Saturday 12 April 2008: Check out Sarah's Lustful Pigs in action, the freaks! And some Miami prostitutes are at Face The Day!

Sarah says:
My pigs are going nuts! The man so wants to make more babies. I truly think they miss each other! Look at the above movie. That's what they do all day long. I feel like a peeping Tom watching them go at it all day. And I'm happy I finally figured out how to join YouTube and upload videos. I'm sure you can expect some Heidi and Sarah videos from now on here. We need some change here sometimes. Videos might just be the new wave for us - with photos of course each day! The Vids might be an little extra from time to time... How very exciting!



Sarah says:
I took my daughter and my god-kid to the movies today to see Winx - who my mom once aptly described as looking like Miami prostitutes. Anyway - the gals were happy and I fell asleep during part one. A movie has to be really bad to put me to sleep like that. I'll sit through the worst TV and enjoy it but this was truly awful. I guess I'm not a kid anymore. I just couldn't relate on any level at all. Plus the Winx gals are pretty scary looking. I'll look for a photo and post it below to show you what I mean. I really hope that these Winx are too fairy-like for my daughter to dream of looking like them. She loves the Winx clothes - which is worrisome enough! Look for yourself below.

Friday 11 April 2008: Heidi is happy with the way she looks and so is Sarah with blue eyes! Blond hair, an hourglass figure and botox lips are next!

Sarah says:
One of my dreams was to finally wear lenses! Another was to have blue eyes for once. Don't my daughter and I look even more alike now? See, she is mine! I think I only bought the blue lenses so that I could put them on, take photos and put those photos on Face The Day. This is my new face! Freaky, eh? next I'll have blond hair, then a corset figure and some big, blown up lips. Watch me morph slowly!

Sarah adds:
Now that I have brown hair and blue eyes I have one of the 7 beauties. This is the best day of my life!

Sarah says:
See how far I'll go to entertain you on this blog? This is all for your viewing pleasure! If you must know the truth, I love me, I think I'm grand, when I'm with me, I hold my hand! Have a good weekend everyone!

Heidi says:
I am happy with the way I look. Truly! I exercise every day: I bike to work every day. That means I do something for the environment and myself. I also swim at noon sometimes. To make my back better. Everyone can swim. It's the least harmful exercise you can do. I started to run. I do it slowly and with patience. And once a week, I do Pilates with my best friend Katrijn. I see my legs changing, my hips, my belly, my arms. True, I complained after my pregnancy. That I was heavier than before. Well, those days are over! I am doing something about it! I exercise. And it's not that it takes so much of my time. It's part of my life.
Is that positive enough for you, Noah? OH, AND THIS IS REALLY MEANT FOR EVERY READER OF THIS BLOG!!!
IT'S TIME TO GET SOME!!! :)

Sarah says:
I am not happy with the way I look. Truly! I never exercise: I drive my lazy arse to work every day. That means I harm the environment and myself. I never swim at noon ever. So my back doesn't get better. Everyone can swim except me. It's the least harmful exercise you can do yet still, I am too freaking lazy to be bothered. I had a dream I started to run. I did it slowly and with patience and then I woke up out of breath and heaving. And once a week, I pretend I'm going to finally sign up for Pilates with my husband Tom. I see my legs changing, my hips, my belly, my arms - all getting fatter and more pasty with old age. True, I complained after my pregnancy. That I was heavier than before. Well, those days are here to stay! I am still not doing anything about it! I never exercise. And it's not that it takes so much of my time, I'm just a fat, lazy loser. It's part of my life.
Is that negative enough for you, Noah? OH, AND THIS IS REALLY MEANT FOR EVERY READER OF THIS BLOG!!!
IT'S TIME TO GET SOME!!! :)

Thursday 10 April 2008: Heidi is so so so tired and Sarah is so tired and that's just how life goes sometimes...

