Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday the 26th - 28th December 2009: Sarah is busy on vacation...

Above photo is from Tuesday the 28th of December with tired eyes from staying up late - being lazy! It's been a lazy holiday! I am very busy being lazy!

Photo above is from Monday the 27th of December. Like my new hair?

Above and below photos are from the New Wave party we went to Saturday the 26th of December - with make-up and almost without make-up.

And there's Ayla above at the sea on Sunday the 27th of December. We hopped on a train with a bunch of friends and went to the sea on a rainy day with hail! It was fun!

Thursday and Friday 24 and 25 December 2009: Merry Christmas from Sarah, Tomske and Ayla!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! That's me above on Christmas reflecting into my new bracelet from Carmen and her family! We had a great Christmas day at their house of course as usual!

That's Tomske and The Lool above wishing you all very happy Holidays!

And that's me above on the 24th of December weighing in! We had a really nice time Christmas Eve at Tom's parents' home! It was fun fun fun!!

It's been a really nice and relaxing holiday so far!

Wednesday 23 December 2009: The holidays are starting with lots of cookies and fudge! :-)

That's Ayla and me above on the 23rd of December full of cookie and fudge sugar! Above photo also from the 23rd. Not sure if I mentioned on here yet that I got weighed at the Obesity Center Tuesday afternoon and my BMI has dropped from the "obese" category to the "over-weight" category - so that's good news! I haven't lost many more kilos since my last report but I have lost as much fat as kilos according to the fat test yesterday - which the dietician says is great! So I am happy about that! I have 5 more kilos to go by March (11 pounds). I am sure I will get there! I am eating a bit more these days because of vacation and the holidays and the cold - but I will get back on track and throughout I am keeping up the exercise so I feel okay about it all!

COOKIES AND FUDGE FOR EVERYONE!!!! HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Saturday, Sunday and Monday 19, 20 and 21 December 2009: It's still snowy in Belgium and the holidays are in the air!!! Yippy!

Later that day... That's me and Heidi tonight. She came over for dinner with Nico and Yma. It's always nice to see them! Tom and I got home just in time from Brussels, where we went to get my American passport renewed. I am passport-less till end January and therefore cannot leave Belgium until then! It's a strange feeling!!!

There's Heidi above - pretty pregnant! She's growing and growing! And glowing and glowing.

Me above in Brussels today. I always think it's funny when you park your car in a city and just happen to be parked right under this amazing building such as the cathedral in the photo. That's Europe for you! That cathedral in Brussels is just beautiful - even more so on a snowy day!

There's Ayla above with her big, blue eyes! Can she be my kid?

There's Yma above with her big smile!

Happy Holidays to everyone! The above photo is from today - the 21st ! I ave to go to Brussels to get my American passport renewed today and I have to pick up my new Belgian ID. Tonight Heidi, Nico and Yma are coming over for dinner so I hope I don't get stuck in Brussels thanks to ice and snow! Lots to do today! Have to get going!!!

That's me and Ayla above - yesterday the 20th. We had just baked cookies. We are getting in the holiday mood now! Always something baking! Man I am afraid to get weighed tomorrow! It's not going to be good! I also have to be measured and all! Ahhhh! This is a bad, bad time of year for dieting as hard as I am trying!

There was a reindeer outside our window last night!

Holiday decorations finally went up yesterday as cookies were baking in the kitchen!

That's me above on Saturday the 19th.

That's me above on Sunday the 20th I think or maybe it's the other way around. I don't know anymore!

Thursday 17 December 2009: Let it snow let it snow let it snow!

Heidi says: Snow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now I am really dreaming of a white christmas!

Christmas, aaaah, christmas. I don't think there is any time of year that makes me so nostalgic and so warm inside as christmas and the holidays. There is something about christmas programmed in me since my early childhood. I used to love the whole atmosphere around it when I was little and I never stopped loving it. It has something to do with what we did as a family. We always celebrated with first going to church for the christmas mass, then with a nice dinner and only after midnight we gave each other presents. We always had a christmas tree and we would only decorate the tree when the whole family was there and ready.

At school there was a good christmas atmosphere too. I remember practising christmas songs with a little choir of school children for a week or two and then finally singing those songs in church at the christmas mass (yes, i went to a catholic school). Those moments were so nice, and the memories of them are so valuable now. You could call me a nostalgic person. But there was more to it. I also programmed an idea of what christmas should be in my head by watching american movies. Which made me believe from early age on that we weren't doing it completely right, the celebrating I mean. In my head, it had to be even cosier, with more people, with singing mellow songs standing around the tree... I regret that I watched those movies then and got so carried away that sometimes I didn't realise at the moment itself how wonderful our christmasses were. Because I know now. But now is too late.

So, here's the deal: I have to enjoy these moments now! I am home, I have a beautiful christmas tree, I have nice (exotica lounge and a very nice fifties compilation from Sarah's mom Judy) christmas music, I have SNOW, I organised a christmas walk for Yma's school which is happening tomorrow, I have friends and family who also love christmas... It's time to enjoy CHRISTMAS!

