Graphic fun

Though I didn't go riding this weekend, I did create an El Coolio graphic for a Photoshop training video I'm recording this week. The technique is selective blurring and fading one image into another. I think it turned out rather well :)

Back in the saddle

Finally got to go riding this past Sunday and though I feel a bit like the Michelin Tire Woman all bunched up with heated gear (hate that), it was nice to be back in "Saphira's" saddle. Since I had my camera with me, I fired off this shot after hanging my helmet on the handlebar.

Speaking of the helmet, I picked up this new Arai last week, as my trusty Schuberth was looking really shabby (and you just can't find those things here in the US!). If I could have waited for the BMW rally in July, I probably would have bought another one, but this Arai is SUPER light and airy (a bit *too* airy for this cold weather!). Plus the Dallas Cowboy-ish graphics are way cool and the tinted visor makes me feel mysterious :)

How to make a husband happy

Why, buy him a brand new motorcycle of course :)

After hearing that our insurance company declared his Royal Star a total loss after a small accident in December, I found an amazing deal on a Yamaha FJR 1300 posted on--wait for it--Craiglist, of all places. Within two hours, we were riding to the dealership two-up on my BMW F800ST to pick it up. He even got to unbox it himself.

Gracious as he is, he let me name the new addition to our family. My bike's name is Saphira, after the beautiful and powerful blue dragon in the Eragon book series. Therefore, since his bike is larger and jet black, I've christened it Temeraire.

Needless to say, he's been SUPER nice to me ever since. I'll let you know how long that lasts ;)

An afternoon at the MOMA

In between business meetings this past Friday, my husband and I visited the MOMA in Manhattan. Surprisingly, they let us take pictures (no flash, of course). We spent about three hours at the multi-level museum and really had a great time snapping this and that. I tended to take photos of my favorite paintings and Shawn (as usual) just shot EVERYTHING :)

My most favorite painting in the world lives at this museum: Van Gogh's Starry Night. Though I was disappointed to learn that Salvador Dali's "Persistence of Memory" was out on loan. Alas, I must wait until the summer to go back and see it (unless I go to London first... hmmm...). Admittedly, some of the installations at the museum are just whacked (in my opinion) but I was surprised to see so many spectacular pieces in their collection, including Warhol's serigraphs of Marilyn Monroe.

Needless to say, we only covered two floors in three hours, so we're set to go back really soon. If it's warm enough, we'll ride our motorcycles :)

Click here to see the whole Flickr gallery. And please note that all of my pictures were shot with a glorious Canon 40D that Canon loaned me for review. I do *not* want to send this camera back!