Sarah says:
I look tired. I am tired. I look puffy too! But I won't talk about feeling fat on here as much anymore. I'm trying to not be so hard on myself. I am what I am and I have always been this way and I have to just accept it and get on with it and not beat myself up over being fatter than most. Blah Blah Blah! Love thyself and all that nonsense! The first sun makes us all feel grand but then makes us realize our legs are white and pasty and our skin looks bad and we won't look good in our summer clothes and the magazines feed into that and many of us feel crappy about ourselves as we watch the pretty girls in their summer dresses taking center stage!
Be Strong Women!!! I miss my daughter and can't wait until she is home tomorrow! Last night was the first I was home all alone and it felt weird to tell you the truth! I couldn't sleep. I tossed and turned. I had strange dreams when I did finally fall asleep. I have been having very vivid dreams lately about people I shouldn't be thinking about and whom I definitely shouldn't be frolicking around with without clothes on. What are my dreams trying to tell me I wonder?

Heidi says:
I am so tired. I can hardly keep my eyes open. I have to fight against it and it makes it really hard to sit here and do what I have to do. Still I will not let me go under! Here is some nice lyrics!

It's not that you're fairer
Than a lot of girls
Just as pleasin'
That I doff my hat
As a worshipper at your shrine
It's not that you're rarer
Than asparagus out of season
No, my darling
This is the reason
Why you've got to be mine

You'd be so nice to come home to
You'd be so nice by the fire
While the breeze on high
Sang a lullaby
You'd be all that I could desire

Under stars chilled by the winter
Under an August moon burning above
You'd be so nice
You'd be paradise
To come home to and love

Rebecca Flowers' (sarah's cousin's wife) book Nice To Come Home To in stores on 10 April!!!! It looks like a goody!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

NICE TO COME HOME TO
In Bookstores April 10, 2008
Riverhead Books

Everyone around Prudence Whistler, thirty-six, seems to be settling down. Her girlfriends have married and had babies. Her gay best friend is discussing marriage with his partner. Even her irresponsible younger sister, Patsy, is the single mother of a two-year-old. But when Pru panics at losing her mediocre boyfriend of two years-and begins to see the door to her traditional family life closing-she accidentally finds something even better: a new definition of family and happiness.

A funny, entertaining novel of love and family for our times: a single woman who fears she’s lost her chance at a family of her own, begins to accumulate an ad hoc one around her.

…an incredibly satisfying, quirky story about what makes a family. Flowers has created a deeply memorable character in Pru, whose warm heart and wry humor infuse every page. Pru serves as a sweet reminder that happiness isn’t found in a day planner—it can come from the most unexpected sources.
–BookPage

“Rebecca Flowers’ novel is a lovely, funny story about the saving graces of surrogate families and unexpected love. The narrator, Pru, has such a self-effacing, irreverent sense of humor that I couldn’t help but root for her all the way.”
–Lolly Winston, Happiness Sold Separately and Good Grief

“Rebecca Flowers is a genius of the small and lucent, the details that make a character live and breathe: revelatory moments, quirky and dead-on metaphors, searingly funny observations. You will know Pru Whistler the way you know real people and you’ll miss her the second you finish the book.”
–Marisa de los Santos, Belong to Me and Love Walked In

“Beautifully written, with wit and heart to spare, NICE TO COME HOME TO tells the story of two sisters as they wrestle their way through relationships, one with too much sense, the other with too much sensibility. Prudence is fully alive, and so fresh and funny and warm that I heard the echoes of her interior voice long after I had closed the back cover. Rebecca Flowers is Jane Austen gone mod, and I can’t recommend this hopeful and endearing tale strongly enough.”
–Joshilyn Jackson, The Girl Who Went Swimming and gods in Alabama

“Move over Jennifer Weiner and Jane Green — there’s a new girl in town! Rebecca Flowers’ NICE TO COME HOME TO is a love story for the new millennium. It’s the tale of what happens when you lose everything you think you want and have to move on to what you really need. With Pru, Flowers has created a real character who burrows her way into the reader’s heart with her family and wide circle of friends in tow. I highly recommend NICE TO COME HOME TO to anyone who wants to escape for a few hours of pure bliss.”
–Kathleen Caldwell, A Great Good Place for Books, Oakland CA


Based on Jane Austen’s “Sense and Sensibility,” “Nice To Come Home To” (Riverhead Books), set in Washington, DC, and its colorful Adams-Morgan neighborhood, will be in bookstores April 10, 2008. Pre-order now on Amazon.com!

