There's nothing you can't be

My little girl is growing up so fast.. Sometimes I still see her as the little girl she once was, but then again, I have to let go of that phantasy and come back to Earth, to see the beautiful young woman she has become.

You have changed so much in the last two years. Being in boarding school, we didn't see that much of each other as I wanted to. I'm sure we missed out on a lot of your activities and we didn't always know what kept you going.

You showed me one of your blogs you're keeping. I was truly stunned.. Wow girlie! You are truly amazing! Congratulations! There's nothing you can't be! I had a great time reading your blog and I will be a follower from now on. I'm proud of you! You are very versatile and your talents are worth mentioning: drawing, designing clothes, making great pictures, being a fashionista and a good friend..
I'm so happy to read you and the fact that you let me in to your blog world, means a lot to me. Keep it up sweetie. You're doing a great job! xxx

Photo by Eva Joos

Don't say nothing

I've been stupid again.. The first sunbeams were out yesterday and I was so in the mood to catch some warmth. So I took off my clothes, and fell asleep on the sunbed in my underwear. Ever seen a boiled lobster? Exactly.. It stings terribly. Half of my face is burnt, my upper arms , my back, my hind legs, my buttocks, calves,.. pff. I'm so stupid. Walking is painful, sitting down is painful and I can't stand the feeling of clothes on my burnt skin. Sleeping was torture for I couldn't find a good position to avoid rubbing the sore spots. I guess I'll never learn.. Will someone come and smear my body with a soothing lotion?

Then we take Berlin

I'm so sorry we are not going to be there with you, in Berlin. We have already gone to so many places together, over the 10 years we have known each other. Think of London - UK, Scheveningen - Nl, Roermond - Nl, Aachen - DE, Dortmund - DE, Maastricht - NL, Utrecht - NL, Nijmegen - NL,.. It's always a pleasure to go out with the Goose Gang! I'm a little jealous now, because all of you will be celebrating the birthday of our own Queen Mom. She's such a lucky lady, to have you as her sons. You all take care of her in the best manner possible. She's adorable and I respect her very much. She's a wise lady and she's very entertaining. It's great to see how good she takes care of herself. Her hair is always well cut, her make up neat and clean, her dresses are handmade and unique. She may be small of height, but she's a grand dame.

I wish you all a very good week in Berlin. Enjoy each other and don't forget to tell us all the juicy stories!!! And I want to see many pictures when we meet up to go to Scheveningen next month.

And mom: have a very, very happy birthday! Love from Kaprijke! xxx

A day off

If you don't work, it's not easy to say: today, I'm taking the day off! But you know what? I don't have to ask anyone to take the day off, I just do.
So my friend and I spent a great day in Bruges. She cooked me a wonderful pasta at home, before we headed off to this authentic and vivid city. It didn't take us very long to buy shoes... what did you expect? A woman cannot shop without buying shoes, right? And new shoes require a new purse and that new purse was begging for a new wallet. And the new wallet needed money to fill up the gaps. I told you there were too many days in September.
Bruges is such a lovely town. I enjoy looking at the tourists, sitting on a terrace, enjoying a perfect glass of Latte Macchiato - don't ask for Doppel Ristretto - , do some shopping. Our poor feet were worn out by the end of the afternoon. Anyway, it was time to pick up our youngest daughter. She was happy to see us and my friend was very interested in seeing her school and hear all about her teen stories.
The sun was out and we enjoyed the ride home, in the convertible. Too bad I have short hair. Having the wind blow through your hair must be a nice experience!
I'm very proud of my friend. She has bought the most wonderful dress, shoes and purse to match. She has lost quite some weight and she looked gorgeous, showing off her new outfit. You rock, girl!

Flip flops and nylons

I have talked about it before. I'm not very happy when I see men wearing white socks in sandals. They are becoming more rare. Do you think women tell their husbands it's not done, or did they finally realise it themselves?

In Morocco, I didn't see any white socked sandals. But what I did see, was even more ridiculous: nylons in flip flops!!! Many Moroccan women wear nylons in flip flops on the beach. Some of them even manage to wear regular socks in flip flops. Unheard of... It was kind of tricky to take pictures of it, because Moroccan women do not really like their picture to be taken by strangers. Right away, they hide their faces. So I didn't disturb them. But it makes me smile whenever I think of this Arabic habit.

Shake your booty

She's growing up and she thinks she's 16. But she's only a sweet 14. It takes her 45 min to get showered and to blow dry her hair. She takes good care of herself and treats every pimple that appears on her pretty face. She manicures her nails, dances to keep in shape, shaves her legs and doesn't overeat. Her feet are way too big for her slender body shape, so she needs high heels, even if they are not that high. She shakes her booty when we go to town. Every shop window has seen her reflection as she takes a glance to check her looks..

A little bird told me she's in love. She's had a boyfriend for a couple of months now and they are very close. But she's also a teenager and she falls in love all the time.

She will date several boys before she finds Mr Right Guy. I hope he will deserve her..

Love handles

I have never liked skinny men. One time, I even broke up with a very nice man, because.. he was too skinny. He had no love handles. He had no bum. He had no body. 

I like my husband's body. It's soft and just right. Okay, he has some love handles, but they don't bother me at all. I think it's rather sweet.. He's not overweight at all. He has the perfect weight for his height and he's a sports man. He likes to play tennis, he rides his bike, he runs. He's in good shape. He's nearly 42 but his body doesn't look 42. I think I'm a lucky woman.

Manscaping

Today, some "manscaping" needs to be done, in order to look presentable again. It's not my favorite pastime but once in a while, a girl needs to get freshened up and some waxing has to be done. Yikes! I hate it when they pluck your eyebrows. It's like someone is using a nailclipper to cut into your forehead. It always leaves me all teared up and then I feel like a cry baby. But I hear your eyes automatically tear up when you have your eyebrows waxed. I know I don't like it and I'd rather not do it. To be vain, you have to bear pain, Elizabeth Hurley once said. I tend to believe her.  

Once the eyebrows are in better shape, it's time for the upper lip to be waxed. I know I will feel a lot more secure when I have a smooth upper lip, but once again, it's painful. Do men have their upper lip waxed? Maybe they should try it, over shaving, and see what result they get. I like it, when men have smooth skin and shave well. The holiday beard is not my cup of tea. Either you shave or you don't. Beards are not done. Period. 

Don't you think men are sexy when they had a shower, a sharp razor shave and put fragrance on?