Happy New Year's

As the year is coming to a close I have spent some time reflecting on the past year and what lies ahead for the new year. We have accomplished a lot this past year including making a major move to the Philippines and we have a lot more to do as we make our life here.

I am very fortunate to have an incredible husband who has supported us and is working hard for us to provide us everything we need here. He is my best friend and I love him very much!! I am also thankful for my two wonderful kids who keep me going every day and are there as a constant reminder of why we are doing what we are doing, for them so they could have a better future. I am also very thankful for my two loving parents back in the states for they have paved the way for me and provided and took care of me when I was younger. Without them I would not be or live the life that I have now and for that I am truly grateful. I also thank my sister Maria as she is my best friend and I miss her so much. She just got a new job as a manager at a bank so I congratulate her and wish her the best, I know she will do well. Lastly, my mom here in the Philippines who has provided her unending love to me and my family.

As for resolutions, I haven't really made a list of the things I want to accomplish but I do have goals from earlier this year that I created before we moved to the Philippines. It's a work in progress and it always changes as once I have accomplished something then I add something else. Health wise I have done real well in reducing my belly which I had really wanted to work on so now it's all about maintaining that which I definitely am going to do.

Well, so long 2009, here we come 2010. To all my friends and family Happy New Year and everyone enjoy the new year to come!!!

Christmas party at Brighter Kids

The sun was in our eyes

Posing in front of the school tree

Leon

Leanna

Brighter Kids Learning Center

The kids enjoyed the school Christmas party. I haven't posted the pictures so here they are. It was held on the last day of school before they took their break. They had exchanged gifts with each other. It was also catered by McDonald's so they had a lot of fun with games and friendships!!

More pictures

Sweet Leanna

My daughter Leanna is getting so big. I can't believe just 4 months ago when we moved here her handwriting skills were not that great plus she could barely read!! Now she is able to write really well and read a short book all by herself. The pictures you see are of a sweet note Leanna wrote for me as well as a note and a little breakfast she had prepared herself. She is so sweet, when she wants to be:)

I'm officially a Philippine citizen

After months and months of waiting for this we finally got our dual citizenship papers!!! Yeah!! We got mine, Leon & Leanna's but I have only attached pictures of mine and Leanna's as Leon's certificate had an error on it and they had to fix it.

As a Philippine citizen I can now vote as well as own land and do all the other things that a Philippine citizen can do. Congratulations me!! Our next task: to get Levar's visa which will be another long waiting period!

Santos-Ocampo Wedding Invitation

Yet again it's been a long time since I blogged. I have been busy with the kids' Christmas party last Friday and with them being off of school for two weeks it's been hectic around here. I can't believe tomorrow is Christmas Eve and by next week this time it will be a new year!!

Kuya Dong (aka Peter Alain Santos, my cousin) will be getting married in less than 3 weeks, January 10th to be exact. I have posted his invitations for his wedding. Notice the principal sponsors page, there are over 40 people listed, now that's a lot of sponsors!! I will be filling in as a bridesmaid but am not listed on the invitation as it was printed before they knew I was going to fill in. Leanna is going to be the flower girl and is listed on the invitation. Also, Leon may be the coin bearer as well but it's still up in the air. I will definitely post pictures of the wedding too!

Mammang Lou's & Kuya Dong's newly renovated place

Mammang Lou & Kuya Dong in the dining area

In the living room area

My favorite piece in the house - the bamboo!

Kuya Dong is putting the final touches to his newly renovated home and it looks great. They had started with renovating the back house where the boarders used to stay and converted it into a nice and bigger room for Mama Josie, a spacious living area complete with a bar and an entertainment area, along with a dining and kitchen area with a refrigerator.

For Kuya Dong's place he made the living room bigger and added some nice wood cabinet pieces that he uses throughout the entire house. My favorite thing in the house though is the bamboo that he uses in one of the cabinets as well as the one he uses as as a divider to the outside patio that he built which is attached to his room. This little room that he added will have a table and he added a green light so at night time him and his wife can enjoy the fresh breeze and a nice romantic dinner. The wind from the outside actually comes into the house and circulates through the house and is used for ventilation as well. Kuya Dong even added a drain in the room so that when it rains the water can drain out.

Well hope you guys like the place like I do. He did a good job and only did so in about 2 months time:)

MORE PICTURES

Happy Andrada's Fashion Show

Well we had a blast this past weekend at the Fashion Show Leanna was in. It was her first job and we are all so proud of her. She did a great job and she featured two pieces from Happy's 60 piece girls collection. Call time was at 12:30 p.m. and the show started at 5 p.m.

