It's beginning to feel a lot like...

After Stella enjoyed Halloween decorations so much this year, we decided that trying to decorate for Christmas might be finally worth it this year. Now don't get me wrong, I've never been a Christmas grinch or anything, but in our 11 years together, Steve and I have only got a Christmas tree once-  and it was a two foot tall Rosemary tree that we then planted in our yard and I promptly killed by Easter.

However, this year, I figured it was time. However, we were a little sparse on Christmas decorations. My mom, brilliant mother that she is, purchased my brother and I a Christmas ornament every year we had Christmas so that when we would want to have a tree of our own, we would have ornaments to go with it. She mailed those to me a few years ago, along with some of the ones that were my favorites, and so ornaments we had. Other stuff, not so much.

So, of course, being my thrifty self (and without a Target or Walmart to find cheap items) I did what I always do - go to the thrift store! I was pretty proud of myself with this year's purchases -  12 long strands of white and multi-lights for $10, a bag of glass balls for 99 cents, and a bag of assorted garland for $2. Christmas for $13? You betcha!

So here's what we did - I went a little nutso with all the white lights on the large front porch, and then topped off the front window and the kitchen with the rest. Today, we went looking for a tree (with a stop off at the thrift store for a tree stand (score! $6!)) and I was a little weirded out by how "city folk" pick out their trees. We went to the local farm that had the pumpkin patch and voila! No more pumpkins but trees! (Luckily for us, however, the corn maze was still up and we got ourselves totally lost. Seriously, we had to backtrack and find the entrance again because we couldn't find out how to get out!)

After the corn maze, I waded through rows of trees, already cut and from somewhere up in Oregon, and found our little Douglas Fir. It was all a little odd not to be cutting down one from the local tree farm - and even odder that we were all wearing short sleeve shirts and sandals (because it was 72 here today).

Still, after some holiday Motown classics, and a little help from my saved ornaments and thrifty lights, we have a bit of Christmas in Santa Barbara. I think Stella enjoyed sorting the glass balls from one box to the other more than anything else, but it kept her busy for at least 20 minutes, and I was able to continue a well-heeled Zygmonski tradition where the mother sticks herself deep into the branches of the tree to get the lights on the inside. (I'm never really sure WHY my mother did this part, but I think it has something to do with the fact that we always picked out prickly trees and she had the highest pain threshold?)

So here's to a little Christmas spirit, and now it's time to indulge on something I haven't the last two holidays - eggnog and bourbon.

We don't have a tree topper so I have got to come up with something. I was thinking about the holiday felt monster, but that's just because I know how to make them. I'm sure Stella would much prefer the holiday tree topper monkey, and frankly, that actually makes more sense than the monster, right?

Small Town Observations... and some Stella-isms

It's been awhile since I've found the time to post to the blog. That might tell you something about the nature of our days here as we settle into life in Santa Barbara. A typical day for us looks like this:
6:30am - Stella wakes up. Lately, she has been waking up singing, which is lovely. Her nightstand is next to her crib, and some days she reaches over the side, grabs a book or two from the night before, and looks at books until I drag my butt out of bed.
7:30am - we had better have breakfast by now or she's a cranky pants. The whole wheat pumpkin muffins are a bit hit as a tide-over until I can whip up oatmeal, pancakes, omelettes, and the like.
8:15am - Steve heads to work on his bike, and I round up the troops for an outing.
8:30am - we head out - either to the park, a hiking trail, the beach, or when I'm lazy, an hour walk around the neighborhood. Usually to see the horses down the street, a big favorite of Stella's (and judging by Scupper's attitude, his as well).
10-10:30 - back from whatever outing to tired out the dog, we run around the house, dig in the yard, pick up leaves, or swing

11:15am - lunch
noon-  nap for Stella and Scupper, not for Mommy
noon- 2/3ish: Mommy rushes to her computer to try to do her part-time UCSD job while the house is quiet. Emails fly, pdfs are proofed, and occasionally, I throw in a load of laundry.
3ish - with naptime over, there is snack and then an afternoon walk for Scupper  before it gets dark.
after our walk, I try to start dinner, but some days, that's next to impossible, unless I want to involve my kitchen helper. Last week we made chocolate oatmeal cookies instead. Much better than dinner, don't you think?
6pm - bathtime
7pm - bed
7:30pm-Mommy finishes dinner and by
8-8:30pm - I'm ready to pass out.
I think some of the exhaustion might be solved by the fact that I have the tendency to cook involved meals. Like mushroom bourguingon, or homemade pasta sauce, or mushroom/lentil pot pies with biscuit topping. okay, those are actually the easy ones, relatively speaking. Tonight I'm attempting braised short ribs because i've always wanted to make them and I never have. Incidentally, they take 4 hours, but you know, most of that's in the oven, right? I won't mention the Meyer Lemon Meringue Pie that I made yesterday just because Steve basically dared me to do it and since I've never made one, i said, sure, why not. We have a lemon tree. Oh dear. Some night, I just have to be happy with grilled cheese and soup.

