Thank you for the wonderful birthday greetings, e-cards, text messages, e-mails… you filled my heart, guys. Hugs to all. 
And now, for the Balloon Birthday Contest winner. 😉 I had a blast reading through all your comments. How I wish I could turn them all into reality! 27 trips around the world, trips back in time, trips to fictional places… I wanted to go on all of them! Dr. Emer shared that traveling by balloons IS reality — wow! Who knew? It’s called “Cluster Ballooning.” With the right amount of balloons, these birthday trips could come true. 😉
Now I’ve chosen my ten favorite balloon trips. They are:
Gracey – who shared breakfast with me in Holland (while we wore traditional Dutch attire!), flew with me to the top of Eiffel tower and went for some Parisian shopping, to England for tea in our Jane Austen attire, indulged our book passions and flew back home to our significant others.
Ganns – who took me on a trip to Vienna so we could retrace the steps of Jesse & Celine — two characters from one of my all-time favorite films “Before Sunrise.” While we go around Vienna, we chitchat about life and love, the way good, good friends do.
Cat – who brought me to Forks to hang out with the Cullens, ride with Jacob on his motorcycle, grab a cup of coffee at Port Angeles, and head over to the Swans to get a birthday hug from Charlie!
Dr. Emer – who took me to the home of my favorite poet e.e. cummings, where we take in the inspiration of his surroundings, to the home of Stephenie Meyer where we talk Twilight and have a fantastic lunch, then on to a grand dinner at Gordon Ramsay’s new restaurant where the word “diet” is banned and we feast lavishly!
Shai – who took a rainbow-colored balloon and took me to 7 different places! Our ROYGBIV trip takes us to Australia, the Martha Stewart Show, Paris, New York, a spa resort, Chicago (does that count Shai?) and home sweet home!
Nenette – who chose the red balloon and took me to all places red! “The brilliant orange-red Ayers Rock in Australia, glide over the red-hot lava flows of Kilauea Volcano in Hawai’i, dip our toes in the vast Red Sea, throw blood-red tomatoes and laugh with joy at the Festival La Tomatina in Spain, and finally, enjoy the structures and ceremony of legendary Red Square in Russia…” I’m seeing red and loving it!
J. – who whizzed me off into the darkness and into a huge industrial building where “Breaking Dawn” is being published right then and there! We get our own autographed copies and the balloons whisk us back home — no more other sights because we want to start reading right away!
drunkenlily – who took me hiking so so so early in the morning so we could catch the sunrise and the amazing view of the mountains as the dawn hits their peaks, and feast on hot coffee and a birthday chocolate cupcake for breakfast!
Odette – who took me on a tour of Dublin, amazing me with its grandeur and homeyness at the same time. We share a pint and visit a bad ass cafe in the city, then are whisked off to the country to see the beautiful Irish greens, then to her home where we have a little slumber party!
Lady Cess – who opted to bring her own giant transparent balloon that seats two and takes us back in time to magical moments in my life – my birth, my first meeting with H – and into the future too! Superstar? I like the sound of that!
And now for the winner! I used a List Randomizer for this from Random.org The first name that pops on the list is the winner! And here. we. go.
Congratulations GANNS!!! 😀 😀 😀 W00t w00t w000000t! I’ll email you shortly for details. Amazon or Flickr? 😉 Would you like a Flickr Pro account to organize and edit your photos and videos? Or would you like to purchase a $25 present from Amazon? Your call, winner!
Let’s congratulate Ganns, you all! Thanks again to everyone who joined. I hope you had fun! I sure did!
♥
– Balloon image by omnibus
Hi! I'm Toni Tiu,
and I've been blogging at
at Wifely Steps since 2003. This started as a blog to help newly weds adjust to married life. It has evolved into a home and parenting blog. I write about things close to my heart -- good eats, good reads, family, marriage, and the little things that make everyday happy.
lady cess
July 31, 2008 at 7:24 pm (16 years ago)i’m glad you like my comment toni! congrats to ganns!
happy birthday to you and your mom. mwa!
lady cesss last blog post..Frugal Habits
ganns
July 31, 2008 at 7:41 pm (16 years ago)OMG! I WON! Thank You, God! Hahahaha!
Toni, I had so much fun writing that piece, and I’m so glad you had a great birthday celebration. More than anything, it’s a pleasure, privilege, and honor to call you friend. Happy birthday to you and your Mum!
*ganns jumps all over the place*
gannss last blog post..The Fully Booked High Street 1st Anniversary Sale
Shai Coggins
July 31, 2008 at 8:05 pm (16 years ago)Glad you liked our little rainbow tour, Toni.
Hope your birthday was filled with as much joy and excitement. I loved your contest. Congrats, Gann!
Gracey
July 31, 2008 at 8:16 pm (16 years ago)I had fun writing about that birthday travel, I’m glad you liked it. If only it were true!
Hope you had a fab birthday, Toni!
Congratulations Ganns!
Graceys last blog post..Celebrating 5 Years of Blogging – 30 July 2008
odette
July 31, 2008 at 8:30 pm (16 years ago)congratulations to Ganns!
that was one roll of a birthday party, and the amazing places our imaginations can bring us to.
now if i was a millionaire, i’d send you off to vienna with Ganns for your birthday of a lifetime. still, it’s nice to dream on.
what a happy birthday toni!
odettes last blog post..a personal diary, read if you must
Em Dy
July 31, 2008 at 9:02 pm (16 years ago)Congratulations Ganns! I wonder what you’ll choose…
Em Dys last blog post..Labing Labing
jeanny
August 1, 2008 at 12:09 am (16 years ago)hey Toni. This party was fun 😉
and congratulation to Ganns for winning 😉
jeannys last blog post..LP: Dalampasigan
jeanny
August 1, 2008 at 12:16 am (16 years ago)Toni…I’ve read your reply sa birthday comment ko….yes I didnt call para maiba naman, hehehe…
How was your birthday btw…
Have a great weekend kapatid.
jeannys last blog post..LP: Dalampasigan
Cat
August 1, 2008 at 3:22 am (16 years ago)Yeay! I made the cut! I’m glad you liked it, Toni! I could have made it longer and more creative but I was writing ata the comment on company time and was rushing (hehehehehe!!!) But still, I’m glad you like it. Now, I really wanna go to Forks! But isn’t it great that we get to go and have a date each (you with Jacob and me with Edward)? I bet if I went with my sisters, we’d all fight over Edward!
mari
August 1, 2008 at 3:25 am (16 years ago)happy, happy birthday toni!
maris last blog post..On being a specialist
dyanie
August 1, 2008 at 4:11 am (16 years ago)How was your bday toni? I bet it was great right ;P
congrats ganns!
dyanies last blog post..Food trip in Tagaytay
Rach (Heart of Rachel)
August 3, 2008 at 11:22 am (16 years ago)Congratulations to the lucky winner! It’s nice to read all those wonderful comments.
Rach (Heart of Rachel)s last blog post..Camera Critters #16