Halloween... MUCH later than I intended

So, a week ago, today.  Jay and I carved one of our pumpkins.  We spent a long time looking for just the right tools and pattern, and finally we nailed it.  I've wanted to post this all week, but crazy things have happened to prevent such a publication... like driving to College Station for ABSOLUTELY NO REASON.  (Not that I'm irritated that I lost my entire Saturday, or anything....)

Anyway, here's a story about a married couple carving their first pumpkin together:

 First, Tina cut the top out using the appropriate tool.  It was kind of difficult, but she prevailed.

Once the top was off, Jay and Tina took a peek inside.  Gross.  The opening at the top was barely big enough for Tina's hand to fit inside...








But it did!  So, Tina put her hand as far into the pumpkin as she could.  She had to make sure she got out as many of the seeds and as much of the goop as she could. The process was not quick, and it was not clean.

There was a great deal of goop and a great many seeds to extract.  And yes, Tina's arm was stained orange and smelled of pumpkin for the rest of the day.





 
But where did the seeds and goop go?  In a bowl, of course!  The bowl is big, so it doesn't look like much, but trust us: there was sooo much stuff inside the pumpkin.

After the pumpkin was thoroughly cleaned out, Jay and Tina attached the pattern to the pumpkin with masking tape.  Jay then began to puncture the pumpkin, carefully tracing the pattern.  (Tina helped, too, but there is no photographic evidence of this.)

Once the pattern had been completely traced on the pumpkin, it was time to take the pattern off, and begin the carving!









Jay made the first incision, working to cut the delicate parts out first.









After some pretty good progress working together, Tina took over for part of the carving.  It's amazing she can see with all that hair in her face!  Fortunately, no one's fingers were cut and no accidental slice damaged the pumpkin. 

 Finally, the carving of the pumpkin was complete!  Tina and Jay had carved a spectacularly spooky spider and web into their pumpkin.


















 

 The only thing left to do was put a light in it (Tina and Jay opted against the traditional candle, and instead selected an LED light source--much safer, and no one had to reach a hand in to light or extinguish a flame, or remember to do so.)





 Jay and Tina, and their neighbors, got to enjoy the pumpkin in its full glory for approximately three days.  After that, it quickly began to turn black from the inside out.  Super gross.  Fortunately, the pumpkin is outside, so the mold and smell are also outside. 

 Kind of gross looking, right?

Really gross, right?

Yeah, they're glad this is outside.










Tomorrow--or maybe tonight--the pumpkin will go in the trash... if Tina or Jay is brave enough to carry it.

New Post Coming Soon

I've been super busy, but I do have things to update you on--and photos to go with the updates.

I'll try to post about our jack-o-lantern soon.  I promise.

Happy Fall!

Today, we bought five pumpkins and a bale of hay from the church's pumpkin patch.  (Actually, Christine's parents ended up buying the hay bale, so thanks!)  We put them outside our apartment today and we'll carve the tall one in the back later on.  Pretty sweet, eh?  We haven't decided on the scene to carve, so if you have a suggestion, there's still time to get it in!

While we were at the pumpkin patch, we put all our pumpkins in a wagon, then wagoned them to my trunk.  On the way to return the wagon, Jay pulled the wagon with me in it.  It.  Was.  Awesome.  Remember how you used to do that as a little kid and laugh and shriek in delighted terror when the puller went too fast?  Still true today.  I highly recommend it.  :D

Since our bikes have been moved out, we've moved our printer cart (and thusly, our printer), giving us a bunch more room in there.  SUPER glad to have the space, because now I can tackle all my homework from the kitchen table.  Woo!

I'm sure you don't know this, so I'll tell you: UNT had its homecoming yesterday.  For the first time ever, I went to a UNT football game... for the last time ever.  I went with Jay and two girls from my classes and one of the girls' fiance (and then his brother joined us).  We got to the game late (because we were at Fuzzy's Taco Shop watching the Rangers win!!  WOO!) and it was already 3-10 to FIU (Florida International University).  By the time we left in the fourth quarter, it was 3-34.  As we left, UNT scored a touchdown, but that's as far as the score progressed.  UNT lost its fifth game of the season, or something like that.  I even brought my pompom and rowdy towel, but there was just no helping that team.  When we got home from the "game," Jay and I watched 30 Rock, drank slushes from Sonic, and then went to bed. 

Something else happened yesterday: I went to two stores and came out with more money than when I entered--both times.  Yeah.  I returned some things we didn't need, and then didn't buy anything, even though we looked around.  Awesome, right?  Today... that wasn't the case.  But who cares?  I had a great day yesterday.  :)

In the upcoming week I'll be a bridesmaid in a wedding, and I'm very excited about that!!  Maya and Derek will finally get married, and I'm super thrilled to be there!  Yesterday, I was asked by a different friend to be a bridesmaid in June!  It's so awesome and exciting!!  Hooray for married people!

Speaking of married people, this married couple is about to go to a dance lesson (even though we know the dance already).  Hope y'all have a good one. 

-The Shives

An Update!

Hello.  Before you really even begin, I'd like to say thanks for reading.  So, thanks.  :)

Softball game tonight was a loss, but it wasn't as bad as it could have been, so we'll take that positive aspect.  And Jay had a fabulous hit in the first inning.  Fabulous.

