Cindy
AMRAP in 20 mins of;
5 Pull Ups
10 Push Ups
15 Squats
Results: 12 rounds + (5, 10 & 6)

50 reps of sit ups on the bench (inclined): 1:40

Ever since returning from my KK trip, my gungho-ness to workout seems to have dwindled. I’ve been trying to pinpoint the cause of this and I’ve come to realise that it it’s due to the short hours of sleep and lack of rest throughout the past couple of weeks.

Something was bound to give way and yes, something did give way. I’ve been feeling lethargic (but unable to sleep!!) since last week and my energy level seems to have depleted. These are actually symptoms of overtraining but looking at my recent workouts (which haven’t been very frequent) I’ll just self-diagnose myself as having lack of rest :p

Anyway, I’ve come to a decision whereby I won’t practise Crossfit on an almost daily basis. Instead, I’ve decided to incorporate yoga and running (for real this time…..well, fingers crossed :p) into my fitness regime. Haven’t worked out a schedule so for now, I’ll just go with what my body feels like on the day itself.

Having said that, below’s what I did during the weekend :p
26062009 (Fri) Went to PM and did workout from 25062009
Weighted Pull Ups
3-3-3-3-3
*While resting in between sets, do the following:-
Max hold Handstand
Results: 12kg | 12kg | 12kg | 14.5kg | 15kg
0.38 | 0.42 | 0.30 | 0.40 | 0.42secs
This was not a good day. I tried doing the WOD for 26th, thinking that my shoulder had fully healed. After completing the first round, I could feel the pain on my left shoulder again and was unable to complete the WOD. FML -_____-”

27062009 (Sat): Attended Ninie’s Hatha Vinyasa class at beyoga.my. My hamstrings are soooo f$*#@ tight that it took A LOTTA effort for me to get into some..no make that most, of the poses. Good class tho :D

28062009 (Sun): Slept 4 hours and woke up in the wee hours of the morning to go for the StanChart KL Marathon. I only did 10km and it took me 1:17 *shy* It’s kinda funny how each time I participate in running events I’ll tell myself “Ok, this time you MUST train” and I just end up not training properly. Had reggae music on my playlist which for some is a bad idea since you need uptempo music to run faster, but it was great for me since all I had on my mind while jogging/walking was ‘Dim sum, dim sum, dim sum’. And yes, we went for dim sum after the run was over. wOOt.

One of the things I love about being a photographer is the fact that I’ve had the pleasure of meeting so many wonderful people. This session was no less as I got to meet Anggie and her two boys ;) - her husband William and her adorable son, Jeremy. Anggie contacted me a couple of months back after stumbling upon my blog and we’ve been corresponding since then. 

She had selected the day of her 6th wedding anniversary for the maternity and family portrait session and it was coincidentally, exactly a month before her maternity due date. Our session was done around Taman Tun area and I had a ball throughout the session. Whilst the weather was overcast when we first started shooting, the clouds cleared up when we got to the park and we got some pretty sweet natural light then :) So yay for good weather!

Hey there cute family ;D





Anggie, you’ve got one gorgeous baby bump!


Lil Jeremy is such a happy child - he was smiling throughout the shoot. I like!





Jeremy has already started playing with his little brother :D

Somebody was getting a tad bit tired after a morning of running around ;)

Anggie, William and Jeremy - I had tons of fun during the session and you were an absolute delight to work with. I love how comfortable you all are in front of the camera and just how happy Jeremy is. It’s just great to see how much a child is being showered with love that he’s constantly smiling. And I found it really cute when you two started laughing when I said that we’re reenacting your wedding day poses. Nothing wrong with reliving some memories eh? ;) Have a great week ahead!

In May, I took a couple of days off and headed over to Manila for a short break with my friends Sherrie and Soon Wei. There, we were hosted by hostess extraordinaires - Francis, Stacey and Kristine. They showed us part of what Manila has to offer and the best of Pinoy hospitality. And when I say the best, I mean THE best!

