and i thought to myself: after 33 years

the very next thing, after solving k's treasure hunt for me with 33 clues no less, was to call ma on my birthday yesterday
after becoming a mama myself, it made me realize that as i celebrate my birthday each year,
i really should be celebrating it for my ma because she's The One person who had to go through the most in order for this day to happen for me

"hello 妈！今天是我的生日！" i chirped in my cheeriest voice
"happy birthday girl..." ma croaked.
"我33岁了!"
"是啊...那妈妈33年前生你的咯..." - see? mamas are telepathic
"是咯！哇那时你已经39了!"
"妈妈祝你幸福和快乐 yah..."

it was so good, receiving ma's blessings
i wish the same for her too, plus extra extra doses of good health

this year, i received no present from k
dang!!!
for years i've emphasized that i hated surprises and really, he should not buy me expensive gifts
especially now - we should behave like responsible parents, since we are, well, parents.
technically, he did get me something but it did not arrive in time
he was really quite frustrated with it - "IT SAYS ON THE WEBSITE - DISPATCH IN 48 HOURS!!!"
"mmm... i usually get my books like in a month's time after ordering..."
"???!!! a month!!! i should have just bought it directly from the bookstore...."

and so to make up for the lack of a birthday present,
he got me this after our brunch at jones:

salt???
wells, i have an unhealthy obsession with salt - but that's my pre-pregnancy / birth days
my appetite was significantly "corrected" when i was pregnant
i lost most of my cravings for all things salty - k says its high time since i have enough salt reserve in me to last a lifetime
but still, i do appreciate a good salt
and these pinkish salt flakes are yummy - the next time u go to jones, sprinkle some onto your palms and lick - they have these in their salt & pepper shakers. so generous of them

he got me the two types because the one w flowers is really pretty
and i wanted the flakes because i wanted to have a go at this -
best chocolate chunk cookies you'll ever have
according to joanna goddard: what makes them special, you might ask. The answer is the moist muscovado sugar and the touch of fleur de sel

and so i learnt that fleur de sel = "Flower of salt" in French. A hand-harvested sea salt collected by workers who scrape only the top layer of salt before it sinks to the bottom of large salt pans...On occasion, the presence of Dunaliella salina (a type of pink microalgaecommonly found in salt marshes) can give it a light pink tint.

some snippets of my birthday ::