A word of THANKS, some reflections and more to come in 2018!
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First of all, I want to thank each and every one of you for your readership and support for the past nine years. It feels like a long time since Iโve started this blog, and I canโt believe it that Iโm heading into my tenth year of blogging. Truly, this is the first time I can sustain an interest for so long. Hah!ย ย ๐
Round-up of 2017
2017 was an important year for us as weโve travelled quite a bit and spent lots of beautiful family times together. Hereโs a quick round-up of 2017:
โกย Dec: We spent 3 days at the gorgeous 5-star Montigo Resorts in Nongsa and 10 days in Bangkok + Chiangmai (will blog about it soon).
โกย Nov: We visited the Sand & Sandals Desaru Resort and Spa, visited Batam for the first time (why are we so slow? LOL) and stayed at Radisson Golf and Convention Center. We also staycated at the new YOTEL Singapore to celebrate the end of SA2. Weโre so glad to be invited to review the Business Suite at Grand Mercure Singapore Roxy.
โก Oct: This month, we visited LEGOLAND Theme Park twice and stayed at Somerset Medini Serviced Apartment for the first time.
โกย Sep: This was Edisonโs birthday month and we celebrated his big day with a fantastic staycation at The Fullerton Hotel and Holiday Inn Singapore Atrium. Weโre delighted to be invited to stay at the new Park Hotel Farrer Park
โกย Aug: We checked-out the Premier Suite at DโResort Downtown East โ the integrated water theme park that weโve always loved.
โกย Jul: We visited Puteri Harbour Family Theme Park and stayed at the Hello Kitty Themed Room at Hotel Jen. We were also invited to experience the kid-themed room at Furama Riverfront Hotel.
โกย Jun: During the mid-year school holiday, we made a trip to Ipoh to visit my parents. We stayed 4 nights at the beautiful Haven Resort Hotel Ipoh. I highly recommend this 5-star resort if youโre visiting Ipoh. For all Bintan lovers out there, youโll be excited to know that The Haven Bintan Hotel and Resort is coming up soon.
โกย Mar: During the Mar term break, we indulged in a 8D7N cruise on Royal Caribbean Mariner of the Seas to Laem Chabang (Thailand) and Phu My (Ho Chi Minh Vietnam). We also visited Pattaya.
โกย Feb: I attended Park Bogum Fan Meeting in Singapore, this was a very memorable event for me as itโs my first time (also paid >$200 for a Cat A ticket!).
Weโre very thankful to be invited for some of these hotel stays (sponsored stays are clearly marked as such in the disclosure clause). However, we paid for the vast majority of our trips, tours and hotel stays. Thereโs nothing here that my family and I donโt absolutely love. I choose not to blog about it if I donโt like it โ mainly because I donโt like writing negative reviews.
Whatโs coming up in 2018?
Sometime mid of last year, Iโve decided to stop accepting paid advertorials. Iโve personally made it a goal to slow down in blogging. Even though blogging pays well, it actually tires me A LOT โ both physically and mentally – especially when I have to juggle a full-time job and taking care of my family.
Most of the times, the projects have tight deadline. To those of you who donโt blog, it may look easy to earn money from blogging. But the truth is – itโs A LOT of hard works. I always aim to give my best for every project that I take. Therefore, a lot of time was put into trying the products, taking pictures of them, editing the photos, researching about them, and writing them in a style that connects with the readers / users.
At one point, I was so frustrated and totally burnt-out to a point where I hate my blog. Yes, itโs true! I even thought of deleting it completely. ย ๐ฅย Then, V came and asked me โDo you need money from blogging?โ and I replied โNoโ.
โThen, why do you sacrifice your sleep to blog? Just stop it!โ I was enlighten that very night. 😊
Honestly, I feel VERY HAPPY now that Iโm no longer rushing for deadlines and Iโm blogging truly out of my passion. Itโs like โback to the basicsโ when I first started this blog 9 years ago. In these years, Iโve experienced a lot of things. The first time when someone sent me a free product for review, I was so happy. Then, I got my first sponsored overseas trip and I was totally excited. I started making money through blogging and I also joined several blog competitions.
After all these, Iโm now back to the basics. How irony, isnโt it? I want to slow down and write only things I like. I no longer look at my blog statistics. I no longer feel envious when I see other bloggers going on sponsored trips. Deep down, I know itโs not easy accepting freebies because thereโs a lot more we need to give for the barter trade.
You may still be seeing advertisements and affiliate links on this blog, Iโll try to minimize it (I promise!). I donโt earn a lot from them โ less than $100 a month, to be honest. This is just enough for my blog maintenance and coffee addiction lol. If youโre not aware, blog hosting doesnโt come cheap especially if you want a fast and reliable hosting company.
Above all, Iโll always be reminded to blog responsibly. If Iโm sponsored, Iโll be upfront about it and let you evaluate it for yourselves. That way, I hope you wonโt think less of me. Even though I donโt consider myself as an influencer, but still Iโm mindful that there may be people out there who read my blog and spend their hard-earned money on it.
So, this 2018, Iโll slow down in life, travel a little more with my family, blog more passionately and responsibly. Letโs toast to a happy and healthy blog at Our Little Smarties!ย ย ๐
Last but not least, thanks again for your continued support, and remember to follow us on Facebook and Instagram for bite-sized travel updates.ย ย ๐
