We had our second midwife visit today. Deb unfortunately was called away so we had Gail, one of her back ups to see us. It was a surprisingly short visit though. She confirmed that the blood tests had come back clear and that the 12 week scan was also clear and that no abnormalities were found. Then she sweetly said, "Now let's hear that heartbeat." When she said that my own heart skipped a beat. We've been waiting for so long to hear baby's heartbeat but at every turn realise how different things are done here in NZ. I know in SA you would go to your obstetrician for all your check ups and they would so all your scans, your bloods, etc. And at the scan you will hear baby's heartbeat. Here in NZ you only go to an obstetrician if you're having a difficult pregnancy and you go to your midwife for everything relating to your pregnancy, except you would go to a radiology lab and see a sonographer for your scans. The midwife uses what they call a Doppler device that listens to baby's heartbeat. It's looks like a mini transducer, which they use when you go for your scans. She placed it on my tummy and tried to warn me that it is sometimes hard to find the heartbeat, especially the first time. But the minute she placed the doppler on my tummy the heartbeat went crazy! Baby's heartbeat was so strong and loud. Gail says that we have a strong, healthy baby! She was very happy with everything and put us at ease with her bubbly personality.
To say that we were ecstatic in that moment is well, an understatement. We've been waiting for 15 weeks to hear this baby and when we did we couldn't contain our happiness. The sounds still resounds in my head, even as I write this.
Another milestone today, I've bought some baby clothes. I bought them online so waiting for them to be delivered and as soon as they are I will post pics.
Can't wait for this baby to come, s/he is going to be so loved. S/he already is.
Thank you Lord for this blessing!
Darian Elijah Pillay
Cade Israel Pillay
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Rugby World Cup 2011
I think we've been very fortunate to have been living in a country that hosts a World Cup, TWICE. First when South Africa hosted the RWC in 1995 and won, and again in 2011 in New Zealand. In 1995 I was too young to enjoy the World Cup, but because my brother Kale was a ball boy we got to enjoy all the hype surrounding the games. I remember he got to hold the Webb Ellis Cup and took a photo of it, not sure where those pics are now though. Anyway, this year we got to experience the World Cup in all it's glory! We had planned to go to a few of the SA games but because we were still in the first trimester of pregnancy and I was battling with nausea and exhaustion, we decided to stick to the games they played in Auckland itself and decided to go to just one. So we went to the SA vs Samoa game held at North Harbour stadium on Septemeber 30th. It was awesome. But it was a Friday so it was a manic rush to get to the North Shore. We met Cameron's manager, Kevin who had a few SA friends over from the UK & Australia, so it was a good crowd to go with. The buzz in and around the place was amazing, we took a bus from Kevin's place to the stadium, and it just so happen that every person on that bus was a Springbok supporter so the bus was literally shaking with all the singing and screaming! Then 3 Samoan supporters got on the bus about half way to the Stadium, WHOA, they couldn't escape the Springbok support then!!!
Here's just a few of the pics we took at the stadium.
South Africa won this game but it was too close for comfort. The stadium atmosphere was electric and it was defintiely worth it. I think I screamed til my throat was raw. But we got to see our boys (even though they weren't in green & gold) up close, including my favourite John Smit and others like JP Petersen, Brian Habana and Victor Matfield (who captained the team for this game).
Here's just a few of the pics we took at the stadium.
South Africa won this game but it was too close for comfort. The stadium atmosphere was electric and it was defintiely worth it. I think I screamed til my throat was raw. But we got to see our boys (even though they weren't in green & gold) up close, including my favourite John Smit and others like JP Petersen, Brian Habana and Victor Matfield (who captained the team for this game).
