One of My Students

I have a student who sits in the back row and does not participate at all. He’s a football player, very popular, good looking and nice. He doesn’t bother anyone, but he also doesn’t contribute anything. He is missing two assignments, which in turn has lowered his grade to a D. Without even really knowing this kid, I judged him as a football player who cared more about sports than school.

I gave my students their first writing assignment last week. It was a simple, one paragraph essay, but it was to help me see what kind of writers I have. As I was grading these papers, I read one bad paper after another. Grammar was terrible, incomplete sentences, misused quotes, no structure whatsoever, etc. Probably the worst papers I’ve ever read. I was really frustrated with my students, and I was tired of circling every single problem I found. Every paper had red ink all over, and I was at the point where I wasn’t even correcting stuff anymore, I was just circling.

Then I came upon the essay from this boy. As I was reading, I could actually read the paper without having to mark it up. I wasn’t circling anything. It was almost perfect. His grammar was correct, he had complete sentences, he used big words, and his paper flowed nicely. He actually knew how to write! I wrote a huge compliment on the bottom of the paper in order to encourage him. Someone has taught this kid well, and I was really impressed. Out of all the people in my classes, I didn’t expect such a great paper from this kid. He got the highest grade out of all my students, and I told him that. When I gave him back his paper, I told him good job and to keep up the good work. He kind of gave me a shy grin and didn’t say anything.

Today, my students had to take an Acuity Test. It’s a non-graded test to help me know the strong points and weak points of my students. As I was walking through the testing room, as students finished their tests, I was seeing scores such as 15/30 and 14/30 and 10/30. Obviously, my students were struggling a bit with this test. This particular boy finished his test and came up to me so I could help him log off. I walked over to his computer and he had scored 28/30. By far the best score of the day! I told him good job and helped him log off.

I kneeled down beside him and said, “Do you excel in all your classes or just English?”
He got really shy and bowed his head. I could barely hear him, but he said, “I excel in all my classes.”
I said, “You do well in math and science, too?”
He shook his head yes.
I asked him what his favorite class is, and he said Social Studies.
I asked him if my class bored him. He said no.
I said, “I can tell you’re really smart. So far you’ve out scored all your classmates.”
He got really shy and smiled and said, “Thanks.”
“But, in order to get a good grade, you’ve got to do your assignments. You’re missing several assignments, which has lowered your grade. If my class bores you, we can get you moved to an advanced class. You’re obviously very good at English, but I need you to do your work in order to get a good grade.”
He agreed that he would do his work. He said, “Thanks,” once again, and I walked away.

I really hope this kid does his work because he’s obviously very smart. I’m going to have to find creative ways to engage his mind so he’s not bored while all the other students struggle to understand. And I’ll be the first to admit that I judged him incorrectly.

More Police Activity

I have a student who got arrested last night. He was downtown last night practicing his First Amendment Right. He went downtown to report on the DNC for the school newspaper. He also was protesting (what, I'm not sure), but his side of the story states that he was just standing there waiting to go the bathroom, and the next thing he knew he was in handcuffs on his way to jail. He spent the next three hours in a holding cell trying to figure out what his charges were. By 10:30 pm, he was on his way. He arrived at my class (High School Newspaper) and said he needed to talk to me. He said he couldn't report on the DNC because he couldn't report fairly. Rather than a news story, he asked if he could write an opinion piece. The other teacher and I decided that was the best route to take. It was interesting to hear his story.

This guy definitely was a product of stereotyping. He is a super smart kid. He takes Honor's Classes and is very friendly. However, by appearances only, you would never guess him to be that type of student. He has a hot pink mohawk, wears chains and has greasy hair. I'm sure that had something to do with his arrest.

The Police Showed Up!

The Nichols' side sure does know how to throw a party! This past weekend, my dad's parents celebrated their 60th Wedding Anniversary. Their three children (my dad, aunt and uncle) threw a fabulous party, and everyone on the Nichols' side was able to come back to NE to help celebrate the special day. My counsin from Washington came with his wife and four kids. I hadn't met one of the kids (she's only two) because the last time we saw them was four years ago. My other cousin came from Wyoming, and we haven't seen him in four years. My aunt and uncle came from Wyoming, too. My other counsins came from Hastings and Omaha, and we all came from Denver. Cozad isn't much of a town, but we were so rowdy that the police showed up!