Order a signed bookplate for your copy of NICE TO COME HOME TO! Perfect for readers who'd like an autographed copy of the book but can't make a reading. Just send me an email: rebecca at rebeccaflowers dot com

Read Rebecca's blog if you want and keep up with her book news!

Wednesday 9 April 2008: Heidi bikes, swims, bikes...as Sarah gets a haircut by her fave Italian Alessandro at Hair By Fairy in Neil's Yard in London!

Sarah says:
I just had enough time to get my haircut at my favorite place in Neil's Yard in Covent Garden in London at Hair By Fairy by an Italian guy I always ask for named Alessandro I think. Hair By Fairy isn't expensive. You don't need an appointment. It's a mix between mafia and anarchy if that makes any sense. And Alessandro, if that's indeed his name, is lovely and friendly and cheerful and speaks with that great Italian accent. Most importantly he knows how to cut my hair! I like having a place in London to go to for a cut when I am there. A familiar face. Next to the haircut, I of course was there to work. And work I did.

I have to thank Heidi BIG TIME for taking care of the pigs while I was gone and my kid was gone and my husband was gone! That little baby has to stay alive or my daughter will kill me when she returns from sea class! I couldn't bear to leave the mom and dad (sister and brother) and the little newborn totally alone and unchecked for those two days. Heidi was a REAL PAL and stopped by each day to feed the little bunnies! THANKS HEIDI!!!!! Man is the little pig a freaking cutie! It will be hard to get rid of it - though as it grows up it might become less cute. We'll see! We are stuck with it for another 4 weeks. It's name is Krick-Krack I think. I don't even know!

Now I am heading to bed as it's after 11pm and has been a long day - long two days! I am so rarely home alone like this - pretty much never, it feels weird. Good night!


Heidi says: I had a great swim this noon! Working on that back of mine!! Get it stronger. And my eyes more red...

Tuesday 8 April 2008: Heidi complains

Heidi says:
Can I complain for a second? I feel weird and I need to share it with someone.
All day, I am sitting on my chair at work, and all day long, I feel my back crack and feel pain around my backbone, my wrists hurt, my right arm hurts, my hands and fingers hurt... And I am sick of it right now. Also my head feels weird right now. I don't feel very happy today. I feel cold and seperated from the world. I am tired and look wasted. Thank you for listening.

Tuesday 08 April 2008: Sarah is off to London on this SUNNY day!

Sarah says:

Bye! Gotta run! The Eurostar had better be running well today! I like to be on time! Have a great day Heidi! By the way - daily contact lenses are not hurting my eyes! I bought a month's worth now so it's the real thing! I like lenses! So fun to be able to change a face that way!

Tuesday 8 April 2008: Heidi holds the fort!

Heidi says:

Report! No invasions! Ai ai Captain Garrein!

Monday 07 April 2008: Meet Face The Day Guest Star Cool Hand Luke from London! Sarah and Heidi welcome him, even if just for 15 minutes!

Sarah says:

Meet our computer guy Luke from London! He came to clean things up a bit for us but as the Eurostar was such a big mess today he wasn't able to get much done sadly! I spent most of the day waiting for a train and Luke spent most of his waiting on a train. He'll come back again soon! We look forward to it. We love having visitors, even if for just 15 minutes or so...

Speaking of London, that's where I am of to Tuesday till late Thursday. My kid is off to sea class for the week. By the time I'm home, my husband will be of to Sarajevo! We are all over the place. I look forward to Friday when my kid is back! I don't like an empty home. It's too quiet for me alone. Luckily I have three little pigs to take care of.

