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blogging about blogging

blogging about blogging

Viral Bacterial

So good news and bad news.

The bad news is that the blog has contracted some terrible illness and has been directing you guys to a dubious Russian site the past day and a half. There’s apparently a virus/worm/hack thing going on and because I don’t speak geek and is therefore no match for a nerdy teenager with douchey headphones and week-old pizza, my only conceivable response involves some hand-wringing and shrieking for help.

Fortunately the husband knows a little geek-talk, so he’s been working with our web hosting people to sort out the issue. The good news is that it finally seems to be back up again for now. We’re keeping our fingers crossed that it stays that way because the truth is, we’re no match for them hackers. If they’re like Obi-Wan Kenobi with advanced Jedi mind powers, the husband is like a young Padawan who can only levitate small objects. While I can only do the standing around and shrieking like Natalie Portman.

And it’s not for a lack of trying either. I spent the better part of yesterday googling key phrases like “help my blog is hacked” and “how to get rid of malicious files in your website” but none of the results proved very useful.

I mean, it’s not like computer code is the easiest thing in the world to decipher. It’s just a bunch of random alphabets that don’t make any sense. We were doing a live chat with the web hosting company and I could barely make out half of what they were saying.

There were all these words like wtlsl, html and php flying around. Ok, first of all, WHERE ARE YOUR VOWELS? And how on earth am I supposed to understand what these words mean?

You know what? Pfffffffpt right back at you.

So anyway, most of the malicious files have been removed but because the site has just recovered from a major surgery, there’s probably still going to be a few kinks to work out over the next few days. Thanks for your patience, we’ll get things back to the way they were soon enough. If you still have difficulties accessing the site, go do some online shopping and come back tomorrow.

PS. If by any chance, you’re the one trying to hack the site, please don’t. I’ll buy you some fresh pizza and make non-vowel grunting sounds back at you if it makes you feel better.

PPS. The virus seems to have jumped onto the husband because his Jedi powers aren’t strong enough. He’s now down with a different but equally terrible illness that has him hacking (*ahem pun intended*) his lungs out at home. So it seems to have gone viral.

PPPS. I’m also throwing in a cute photo of the kids to cheer everyone up a little.

blogging about blogging, travelling

Back from the Nuffnang Blog Awards

I was in KL over the weekend to attend the Nuffnang Asia Pacific Blog Awards. The event went brilliantly and I had a chance to catch up with some of the other bloggers who were there.

Congrats again to Christie from Childhood 101 who won the Best Parenting Blog award. Nicely done! And thanks to everyone who voted for me – much appreciated!

We went without the kids and I spent most of the trip wishing I brought them along. I know, it’s just 3 days but I can’t go 3 hours without missing them. They obviously missed us too because the moment we got back from KL, Kirsten ran to the door, shouting enthusiastically “MOMMY’S HOME! SEE, MOMMY IS BACK, HI MOMMY HIIIIIIII” She jumped into my arms and squeezed me with all the strength she could muster.

When Tru saw us, he got all upset, like “I don’t like you, I’m not going to hug you” and refused to look at us. Which really meant “I missed you so much don’t you ever go for a holiday without me again.”

We didn’t promise to never travel without him but I did hug him all the way home until he felt better. It sort of made me feel better too.

***

This week’s Hipstamatic Happiness is a special KL edition with photos of all the places we visited during our trip. There’s a bit of shopping, some sightseeing and a lot of eating. We have a list of all the best food places that we absolutely had to visit when we are in KL and by the third day, we  started to run out of meals to fit in all that food.

KL does not agree with my dieting plans.

 

awards i forced myself to win, blogging about blogging

The truth about this mommy blog

So great news, Mother, Inc has been selected as one of 5 finalists for the Best Parenting Blog award in the Nuffnang Asia Pacific Blog Awards 2011. When I got the phone call, I told the kids because they are after all the stars of the blog but they weren’t very interested, like “Mommy, you’re a finalist? Ok, can we go the playground now?”

I tried to explain the concept of awards and that it was sort of a big deal but they started stoning out so that was the end of that. Nothing like a bit of toddler perspective to keep my delusions of grandeur in check.