Friday night, we pulled into Cozad around 10pm. I was up until 2:30am playing poker with my cousins, aunts and uncles. And guess who won? ME!!! I've never played a day in my life, but I walked away with $35. Saturday was a day of fun. We started out eating breakfast at my aunt Jan's house, then took family pictures, then had an open house reception, then had a dance, then had dinner, then we ate some more, then it was dark and we did fireworks. Jan had called the police a few days before to find out how much the fee was going to be. They told her they probably wouldn't fine her, but they would show up and tell her to stop. So the rebel that she is, she decided to shoot them off anyway. As predicted, the cops showed up within five minutes. They basically told us they were going to drive around the block, so we needed to hurry and finish up. They said, "We didn't see anything."

By Sunday morning, word had gotten out around town that the police had arrived at the Nichols' home. Word travels fast in a tiny town. Sunday, we all went to church, and the Nichols' cousins led worship. We all can sing, so I'm quite proud of how we sounded. All the little cousins sang Jesus Loves Me. It was a good service and we all had fun singing together. We decided we might have to make a Christmas Album. Then we ate again at Jan's house. Another fabulous meal. After lunch, we sat around and looked at pictures, talked about old memories, laughed about having Nichols' eyes, and just had a fabulous time. We were back in Denver by 7pm.

It was a great weekend, and I was sad to say goodbye to everyone. Jan out did herself once again. This is the same aunt that found the ring in my underwear and helped me at my brother's wedding (story to come). She's a wonderful lady who just seems to go and go and go. She never runs out of steam. She made the cakes, which were fabulous, and I've already hired her to make my wedding cakes. She's on a mission to find me a man. She made amazing food, and I was so impressed with her all weekend long. Thanks for a wonderful weekend, Aunt Jan!

Also, I want to wish my grandma and grandpa a Happy Anniversary, which was yesterday. I love you both and am so proud of you for the wonderful family you have created. I can't wait for the next Nichols' family gathering.

Dancing Maniac's

Two weeks ago, my friends and I went to The Grizzly Rose, a hot spot for cowboys and line dancing. We go once every couple of months to get our groove on, and Thursday is ladies night. We drink for free, and it's a great night to have a lot of fun. We're actually going again this week, but I wanted to show you pictures from two weeks ago.

Overwhelmed

Last week was a really weird week for me. Let me first say that I am REALLY enjoying teaching. While it's weird for me to hear it, I have to admit that I feel pretty cool when my students call me Miss Nichols. I feel respected. As I'm beginning to learn names, I'm also trying to develop a relationship with my students. I wrote all my students a letter about me, and I had all my students write me a letter back about themselves. One girl wrote in her letter:

Dear Miss Nichols,
I think it's really cool that you want to get to know me. I really enjoyed reading your letter and getting to know you. I hope you enjoy reading my letter as much I enjoyed reading yours. Not a lot of teachers take the time to get to know their students, and I'm really happy that you care about getting to know me.

That letter meant a lot to me because I DO care about my students, and I DO want to make a difference in their lives. A simple letter helped pave the way into their lives. So teaching is going well, and I'm so excited for this semester. But, like I said, it was a weird week. I have a lot of thoughts and emotions running through my head. If you thought I was busy before, you should see me now. Let me give you my schedule:

Monday-School 7am - 2pm; Work 2pm - 5 pm; School work 7pm - 10pm or later
Tuesday-School 7am - 3pm; Master's Class 5pm - 10pm; School work until 11pm or later
Wednesday-School 7am - 2pm; Work 2pm - 5 pm; School work 7pm-10pm or later
Thursday-School 7am - 3pm; School work 7pm - 10pm or later
Friday- School 7am - 3pm

Add to the mix homework for my Master's class, grading papers, working out and trying to have a social life, and I am exhausted. I'm averaging around six hours of sleep a night, and I am so overwhelmed that sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night thinking about everything I have to do. Needless to say, I don't (and won't) have much of a social life anymore until I graduate in December. It's going to be a long, lonely semester.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. I knew it was going to be a difficult semester when I signed up for it. I'm just sad I'm missing out on a lot of stuff. My schedule doesn't leave much time for a social life, and I miss my friends.

Little Baby - Boy or Girl?

As previously mentioned, my brother and his wife have two boys. Carson is 4 1/2 and Kye is 2 1/2. Katie is pregnant with their third, and we've all had our fingers crossed for a little girl to add to the family. Collin didn't want to try for a third. He was content with two. When I said to him earlier in the year, "Just imagine adding a girl to the mix. It would be so much fun." Collin said, "Just imagine having another boy."