Francis, Stace & Kristine, I know I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, thanks so much for the awesome five days and it was great to see Manila thru’ your eyes ;) I’ll definitely be back. Till then, take care and we’ll continue our ‘Philippines/Malaysia Friendship Channel’ soon. Heheheh…

Sherrie had some pesos from her Dad and it turned out that they were soooo old that many merchants didn’t accept them. We had a good laugh looking at people’s amazement ooh-ing and aah-ing whenever they saw the notes.

Cafe Breton! My new-favourite dessert place. That dessert you see below is called “Fantastic Pinay” - a concoction of crepe with mango slices, nutella and whipped cream is to die for! I call it “The Love of My Life” :p Nom nom.

With our wonderful hosts at Tagaytay :) L-R: Soon Wei, Francis, Stacey, Sherrie & I


Some shots from our hike up Taal Volcano Island. It was absolutely gorgeous!

With my travel buddies, Soon Wei & Sherrie - waiting for our ferry to Corregidor :D (yes, my wide angle lens was extremely dusty :p)




‘The Feet Series’ goes to Phillipines ;)

Did an hour and a half of ashtanga led class (primary series) earlier today, no wait yesterday, at BeYoga Studio. I died-ed :p Big-time.

Funnily enough, this is the first time I’ve attended a class at Ninie’s yoga studio. And while it was torturous, I must say I enjoyed it. Might make this a regular thing :)

Chris and Chelle had their beach ceremony and wedding reception at Pacific Sutera Resort in Kota Kinabalu earlier this month. The day was overcast and the winds were strong but it all turned out to be perfect as the breeze kept everyone comfortable throughout the beach ceremony ;) I was mentally doing my ’sun dance’ and keeping my fingers crossed that the weather would hold up and it did! Lucky me!

You might remember Chris and Chelle from their portrait session a couple of weeks ago. Well, I had a pretty hard time choosing my favourite pictures then and I had the same problem (good problem to have!) choosing my faves from their wedding day :p Here’s some of them :)

Holla hot bride!

Yes, the bride arrived via heli. How cool is that eh?




Meet Yaya, Chelle’s sassy niece. She’s an absolute doll!

I think this particular moment was really cute :) The pastor had actually asked everyone to close their eyes during the prayer and Chelle took a peek at Chris in the middle of it. Shoo cuteee!


Mr & Mrs Quarrie. wOOt!

Portraits time! The boys donned their best, suave ‘Zoolander’ look. I think Chris has it down pat.

Hawt ladies in the house! I loveeee the combination of the bridesmaids’ sashes and the bouquets. The hint of colors was a superb touch, Chelle!

Oh and did I mention that Chelle made her own dress? For real, for real :)

Then, it was on to the ballroom for the reception. Check out the backdrop & the cake! I likeeeee :)

Chelle’s sister, Marianne, was tearing and laughing throughout her speech. 
You nearly made me cry along with you woman! ;p

And Mr & Mrs Quarrie gave a really sweet speech which…..

…got Chelle & Chris choked up. At the same time :p

The reception was fun, fun, fun! Everybody was living it up and partying like they had Saturday night fever! Or in this case, Sunday night fever.
Chelle’s Dad took the stage and sang a song for them and so did Chris’ sister & brother-in-law, who nearly stole the limelight that night! You all rock!



That’s Chris’ parents in front and Chelle’s Mum in red - they sure can partay!

Party peopleeeee!

Awwwwww…..

The rings, the rings!

Big thanks to Chris & Chelle’s bro-in-law for this shot of me together with Chelle, her sisters & bridesmaids. You ladies are absolutely awesome and thanks for making my day an absolute blast! x Btw, did you notice their sashes matches my new Shootsac cover? ;p 

Chris and Chelle, words can’t express how much fun I had shooting your wedding day. It took me quite awhile to pick my faves for this post. There were so many shots which I wanted to share, not cause they ‘look good’ or cause the ‘composition was awesome’ but because the moments captured were real - the glances that you gave each other, the smiles and laughters throughout the whole day.