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 We took Stella to the Santa Barbara Xmas parade as a way to feel a part of our new town, and because i thought since she loved looking at Halloween decorations, she might enjoy this. Mass consumption/consumerism of the holidays at its finest, right? She was, for the most part, enjoying the parade, we think, although there were some times when I am not sure if i saw the look of terror or confusion on her face. The sirens and the flashing lights on the fire trucks were a bit much at times, I think, but she enjoyed waving to all the kids on the "floats" that were magically waving at her, and although we didn't last until the last float with Santa, she loved the person in the Smoky the Bear costume from the National Forest Service. Steve and I, after seeing multiple Girl Scout troops, Elks Associations, and junior and high school bands, came to the conclusion that this parade reminded us WAY TOO MUCH of our own hometown parades, and we got a bit scared.  Coming from towns of both approx 5000 each, this would have been a typical parade growing up for us. In a city of 100,000 people, we thought we were living in a much bigger place. But when I saw the umpteenth fire truck go by, I realized, no, Santa Barbara's pretty small.

So we got through the parade the only way we snotty-artist types know how, to make snide comments at about everything. We judged the theatrics and costumes of most bands, clubs, associations, and floats. We picked on the Girl Scout mom with her 4 inch white heeled boots, the Sheriff's Association bag-piper/drum squad that had a woman playing the African djembe drum along with the snare drums (Say what?), and the floats that had themes that made no sense with the holidays. After seeing the fourth dance team follow a band (dance teams? what happened to good old-fashioned flag twirlers?) I got really nervous about raising a girl in this day and age. The amount of pancake and mascara was intense... all on 14 year old faces. Our favorite group in the parade, however, was the local "low rider bike club" which was at least 50+ bicycles strong, all in great styles and decorated with lights. Maybe we'll have to look them up.
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Stella continues to amaze us with how much she understands and picks up. While everything she says right now starts with the letter "d" - she is talking up a storm, you just have to figure out what she's saying. She's fluent in most types of animal sounds, including our neighborhood turkeys and crows, and the all-time favorite, the monkey. She works hard with her spoon and fork, and pretty much has that down, save for the few unruly grapes or slippery noodles that she picks up with her fingers, shoves on the fork tines, and then puts the fork in her mouth. (She unfortunately has got into the habit of eating every meal on my lap, however. The slightest suggestion of putting her in her own chair brings a melt-down, so instead of being firm, I'm having her eat on my lap so she'll actually eat. I know this is probably not right, but it gets me through the day). She's fluent in body parts lingo now too - watch out though, if you ask to see her belly because that also means that she'll lift up your shirt and show you yours. ;) I think her favorite ones are the "hidden" ones, like elbows, knees, and neck. She also sings constantly. There is always a tune - as she wakes in the morning, when she rides in the stroller, in the backpack on our walks. She has also started "reading" in that if she sees something with letters or numbers on it, like a bag of flour, a piece of mail, the newspaper, she'll start going, very fast with as many syllables as she can muster - "la la blha blahbga gawh wh wh." She is in awe of leaves and sticks, the moon and horses, caterpillars and birds. In many ways, my transition to staying home with her all day has been tempered by getting to experience the joy of the world all over again through her. And frankly, it's a blast.

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Our Thanksgiving Day, in pictures, before we went home and nursed our colds and ear infection.....

Santa Barbara Harbor - and then the Mesa open space within walking distance from our house.

The Word of the day is "Outside"

Since the previous post was sponsored by the letter "d" it seems only appropriate that this post has a word of the day. Outside seems to be the most appropriate, because that's about where we are all day long here in Santa Barbara. In the course of the last two weeks, we have been very busy being "outside." Obviously, Scupper needs a daily dog park/trail/hike/beach/something to keep him exhausted, so we've been trying out the new options Santa Barbara has for us.

