Kris, Jessamyn, and Abigail Milo

19

My dad and step-mom came up for visit this past saturday. We ate at Red Lobster on Wolf Road … I’ve never eaten there before, I was impressed. I’m not a huge seafood lover, but I find that as I get older, more and more food looks good to me.

Anyway, I had the Crab Meat Linguine Alfredo … excellent dish. I got the “lunch serving” rather than the “dinner serving” and it was plenty of food for I think $10.00 (my entree, others were close to this). Atmosphere was nice, service was very good (which is good cuz the place was dead). Everyone enjoyed their food (I think).

I give it 4.5 out of 5 stars (losing 1/2 point cuz I personally don’t love seafood, and cuz the “dinner serving” prices are a little higher than pro and I usually spend).

Jessamyn and I went to the doctor today. Turns out, our baby’s a girl. We’re excited. The ultrasound was cool … the baby was moving around alot while we were watching … very cool.

Houlihan’s (in Crossgates Mall) – 4 out of 5 stars

OK, this restaurant has been a favorite of mine for many years, but I’ll give it a formal review so it can compete at the year end “best of … “. I have to admit, I order 1 of 2 entrees every time I come here – either the Tuscan Lemon Chicken, or the Chicken Fajitas. This past trip was the fajitas, which is why houli’s is losing one star … they’re starting to skimp on the amount of chicken they give you Other than that, the food is always excellent. Cheesy nachos for an appetizer and baked potato soup before your meal are enough to fill you up alone … and they both taste awesome. Price is good – not cheap, not expensive … service was excellent. The waiter memorized 4 orders and didn’t screw anything up. We had a little trouble finding him to get the bill, but no big deal.

In the Name of the King – 1 out of 5 stars

This movie was absolutely terrible. At no point was it even remotely good. If pro and I weren’t there with friends, I would have left. Do NOT go see this movie.

This particular post is about photography, but I’m sure it would be easy enough to insert your own hobby here. It’s the thought process I’m trying to articulate.

With the beginning of the new year, I’ve been try to get a fresh start with my photography. I’ve taken down all my images from my photo blog (except the Thanksgiving Portraits), and I’ve been re-thinking what I do and do not like regarding my hobby. My tastes are changing. There once was a time when I only wanted to do portrait work … this is becoming less and less true. All of the sudden I’m finding myself more worried about pleasing my portrait subjects more than myself …. that’s not fun, no fun at all in fact. So let’s put that on hold for now. I’ll always love candid people shots, but that’s not portraiture … they have nothing in common. Last year I had some good luck with macro shots … and I enjoy it. The problem is that macro photography is a dime a dozen – there’s so much high quality stuff floating around the web it becomes hard for me to like my own stuff.

 Jessamyn bought me a 2x extender for my 200mm lens this year, which means I now have a 400mm lens, which on a 35mm film camera would be equivalent to 640mm. That’s long. So I’m thinking this spring is going to be all about birds. I’d really like to get a few good red tailed hawk shots, they’re everywhere … but getting close to them isn’t easy.

In any event, I’m mentally trying to get myself going … but I think it’s going to take a few small successes before I start feeling good about my stuff. Hope that happens soon.

Seems like lately (past few years) my years can be defined by one or two big events. That’s fine by me as long as I can say that I’m moving forward, and I’d say pro and I are moving forward nicely. We’re very blessed.

2003: I bought a house and met Jessamyn

2004: We got engaged

2005: We got married (and switched churches which ended up being a bigger deal than we thought)

2006: We sold our house

2007: We bought a new house and Jessamyn’s pregnant

I’m sure 2008 is going to be an easy one as well, pro’s due in early June.