5 Years!

We lived in Santa Barbara for nearly 5 years.  That might not sound like a lot to some people, but we have never lived anywhere more than 3 years in a row up until now, so a large portion of our lives as a family was invested in our paradisaical experience.

I am not as poetic as my friend Katie who did a beautiful post on her departure from Santa Barbara, but I did run across the email that I sent out to people when we first moved there:

 

Hola a todos!

  

 

  

We are now living in Santa Barbara where Steve has embarked on his final journey towards his Ph.D (religious studies)!  I am working from home and travel once a month or so out to North Carolina to work with 5 schools there.  Casey and Bridget are happy in school and Gillian hangs around the neighborhood during the day.  We live in the family housing and we are renting out our home in Sacramento for the time being.

  

 

  

Life is wonderful and we have been blessed in a million small and big ways.

  

 

  

In trying to be more organized in this new lifestyle (small apartment living and all) I decided that I need to gather together our addresses in one location and realized that we sold our old computer and forgot to get our address book off of the hard drive!  So while some people might not care whether or not they ever see us again, we still would like to send

out Christmas cards, etc.  to the people that we love the mostest!  

 

  

Please send us your current information- names and ages of children, address, phone number, email that is better than this one.  No one is exempt from this request, even the people who I talked to like, last week, I don't have your addy.

  

 

  

Love to you all and word to your mothers,

 

Lee Ann, Steve, and Family

 

It is amazing how I still have all the same shortcomings--losing addresses, writing random words in Spanish, and overuse of parenthesis. 

And some things have changed:

This n That

I have a great post dedicated to myself in my head but first I need to clear off my photos from my phone.

First, since she refuses to update her own blog, a couple of blurries from a divine breakfast we had on a long layover on my last trip to the East Coast.  I need more trips there so I can layover in DC.  I was going to buy them breakfast but they showed up with their own donuts.  So much for the cinnabon they could have had.

I mean, look at the boy's hair?  I didn't realize he was going to be so blonde!



And I left this one in so you can see a very teensy pic of that gorgeous curly-haired girl in the background...

Then of course, the two of us, bffing it up in the airport:

It was wonderful, I mean really truly wonderful to see Katie.  Some people your DNA requires that you see on a regular basis to be happy inside--there was just a little lighter step in my walk for the rest of the weekend. 

Next, obligatory V-day cookies.  I actually made two big batches yesterday and thanks to Lisa for helping get the frosting on these little beauties.  Why did I make cookies you ask?

1)  To support the "no sugar" policy in classroom parties

2)  Because this is our last week at school

3)  Because who can resist soft heart-shaped cookies?

The problem is, once you have three school-aged children it turns into a major ordeal.   

Especially when kid #1 says "How about the cookies ARE my Valentines? We can just put their names on the cookies?"

He hates making Valentines.

I forgot to grab a picture of the cute little homemade valentines that the kids made though, maybe later today.

In Our Lovely Desert

I cannot believe it has happened, but I have actually grown weary of living in paradise.  For those who live in Santa Barbara, it may come as a surprise to you because, well, how can one tire of a place like this?

Well, news flash, it is not the town, it is the place where I spend the majority of my day working, eating, breathing, sleeping, and loving my family that is causing my consternation.


Currently I can do neither.  Every little thing I try to do causes me deep frustration:

• Towels do not dry in this climate so after a shower, with limited space to hang your towel, chances are about 90% that just hanging it on the rack is going to yield a damp towel tomorrow.  Yuck and yuck.
• No dishwasher= limited counter top space in an already teensy apartment
• No place to put my purse so it ends up on the floor, oft times falling victim to a passer-by toddler
• We have recently started a new daily exercise routine--this has been wonderful and since our chore routine has worked fairly effectively, the routine seems to come naturally and is fun.  The girls and I had a great time trying to follow an aerobics clip, but there was only about 4 square feet to share for three people.  It was tough not to punch my children while trying to do this potentially wonderful bonding activity.  
• Knives are hung up on a handy little IKEA magnet strip hanging on the wall due to shortage of drawer and counter space, but I have a few more that don't fit so they go, along with my awesome microplane grater, high above reach.  My reach.  
• Books, books everywhere and ne'er a space on the bookshelf to be found--so when I want to loan out a book, nay determine if I still even have a book? I have to look behind books--who has double book rows?  We do.
• My office space is semi-packed up so now I am working off of my futon which is sadly tough on the back.
• No place to put my new fitness hula hoop
• Can't find spices that I know are there because they are all crammed into my only food cabinet. 
• Cannot reach my recipe books or most food items because they are in the pantry behind an old changing table that currently serves as storage for other items.