I joked with Shannon the other night and said, "Tomorrow you're going to find out if you're an aunt or an uncle." Well, I'm happy to say that both Shan and I are going to be aunts!!! It's a girl!!! Oh my goodness, my family couldn't be happier. We all would have loved a boy. That's all we know with three boys in the family. But now that we know it's a girl, we are so thrilled. Now I can teach my fashion tips and shopping habits to my niece! Watch out Collin, she's going to be expensive.

They have a name picked out, which is lightyears ahead of when they had Kyler. They didn't choose his name until a few days before he was born. This little girl has a name, but now they are fighting about how to spell it. If that's the least of their worries, then I think we're good to go.

Little Girl will be born Dec. 30, so she's going to be a wonderful present for the New Year! I'm so excited.

Humiliated

Columbine High School is about 10 mins from my home, so now that I'm teaching, I am very aware of my surroundings. There's a huge possibility that I will see my students often because we all live in the same community. Today after school, I went to Target, which is about four mins from the school. I went to Target for a very specific reason: to get a gift for Abby, my friend who is getting married next week. I didn't go for a gift on her registery. I went for a "sexy" gift. Lingerie, perhaps, or pretty, lacy undies. As I'm roaming through the lingerie section, I suddenly remember that school just got out 30 mins ago and there's a chance my students might be walking around Target. So I kind of hide, and quickly pick out some lace "things." Thinking that Abby needs some "other stuff" to go with the panties, I head to the aisle that holds those items.

If you know me at all, you know this aisle isn't one that I frequent. By this point, I am paranoid Miss Shiloh. I am glancing over my shoulders to make sure no one is watching me. I quickly pick out three "fun" items that Abby and Corey might need on their honeymoon. Now I have panties and three "items" in my hand, visible to anyone who walks by me. My face is starting to turn a little red. I quickly walk up to the front of the store and grab a basket. At least the items aren't in my hand anymore. I then walk to the gift wrapping section to get a gift bag and some tissue paper. As I walk by the registers in the front of the store, I see a guy from church working one of the registers. I panic! HE CANNOT SEE ME RIGHT NOW!!!! What would my church group think???

I duck into the men's clothing section. I quickly walk, with my face turned, to the gift bags. Luckily, I had worn my hair down so it was hiding my face a little bit. I grab what I need and walk to the back of the store. I then walk the entire length of the store to get to the other side in order to avoid this cashier that I know from church. As I approach the registers, the lines are LONG! I stand in line for about five mins. I'm dreading purchasing my items. And of course, it's a man. Why couldn't a woman have been checking items? It's finally my turn. I put my head down so my hair falls in my face. I play with my phone and don't make eye contact. The man is friendly and wants to talk.

"Good afternoon. How are you today?"
"Fine," I mumble.
I continue to play with my phone as he checks my items.
"Your total is $22.50"
I swipe my card, hoping to make a quick escape.
He hands me the bag. "Looks like you're all set!"
Did he mean something by that? By this point, I am so embarrassed that I'm starting to giggle. My face is red and I'm sweating. I'm doing everything in my power to hold back my nervous giggles. I'm not having much luck and my giggle is starting to make noise.
"Have a GREAT Tuesday night," he adds.
I couldn't help it. I was actually laughing as I walked out of the store. I couldn't hold it in. I had to walk across the entire parking lot to get back to my car since I had avoided the cashier on the opposite side of the store.

Abs, I hope you appreciate your gifts! It cost me some embarrassment :)

Cornhuskers Come to Denver

I have such fabulous friends. Throughout my previous blogs, I've written a lot about my girlfriends who live in Denver. I obviously spend a lot of time with these girls since we live so close to each other, but this blog is to write about my other girls: my Nebraska girls. Before I moved to Denver, I became great friends with April, Katie, Irish and Michelle (we call her McGee). We all worked together at Skeeter Barnes (Skeets), and spent a lot of time together during our college years and became BFF's (Best Friends Forever). Then I moved to Denver and McGee moved to Omaha. Last year, Katie moved to Denver; Irish and April are still in Kearney, but we have maintained a great friendship despite the distance. I miss my girls dearly, but I'm also so happy to have Katie living here. I'm always trying to get the other girls to move to Denver (I'm not about to move back to Kearney).

