Yoshi's Tiramisu

While sentimentality is par for the course for Valentine’s Day, there are indeed genuinely touching reasons in the case of the picture below:

Probably the most significant is the slice of tiramisu.  On the evening that we found that Tess was pregnant with Gabe - in S&Js’ Banff - apartment we celebrated this life changing news by having a slice of tiramisu at the Second Cup in Cascade Mall.  The funny thing I realized is that we have not had a slice since.

I willingly confess that she does way more than I do to take care of my son.  It is no easy task especially in light of the fact that her body took a beating during his birth. For almost a week she battled the effects of spiking high blood pressure due to pre-eclampsia before braving a caesarian birth to give our son the gift of his first breath. Her body still has not fully recovered and there are challenges ahead for her.  But she soldiers on.  I am humbled by her.

For now the drama of last summer has since subsided and we have healthy, happy, and talkative boy who makes each day an exciting challenge filled with hugs and slobbery kisses. I never truly understood the power of a child’s smile till my son. Each smile makes the struggle worth it.

The Green Yoshi, like its Super Mario brother counterpart is much like my son, just beginning.  Just getting started. Vulnerable yet with so much potential.  The amazing thing is that Gabe was not that much bigger than this stuffed toy when he was born. That is why Yoshi is here.

I am lucky to have them in my life and I'll be damned if I don't work my ass off to make sure they are taken care of. I guess this is what being a Dad is all about...

The Long Winter Night

Winter has finally hit Banff with full force.  I just pulled up the temperature reading on my iPhone and it reads as -25 degrees C (-14 degrees F) and with the wind chill, it feels like -36 degrees C (-33 degrees F). Just to put things into perspective – exposed skin at these temperatures for less than 10 minutes will freeze solid. 

Tess and I have been blessed with a condo that requires no heating other than the heated pipe system that runs around in under our place.  Hence we do not need to turn any extra heating on.  Because of this, I found it hard to gauge how cold it was out this morning.

Less then 30 seconds outside and I knew how it felt.

Winter is not my season.  I live in probably one of the most beautiful towns that is built around the winter season.  There have been countless opportunities to participate in ski culture in one of the world class hubs on the plant but I have not taken anyone of them.  I am just not a winter person.  I digress, I do like Christmas.  But that is over and we stare into the abyss of winter night.

Counting the days till..

So here I sit on my couch watching Shaw On Demand and playing with my iPhone 4s.  I do have some plans to get activity and exercise going early but it all depends on available finances. I count the days when I can spend time on my bike cruising through and around Banff and even Canmore.  This has always my only sport.  I enjoy the solitude. I enjoy the pain. I enjoy the speed. For those of you who ride. You know what I am talking about.

Till then, I wait.  I press on.

InstaMagic on InstaGram

A strong indication that 2012 is off to a hectic start is that I started writing out this blog entry as a New Year's greeting for friends and family. Well it is now halfway through the month of January so those sentiments seem obsolete now. But I do wish everyone in my life a blessed and prosperous 2012 where I hope you take steps forward especially in taking care of  yourself and your families.

Those of you who follow me on Facebook have been witness to my recent obsession with the iPhone software simply called InstaGram.  I've been a fan of photography all my life and even took some creative courses in university. Things have always come up that prevented me from investing in a high-end digital SLR and so I have contended myself with pushing what was possible with point and shoot as well as cell phone cameras. 

There is an album hidden in my Facebook collection where I highlight pictures shot on one of my earlier cell phones: a Sony Ericsson. This was a lowly 2 mega pixel camera but I was so impressed by the pictures it took.  The only drawback is that it shot pretty flat and I would have to take images taken in camera and upload them into my computer to manipulate them in Photoshop. This was quite tedious and it also took time to upload each on to Facebook.

Shot on my Sony Ericsson

We know that the expected life of most cell phones is about two years give or take.  Sure enough my SE had to go and I graduated to a BlackBerry Curve.  This cell phone was great for what I truly needed it for and that was communication. One of the disappointing things about this smartphone however was it less than stellar camera. Pictures always came out fuzzy and flat.

Enter the new iPhone 4s (careful to say this because the iPhone 5 is just around the corner) with a full on 8 mega pixel camera and in camera editing capabilities through InstaGram.  What used to take a bit of time in Photoshop can now be done on the fly in the camera.  Plus you can now instantly (get it InstaGram - "instantly"..ha ha..) upload your work to Facebook for all to see especially if you are privy to a good WiFi connection. 

Yeah I cheated a bit and assembled this in Photoshop CS sumthin.

Who do I have to thank for making me aware of InstaGram? Ms. Dark Angel herself: Jessica Alba.  She is actually on Facebook and is a friend of mine. No joke.

It really shows my age but does anyone remember this two season show?

Anyway my moments of peace are done as I hear my son stirring in our bedroom this lazy Sunday morning.  Dad duties will soon call.

We press on.