Sunday 05 October 2008: Sarah mets up with ASG and TSG in Antwerp in the bloody hardcore mennonite rain at the Rubens' House with no red shoes!

Sarah says:
We went to Antwerp to meet up with ASG and TSG! It was GREAT to see them but the rain SUCKED!!! We went to the Rubens' House, which was cool, and to a couple of cafes just to escape the rain and we had lunch at WAGAMAMA!!!! Crap weather. Nice day!
Don't they look nice up there!!! We found out today that we'll spend some days in Christmas week with them in Germany! It sounds very cosy! We can't wait. We can also discuss our plans to become hardcore Mennonites further - just one of the many discussions of the day....
And there above you can see my Post Secret pick of the week. Pretty obvious! I know! Makes me worry that my kid's lovely childhood will lead her to a terrible adulthood! Life is always out of balance like that. What's bad turns good, what's good turns bad. What seems bad at the time, leads to something great later. What seems great at the time, leads to something horrid later. It's both a win-win situation and a no-win situation! Life oh life oh life...

Sunday 5 October 2008: Radio Modern with a Twin Peaks feeling

Heidi says: This is the strangest Radio Modern party we've had so far. It was in the casino of Knokke, and had something Twin Peaks like because of the venue but also the people who were there. It was strange but that didn't make us stuck to our chair. We still danced our asses off with de kletsekop and each other. :) And of course, important to mention, we saw the lovely PDM Big Band perform again! Always a treat!

Saturday 4 October 2008: Heidi is practicing and Sarah sees life through a choco-koek!

Heidi says: I have a new hobby. Every friday night I am going to the hairdressers' school. I don't have the intention to become a real hairdresser, but I want to know all about hair. The reason for this is that I want to be able to make real retro hairstyles, and I will only be able when I know the basics. Yesterday we learned to put roles in hair, to make curls. The first step to forties and fifties hair! Look how happy Lindsey Weir and I are. One extra very nice detail about this course: I am doing it together with my best friend Katrijn!!! Finally we have a fixed weekly date!


Sarah says: The picture explains itself, doesn't it? Need I say more?

Friday 03 October 2008: The big news today? Sarah's haircut of course! Another shallow day at Face The Day!

Sarah says:

It's the weekend - yet another weekend! Time flies. Life feels so busy. Too busy. But it's busy mixed with lazy. Too lazy. It's weird. I have lost my whole sense of time since my husband starting working at his new job and having much later hours. I have these hours after work with just my daughter, which are nice because I love spending time with that lovely little light of my life - but which also have a certain emptiness about them because they no longer include my husband. There's no real "family" time in our lives lately and I find myself really missing that. We will find it back again! I am sure of that. We have to. The first months of any sort of change are the roughest ones to get through. I long for a few months from now when we are back in pace with each other and our home feels like a family lives in it and not just three people in their own worlds. My husband is out tonight and I'm home with my kid. She'll go to bed soon and then I'll fold laundry that's been piling up for a couple of weeks. It'll feel lonely. It'll feel empty. I'll make it feel a little better by putting some good music on and maybe calling an friend from The States afterwards - but still it will feel like something is missing. I know what's missing - my husband. I miss him a bit. Not in any sort of dramatic way. Nothing like that. I just long for a game of Yahtzee with him and my daughter - and for a real homemade meal that we sit at the table and eat together. In time we'll find all that again. Anyway - the news of today was my haircut! I like it!

For some reason I can only get this hair photo to save sideways! Oh well! Another view for once!

Heidi says: my big news? None actually :) Nice weekend ahead. Tomorrow we are going to a Radio Modern retro party in the casino of Knokke. I can't even express how much I long for that! Dressing up and dancing, meeting old friends! Aaaah, can life be sweeter than that?
Yesterday, I went to the lindy hop lesson with my sister in law Sandrine. She started three weeks ago, with her partner, but he couldn't make it this time so I replaced him to keep her company. I was very sweet. The teachers Genevière and Didier (Apollo Swing) were genuinely happy to see me, and it felt like coming home. It made me think of a couple of years ago, when Nico and me and Katrijn, Alexander and Wout used to go to the lesson every week. We had so much fun! Yesterday, it felt like that time wasn't gone yet. We could snap into it just like that. Tomorrow night we will. We will dance our ass off! Hehe...

