Spring Break 2010

We're doing this:

London


San Marino/Rimini (Italy)


Taranto


But most importantly:

Panzerotti di Ernesto



Let the countdown begin! (55 days)

Recent Musings

There really are some musings I have been meaning to write about for a while now. The first one is relevant to why I haven't been blogging much lately.

1. I ALWAYS have something I should be doing. Whether it be (besides working all day) homework, planning for school, reading a book club book (haven't started the next one and we're down to four weeks!), cleaning, working out, etc. I feel like I never have time to just...SIT, watch t.v., surf the web, etc. Will the day ever come when I say, "I have nothing to do today!" Maybe in 40 years? Sigh...

2. I was talking to a friend at work the other day, and I was musing (out loud) about how miraculous it was that I haven't been sick at all since we started school in August! People, this truly is miraculous. This has never happened since I started teaching 7 years ago. I ALWAYS get at least two sinus infections in a school year, and I ALWAYS get one by now. I usually get a cold or the flu or something. My friend said, "It's probably because you've been eating so healthfully." And all the sudden, I realized, this may be true! Since changing my eating habits almost a year ago (light on the meat and dairy and very heavy on the fruits and veggies and whole grains), I haven't been sick yet. I'm not saying I'm immune, I'm just saying, that's one difference in my life since my lifestyle change. (Now that I've mentioned this little miracle, I'll probably start getting sick, oh, tomorrow).

3. Today is the second Monday in a row that Fabio and I got dressed to go to the gym, and then didn't go. Last week, the parking lot was full and it was raining and we didn't want to have to walk in the rain. This week, after we got dressed, Fabio kept getting work calls. By the time he hung up, it had been an hour, and we were too hungry to go. These two excuses probably make us the most pathetic people in the whole world.

4. The Nannerpussus came for a visit! And Nanner came AGAIN last week because he loves us so much! For those of you (that would be most of you) not in on the inside joke, about a year ago, Abbie (my sister) sent this video around to all of us siblings:

Nannperpuss Video

My sister-in-law, Bridget, served her mission in Japan, and so we wondered how you would say "nannerpuss" in Japanese. She determined that it would be "nannerpussu." To our delight, after doing a YouTube search, we found this:

Asian Nannerpuss

From the moment we saw this video (and laughed, on the ground, for about an hour), we could not call Dane and Bridget anything else.

Now that you know the story...The Nannerpussus came a few weekends ago, and Nanner (Dane) came last weekend again. Dane is doing an internship with Continental Airlines, so they can fly standby for free. Bridget was gone last weekend, and Dane just loves us so much, he came back to be with us. Sorry, no pics to prove the blast we had both times, but let's just say, there was walking in Discovery Park, ferry ride to Bremerton, drive through Gig Harbor, dinner at our favorite restaurants, hanging out in cafes. I must say, we're pretty good hosts.

5. I'm so glad the Australian Open is going on right now. It's relieving my cravings for some solid pro-tennis action. I'm still waiting to see my not-so-secret crushes, Fed and Rafa.

6. This picture speaks for itself (but, you know me, I'll still speak some more about it):


Fabio’s life has been consumed by setting up his law practice in Gig Harbor. Yes, not Seattle. Gig Harbor. We’ve been in love with this little town on a peninsula northwest of Tacoma for a long time. Maybe you can see why:

Today was really the first day he’s been “open for business." Last week he was busy putting furniture together, visiting his neighbors and other relevant town folk. I’m very proud of his hard work, and there are a lot of reasons to be hopeful that Gig Harbor is the right place for us. As of now, our plan is to move there this summer. This story will continue to unfold as time passes.

In the meanwhile, here are a few pictures of his office and evidence of his hard work last week:




7. I am REALLY missing this right now:

I'm feeling like I would not be opposed at all to moving back to Europe.

Sweet Potato Bake-YUM!

3 cups fusilli (spiral) pasta (or other similar shape)
1 head kale, chopped
1 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes (I just used one really big one)

Sauce:
1 1/4 cup soy milk (I used almond, but I don't see why you couldn't use cow's milk too)
1/3 cup raw, unsalted cashews
1/3 cup nutritional yeast (I found this in a health food store, similar to Whole Foods. It was in the bulk aisle. It is yellow and flaky and smells/tastes cheesy)
3 tablespoons tamari (or soy sauce)
2 tablespoons margarine
1 tablespoon tahini (I think this is so similar to hummus, you could just use that)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon powdered ginger
1 pinch nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon paprika
black pepper to taste
bread crumbs for topping (optional)

Step 1: Boil the pasta
Step 2: Two or three minutes before the pasta is done, throw in the chopped kale. When the pasta is cooked and the kale is bright green but tender, drain and set aside.
Step 3: Chop the sweet potatoes into bite-sized chunks. Boil in salt water until tender but not falling apart. Drain.
Step 4: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Step 5: To make the sauce, blend all remaining ingredients in a blender. Blend well for several minutes until the sauce is smooth and creamy. Taste and season if necessary.
Step 6: Combine the pasta, kale and sweet potatoes with the sauce and stir well. Place in a casserole dish and top with bread crumbs if desired. Bake for 20 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Serve.

Yummy!

For the past year or so, Fabio and I have been trying to be more conscious about what we eat. When we eat at home, we're trying to cut way back on meat and dairy. We are by no means going vegan, but merely trying to eat more nutritious, whole foods.

Abbie gave us a vegan cookbook for Christmas, and I tried my first recipe from it a few days ago. I was a little concerned that Fabio wouldn't like it because he likes familiar tastes, but this meal surprised us both. It's called "Sweet Potato Bake" and it is AMAZING. It's pasta, sweet potatoes, kale and an "alfredo sauce." The sauce is mostly just almond milk, cashews, nutritional yeast and a bunch of spices. Blended together, it makes the yummiest sauce! I can't wait to use it on other recipes! (I made this recipe again today, by the way.)

I have a lot of other vegan recipes that I use, but this one is right up there with the most comforting of them. I took a photo to capture this meal's glory, and Fabio insisted that the meal needed one more thing to make it pure perfection, so here ya go:



PS: If I get enough comments, I'll post the recipe, but it's pretty long, so I didn't want to type it all out unless I felt there was a demand.

Fabio Got Head Shots and Dale Got Married!

Fabio played model and Abbie played paparazzi (yes, I let her have the title for the weekend) on Saturday, while she so graciously took a few head shots of Fabio for his website and other professional websites. I thought he looked pretty hot, so I just wanted to post a few for posterity's sake. :)





She also took a few shots of the two of us. This is the picture that sparked my New Year's goal of losing 10 lbs in two months:



As a side note, the last Smith got married a few weeks ago. Dale married the beautiful Leisa Heward and they had their Sunnyside open house last night. It was so fun to be together. It made me a little sad to think that this is the last wedding reception/open house we will have in the immediate Smith family. I don't know when we will see our Sunnyside friends again since my parents live in Prosser now. The highlight of the evening was watching Ella and Leisa's three year old nephew, Lincoln chase each other around all night. The best part was when he told my mom, "Don't pick her up! She is my friend!"

Anyway, a great time was had by all. I'm sad to see the holidays over, sad to go back to work, sad to say goodbye to family. :( I know this is a bit of a downer, but that's how I'm feeling right now, so I'm going to let it be.

Check out Abbie's photo blog to see photos of Dale and Leisa's wedding a few weeks ago.