I know it's not easy for them to make the trip, but I've been blessed to have them come visit me on several different occasions. They have all seen where I live, where I work, where I go to church and get a glimpse of my life in Littleton. This weekend, everyone but April (so sad) came to visit Katie and me. Well, okay, they didn't come specifically for us, but rather they came to see Jack Johnson tonight, but still, they stayed with me and we had a blast. They got in at a decent time Friday night, so we order Thai food, picked it up and hung out at my house all night. We played the Wii, rocked out on Rock Band, took pictures, ate, drank, played cards, laughed a lot and shared a lot of fun memories. Saturday, we slept in a little bit, made breakfast together and then did what girls do best: shop! We went to Park Meadows Mall and the brand new Target by my house. After shopping, we were tired, so we came home, took a nap, played more Wii, rocked out on Rock Band some more, ate pizza and cookies and lounged. Later that night, we went downtown to hit the dance floor at Cowboy Lounge. Us NE girls know how to get our groove thang on! Today, we slept in again (11am), ate at Red Robin for lunch, went to Target again and then came back to my house for a bit.

They are at Jack Johnson right now at Red Rocks. Katie, April and I did not get tickets (they sold out so fast), so we're all at home while Irish, her husband Shawn, McGee, and her roomate, Sarah, are all at the show. They will get back to my house late tonight and head back to NE tomorrow morning. McGee took all the pictures this weekend, so I'll add them once I get them from her. I love my NE girls and miss them. April, we missed you this weekend, but there will be many more fun times to come

Happy Birthday

Today is my sister's birthday. Happy birthday, Shan! Hope you had a good day. Shannon is four years older than me. We're about as different as day and night, but we get along great (now). We didn't get along well in high school, but we're both older and more mature now-a-days. Love you, sister.

My Students

While taking attendace today, I called out the name Alexander. The students were supposed to raise their hand, and if they went by a nickname, now was the time to tell me.

So Alexander raised his hand and said, "You can call me Alo Kid."
"Excuse me?" I reply back.
A kid yells across the room, "Alexander, you can't make up your own nicknames."
Alo Kid said, "I want to be called Alo Kid. I can make up my own nickname if I want."
The other students snickered.
I told him I couldn't call him Alo Kid, but I could call him Alo, so that's what he is going to be called.

During my Journalism class, the students had to come up with a headline to represent a story that has happened in their life. When asked to share, a young freshman raised her hand. Her headline was, "Family Fight Causes Family to be Enemies." She went on to tell us a sad story of how her family got into a huge fight this summer and they no longer speak to each other. She said her aunt and uncle live five houses down from them and they do not speak. Such a sad story.

On day one, I also encountered a few other sad stories. I think I'm going to hear a lot of disturbing stuff as I get to know my students. It makes me sad to think of some of their lives. But I also laughed many times today. These students are funny, witting and charming. They are too shy to show me their naughty side, yet, but I'm sure it will come out sooner than later. I'm having a lot of fun.

More Pics From 14er

Freshman Have Arrived

Can you tell I've gotten a new job? My posts aren't as frequent. I'm actually working at work!

But I'm in class right now, so I'll keep this short. I'm totally exhausted and it's only the first week of school. I'm sure I'll get used to my schedule, but this week is kind of crazy because kids arrived today. They are so cute! I don't remember being that little (probably never was), but you can tell they are scared and timid. Shannon tells me that won't last long. Thanks, Shan!

I don't have much to report except my teacher told me I'm a natural. That felt good. She said she was impressed with how I responded to the students. Yay. I officially start teaching tomorrow, and I have some fun things planned. I am excited to bring my ideas to the students. I've also shared some ideas with my teacher, who was really excited with my new, fresh ideas. She also shared one of my ideas with another teacher, who asked to use my idea.

I'll write more later once I have some good stories. I guess I better pay attention to my teacher now.

It's Official-I Still Don't Like It!

It's unfair of me to say I don't like something unless I've really tried it. I've always said, since I was young, that I hated hiking. I even remember saying it two weekends ago when I was hiking with some friends. But all the hiking I've done in my 27 years has been "easy" hiking. I guess you can't call it real hiking because it was only a mile or two and took less than an hour to complete. A real hiker would laugh in my face if I mentioned hiking the trails I've done. So, when my friends suggested climbing a 14er this summer, I agreed to do it. What was I thinking?

I've mentioned before that I don't like saying NO. I give in to peer pressure because I never want to miss out on anything. If I say no, then my friends will still do it while I'm at home doing homework. So when they asked me to climb a 14er with them, my immediate response was YES! I had no idea what I was getting myself in to, but off to the store I went to buy hiking shoes, hiking socks and a backpack. It's been an expensive summer for me. Now that I have the gear for biking, hiking, camping and some other sports, I guess I can call myself a true Coloradian.