At first, I was bummed because they didn't have any organized dog parks, per say, save for one. However, we've been pleasantly surprised the amount of general "off leash" areas, or, as the locals have told me, "areas where technically they should be on leash, but no one checks so it's ok." There is a trail system in the woods, a section of the local beach, a nature preserve that is 300 feet up from the beach overlooking the Channel Islands,and a 230 acre off leash trail/hike/park that is supposed to be by "membership" only but no one has asked yet, so we are just going until the new year starts and we'll pony up the membership fee to support the non-profit nature park. With all of these options, we are out at least for a hour to 90 minutes each morning, longer if I let Stella out of the hiking backpack to walk the traill too... which most days, I do. It's more fun to watch her pick up sticks, touch big boulders, and dig in the dirt. It just takes longer to get from point A to point B. Sometimes Scupper even gets fed up and starts barking, as if to say, come ON!!

The rest of the day, Scupper becomes a dog possessed. See, we have gophers. Lots and lots of gophers.



So many gophers in fact that Scupper is convinced that he smells them out there (or hears them) ALL THE TIME. So he'll come inside, sit on his pillow, try to sleep and 15 minutes later he's whining at the door to go outside, hoping it will be THAT one time when he gets the gopher.

Fat chance. It's like Caddyshack, only Scupper is Bill Murray. And doesn't have the lisp.

Stella is also possessed, by the lure of the swing. The problem with a swing... is that you have a swing. Get it?

Here she is in her favorite spot. (also with a music card that my mom sent for Halloween. Thanks mom. I love listening to the "Monster Mash" 15 times in a row... no, seriously, it's cute... we just have to hide it sometimes.)

I'm also trying to find "educational" things to do with Stella each day because I feel bad she's not at an organized preschool or day care with other kids. (We have got to find a play group with other kids her age, I think). We are going to plant a winter garden (although we might have to find a way to prevent the aforementioned gophers from eating all of it) and so we bought seeds and peat pots to start lettuce, beets, snow peas, and snap peas. She had fun digging in the dirt, sprinkling the seeds in the pots, sprinkling the seeds in the bag of dirt, sprinkling the seeds on the porch... We might have buttercrunch lettuce sprouts popping up in weird places, but she did a great job at understanding the process, I think.

Today we made whole wheat pumpkin muffins that are REALLY tasty. (We roasted a pumpkin yesterday and pureed it in the blender. Not that you have to do this... we just had a baking pumpkin that needed to be used because Steve objected to pumpkin soup. The man really dislikes any type of winter squash. What a bummer).

Cooking with toddlers can actually be very fun. At 18 months, she's doing pretty good... usually I can get her to mix up the flour and shake in spices. She likes shaking in spices a lot. (I think our homemade pizza crust this week had a LOT of oregano from all her shaking). She also likes to eat the dry flour mixture. I have no idea why, but whatever. Here she's mixing up the pumpkin. She's not totally understanding the concept of STIR but does understand how to beat the spoon up and down, which makes for an interesting spray of batter all over the counter. She also wasn't totally into the concept of putting the muffin liners in the pans ... one per pan ended up being ok, but then when I started to fill them, she started putting the extra liners on TOP of the already placed muffin batter. Hmmm... We'll have to work on it. On the counter in the white bag there are also 8 persimmons from our tree out back. The tree is very near the neighbor's house, so she brought up the bag for us to enjoy, and included a few key limes and meyer lemons from the back bushes. (We share the expansive backyard with another couple who lives in a converted stablehouse).

I am just in awe of all the fruit trees here. On Tuesday, we collected 8 very large seedless Valencia oranges and made juice that was the most amazing color of orange-  and a wonderful rich flavor. Last week, I made lemonade from all the lemons on the neighbor's tree that overhangs into our yard. Everyone in the neighborhood has fruit trees - and this time of year, the citrus is just dripping off them... and I can't believe how many people just let them go - how could you not just want to harvest the bounty that is growing in your yard? I can't imagine ever being blase about it...

Santa Barbara proves to be an interesting place. I don't think we realized how "small town" it really is until this past week. There is no Target here within 45 miles. There is no Walmart. There is, however, a Costco, which was a surprise. There is no Lowe's. There are hardly any of the major department or chain stores that were a dime a dozen in San Diego.  (there isn't a fabric store... bummer...but there is a quilt shop with specialty cotton and a yard/tea store - um hello?? Yarn and tea? Could that be my nirvana?). There is a sign ordnance, so nothing has any towering signs on any of the major streets or off the freeway. In many ways, i think this is awesome. It, however, was god-awful hard to find a toaster. and a shower rack.