Sarah says:

I liked Heidi's text above and it made me want to generate a word cloud of it so here it is and it could be a Christmas card in itself! :-)

around atmosphere carried celebrated childhood children choir christmas church dinner early enjoy exotica family going happening head heidi home judy love mass moments movies nice nostalgic people practising presents programmed realise really regret remember school singing snow something sometimes songs think tree used valuable walk warm watched whole wonderful yes

created at TagCrowd.com

My mom arrived this morning and brought the snow with her from Michigan! I have to say that we both look pretty good for not having had much sleep. I woke up really early to a snowstorm but luckily the highway was pretty clear and my mom's plane was more than 2 hours late!
Ayla was of course happy to see her grandma at school when we went to pick her up.
And my mom was happy to see Ayla of course!
That's me above at 6am this morning trying to figure out if I should head out into the snow or find a plan B. I took the chance and all was okay! It's getting more dangerous now that it is getting colder!
And above the very lovely snow this morning on my street! :-) If you want to see more photos of this morning's first Belgian snow click into this photo album!

Tuesday 8 December through Monday 14 December for Sarah and with Heidi today! Lots of excercise in Bremerhaven, Germany and link to nice pics!

Monday the 14th of December above with Heidi quick before I went to work and she went home to rest... Wish I could rest too -I have a backache :-(!

Above is from Sunday the 13th of December in Gent, where we went with a visitor from The States named Monica. She is studying law in Amsterdam and came to us via via. We had a nice couple of days seeing Belgium through her eyes - first Brugge, then Ieper and then Gent...

That's me and our visitor Monica in Ieper on Saturday the 12th of December after we had been to Brugge in the day and had just eaten mussels and fries - just before seeing the Last Post in Ieper.

That's me above past midnight on Thursday the 10th - though really Friday the 11th at about 20 past midnight. I had been exercising in the hotel firtness room in Bremerhaven, Germany - where I was for a conference for work. We had some long but nice days - each one which I finished off with exercise late at night because I ate too much too late each day!

Above photo is also just after exercise but on Wednedsay night the 9th of December.

And above photo is also just after going on the cross-trainer and bike on Tuesday the 8th of December.

For some nice photos of Bremerhaven, Germany, please go via this link to my photo album!

Sunday 13 December 2009: partytime for Heidi and her friends (sitting time for Heidi :-()

Heidi says: A nice afternoon foyer dansant in Kortrijk with The Smoky Midnight gang, who played a wonderful gig! Despite my ever dancing mood I was not allowed to leave my chair other than for toilet use... Two more months, two more months, two more months, ONLY two more months... :-)

Saturday 12 December 2009: Heidi's little beauty

Heidi says: and I don't mean myself. Have a look.

Tuesday 8 December 2009: Heidi puts up her christmas tree

Sunday 06 and Monday 07 December 2009: Heidi and Sarah see each other quickly thanks to the Gilmore Girls...

Sarah says:
Always good to start a week with Heidi on a Monday morning! She rang my bell to pick up the Gilmore Girls season 5 and 6 as she's racing full speed ahead through them as she has to rest a lot! The Gilmore Girls series is a great one to sit back and relax to. Ayla and I are loving it too! Season 4 wasn't that great but season 5 is fab! Such a great escape! e gave Ayla season 6 for Sinterklaas yesterday but since I am off to Germany for the whole week, Heidi could borrow both seasons. Isn't this all very interesting? It's all I can offer on a Monday morning! I am packing for my trip and then off to work. Tonight there is a Zita Swoon gig at De Kreun, which I can't miss and then it's up at 5:30 am tomorrow morning for a long day of travelling to Bremerhaven, Germany...

That's my photo above from yesterday - Sunday the 6th of December... By the way - on both Saturday and Sunday I ate all-you-can-eat buffet food - first Italian and then Asian. Not a good idea while on a diet. My belly is a total wreck today! It seriously hurts. I learned my lesson!

Friday and Saturday 04 and 05 December 2009: Sarah needs coffee! Heidi is getting more pregnant-looking and Sarah is trying hard to lose some weight..

Heidi says: above a picture taken by Nico I just have to publish. It is too nice to disappear in all these bits and bytes. Yma and her cousin Sam.

Sarah says:

All that coffee was all I needed this morning... I woke up early and was tired and had about 3 or 4 cups! Ate too much today too! But - it was a nice day - celebrating Sinterklaas and my mother-in-law's birthday!

Above and below you can see Heidi and me yesterday - Friday the 4th. She came over to cut my and Ayla's hair. I love how she's been cutting it! I must say it looks great and both Ayla and I are very happy! As you can see below - Heidi's pregnant belly is growing and growing! It's beautiful!

My belly, on the other hand, is starting to shrink a bit! I don't think I can credit dieting as much as pure exercising! It's the cross-trainer, I'm sure! I have been increasing the time I spend on it. Minimum 4 days a week for up to 40 minutes now + biking to and from work every day. It's working! I see my body changing in a good way and I don't feel as bas about eating a bit more!

Above you can see my haircut! I love it! Thanks Heidi!!!

And last but not least - that's me above after 42 minutes on the cross-trainer! Never again! I think between 30 and 40 minutes is enough each time! I shouldn't go overboard!

Thursday 3 December 2009: Just another day

Heidi says: I am having Braxton-Hixton-contractions (or whatever the name is) again and tonight I am going to the doctor to let them being checked. I hope so much I do not have to have bed rest. And I certainly do not want to go to hospital in this time of year. There will be Sinterklaas to celebrate with Yma and then I need to put the christmastree up so no time to be in a hospital bed. Of course, I also don't want to give birth too early so I'll listen to what the doctor has to say to me. Fingers crossed. (I am not feeling as sad as I look on the picture :-))

Sarah says: I have a pink office now. Nice! I sit next to a window. Nice! It's almost weekend and it should be a calm one! Nice! It always rains all night and I think - oh no - it will be a hellish bike ride in the morning but then by the time the day starts the rain stops. Nice!