The Carnell Adventure: Lately

It has been awhile since our last blog, but our internet has been a bit shoddy so we had no choice. I apologize upfront for possibly posting several times today (internet willing), but its just one of those days where I have time.

This post promises nothing exciting, but I know our mothers like to see what is going on in our lives. So here are a few things we have been up to lately...

BRAAIING
The word braai is Afrikaans for "barbecue" or "grill" and is a social custom in many of the southern African countries. There is even a National Braai Day here. Now, I wish I could tell you that there is something super special about a braai, but lets be honest... in the US, we just call this grilling. There isnt anything different, except some of the grills look a little different. But dont let anyone in South Africa know I just said that. Its almost comical how protective they are of this practice. I will say, the meat here is very good and fresh and usually cheap. So that makes it more economical to braai more often than we probably would have back home. These next few pictures are from our first few braais. One night we had steak and boerewors (sausage), another night we did a Tikka Masala marinated chicken and homemade naan!

The patio table where we eat dinner every night.

RUGBY

No, not the dog. The sport! We went to our first Rugby match. It was the Vodacom Blue Bulls vs. the New Zealand Highlanders. It was a lot of fun, although we had to ask every few minutes what was going on because we arent quite up to speed on all of the rules. We had decent seats, but I have decided that Rugby is much better to watch on TV because you can actually see what is going on. Too often the ball is hidden and I didnt have a clue what was going on. But I will return. The atmosphere was great. The fans are true fans. The coolest part was that everyone brings flags to wave. But they are very courteous and only wave them when peoples views wont be blocked. We decided that Americans would have to have the biggest and best flags and would wave them the entire game, so that is why we dont see this more often at football games, etc. But the sea of blue flags was a really cool sight. We forgot our camera so we only have a pictures that other people in our group took. Unfortunately the Bulls lost, but it was a nail biter. They sucked the first half, came back with a vengeance during the second half, but it was too late. I have decided that I cannot attend a rugby match anytime close to my due date. I was so stressed out and into the game that I fear I would have gone into labor had it been closer to June!

Little did we know we were getting Bull horns during this pic!

BIRTHDAYS

I hit the big THREE OH! I guess I have to start acting like a grown-up now, but it just feels so weird. My b-day was on a Sunday, so we went to church and then went to a really neat park and walked around for a bit, then put down a blanket and took a nap for awhile. The weather was great and it was nice to just get out of the house for a bit. Then just made burgers for dinner and relaxed. The highlight (aside from the gift that I will show in a minute) was that we got our air shipment a few days before my birthday and there happened to be a boxed brownie mix in it!! HALLELUJAH! So I made that for my "birthday cake" and could not have been happier.

Lee always says he has no idea what to get me, but he always comes through with something great. When we first got to Pretoria I saw this frame and loved it, but it was pretty expensive so I gave up on it. But of course Lee remembered and went back to get it for me. Dont know where it will hang yet, but I love it!

As if that wasnt enough, Lee made reservations at one of the best restaurants in Pretoria a few days after my b-day. It is a very nice French restaurant named La Madeline. There is no menu. The chef comes around to each table and tells what the menu for that night will be. For appetizers we had Crab Bisque and Wild Prawns served over guacamole. Then for the main course I had Duck with a really good cranberry and cinnamon sauce and Lee had the Rabbit. Creme Brulee and homemade honey ice cream for dessert. It was really nice and very tasty. The funniest part was the chef. He really played up his french accent and it was hilarious to listen to him talk to each table.

MY WONDERFUL MOTHER

Everyone knows my mom is wonderful and talented. But I wanted to share a few more examples of her amazing-ness! We couldnt fit all of our Christmas presents in our luggage, so my parents loaded up some boxes and sent them to us. But of course my mom put some little extras in there as well. I found some really cute burp cloths on etsy, but they were super expensive, so of course my mom just whips them up. She even made some with animals that werent pink so Lee wouldnt have to use pink burp cloths! I wish I had half the talent she has. I told her she should go into business. She just threw these together with cloth diapers and old fabric scraps she had at home while she was snowed in last month. Thanks mom, you are the best!!