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!

United Nations Program

The kids had lots of fun at the United Nations Program that their school hosted on Wednesday October 21st. Leanna represented the country of Argentina from the continent of South America thus we chose a nice fru fru dress that of course showed her belly (that was her idea by the way) complete with a head piece that had some fruits on it. She looked so cute in it but she did not wear it the whole time because she was complaining that it hurt her head. Leon represented the country of the United Kingdom from the continent of Europe and he was dressed as a gladiator (an outfit from the old school, but that's what he wanted to wear)!! Both of their costumes were custom made for them but we rented them as they will not be wearing them again.

Leanna was the co-emcee of the event so that is why you will see pictures of her on the stage with one of the teachers. We practiced for 5 days straight on her memorizing her script and she did a wonderful job. She spoke well and she did it loud and slowly. Both Leon and Leanna did a hip-hop number along with their classmates and the grand finale was "Heal the World" by Michael Jackson complete with hand movements. They both did a wonderful job and I am so proud of them.

For more pictures go to: http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/creativeapps/slideShow/Main.jsp?token=478869247113%3A202884534

Festival Supermall

Wow, it's been a while since I posted a post on here!! That tells you how busy I am with the kids. They just had their program today at SM City Clark and performed a United Nations event that I will post pictures on soon. These pictures are of our outing at Festival Supermall in Alabang which is about an hour away from Manila. The kids had a lot of fun there in which they played a lot of video games, rode a water ride at Pixie Forest as well as raced against each other at the race track. It was a great time and as usual I love to see them laugh and have fun. Here are the rest of the pictures: http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/creativeapps/slideShow/Main.jsp?token=322559237113%3A9179630

First day of dieting and exercise

I feel good today! I started my exercises and meal plan. I have cut all the fatty foods and sugar from my diet as well as the white rice and white potatoes and have switched to whole grain breads. I have been drinking a lot of tea and water and flushing my system out. I'm kinda feeling the burn in my muscles from my workout this morning but that is expected since I haven't worked out in over two months. I did about 15-20 minutes of jump roping to start my workout and afterwards I did a bodyweight workout which included squats, mountain climbers, walking lunges, pushups and step ups. After that I did ab exercises which included lying leg thrusts, reverse crunches, ab bicycles, alternating crunches, bench crunches and abdominal vacuums. I really want to start going to the gym to do weight training as that will really propel my fat loss and belly reduction but the gym is too far away!!! I can't wait to get a car so I can drive there. I'll keep everyone updated of my progress.

Technical Difficulties

Thanks to Joan who notified me of the links to the pictures. They were not opening up the pictures as they should. I checked it out and found out the problem. You should be able to click on the links and view the pictures with no problems now. Please let me know if anyone is still having difficulty viewing them. Thanks and enjoy!!

A decision to start eating healthy & loose my belly fat!!!

It is so difficult to find a good gym where I live!!!! I don't know if it's because there are not that many people here that want to exercise and stay fit or if it's just that gym's are just not as popular here. Whatever it is I am not going to let that stop me from being healthy and loose my belly fat. It is a must that I need to do this for myself. The people here in the Philippines love to eat food and the food consists of a lot of sweets which of course is not good for you as well as a lot of meat. I've been doing a lot of research on the internet and I have compiled a few pointers that I will be following. Here they are:

1.) KEY: Reduce and maintain a low body fat percentage

2.) For women we need to get at 16%-19% body fat to bring out our abs (six pack here I come)!!!

3.) Three points that will aide you in loosing body fat 1.) Positive mindset 2.) Dietary Habits (eat good nutritious meals) 3.) Physical (take action) and do the right moves to loose that belly

4.) Foods with high Glycemic Index (GI) - white rice, white bread, white potatoes, corn flakes, crispy rice cereals, ice cream, bananas, cooked carrots, candy, cakes, & anything else that has low fiber

5.) Foods with low GI - dairy products, most fruits & vegetables, whole unrefined grains, sweet potatoes, barley, beans & other high fiber foods

6.) The more fiber you have in your food the slower the blood sugar responses to that food, look for products that contain 1.5-2 grams of fiber per each 10 grams of total carbohydrates

7.) Get grass fed meat & wild fish & free range chicken or organic and/or free range meats

8.) Unprocessed & natural IS HEALTHY!!!!

9.) Two EVILS - 1.) High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS): sodas, breakfast syrups, fruit juices, ketchup, sweetened cereals, cakes, cookies, pasta sauces, barbeque sauces, & salad dressings. HFCS's are lipogenic which mean they promote fat storage, our body doesn't recognize it so it does nothing to satisfy our appetite. Look for products that use natural un-processed sweeteners like raw honey, molasses or organic maple syrup, DO NOT use artificial sweeteners. 2.) Trans Fats: soybean, corn & cottonseed oils. Trans fats are created through artificial hydrogenation. Look for oils that say "unrefined", "virgin", or "extra virgin" on the label. Butter is better than margarine.

10.) Green tea, oolong tea & white tea aide in fat loss, drink them!!! If you want some sweetness to it add some honey.

Those are just some of the tips I learned but if you incorporate the above you will definitely see some improvement in your well being. I've made a choice to start being healthy and living healthy and I can't wait to see how I progress in the next couple of months. I haven't exercised since I've been here and all of that is going to change. Stay tuned to my progress!!!!

