My reluctance knows no bounds

I realize (or rather was informed by one MFU DD) I need a post here to move the unappetizing giant oatmeal cookie down a scroll. But what is there to post about? Certainly not Notre Dame football? Maybe the latest updates to the Physician Self Referral Laws (better known as Stark)? the return of fall TV? evening rides in British sports cars? Ok, well, maybe that is worth blogging about, but I'm too windswept to form a coherent post.

I guess you'll have to wait for the next baked good or niece-visit. Until then, Fred Thompson in '08. I KID. I shudder at the thought of what would happen to L&O in his absence.

Another Office Birthday

Last time I wasn't on duty. That won't happen again. Desserts have sugar in them, and that's all there is to it. Anyway - my attempt to jazz up this giant oatmeal raisin cookie for Boss Bob's birthday (someone suggested these cookies, his favorite - but cookies alone are not a sufficient birthday treat):



I didn't realize before embarking on this project that my food coloring is Neon. It doesn't make the most appetizing frosting. The first layer was too thin, and the cookies still too hot, so I whipped up a new batch of frosting (after taste-testing mixers for my gifted chocolate vodka with not-Boss Bob) and tried again. It looks a little scary. Mom and Maura - whenever I start my bakery, you 2 are hired as decorators!

p.s. I finally came off the "very long wait" for Miss Potter on Netflix. For a period-piece junkie, it was really good. Not as substantial production (same exact concept of live action/imagination) or heartbreaking as Finding Neverland - but still a good watch. Sometimes I thought Beatrix's dialogue was too Bridget Jones (a little anachronistic) - but there are character similarities there too.

Harry Potter-delayed picture postings

Now that I have finally learned Harry Potter's fate (don't worry, no spoilers here for you slow readers), I have had the time to post new pictures of Cora!

First, model-in-training Cora showing off Aunt Maura's kitten onesie (Aunt Carolyn's favorite!):



Rather than link you away to my web album to share the large volume of photos from Cora's first D'Amore family gathering, I am pleased to unveil The Reluctant Blogger's new medium for sharing pictures.... get a load of this:



(Hover over the bottom for a pause button and back and forth arrows.)

You may still want to see the web album for full size pictures and download-ability.

kittens in the window

The cats like to sit in the open bedroom window. This shot was them seeing me off as I left for Erie the other day. This morning, as I was hastily getting ready for work, I glanced at the window that I had open maybe 8 inches. I thought to myself how bright the sun must be to be causing a reflection on the screen, as I could see 2 cats where there was only space for one. On a closer look (that almost didn't happen and could have led to a thrashing escape) I realized one cat was on the window sill, and the other cat was shut between the screen and the window, the inside cat having somehow lowered the window completely shut.

Make Room for Baby!

Now that my niece, Cora Elizabeth, has arrived, I think baby pictures will outweigh kitten pictures. I'll start of one of me and my niece, because, well, it's my blog, and I think Melissa and Matt would appreciate if I refrain from making widely-public pictures of them and their daughter until they are better rested and therefore paparazzi-ready.

Meet Cora:



I think it's also safe to assume that my momentum with Anna Karenina will come to a complete halt what with much baby spoiling to do. Oh, and the imminent arrival of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows.

I had to hurry up and post these pictures before the novelty of Melissa's pregnancy is gone and the blogs are filled with baby pictures! We took a trip to Presque Isle on 7/7/07 - the day I had predicted for niece/nephew's arrival. Baby did not comply. In hindsight I was too gently going over the bumps on Erie's pot-holed roads.



(I only posted this one so M+M cannot say I am not an equal-opportunity embarrasser.)

my public demands a new post

so, what is new with me? I'm in a new relationship with Netflix that is off to a good start (I'd steal Jon's concept of the one-sentence reviews in the sidebar of this blog, but who knows, he may resume writing his own any day now); I'm nearly 1/3 of the way through Anna Karenina after it has been gathering dust on my bookshelf for four years; I've acquired the long-overdue first sunburn of summer making way for a good tan; and the buzzer just went off on the dryer.

just when I'm trying to be more productive/healthy

I stumble upon two amazing guilty pleasures:

First an ice cream treat (please do not look at the nutritional information on the page - just consider the perfection of the combination, second only to PB and chocolate);

Second, after not having tuned to MTV since the days when the Real World season # was in the single digits (we're at 17 if you're counting), I am now hooked on Engaged & Underage (to be specific, the I Do Remix). While it's sad to witness the delusion these couples are preserving for strategic use by their respective divorce attorneys, it's also an entertaining combination of Bridezilla and an ABC After School Special. I have watched two episodes (so far). A Christian couple, 20 years old. Husband to be is a closeted gay (trust me) mama's boy and therefore jerk; wifey repeatedly looks directly into the camera asking her 40-year-old self what in the world she is thinking. Too bad her brother who's to walk her down the aisle and has strong objections didn't show up til the last minute because of the gnarly waves he couldn't pass up. Now I'm watching two 18 year-olds, parents of two, who are screaming-fighting like 18 year olds would fight (go figure) over things like whether the groom should go to a strip club or not (he settles for getting annihilated instead - remember, it's Engaged & Underage). Oh, and as a wedding present, the wife secretly starts birth control (better late than never you say, but I say, is sterilization an option?) oooo.... and these gems from their blog:

"Knock" on wood we have not fought yet and that feels great. I think since we are married now I really have nothing to worry about. I never did but now its official so nothing can stop us.