For those of you who don't know what a 14er is, it's a mountain that is over the altitude of 14,000 feet. Denver is called the mile high city because the altitude is 5,280. The base of the mountain we climbed was around 11,000, and the top of Gray's Peak is 14,270. We climbed over 3,000 vertical feet in four hours. Shannon, Jeff, Mike, Sonya, Kari and I left my house at 5:30am. We were on the trail by 7:40am. Our plan was to climb both Gray's and Torres, but once we got to the top of Gray's, I knew that conquering both was more than I could handle. The others were up for the challenge, but it was getting cloudy and an unsafe time to climb (have to be careful of lightening storms).

Looking down at what we just climbed.

Kari and Sonya going through some of the rocks.

Taking a rest before the "hard" part begins.Because the air is so thin, I was lightheaded and having a hard time breathing. I had a bad headache throughout the day, and I could only go about 30 feet at a time before stopping to get my breath back and rest my legs. My calves felt like they were on fire. Like I said, it took me four hours to get to the top. Going down was super difficult, too, but in a different way than going up. It took us two hours to get down, and it hurt my feet, ankles, hips and knees. Add a full bladder to the mix, and I was one miserable soul. As you'll see from the pictures, it's super rocky, so it was hard to climb over rocks.

Me, Sonya, Kari, Mike, Shannon, Jeff-Finally at the top!

Looking down at our course.

More rocks...Mike and Jeff appear to be having fun.

I will admit that finally making it to the top made the hard, hard journey worth it. We got some pretty cool pictures. I can't say, however, that I will ever climb a 14er again. This is probably my first and last one, but I told my friends to ask me again next year and maybe I will have forgotten the pain and misery by then. God's nature is beautiful and amazing. I just wish there were more ski lifts to get us to the top to enjoy it!

Yay! I made it.

Now that I've hiked a 14er, I can officially say, "I don't like hiking!"

I have more pictures coming from Kari and Mike, so I'll add more pictures once I get them. Make sure to check back soon.

Using My Brain

My mom used to take a picture of us every year on the first day of school. We usually had a new outfit on with a new lunch pail and new backpack. We'd stand by the front door, she'd snap a picture and we'd head off to our first day of school. I thought I would carry on the tradition as a new teacher. Now granted, this is my second day of school, and technically, school hasn't started yet because students don't report until next Tuesday, but I still think I look pretty cute in my Columbine shirt. Also take note of my employee ID card, which has a picture of me (have to have it to enter the school). They even gave me my own key (oh, goodness!). And I have a parking sticker to park in staff parking (not pictured).Today started bright and early at 7am for more meetings, which lasted until noon. Then we walked over to Clement Park for a staff photo and a BBQ. There was a ton of food, and it was good to get to know people. Then it was back for more meetings in the afternoon. Since I'm teaching 9th grade English, I sat in on the English Department meeting. I even shot out a few ideas. I felt like my Master's classes have given me some useful information to share, so I tried my best to speak up when needed.

It's amazing how stimulated my brain is. I truly did enjoy working for Enterprise, but sitting at a desk for 8 hours a day doing the same thing over and over got tiring really fast. I never felt like I was using my brain or using my education that I worked so hard for 4 1/2 years for while working for ERAC. Now that I'm using my education and teaching others, I feel so inspired and so excited. I'm actually learning things on a daily basis. I'm talking about grammar and To Kill a Mockingbird, Romeo and Juliet, Lord of the Flies and Antigone with other professionals, and while that doesn't sound like much fun to most of you, I was so giddy this afternoon I could hardly contain my excitement. I feel smart. I feel like I have a purpose. I feel like my education dollars have a purpose. I can't even describe it, but I totally know this is what I'm supposed to be doing.

Day 1

Well, I survied my first day at Columbine High School. Students don't arrive until next week, so today was meetings, meetings and more meetings. I got to spend about an hour putting together a seating chart and arranging the room. I had to go in front of 155 staff members while they introduced me. There are some other Huskers in the school, so I had a few people come up to me to introduce themselves. There's even a new teacher from Grand Island (45 mins from Kearney). Her and I have already become friends (she's my age).

