Wednesday 11 June 2008: Heidi and Sarah are a bit tired today but feeling A-Okay and are ready ready ready to take on the world!!!

Sarah says:
Sorry for all the skin in this photo! Can you see how tired we look? We need to WAKE UP!!! It's early yet. We'll be bright and chipper soon enough after like 35 coffees and a few slaps in the face and 6 cartwheels, 4 somersaults, 7 back-flips and 13 whipper-willies. Oh yeah - and maybe one triple-hand-split-over flip-hand-spring. Care to join us?

Heidi says:
Oh my my oh oh my oh my oh oh oh oh oh my my my my oooooh, do I look tired??? Need to wake up! Smash me in the mulle! I think I have the mulleploage again, by the way! humf...

and later this day... MUCH BETTER!!!!!!!

Tuesday 10 June 2008: Heidi and Sarah are happy to welcome their head honcho CM from London to Face The Day!

Sarah says:
Please meet the big cheese in my and Heidi's work life. He was in from London and we went to Gent for dinner. We all look pretty greasy in the above photo, don't you think? Generally we take three photos to be sure to get at least one good one but this time we were sure we had gotten the good one on our first try... Oh well, we can't be beautiful all of the time!

Heidi says:
Sarah is speaking for herself! I am perfectly ok with this picture. I think we all look happy and beautiful! And yes, it was a good day and I am grateful and all that! I am! :D -> see!!!

Sarah continues: More important than any head cheese or big honcho is the fact that I ate Oysters for the first time in my life at the restaurant in Gent. We went to Brasserie Pakhuis on a friend's suggestion (thanks Val!). I had it in my head that I wanted to try oysters for the first time because I like to be able to eat whatever is put before me and oysters were always a bit of a threat. So I took the big step and did it under the instruction of my other boss CV. A little pepper. A little lemon. A little Tabasco sauce. A little shove and rip with the fork to detach the tendon. And pow, one slurp, a few chews and a swallow and the oyster is set free to swim around your stomache and bowels. I can't say I really enjoyed it but it no longer scares me. If I had to, I'd eat oysters again. Other than that, I had asparagus soup and GREAT smelling pee this morning, thanks to it. And I had a great salmon dish. The rhubarb dessert was pretty bad to be honest as I am not a fan. It was a good day and good evening. All good things and great company!

Monday 09 June 2008: Heidi and Sarah are lifeless, unlike their BIG HEALTHY GREEN LOVELY LUSH OFFICE PLANTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sarah says:
If only Heidi and I had as much life in us as the plant you see there behind us, which is growing to new heights. It's HUGE. It's HEALTHY! We love our office plants! Even with them though, today we couldn't breath right? The air was thick and our heads heavy. As for me, early to bed tonight! I will crash soon if I don't get a good night's sleep soon!

Sunday 08 June 2008: Heidi and Sarah put their egos and dumb heads aside for one day to each wish the father of her child a VERY HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY NICO AND TOM! YMA AND AYLA COULDN'T BE LUCKIER TO HAVE DADS LIKE EACH OF YOU! HEIDI AND SARAH WISH TO CELEBRATE YOU BOTH TODAY! THANKS FOR SEWING YOUR SEEDS WITH AMAZING RESULTS!

Sarah says:
Post Secret time! It's an obvious choice. Though I wish it were Hilary, I have to say I am very excited about getting away from white, right-wing, god-loving, male America. Viva Obama! I hope he and Hilary work together on this and get it right! America needs a bold change. I want to feel good about my birth-country again! Now they only need to to get a Gay gal or guy into the race with them and they will be on the right track!

In the words of our beloved Morrissey:

In America, The land of the free, they said, And of opportunity, In a just and a truthful way. But where the president, is never black, female or gay, and until that day,you've got nothing to say to me, to help me believe...

Saturday 07 June 2008: Sarah's looking worn out and her guinea pig looks like a bomb about to burst!! Any

Sarah says:
I'm all ruddy in the face. I guess it's true. As you get older, your face gets redder. Oh well! At least I'm not pregnant and ready to burst like a bomb like Mrs. Guinea Pig below. She is due any second! Very exciting!