And baby makes three
Cameron & I have been married for over 3 years now and well, people keep asking us, "when's the baby coming" and we keep saying "oh, soon, maybe next year". Well next year finally came! Cameron's mum & dad are really eager to be grandparents and I promised his mum that by her 60th birthday she would be a granny. And she's held me to it! Anyway, at the beginning of the year we decided that once my pack of the pill finished we wouldn't go get more but rather start the plan to get pregnant. So April this year I started the 3 month "planning phase". When July came we decided that this would be the time to start trying so that we could hopefully be pregnant by Christmas, I thought we would fall pregnant by Oct/Nov and have baby by July 2012. Well, God had other plans for us. On August 11th I realised I was a week late and on the way home I bought a HPT (Home Pregnancy test). I didn't want to tell Cameron just in case it was a false alarm so come Friday morning (the 12th) I took the HPT and well, within seconds this is what happened.
I quickly ran to tell Cameron and we sat staring at each other & the HPT for what seemed like forever, each with a silly little grin on our faces.
We then steadily got ready for work and went about our day. I can tell you this, it was the hardest day to go through!!! I then made an appointment at our doctor and just after lunch we went to the doctor's offices. He did another urine test, but the line was quite faint so he sent us to get some blood tests done. I was due to do one the Friday and then again on Monday. But Saturday morning I had a slight bleed and so we decided to go to the hospital to see if everything was ok. At the hopsital, they did more blood tests and from the one I'd done the day before they could see that my HcG levels had increased, which was a good sign. They also did an internal exam and as there was no bleeding I went home. We were still in the "are we pregnant or aren't we" stage, cos we could not get a definite answer. It was still so up in the air at that stage. Auckland hospital had made an appointment for me for that Monday at Greenlane Clinic's Early pregnancy centre. So Monday morning we were off there, where they did more bloods and a scan. The scan showed that there was definitely a pregnancy and although it looked viable we had to wait for the blood results to confirm it. The nurse at Greenlane then called me once the blood results were back, which was later that day, and confirmed that the HcG levels were increasing and that she could confirm that it was a viable pregnancy! I was so ecstatic... But we decided just to keep it a secret until we were out of the "risk zone". But Cameron was so happy and it was hard for him to keep it quiet, so we finally told his parents, my mum and Bradley & Shamini. But it was under strict instruction to not breathe a word to anyone else until we knew for sure that everything was going well. Everyone's reaction to the news got us even more excited and it was really hard for us to keep this quiet.We then had another appointment at Greenlane the following Monday, they wanted to keep an eye on me to see if anything had changed and the scan that Monday once again proved that baby was doing well. It was strange though because at 6 weeks there was just a little spec in my uterus that kept blinking at us! The fetal pole was strong and that was a good sign. After that scan it was hard to keep this quiet so we decided that we would share the news with everyone. In a split second Cameron had put in on Facebook and within nanoseconds it went viral. Then we called my brother, Quentin and he's reaction was awesome. It made us miss being home so much, to be surrounded by friends and family at the moment is all we wanted. Luckily the friends we have here in NZ are our family and we were surrounded with them.
Once everyone knew and the doctors had confirmed that it was indeed a viable pregnancy we then had to find a midwife. Luckily I'm surrounded by friends who've just recently had babies. A friend of mine who lived in the same area we did had a South African midwife and highly recommended her. So I contacted her and we went for our first appointment with Debbie Ross on the 22nd of September. The week before we moved house though, I started having slight bleeding again and was getting really stressed about it. I contated Debbie and she assured me it was okay but to put my mind at ease arranged for another scan. I went for a scan during my 9th week, by this time our little blob was a really a baby (well a foetus to be technically correct) but there was a head and arms and legs and a little heart beating.