And then I discovered the local hardware store, and was in love. It reminded me of our local "Tom Best" hardware store in Delaware. They had everything - all under one roof and it was privately owned... and so busy with contractors, farmers, housewives (like myself)... so this made me happy. A toaster, a shower caddy and a bag of dirt and seeds later, Stella and I were all set... and I didn't seem to miss the $1 section at Target anymore. Besides, what would i do with the $1 section at Target if we spend most of our days.... OUTSIDE ?

(oh - and for those of you who need a cute Halloween costume fix, may I present, the cheeky monkey).

Sponsored by the Letter "D"

D = Dissertation

D = Done Dissertation

Therefore,

D = Doctor, or, PhD

D = Dog and Daughter have no idea what that means save for the fact that

D = more time to play with them!

I still can't believe that five years have come, rather unceremoniously, to a close, or, as my friend Summer so wonderful suggested to me in comments on the previous post, it's not over, rather I'm transforming.

So here's to transforming! Maybe I will finally finish the wedding present that was started 5 years ago for my friend, who is now having her second child in the next few weeks and celebrated her 5th wedding anniversary this Spring... Maybe I can pretend it was for the baby? ;) Maybe I will finally finish that quilt that I was making for our couch, which I also suspiciously started ... FIVE years ago. Maybe I will finally get the recipes in that cookbook that I bought for myself... wait for it... FIVE YEARS AGO. Noticing a trend?

A few years ago, my friend Michael called me up, after I was practically crying about how hard it was to finish writing the two chapters for my qualifying exam with an 9 week old puppy on my lap, and told me to read page 82 in Writing Your Dissertation in 15 Minutes a Day. Page 82? Why?

Page 82: If you have any choice, there are changes in your external life not to make while you're writing a dissertation. Don't move, unless you've just been evicted. Don't renovate. Don't get a puppy.

I don't remember if he laughed and directed me towards the book again when I told him I was pregnant.

So I guess five years, a puppy, a baby, and 215 blood/sweat/tear pages isn't bad. I'm not saying the thing was brilliant, but let's remember the word of the day.

D = done.

We're in the new digs...

A couple of months ago I cried (yes, I'm that kind of person) when I read a friend's blog that spoke of the help of her community and family when they prepared for a big move across the country. Gosh, I thought to myself, I can't even imagine that. How wonderful to have so many people help out a family with small children and a big house to move.

And then we decided to move. And oh the gratitude for all the help. It started with friends who babysat Stella almost a month ago now for 12+ hours so that we could drive up here and find the house we are happily living in now.

Steve started his new job here in Santa Barbara on the 18th. We did not move our mountain of "stuff" and the rest of the family until the following Saturday. Thus, I was home alone with the "kids" all week by myself. Needless to say, I was a bit nervous in figuring out how to do it without Steve walking in the door at 5-5:30 and giving me the much needed break from being with two little beings all day that can't talk to you. ;) A friend stopped by and sat on my couch so I could go the grocery store without being attached. Another friend encouraged afternoon dog park outings so Scupper would be tired in the evening and not whine for me to play when I had to finish packing the house. Steve's friend and co-worker stopped by and dropped off a load of boxes and packing tape... and friends brought dinner, drinks, conversation while we packed. Nothing like having your friends see all your crap strew all over the house and still have the wonderful compliment as she packs your clothes - "oh, this is a cute dress - oh and this? Why have I never seen you in this?" :) Having friends help you pack is humbling... and gratifying.

Saturday was the big day. We hired two people off of craigslist to help pack the truck and I forgot to tell them that we had 3 motorcycles. Oops. After they loaded them on the 26' truck, they took a picture for their yelp page so they could say they packed a truck AND motorcycles in 3 hours. ;) Steve continued through most of the afternoon putting odds and ends and we FILLED THE 26' truck. Um, do we have too much stuff? Maybe. My favorite quote from the moving guy? "Wow. I mean, a two bedroom house. I thought it would be easy. And these little Craftsmans are small. Where did you guys have all this STUFF?"

Stella spent the day with her friend Anouk and throughout the day, I received phone calls from my friend Julie about her - she had a low-grade temperature when she woke up and it steadily became worse throughout the day. All Stella would do was sleep in Julie's arms. In some ways, it was very easy, Julie said, but of course, I felt like a horrible mother that I had to leave her there until the house was clean and the truck was packed. At 5pm, I picked up one hot daughter and proceeded to find out that her temperature was 103.8 and called the nurse hotline with our insurance (that luckily was continued through the end of the month before our new one started). After some heavy duty doses of Motrin, she was back and kicking, but it's still scary to think that almost 104 is still "ok" with children if they aren't doing anything else funky.