So needless to say, I am actually ready to move to Utah, in spite of some climate disadvantages... because my daily moments should naturally become more enjoyable.  At least that is the hope.  If anyone wants to give us a free place to live in THIS climate, of course we are open to that.  We only need about 2K square feet, we aren't picky.

BUT lest ye think that I am in despair, I am not!  I still love it here, I am just ready to move on to the bigger and broader world where my towels can dry and I can locate my spices in a second.  And how do I keep up this peppy 'tude?  Why, the new exercise routine!

It goes like this:  Pick something from each row on our chart (cardio, 15 minutes, upper body, 10 x 3 reps, core 10 x 3 reps)  I find the adrenaline very helpful, particularly if we get it going right before dinner, the time I am most likely to be frustrated.  Last night this guy waylaid my frustration:

Get fit with Micah

Lifestyles of the Rich and Their Servants

If you had enough money to buy five homes and have a set of servants for each home, would one of them be placed with a view like this?

With a swimming pool like this?

In the same 'hood as Oprah?

Would you hire a personal chef who can pop stuff like this out at a minute's notice?

I think I would.


Gillian has a friend in her class whose father is the personal chef of a wealthy family and his wife is the maid.  They live in the "servant's quarters" of the house with their daughter and they live to serve their "patrons" when they are in town.  When not in town, they don't work.  So I guess this person has enough money to keep four servants employed full-time at this particular house.

I didn't take any pictures inside the main house in case the octogenarian owners surf the web and fire their poor servants for letting us in the house, but it was interesting to see how the other half live..

Honesty, it was pretty tacky in the decor department.  They had a bunch of cowboy portraits that were totally uncoordinated and they had spent a lot of money doing it.  The house had expensive carpet and doors (the doors seemed to be covered in some kind of soft suede) and they had a Picasso.  The one thing about the house that really had me impressed was the vast dinnerware sets they had.  There were over 20 complete sets from all over the world: Morocco, Italy, Switzerland, etc. and apparently they insist on having their food served on a different set every night.

They served us up our own four course meal that was truly delectable and we really enjoyed getting to know the couple.  Little French chef and Mexicana hospitality, what more can one ask for?

From what we understood the patroness treats her servants like Lucille Bluth might so it sounded like a demeaning job, but to look at this view every night might be worth it.

What Scouts Do in Santa Barbara

Casey's first official Boy Scout camping trip.  He loved it.

A Few Updates

Droid is great. I am used to it now, have no complaints about the service or the interface and it has now taken the place of my iPhone. I will always love my iPhone but I can no longer say that it was a better phone. Too many cool things on the droid.

Gillian is doing really well--we took her this summer to get a second opinion from a specialist in Utah and he said that the treatment she is getting here is stellar (current treatment: do nothing, medically known as "wait and watch')

I have a list of 13 things I am going to do in Santa Barbara before I leave town. I completed #1 on Saturday. Here is my list, feel free to join me if you like and reviews welcome

1) Gaviota Hot Springs (it was like a warm, stinky bathtub, the girls totally went swimming and loved it, picture coming next post)

2) Tidepool--the problem here is that the low tide is early morning or late at night so I have to pick a Friday night or something

3) Painted Caves

4) Red Rock Swimming Hole

5) Railroad depot to take pictures of my kids

6) UCSB Art Museum

7) Storke tower--I want to see if I can find my way to the top, I hear they don't do that anymore but I would love to try

8) SB Orchid Estate

9) Clairmont Lavender Farm

10) Gaviota Coast Conservatory

11) Ganey Vineyards

12) Drum Circle on East/West Beach

13) Oak Park Wading Pool

I know that anyone who lives here has already done all of these things, I am just a slacker. We have already done cool stuff locally but we don't get out enough.  It is tough to do everything when you live a mile from a couple of beaches, a butterfly preserve, a couple of nice hikes, a lake, and a Costco.  Who else can claim that?