When I started blogging over 2 years ago, I had no idea how big this was going to be or where it was going to take me. There’s just something about having kids that makes you go shutter crazy and talk about them incessantly. All the people I know got tired of hearing me go on and on about the kids so I had to go on the Internet to find more people to listen to me. True story.

In a way, having kids helps you to relive the first 3 years of your life. I have no recollection of what it was like to take my first steps or taste my first strawberry or jump into the pool for the first time and the kids, they give that experience back to me. All the little joys in life that we take for granted are new and wonderful to them. They literally roll on the floor laughing when they hear a funny word and they boogie to Lady Gaga in supermarkets. They live life to the fullest and enjoy every moment. They love without reservation or fear of getting hurt.

So I try to capture all these moments in the blog. So that when they’re older and they wonder what the first years of their lives were like, they can look back and experience it through my eyes.

That’s my present to them and that’s why I write the blog.

What I didn’t expect was that in the process, I’ve come to meet some really awesome like-minded parents (and non-parents who feel the same way about a dog/cat/sea-monkey/baby sister) who are smart and witty and cool and incredibly inspirational. People who have walked the path and get the blog. I’ve come to really enjoy hanging out with you on the Internet. Thanks for sharing in your own blogs and in the comments.

And then I also write because that’s what I love. Sure, it takes time and effort and heart and lots of brain power, (all of which I could be spending with/on the kids) but when you love something, you do it even when it’s tough.

Also, if you must know, editing photos is a royal pain in the ass but I’m committed to putting out pictures that won’t make you want to gouge out your eyes. My philosophy is if I’m going to bombard you with photos of the kids, I should put in some effort into making it “nice-nice” (because 2 nices is nicer than just one nice).

This is usually where I badger you to vote but you probably have better things to do like bring your kids to the playground. Which is why I’m going to casually mention that if you happen to be terribly bored and would like vote for a blog you like, you can do it here under the Best Parenting Blog category. You can even vote once every 2 hours from today till 27 November, which is like playing Neopets or FarmVille or Mafia Wars, except more meaningful.

But seriously, thanks for all the love. You guys are awesome.

awards i forced myself to win, blogging about blogging

Tanks, everybody, tanks!

Happy weekend, all. Today’s a special Sunday edition because I’ve got some awesome news to update. I don’t really have a smartass way to say this so I’ll get right to it. Yesterday, the results of the Annual Singapore Blog Awards were announced and I came home with the Best Family Blog Award. Yayy!!

It was held at Shanghai Dolly, where everyone was all dressed up and very polished so I tried my best to not look goofy. Obviously not very successful.

Photo courtesy of Andy (www.sengkangbabies.blogspot.com)

Here’s a quick thank you to all the people who made this possible.

First, the kids, who gamely smiled (sometimes) and posed for every photo shoot. They’re the stars of the blog and without them, I’d still be a minion at a job I wasn’t very good at. Now at least I’m a minion at a job I love very much. They make my world spin and my days complete. Mommy loves you guys.

The husband, who’s my biggest fan and my best friend. These days, our date nights are spent behind our respective laptops with conversations that consist of monosyllabic grunts. I love that we can talk through the night and also sit together without talking through the night.

Every single one of you who drop by the blog and keep coming back. Your comments and support make me want to sit at the laptop at 3am in the morning to finish editing photos and write through every writer’s block.

Not forgetting all the other 9 finalists of the Best Family Blog category. It’s stressful going up against some of the best parenting blogs in the region and I had a great time meeting all the people whose blogs I spend so much time reading.

And finally, to OMY for putting it all together.

awards i forced myself to win, blogging about blogging

Vote Daphne for Emeritus Optimus Prime Minister

Good day, y’all! It’s Monday and it’s also time for the SG Blog Awards again. Last year, for some bizarre reason I was a finalist for the Most Insightful Blog but then they obviously realized that I sucked at being insightful and gave the award to someone who deserved it a lot more. I’m totally ok now because after several sessions with my therapist, I’m finally over the crushing disappointment.

And also because I’m a fighter, I spent the rest of the year accumulating nuggets of insight so that I could up the ante and give it a go again at this year’s awards.

Except that this year, they removed the category entirely.

Thanks guys, now I have all that insight and nothing to do with it. I’ll probably end up having to keep it in my storeroom till it grows fungus and then eventually chuck it in the chute. As is the case for most items in my storeroom.