You might not see me till Thursday! Heidi will hold down the fort!

Heidi says:

I SURE WILL!!!

I look so little and small and babyish on this picture! Magnificent! 19 years old!!! That's what I look like, right Luke?

:)

Sunday 06 April 2008: FREAKING HELL ONE OF SARAH'S KID'S GUINEE PIGS IS A BOY, NOT A GIRL!!!! AND NOW THERE IS A BABY OUT OF THE BLUE!!!

Sarah says:

We go away for one night and two days and this is what we get! We come home and I open the cage of our two GIRL Guinea pigs Kika and Kike (pronunced keke). I lift up there little house to say hi with my kid happily by my side glad to see her pigs again and THERE ARE TWO BABIES - One dead and the other running around! We were quite shocked!!!! The dead one threw us for one loop and the living one threw us for another loop! There were high emotions at our house! We were not prepared! Our daughter cried and cried of course and got all nervous and sad about the dead one and all nervous and happy about the living one. We needed to clean the dirty cage but had to figure out if we could go near the mom and the baby. It was stressful!

BUT LOOK HOW CUTE THAT LITTLE PIGGY IS! Our kid named her kricky-cracky or something like that. I don't think we will keep her so if anyone out there wants a Guinea pig in 5 weeks, let us know! You can't have her if you'll feed her to snakes though!

Above you can see the whole family! They are all brothers and sisters! Incest in the pig world is the norm apparently. The other one could have died though because of bad genes or because the mom or dad stomped on it or because the mom doesn't really know how to be a mom yet! I'm a little worried about the living baby. I'm a little afraid she might not survive. The mom doesn't seem to be feeding her as hard as the baby is trying to get fed. We'll see how this goes but we are stick with this cute little addition to the family for at least a month or so. The dad, which is the darker one in the above photo, had to be put in a make-shift laundry basket cage because he was sniffing the butts of the mom and the baby too much and seemed to want to make some more babies with both of them!
Above you can see our laundry-basket cage behind me with the male in it and the mom and baby are safe in the other one. I'm just afraid that while we are sleeping tonight, something bad will happen - maybe the baby will die or maybe the dad will eat the laundry basket and escape or fall. It just feels all weird because we were so unprepared. The baby seems so fragile. My kid goes to sea class tomorrow for a week and I just want her to be able to go away calm and happy. So I really hope these pigs make it through the night!

In other news, you see that thing in the photo on the right side of my face (on the left in real life) -well it's getting bigger and bigger and blacker and blacker and it's scaring me as well! It's a blood vessel gone very wrong. It has a heartbeat! I have to go to the skin doctor but I have no idea when. Th next three days are booked solid and busy as can be! I hope it stays put and doesn't explode again or get bigger or more painful!!!

As for my favorite Post Secret this week - it's an obvious choice with the Guinea pig story and all those dang, horney animals out there!!!! Just look at those lions! My Guinea pigs have been doing the same and look at the mess they have gotten themselves into! :-)

Last but not least, I really enjoyed the Claw Boys Claw gig and De Brassers gig we saw at Petrol Club in Antwerp yesterday! The singer of Claw Boys Claw has a fantastic voice! I hadn't heard the music before other than one good song. I was really impressed. I had a great evening! I want to hear more of both bands!!! They both put on a great show.

