Our Very Own

This was a special project (thanks Chin Kar!) I was working on some months ago, shooting the images that go into this book of stories celebrating adoptive families. I am so touched by the families I've met and shot for this project. Their love for their adopted children are so genuine I never would have guess that they are not their own flesh and blood. Quoting one of the families - they may not be related by blood but they are bounded by love.

Too sweet! <3 Makes me tear... now pass me the tissue!

Here are some of my favourite shots from the shoots, do go to The Studio Loft's facebook page for the rest of the images.

All Aboard!

Myself and 39 other bloggers were lucky enough to be selected by OMY for a half-day ship tour onboard the Royal Caribbean ship - Legends of the Sea, as part of a contest where we could win the grand prize of a 7D5N western mediterranean fly-cruise!

I was looking forward to catching up with my fellow blogger friends whom have also made it into this contest. Namely Eunice, Edmund and Walter. You can go to their blogs to read their far more detailed posts on this ship-venture we had :) Unfortunately we were split into 4 different groups and I was separated from the three of them. This forced me to make new friends! They were the cheeky newlyweds, Benjamin & Michelle, the Keropok man, bubbly young girl Peimin, the personal trainer Lionel (i think if this diet of mine is not going anywhere, i will require his services!), food blogger Catherine, Lynn, and Peggy. Everyone was SOOO young! I felt like an aunty amongst them.

Being the photographer, everyone thinks you'll be snapping 8G worth of pictures but I didn't want to show what you can already find on Royal Caribbean's website so in this post are some "alternative" photos of my little trip onboard the ship taken and edited with my humble iPhone.

Roman and nautical themed decorations/artifacts/paintings were present throughout the vessel.


To be truthful, my mother-in-law goes on a cruise at least once every few months so I've come to associate cruise holidays with the older generation. But after being on this ship tour, I've changed my mindset somewhat. Here's one important thing I found out - all your meals are taken care of, included with your cruise ticket. Not only buffets but fine dining in a proper restaurant too! You can use any/all of the facilities onboard at your whim. I particularly liked that you could leave your little ones in the "day-care" while you enjoy a swim, a movie or perhaps a spa treatment. Here are some of the facilities available onboard:

Rock-climbing wall
Outdoor pool
4 whirlpools / jacuzzis
Indoor/outdoor pool in a Solarium with a sliding roof
9-hole miniature golf course
Beautiful glass-walled dining rooms
Themed bars and lounges
Centrum, an open atrium featuring shopping and more
Adventure Ocean® youth facilities
Casino
Day Spa and Fitness Center

We also got a chance to check out the rooms onboard. The more luxurious rooms like the one and only Royal Suite can rival any 6 star hotel rooms on land, maybe even better because this room had a baby grand piano in it!!!



The luxurious sheets used, I can only imagine the threadcount in this sheet!


While we were ooo-ing and aaa-ing at the room, we suddenly noticed that the guests (a friendly indian couple) who booked this room were already sitting in the living area of the suite! They must be wondering what we were doing taking pictures of their suite :p Thankfully they were friendly and not upset by the disturbance :p We quickly took our leave and proceeded to lunch.

I was impressed when we walked past this room which had streamers and banners hanging from the ceiling that screamed Happy Birthday! It was a guest's birthday and they actually decorated his room, nice touch of service.


Then the highlight of the tour was a wonderful lunch in the two-tier glass-walled Romeo and Juliet dining room.



yummy shrimp ravioli!




Thanks again to OMY and Royal Caribbean for organising this contest, I had a great time :) If you my readers are considering a fuss free vacation, why not book a cruise with Royal Caribbean? I guarantee you it's not just for old folks ;)

Gabriel Mendes family shoot

After your kid is past 2 years old, I recommend an annual photoshoot for the family :) This has been my practise for the past 3 years and this year, we decided to go with Gabriel Mendes. He is a wedding photographer who loves shooting families but the main reason I chose him was because he's also a parent of 2 cheeky boys (and one more on the way!) and I figured he would be most able to tackle my two boys :D I met Gabriel in a photography workshop in Sydney last year and we have been talking about getting this shoot done since then and finally we did it a day after Dylan started school and on my 11th "go steady" anniversary with Erwin.