My University told me we would observe the first 2-3 weeks and then begin to take over teaching. Well, my teachers aren't aware of this, and I'm not going to be the one to protest. Both teachers I'm working with have told me I'm in charge day one and they will sit back and observe me. Yikes! I have no idea what I'm doing, but in three short days, I will be teaching a classroom of students.

Oh dear Lord, please help me!

A Ring in my Underwear

Today is my sister's 3rd Wedding Anniversary. Shannon and Jeff have a really cool story. They have known each other for years and years and years. Back when Shannon was in high school, she fell in love with Jeff. In typical boy fashion, Jeff freaked out and ran the opposite direction. That is until four years ago when he finally admitted he had loved Shannon all along but was too scared to admit it. They dated for six months and were married three months after he proposed. They are very happy together and have an adorable little baby, Case.

Their wedding, however, did not go without a hitch (thanks to me). I think trouble seems to follow me, at least at weddings. There's a story behind my brother's wedding, as well, but I'll save that for next month when they celebrate their anniversary.

Go back with me three years from today. It's wedding day. I'm the Maid of Honor. I've been in my share of weddings at this point, but I've never been the Maid of Honor, so I'm pretty proud to be the top bridesmaid. Early in the day, Shannon gives me Jeff's ring.

"Guard this with your life," she says. "You're in charge of keeping the ring safe and signing the marriage license. Those are your two tasks for the day."

"No prob, big sis," I reply. "You can count on me." I put the ring on my thumb, and while it is a tad too big, I don't think it will slip off. I will just make sure to be extra careful so I don't lose it.

The morning is a bustle of excitement. The girls are getting ready, the guys are chatting. Pictures are being taken. The pastor is giving instructions. My friend, Mike, is video recording the entire event. Mom is stressing. The soon to be mother-in-law is pacing the floor. It's finally time to take group photos, so we all head to the sanctuary. We spend several hours taking pictures, and now it's 20 minutes from the ceremony. The ladies head back to the "getting ready" room to freshen up, go the bathroom and grab a bite to eat.

As we walk in to the room, I show Shannon my thumb and say, "You have nothing to worry about. The ring is still on my finger."

She replies, "Good, keep it there."

With five minutes left until we go on stage, Shannon decides she better go to the bathroom. Because her dress is so big, Becca and I help her pull it up and sit on the toilet. We turn our heads so she can pee in "peace." Once Shan is done, I decide I better go, too. I shut the door, pull up my dress, pull down my underwear and sit down to pee. As I'm going, I look at my hand and begin to have a panic attack. THE RING IS GONE!

My first thought is, "How can I avoid telling Shannon?" My second thought is, "The ring must be in the toilet." So I hurriedly finish the job, pull up my undies and run out of the bathroom. I'm thinking, "Whatever I do, don't tell Shannon." When I come out of the bathroom, guess who is standing there? You guessed it, Shannon!

"Um, you forgot the flush the toilet and wash your hands," Shannon points out.

"Shannon, don't freak out, but the ring is gone."

"Ha, ha. Funny joke, Shiloh."

"Shannon, I wish it was a joke, but I'm totally telling the truth. The ring is gone."

Picture the bride bursting into tears at this moment.
Picture the pastor coming in to the room to tell us it's time to go on.
Picture the pastor saying, "Don't tell Jeff what is going on. He's better off not knowing."
Picture my grandmother immediately begin pacing and praying, "Dear Lord, you know where the ring is. Help us find it. Dear Lord, give us eyes to find the ring."
Picture my mother on her hands and knees searching the floor for the ring.
Picture Becca going in to the bathroom to search the toilet for the ring. No luck in there, so she comes out to console Shannon.
Picture Becca standing with a Kleenex in her hand wiping tears off Shannon's face.
Picture bridesmaids throwing things from the floor as they search for the ring.
Picture aunts opening drawers that have never been opened hoping somehow the ring was in there.
Picture Mike walking in to the room with his video recorder. Not knowing what is going on, he zooms into my face and says, "Here's the Maid of Honor. Shiloh, do you have any last words for your sister?"
Picture me yelling at Mike, "NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO HAVE THAT THING POINTED AT MY FACE."
Picture me apologizing to Shannon over and over. "I'm so sorry, Shannon. I'll buy you a new ring."
Picture Shannon yelling back, "Well 'sorry' doesn't find the ring, does it?"
Picture my mom telling the pastor to stall. "We can't go on stage yet. We have to find the ring."
Picture Katie going to find my brother so we can use his ring as a substitute ring for the ceremony.
Picture absolute chaos.