Viva, Happy's sister read an excerpt from a book she had written. After that there was a magician that did his act. He was both funny & talented. He even picked Leon to be his volunteer for the first act in which he made balls disappear. Then they had a children's choir that sang beautifully. They had a birthday cake for Happy as she was celebrating her birthday too!!

It was a long day but a fun filled day. The venue they had it at was nice too. It was at Shangri La Plaza Mall and if you know anything about Shangri La it is high end. They had a Gucci store, Tiffany & Co. & other high end stores. It was a really nice place, even Leon asked me "Mommy, how come they don't have fun stuff for kids to do here"? Enjoy the pictures!

PICTURES OF HAPPY ANDRADA'S FASHION SHOW

Here's a video which I couldn't download here but was able to download it on Facebook. It's of Leanna walking down the runway in her Hippie inspired tube dress. Her first outfit she wore for the night.

VIDEO OF LEANNA WALKING DOWN THE RUNWAY

Pictures from the field trip

The kids had a fun time but there was an incident with Leanna. Apparently she was following a boy named Jericho (her crush) on the monkey bars and was not listening to Gerlie or her teachers and she let go of the monkey bars and fell on her face!! She had a big bump on her forehead and scratches on her nose. Her nose was bleeding also. They had not taken many pictures after the incident as Gerlie had to keep an extra eye on her after that. Luckily they applied makeup up on her at her fashion show the next day:) Overall she's ok though and we also had a god time at the fashion show!!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!!!

I heard it snowed in Houston so I changed my blog page to reflect that. Plus it will remind me that it is in fact winter because it sure doesn't feel like that here! Most of my life I've associated winter, Christmas and the holiday time to be cold. Now that we're here in the Philippines with me wearing flip flops, dresses and shorts every day, it's a change of pace for me:) Don't get me wrong though, if I could choose to be here or there it would have to be here because I despise the cold weather. I'd rather just see the cold then be in the cold and that is why I changed my page, isn't it cute? Well Houston, enjoy the cold weather without me!!

Leon & Leanna's Field Trip

The kids had a field trip today. They had originally scheduled this field trip back in September but were not able to go due to Pepeng. They had to meet at the school 6 a.m. this morning and will not be returning until 5 p.m. tonight so they have a full day ahead of them and I have a full day to myself! Of course I've planned my usual massage and this time will also get a green tea facial along with a manicure & pedicure:)

The places they are going to visit today:

• Paradise Ranch (Butterfly Garden, Aviary, International Garden, Cave, Hiking, Sight Seeing & Tribal Presentation)
• Zoocobia Fun Zoo (Birds of Paradise, Philippines Pride, The Barn, It's a Small World, Garden Maze)
• Air Force Park (with FREE ice cream)
• Fire Station, Police Station, Parish Church
• Bicentennial Park, Coca Cola Bottling Corp., Kyungshin Hospital (Hmm, that sounds like a Chinese name, probably is!)

What fun! I'm sure they will have a blast. I've asked Gerlie to take lots of pictures so I'll post them upon their return!!

Sorry, didn't realize I never posted the pictures for the field trip. Thanks to the anonymous person who commented and said they wanted to see more pictures. Here they are:

Field Trip Pictures

Pictures from the kids party

The party yesterday was a success. A lot of happy kids that enjoyed a nice time with Leon & Leanna. Of course there was a lot of cleaning up to do afterwards but was expected as we had a lot of people in our place. It lasted until 9 p.m. at night as we had Ake's family come later on and fed them dinner. We had a lot of pancit left so we sent them home with some too. We also sang karaoke so we had some fun times. Enjoy the pics and make sure you read the captions!

Party Pictures

Getting ready for the kids party

I spent the day today preparing for the kids party tomorrow , Sunday November 30 from 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. We are inviting a total of 12 children, 6 boys and 6 girls from the neighborhood. I forgot that here in the Philippines when you invite the children of course you have to invite the parents too:) I made giveaways for all the children and also made an agenda of things that we are going to do. Leanna will have a spa party which will include a facial, manicure & pedicure and to top that off makeup and hair done. Leon will be playing different games with his friends like badminton, jump rope and jacks. In addition we will be singing karaoke and watching a movie. The kids are going to have so much fun I can't wait!

For the food Leanna and her friends will be having sandwiches with chips & biscuits and Leon will be having hotdogs with chips and biscuits and for dessert yummy fruit salad. The adults will be having pancit, asado, cornbeef and rice. I won't be eating any of it but I'm sure it will be yummy!!

Look for pictures soon of the rocking party we're having tomorrow!