Here are the pictures! (I tweaked the colours for a few of them hope you don't mind :p) Thanks Gabriel for the shoot! Love love love the first shot above, will have it printed on canvas in a square crop!

Halloween with the 3 witches of The Studio Loft

It's been awhile since we had our own studio sessions. Here's one we did just for fun. We used to have these crew shoots more often when Dylan was around, now that he has started school, we got lazy :p But we will definitely be doing this more often from now on.

Happy Halloween everyone!

A major investment

This morning, I made one of the biggest decision of my adult life (besides getting married, having my first child, starting a business etc), I bought a SOHO!

Although it's a few years away from completion, it could be my future studio, a place for the kids to enjoy condominium facilities, or even a place I rent out. Who knows? It's still some time away to think of it all but as of now, I am pretty happy and excited with my purchase :) "Mummy, how are you going to carry home the new house?" Kayden asked when we told him that we bought a new place *LOL!* My precocious 5 year old!

It's a studio unit with a loft - The Studio Loft! Haha how apt right? Click links to view the property from ground level and the loft area. It's so lovely :)

The baby has left the nest

It's official, the small one has taken flight. He started school more than a month ago and has been doing great so far. Teachers says he's attentive and interested and eats well too! What more can we ask for? He turns 2years 4months today but already at this age he is far more advanced in social and linguistic skills than his gor gor was at the same age. Not that we are comparing but Dylan always surprises us with the things he can do and say rather than the things he can't. We feel fortunate that he has adapted so easily to school but I do miss him a lot in the studio :( It's different without him around, our in house model/guinea pig.



At this age, he has a terrible temper though! Often, his brother will bear the brunt of his angry assults. When frustrated or when he doesn't get what he wants, this small thing will hit his brother and sometimes even me or his daddy. It's getting to the point where we have to bring out the cane or use the thinking chair to make him stop. On the flip side, he is also very loving! When I fell asleep on the couch the other day, tired from work, he crept up to my cheek and planted two kisses on me :) When gor gor cries for whatever reason (which is quite often!), he will take a tissue to him and say, "Gor Gor don't cry." then give him a hug. He is also very clever in manipulating your emotions. When he sees you getting angry with him, he will quickly put on the sweetest smile and say, "Sorry mummy!". Darn this little rascal! As his daddy put it, he can commit murder and get away with it.

I think the best part of sending him to school is when I pick him up from school. He sees you at the door and flashes you the brightest and happiest grin before exclaiming as he runs to you joyfully with a loud, "MUMMEEEEE!!!". Awww :)

I am not pregnant, I am fat

Ok so there I've said it.
I've never been this depressed about my shape (or lack of) before.
From M size or UK10, I've ballooned to L or XL or UK14!

Getting a $200 pair of running shoes only got me running for 3 days :p I have ZERO stamina, it's worse than giving birth, I think I'd rather go into labour than run 1km, it's too difficult!

I tried not eating lunch because those two girls in my studio seem to survive on just air :p thought I could do that as well but the tummy complains to my legs who then walks to get food for it :s

When one client asked me how far along I was, I almost grabbed her by the throat and wanted to say you are not that skinny yourself, Porky! But I didn't and just said meekly, "Oh it's tough to get rid of this belly after #2." Grrrr!

Plastic surgery is out of the question because I am too chicken to go under the knife.

I've contemplated hiring a personal trainer like Bob on The Biggest Loser to whip me into shape but where to find one in Singapore without going to the gym? I have no time as it is for 6 hours of sleep each night, let alone an hour at the gym.

Please let this be a nightmare that I wake up from and back to my post-Kayden-breastfeeding days when I was svelt and even my close friends noticed that I was in better shape then than before pregnancy!

Dylan boy! You have turned your mummy into a chubby person who looks forever 5 months pregnant.

Sigh.

Help me please, anyone.

Just happy being children

Kids they don't bear grudges
They live for the moment
It's either happy or sad
No in between or grey areas
Ours adore each other
And we love them heaps too
Happy Children's Day kids! :)