Day at the Museum!

Stayed in bed as long as possible. When it's 9°F outside, no one wants to go anywhere. I mean really. But I finally got up around 10:30-11 am, and after getting dressed +Andrew (Hubs), +Richard Chason II (BiL), and I all went to Starbucks. I had the same breakfast I had yesterday (when I actually started counting calories): oatmeal and coffee. I cut out the half & half and instead went for a sampler cup of whole milk. I used to hate oatmeal, but for the past year or so I've grown very fond of it, especially when I'm able to add in apples. A few days ago, Hubs even commented:
A: "I thought you hated raisins?" B: "Well, I hated oatmeal too. But they go great together." BiL wanted to go to the Boise Art Museum, so I asked to stop in Walmart and buy some healthy snack foods. For whatever reason, my heart (and tongue) was set on carrots. I grabbed two bags of baby carrots; a small box of seasoned, crumbled feta; and a large bag of lightly salted almonds, plus a box of sandwich bags to stuff my snacky-snacks in.

On the way to BAM I assembled little ~150-Calorie bags and stuck them in my pockets, intending to munch away at feta-seasoned carrots and almonds while walking through the museum. Unfortunately, as soon as we walked in the door we were politely told no water was allowed (Hubs and I had brought our cups from Starbucks) and allowed to place them on a counter to pick up when we left. I put my coat back in the car so there would be no hint at funny business.

I fancy myself not-too-shabby in the artistic department. I write (some days more than others), and sketch when I can. I've never considered myself and artist, but I know what I like and dislike.
There were some thought-provoking pieces at BAM, but wow some of the items felt so arrogantly boring I was irritated. Currently a piece titled 'White Elephants' is displayed, and I liked it. One is able to walk among the true-to-scale elephants, inflated and made from parachute material. Massive creatures. We also watched a film regarding the creation of one of the glass vases in their pottery & glassware exhibit. I was definitely much more appreciative after seeing the literal sweat which goes into making the glass-blown vase (and that craft interests me, regardless).

The rest of our time was spent waxing poetic about how I could create a piece of 'art' in 367 days from the sweat of my feet, representing each step I traveled in that allotted time, and lightly arguing over how I could accomplish such a thing. This was pretty much ended with Hubs commenting that I could just not do any of that but say I did. It was time to go.

After leaving BAM, we stopped at the truck and I snacked away for a bit before we walked across the street to the Idaho State Historical Museum. I had a much better time there. Seeing authentic, historical tools (from atlatls to arrows to irons to saws) was exciting. The intricate bead- and quillwork done by Idaho's native peoples especially grabbed my attention. While the beading is beautiful and still brightly colorful, I found the quillwork more impressive because porcupine quills are used, dyed with natural pigments from flowers and nuts. This art form quickly lost favor with the tribes when Europeans began trading beads with them. Still lots of work, but it looks so modern compared to the rustic weaving of the quills.

Several different taxidermied animals were displayed, including three different birds prior-to unknown and discovered by Lewis and Clark. Rooms modeled after home aspects in the late 1800s/early 1900s were visible, including my favorite: the "thunder mug"! Yes, that's another name for chamber pot, and it cracked my immature self up. Because Idaho is also a center for Chinese immigration during that time, there was a mock Chinese herb shop and a case of Chinese gambling items.

By the time we finished (right as the museum was closing), we were ready to eat. BiL headed to The Ram (where I'd never been) and after much deliberation I finally decided on a patty melt without 1000 Island dressing, subbing in tomatoes instead. I fully intended to store half the sandwich in a to-go box and bring it home for later, but after taking a bite I knew I'd eat it all there. I ordered oven-roasted veggies (a medley of chopped red & green peppers, red & white onions, mushrooms, and zucchini) in of fries, and as usual stuck with water. The Hubs and BiL ordered steaks and were fairly pleased with how they turned out. I love caramelized onions. These were not that. I'm unsure if they just weren't roasted long enough, or if when one roasts the onions never exactly soften, but the veggies were a bit too raw for my liking so I only ate half of them (making sure to pick out the few pieces of zucchini and mushroom). But our waitress was very proactive and due to a problem with Hubs' soup he was given his meal for free. I found them accommodating and the atmosphere was pleasant, even for a Saturday night.

Then we realized we wanted dessert. The prices were a bit much for BiL's tastes, and then he thought of Krispy Kreme. Oh, oh dear. I used his tablet to figure up the calories I'd eaten throughout the day and look up Krispy Kreme's nutritional info. I decided I could buy two donuts, enjoy one at the store and bring the other home. Of course, that's never how it happens. One of the servers handed us a fresh donut shortly after we walked in, and it was so, so good. Then Hubs asked me if we should buy an assorted dozen to eat throughout the week. I should have said no. I could have said no. But I said "Sure," and picked out six. THEN I ate one of those while sitting at the table!

Those were easily the worst, emptiest calories I had all day. But they were tasty, and as you can see with my count, I still ended up well below my self-imposed 2500 Calories for the day.

Breakfast:
Oatmeal: 400 C
Coffee (plus 4 oz whole milk): 78 C

Snack:
Carrots: 35 C
Almonds: 71 C
Feta: 50 C

Dinner:
Patty Melt: 700 C
Oven-roasted Veggies: 50 C*

Dessert:
Donuts (one glazed, one apple-filled) : 480 C
2% Milk (about 4 oz): 56 C

Total: 1920 C

*didn’t eat all veggies, and information is hard to find regarding calories for 8 pieces of chopped onion ;)

The biggest issue I've run into in the past 48 hours involves approximations in calories. It has been strongly suggested that I invest in a food scale, and once I save up I intend to do just that. I'll also start preparing meals to freeze, so I can simply pop one in the nuker when family dinner looks too calorie-laden. One day, one meal at a time, ladies!