEET STYLE SPAGHETTI: This is a total bomb! I remember some of my Japanese students in the past commented that my mom's spaghetti was the best spaghetti he has ever eaten his whole life!





SWEET AND SOUR FISH: I don't eat much seafood, but this dish is also really delicious. Ohh, I took part in cutting the veggies on this one. I'm not into cooking, but I enjoy slicing, cutting and preparing food.





WHOLE ROASTED CHICKEN IN A POT: I actually don't know the exact name of this dish, but this one is another experimentation of my mama I think. She mentioned she'll make a blog about this dish and recipe later. So, please check it out!





Pork Adobo or Humba: A lot of my friends really love this version of pork humba ala @arashikawaii. I'm glad that we were able to satisfy their cravings.





FRUIT SALAD: Here's something I and my mama prepared together... <3</sub>

My Main Birthday Cake

As you can see, the cake is anime-themed. They (my cousins) know how crazy I am about Haikyuu!! and Kuroo in particular. To be honest, I was in two minds about eating the cake. It's too precious to eat that I want to preserve it forever!

Shoutout to Cebuano Steemians, if you want to order cake from my aunt... just send me a message. hihihi

This special birthday cake was prepared by my aunt. She's the mother of my cousins @shirayuki, @jarc.argo and Alyssa. She runs her own cake business, so we were given a really big discount for this cake with lots of bonus cupcakes. Thanks a lot, mommy! I love you!!!

Everyone, DIG IN~!!!

The Visitors

There were a lot of people actually, but I didn't get the chance to take a picture of everyone. Well, some of the visitors were my papa's friends from work and I don't know all of them. However, I'm really thankful that they came. I'm also thankful that they still show love and respect to my father despite the fact that he already retired from work.

<sub>HIGH SCHOOL FRIENDS: These two ladies are really special. We've been together for years... Unfortunately, the other 2 were not able to join us that time. I hope we'll be complete soon.





ANNICA: This little lady is my friend's little sister. I really enjoy spending time with her because she's so funny and active. She's like a little sister to me and my other friends.






STEEMIAN FRIENDS: Super thank you for spending the night with me @joancabz, @ninyea and @thefairlady . Picture was taken by @joancabz... <3 Love yah girls!!!





THE JUGGERNAUTS: These two are my precious brothers. @iamwhatiamnot and Bernie used to be my workmates in the Korean English Academy, but our bond didn't end there. I consider them my brothers and I can truly be myself with them. Insert aniki or Raven...





BEST COUSINS EVER! : Here's a groufie with my cousins. Alyssa was super tired that she fell asleep. hahaha. This bunch really made my life especially my childhood years extra special. They never fail to make me smile. I love you cousins!!!</sub>


Aside from the people above, other special people also visited and shared their time in celebrating my birthday. Super thank you! The night ended pretty late that I went to sleep past midnight. But it's all worth it!

March 17, 2018: Celebration Day 2

He visited me with his girlfriend who was my high school classmate. Their love story was also a roller coaster ride and I am so happy to witness it from the start.



Something great will happen to these two soon and I am so happy to be the first one to know it. My parents are, too. Best (my guy best friend) and fwenship (his gf) are part of my family. They consider us a part of theirs, too. I just feel so elated to hear the special news. I love you both!!!

_{CAKE 2: They bought me a birthday cake, too. Thank you Best and Fwenship! <3}


Because of the "big event", something big will also happen to me in the future. I am not sure if I'll be successful, but I'll definitely give it my best shot! ;)

Aside from my bestie @akielle, I also have a guy best friend who has played an important role in my life. He is a friend from high school. We weren't classmates, but a certain event introduced us to each other and started this crazy relationship. We were both chosen as representatives to join a Math Quiz and compete with other high schools. It was the first time we talked to each other, then and there, we just know that this relationship will last pretty long.

March 18, 2018: Celebration Day 3

<sub>In this picture, you can see Papa Cial, Camille and Mae2 petting our lovely pet Arashi.





Groufie with my lovely cousins @christinebeegee and @camillegee</sub>


BLOG of their visit, too.



<sub>Here's the food we shared on the table yesterday. <3





CAKE 3: They also bought me this yummy cake!</sub>


Super thank you Papa Cial, Mama Annie, Mae2 and Camille for visiting us yesterday. It was super fun spending time with you as always and we're always looking forward for the next family bonding.

My three-day birthday celebration ended yesterday and it was super amazing. The day was full of laughter and love from a very special family. The family that visited yesterday was my mom's cousin's family: Papa Cial, Mama Annie, @christinebeegee and @camillegee. This family is very special and is very dear to my family's heart. They're people who played, plays and will play a vital role in my life. Check out @christinebeegee's

BIRTHDAY PRESENTS

At my age, I wasn't really expecting to receive birthday presents anymore. Spending time with special people is all that matters. However, these special people always go beyond my expectation. Aside from their time and presence, they have gifted me with something that I could use and be happier about. Let me share to you the presents that I received from these lovely humans. <3





<sub>LECHE FLAN: This sweet was given to me by the lovely @joancabz and @ninyea... I love it. It's super tasty!





The metal pens and tumbler was given by my sister from another mother ate @thefairlady and the gift certificate was from @ninyea... Thank you!!!





Precious Tegoshi Printouts and a very cute bouquet of flowers and teddy from my cousins @shirayuki, @jarc.argo and Alyssa! You all know me too well. <3





Here are origami dog and cat from my son/cousin Godwyn. Your creativity always make me smile and proud.





Makeup kit and a cute organizer from @christinebeegee and @camillegee... This will really help me become more beautiful and organized.</sub>


These are all my treasures. I am forever grateful for all the love that you gave me. Ohh~ aside from these gifts, I also received a video from my previous student. She's very close to me. I'm afraid I can't share the video here for "personal" reasons, but it made my day. More of my previous students greeted me through chat as well.

BIRTHDAY MESSAGE and SONG. You guys are awesome! We might not have seen each other in person yet, but both of you are my dear younger sisters. I will always be proud of you! Thank you!

Also, my sisters here in steemit @mashidiliyanage and @chamudiliyanage surprised me with a

FINAL MESSAGE for this Post

My simple thanks might not be enough, but I want everyone to know how genuine my happiness is. I am indeed lucky to be surrounded with amazing people. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Mama @arashikawaii and papa @jhunalvarado... super thank you for making all these possible. I super love both of you from the bottom of my heart. You are the best parents one could ever have. I wonder what greatness have I done in my past life that I was super blessed to be born with parents such as both of you! You are my life's treasure! Thank you and I love you so much!

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Thanks a lot for dropping by!
それではまた～
Love lots, @tegoshei