The President & Mrs.

Time has a great slide show of a backstage view of the Obama Inauguration. Per Mrs-O.org you also get a glimpse into the cardigan the First Lady wore under her lemongrass ensemble. Great layering Mrs. Prez!

If you follow the links to other slide shows on the Time website there are also some great photos of the girls and an interesting behind the scenes montage of the President working with his advisers on his speech.

Great stuff!

The President & Mrs.

The blogger Mrs-O.org found this great pic (borrowed from the LA Times) of President Obama and his wife, Michelle backstage at one of the balls. It's so touching.

I guess I'm just in a "forward the info along" kind of mood tonight instead of coming up with anything very original. But really - he gave her his jacket! Come on - give me an" awwwwww"!

This is the second pic I've seen of them where they're touching foreheads. So cute! I wonder if it's his way of not messing up her makeup? ;-)

A first flight

National Geographic was filming a special on Air Force One and happened to be present when President Obama had his first flight. Especially amusing is how, with any type of food at his beck & call, our humble President ordered a burger.

"and cheddar if you have it" says the Prez

"sir you know I have it" replies the porter

You know they have anything he wants in the gourmet kitchen of Air Force One but all he wants is a cheeseburger, a salad and maybe those fries on the side. :)

Ya gotta love the giddiness of the moment.

Obama Staffers Find Lack of Technology In White House

I don't care what your political affiliation is. This article from the Washington Post is extremely disturbing. The fact that the White House is so backwards with technology is almost unbelievable.

It's difficult to comprehend how any administration could effectively run our country without updated technology. The previous administration hadn't even updated their computers to Microsoft Office 2007!

I understand the need for security and the need to retain information for history but certainly someone who is assigned a laptop could easily hand over their machine each morning for a full download into a main database (to retain information) and some sort of security could be set up for access off-site.

I can't believe our country has been run on outdated technology! Doesn't the CIA use laptops?

I'm in shock!

Powdered Peanut Butter!

I know you're all saying, "HUH??"

My Weight Watchers coach brought in some powdered peanut butter from Bell Plantation in Tifton, GA this week. It smelled wonderful and I made a mental note to see about buying some. Well when I got into work this AM I had a great surprise! My WW friend at work bought a case and brought me not just powdered peanut butter but a jar of Chocolate powdered peanut butter!!!

It's been touted on Hungry Girl's website and several WW blogs. According to the website it's "made with premium quality peanuts that are slow roasted and pressed to remove fat." The result? Peanut butter that is not 200 calories and mostly fat (and 4 WW points) but peanut butter that is 53.2 calories, 1.87 grams of fat and .48 dietary fiber! Resulting in 1 point! ONE!

I love it when manufacturers give us the real nutrition facts down to a decimal point!

What in the world will we do with this stuff? Heck I don't know... eat it? The fact that we can now have a PB&J after a workout thrills me. The website for Bell Plantation has a bunch of recipes from folks who have tested it in the kitchen.

I love it when someone creates a product that's both good for you and tastes like the real stuff. It smells wonderful!

I'll let you know how it turns out!

Potato Salad

2 pounds of fingerling potatoes, cut up & parboiled (until they are soft but not too soft)
1/2 cup fat free plain yogurt
5 tablespoons low fat mayo (you could use ff if you have it)
1 lemon
5 slices precooked bacon
1 cup of chopped scallions (green onions)
1/2 cup low fat (or ff!) shredded sharp cheddar
salt/pepper

Mix the yogurt & mayo, add the juice of one lemon and mix well. Add salt/pepper as desired. Add chopped up bacon (precooked!!), cheddar, scallions and parboiled potatoes.

When I drain my potatoes I rinse them in cold water, which cools them down a lot and makes it possible to serve this immediately instead of needing to wait for it to cool down.

6 servings, 4 WW points and very yummy!

Inauguration Traffic

Information on road and bridge closings during the Inauguration.

Basically all bridges and roads going into DC from VA will be closed to any non-mass transit vehicles. If you aren't on a bus, on a bike or on the metro you aren't getting into DC on January 20th. Road closures in DC proper will begin on Monday January 19th.

Plan carefully folks!

“We urge motorists – whether traveling by bus, van or car – to plan their route well in advance, know what bridges and roads will be restricted and where they will park, make sure their vehicle is in top operating condition, travel with a full tank of gas and prepare for long delays and a lot of walking,” said Col. W. Steven Flaherty, Virginia State Police Superintendent. (from the NBC Washington Website)

I wonder why VA is closing all roads and bridges but MD isn't? It says that vehicular traffic is not limited from MD, only VA (although DC is urging MD residents to use mass transit). Interesting!

Richmond SPCA offers free Kitty Fixing

Being a displaced Richmond native, I have a special place in my heart for the Richmond SPCA. I watched them grow up. They are now one of the nicest no-kill shelters on the east coast.

I am on their email list and follow them even though I now live outside of Washington DC. This morning I got a blurb about how they are doing free kitty fixings! Here's the info:

Special Smoky's Spay/Neuter Clinic Offer

Our Smoky's Spay/Neuter clinic performed an amazing 13,000 free and low-cost surgeries in 2008. These surgeries are a vitally important part of our efforts to reduce the pet overpopulation problem in our community. We're starting the new year with a goal to meet or top that amazing feat and are offering free spay and neuter surgeries for all owned cats through March 31, 2009. Feral cat surgeries remain free as always. This offer is open to cats whose owners live in the City of Richmond or the counties of Chesterfield, Hanover, Henrico and Goochland. There are no income restrictions and kittens weighing 2 pounds or more qualify. Appointments may be scheduled online or by calling 804-521-1300. Please note that appointments for feral cats may not be scheduled online.

I think it's absolutely fabulous that they offer a free clinic for folks to get their furry felines spayed/neutered. It's even better that they spay/neuter feral cats for free!

Please pass along this information to anyone in the Richmond, VA area who might be able to take advantage of this and if you can, send them a small donation for their great efforts animal rescue.

Their slogan is "Every life is precious" and boy do they mean it.