Thursday 02 October 2008: Heidi and Sarah are facing the day with faces...

Sarah says:
This was supposed to be a photo of a very pretty rainbow behind us but the rainbow and the pot of gold disappeared and all we were left with was Heidi's face facing this particular day as my slits-for-eyes watched on!

In other news, I'll be having a haircut tomorrow and it's high time! My hair is thick and needs to be shed. I am greyer than ever, which means even more so after the haircut. The question is always there - to dye or not to dye?! I'm waiting for the answer till the day Heidi finishes hairdressers school. She's taking a hair cutting course every Friday night and when sh says the word, she can choose my hairstyle and dye my greys!

Wednesday 01 October 2008: We'll skip flashback 1st of the month this time and just celebrate the first birthday of our office!!!!

There we are! Heidi and Sarah of Sound Performance Benelux at your service for one whole year already! We are happy and proud and ready to go into our second year with lots of energy!!!

There we are above today with our 1 balloon to celebrate birthday number 1! And there we are below one year ago today plus one day on the 2nd of October 2007 in our first ever office photo. Sadly we forgot to take a photo exactly one year ago today, which is rare. We must have been too busy setting up our office that day. Now we have a full year behind us! We are still so full of enthusiasm! It's been a challenging but great year! We rarely, if ever, mention work on here. But today we can and we must! This has been an intense year for Heidi and me!

And there above you can see that Sound Performance Benelux is in a celebrating mood right now!
And finally, there above, you can see my favorite Post Secret pick of the week, a little late! I look at it as a metaphor for how I am feeling right now. I didn't study what I am doing for work now. I never knew I'd be doing this! I studied journalism. And here I am, on a different path and feeling more accomplished having set up a functioning office in Belgium no less than I have felt in any other job. I felt great when working as a journalist and getting my articles out and my name on them and when I took my first great basketball front page picture for the newspaper. I felt fantastic when I taught people English and watched them improve so much. But this is different. I am doing stuff I never imagined I could. And I can. I don't mean to toot my own horn at all! I remain very humble. Today it just feels good and different. Tomorrow life goes back to normal. Normal ain't bad either...

Tuesday 30 September 2008: Sarah is the one at the wheel as Heidi and Nancy pretend she's their private driver...

Sarah says:

That ain't right! Those two girls will be the death of me! It will be a slow, lovely death but still...

I'm their private driver. Driver for money. I do what they want me to do... I bet they even stole my two Flair magazines with 7 Euro dinner books out of the back of my car. That's how little respect I get! :-) But you can see I enjoy it and I'm still smiling and standing, yeah, yeah, yeah...

Monday 29 September 2008: Heidi and Sarah are in the middle of a conversation. You can see it in their eyes...

Sarah says:
We are pale and wintery looking. Weird. Adams Family! Winter is obviously almost here. We look like winter...

Time to watch The Betty of Ugliness!

Sunday 28 September 2008: Sarah enjoys what might be the last sunny day for a long time in Belgium and Heidi finally came back and played on...

Heidi says:

The above picture is not an accurate picture of the way I look, but it could become one if I don't do more what I was doing when Nico took this: running! When we got home from the Ardennen at 5, we entertained Yma (and ourselves) another couple of hours at the playground. It was fun fun fun! Have I told you yet that I love Yma so much that I could die from it?

Sarah says:

Another sunny day! A lovely day! Good food. Good weather. Good company for our daughter and for us. We sat in friends' garden eating and drinking today. Not a bad way to spend a SUN-DAY! Last night we went to be around 3am - which is very rare for us these days. We woke up at 9:30 or so. Our dishwasher did its job so we didn't have dirty dishes to worry about. Then we spent from noon till 6pm sitting in a friend's garden. Not bad at all. By belly to my throat is still burning like mad and man am I tired - but my weekend was light and Saturday night full of such good laughs. Life can be nice...

