Picture Movie, Take 2

Edits made to the last night's video, and added another couple sections. Still have two or three more sections to do, making the final version about 15 minutes long (WOW!)

Comments? Anything I need to FIX? Please indicate which slide (IE-names, section, etc) and I will fix it in the morning :)Thanks!!

Farewell, Grandpa Carpenter...

Two weeks ago, on November 16th, Grandpa Carpenter had a heart attack and stroke in his sleep. The next morning my Uncle Evan and cousin Dan found him still in bed at 10am. He was sent to the hospital and was recovering nicely. On Friday November 19th a second, more serious stroke occurred. Phil and I drove to Ithaca where I spent a good part of Saturday night and Sunday in the hospital with my mother sitting by his bed. The second stroke took away most of his speech and control of his body. He was able to move his right arm and leg and mumble a few words. With little hope of recovery and knowing he did not want to be hooked up to tubes and living on artificial nutrition or hydration, his four children decided to execute his living will and take him off everything except pain medication.

He was moved to Uncle Evan and Auntie Bren's house in Dryden on Monday, the 22nd. This is the home he grew up in and has always loved, so it was the perfect place to spend his last few days. With the help of Hospice, my mother and her three brothers spent many hours by his bedside, watching him fade away a bit more each day. On Thursday, November 25th, Thanksgiving Day, Grandpa passed away moments after Phil and I arrived in Dryden.

Services are this weekend, and I've been working on assembling this video of pictures that celebrate the man my Grandfather was and will always remain in our memories.

Rest in Peace, Grandpa. You will be missed.

(Missing music still, and this is only half the pictures!)

Cold feet

For as far back as i can remember, my grandma Carpenter had a cartoon on the left hand side her freezer door in the kitchen. She had clipped it out of the Sunday funnies and taped it there years ago. The cartoon consisted of a quarter page sized picture of an older couple getting ready for bed. The husband was sitting up under the covers and watching his wife pull on a pair of long, heavy woolen socks. I cannot remember what the caption said, which is sad because I grew up looking at that cartoon and saw it every day for over 2 years when i lived with my grandfather a few years back.

One day I remember asking my grandmother about the cartoon and why she had it taped to the freezer. Now, my grandmother loved to collect things and rarely threw anything away, but the fridge was covered with pictures of the family and magnets--this was the only newspaper clipping displayed. The conversation went something like this:

Grandma, why do you have this cartoon on here?

Well, because I like it.

Why? Why do you like it? It's just a picture of a lady putting socks on.

It reminds me of your grandfather and I. I have very cold feet and your grandfather hates it when I come to bed with cold feet.

That's not exactly how it went, but that's pretty close. This conversation took place over 12 years ago. I also remember her telling me that when I was married I would appreciate this cartoon more. I didn't understand it then and hadn't thought about it much since.

Tonight I was laying awake in bed because the burn on my leg was bothering me. Phil had just come to bed and he was very cold--adding extra blankets cold. He rolled over and was almost asleep when he brought his foot up and placed it on my leg--BRR!!!

What are you doing?

My feet are cold!

You're an evil man...put socks on.

Alas, he did not put socks on or move his foot. The cold slowly dissipated, but as I was laying there I found myself thinking back on the cartoon that is still taped to the door of the freezer in my grandparents house.

Grandma, if you were still here I think you would be happy to know that I do appreciate this cartoon now that I am married and my husband comes to bed with cold feet. I can picture her smiling in appreciation.

A month of events

Wow, has it really been a month since I last posted here?? sorry!!! Life gets crazy very fast and before you know it another day, week, month, and year have passed us by. I've been kept busy finishing my summer classes, getting my classroom ready, and preparing for a new semester at Roberts.