Friday 06 June 2008: Heidi and Sarah are so happy it's Friday!!!!!!!!!! It's about time! Even though it's cold and rainy!

Sarah says:
Look at that photo. You can just see right away that Heidi and I do not come from the same roots. We look 100% different. No genes alike I think. We could be a Benetton commercial!

Heidi says:
My oh my! I am getting older. You can see it in the time my body needs to recover after organising a party and staying up till 6 in the morning... :) But nevertheless, I'm okay for my age. haha, for my age!!! I am only 29... I sound like I'm fifty!

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!

Thursday 05 June 2008: Sarah is red-eyed and tired but enjoying Pilates even though it hurts like a mofo sometimes!

Sarah says:
Just back from Pilates lessons. Once a week for an hour - juts my husband and I and a Pilates teacher. We are trying to get our backs stronger. We both need that. I have no pain but I also have no power and certainly no condition or muscles in my belly where they cut through to operate on my back. My poor belly area! It's been so abused over the years and it's near atrophy. I can't imagine it ever being strong again. And I have to be so careful with my back. But I am trying! It feels good to be moving and sweating and trying! It will take time and my oh my do I have to go slowly but I sure hope to see some results down the line. And for my husband with his ongoing annoying back pain, maybe just maybe this will help him too. We both are counting on it!

Wednesday 4 June 2008: Heidi is too sensitive and Sarah's underarms are sensitive so she is too sweaty and smelly...

Sarah says:
My underarms are sensitive. I got a round rash around the outside of them last week and it's still sort of there. Going away, but still kind of burning itchy and a bit bumpy now where as before it was smooth. It's not from shaving because it's on the outside. The Internet doctor sites and forums make me think it's a fungus or something! Yuck! Anyway - to ease it a little, I have sort of stopped using deodorant and all that stuff except for a tiny roll of it just in my pit area. And the consequence is that I am more sweaty than ever (even more sweaty!!!!) and that I smell a little! I rarely smell! If I am kidding myself and I actually do smell and nobody tells me, please tell me because man I would really hate to smell! I do what I can to not have a smell! But today I even stink! My poor underarms....

Heidi says: I am finding out year after year that I am very sensitive. In any way. When I was about two years old, my parents saw that I had red stains in my armpits and knee cavities. That was the beginning of my everlasting eczema. I don't have it in a very heavy way, but I have it, and it has been worse and better and worse again. I have used all sorts of cremes and ointments and some have helped and others haven't. At this point in my life, I am using Protopic when the eczema is coming up, and when it's gone, I stop for as long as it's possible. I take really good care of my skin. When I was 11, I was at a camp in the Belgian Ardennes, playing in high grass, and suddenly I could hardly breath anymore and had such red eyes that I could hardly keep them open anymore. That was the beginning of my hay fever. I still have it. In those same years, my parents had to put the cat outside, for my sake. The doctors found out that I was very allergic to the cat. Goodbye cat, and hello stress between all the family members. When I was 13, I went to the hospital because I had a belly ache every day. The doctors did test after test. They didn't find anything and called it: irritable bowel syndrome. i still have that, and in times of stress or lack of sleep, I suffer from it. Nothing you can do about it.
When I was pregnant, I had to lay down at 6 months. My uterus was too sensitive and Yma could have come too early because of it.
Yesterday, the rheumatologist told me that I suffer from muscle pain in my 'monk cap muscle'. That is the muscle that runs from the neck, over the shoulders to the middle of the back. He thinks it is a combination of stress and sitting wrong that provokes this. I have been suffering with it for more than seven months. There is not much I can do about it. I need to keep on exercising, stretch, use ointment and cherry pit pillows, and especially look at the the ergonomy of the workplace and try to improve it by letting a specialist in ergonomy check it out.