Comment Section

I fixed my comment section on my blog so family and friends please feel free to leave your comments. Thanks!

Leana's first job

The invitation

Front

Back

Leanna in the Christmas inspired dress

This past Saturday I took Leanna back to Manila to get her DOLE (Department of Labor and Employment) permit for the fashion show she is going to be in next Saturday December 5th. My baby has her first job!! When we were there she tried on the outfits she is going to wear and of course I took some pictures:) I only took a picture of one outfit but she has another one she is wearing too. Happy has a nice studio with a lot of fashionable clothes that are very trendy and colorful. On top of that don't you just love her name too? Her sisters name is Viva, that's a cool name too! Her line for the girls are very cute as well. One of the pics I took of Leanna was a Christmas inspired dress which looked so cute on her. Happy suggested wearing one of those underskirts during the fashion show to make it look more fluffier. I can't wait for the fashion show, it's going to be so exciting!!

MORE PICTURES

I'm sad:(

I just found out that Mimi will not be coming in January to visit as planned nor Levar will be coming in December as planned. The tickets are just too expensive in December as it is the holidays and every one and their mommas are traveling around that time!! The quotes on the tickets were $2,000 plus which is just ridiculous. Levar figures just waiting a couple of weeks, if he leaves in the beginning of January, the tickets will only be around $1,100. Mimi was supposed to go with him but she now has decided to just come in March. She wants to spend time with the kids so they will be out of school then.

It seems like a long time but I guess the time has gone by fast thus far, what's a month and a half more? We'll see, I guess I just need to make some friends here but even that is hard as I don't go out that often. When I do go out it's only to SM Hypermarket to get groceries and if the kids need anything for school I get that too. But I do keep myself busy at home, sometimes I think where does the time go?

My Kettlebell

8 kg. Kettlebell

Side view of my stomach after 3 weeks of working out

A lot of people have been asking me how and what I use to work out. Since there's not a nice gym close by I can't attend a gym so I've opted for the kettlebell. I did some research over the internet and the kettlebell is a total body workout. It's known as the handheld gym because you get all of the benefits of going to the gym except you don't have to. You get cardio and weight benefits which are the two essentials for loosing weight. I chose a 8 kg. ball which is just right for me. I do about 15-20 minutes of exercises with it along with some bodyweight exercises after that. Then I do 5-10 minutes of ab exercises to complete my workout and voila, I'm done. I do this 3-4 times and week. Add to that me eating healthy and I have a winning combination. With the kettlebell there are tons of different variations you can do. For more exercises I just looked it up on YouTube and it showed me how to do them too!!! Hope this helps everyone wanting to workout but can't either due to the fact that they can't join a gym or the fact that they don't have the time to work out. If you take 30 minutes to an hour of your day to work on YOU then you will feel and look different!!!

Baptismal

Cutie Steven Nash

Kuya Dong's driver, Ake, had a baptismal for his son that we attended last Sunday. The little boy's name is Steven Nash and he is 6 months old. Gerlie was one of the Ninang's. They had a lot of other baptismals that day (I think about 20 more) so it was quite a lengthy process, boy was it hot in the church!! Afterwards, they invited us to their place for a celebration which included food, karoke and just good times. The kids had a lot of fun playing with their new friends. We'll probably have a get together with the kids soon as Leanna wanted to invite them over for a spa day.

Steven Nash's Baptismal Pictures

The death of Chicken Little

I'm sad to report that our beloved pink chicken little passed away this morning:( I was awoken by Leanna at 5:15 a.m. with her coming into my rooming and crying hysterically. She was really saddened as she really loved that chick. I had a conversation with her that all living things have to die and that it was the chick's time to go. It was followed by "but it's just a baby, it didn't grow up yet"!! I consoled her and let her know that when she comes home from school today we will bury it and have a little ceremony for it. She will write a few words and read it aloud during the ceremony. She couldn't stop crying the whole morning before going to school (poor baby)!! I also let her know that she probably took care of it too much. She fed it a lot, picked it up and cuddled it a lot, and even gave it a bath and sprayed perfume on it! Here are the pictures. R.I.P. Bubblegum!

My 28th birthday!!!

Yeah, it was my birthday today and it was enjoyed with the ones I love, at least those that live in the Philippines:) My dear husband and my sister was not with me today but they did call me and wished me a Happy Birthday!! Mimi was the first one to call me right at 12 midnight like she always does every year!! She always wants to be the first one to greet me. Followed by husband and his rendition of the "Happy Birthday" song. I also got calls from the Tiongco family, thanks Atching Joy, Mammang, Pappang, Kuya Norman, Naleen & Noreen, I love you guys!!! Then I also spoke with Atching Aurea, I miss you too!!!