Classes ended the second week in August for the summer term. Since the second week in January I have been taking evening courses at Roberts without a break-ok, maybe a week off for Spring Break. But seriously, sitting in classes two to three nights a week since January gets a little weary. I finally have a 2 week break and it is WONDERFUL!! Ok, well more of a chance to catch up on things before starting all over again in a week. But the good news is that I still have a 4.0 GPA in grad school :) Something I was never able to achieve at TC3 because of that ::insert a few choice words:: chemistry class I took in high school with the 'Chem Nazi' who hated me and made sure I passed with a D that transfered to TC3. I had good grades all through undergrad (with the exception of the chemistry class), but never a 4.0. So a 4.0 at this stage of my educational career is a nice blessing :)

With a few weeks off I have been able to prepare for my new classroom at JLU child care. The center's new building opened up last week and I was able to see my new classroom for the first time. So far, I am the only preschool teacher that has been hired and accepted the position, so I have had full say in how to decorate the room, what toys I want, etc. I am on the far end of the building in a corner room that is bigger than the others. Most rooms in the center are rectangular in shape, but mine is more square. I love this because I can break up the room into different play centers without making it looked cramped or weird. I have a set of 3 windows along one side, another window next to the rug, and another on the outside wall. One wall is painted a light yellow and the opposite wall a soft yet happy lavender (the center's colors are purple and gold--every room has these walls). The tiled part of the floor is also yellow to match the walls. The room is bright and happy. I have it mostly set up with the exception of two pieces of furniture. One arrived broken and the other is on back order. Despite missing these two pieces, the room looks great!! I'll post some pictures soon. I have 6 students registered at the moment and more will be registered this week and next. We open for business on the 7th :)

In addition to preparing my classroom I have also returned to working on my Thesis. Yes, I worked on this all summer, but took a break for about a month while dealing with another class. I need to have my second chapter, the literary review, done and "near perfect" in a week. This may be a slight problem as I only have half of it written and it hasn't been edited yet. I took the first course this summer with the Initial program students--those who have their undergrad in something other than education and are doing their masters in education--and will be joining the Professional program students again this fall--those who have an undergrad in education already. I've been doing most of my courses with the professional program peers but they didn't offer the research course this summer. I've emailed my new professor and explained that while my peers had all summer off to work on perfecting their work, I have not having just completed the course. Hopefully he will give me some leeway on this. I hope that it will be about 80% perfect by next week??

Well, back to working on my thesis it is.

Enjoy the rest of the summer!!

Mrs. Bligh's Classroom

Friday afternoon I recieved an email officially offering me a position at JLU!! This morning I went in and filled out all the paperwork to be the Lead Teacher for the Preschool Classroom!!!

I am currently the only teacher for the preschool rooms and I have six children pre-enrolled. They are still looking for a second teacher in my room, which may take a while to find a qualified candidate.

My mind is filled with ideas and plans for my room and my students. Since I have a brand new room, I get to have a say in what furniture and which toys and supplies I would like to have, how many bulletin boards will be available and where they will be placed, and how the room is arranged. I also get to plan most of the lessons for September ahead of time since I currently do not have a co-teacher to plan with.

The center is open to staff starting the 16th of August and from that point on I will be able to go in and arrange my room and get ready for the first day. I am very excited and thankful for this position and look forward to all it will offer!

Weekend Adventures

Phil and I split up this weekend. Now, before you all start freaking out and try to figure out what's wrong, let me explain :) We only went separate ways geographically, not maritally.

Friday morning Phil dropped me off in Seneca Falls where I met up with my Mom and one of her good friends, Lori. From there, Phil went back to Appalachian and I spent the weekend in Ithaca.

Since the wedding Phil has had little opportunity to go home and spend time with his friends and family, with the exception of holidays. Phil was able to go spend time with his brother, brother-in-law, and Scott, one of our groomsmen and Phil's oldest friends.

Friday was supposed to be girls day at Sonnenburg Gardens in Canandaigua, but the rain and humidity changed our plans. Instead, we enjoyed shopping at the outlet mall in Waterloo; trying on clothes, shoes, and finding purses and sun dresses.

Saturday morning my grandfather took me to the mall on his motorcycle!! (I have a not-so-secret love for motorcycles. My mother had one when I was in high school and I took every opportunity to ride. When we have a garage Phil says I can get one of my own!)

I met up with my friend Christy and we enjoyed a long overdue date. Chirsty and I have been friends since 8th grade, but since our sophomore year in college we have been able to spend less and less time together. We ate lunch, drank coffee, and played with toys at Target while discussing life, marriage, and her upcoming wedding. We ended our afternoon sitting on the stage in the Boarders kids department reading children's books and watching adorable Italian and Asian children play with the toys and books. (this is a favorite pastime of ours)

After church on Sunday my parents and I headed to Whitney Point to my Aunt and Uncle's house, where Phil rejoined me that afternoon. Dan and Dar Thorp celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary a few weeks ago and her mom and their daughter Katie threw a party for them. Family and friends gathered together to celebrate over food, cake, and games. It was a wonderful afternoon. Perhaps the best part was the combining of families.