At that moment, everything became real to us and it wasn't just a dream of a dream anymore! I couldn't stop staring at this picture of this baby that was growing inside me, and couldn't wipe the grin off my face. My gratitude to God for choosing me to be the vessel that brings forth this special life was so profound in that moment. The sonographer assured me that all was as it should be and that baby was developing well for the 9 weeks. We walked out of that radiology clinic with all the pride and happiness this world could offer. With all our anxiety in not wanting to tell everyone, I remember my mum telling me when I first told her, you're pregnant and nothing can change that so why not tell everyone! (Or words to that effect!)It didn't make sense to me at the time but I soon realised that this is God's plan and nothing was going to change that! I'm so glad I have a mother who is a prayer-warrior because everytime I would feel ill, or get a scare or have a moment of anxiety I would call her and she would reassure me that this baby was ordained by God and that nothing was going to change that!
Here's the pic of that first scan at 9 weeks.
On the 22nd (week 10) we headed off to meet Debbie for the first time. So weird how she's South African and from Durban too. Small world! All in all, the appointment went well and I'm glad we've chosen Deb. She organised another scan for week 12 and another round of blood tests which would look for hormonal abnormalities such as Down Syndrome, etc. This scan was even better, baby was moving around quite a bit and it was so surreal for me cos I couldn't feel anything but watching this baby move around I was like, seriously? How can I not feel that!!! But baby was bigger and his/her legs and arms were fully formed and moving around like crazy! The sonographer showed us baby's head, torso, spine, everything. Cameron had the silliest smile on his face, it was priceless.
Here's baby at 12 weeks.
We also finally took a belly pic, I've been so self-conscious cos I wasn't really showing much so felt weird taking pics of my tummy, but this morning I finally just gave Cam the camera and just got him to do it.
Here's me at 13 weeks pregnant, be good to see how this belly grows over the next few months.
We have another midwife appointment on the 27th of October (2 weeks time) and then another scan at 20weeks. We haven't had the chance to hear baby's heartbeat yet and I'm hoping this will be done at our midwife appointment. Will keep you posted.
Our official due date is the 16th of April 2012. At this stage we've decided not to find out the sex of the baby as we would love to leave it as a surprise at the birth but we will see how we feel when we get to that scan.
Right now we are just enjoying being expectant parents and we're waiting patiently and very excitedly for the birth of our first baby and the extension of our family.
I quickly ran to tell Cameron and we sat staring at each other & the HPT for what seemed like forever, each with a silly little grin on our faces.
We then steadily got ready for work and went about our day. I can tell you this, it was the hardest day to go through!!! I then made an appointment at our doctor and just after lunch we went to the doctor's offices. He did another urine test, but the line was quite faint so he sent us to get some blood tests done. I was due to do one the Friday and then again on Monday. But Saturday morning I had a slight bleed and so we decided to go to the hospital to see if everything was ok. At the hopsital, they did more blood tests and from the one I'd done the day before they could see that my HcG levels had increased, which was a good sign. They also did an internal exam and as there was no bleeding I went home. We were still in the "are we pregnant or aren't we" stage, cos we could not get a definite answer. It was still so up in the air at that stage. Auckland hospital had made an appointment for me for that Monday at Greenlane Clinic's Early pregnancy centre. So Monday morning we were off there, where they did more bloods and a scan. The scan showed that there was definitely a pregnancy and although it looked viable we had to wait for the blood results to confirm it. The nurse at Greenlane then called me once the blood results were back, which was later that day, and confirmed that the HcG levels were increasing and that she could confirm that it was a viable pregnancy! I was so ecstatic... But we decided just to keep it a secret until we were out of the "risk zone". But Cameron was so happy and it was hard for him to keep it quiet, so we finally told his parents, my mum and Bradley & Shamini. But it was under strict instruction to not breathe a word to anyone else until we knew for sure that everything was going well. Everyone's reaction to the news got us even more excited and it was really hard for us to keep this quiet.We then had another appointment at Greenlane the following Monday, they wanted to keep an eye on me to see if anything had changed and the scan that Monday once again proved that baby was doing well. It was strange though because at 6 weeks there was just a little spec in my uterus that kept blinking at us! The fetal pole was strong and that was a good sign. After that scan it was hard to keep this quiet so we decided that we would share the news with everyone. In a split second Cameron had put in on Facebook and within nanoseconds it went viral. Then we called my brother, Quentin and he's reaction was awesome. It made us miss being home so much, to be surrounded by friends and family at the moment is all we wanted. Luckily the friends we have here in NZ are our family and we were surrounded with them.