We invited the Santos family (Mammang Lou, Uncle Rudy and Kuya Dong) for dinner in which we had pancit, macaroni salad, pork chops and rice. Thanks mom for cooking!! It was really yummy!! For desert I made fruit salad to accompany my cake from Goldilocks (Black Forest). I had a tiny piece but it was yummy. I gave the neighbors some, Reyza & Shay (the maid's at Mammang's place) then we gave the rest to a family of 6 down the street.

I then opened my presents from the kids and Mammang. Mammang got me two cute dresses (that you wear with tights). Thanks Mammang, they are cute!! Gerlie also made me a nice card. I'd also like to thank Mimi. She deposited some money in my account so that I can enjoy a day at the spa, which I will be taking advantage of on Tuesday. I plan to get a hot stone massage, green tea facial, manicure, pedicure, and wax on my eyebrows, upper lip, and under arms. Sorry, did I describe too much? Anyway, overall I had a great day and am just so glad I was in the presence of the ones I love. Here's to another great year of health and happiness:)

More pics!!

Leanna got accepted to be in a fashion show

I'm very excited to say that Leanna got accepted to be in a kids fashion show on December 5th from famed fashion designer Happy Andrada!!! She attended the go-see this past Saturday in Manila and she had to walk down a runway and then show them 5 different poses. Although Leanna was still sleepy from the ride she managed to show them what she got. I actually had her go up there again because the 1st time she was just not that into it but the second time she did better. I got the text yesterday that she got accepted so we are all very excited. Leanna has a great personality and she loves to entertain so this is perfect for her!! I will definitely post the pictures from the show in December.

Fontana Waterpark

WOW!! I just realized that I hadn't posted anything since the end of October. That just tells you how much I'm into blogging:) Anyway, these pictures were taken when we went to the water park called Fontana on Monday November 2, 2009. It's located in Clark which was the old Clark Air Force Base about 15 minutes from here. It's a nice park, not that many choices though for rides. They just had a big wave pool, a huge slide and a lazy river that went around the whole park. For the kiddies they had a pirate themed play area and another little area. Still in all we had lots of fun and seeing the smiles on the kids faces is the best part. Enjoy the pics!!

Fontana Water Park Pics

Costume Party

The kids were off of school on Friday but they did have a costume party where we were able to enjoy some fun, food and games. Leanna was a purple fairy princess and Leon was a ninja. At the party they had a cotton candy stand and even a magician. Of course there was a lot of food!! Also, there was a guy selling colored baby chickens and Leanna decided she wanted to get the pink one. I'm not sure how long it's going to last but it's chirp is so loud that it hurts my ears. It stays outside in the back though and it likes to eat rice. She's so excited about her new pet, we'll see how long that lasts:)

Here are more pics: http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/creativeapps/slideShow/Main.jsp?token=931074847113%3A305071922

I miss my sister

Isn't she pretty?

It was girls night out

It's only been two months and I miss her already. Even though we talk everyday, it's still not the same. We have never been separated more than two weeks at a time, that was when I took a trip to the Philippines last August. Little did I know that we were going to move here a year later! She truly has been the best sister. Even though we had a lot of fights growing up, thinking back now I don't even remember what they were about but obviously it was about petty stuff. This is what I remember about my sister when we were growing up:

• always being in trouble, she was blamed for everything even though I may have done it
• she had the worst set of teeth ever!!
• Mom used to always dress us the same so a lot of people thought we were twins (remember those blue jean jumpers with the alphabets on them?)
• spilling a whole bag of sugar in the kitchen and paying for it later
• putting a toothbrush down the drain (it wasn't mine though)
• her dancing to "Like a Virgin" by Madonna
• hiding bathing suits in our books (I don't know how we did that) and told mom and dad we were going to study but we went swimming instead
• being real mad at each other, we sat across from each other throwing pennies at each other from a jar
• her being scared of herself when she looked in the mirror
• being there when I got my period, she was so excited for me while I on the other hand was not enthused
• staying up late and just having girl talks, we talked about anything and everything
• always available and willing to watch the kids (if she wasn't busy with something else)
• loving the kids like her own (she seriously thinks Leon is hers though)!!
• following each other from bank to bank (you know what I mean Mimi)
• taking care of me when I'm sick, bringing medicine and cooking lelot

The list goes on and on. I am truly lucky to have a sister like her. She is a strong woman who I know will soon have a family of her own and be really happy. She has done a great job putting herself through school and working hard and I know she will soon find that dream job that she's been looking for, it's only a matter of time. I love my sister!