My dad's parents got divorced when he and his brother and one of his sisters were kids and the two sides of his family have rarely done anything together outside of my parent's invitations. Growing up we either got together with the "Thorps" or the "Wards" but rarely were both sets of families together except at graduation parties or my wedding. Through wedding related activities Auntie Dar and Aunt Mindy, each from a different side of the family, became acquainted and facebook friends. The Wards were invited to the anniversary party and it was great to see both sides together and making memories.

All in all it was a great weekend and full of memories.

Welcome to Mrs. Bligh's Classroom?

Whenever I hear the words, "Mrs. Bligh...." it is usually in a classroom. While student teaching last Fall my students called me Mrs. Bligh, or Mrs. B, day in and day out. Since going back to school however, I have not been referred to by my last name, just Sharon. This may be changing in the very near future...

If you've been following me at all on Facebook in the last few weeks you may have read some posts about a potential teaching job that I have been interviewing for. Let me take a moment to fill you all in:

There is a new, Christian-based childcare center opening about 6 houses down the block from where we live that is hiring new teachers. The undergrad Teacher Education secretary emailed me a few weeks ago about the center and that they were looking for teachers for the preschool classroom starting in September. Now, I wasn't originally going to apply for a teaching position anywhere while working on my masters, but hey, this place is literally right down the road, it's Preschool, it's daycare, so why not check it out, right?? So I did.

The center is still being built (the dry wall just went in at the end of last week), but it will have 2 infant rooms, 2 toddler rooms, 2 preschool rooms, and one school-aged room (for before and after school care). It has a kitchen, play yard, and main office. Pretty much a mini-school minus the gymnasium. And did I mention it's within walking distance? yeah...just saying it would be crazy NOT to apply at this point, right?

So I did. I filled out the application, updated the resume, and wrote a cover letter. Two days later I got an email from Leslie, the owner, asking for a phone interview the following week. So last Wednesday I went to Tim Hortons, ordered a cup of hazelnut coffee with two sugars (my regular, in case anyone wants to order me coffee in the future), and sat down at a table. A few moments later Leslie calls and we talk about the center, the position they are considering me for, and my educational/childcare background. The interview went really well and after 15 minutes they scheduled a face-to-face with me for the following week.

Today was the face-to-face interview. I drove to a church in Hilton, about 15 minutes away, where they are conducting their interviews until the center is available to use (hopefully next week). I stopped for a cup of Tim Horton's coffee-hazelnut with two sugars (in case you missed it last time), waited in line at the lift-bridge over the canal which is under construction (why didn't I know they were doing construction today? there weren't any signs anywhere...grrr), and still arrived early. Quickly checking my hair in the rear view mirror, I chewed a breath mint (to counteract the coffee), grabbed my portfolio off the passenger seat, and walked inside. After introducing myself to Leslie, the owner, and Nancy, the director of education, I set my portfolio down on the table, sat down, and the interview started. Almost immediately Nancy starts flipping through my portfolio and seemed very impressed. Inwardly I'm thinking to myself "So glad I spent all that time keeping that thing up to date and organized." (Note: My portfolio barely fits into a 3"binder, is looks like it was organized by someone who is anal-retentive, and is full of pictures, school papers relating to education, lesson plans, observations, etc. etc. It's been a work in progress for almost 6 years, so I'm very proud of it and most places don't even look through them anymore.) The three of us discussed the job, planning lessons, childcare values, working with co-teachers, etc. I got to ask a number of questions about the room I will be in, the center security system (which is very cool--everyone gets in the building via a touch screen computer system with personalized ID numbers and a thumb scanner), the curriculum, and state policy changes since the last time I worked in a day care 2 years ago.

All in all, this interview went even better than the phone interview, if that was even possible. I will return to Hilton tomorrow morning to do a working interview with two other candidates in the other classrooms. We will have time to plan out a week-long unit and then teach mini-lessons to 4 children. This will be the last step in the interview process and then they will check my references and hopefully give me the job. Oh yeah, did I tell you what I officially am being considered for? The Lead Teacher for the first Preschool room!!! Perfect, right??