Once everyone knew and the doctors had confirmed that it was indeed a viable pregnancy we then had to find a midwife. Luckily I'm surrounded by friends who've just recently had babies. A friend of mine who lived in the same area we did had a South African midwife and highly recommended her. So I contacted her and we went for our first appointment with Debbie Ross on the 22nd of September. The week before we moved house though, I started having slight bleeding again and was getting really stressed about it. I contated Debbie and she assured me it was okay but to put my mind at ease arranged for another scan. I went for a scan during my 9th week, by this time our little blob was a really a baby (well a foetus to be technically correct) but there was a head and arms and legs and a little heart beating.
At that moment, everything became real to us and it wasn't just a dream of a dream anymore! I couldn't stop staring at this picture of this baby that was growing inside me, and couldn't wipe the grin off my face. My gratitude to God for choosing me to be the vessel that brings forth this special life was so profound in that moment. The sonographer assured me that all was as it should be and that baby was developing well for the 9 weeks. We walked out of that radiology clinic with all the pride and happiness this world could offer. With all our anxiety in not wanting to tell everyone, I remember my mum telling me when I first told her, you're pregnant and nothing can change that so why not tell everyone! (Or words to that effect!)It didn't make sense to me at the time but I soon realised that this is God's plan and nothing was going to change that! I'm so glad I have a mother who is a prayer-warrior because everytime I would feel ill, or get a scare or have a moment of anxiety I would call her and she would reassure me that this baby was ordained by God and that nothing was going to change that!
Here's the pic of that first scan at 9 weeks.
On the 22nd (week 10) we headed off to meet Debbie for the first time. So weird how she's South African and from Durban too. Small world! All in all, the appointment went well and I'm glad we've chosen Deb. She organised another scan for week 12 and another round of blood tests which would look for hormonal abnormalities such as Down Syndrome, etc. This scan was even better, baby was moving around quite a bit and it was so surreal for me cos I couldn't feel anything but watching this baby move around I was like, seriously? How can I not feel that!!! But baby was bigger and his/her legs and arms were fully formed and moving around like crazy! The sonographer showed us baby's head, torso, spine, everything. Cameron had the silliest smile on his face, it was priceless.
Here's baby at 12 weeks.
We also finally took a belly pic, I've been so self-conscious cos I wasn't really showing much so felt weird taking pics of my tummy, but this morning I finally just gave Cam the camera and just got him to do it.
Here's me at 13 weeks pregnant, be good to see how this belly grows over the next few months.
We have another midwife appointment on the 27th of October (2 weeks time) and then another scan at 20weeks. We haven't had the chance to hear baby's heartbeat yet and I'm hoping this will be done at our midwife appointment. Will keep you posted.
Our official due date is the 16th of April 2012. At this stage we've decided not to find out the sex of the baby as we would love to leave it as a surprise at the birth but we will see how we feel when we get to that scan.
Right now we are just enjoying being expectant parents and we're waiting patiently and very excitedly for the birth of our first baby and the extension of our family.
Monday, August 29, 2011
Housing News
God's timing is impeccable. When He has a plan He will bring it to pass regardless of what you want or what you think.