Today I didn't have school or middle school, so I stayed home and did homework.  All day.  All.  Day.  It was super boring, but I'm glad it's done.  I'm waiting to hear back from my teacher about whether I've done it right; hopefully, I've done it better than just right.  We'll see at tomorrow's PDS (Professional Development School, i.e. Student Teaching) meeting.

Oh, on Friday I took two practice certification tests.  UNT offers the tests for free, so I thought it would be irresponsible to not take em.  I had six hours to get my two tests done, and I finished in almost exactly two hours.  The woman who I turned my exams in to looked surprised.  So, I'm either a genius or I failed miserably.  Won't know until about Friday, so I won't worry about it; what's done is done.

We finally got our bikes out of our dining room (thanks Mom and Dad!), so it feels MUCH bigger in there, which helps make the living room feel much bigger.  We need to put something on the wall now, but we've got plenty of options available to us.  Just a matter of picking the right pictures now.

Which reminds me, I've FINALLY gotten around to uploading wedding pictures to facebook.  I figure it's officially been three months (yesterday) (YAY!!), so I guess I can post pictures.  :)

Well, I should probably be heading to bed, since I have to get up before the sun.

Have a fabulous night!

Things I've Learned

I hate poetry.  I think it's boring, and tedious, and illusive, and pompous. 

In one of my classes right now, we're studying poetry, and I've presented a lesson plan on this subject in another class within a week of writing this post.  Right now, I should be reading a chapter about poetry--and I have been reading.  But I've come across some things I've learned about poetry that I want to share with you--things I've learned that I think contribute to my distaste for poetry.  (As a future Language Arts teacher, I think it is very important that I "get over" my disdain for artistically presenting words, and I'm working on it, and this is helping me work on it.)

• "Children should be made aware of the elements of poetry, but not be required to analyze them.  These language elements are shared to heighten adult awareness of the wonders of this genre and to assist them in selecting the best to share with children" (Hancock 128).
• "It is not so important for children to distinguish between [similes and metaphors].  Their importance lies in teacher recognition of figurative language so children may be drawn to and respond to these types of comparisons" (131).
• "Enjoyment of poetry, in any form, should be our outcome in sharing this genre with children" (133).
• "Children who listen to free verse read aloud will be released from the rhymed poem stereotype" (134).
• "Teachers should share all types of poetry with their students, exposing them to the breadth and depth of this genre" (136).
• "...nature poems restore our sense of wonder" (139).
• "One of the best ways of evaluating poetry is to read it aloud.  If the words flow and create excitement within you, if the poem appeals to your senses, if the poem makes you stop and reflect long after it is over, if a phrase or word keeps recurring in your mind, then perhaps you have found a special poem" (139).
• "Studies of... students' preferences confirmed the findings of Terry's (1972) original study.... Students disliked poems that contained visual imagery or figurative language" (140).
• "Poetry should be fun and provide pure enjoyment" (142).
• "The written response to a poem through personal interpretation, literary analysis, or self-created poetry is not encouraged until children have learned to love poetry" (143).  

• All quotes have been taken from this book: 
• Hancock, Marjorie R. "Poetry: The Power and Pleasure of Language." A Celebration of Literature and Response: Children, Books, and Teachers in K-8 Classrooms. 3rd ed. Upper Saddle River: Pearson, 2008. 127-48. Print.

Basically, I've learned not to force poetry upon students as my teachers did me, and to use it frequently, not just cram it into one "unit" or brief period of time.  Interesting how this isn't common sense or common practice.

Baseball & Bridal Showers

This week, Jay and I were lucky enough to go to not one, but TWO Rangers games.  We went on Monday and on Friday: an excellent way to surround the work week.

While we were there on Monday, we sat next two two men with barbecue sandwiches that they'd bought inside the ballpark.  I'm not really much of a barbecue lover, but those sandwiches smelled good.  They'd had the sandwiches for a while when I leaned over and asked if they taste as good as they smell.  I told the man that I was having to restrain myself.  He chuckled and said they were very good.  He then turned to talk to the man he came to the game with.  After conferencing with said friend, the man next to me handed me a sandwich and said, "Here.  Try it--he's not going to eat it.  We get 'em like everyday, so go ahead."  I said no, but they insisted, so I took it.  It was a very strange interaction.  It was, however, a very delicious interaction.

At Friday's game, we got to see fireworks, and that's always awesome.  The Rangers have the best fireworks shows.  Ever.  In the whole world.  Even Disney doesn't compete with this level of magic and awesome--and I would know.

Yesterday, Saturday, Jay's parents finally got the keys to their new house (yay!!), so we went there to help paint the kitchen and living room.  By the time we left, the walls were pretty much done!  It's always nice to get the painting over with quickly, right?  Jay went back today to help them move in their furniture and get everything out of the "old" house. 

While he helped them move, I--with the help of my mom--shopped for and prepared for a bridal shower this afternoon.  We made sandwiches and punch, picked up cake and balloons and napkins, set up decorations, re-arranged the room--we were running around like a bunch of crazy people (out of the ordinary, right?) to get it all done.  In the end, it was a super lovely afternoon.  We had delicious tea and food, excellent company, and I think everyone had fun.  All our crazy running was put to good use.  :)

Oh, and I have my laptop back.  Yay!!  All the keys appear to function properly, and I am installing Microsoft Office right now.  Feels good to be off a Mac.