And then walks in Aunt Jan. "Everyone just calm down!"

The room becomes silent. Everyone stops, stands up from the floor and stares at Aunt Jan.

"Shiloh, when did you last see the ring?" Jan asks.

"I had it on my finger less than five minutes ago. I helped Shannon go the bathroom, then I went to the bathroom."

Duh, it must be in Shannon's dress. Let's search that. So Shannon stands still as a dozen hands go up her dress searching the tool and material for the lost ring.

Bummer, no such luck.

I ask Shan, "How much was the ring?"

Jan says, "Shi, we're going to find the ring. Don't ask such questions. Have you searched your body, yet?"

"Searched MY body? Why would it be on me?"

"Let's just make sure it's not on you somewhere."

Jan, like a professional cop, begins to pat me down. She starts at my bra and works her way down until, wait, what is this lump in your undies?

Could it be true?

Oh dear Lord, the ring is in my underwear! THANK GOD!

I pull up my dress, and sure enough, the ring is in my underwear. It had slipped off when I had gone the bathroom.

Phew, now we can carry on with the day. We line up. Shannon wipes away her tears, freshens up her makeup and we all take a deep breath. Everything is going to be ok. Jeff is standing up at the front of the church waiting for us to come down the aisle. He still has no idea what has taken place, and he's beginning to wonder why it's taking so long.

The ceremony goes without a problem. The bridal party leaves the sanctuary. I'm standing outside, reliving the terrible memory of when I lost Jeff's ring. Jeff walks up to me.

"I heard a very strange rumor. I heard that MY ring was in YOUR underwear. Is that true?"

Talk about awkward!

A Teacher's Prayers

One of my last blogs wrote about how everything you do makes a difference to someone. I was on the receiving end of a nice gesture today from one of my classmates. Her name is Courtney. Since I'm reporting to school this week, she wanted to give me a little encouragement. Inside the card was a bracelet (she knows me too well). This bracelet has a teacher's prayer engraved on it that says:

Lord, let me be a teacher of knowledge who will guide our youth and grant them the necessary understanding.

Thanks, Court! Your thoughtfulness meant a lot.

Everything you do makes a difference to someone.

Hobbies

As if riding over 400 miles on my bike this summer wasn't enough, I've now taken up running. I know what you're thinking: what is a girl like Shiloh doing running? Well, I want to run a 5K by the end of the summer, and I want to do a sprint triathlon next summer, so running is just part of that training. It sucks, but I'll write more about running at a later date.

The real reason for this blog is to brag about all my summer actitivites. Bike riding, running, working out, hiking, tennis, camping, swimming. One would think I'm a pretty athletic woman. I guess I kind of am. My newest hobby (if you can call a two week stint a hobby) is golf. I've been to the driving range for two weeks in a row now, so I guess that qualifies as a hobby, right? I may not be good, but I sure do look cute in my plaid shorts!

Next week we're going to venture off the driving range and attempt to play a round of golf. Wish me luck. I'm going to need it.

Jazz at City Park

Last night, my two dear friends (Katie and Mike) and I went to City Park to hear free, live jazz. I don't know why we didn't go more this summer because it was so much fun and again I must repeat myself, FREE. We arrived right as the band was starting, but it was already packed with at least 1,000 poeple. After moving to four different spots, we finally found a good piece of ground to set our chairs where everyone could see. There were all types of people there: young, old, black, white, homeless people, etc. We had a good time people watching and listening to some good music. The band played for two hours, and the three of us had a really good time together.

Impact

I've heard it said before that everything you do makes a difference to someone, whether for the good or the bad. Saturday night at Little Bear, I asked the lady sitting beside our table to "save" our table so no one else would take it while we went to the dance floor. She said she would guard it with her life. Us girls went and danced for a while, and I decided to head back to the table to get my drink. The lady was still there with her husband and another couple. I thanked her for watching our table and invited her to come dance with me. She said she was too old to dance, and I told her she was not but the offer was open if she decided to change her mind.

I headed back to the dance floor, and about five minutes later this lady was standing beside me. She said she had changed her mind and was ready to dance. We danced, showed off our tattoo's and chatted like we had known each other for years. She fit right in with the girls. After several songs, she said she was going to head back to her husband. Abby and Kelly also went back to our table to cool off, and after several songs, I also went back to the table. The lady was gone by the time I arrived. I asked Abby where they had gone and she said they had left for the night. But Abby told me a message had been left for me: "Tell the girl in the white 'Thanks'."