We have Bradley & Shamini (Cam's brother & his wife& one of my closest friends) and Wayne & Tish (Cam's best friend and his girlfriend) coming in December. We are so excited and have been planning for this since the beginning of the year when they told us they were coming. Because we are currently renting a 1 & a half bedroom house we are unable to accomodate everyone in such a small and confined space. Although it won't be too much of a hassle we thought to make everyone comfortable we would just start looking for a three bedroom house to rent. And also because we were planning on being pregnant this year too, it just made more sense to get a bigger space. Looking at rental prices in Auckland we were just flabergasted and thought well, if we are paying that much for rent, let's just see how much we could pay for a decnt size, 3 bedroom house. So we went on the search for our first home in NZ. We searched online sites such as www.trademe.co.nz and realestate.co.nz and other real estate websites during the week and on weekends spent our days at open homes. It was a looooonnnng, tiresome search and we were almost at our wits end when we found a really gorgeous little house just down the road from where we're renting currently. We were quite excited and put in a conditional offer that was accepted. So we went about planning to have the conditions met. First off was getting a building report. Cameron called the building inspector we had been using (it was the second inspection we'd done on a house we were interested in), and he subsequently went about doing his thing. At first glance this house was PERFECT. It was three bedrooms, seperate bath & toilet, double garage, brick & tile and was in the same area we lived so we wouldn't have to change much of our lifestyle. BUt once the inspector dug deeper he found out that this house was a leaky home. NZ has a big problem with leaky homes. For most of you who wouldn't know what that is, let me explain. About 15 years ago, NZ builders went about building houses with untreated timber and alot of shody work had been done on these houses. As we're unfamiliar with timber houses we've had to learn the hard way! Also when houses were built in the past in NZ the walls would be built straight against the timber frame which would leave no room for water to pass through and as the timber was untreated the water would soak into the timber and cause it to rot. The buildings were constructed with plaster (a type of paint painted over the weatherboard)and this type of material would not hold back the moisture, so home would leak. So many people in NZ have bought homes that looked so good and within a few years the moisture would come through. This house, although it was predominantly brick & tile (a brick facade built over the timber framing) did have a small patch of plaster work in the kitchen. The building inspector found this and his moisture readings went balistic when he inspected the area. This scared us silly and so we thought it best to pull out of the deal. It would have costed us much much more if we had to try to fix it and there was no guarantee that the timber hadn't been affected which would mean the whole area in the kitchen would have to rebuilt! So with heavy hearts we pulled out of the deal and begun our search all over again, very reluctantly. But you know what they say, every cloud has a silver lining! And the scripture I hold so dear, really came into effect in our live, Jeremiah 29:11-13, '"For I know the plans I have for you", says the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come & pray to me, & I will listen to you, You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."' Just when we were giving up, saying oh well we'll have to make do with what we have at Christmas and just get through it somehow. Then Cameron decided that we should expand our search area, so we started looking in West Auckland. We lived there for a few weeks with friends when we first got to NZ so we are familiar with the area. He found a few houses and so come Saturday morning we were on our way to West Auckland looking at Open homes. The ones we saw we liked but still weren't head over heels for. Then he saw one on realestate.co.nz but it didn't have an address so he called the agent and arranged for a viewing that Sunday. Well, from the minute we walked into this house we fell in love, it was EXACTLY what we were looking for, 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, double garage and to top it all off, it was built in 2010 which means it was not built in the time when leaky home were being built and subsequently was built under new laws which required all home to be built with a cavity, which just means that there's space between the frame and the walls which allows water to run through and not affect the timber framing or the walls, which means, NO MOISTURE. So we put in an offer, negotiated a bit and put in our conditions and started the ball rolling. We weren't hoildin our breath because we'd been let down before. Cameron called the inspector and he came around and looked at the property. He said to Cameron, and I am paraphrasing here, this is what you should have been looking for, this is what suits you & your wife. He found not one fault in this house, NOT ONE!! Praise God!!! Once that came through, we met the other conditions which weren't much and as we stand today, our offer in unconditional and our settlement date is September 9th with moving day planned for September 10th.
This is just a few pics of the house, will take more once we've moved and we have our own furniture in.