Beautiful City, Beautiful People

My friend Vivian had the grace to take pictures of our family today in spite of my having knocked her out of the dessert competition last month.  True friendship.

Vivian is a great photographer--she has thousands and thousands of great pictures and videos of her own hilarious toddler plus she takes pictures for other peeps all the time. 

She selected the venue and I have to sadly admit that I rarely take advantage of the wonderful buildings.  I have not asked her permission to post the pics so I can't show the first few yet but I have to brag about living in a city that features this kind of courthouse.  If you have never been to SB, I highly, highly recommend it.  It is December and we get this kind of day? Plus, if you break the law you get to spend some quality time right here:

What I Do These Days

I haven't done a real post on what I have been up to for many moons.  At least two moons.

Why you ask?  The law prevents me.  I have been up to my ears in politics and I really had no idea what I was getting into when I was appointed member of the group that governs the charter of my kids' school.  It has been a totally wild ride that has occupied my thoughts, dreams, actions, and allll my time.  Currently our school has no principal which requires me to read an extra 50-100 emails a day since I am the executive responsible for the organization until we have an administrator.

If I did not have a job that occupied a significant portion of my time it would be so fun!  I love using my skills and knowledge acquired through working in education to benefit (I hope) their school. Why shouldn't I spend day and night fighting for this school; both to keep it open and to make it better?

But as it stands, I do have this job.  And I love my job.  And I must be loyal to my employer who really and truly takes care of me.  So as this year wraps up and I have no idea what happened to my plans of grandeur regarding Christmas preparation, I must refocus my efforts on the nation at large and the state of education elsewhere and spend significantly less time addressing the issues at the school that has the most immediate impact on my life.  I have the most supportive husband who though he thinks I am loco, believes in me and the choices I make.

I wish I could tell you all the lurid details of the painful decisions I have had to make, but in the end I am a Californian and here, we don't keep secrets from the public.  Which means I can't write them on my blog. Sound contradictory?  Welcome to my world.

This and That

I finally am taking a break from this whole school biz for a day or two to catch you up on the various and sundry events of my life.
1. Dessert Contest update

I need to take better pictures of the food before people eat and I will do that next time for sure.  We are down to final four:

Katie
Jeannie
Bridget
Me

So for the next round, Katie and Jeannie will duke it out in what will undoubtedly be the dessert match-up of all match-ups.  I will face my 8 year-old daughter.  I don't know if she has been winning on merit or youth but obviously it could be a humiliating loss for me.


2.   Grandma Jo and her sister's birthday.  A local campground featured an almost all-ladies cast of fun family activities.  Happy to see step-mom looking so good these days. We miss Hippie Artist but he would have wanted her to be happy and she was smiling.  Good to see.

3.  Any given Sunday in downtown Indy.  The Colts were playing the Pats, big game I guess.  Here is some of the evidence from my downtown stroll when I was on the road last week:

4.  Any given Sunday in SB--Meg and Katie as twinners:



















The Sunday toddlin' crew:

5.  Casey making Ebelskivers
















6.  High School Rally in Southern Illinois:

Theme for the game?  Meat house:

7.  Chillin with my eldest child on Wednesday, finally some reprieve after all this school fighting biz:

Update for the People

Latest update.

The reporter was so beautiful I decided not to even bother fixing my hair. 

A New Haircut

Sorry to beat a dead horse but here is one more video that shows the district's side.

Does not include my reference to our 6th grade scores outscoring every school so it makes it sound like he has data and we have touchy feely, but at this point, maybe touchy feely will get us a few more supporters.

What do you think of my new haircut anyway?

Last Night

Wow.  The show of community was incredible.  Check out this site and click on the video to see it live.

Does it seem like the 60s?  My mom would be proud.

Incidentally, I didn't march, I just met people there since I was nervous about presenting.

A Job I Don't Want

Superintendent.

I understand what he thinks.

I understand that he does not support bilingual education if it means it brings down the average score of his API for the district.

