My main squeeze and I have been together for 6 years as of today. I wouldn’t normally write a post about it but I wanted to show you the funny card I got him. The card features a real quote from Cleopatra. More quotable cards here.

We just got back from California where we spent Valentine’s Day celebrating the wedding of R’s friend, Don Handfield, to his lovely bride, Tressa DiFiglia. We left Dulles on Wednesday, 2/13/08 and didn’t get to San Diego until about 12am West Coast time because our fight was delayed due to the icy conditions. When we got there it was rainy and cold. After a minor snafu with our hotel room, we found some late night fast food and settled in for the night. Thursday, Valentine’s Day was the day of the wedding and it was still rainy and chilly. We were hoping the sun would come out by 6pm in time for the ceremony. The wedding ceremony and reception were beautiful.

Friday we woke up to a beautiful sunny day, took a long walk on the beach, ate fish tacos and margaritas, explored a few towns down 101 and walked around Coronado. We stopped at a Mexican place in Coronado and shared the shrimp ceviche in the photo - yum That evening, we returned to the bride’s family home and hung out with their friends and family.

Since we were booked to fly out of San Diego on the red eye Saturday evening, we woke up, checked out of our hotel, and decided to explore as many beaches as possible before our flight. We had brunch at a cute little place in Encinitas that was packed with locals. I love how in California - you can ask for avocado on almost anything and it is no problem at all! I was also AMAZED at the 60-70 degree weather in San Diego and the large number of people out on the beach in February! As a Washington DC - lifer, it was such a cool thing to see. A few other cool things/places we learned about and explored were: Carlsbad, Encinitas, Solana Beach, Del Mar, Pacific Beach, Mission Beach, Ocean Beach, Coronado, the Ocean Palms Beach Resort, The Vine - Wine Bar & Cafe (our last meal in CA), the Green Flash (we tried but didn’t see it).

Now we’re back in icy snowy NoVa - dreamin’ about California weather.

Yesterday was February 6th - the saddest day of the year for my family. February 6th is the day we lost our favorite son, brother, cousin, friend - Art. Miss you, love you Art.

Arthur William Smith IV: 10/13/76-2/6/02

Easter 2007
Robby and I spent Easter Weekend with the O’Hora/Coates/Lance/Kramer/Bergeman/Nakai/Bragg family like we always do. If you’re interested in hearing about Easter, pop on over to The O’Hora Family Blog.

Seviche-Style Shrimp and Avocado Tacos (Summer Repeater)
On one of the warmer days last week, before Easter, I made this recipe, Seviche-Style Shrimp and Avocado Tacos, from Cooking Light. For some reason, I have been forgetting to take pictures lately. This was really really good, easy to prepare, and definitely a repeater, especially if you are fond of avocados like I am. I would save this recipe for a hot summer day since the shrimp/avocado mixture is served cold in a hot tortilla it has a very summery refreshing taste.

Eggplant Creole (Vegan)
Last night I made Eggplant Creole from Fat Free Vegan Kitchen. This was really delicious and surprisingly filling. I guess the fiber in all of the veggies make you fuller quicker since Robby and I were both too stuffed for seconds. I spiced it up with some extra Cholula hot sauce although Robby didn’t think it was very spicy (I’ll add more next time). I served it over brown rice. Definitely a repeater.

Stacey! This is so cool there is one and only one reaction I could have.. THE HAPPY DANCE! That’s right, doing it right now and starting to get a little bit dizzy. I don’t know what I would do without you and now without this blog! I have been deep in thought about how to solve this logistical issue of us being far apart, my thoughts below:

- kidnap you in the middle of the night (your nightmares are bad enough as is)
- shrink you and put you in my pocket (still working on the technology looks like a ‘08 idea)
- Call Scotty and have him “beam” you here (He isn’t available)

Back in the days of the overstuffed backpack, Stacey, you made 1/3 nerd the cool it is today. I only have known one other person that was as original and authentic as you, our brother, Art. While I tried on trends and personalities you guys didn’t need to, you already knew who you were without question. I remember Mom wondering who “the twins” really were; I surely was not like the boy who organized his hats by region and sport on his wall or the little girl who read Gone with the Wind in third grade and then returned it to her alphabetized library. As I searched and experimented my Sun and Moon were constants–leading me by example–by simply being yourselves.

I see that now. I am now in my glory as the yoga, gardening, historical-biography-reading nerd that is me. Thank you for being my constant, my guide, my best friend.

Nerds are cool and always have been.

Typically, a post on a public blog is intended for the general audience. But this post is for one person, Stephanie! Let’s see, Stephanie is…

My best friend,

Twin sister,

Partner in crime,

Trusted confidant,

Workout buddy,

Fellow cooking enthusiast,

Vegetable eater,

Fellow AMC Movie watcher and gossip magazine reader,

Techology lover (Think: Kip from Napolean Dynomite”),

But Stephanie is now

Far Away.

I had a realization the other night after we talked on the phone. You had just returned from Dallas and basically we said to each other, “I have so much I want to tell you but I don’t have time to tell you now!”

Now that we’re getting older, and we don’t live near each other, and our free time never seems to overlap, we don’t have much time to catch up with each other regularly. My realization was that we need a way to share our daily updates and stay connected to each other that doesn’t depend on us both being available at the same time. I thought of a blog, a constant ongoing conversation of things we want to tell each other and share with others too. Obviously, there are still topics that we won’t discuss publicly on the blog. I think this little nook on the Web will be a great outlet for us to share our new favorite recipes, fitness stories, health information, entertainment, and all the things we used to talk about every day. That means, when we have time to catch up on the phone and hang out, you won’t have to spend any time telling me about your new workout routine or favorite new recipe…because I will already know.

I think your going to really enjoy posting and reading this site and I can’t wait to get started. I’ll be in touch for your Blogging 101 tutorial with your username and password in hand.

Love you,

~Stacey (1/2 of StephandStace.com)