We are so excited and can't stop thanking God for blessing us with this home. It is in an area out west so we will have to find our new locals, like a barber for Cam and a new dairy (corner shop) and a new supermarket and stuff like that but that is so small in the big scheme of things. God has his hand on us and we are so excited.
We have Bradley & Shamini (Cam's brother & his wife& one of my closest friends) and Wayne & Tish (Cam's best friend and his girlfriend) coming in December. We are so excited and have been planning for this since the beginning of the year when they told us they were coming. Because we are currently renting a 1 & a half bedroom house we are unable to accomodate everyone in such a small and confined space. Although it won't be too much of a hassle we thought to make everyone comfortable we would just start looking for a three bedroom house to rent. And also because we were planning on being pregnant this year too, it just made more sense to get a bigger space. Looking at rental prices in Auckland we were just flabergasted and thought well, if we are paying that much for rent, let's just see how much we could pay for a decnt size, 3 bedroom house. So we went on the search for our first home in NZ. We searched online sites such as www.trademe.co.nz and realestate.co.nz and other real estate websites during the week and on weekends spent our days at open homes. It was a looooonnnng, tiresome search and we were almost at our wits end when we found a really gorgeous little house just down the road from where we're renting currently. We were quite excited and put in a conditional offer that was accepted. So we went about planning to have the conditions met. First off was getting a building report. Cameron called the building inspector we had been using (it was the second inspection we'd done on a house we were interested in), and he subsequently went about doing his thing. At first glance this house was PERFECT. It was three bedrooms, seperate bath & toilet, double garage, brick & tile and was in the same area we lived so we wouldn't have to change much of our lifestyle. BUt once the inspector dug deeper he found out that this house was a leaky home. NZ has a big problem with leaky homes. For most of you who wouldn't know what that is, let me explain. About 15 years ago, NZ builders went about building houses with untreated timber and alot of shody work had been done on these houses. As we're unfamiliar with timber houses we've had to learn the hard way! Also when houses were built in the past in NZ the walls would be built straight against the timber frame which would leave no room for water to pass through and as the timber was untreated the water would soak into the timber and cause it to rot. The buildings were constructed with plaster (a type of paint painted over the weatherboard)and this type of material would not hold back the moisture, so home would leak. So many people in NZ have bought homes that looked so good and within a few years the moisture would come through. This house, although it was predominantly brick & tile (a brick facade built over the timber framing) did have a small patch of plaster work in the kitchen. The building inspector found this and his moisture readings went balistic when he inspected the area. This scared us silly and so we thought it best to pull out of the deal. It would have costed us much much more if we had to try to fix it and there was no guarantee that the timber hadn't been affected which would mean the whole area in the kitchen would have to rebuilt! So with heavy hearts we pulled out of the deal and begun our search all over again, very reluctantly. But you know what they say, every cloud has a silver lining! And the scripture I hold so dear, really came into effect in our live, Jeremiah 29:11-13, '"For I know the plans I have for you", says the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come & pray to me, & I will listen to you, You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."' Just when we were giving up, saying oh well we'll have to make do with what we have at Christmas and just get through it somehow. Then Cameron decided that we should expand our search area, so we started looking in West Auckland. We lived there for a few weeks with friends when we first got to NZ so we are familiar with the area. He found a few houses and so come Saturday morning we were on our way to West Auckland looking at Open homes. The ones we saw we liked but still weren't head over heels for. Then he saw one on realestate.co.nz but it didn't have an address so he called the agent and arranged for a viewing that Sunday. Well, from the minute we walked into this house we fell in love, it was EXACTLY what we were looking for, 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, double garage and to top it all off, it was built in 2010 which means it was not built in the time when leaky home were being built and subsequently was built under new laws which required all home to be built with a cavity, which just means that there's space between the frame and the walls which allows water to run through and not affect the timber framing or the walls, which means, NO MOISTURE. So we put in an offer, negotiated a bit and put in our conditions and started the ball rolling. We weren't hoildin our breath because we'd been let down before. Cameron called the inspector and he came around and looked at the property. He said to Cameron, and I am paraphrasing here, this is what you should have been looking for, this is what suits you & your wife. He found not one fault in this house, NOT ONE!! Praise God!!! Once that came through, we met the other conditions which weren't much and as we stand today, our offer in unconditional and our settlement date is September 9th with moving day planned for September 10th.