Not to much has changed since the wedding, but our life was a married life before. I can say this: Ashley's attitude, and the sex life....WOW...complete turn around.

My overall response to the Engaged and Underage topic is these are rather elaborate weddings for teenagers. Did they consider having the reception at Senior Prom? Also, I'm not passing judgment on young marriage wholesale - just the type who showcase it on MTV. Is that not inviting failure? And I'm done.

UPDATE: The high-maintenance army-wife-to-be in ep #3 is having a conniption.

I'm sorry, but this never gets old.

I could probably take pictures of adorable moments like this on a daily basis - but this snuggle was particularly sweet. I think they were consoling one another because I had just rejected them from some lap-time.

Dinner For One

NO SYMPATHY, PLEASE!

This was just what I needed. Before the originator of this recipe could even try more than a forkful, I was off to the store to get the ingredients I needed. It just sounded perfect for a warm spring night like this to break in my new porch furniture.

I made Maura's not-your-mother's tuna salad: tuna, pesto, shells, scallions and roasted red peppers. I served it (to myself) on a bed of romain with a side of flatbread, warmed ever-so-perfectly using my quesadilla maker, which heretofor was known to me as having one, and only one function, that being to make quesadillas.



The dinner-for-one was underscored by - ironically, given the pleasantness of my solo dinner - The Shins' new album, Wincing the Night Away. Good stuff.

Baby Shower Success

After a long week plus of preparations, the baby shower for Melissa turned out to be a great day. Here are some pictures.... the rest are in my web album.

This is one of the favors I made - we had blue, pink, yellow, green and purple votive holders.
The fugly cake that ended up tasting amazing. Aunt, Mom, and Grandmother enjoying the shower. Buffet offering: veggie pizza, sandwich wraps, meatballs w/ marinara, chicken-sausage and peppers and onions, lightly coated chicken strips w/ honey mustard, sweet and sour, and honey teryaki dipping sauces, spring mix salad w/ feta and raspberries, fruit, veggies, guacamole and cake!

I even took a stab at making my own coursages:

not quite in my job description, part 2

We celebrate birthdays at the law firm with homemade treats. I volunteer to do the baking more often than not, because, well, I have a modest preference for my own baked goodness. Tomorrow's treat is a devil's food cake with homemade chocolate butter frosting. Slightly sweetened fresh strawberries between the layers and on top.

We had a birthday just one week ago, for which I baked an identical cake, except swap the strawberries for walnuts (which I self-servingly put only on top and kept as whole as possible so that I could avoid the nuts while I enjoyed my slice of cake).

not quite in my job description, part 1

Recent fundraiser play-production, and my Board status meant I assembled the "bulletin boards" for the schoolroom set. I missed my calling as a fourth-grade teacher. Either that, or my hourly rate is incredibly inflated. In the picture, my handiwork is the "Our Country" and "Our Faith" boards.

Those are completely "freestyle" letters (as in I didn't even sketch them out first). I'm a pro with scissors.

baby name thread

Don't non-reluctant bloggers post things called "threads" that are meant to just be the gateway for their readers' comments on a particular topic?

I thought so. Completely without M&M's permission, but in response to JLD's comments re: the-anagram-of-my-name baby name, I am posting this "baby name thread" for any and all suggestions. M&M can just indulge us and make us feel like we are involved in the naming of the baby, then put their original choice on the birth certificate :)

their name alone makes it obvious I would love them

Really really into TV on the Radio right now. And what a great album name: "Return from Cookie Mountain."

The Reluctant Photo Subject

I got some reluctance here, but I insisted my sister comply with demands near and far for documented belly-growth as her pregnancy proceeds. Here they are for the enjoyment of future uncles, aunts and grandparents, and everyone else:





I'm still waiting for M&M to agree to name their unborn daughter (it has to be a girl!) using an anagram of my name.

New Camera at Work in the Outdoors

Did some hiking at McConnell's Mills today, followed by a trip to the North Country Brewery in Slippery Rock. You almost forget you're in Western Pa.

Another Prediction

This blog will very likely be dominated by photos like this:


and this:

and this:

because, well, I have kittens.

Two things to note: 1) the size that these animals have grown to in 5 short months has violated my forever-baby mandate and 2) taking photos of cats with a camera that has a wrist-strap and shutter sounds is muy dificil.

Prediction

What's starting as a forum for sharing the occasional photo will rapidly snowball into a compulsive need to remark daily on only mildly amusing observations, thereby rendering the title of this blog a constant reminder of my intention only to blog sparingly and my inability to refrain from doing so.

And apologies now: phrases like "thereby rendering" and long but digestible sentences are all but impossible for me to suppress from my hours of prolific contract writing. I'll try to make the blog more business cas.

Welcome.