I believe him when he says he has sleepless nights.

But I will agree to disagree with him and find it offensive that he stood in front of our teachers and stated that we are the only school in the district that asks lower level questions.  That is unpossible.

This business has to end pronto, I need to go back to my day job.

Bored Reflection

Wow I had a personally humbling experience last night.

I spoke on behalf of our community to let the board know that we really do qualify for charter renewal and I watched myself deliver one of the bumpiest 3 minutes of my speaking career.

I spent some serious reflection in which I was fumingly angry with myself looking at why I didn't prepare differently to meet this challenge. I did prepare--spent time as a board coming up with a message that my community wanted me to deliver. Had Steve take a look and help me tighten up my thesis (he is wicked good at that writing business) and even sent a video preview to Katie as my news mogul expert.

So before I make it sound like I didn't even get the words out, first let me say that I delivered the message the board crafted for me. I stood up in front of the board and a large number of our school community and spoke aloud what was on my paper.

So I had this whole message prepared for the board about the data and then the Superintendent acknowledged us early on and told the board that he would be giving them some information and he figured that is why everyone in the room was in attendance. I appreciated what he said but it also made what I had to say seem less important to them. I was highlighting information that they thought they were going to get in another form. I hope someone heard something I said.

I stumbled a bit--you know, nerves and all--but the crowd was significantly smaller than groups that I have presented to before. If I can orchestrate a balloon drop in front of a crowd three times that size you would think I could speak for 3 minutes to a smaller crowd but I still was nervous. Only instead of getting over that first 15 seconds it just got worse and worse.

So what went awry? Well after serious introspection I feel like I should have crafted a 30-second message even though they allot for 3 minutes. Why? Because rather than listen to what I came to say, a few of the board members were staring at the clock above my head and pointing at the time and whispering to each other. I almost wondered if there was a scene happening behind me and partially turned around at one point but I just drilled on through.

I wish I would have said something about being distracted or just stopped speaking like I would have in a classroom. Teaching has ruined me from speaking to disengaged people.

So all in all I am sure it was fine but I just was so disconcerted at my public speaking failure and my lack of ability to control the situation.

I guess we will find out whether or not it made a difference. Ugh.

I feel like I let my community down but at least I told them that I was not a good public speaker before they sent me up there.

:EDIT:
Local newspaper picked it up the story if you want to read about it here

Outings

We are suddenly leaving on Saturday at 1 pm sharp to drive up to Sacramento. We are going to camp out in our house, clean it up, and hopefully approve new renters to move in asap.

One major unknown is what kind of state the house will be in upon arrival. Hopefully it isn't trashed up because we are having our kids sleep there. Yeah.

Anyway after we go to Sac we will drive straight to Utah (forgoing Vegas--sob--and going through N. Nevada ugh) and we will stay there for a coupla weeks if anyone wants to get together. I head to Denvah (me alone with the kids methinks if the hostess is okay with that) and then a few other places (Utah-Grand Rapids-Utah-Vegas) prior to returning home in early August.

This is all last minute of course. In the meantime I had a fun hangout day with everyone's favorite freighbor.

Some pics from the day:

How many of you have playgroup on a boat off the coast? Yeeahhh that's what I thought...













































Kids got to play capitán...























































I was thinking it was a real party boat until I saw this sign. It struck me as funny, I don't know why. It seems implied that one cannot break the law, but maybe on boats you have to be specific. Lil Toot does not tolerate Cartel clientele.




























Two friends will be heartbroken when Katie & fam pack up. So will their daughters who love to play together:





















Another group shot on the boat in case you missed it:




















Action shot on the anchor outside the Maritime Museum (closed Wednesdays whoops):


























The little guys:























Whole group. See if you can spot the one who refused to be in the pic:



























PS My cake was Moses parting the red sea which apparently Katie interpreted as Obama since she is so sure he can make miracles happen.

3 Reasons Why You Should Come to SB in January

#1





















#2



























#3 La Super Rica
Julia Childs favorite Taco Stand:






















#4 This is the REAL reason to come is the Butterfly Preserve--one of the largest in North America and it is walking distance from our place. Here is a current pic with a non-iphone cam-->Butterflies