This is just a few pics of the house, will take more once we've moved and we have our own furniture in.
We are so excited and can't stop thanking God for blessing us with this home. It is in an area out west so we will have to find our new locals, like a barber for Cam and a new dairy (corner shop) and a new supermarket and stuff like that but that is so small in the big scheme of things. God has his hand on us and we are so excited.
Monday, May 16, 2011
Date night
Cameron & I have been so busy lately that we haven't had much time to just dedicate to each other. As I worked yesterday, Cameron thought he would spoil me by taking me out to dinner.
There's a South African restaurant on Auckland's North Shore that we've been so eager to try out called Serengeti Restaurant. So that's where we headed.
The restaurant was so relaxed and chilled and was such a wonderful, warming experience. They play South African music, including Miriam Makeba, Yvonne Chaka Chaka & Mafikizolo, it was awesome! It's owned by South Africans and even the waitresses are all South African. The menu was so intriguing with all the South African food listed and all the specialities were there, including pap & vleis & samp & beans! You could order ostrich too!
Cam ordered a Rib & Steak combo and I had the Surf & turf! The food was amazing and tasted of home! And of course, Cam had to have his Carling Black Label beer and I ordered a Savannah Dry cider. We definitely are going back there, even though it's a half hour drive!!! We walked out of the restuarant totally satisfied and had to keep reminding ourselves that we were not in South Africa but in NZ! It reminded us so much of home and the good food we so dearly miss. It's taken us 3 years to find a restaurant that we both dearly love and enjoy eating at and I can tell you this, WE'VE FOUND IT!!!
All in all it was a great date and I can't wait for the next date night!
There's a South African restaurant on Auckland's North Shore that we've been so eager to try out called Serengeti Restaurant. So that's where we headed.
The restaurant was so relaxed and chilled and was such a wonderful, warming experience. They play South African music, including Miriam Makeba, Yvonne Chaka Chaka & Mafikizolo, it was awesome! It's owned by South Africans and even the waitresses are all South African. The menu was so intriguing with all the South African food listed and all the specialities were there, including pap & vleis & samp & beans! You could order ostrich too!
Cam ordered a Rib & Steak combo and I had the Surf & turf! The food was amazing and tasted of home! And of course, Cam had to have his Carling Black Label beer and I ordered a Savannah Dry cider. We definitely are going back there, even though it's a half hour drive!!! We walked out of the restuarant totally satisfied and had to keep reminding ourselves that we were not in South Africa but in NZ! It reminded us so much of home and the good food we so dearly miss. It's taken us 3 years to find a restaurant that we both dearly love and enjoy eating at and I can tell you this, WE'VE FOUND IT!!!
All in all it was a great date and I can't wait for the next date night!
Monday, April 25, 2011
Cameron's birthday
On Good Friday, April 22nd we celebrated Cameron's 33rd birthday.
As it was a long weekend we started off by having a few drinks at our friend's Lenny & Premika's place and celebrated his Birthday Eve! One thing Cameron loves is the "Eve" celebration. Funny thing is, it wasn't even planned. Auckland is like a ghost town on a long weekend, and EVERYTHING is closed on a public holiday! So Thursday we left work a little early and went to get all our supplies for the weekend. Thereafter we got home and I started to prep everything, marinated the meat, etc etc! Then Premika calls and invites us over and so we decided to go over. It was a lovely evening, we talked and just hung out all night. At midnight we wished Cameron and left about 5am.