Instead, I’m in the finals for the Best Family Blog this year, which is a perhaps more appropriate category depending on how you look at it. Although I’m pretty sure that they don’t know about the time I made my baby fall on her face and bleed all over my kitchen floor. Or that I almost got hauled off to jail for allowing my kids to prank call the police. Let’s hope it stays that way.

Also, it’s ok if you don’t vote for me because I’m not going to take it personally and hide in my closet to cry for days. My therapist says that I’m now “better equipped to deal with disappointment.” Then again, he’s not very good, seeing that he’s not even properly rained in therapy-ing people and only got the job by default for being my husband.

Besides, I thought about it and here are some possible reasons why you might not want to vote for me:

1. You hate kids.

Ok, really, I’m not even sure why you’re here, unless you’re looking for pictures of kids to print out to use as your dart board. In which case you should just email me and I’ll send you some very nice high resolution pictures that will make much better prints.

2. You hate reading blogs about kids.

Again, I’m not really sure why you’re here. But since you’re here, you should know that blogs about kids are pretty badass. I mean, they’ve got WORDS! Which is like a book, except free! And they’ve got PICTURES OF KIDS! And MORE WORDS! And MORE PICTURES! And sometimes you even get awesome free stuff! Which is so much more fun than having to pay actual money for stuff.

3. You’re not the voting sort.

I get this, really I do. Who has the time to register and login and click on little boxes to vote? But like our friendly gahmen says, voting is YOUR RIGHT! Unlike the elections, this is not compulsory, but you’re entitled to a voice so make it heard. Plus you might get even more free cool stuff just by voting, so everybody wins.

So I guess I completely understand if you’re not into this family blogging thing. That’s why I’m also running for the esteemed office of Emeritus Optimus Prime Minister. Surely you’ll vote for that, no?

PS. If you do want to vote for me at the SG Blog Awards, go here. You’ll need to register an account and log in and click on the giant VOTE NOW button to do it. It’s really a lot more fun than it sounds.

PPS. If you’re new to the blog, you might wanna start here.

blogging about blogging

Photography 101

I never thought I’d be doing a post on photography because I’m hardly what you call an expert. Even enthusiast would be pushing it because I’m admittedly no shutterbug.

Back in NTU, I did do an obligatory course on photography (it was 202 for all the CS folks) where we all had to present our pictures to the class at the end of the course. Everyone had these artistic shots with brilliant lighting and composition while mine was truly appalling. It was like rows of bananas (I know, like what??) and as if to prevent my awful shots from mauling their eyes, I had to distract them by going on about capturing the mundaneness of everyday life; seeing the beauty in the ordinary blah blah blah. After the presentation, I turned to the husband (back then, just the boyfriend) and said “that was terrible wasn’t it?” and he paused for a moment then replied, “um, yeah babe, but hey, you’re really good at other stuff!”

Right then, I decided that this thing called “the eye for photography”, I didn’t have it.

But it’s probably a mothering thing, this need to capture the moments of your kids’ lives. Which is the main reason I decided to pick up a camera again. Recently, I’ve had a few emails from readers asking for photography tips and while I can’t give you guys professional photography lessons, there are several things I’ve learnt from other photographers that may be helpful to you. Most of these I’ve learnt from observing others (which is the best way to learn really) and handy tips others have shared.

1. Get a DSLR camera.

I know it’s pricey and bulky and complicated and a pain to learn andall that, but all good photographers will tell you that getting a DSLR is the best investment they’ve made. I’m not saying that a point and shoot can’t take good shots but there’s a limit to the things it can do, especially when it comes to shutter speed and aperture. In that one-second lag using a p&s, the moment would have passed and you’d end up with a blurry photo. When I use a p&s, I’m always going “WAIT HANG ON DON’T MOVE… GAH DO THAT AGAIN!” and there’d be another mass of blur. A DSLR can perform spectacularly in low light settings and capture those wonderful moments even when the kids refuse to sit still for a shot. I’ve given up asking them not to move so I take 10 shots in succession and usually, one will be good.

On the topic of price, you can easily start out with a secondhand Canon 400D that costs $380 and a Canon 50mm f1.8 that costs an additional $90 from Clubsnap. That’s about the price of a point and shoot. Instead of spending $3000 to get a brand new top of the line DSLR set, go easy and only when your needs/abilities outgrow your body and lens, upgrade them along the way.