Having been behind the lens and being able to capture these moments when it happened, well it made the pictures extra special for me. It was evident that you both enjoyed yourself thoroughly and that you were marrying your best friend that day. And your family members? They are the bomb!

I am stoked that you two enjoyed your honeymoon at the Kapalai Islands. The pictures on FB looks absolutely wicked! Here’s wishing you two many more happy days and exciting travels together in the years to come! See you soon :D

400m Walking Lunges for Time
Result: 9:58
OMG! My legs felt like jello after completing this workout and my glutes were screaming halfway through. Lunged around the block and I would’ve been slower had it not been for the new restaurant halfway through. There were tons of patrons eating in there and they had a WTF?! look on their face while I lunged like mad past. Urgh. I’m soooo gonna feel this tomorrow.

5 rounds without time component;
15 Handstand Push Up
15 Push Press at 12kg
Push Ups Max Reps
2 minute rest
Results: 15 | 15 | 20 | 15 | 15
By the second round my shoulders were feeling the brunt of the workout. But I was driven by the fact that my muscles had shrunk due to two weeks of inactivity. Muscles come back to momma! Killer shoulder workout.

Three rounds for time of:
7 Double Kettlebell Press @ 24kg
21 Push Ups
21 Pull Ups
Result: 16:17 (DB @20lbs)
Still going light on shoulder exercises. Eeps!

100 Sit ups for time
Result: 3:57

G’day everyone :D

Just a quick update that last night my Twitter account was hacked into and data of all those who have subscribed to my Twits has been ‘hijacked’ and spammed endlessly (with offerings of online *cough*cough* services. Eeeks!). You would need to click onto the spammer’s Twitter account and block it to prevent the spam from appearing on your Twitter page.

I’ve managed to get back my Twitter account at www.twitter.com/annarina. So feel free to follow my constant short updates there instead. And to friends who have been joking that I have a part-time job offering *cough*cough* services -________-” it wasn’t meeee! 

On another note, I’ve just updated my calendar of booked dates for the second half of 2009. It’s slowly but surely filling up so I would like to say a hearty thank you to the couples and families who have booked me for your respective portrait sessions and wedding day! Yay! I’m really looking forward to hanging out with you on that day itself and feel free to email or call me if you have any questions before our shoot :)

And just cause I don’t like having blogposts without any pictures, here’s a straight out of camera, unedited shot of a bee-yoo-ti-fool sunset on the first evening of my trip back to Kota Kinabalu recently. I like to think of it as a ‘welcome home’ sunset. wOOt! Lucky me!

Have an awesome day ahead! x

I met Oli and Nina a couple of years ago. Back in the days when I used to climb regularly, I would see them at the indoor climbing gym and it was evident that climbing was a shared love for the both of them.

So it was no surprise to me to hear that Oli had proposed to Nina on a trip last year to the climbing mecca, Krabi. It was on a multi-pitch route at Thaiwand wall that Oli surprised Nina with a ring. Of course, Oli was worried about dropping the ring but thankfully, he managed to keep the rock safe from the rocks.

Geddit, geddit? Rock on rock? :p

After six months of preparation, Oli and Nina will be married with a solemnisation ceremony at her parents home tomorrow. And yours truly will have the pleasure of capturing shots from this meaningful day. wOOt :)

As a preview to their wedding pictures which will come in the next couple of weeks, here are some of my favourite shots of Oli and Nina done during a portrait session a couple of weeks ago at Cyberview Lodge.

They were laughing so much throughout the whole session that I was tempted to call this whole set
“The Laughing Couple” ;)


Yowza! Hot couple alert!

But they can get pretty silly as well ;)

Oli & Nina, thanks again for the honour :) You two were an absolute blast to shoot and I so can’t wait for tomorrow’s ceremony! See you soon!