2006, here we come.

Ok, so we're on the precipice of 2006, hmm, wonder what it will bring, frankly, at least financialy and employment wise I dont think it can get much worse than 2005. Ok, from now on this blog will also be home to my Photo A Day (PAD) project, in which I will attempt to shoot a photo everyday for the entire year of 2006. A note to any new viewers this brings in, I also use this blog as a place to discuss events in my life, or whatever the hell is on my mind at the moment, so if your easily offended or of delicate sensibilities, you should leave now, rapidly!
Still here? Ok, you've been warned now BRING ON 2006!!

Veal in Cream Sauce

Ok, since some folks have been commenting on how Brenda and I always manage to cook these awesome dinners, and they never get any (S!) , so heres the recipe for last nights meal, now they can try this themselves. Note this should serve 4-6 peeps!

Veal In Cream Sauce
4 boxes of Rice - A - Roni, rice pilaf flavor,
2 lbs +/- veal (thin cutlets, non breaded availible in the meat case)
3 Tablespoons of Minced Garlic
1 large Onion, minced
2 Cups Heavy Cream
Fresh Ground Pepper, those who dont have a pepper mill, go get one!
5 TableSpoons Butter
8 ounces Sliced Mushrooms, Drained
4 Tablespoons cooking brandy
Salt to taste.

Prepare Rice according to package directions, except for using 6 Tablespoons butter total
Tenderize veal cutlets, best way I've found is to wrap them in plastic wrap prior to beating them
Slice veal into small 2" x 1" pieces (approx.)
Put onion and garlic with 3 tablespoons of butter in large skillet, heat on medium low heat, untl onions are translucent. Add veal strips. cook until veal is done (grey, approx 10 - 15 minutes) stir often while cooking the veal. Add Cream. Heat and cover until mixture bubbles to reduce it by 2/3. Keep it moving!!! In seperate small saucepan, heat 2 Tablespoons butter and mushrooms until cooked. Add Brandy to mushrooms, cook for approx 3 minutes. Combine mushroom mixture into cream sauce and veal once the cream mix has reduced. Salt and pepper to taste. Place bed of rice on plate, cover with veal,cream,mushroom mixture and serve. Enjoy!

Comments always welcome!

26 Dec 2005 the unknown holiday!

Greetings,
You have got to be kidding me, today is the day AFTER Christmas, and yet, for some unknown reason, the banks are closed, why??? since when is the 26 of December a holiday?? what, since Christmas fell on Sunday, the banks normal day off, they feel their still entitled to get their holiday day off, so what if its a massive inconvenience to everyone else, they're gonna get they're holiday!!! Give me a break, banks, get off your ass, and start providing the service your paid to!! Yes thats right, you are in a service industry, its time to remember that. Also amongst those who apparently feel entitled to an extra holiday day off, dump truck drivers and the morning DJ's on both "local" country stations, what's with that???!!???
Back when I was not self employed, if a holiday fell on a regular day off, tough, you still got it off, but no other days, what is with this??!!!?? This is soooo wrong, people stop being so lazy and get to work!!!!

Mike

Christmas

Greetings,
Christmas 2005, hmm, what can be said, Brenda is fighting with her parents, so no getting together with them, My father of course is too busy humoring my ESM and her perfect kids, so no gathering there either. Brenda and I did enjoy a very nice day just chillin out around the house, made some sugar cookies, sent some next door to Paulie and his wife, he's the old guy who mows my lawn for me (note, I've never asked him to do this, he just does). There's this guy, he's legally blind, but can still see some with really dark glasses on, just cant drive, anyways he walks around the park a lot during the day with one of his two dogs, whenever we see him we always stop and talk with him, and give whichever dog hes walking (Manny or Macy) a milkbone, there one of the few folks in this park we do associate with. So, we had gone to the gourmet doggy bakery and got them some gourmet doggie treats, plus gave him some sugar cookies to take home to his wife and kids. Can you believe it, neither of us drove anywhere all day, was a first in a long time and weird, but nice too! Good to enjoy my one day off a year!!! Oh yeah, on the menu from the bar were

Jamaican Reindeer's
1 part rum (we used myers dark)
1 part kahlua
4 parts Eggnog
sprinkle with cinnamon

Think I found a new favorite drink for the holiday season, very yummy, very smooth with just a hint of the rums kick at the end!

Mike

P.S what did we get for gifts you ask, well were poor, and due to continuos vehicle break repairs this has been a tough last few months, I got Brenda the tree (our first ever in 9 years together, and my first since 1994) and a collectors edition Sports Ill with her hero Tom Brady on the cover. She decorated the tree for me, and got me an Atari Flashback game console, its got like 40 of the original Atari games from the 80's in it and hooks up to the TV, wayyy cool!

Wow, Can't Believe I did this

OK, As I stated in an earlier post, I have been out taking night shots the last couple of nights, theres this inn in Jackson NH, that I've been wanting to play with, so lasy night I did, I got these 2 photos (from about 18)

In this one, everything is perfectly exposed, except the damn lights, which while I admit they look kind of cool, did not give the look I was lookin for...


In this one, the exact opposite, the lights look pretty good, and the rest is wayyy to dark AGHHH what to do....

Wallah, out comes Photoshop CS2 to the rescue, some layers, some selective color and exposure adjustments, some background erasing and here we go a fairly decent finished image!!!!!

Woot!! Sometimes I even impress myself!

Mike

Decisions

Ok, Ive decided, with the upcoming change in my employement that 2006 is going to be a year of major changes for me, what the heck, its pretty obvious now, the only major part of my life I'm happy with is my wife, (Brenda I Love you honey!!!), so everything else is going to change. The following is a list of changes I hope to make in 2006

1) Changing Jobs / Employment
This is kind of underway, I turned in my notice, and Jan 8's paper is the last one I have to deliver, a few remaining paperwork chores and Jan 11th I will be free of this 364 day a yr, 1 am job of almost 5 yrs. WOOO HOOOO!!!

2) Enough is WAYYY To Much, for obvious reasons, I am going back on my diet, it worked well for me in 2005, for the 4 months or so I stayed with it, this time, I'm gonan keep it going longer!!!!!!!! (And maybe throw in some regular exercise!!)

3) Photography, my one source of happiness outside of my marriage, is going to play a much bigger role in my life in 2006, the last few nights I have taken my camera with me during work, and just stopped and shot some pics, just for the hell of it, and realized this is when I'm happiest, behind the camera, or in front of the PC working on photo's, and lifes too short to not be happy. In this light, I am going to start a Photo A Day project for 2006 (might start it on christmas, as a gift for myself....) I am also going to pursue one or both of my photo related hobbys much more aggressively and in a businesslike manner (taking photos, and doing photo restoration and repair) And I will listen to my freinds like S who believe in me!!!!!

Enough for now, and probably enough for one year, LOL, I will post regular updates on how im coming with all of this here.

Mike

Introduction

Greetings,
This is my blog, not sure how long I'm gonna run with this, but for now I'm trying it out, see if it works for me or not, I've had other blogs, and run into problems with them, so we shall see...

Mike