Sunday 6 April 2008: DE START DER FLAPTEST

Heidi says: Beste mensen, vandaag startte te Kortrijk, de flaptest. Het panel, bestaande uit Alexander Derweduwen (uit de secreie, maar sedert enkele maanden volwaardig burger van Kortrijk-stad), Wout Deernaert (uit de secreie, maar sedert enkele maanden volwaardig burger van Kortrijk-stad), Nico Haemers (uit Marke, maar sedert enkele jaren volwaardig burger van Kortrijk-stad), Heidi Garrein (uit Wervik, maar sedert enkele jaren volwaardig burger van Kortrijk-stad) en Yma Haemers (te verwaarlozen), zullen vanaf heden ten dage, één maal per week de flaptest uitvoeren. Wat houdt de flaptest uit? Het testen der Kortrijkse appelflaps. Iedere week zal door ieder der juryleden een appelflap geproefd worden, en er zal een quotering gebeuren op een zo volledig mogelijke wijze. De juryleden zullen letten op het deeg, de appelvulling, of er extra's zijn (zoals daar zijn: rozijnen, kaneel, vliegen...). Heden vandaag werden appelflappen der bakkerij C te K genuttigd, en de eindquotering geschiedde als zijnde: 4,4/10.

Om de spijsvertering te bespoedigen, gooiden de juryleden na het nuttigen van de flappen nog met een badhanddoek naar elkaar. Het was een schone dag. Wij zullen u wekelijks op de hoogte brengen van de nieuwe flaptest en uitkomst!

Saturday 05 April 2008: A mole- vessel on Sarah's face bursts and bleeds!! AHHHHHHHHHH! And Heidi and Sarah are off to De Brassers gig in Antwerp!

Sarah says:

Still rushing! Gotta go! That spot near my eye on my upper cheek there - well, it burst last night an bled! I have had like a blood spot there for years and years - a blood vessel I guess and it was hurting the last couple of days and last night I washed my face and it exploded and bled for an hour! I was scared! I have to have a doctor look at it. It's okay now but is throbbing. Freaky!

Gotta go now! Tonight Heidi and I will see De Brassers in Antwerp.

Friday 04 April 2008: Heidi and Sarah see Steak Number Eight, the winners of Humo's Rock Rally! And Sarah wishes an old friend JD a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Heidi says: I ran 18 minutes today!! I am getting better each time!

Sarah says:
Busy! Gotta go! No time to write! Heidi and I - well Sound Performance - made Steak Number Eight's new CD. They recently won Humo's Rock Rally and they are locals from around here so we went and see them play last night at the JOC in Kortrijk. These are young musicians with incredible power. I was impressed! I can't wait to see what they do with this all in like 10 years. I was standing there thinking that in just 5 or 6 years my daughter will be their age - a teenager. I felt old! But I also felt young because I can still really enjoy this kind of heavy music. I think Steak Number Eight will do great! I don't like their name so much to be honest. It sounds kind of Boy-Bandish in English. There's a story behind it Heidi tells me. But we both agree and hope the name shortens eventually to Steak or something. These guys are going to be something! They can play so well already and they are only like 14 through 16 or something like that.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JD! CD, WILL YOU PLEASE WISH JD A HAPPY BIRTHDAY FROM ME!

Thursday 3 April 2008: Something to think about, by Heidi, Heidi and Sarah get lost in the jungle of their happy, healthy office plants!

Sarah says:
It's a happy green jungle in our world today! Our plants are so happy and healthy! If our plants are happy and healthy then Heidi and I are happy and healthy. There's good air all around!
Just look at those lively lovelies above? Can you find Heidi in the above photo? She's slacking off again! The nerve of that girl! The two little plants are both called Aimee-plants. One comes from ASG herself! Look ASG!!! Look how your Aimee plant is growing and happy as can be! There are new leaves popping up all over the place. That's the meaning of life right there!!!