2. Practice, practice, practice.

Honestly, the best way to learn is to keep taking shots. Experiment with different camera angles, focal lengths, apertures and compositions to see what works best. Try standing up, squatting down or even lying on the floor. Shoot from the front, the back, the side, the top and bottom. There’s really no hard and fast rule, so try to capture the feeling rather than worry about a set of rules.

3. Learn from the experts.

The other best way to improve your photography is to observe and learn from the best. My personal favorites are Ree Drummond, Kelle Hampton and Mckmama. Sometimes, I even select their best pictures and print out tearsheets when I go out for my shoots so that I can try and replicate the compositions and style. And no, that’s not technically cheating, just learning.

4. Try not to shoot on automatic mode.

Ideally, manual mode is the way to go because the pictures tend to look a bit flat if you’re on auto all the time. Manual works great for landscape shots but I still find it too tricky when I’m shooting moving objects, which I typically set to aperture priority (Av). Also, try to manually adjust the focal point instead of leaving it on auto so you can select the spot you want to focus on. Most of the time, I set it on the kids’ eyes so that it’s tack sharp unless I’m trying to highlight what they’re doing or what’s in their hands, then I adjust accordingly.

5. Styling.

This, I learnt looking at Kelle Hampton’s pictures. Her girls are always dressed up so beautifully and decked out in all kinds of pretty accessories. There’s a lot of behind-the-scenes effort to make the pictures really pop. Especially with girls, you can go all out with the hair clips, sunglasses, hats, pins and necklaces, remembering that it’s ok to be a little flamboyant because that makes a photo stand out a lot more than messy hair and boring old discolored rompers that have been worn by their previous 5 siblings.

After a while, you’ll be able to tell which angles work best for your kids. Unless both sides of their face are symmetrical (hellooo Jude Law), there’s usually a side that shows up better in pictures. Find that side and work it. After all, a good photo brings out the best qualities of a person.

Usually, baby girl hates having stuff jabbed into her hair but this one lasted a while before she yanked it off.

6. Lightroom.

Purists will say that editing a photo is cheating but until the day my skills are badass enough for me to look at a shot straight out of camera and go “man, that is one hell of a good shot!”, I’ll have to touch up the pictures. For me, Adobe Lightroom serves that purpose very well. A lot use Photoshop but I find that Lightroom is easy enough to learn and powerful enough to do a great job. Again, there’s a lot of trial and error here. I usually look at an example of a good photo and try to replicate it by adjusting the lighting, contrast, vibrance, cropping, etc. There are also tons of Lightroom presets you can use to make your job easier.

This is a before/after comparison of an earlier shoot. Out of camera, it was ok at best. It was underexposed, the shot composition was weirdish, and the colors were too dull but with a bit of Lightroom tweaking, it popped.

These are just some of the basics to get you started but the important thing is to practice and enjoy it. Give it a shot!

blogging about blogging

Thanks Google, but really not helping

I got an email this afternoon from a lovely lady who is a long-time reader of the blog. She was both baffled and a little concerned that while doing her usual search for “mother inc” on Google, the top hit was a link describing a porn site.

I’m guessing it was describing porn because it’s got the words sex + video in them, so unless it’s like one of those educational videos employing the artful use of vegetables, I’m pretty certain I’m right.

Obviously I was all “no way, that’s bizarre” and went to google it and true enough, it was right there, except that my description was slightly different, containing several words that cannot be replicated on this blog for reasons that are fairly obvious. Then I made the husband google it too and his version was also different from mine. And he was like “maybe google is trying to help you drive traffic and you should thank them, you know how porn sites always have exceptional traffic.”

So now if you google ‘”motherinc.org”, it’ll be like you’re taking part in a lucky dip, only instead of winning anything of real value, you get to stick your hand into a grab bag of very bad porn-related words. I highly recommend not doing it.

Although I just realized that now, Google will be able to link to this post and say “aha, you actually did say porn, sex and video…PWN!” and it would indeed be legitimate. Nice move, Google.

PS. Also, don’t be alarmed if you see a description for porn linking here. It’s all part of the plan. Which is another way of saying I don’t have the foggiest idea what to do about it.