My outing at Nail Couture

This is a new nail place in the area called Nail Couture. They had lovely decor so I had to take pictures of the place. The pedicure was ok but when it came down for them to do the nail art on my big toes they lost a lot of points! They did it via digital art which is not what I am used to. Usually in the states they do it manually with different colored nail polish and special tools. Here they strapped my foot down and inserted my whole foot in the machine for the machine to sort of spray paint this image on my toe. They tried twice and it did not come out right. I was loosing my patience so the last time they did it I just kept what they had done. Anyway, enjoy the pictures!!!

http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/creativeapps/slideShow/Main.jsp?token=818388817113%3A1347193791

Manicure & Massage - Php 700, A nice meal out - Php 500, Being able to spend time with my kids and help them with their studies - PRICELESS!!!

As I look at the past month or so that we've been here in the Philippines I can't help but to be thankful for the opportunity to be here and really spend quality time with my family. It's an experience like no other and it's something that I know will definitely have an impact in the kids' future. I was not able to spend half the time that I spend with the kids now when we lived in the states. It was work from 7-5, get home, cook dinner, get the kids cleaned up and then off to bed they go by 8. Now I am able to sit with the kids without feeling rushed and am able to spend the time that they need to enhance their studies and help them out with homework and with Leanna help her with her reading and writing skills. I am not short tempered as I was before and I am able to focus solely on them which I can see they appreciate that. Leon is 8 and Leanna is 7. The years have gone by really fast and I want to be there for them at an early age to set the foundation. As I mentioned having this time with them is truly priceless, try it for yourself and then you will know what I mean!!!

Leanna's 7th Birthday

Leanna celebrated her birthday on Tuesday September 29, 2009. I can't believe how fast my baby is growing up. She turned 7 years old, 7 more years and she'll be 14, yikes!!!! We had a party for her at her school which included feeding 46 students and a staff of 12 employees. We had gotten her cake at Sweet n' Fancy which included a nice big 3-D size picture of her a well as a number 7 on her cake. She had a fantastic time and loved all the presents she got from her friends. The kids enjoyed their chicken and rice from Jollibee and of course the teachers were very appreciative of the chicken, burger steak and rice that we had gotten for them. The cake was yummy and as you can see from the pictures we did not have a lot left. Happy 7th Birthday Leanna and may you have many more to come!!! More pictures at : http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/creativeapps/slideShow/Main.jsp?token=528388817113%3A656816634

Hong Kong Trip September 2009

Our trip to Hong Kong was great!!! We arrived on Friday September 18th and stayed until Monday the 21st. There were definitely a lot of people and a lot of walking that we had to do. The city was very pretty and very clean despite all the people there. We did a lot of shopping and sightseeing and just spent some good quality time with each other. We plan on taking the kids during Christmas break this year to Disney Land so they have that to look forward to.

Click on the following link to view more pictures of our trip to Hong Kong:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=3186ylo1.35tkpb1t&x=0&y=-xhg38x&localeid=en_US

Typhoon Pepeng Watch

It's Sunday morning and I'm glad to say that Typhoon Pepeng did not affect us that much. We had some rain but other than that we did not experience any power outages or trees falling like last time. I was in Manila yesterday and surprisingly they did not get hit either as they had expected. So we are all safe and I am happy about that. It should be the end of rainy season pretty soon and it will dry up here and the weather will be summer like so it's going to be really hot. October through around January or February is their summer season and after that it should cool down a bit. Meanwhile, my friends and family in Houston will experience fall and winter and it will get cold there. That is one thing about Houston that I will not miss. I do not like the cold weather at all so being here in the Philippines is ideal for me. If anyone wants to visit me during winter break I'll be here relaxing!!

Pictures of the kids first day of school

I'm happy to say that the kids have started school at Brighter Kids Learning Academy. Their first day was on September 9th about a week after we moved here. Getting them enrolled was a number one priority for us as the school year here started in June. They missed the first quarter of classes so they are enrolled in remedial classes to catch up. School is from 7:30 - 12:30 but with remedial classes they are there until 2:30. They will do that for about a month and they will get re-tested again to see where they stand and if needed will continue the classes depending on where they have a shortfall.

Leon & Leanna both like their school and they have met a lot of friends in just a short time. I will soon post the pictures from Leanna's birthday party and you will see that everyone is friendly and are really excited they have "American" friends. The kids are getting adjusted to the language barrier as well as I am since I do not speak the language fluently. They study Filipino in school so that is a plus and as I help them study for that subject I'm learning it too!!

For more pictures go to: http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=3186ylo1.3gm96qb5&x=0&y=vt8f2n&localeid=en_US & http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=3186ylo1.9eq0e2x5&x=0&y=-qk2uu0&localeid=en_US

Pictures of our apartment in the Philippines

A picture of a palm tree looking out our front door of our apartment. To view all photos of our apartment click on the link below:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=3186ylo1.6fm4azyh&x=0&y=-20l8x2&localeid=en_US

We moved to the Philippines!!!!

September 1st 2009 is the day we moved to the Philippines. Me (Anna), my husband (Levar), and my two children (Leon & Leanna). That is where I got the name of our blog, our first initials and of course "inthepi" meaning "in the Philippines", so "alllinthepi"!!! It was something I just thought up of in the spur of the moment and after numerous attempts at other names and all of them being taken I had to be a little creative!! Well we are finally here. A lot of people didn't believe we were going to make the move but here we are. The decision was easy to make but the hard part was actually going through it. Moving our things and starting fresh all over again. Not to mention getting used to a new place, especially for my husband and the kids as they've never been here. I've had to get adjusted as well since the last time I was here was back in 1991, in which I must say a lot has changed. I've had to leave my family back in the U.S. as well as work colleagues and friends. A lot of people have been asking how are they going to keep in touch with me since I'm so far away so I've decided to create this blog to create sort of a journal of our life here and to post pictures so people can see what a beautiful place the Philippines is and what the lifestyle is like. I hope everyone enjoys it and hopefully people will come and visit me here!!