Thanks for what, I'm not really sure. But what I do know is this lady appreciated the fact that five ladies made an effort to make her feel young, fun and part of the girls club.

Everything you do makes an impact on someone.

Weekend in the Mountains

I got hit on last night. I was dancing at Little Bear, and someone grabbed my booty. I turned around to find a woman standing there smiling. She then tried kissing me. Needless to say, it was an interesting night. But let me start at the beginning.

My friend Abby is getting married in a month. She has found a fabulous man who is going to take care of her, and us girls wanted to celebrate the big upcoming day. Abby will be moving to Kansas, as that's where Corey lives. While she's very excited to be moving to the same state as her husband, she's also very sad to be leaving the state of Colorado. One of her favorite places in CO is Grand Lake, so us girls packed up a picnic, complete with a bottle of wine, cheese and crackers (and chocolate, of course!) and started up I70 mountain bound. Small problem: there was an accident on I70 and traffic was backed up for miles. We crept along at a slow, leisurely pace of 5mph for about 45 mins. We had only gone less than 7 miles. So we made a plan B: go to Evergreen for the day instead.

So we veered off I70 and headed to Evergreen, which consequently is also where Abby and Corey are getting married. Abby took us to The Barn, which is where the ceremony is going to be. It's beautiful and we were so excited to see the place before the actual wedding (Kari and I are both in the wedding). After that, we hiked up Three Sisters, which is a small hike that ends looking out over the town. We set up our picnic blanket, and enjoyed the beautiful weather while eating our picnic snack. Then it was picture time, as that's what us girls like to do best.

Next we headed to a small lake, where we rented a paddle boat and a canoe. We had some problems steering the paddle boat, and we went around in circles for about five minutes, but we finally got it figure out and enjoyed the rest of our time on the lake.


Kari's parents live in Evergreen, so we headed back to their place so we could freshen up. We sat on their patio for over an hour watching the hummingbirds dive bomb each other. Then it was off to dinner at Beau Jo's Pizza, which is real CO pizza (you put honey on the thick crust).

After dinner, we walked across the street to Little Bear, which is a fun bar that plays live music. This is where the lady comes in to play...

As almost always, us five girls got the party started. The band was fun, so we headed to the dance floor to show off our moves. Soon, others started to follow and before long, the floor was packed with some very interesting folks. Let me give you some background about Little Bear. It's your typical small town bar where the locals hang out. Everyone knows everyone. That is until five hot chicks from the city walk in. Then everyone stares at the five hot city chicks. All of the locals are over the age of 35, so we were by far the youngest people in there. Oh, and I forgot to mention one thing: it's a place where ladies take off their bras and throw them up on the rafters.

With that being said, we were on the dance floor having a good time and my butt was grabbed from behind. I turned around to find a very drunk woman smiling at me. She then grabbed my face and tried to kiss me. I pulled away from her, so she grabbed my hand and kissed me there, instead. Then she jumped into my arms and was hanging around my neck. For the rest of the night, we did our best to avert this drunk lady, but she took a liking to me and seemed to be present everytime we were out there dancing. Around 11pm, two guys closer to our age walked in, and we ended up making friends with them. They were a lot of fun, and we enjoyed dancing with them. The band played until 1am, which was our cue to hit the road back to Denver. We had a fabulous day in the mountains enjoying God's creation, and it was great to have Abby's undivided attention for a full day.

Remembering the M&M's

I'm a little emotional right now. Typically, I'm not an emotional person. I don't cry a whole lot, and if I do, it's certainly not in front of people if I can help it. I like to hide my emotions as much as possible. But I'm being transparent right now and admitting to anyone who cares to read this blog that I'm sitting at my desk at work and I have a few tears in my eyes. It's my last day of full time work at Enterprise, and while this is the day I have been looking forward to for over a year, I'm also sad to leave the friends I have made and the comfortableness of it all. I have cleaned out my desk, so it's completely bare. I have taken all my food home, so my drawer in the fridge is empty. Everyone is at lunch right now, so I'm all alone.

I wonder if I've made an impact on anyone at this company? When I'm gone, will people talk about me? Will they only miss me because I took all the Peanut M&M's home with me or will they remember my laughter, my smile, my energy, my enthusiasm, my faith, my singing?

I guess I'll have to take the Peaunut M&M's to school with me so my students will remember me. Hopefully they will also remember me as the coolest teacher ever! I'll let you know how it goes.