Heidi says:
Why are we here, what is life all about? Is God really real, or is there some doubt? Well tonight we're going to sort it all out, For today it's the Meaning of Life. What's the point of all these hoax? Is it the chicken and egg time, are we all just yolks? Or perhaps, we're just one of God's little jokes, Well ca c'est the Meaning of Life. Is life just a game where we make up the rules While we're searching for something to say Or are we just simple spiralling coils Of self-replicating DNA? What is life? What is our fate? Is there Heaven and Hell? Do we reincarnate? Is mankind evolving or is it too late? Well today here's the Meaning of Life. For millions this life is a sad vale of tears Sitting round with really nothing to say While scientists say we're just simply spiralling coils Of self-replicating DNA. So just why, why are we here? And just what, what, what, what do we fear? Well ce jour, for a change, it will all be made clear, For this is the Meaning of Life - c'est le sens de la vie -This is the Meaning of Life. (Monty python circus)

WHAT IS THE MEANING OF LIFE?
Is it feeling pain to know that we are alive?
Is it rushing through the days, and flushing away the time?
Is it trying to look beautiful each day, for no purpose (Cause we are married anyway :) )
Is it making it hard for other people, so they feel that they are alive?
I don't even know what the reason is of eating? Or loving? Or hating? Or being jealous?
Tell me tell me tell me!

Wednesday 02 April 2008: Sarah gives her daughter a bone...and recalls seeing the musical CATS the day after losing her ......almost 20 years ago

Sarah says:
That's my daughter the dog above. Slowly but surely she's morphing into a hound. She's cute though, so we'll keep her. She will have to start sleeping in the shed though...

In other news, this morning I was thinking about when I saw the musical Cats 20 years ago because music from CATS was on a CD I was playing at breakfast. You know how music can just bring you back in time. Well, there I was in New York City with my "boyfriend" who the night before I had lost my virginity to! I was seeing CATS with him and his freaking mom for his birthday. I was a nervous wreck with pain everywhere. My brain was on fire. I was no longer pure! And what did I do, well I walked over a subway vent and what happened, well, my short puffy skirt blew up in the air like Marilyn Monroe's but with fatter, shorter legs - and my "boyfriend's" mom saw my underwear and my long-lost virginity burned through my mind - as if I were being punished for my dirty deed the night before! I was so terribly embarrassed that I am red in the face still as I write this. I loved that boy though - man oh man did I LOVE him! For years and years even though we were boyfriend and girlfriend for only 5 minutes or so. We were good friends and on and off bed-buddies. We were dumb and inadequate. But I spent so much time thinking and dreaming about him and troubling myself over him and wanting to be the light in his life and all that dreamy teenage stuff that gets totally distorted when you are a pot-head like I was. He's also the guy that I got caught in bed with in my home by my parents. That was biggest embarrassing moment number 2! And he's the guy who broke my heart 1000 times without even knowing it! You never forget the person you lost your virginity to - at least I never will. We went our separate ways of course but I am always very happy to see him when I am back in The States visiting. I hope he's doing well and is happy and that he never forgets me either!

This is probably too much information for some of you. Sorry for that! But you don't have to read it!

Tuesday 01 April 2008: It's (almost) First of the Month Flashback at Face The Day! Take a walk back with Heidi and Sarah...

Sarah says:
We tried to make a combo of all of the years photos from the 1st of April above. Heidi's showing off her boobs again and I'm flapping my tongue. Not a pretty photo but who says fun is always pretty! It was a good day today I'm happy to report! I haven't been fooled yet but I did fool one or two people! It is possible I have been walking around all day with a fish on my back though. You?

That's me above 1 year ago today on the 1st of April 2007 with a fish on my nose and a webcam for a camera! I had a band then because I had left my camera at rehearsal. I need a new band by the end of this year! That's a goal now! If you want to see what we were up to 1 year ago today at this time, click here!
There's Heidi's boobs two years ago today on the 1st of April 2006! Since then her boobs have been used to feed a child but she remains a Viva Voce fan!
There I am 2 years ago today on the 1st of April 2006. Click on this link if you want to go back in time and see what Heidi and I were busy with two whole years ago today!

And as it is the 1st of April today, otherwise known as April Fool's Day - below you can see some shots of me and my foolish family playing the smoothie lip fools. We had a great laugh - though the below photos were on the 31st of March. We were just practicing for the 1st! Watch your backs on April Fool's Day! We will all try to get you good!
The title of the below photo is "The Botox Kiss".

