!!!!!!

Rereading Monday's blog, I realized that wow! I sure use a lot of exclamation points!!! I need to watch that!

When I was cleaning on Monday afternoon, I was struck by this incongruity, which pretty much sums up this winter in Omaha! (Again! Dammit!)

Okay, on to the real stuff. On Monday night, I tried a new Abs Diet recipe: grown-up grilled cheese. I thought I would love it, and while it was okay, it was a little bland. Good thing we had some leftover buffalo chicken chili to serve with it. Although the mozzarella looks good and melty, doesn't it? It's making me a little hungry right now, as a matter of fact. (The old me would have added an exclamation point here.)

I knew Tuesday would be a busy day so I made myself a hearty breakfast, courtesy of my friend, MaryLu. This is her recipe for protein pancakes, which I understand also makes a pretty good waffle. (She may have mentioned that once or twice or half a dozen times.)

this is a dinner-size plate

MaryLu's Protein Pancakes

3 egg whites

1/2 cup oatmeal (not instant)

1/2 cup cottage cheese

1/2 tsp each of cinnamon, almond extract, and vanilla extract

Mix in a blender (the Magic Bullet is fine) for 1 minute. Pour in hot skillet and cook 3 minutes on the first side and 2 minutes on the other.

This recipe makes 2 good-sized pancakes. I just poured the whole batter in my 12" skillet to make one giant one and it was fine.

I'd like to say that I ate it topped with yogurt and fruit, but what I really did was tear it into bite-sized pieces and eat it with my fingers while drinking coffee and playing Words With Friends in front of the Today Show. With my cats:

I know, just too darn cute

(I calculated the nutritional data for the pancake if you're interested: 278 calories, 4 g fat, 32 g carbs, 4 g fiber, and 31 g protein. No wonder I stayed full.)

At work, we had the staff walk-through for the upcoming Egypt show, "To Live Forever." When they opened the doors to the gallery, I think I gasped. Audibly. The wall is painted a deep blue, and there are two huge carved stone sarcophagi (sarcophaguses?) to greet you. The exhibit is full of treasures - literally - that make me want to go back when I can read EVERYTHING. The oldest piece, and maybe my favorite, is a statue of a terracotta woman from around 3500 B.C.E. Simply amazing. Don't worry - I'll be filling you in on Egyptology throughout the course of the show. And if you live in Omaha, make it a point to get your butt down to the Jos and see this! (Yes! Exclamation required!)

source

As it turns out, I didn't have knitting here yesterday; we didn't have it at all. Too many people were out of town or had other things going on. It felt weird to come home and NOT knit.

But since our kitchen is closed on Tuesday night, and we had to have dinner, Dwight went to a little local Mexican place and picked up some food. I ordered the two beef taco dinner, and I was just too embarrassed to take a picture. Picture two big tacos, rice, and refried beans. All in a styrofoam box. Ugh. I'd like to say that they were fabulous, but they weren't. I ate both tacos (minus one shell) and part of the beans.

But today is a new day, right? I had The Usual for breakfast, then did the Fab Abs February workout for today: 30 sit-ups, 8 push-ups, and a 25-second plank. Still not too bad...

I also did a Couch to 5K workout; it feels really good to run again. (Never thought I'd say that!)

I made a Big Salad for lunch:

We're going to a friend's house for dinner and I really don't know what will be served. And I do know that I'll have a glass of wine. But at least I got a whole bunch of veggies in me. I'll probably have a string cheese just before we go so I'm not ravenous. I'll let you know what dinner was - although I don't know them well enough to pull out my camera...