Now, that is what I call a sensitive person... It's amazing.... thankfully nothing is really wrong with me :). That's what the doctors say anyway. I will have to believe them. I do. For now!!

Tuesday 03 June 2008: Check out Sarah's fatass guinea pig whose babies are due any day now! And Sarah has had enough!!!!!!

Sarah says:
I'm feeling annoyed and frustrated today. Stressed-out by planning. I'm over-sensitive. It started last night after a great birthday in terms of all the people who called and sent messages and lunch with Heidi - but a boring sort of sad-feeling birthday on the homefront. It just didn't feel very birthday like at home to tell you the truth. That's nobody's fault. Don't get me wrong. But it left me feeling a bit cold. I guess no mater what you want a little special attention on your birthday from those closest to you and if it doesn't really happen, well, you feel a little strange. I'll get over it. I'm not a teenager anymore. But it's still my party - or total-non-party in this case, and I'll cry if I want to - or atleast complain a little...
And I'm just in a crappy mood today. Short-tempered. My kid annoyed me a lot tonight. I had no patience for her at all. The nice thing is that we bought our tickets for Florida next March for a nice family reunion during which my 90 year old great aunt will probably parachute out of a plane for the 2nd time. The first time was on her 80th birthday I think. On her 85th birthday she went race-car driving. She's a super-duper woman! I can't wait to see her and to spend time with the rest of that family, including my mom and some of my brothers and my aunt and uncle and cousins. It all sounds divine! So for that, I am happy and thankful and will try to get over my bad mood.

See that fat ball up there? That's my pregnant guinea pig who is ready to burst! She's due any day now! I'll keep you posted! I think there are at least 4 little ones in there. The male pig still won't leave her alone even though he has since been castrated and she's so pregnant she can hardly move, let alone put out for him!
And above and below are my Post Secret picks of the week - both related to the future of this world we live in. I do hope the younger generations are ready to change the world and all of our bad habits slowly but surely in a good direction. And I kind of agree with the sentiment below about energy costs. It's not like I enjoy paying more but on the other hand, why should it all come for free? Something has to check our excessive consumerism and wastefulness. If we have to pay more to be gluttonous, then that's the way it goes. Something's gotta give....

MONDAY 2 JUNE 2008: IT'S SARAH'S BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!

Sarah says:

Added above photo later than below ones to show you the flowers our dear, dear Heidi gave me today after she bought me a great big lunch - THANKS HEIDI FOR ALL THE NICE ATTENTION TODAY! I also wanted to show you one of the books I ordered for myself a couple of weeks ago that arrived today on my birthday. It's a VERY SPECIAL BOOK called Nice To Come Home To. My cousin's wife Rebecca Flowers wrote it! I can't wait to dive in. To know more about her book, click here! I had to censor part of the photo as you can see as some things were hanging out that you really don't want to see!!! And the confetti hat is from Heidi!

Sarah says:
Thanks Heidi! Time to look forward and back! Above is me today! My advice, never have a birthday on a Monday! I had such a bad sleep (as usual). I had some belly aches all weekend and I woke up with them today too. I woke up feeling old and achy to tell you the truth. It may be my 37th!!!!!! birthday, but I kind of feel bad today all over. I think I am a bit ill. Oh well, I have learned to not put so much importance on my birthday. In the past, I was a real birthday whore. I should be ashamed of myself! Now everything is more simplified! With that said, I am really glad I have Face The Day on these sorts of days to use to look back on the years before and to imagine the year ahead... Above I do look a bit different than the years before. I have lenses in place of glasses and I have to say I see that I look a bit older above! But I am older! I don't mind that. Faces change over the years and I think during the late 30s (which I am now in!!!), you start to have a slightly different face. The lines are coming in more. Tiredness is harder to hide. But that's okay. Today I don't mind!
That's me exactly a year ago today on 02 June 2007, looking all fresh and healthy! It was a sunny Sunday I think. I was a bit thinner. I would like to be a bit thinner again if I see the above photo. I looked really happy. There were a lot of good things ahead, like my new job. It was an exciting time... Click here to go back to that day.
And above you can see me and Heidi exactly two years ago today on 02 June 2006! I still had back pain in my eyes back then! I am soooooo glad those days are gone! I had an operation to be afraid of back then and I always felt bad! So good to live pain free now! That makes me feel younger than I did back then! Click here to flash back to two years ago today
And above and below is the best thing about my day so far! My daughter is my joy! Look at her card! Look at the picture she made of me! That's how she sees me! That's so lovely. And check out her English writing (in a very Dutch way). It's so sweet that she tried so hard. She' made my day right when I got our of bed this morning!