Here was the problem. My plan was to stay at the house on Sat night and then do the "Walk through" with our landlord on Sunday. Um, slightly dumb on my part. I mean, I had a pack/play for Stella and a camping mat for me and Scupper... but seriously? Another friend called on Saturday afternoon and after hearing my plan, offered for Stel, Scup and I to come over and stay in their extra bedroom, while Scupper got to romp around their house with their dog. It's a very gracious person who offers to take a harried mom, her feverish daughter, and a crazy dog at 8pm a night. Steve, the stalwart guy that he is, wanted to drive to Santa Barbara without L.A. traffic and spent the night curled up on the floor of the now empty house with aforementioned camping mat and left for SB at 4am.

What a travelogue so far- and we aren't even up to Sunday yet! I guess the whole point is everyone that we have met in San Diego was so wonderful to jump in and help us move since our family isn't close by. To me, it seems, in a way, that they are our family - and in many ways, made moving so much more difficult. We had always thought we were ready to leave San Diego - and yet at times like this, we realize how many friends and supportive networks we have. And I'm proud to say that many of these friends we met at the dog park. Viva la Morley Field!

Anyway - after finding out Sunday morning with a "after hours peds appt" that Stella most likely had roseola and that she would probably get a rash soon, (which she did), I did the walk through with the landlord (after yet ANOTHER friend stopped by and took Scup and Stel on a walk so I could clean out the fridge), and I dosed up Stella on some fever-reducing Motrin and started the drive to SB. The best part? Scupper had been with our dog walker all day Saturday, played with the friend's dog all Saturday night and Sunday morning - and was SO TIRED that a 50Lb dog sitting in the front seat of a 4-door Honda Accord did not once give me any trouble the whole 4 hour drive.

Steve amazingly unpacked the truck (with some more craigslist mover help) here in SB and even had time to unpack bathroom toiletries and kitchen supplies and had a pesto pasta dinner waiting for us when we pulled into the driveway.

This week has been a whirlwind. Steve has been riding his bike to work every day, which I think is making him really happy, and each morning Stella, Scupper and I head out on a new adventure.
Since Monday morning, we have been to dog beach twice, two hiking trails, and a dog park. We've hit two playgrounds and a pumpkin patch. We've made homemade biscuits and a persimmon spice cake together (Stella likes eating the dry flour off the stirring spoon. I have no idea why, but whatever). The persimmons were from a tree IN OUR YARD. We have been on the backyard swing COUNTLESS TIMES. We have taken walks around the new neighborhood and said hello to our neighbors - the livestock variety of neighbors - including a horse, a chicken coop and two goats. Stella has had quite a few tantrums, which usually involve wanting to be outside instead of taking a nap or wanting to swing or eat only cheese for three days. She has been threatened that she might be an only child because of this. I have unpacked 80% of the kitchen boxes and have ignored basically everything else. In fact, I've spent the last 30 minutes composing this blog post instead of unpacking boxes, but frankly, I can't move from this chair I'm so freaking tired.

I'm excited about our new journey, but also overwhelmed at the sudden push from being a student/part-time PR lady for the UCSD theatre department (with half-time childcare the past two months) to being full-time stay at home mom. Frankly, I'm a bit nervous. I"m not sure what to do all day, and I'm desperately worried that I'm not teaching what I should or stimulating her enough. I know how to teach 18 YEAR olds, not 18 month olds. However, watching her joy in discovering a rock on our hikes or listen to the roosters in the morning, seeing the neighbors trot down the street on their horses in the morning, that makes me smile. I'm excited for the little bit of country life we are treated to each day in the middle of one of the most expensive, yet beautiful, places in the US. We might be eating rice and beans, but we get to hear acorns drop on our deck and the goats bleat as we go to sleep.

And speaking of - I'm off to bed. I think the dishes are going to wait until tomorrow morning.

I'm helping pack, right?

Sounds like a soap opera

So we're moving to Santa Barbara.

Yep. That was the chaos that happened a few weeks ago. Back and forth with a new potential employer. The weekend of the tri. And then it was over and they didn't offer enough money for us to afford to live there.

And then, they called a week later, and they did.

Um, so we said yes.

Steve is going to be the new Technical Director at the UC Santa Barbara dept of Theatre and Dance. We're excited.

And Stel and Scup and I? We're going to be rocking it out in Santa Barbara... you know, one day is dog beach, the next is the 230 acre hiking preserve, the next is the most awesome wooden playground ever.

'Cause, you know, the diss is done. Defense is Nov. 5.

And we move Oct 23.

'Cause it's nothing like handing in your dissertation, accepting a job, and moving in the span of two weeks.