Saturday 27 September 2008: Sarah has a funs Saturday night with some fun people and a special GUY (inside joke)... And Heidi is happy in the Ardennen

Sarah says:

Aside from a burning feeling all weekend from my belly to my throat and my food coming back via and acid reflux, Saturday was a fun one with great friends and more laughs than my tearing eyes, running nose and raspy throat could take! It's all thanks to our new guy GUY! This is an inside joke that won't last but I'm going to enjoy it for as long as I can because no guy other than this particular GUY has made me laugh this har in a long freaking time!! Viva Tomske, Steven, Tilly and THAT guy GUY! (as seen below on one of his movie sets where I was filming something floral and brutal...)


Heidi says:
Look at my weekend in the Ardennen! Fun, sun, laughing Yma. what els do I need? Indeed, nothing! (I ate too much and I am coping with a double chin now... Have to exercise! have to exercise!!!)

Friday 26 September 2008: The sun is shining in Heidi and Sarah's eyes! Viva Friday! Viva Sunny weekend in Belgium!!!

Sarah says:
Heidi is off to the Ardennes for a weekend away and I am about to eat ordered-in pizza with my daughter while watching Ugly Betty! It's Friday after a VERY long week so there's nothing better than this and the sunny weekend that lies ahead!!!

Thursday 2 September 2008: Heidi and Sarah are smiling...

Sarah says:
Let me just tell you that we stopped by Heidi's tonight to give YMA a birthday present and YMA is one of the cutest kids I have ever seen. She's got a great character that just glows out of her. I am going to really enjoy watching her grow up. She will be - she is - a fabulous person for sure!
There above I'd like to introduce you to the two people who really matter in my life more than anything or anyone else. They are my treasures...

Wednesday 24 September 2008: Heidi's sweetheart Yma is 2 years old today and Sarah's dishwasher is BORN!!!!!

Heidi says: Why the sad face, little Yma? It's your birthday!!!!!! :) (I do like her eyebrows like that - she looks like she is thinking 'mommy the monster' :) )

Heidi says: ok, Yma, just because it's your birthday, you can do this...

Sarah says:

Tomorrow we'll put pics of Yma over the last two years on here! How very exciting! Can't believe she is two!!! The above photo is all about the nose. The nose knows! And I got a dishwasher and couldn't be freaking happier about that!!!!

Heidi says:
I can't believe it but it is true: Yma turned two today. I can feel that birth and that first drinking session as if it were yesterday. My sweetheart. How I miss that movement in my belly sometimes. How I miss those first moments of absolute love for that little person I didn't really know yet. How I miss that first touch of her mouth on my nipple and that power to get her fist feeding in the first hour of her life. But how glorious the days with her. She is my sun and star. She is my little everything. How I love her...

Tuesday 23 September 2008: Heidi and Sarah had men on their backs and under their desks today -- very exciting indeed!

Sarah says:
Time for dinner and Ugly Betty! No time to write! It was a weird day but I feel better than yesterday for sure! More awake and more alive in general. We had men at our feet today, on their backs, on the floor. It was funny and unusual! Not an everyday thing! We leave you all to imagine the rest... By the way - that's not my bra sticking out up there! It's how the shirt is! Don't get the wrong idea! This is a very innocent blog and Heidi and I are very innocent girls.

Monday 22 September 2008: Heidi does the pony and Sarah eats her sorrows away...

Heidi says: I have been doing the pony for eleven years now. I will do the pony till I die. Nico loves ponies.

Sarah says:
I could change the below Post Secret pick of the week to the following: "I know when I start becoming sad because I start thinking about eating again". Hence the cookie stuffed into my mouth above. I know I have started to become sad... Good thing the cookie made me happy. At least for a second. The question is always - how many more????? :-) :-(

Sunday 21 September 2008: Sarah uses another Tom's wall well...

Sarah says:

I think that wall belonging to a guy named Tom is a great backdrop for a Face The Day photo. I told him I used his wall today. Now he'll know what I meant and that I didn't rub against it like a dog or put my foot on it. I just took a nice and innocent photo.... It was a nice day with Valerie and Tom and kids. Good food and company and weather. A perfect Sunday... A perfect wall...