Cameron misses home and his family so much so we had to do something specail for him. We got some of our friends together and decided to have a small BBQ at home. Auckland being auckland, it rained on Good Friday!!! But that didn't stop us from enjoying ourselves. Cameron & I love entertaining and it was so nice to have all our friends over to celebrate with him.
Our darling friend Sean did the honours of BBQ master! And did a damn good job!!! Thanks Seanie!!!
Everyone had a great evening and I am so glad that they were here to celebrate with Cameron, he needed to enjoy his day and I can honestly say that he did! What an unforgettable birthday! Thanks for everyone who made it as special as it was for him.
Sadly there was no birthday cake, he seriously stopped me from doing that! Even though I had the cutest birthday decorations and candles!!!
And to everyone near & far who sent their birthday wishes, that meant so much to him and the card is front and centre on the mantle piece!
Happy birthday my love, here's to another great 33 years!!! AND MORE!!!
As it was a long weekend we started off by having a few drinks at our friend's Lenny & Premika's place and celebrated his Birthday Eve! One thing Cameron loves is the "Eve" celebration. Funny thing is, it wasn't even planned. Auckland is like a ghost town on a long weekend, and EVERYTHING is closed on a public holiday! So Thursday we left work a little early and went to get all our supplies for the weekend. Thereafter we got home and I started to prep everything, marinated the meat, etc etc! Then Premika calls and invites us over and so we decided to go over. It was a lovely evening, we talked and just hung out all night. At midnight we wished Cameron and left about 5am.
Cameron misses home and his family so much so we had to do something specail for him. We got some of our friends together and decided to have a small BBQ at home. Auckland being auckland, it rained on Good Friday!!! But that didn't stop us from enjoying ourselves. Cameron & I love entertaining and it was so nice to have all our friends over to celebrate with him.
Our darling friend Sean did the honours of BBQ master! And did a damn good job!!! Thanks Seanie!!!
Everyone had a great evening and I am so glad that they were here to celebrate with Cameron, he needed to enjoy his day and I can honestly say that he did! What an unforgettable birthday! Thanks for everyone who made it as special as it was for him.
Sadly there was no birthday cake, he seriously stopped me from doing that! Even though I had the cutest birthday decorations and candles!!!
And to everyone near & far who sent their birthday wishes, that meant so much to him and the card is front and centre on the mantle piece!
Happy birthday my love, here's to another great 33 years!!! AND MORE!!!
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Happy Anniversary
April 12th 2011 marked our third wedding anniversary.
We have so enjoyed being married and get stunned when we realise how much time has flown. We've been through quite a bit in the past 3 years, including immigration, being away from our families through the hardest times over the past 3 years but we have remained strong, committed and very much in love.
I thank God for the past 3 years and can only be grateful for keeping us and look forward to the lifetime of memories and anniversaries we will share.
To celebrate this year we went to Kermadec's Seafood Restuarant on Auckland's famed Viaduct.
When we sat down to order, Cameron very nonchalantly mentioned to the lovely waitress that it was our third wedding anniversary and just before she served desserts she brought through this cute little plate for us. It was such a lovely thought and well, she did well and deserved a good tip!!!
Here's to an amazing marriage and more fun memories to come!
Cheers!
We have so enjoyed being married and get stunned when we realise how much time has flown. We've been through quite a bit in the past 3 years, including immigration, being away from our families through the hardest times over the past 3 years but we have remained strong, committed and very much in love.
I thank God for the past 3 years and can only be grateful for keeping us and look forward to the lifetime of memories and anniversaries we will share.
To celebrate this year we went to Kermadec's Seafood Restuarant on Auckland's famed Viaduct.
When we sat down to order, Cameron very nonchalantly mentioned to the lovely waitress that it was our third wedding anniversary and just before she served desserts she brought through this cute little plate for us. It was such a lovely thought and well, she did well and deserved a good tip!!!
Here's to an amazing marriage and more fun memories to come!
Cheers!
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