Having the cake and eating it.....

Another year has passed by and as I grow older, my birthdays just become better :D 

  

You may already know how my wife makes my birthday truly special – with lots of yummy food, delicious cake and loads of prezzies – this year was no exception!

  

It all started out with a lot of “secret” shopping on Friday, which Mich did all by herself. On Saturday, she had to work and then we went to Pioshy/Lionel’s place for a dinner (Pioshy’s bday was on the 6th) getting back at about 11pm. Since there was a lot to do, she started prepping stuff that night itself and went to sleep at 4am! I was banned from entering the kitchen so could not help out in anyway as she wanted it to be a surprise. Sunday, she woke up at  7.00am and went straight in to the kitchen to start all the cooking for the special bday dinner – to which she had invited Pioshy/Lionel as well as Lasa/Imal.

  

A lot of effort and time went into preparing a fantastic Caribbean + Sri Lankan   menu. Being a hot summer day we started off with a Caribbean style cantaloupe drink (bits of cantaloupe mixed with sweetened milk and topped off with pomegranate slush, almond flakes and pomegranate seeds). The starter was a ‘Coconut shredded shrimp’ with yoghurt and coriander sauce which was absolutely delicious.

The main course was special Caribbean spicy rice cooked in coconut milk with a chicken and prawn rum curry, honey roasted lamb coated in almonds served with pan roasted cherry tomatoes along with an avocado and tomato salad.  She even whipped up a quick devilled potato dish to accommodate the newlywed Janisha (Shehan’s wife) who is a vegetarian.

Honey roasted lamb

Janisha tucking in

Everything was fantastic and we stuffed ourselves silly – especially me as I could hardly move after eating so much. 

  

But the highlight of the night was a brilliant, absolutely delicious Crème brûlée. These deserts are hard to get right but Mich turned them out perfectly. We all enjoyed every bit of it.

It was also the World Cup final day so Lionel and I were glued to the screen most of the time while we watched a relatively boring match, which Spain won during the last few minutes of extra time – we wanted Netherlands to win!

  

Lionel glued to the TV while a disinterested Pioshy looks away

Once it was confirmed that no one could move after stuffing themselves, Mich produces the Birthday Cake. Now, I must say that Mich is an expert at making cakes and she has a natural touch. But I was surprised by the sheer beauty of the cake she produced this time! It’s called “Death by Chocolate” (maybe there is a hint for me there :D) and it was the best cake I have ever tasted. To me, it was a work of art which I didn’t want to destroy by cutting but once I had tasted it, I wanted to eat the whole thing then and there. She used goose berries dipped in chocolate sauce to decorate it and had cantaloupe and blueberries for the base.

No Birthday Party will be complete without prezzies. Lasa presented me with a newspaper covered box which I was surprised about. It also felt very heavy and I was wondering what it was. Unable to contain my curiosity I opened the box to find a box of nappies. 

But that wasn’t the joke – I was told to open the Nappy box and inside which there was a can of tinned tomatoes and a can of chickpeas! Very funny Lasa! 

Hold on… wait a minute…. I moved some of the packing aside and I saw a box with a Canon logo on it – OMG! It was a Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 lens – something that I had wanted to get for a long time. 

When I picked up the box though, I realised there can’t be a lens inside because it was very light. I was right – it contained a couple of adult sweets!!!! Lasa had got me again! But, at least I was sure that I was going to be sucking on boobies that night! :D

However, it got me thinking – why would Lasa have a brand new 85mm f1/.8 box with him and not the lens? It seemed obvious that a devious plan was afoot to surprise me with the lens later on! So I casually remarked that it was a shame the lens was not in the box cos it would be perfect for taking shots during the party. It worked cos 5 mts later I got a present from Mich – which contained the Lens!! WOWWY WOWWY WOW!!! I was over the moon. Mich had wanted to get a photography related gift for me so she did the research, roped in a flickr friend and used some very clever method to find out what lenses I really wanted and then got Lasa to buy the lens for her (which was why he had the box). It was a total surprise and I was gobsmacked! Never expected to get a lens – wow!

  

After that, the lens was used through out the night and never left the camera. It looks like a great lens and is sharp and fast – fantastic!

Some shots with the new lens 

The lens is fantastic for portraits and what better subject than the very cute and adorable Navitha (Lasa & Imal's son)

Got a couple of other presents as well, which I will take shots of later. I am also waiting on another present - a framed copy of a shot from Kenya - unfortunately Mich got the dimensions of the frame wrong so need to get the right size first! 

Had an absolutely great time and thanks to Ness, Pioshy, Lasa, Imal and Janisha for being part of the celebration. 

  

But most of all thank you to my wonderful, amazing, beautiful and loving wife who makes me thank God for every day I spend with her. 

A few more shots in the slideshow