Weird day 31 March 2008: but it is spring!

Sarah says:
Daily lenses day 2! So far so good! No headache to report! Cold almost gone! That time change and losing an hour messed the whole day up though - for both Heidi and me! But we remain colorful and optimistic as ever! Have a good evening!

Heidi says: An amazing scene in 'Me and you and everyone we know'... Yeah I know. it's in my system and it won't come out. It shouldn't. It makes me love.

Sarah says:
Funny video of Erika and Neil and Oscar Dionisio Smith!


And check this out! My cousin's wife Rebecca Flowers has a book coming out soon - on the 10th of April! It's called Nice To Come Home To.

Here's a small description:

Everyone around Prudence Whistler, thirty-six, seems to be settling down. Her girlfriends have married and had babies. Her gay best friend is discussing marriage with his partner. Even her irresponsible younger sister, Patsy, is the single mother of a two-year-old. But when Pru panics at losing her mediocre boyfriend of two years-and begins to see the door to her traditional family life closing-she accidentally finds something even better: a new definition of family and happiness.

Here's a link to buy it if you are interested!

And here's another link to an article about Rebecca Flowers and her new book in The Berkshire Eagle

Sunday 30 March 2008: Heidi is crazy about her family. Sarah is beating this cough and cold fast she's happy to report!

Sarah says:
Feeling better and in cooking mode! Nothing like soup to kill a bad cold and cough! You would think winter soups would be all but done by now as it's SPRINGTIME! But not yet here in Belgium. It's raining and chilly. I give the sun two weeks to get it's warm butt over our way. We need some sun - not just for a second but sun with some sort of lasting power! Soup is great but sun is even better!

Sarah adds: My kid took over my head and hair as we watched tow episodes of Little House tonight. By the way - I'm trying our my new "daily" contact lenses and so far, so good!!

Heidi says: Crazy in the head and crazy about my family! Watched a crazy movie yesterday! Sweet and crazy and a little absurd. Beautiful! It was 'Me and you and everyone we know'. It immediately goes my my top 10 movies! And I dare to say that it has one of the nicest love scenes I have ever seen in my life! Thank you Miranda July! You are a star!

Sarah says: As for my Post Secret pick of the week, well I just couldn't resist the one below. I don't mean to reduce the presidential election to a make out session, but what the hell! No wouldn't that be a great sensation if Hilary and Obama just started making out during a debate! That would be one way to mess with the far right big time! What in the world will happen? Who is the next to be king or queen of America?

Saturday 29 March 2008: Sarah is on the mend with no fever but a wicked cough and paler skin than Heidi's for dang sure! Heidi says yes, always yes..

Heidi says: ... but Heidi is healthy! That is why Sarah is paler than Heidi! Schönes Wetter Heute! Ich gehe spazieren mit meiner Mutti! Hali halo guten Tag besten Bob!

Sarah says:
I'm paler than you Heidi. I win. Just look. There's no denying it.

By the way - the banana an hour before bed trick seems to be working. Two nights in a row of falling asleep fast. Or it's the exhaustion and last night it must have been the codeine but the banana might have helped as well! After all these years, all I needed was a banana in my bed! Who would have known!

Friday 28 March 2008: Sarah's foaming at the mouth now that's it's Friday and HAPPY BIRTHDAY SARAH'S OLD FRIEND CD IF YOU ARE READING THIS!!!

Sarah says:
It's Friday! Time to collapse. My flu symptoms are happily gone! No more aches and pains! But my cough is annoying as a mofo and getting all the worse! After a good work day, I went to the library with the hopes of getting The Wire season 4 but it's out for another week for sure! So I'll hopefully get it next weekend! Instead I picked up Grease and My Best Friend's Wedding to watch with my kid and Street Car Named Desire and Paris Texas to watch with my husband - along with Coming Home!!!! - which my brother sent me ages ago and which finally we'll have time to watch! After the library, my daughter and I went to take out some Chinese Food - which we rarely d. And now we will veg out until Sunday night basically. Other then having to go food shopping and clean the pig cage tomorrow, we have 0 plans. We will lock ourselves away this weekend! I need to catch up on sleep and get over this cold. My husband's back is hurting badly so he needs some rest and relaxation. Our kid will be happy to have our undivided attention.