While my heart's desire is still to work in a self-contained or inclusive preschool for children with special needs, this daycare is a close second when it comes to dream jobs. I love the daycare setting, the age of my students, and having my own classroom. If I get the position, which I am fairly confident that I will, I will be co-teaching with one other person in a classroom of 14-16 three and four year olds.

I'm very excited and am glad that I didn't overlook this great opportunity. Stay tuned for how tomorrow's working interview goes!!

For more information on the center, check out: www.jluchildcare.com

And if you live in the Spencerport area, they are still taking applications child care!!

...and the ring is found!

This morning Phil found his wedding ring...inside the pocket of his shorts. Thing is he checked the shorts a few times in the store when he thought he had lost the ring....but at least we found it! Now if we could just work on that memory and pocket-searching skills....haha.

Triple Dates and Lost Wedding Rings

Last night Phil and I went out for a triple date night with two of my college roommates and their boyfriends. Samantha, Cherish, and I lived together at Roberts two years ago during my senior year and we have been great friends ever since. (ok, so we were friends before then too, but even closer afterward :-D ) The six of us met up at Movies 10 in Henrietta to watch Robin Hood. (If you haven't seen it, we all recommend it! It was very well done, not too gory for being an action film, and was fairly historically accurate.) Afterward we went to Tim Hortons/Cold Stone for ice cream and coffees. It was a great evening of catching up and laughing together. Hopefully it won't be 4 months before we all get together again. Although it very well may be that long since Samantha and Dan are both leaving the area in a month.

After being out late last night and sleeping in this morning, Phil and I relaxed around home for the first part of the day. While I was curled up on the bed listening to the music from GLEE and reading a book for class, Phil comes in and decides we are going to the mall.

For the past week he has been talking about finally buying the latest expansion for one of his MMO's, Ever Quest II. It has been out for a while but we have been contentedly playing World of Warcraft so he hadn't yet bought it. For the past few days I have tuned him out as he repeatedly changed his mind about buying the expansion or not. Today he finally decided it was worth buying it, so we went to the mall.

After he bought his game I made him go with me to Michaels to look at scrapbooking supplies. This was a personal achievement for me, as he HATES craft stores and has sworn to never set foot in JoAnne Fabrics again. (Perhaps this is because he waited in line at the fabric counter with me for 2 hours the weekend before halloween a few years ago. I think he's scared for life.)

After dragging him around the store for half an hour we were finally checking out when he looks down at his hand and exclaims, "My ring is gone!"

"What?" I asked, distractedly sliding my card through the machine.

"My wedding ring. It's gone."

"Are you sure? Did it fall off in your pocket?"

"No. I've checked. And it wasn't even loose." (Which it wasn't. He has to lather it up with soap to take it off anytime we get it cleaned.)

Racking our brains for where he might have lost it, we retraced our steps around the store with the cashier on her walkie talkie asking if any employees have seen it. No luck. It wasn't anywhere. We left our number with the cashier in case it shows up later.

We went back through the mall, retracing all our steps and leaving our numbers in the different stores we had stopped at. We also went to security. So far no one has called us back. Hopefully it will show up soon and we will get it back. If not, I think I will make him get a tattoo ring so he can't loose it again.

Welcome!

It's hard to believe that Phil and I got married over a year ago!
We celebrated our first anniversary the week of May 23rd by going camping at Lakeside Beach State Campground. Although it was cold and we had a some rain, we enjoyed spending quality time together in the outdoors. We spent most of the time fishing, which has become our new summer hobby this year.
We are happy to note that our 'one month' anniversary on June 23rd passed without incident this year. For those of you who don't know, last year we woke up late, got locked INSIDE our apartment (thanks to a faulty dead bolt and lock system), and ended up at work two hours late. After working for about an hour I went down the hall to warm up my lunch which resulted in second degree burns between my fingers and on the palm of my left hand. We are thankful that this year passed by without further incident.
Summer is under way and we are enjoying the nicer weather. Phil is working part time for the school still and working on developing a phone application. He has one more class to take in the fall and will then be officially done!
I graduated in December from Roberts Wesleyan and returned again in January to start my Masters in Special Education. I've spent the summer taking classes, one of which is over, the other just starting, and a third almost over. I started working on my thesis project which has consumed most of my energy the past weeks and I will be glad to take a break soon!!
Keep checking in for updates on our lives! We hope to hear from many of you soon,
Sharon and Phil