Happy Birthday to me ... a month later *laughs*

It's been a month since I turned 36 and took me a whole month to finally sit down and do this post. I blogged before that I was putting together a little present for myself for my birthday. At 36, you just have to be shameless and get yourself whatever you want *laughs*

I had a lovely massage session - a birthday treat from Mag. It was a great way to prepare myself to head to work after months away :o) Thanks Mag! I met up with Az and she was showing me all the lovely treasures she's putting together for people for Xmas and I was commenting that one of the pieces was nice and she went 'nah, for your birthday!'. That's how generous she is! Thanks Az! And here's how the strawberry quartz gargoyle looks like.

As for myself, I spent some time putting it together because I had to source and hunt on ebay for the right pieces. And what I learnt in the processes is that it pays to be patient. Sometimes I get frustrated when I want an particular charm (yes, it's a charm bracelet and yes, ANOTHER one *laughs*) and I get outbidded at the very last minute. But I am pleased with what I have put together for myself.

I love travelling and I was thinking back to the different places I have visited. I have good memories of all the places I have been to. Some good, others weren't so great but now I can look back and laugh. So what I decided to give myself is a bracelet with charms of all the places I have been to. And I love it! It's heavy and I have not had a chance to use it yet. Also, the bracelet is a combination of a gift from Slawek (the bracelet is from him) and the charms are from me. Let me take your through the bracelet ...

From left to right, there's a hibiscus or bunga raya which is the national flower for Malaysia, then the Merlion for Singapore and yes, though I live here, it is still a country so I had to represent Singapore. The pyramid for Egypt and the Eiffel Tower for Paris, France where I visited very recently. Then next is a cute moose for Sweden, where I saw my first live moose!

From left to right: Turkish slipper for, yeah, Turkey *laughs* no prize for guessing that one. What is awesome about that charm is that it's a vintage piece and there's a bit of cloth lining the slipper. And next to the slipper is the Love Spoon for Wales and I bought two single wooden spoon from my trip there. This double love spoon is usually given to wedding couples for good luck. Next to that is the Lil Mermaid for Copenhagen, Denmark. Memory of that is how shocked I was when I saw how little the Lil Mermaid was. I guess I was expecting a huge stature but was rather disappointed *smiles* There's the red mail box that you can find in England and that charm is the very first one that I bought at the Portobello Market in London - and it started me on this Charm Craze!

From left to right: The cool dude you see there is the Canadian Mounty (The Royal Canadian Mounted Police) for of course Canada and it was a tough choice because immediately what came to mind was the Maple Leaf but that was a lil booooring. And patience paid off here because I stumbled upon this cool Mounty and I did see one when I was in Canada, and he was on his horsie looking important in a park. Nice :o) Next is a turtle and you're probably wondering 'huh?' Well it's my bracelet and my travel memories so let me explain. That's for Bintan (Indonesia) because I was fortunate enough to witness the release of the baby turtles from the beach where I stayed during my visit. How lucky was that huh? So turtles to remind me of my stay in Bintan. Following that is a Tiki for New Zealand and my fascination of the Maori culture. After the Tiki is a gorgeous charm of the Stonehenge. You're probably thinking, 'hey, isn't that twice for England'. Well, I loved the charm and needed an excuse and found one. Since I started my Charm Craze in England, I reckon it's good enough reason to have two charms from there *laughs* My charm bracelet and I get to make the rules!

From left to right: I have been to Thailand several times and initially I found a gorgeous female Siamese dancer with details and all. Unfortunately, the seller made a mistake and sent my charm to another customer. I was sooooo disappointed. After some weeks, I found this male Siamese Dancer to represent Thailand and if I had the female one, both would have made an awesome pair! Next to the dancer is a Gondola from beautiful Venice in Italy. I sat in one and it was wonderful. A must do for anyone visiting Venice. The Pagoda is for China and the base opens. This pagoda reminds me of a similar one I saw when I was in Suzhou. And the last one is a Dunny. I am still contemplating if this will be my final decision for Australia. Let me explain, one of my memories of Australia is a trip out to the bush where I had to use a dunny that wasn't pleasant at all. It was basically a deep hole in the group and my stupid curiousity led me to peek in and it was a BIG mistake. Am still thinking about this and it may change so let's see.

AND, I am proud to say that I finally found a perfect charm for Bali (Indonesia). I couldn't find a suitable one and was settling for a tropical palm tree to represent the tropical island Bali is. Another option was a surfer but I don't surf so that's out. And today, I collected my package and inside was a gorgeous detailed wayang kulit (shadow puppet) and I think that's perfect for Bali. It also represents the other parts of Indonesia that I have been to. Yay!