HEIDI AND THE WORLD SAY:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO SARAH
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sunday 01 June 2008: It's Flashback 1st of the month at Face The Day as Sarah says bye to Markus and gets her red hoodie on again...DANCE!!!!!!!!

Heidi says: DANCE DANCE DANCE!!!!!!!

Sarah says:
Markus and I headed to Gent today for an hour or so before I took him to Brussels to catch his plane back to Germany. It was so great to get this time with him! He's a true friend! I love how you get so lucky to have certain people in your life you can go years wihout seeing and the the moment you see them it's as if no time has passed at all! That's how it felt with Markus. We just fell back into the swing of things right away. If you get to reading this Markus - I just want to say THANKS!!!! for coming! It's the best birthday gift I could have right now. I kind of needed to reconnect with an old friend. I have been longing for that. It's such a nice feeling. Damn - I was supposed to write something about the German-Jewish connection here as our inside joke but I'm uninspired! Sorry to disappoint Markus! No headlines. No mentioning of the war. Just a lot of other gushing.

Now - on to other matters...

1st of the Month FLASHBACK!!! I hope Heidi got a picture of herself today too!

That's me today above - 1 June 2008 - lenses, tired wandering eyes... a year older and more worn out...
Above you can see Heidi and me exactly a year ago on 01 June 2007... Click here if you want to know what we were up to on that day a year ago today...
And there above you can see Heidi and me decked out in red exactly two years ago today on 01 June 2006... Click here if you want to flashback to 2 years ago today...

Saturday 31 May 2007: Sarah is happy to welcome old Europe In The World buddies Markus and Ivar AND HEIDI BUILDS UP AND PARTIES!!!!!!!!

Heidi says: Our party... I can't believe how many people came and how much beer was sold!!! It was great! (except for some music that wasn't really my taste, but there were really good parts too, so we won't complain about that!) THANK YOU FOR COMING AND DANCING!!!! THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!

Sarah says:
You know how good it feels when a friend flies in just to see you! Well I'll tell you, IT FEELS GREAT!!! My old friend Markus, from my old international journalism program Europe inthe World that took place in The Netherlands and in Denmark in 1993/94, flew in from Germany for a visit because we hadn't seen each other for like 4 years and it was really time! On tope of that, Ivar, a Dutch guy from our program, met up with us for the day in Brussels! It was SOOOOO fun and such a joy to spend some time with these lovely guys again! We wandered around Brussels and ate and drank together. A perfect Saturday afternoon catching up and laughing at the same old stories and jokes we have been laughing at together and re-hashing every time we meet. We parted ways with Ivar loate in the afternoon and Markus and I headed back to Kortrijk. And after dinner, OF COURSE we went to Heidi's party! It was nice to see a lot of familiar faces and to see Heidi dancing her heart out and enjoying herself. Markus and I got tired around midnight though and headed home. I heard from my husband that the party got more and more crowded and that the music got better and better once Nico started DJing. So from what I heard, Heidi's party (with the other people from her street turning 30) was a great success! I'm pretty sure Heidi had a great time! I'm also sure she'll tell you about it all herself!

Friday 30 May 2008: TOMORROW IS THE DAY!!! EXPO 78!!!!

Sarah says:
I see you! Do you see me? I thought so!


Heidi says:
TOMORROW IS EXPO 78. BE THERE!!!!