Viva The Weekend! Hope you enjoy yours!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY GOOD OLD FRIEND CD!!!

Thursday 27 March: Sarah is about to fall over and pass out from aches and shakes as Heidi stands by...

Sarah says:
As if it isn't enough that I am coming down with the flu - maybe even big time because my body seriously aches all over - and that I slept only one hour last night - now I have my freaking period and a heavy, painful one at that!!! It's a bad, bad day health and body wise. I am off to bed. I will drug myself silly if I have to! If I don't sleep tonight, I'll get really ill I'm sure. On the advice of a wise man, I will eat a banana tonight one hour before I plan to sleep. I hope this little trick works! One more day until weekend! Then I will let myself totally go!

Still - it was a good, good, satisfying day!

Heidi says: I went jogging again today, after work. It didn't go so well :). I get lower back aches when I jog. Also very sour muscles. But I won't give up!!! Not yet!! I had a very nice busy day today! It's cool!

Wednesday 26 March 2008: Heidi and Sarah welcome special guest VC to Belgium and to Face The Day all the way from London...

Sarah says:
That's VC up there. She's from our London office and visiting us for a couple of days. It was nice, as always, to have her here with us! It's great to work with such lovely people!

In other news, I am starting to feel sick as a dog. Bad, bad cold. Miserable really. Can't wait to crash this weekend!

Tuesday 25 March: Heidi and Sarah forgot to take a photo today so they give you an extra sick one from Wednesday the 26th instead...

Sarah says:
I'm getting ill. Boo Hoo. These are good busy days. I have to stay healthy! Colds are mofos! That's about all I can say other than this photo is really from Wednesday and not Tuesday. We tried Tuesday but my battery died.

Monday 24 March 2008: Sarah is back home and tired after a great weekend away! The only thing bothering her is her Dutch!

Sarah says:
Home sweet home! It's always nice to come home even after a fabulous weekend. I just love being at home! I'm tired and have a busy week ahead!

I chose the below Post Secret this week not because I agree with it, because I don't - not completely anyway - but because I'm feeling frustrated by my own Dutch and I do understand why people can really have trouble speaking a foreign language. Sometimes you even can speak it but you are afraid to with certain people. Sometimes you try your best to speak it and people clearly have no idea what you are saying. Sometimes you have moments of total clarity and speak it almost perfectly. Language is my single biggest frustration in my life. It's the one thing about living abroad that can truly make me feel miserable and totally self-hateful. It comes and goes. I just totally suck at languages as hard or as little as I try. I feel dumb in Dutch. Not always -- I mean, for some reason I don't have such a problem speaking Dutch for business with strangers. But it is so hard with people I know!!! I don't know why really but it drives me mad! I can speak Dutch. No doubt about that at all!! But with friends and loved ones I mostly can't formulate one good sentence and it drives me mad and sad!! It's still something I need to get over but it is the one freaking thing I hate about myself and I hate about living in Belgium. I will never, ever feel smart in Dutch and that sucks. Hence the below Post Secret! Don't forgot how hard it can be to learn a language and to integrate into another country. Even after 12 years you have these moments of feeling not only like a complete idiot but also like a total alien who will never, ever really fit in or be embraced by the place...


Heidi says: I started to do some jogging three days ago. I am posting it here, so that you can be my witnesses and you can make me go on with it! I am doing it all alone. That makes me feel free and capable (if I jog with someone else, I feel inadequate because I can't follow :) ). I will try to jog a couple of times a week and to have 2 resting days... Today my muscles feel sour. Tomorrow I will jog again! The world is mine!