Saturday 20 September 2008: Sarah has seen the light.... Well, not really actually...

Heidi says: I loooooove to dress up to do to a swing party (Lady Linn in Kortrijk). Unfortunately, it was a sit down concert.... but for once it was ok because I still felt quite sick... and we could listen to the music in detail for a change. When you are dancing, there is so much you don't hear.

Sarah says:
In 4 minutes this day will be done and it will be Sunday. It was a good morning having brunch at my in-law's home. Good food! Yum! And then we bought a new bed for the guest room and then we cleaned out the guest room a bit and put the non-room room downstairs into some order and basically created a play room for our kid. We'll put her dollhouse on the table and all her dolls are under it hidden. Things are getting in more order slowly but surely. Life has felt very out of whack lately and I really feel the need for order. I'm so tired and my back hurts right now and I feel a bit depressed and doomed. Lots of things triggering that. I need a good sleep. As the bad sleeps add up, I get more run down. As I get more run down, I can handle less mentally...

Friday 19 September 2008: Heidi is still sick and Sarah is so freaking ready for Oprah magazine and time with her kid and husband this weekend!!!

Sarah says:
Two of my three greatest loves - Oprah Magazine above and The Lool below! All that is missing is my husband! We need this weekend so badly to catch up, clean up, rest, connect, relax. I need Oprah Magazine to escape into and clear my head. I have a lot on my mind. Many things to think about. But first, five deep breaths on a Friday night to put the week behind me and to take in the weekend with my family - and Oprah of course!!!! I'll start my Friday night by making a good dinner. Then my daughter and I will watch Ugly Betty while we wait for my husband to get home. Then I'll hang out with my husband and talk about both of our weeks because we really need to catch up with each other. On the other hand, maybe we should just shut down and leave work at work and just enjoy the weekend together... That sounds like a plan. Maybe Oprah will offer up some good advice on how to relax this weekend and how to get a good sleep. My insomnia is back big time and my husband has it too - which is really not a good thing! We are walking zombies happily working our arses off each day and not getting refueled at night. I'm shutting down at least for tonight... Good night! Have a great weekend everyone!

Heidi says:
by now, it should go away... But it doesn't. Au contraire. I feel dizzy, have a headache and stomach ache, feel useless but am still sitting (or hanging) at my desk. Not the best place to be right now, but I am trying to get through the day without having to go home. I'll see how that works... painkillers will be my best friends today.

Thursday 18 September 2008: Sarah is alone. Heidi and Sarah keep forgetting to take a picture... And Sarah has some BIG NEWS to DISH OUT!!!

Sarah says:
Busy days. Very distracted. No time to write really. Heidi and I are together all day but forget to take photos. We'll get back on track soon enough!

I'M GETTING A DISHWASHER FINALLY AFTER 13 YEARS OF HAND-WASHING DISHES IN BELGIUM!!!!!!

Heidi says:

I still feel bad. I thought I was better and then, after lunch today, I felt quite bad with a headache, nausea, stomach ache... I am trying to get better, by keeping calm and going to bed early, but at this point nothing seems to help. I don't like being sick.

Wednesday 17 September 2008: Sarah's cow-lick is bigger than ever and Heidi's gone home sick...

Sarah says:

I'm sick of my cow-lick and Heidi is sick. Who has it worse? Me of course? Bad hair days are way up there with spastic colon. Trust me, I know! My cow-lick is becoming its own entity... That has to be at least as bad as tapeworm. Maybe I have such a big headache right now thanks to my heavy cow-lick? That makes sense, doesn't it? As it gets bigger and fatter and heavier, my head can't take it anymore and might just explode scanner-style to solve the problem. Watch this space...

Heidi says:

This time no spastic colon! I know what spastic colon feels like. This time I would call it 'de buikplaag', a virus in my bowels and stomach. Very bad things happened to my throat and bowels. Things I won't talk to you further about...