V-TEX - PIETER DECONINCKLAAN - 8500 KORTRIJK - START AT 20H PM!!!!!!

Thursday 29 May 2008: PARTY! Where's the party at? Sarah's camera is a PARTY POOPER!!!! It has a crack on the back!!!! THIS SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sarah says:
MY CAMERA HAS A CRACK ON THE BACK SCREEN IN THE BOTTOM CORNER!!!! THIS IS THE BEGINNING OF THE END!!! THIS IS AWFUL!!! I WANT TO CRY!!! THIS IS HORRIBLE!!! MY CAMERA IS MY DAILY FRIEND; IT HAS MADE THIS BLOG FOR MORE THAN 3 YEARS!!! WAAAHHHH!



Heidi says:
PARTY! WHERE'S THE PARTY AT? PARTY PEOPLE, WHERE'S THE PARTY AT?
AT V-TEX, PIETER DECONICKLAAN, 8500 KORTRIJK ON SATURDAY 31 MAY 2008 AT 8 PM!!!!!!! EXPO 78 - EXPO 78 - EXPO 78 - EXPO 78!!!!

Have I told you yet that the design of our flyer was made by my dear sister NATHALIE GARREIN? She did a great job and we are very grateful!

Wednesday 28 May 2008: Congratulations with your birthday, Hans!!! And YIPPY for wet, sweaty armpits!!!!!!! Don't be ashamed if you have them!

Sarah says:
This picture is for any of you out there, who like I do, think they are the only ones with such sweaty armpits sometimes! Just look! Heidi has sweaty armpits too and is proud to show them! When I have them, I am always afraid to lift my arms! Shame, shame, shame! I have tried everything under the sun to control the wetness! Nothing works! Or it does, and then it stops working! Now that Heidi and I are in an office without air-conditioning, I expect we'll have wetter armpits than ever throughout the summer so watch out! So here's a message to all you sweaty people out there - Don't be ashamed of your sweaty underarms! It's really okay! Heidi sweats too! Thank you Heidi for bring this issue so many of us struggle from to the surface! One day I will get so far as to show my big, wet underarm stains in a photo on here! :-)

Heidi says:
I am not necessarily proud of my 'zweetvijvers' but I am only human, so there you have them, my sweaty armpit stains! I know it is hard to believe that I, Heidi Garrein, perfect as I am, can sweat under the arms and even have 'okselvijvels'. Don't cry now. It's not the end of the world. For the rest I am still perfect!


THIS SATURDAY: MY BIRTHDAY PARTY: EXPO 78!!! I AM TURNING 30 THIS YEAR (ONLY IN NOVEMBER) AND 3 NEIGHBOURS OF MINE ARE ALSO TURNING THIRTY THIS YEAR, SO WE DECIDED TO HAVE A PARTY! WE EXPECT DANCING AND DRINKING PEOPLE (DRINKING WISELY? THAT IS) AND NO PRESENTS, AND WE MEAN THAT!!! WE EXPECT YOU TO BE THERE!!! THE ENTRANCE IS FREE AND THE DRINKS WILL BE CHEAP AND COLD!

V-TEX - PIETER DE CONICKLAAN - 8500 KORTRIJK - 20PM - FREE PARTY!!!!

Sarah says:
Below you can see me right after hair-removal last night! It was the first time my face got so red? Things are going superbly in the bikini area and pretty well on the face too. I am so glad I decided to go through this process. It makes me feel so much better about myself not to be busy with all these hair issues from hairs growing where they shouldn't to ingrown hair and all that! That was the last session until October because you can't have hair-removal done well if you have a tan. So we'll see how it goes until October. I have the feeling the hair won't be a bother at all as it basically stays away now other than for a few new ones or too light ones that pop up from time to time. Yippy!

Tuesday 27 may 2008: Expo 78 party THIS SATURDAY!!! And Sarah's parent-in-laws are the BEST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sarah says:
GO TO HEIDI'S PARTY! EVERYONE IN THE WORLD READING THIS - GO TO HEIDI'S PARTY!! If only!!!! I just have to tell you that MY HOUSE IS A DISGUSTING DUSTY MESS!!! I am afraid to go home! My AMAZING parent-in-laws cut through a thick wall today to connect our garage to our house. At lunch I stopped in and the whole house was one pile of thick dust!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But the new opening will improve our home so much so I cannot complain!!!! I just hate dust though. I can't believe my husband's parents are willing to do this kind of messy, hard work for us. They are incredible people.


Heidi says: This Saturday, we will have a blast of a partty! But that can only happen, if you are all there! So I need you to come, drink and dance! Right. It doesn't work that way? Let's see what I can do...

Ok, here we go.
LOOK INTO MY EYES, LOOK INTO MY EYES, NOT AROUND MY EYES; LOOK INTO MY EYES! THIS SATURDAY, YOU WILL GO TO THE V-TEX IN KORTRIJK, AT 8 SHARP, AND YOU WILL DANCE AND HAVE FUN WITH ALL YOUR FRIENDS! YOU'RE BACK IN THE ROOM!

Monday 26 May 2008: New haircolour, new music, new life

Heidi says:
I have a new haircolour! Finally it's good again!
And I am starting a new stage in my life and on this blog: playing songs to bike to work! This morning: Sing sing sing from the Swingkids soundtrack. My favourite song to dance to! And also that of my friends Katrijn and Wout. We go crazy on that song! And I can now say that that is exactly what happens on the bike too! You go faster and wilder when you listen to that song! Woohoo for music!!!

Something you don't know about me, but that I have to get off my chest. I can be a real catty woman. Not meant in a good way. I can be so pissed by things like a dirty house or piles of laundry that I don't get through, so that I start to nag and go a little crazy in the head. Sometimes I see all that work in the house, and I don't find the strenghth to start doing it, because I don't know where to begin, and then I block and my humor disappears and a very bad mood takes my humor's place. You'd better not ring my doorbell at such a moment. That is another face of mine, that a lot of you people have never seen. I hope you never have to see it :). Anyway, I can't say that I can just stop being that way. I could try. But i am not good in being calm all the time. I am a stressy animal. So from now on, I call these moments my catwomanmoments. They need a name, so they get a place.
I have more catwomanmoments. I might tell you about them in later posts. You'll get to know me. Bit by bit.
OH, AND DON'T FORGET TO COME TO MY PARTY ON SATURDAY 31MAY2008 IN THE VETEX IN KORTRIJK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Sarah says:
New fan...

And new Post Secret. None caught my attention this week even though there were three for a girl named Sarah - so I went with the funny one because I think we can all agree that Carpenter's crack is very, very amusing!

Sunday 25 May 2008: De flaptest! And Sarah looks exactly the same as yesterday...

Sarah says:
Same face as ever! Uninspired. Had a great Saturday evening though - lots of fun with fun friends. Very late. I am not used to staying up so late anymore. I feel it today! I am so tired! I feel busy. And I just want to sleep for a week. Only news is that my kid camped out for the first time! Our guinea pig is very, very pregnant for sure and due mid-June, which sucks, but we can't do anything about it! And we are about to connect our house to our garage and make some other small changes such as painting our ground floor inside and re-doing the floor! This is exciting and this is what is making me feel busy.

Heidi says:
De flaptest geschiedde andermaal ten huize Haemers-Garrein. De aanwezige flaptestpanelleden proefden de flappen van bakkerij K te K. De appelflappen kregen als punten 6,75/10 toegewezen. Niet slecht, niet goed. Gewoon.
Op Overleie was het weer groot feest. De beste dansgroep trad op. De beste beenhouwerij verkocht worsten aan de beste spotprijzen. Het was de beste rommelmarkt ooit! Volgende week nog beter! Waar gaat dat naartoe???

Saturday 24 may 2008: Heidi says bla bla bla and Sarah says boo...keeping it simple...

Sarah says:
boo!

Heidi says:
bla bla bla