Now that I am on a roll saying NO, I also stuck up for myself this past weekend, which is something I normally don't do. I typically keep my mouth shut and stew by myself, but this time I spoke up and got what I wanted.
I went shopping with my relatives this weekend when we were home for Thanksgiving. Herberger's was having a huge sale, so while the men stayed to watch football, the ladies went shopping. The first thing I found was a pair of black snow boots for 50% off. They were $70, so that meant they would be $35 (and I had a coupon for 20 percent off). They were perfect and exactly what I had been looking for. I carried them around for 30 minutes, which was a pain because the box was not small. It was finally time to check out, and the line at the shoe counter was really long, so I went to the checkout down the aisle. There was a line there, so I waited patiently for about 10 minutes until it was my turn. Finally, I put the boots on the counter and the girl says, "I'm sorry, but you can only buy shoes at the shoe checkout." Seriously?!?!
I walk over the shoe checkout, which has about 10 people in front of me. I wait. And I wait. And I wait. Another 10 minutes goes by, but it's finally my turn. The lady scans them and says, "Your total is $55."
I say, "Actually, those are 50% off. The sticker on the bottom of the shoe says that."
"Oh, well, that sticker is from early this morning for the door busters. That ended at 9 a.m., so now they are only 15% off. We've been too busy to take off the stickers."
I'm highly annoyed by this time. It's hot in the store, it's completely packed with annoying shoppers, and there is no way I'm paying $55 for these boots. I tell her I'm no longer interested, and she moves on to the next shopper.
Brandi, my cousin, is trying on shoes, so I tell them all what happened. Aunt Jan tells me to stick up for myself. She says, "They should honor the 50% off since the sticker is still on the shoe."
She's totally right, so I approach the lady and ask for her manager. I was totally nice, but I let her know I meant business. She asked what I wanted, and I told her I thought they should honor the discount since the sticker was still on the shoe. She calls her manager. The manager tells her to honor the discount. So, I got the boots for $35 as originally planned.
Again, it felt amazing to stick up for myself. I was really nice to the lady about the entire thing, and it just felt good to speak up. I'm growing as a person :)
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Monday, November 16, 2009
The Power of NO!
I've never been really good at saying no. This can be a positive thing or a negative thing, but I find myself trying to say no to things I don't want to do but YES comes out instead. For example, the day I tried saying NO to a massage, I ended up saying YES.
This past week, however, I'm quite proud of myself for saying no. It felt great!
There is a lady at school who sells Mary Kay. I hardly know this lady, but she confronted me during the first weeks of school and asked me if I would be interested in a Mary Kay party. Trying to make friends and be nice, I said, "Sure, maybe we can plan something sometime." A few months went by, and I was able to avoid her for the most part. Then she cornered my friend Jessica into having a party, and Jessica invited me. I decided that if I went to Jessica's party, that would take care of my obligation to having a party, so Britt, Jessica and I had this lady over. We did makeovers, and this lady did the entire sales pitch to us (it took over an hour). At the end, she goes, "So, I'll let you girls think over what you want to buy. Come chat with me when you know what you want." Jessica bought something. Britt bought something. Then she cornered me. "Shiloh, what are you going to get? I think the Premier Package is just perfect for you. What do you think? It's a $400 value, but you can buy it today for ONLY $200!"
Is this lady nuts? Does she seriously think I'm going to drop $200 on stupid Mary Kay products? I politely refused, but she still managed to get me to buy some eye shadow (it was the cheapest thing in the magazine). At this point, I hadn't perfected my saying NO skills. I made my purchase, and then she pulled out her calendar and said, "Now, when are you going to have your party?" I tried to avoid it by telling her I would email my friends to see if they were interested, and she said the only way they would agree to a party is if we had a set date on the calendar. She marked November 10 as our Mary Kay makeover party and told me to email my friends right away.
I went and emailed all my friends. I did not get a positive response from any of them, which was fine by me, so I went to her the next day and told her no one could do that day. What did she do but pull out her calendar and erased the 10th and said I should try for the 18th. Once again I was stuck. To be honest, I did NOT email any of my friends the second time around. I could tell from the first email I sent that no one wanted to do a party. I did not want to do a party, either, so when she came to be this final time, I was finally ready to tell her NO!
I found her working last Thursday, so I went up to her and said, "You know, I'm not getting a positive response from any of my friends. It sounds like they already have products they used and aren't really interested in Mary Kay. I don't want to waste your time any longer, so I think I'm going to have to cancel the party altogether."
"Well, did you call any of them personally or did you just email them?
"I just emailed. That's how most of my friends and I communicate."
"I've found that if I call my friends, they are more likely to respond positively than via email."
"I'm sure that's probably true, but I just didn't get a good response from anyone. I just think I should cancel the party."
She kind of glared at me. "Then I guess I'll just book another party for that date then if you're not interested. You do know that you get $50 of free makeup if you do the party, don't you?"
"Yes, I'm aware that I get free makeup if I have the party, but none of my friends wanted to come, so I'm just going to have to say no."
As much as it sucked telling this lady no (and still having to see her everyday), it felt amazing to say NO and not feel obligated to have a party when I don't want to have a party. I'm going to try to say NO more often. It's so refreshing.
This past week, however, I'm quite proud of myself for saying no. It felt great!
There is a lady at school who sells Mary Kay. I hardly know this lady, but she confronted me during the first weeks of school and asked me if I would be interested in a Mary Kay party. Trying to make friends and be nice, I said, "Sure, maybe we can plan something sometime." A few months went by, and I was able to avoid her for the most part. Then she cornered my friend Jessica into having a party, and Jessica invited me. I decided that if I went to Jessica's party, that would take care of my obligation to having a party, so Britt, Jessica and I had this lady over. We did makeovers, and this lady did the entire sales pitch to us (it took over an hour). At the end, she goes, "So, I'll let you girls think over what you want to buy. Come chat with me when you know what you want." Jessica bought something. Britt bought something. Then she cornered me. "Shiloh, what are you going to get? I think the Premier Package is just perfect for you. What do you think? It's a $400 value, but you can buy it today for ONLY $200!"
Is this lady nuts? Does she seriously think I'm going to drop $200 on stupid Mary Kay products? I politely refused, but she still managed to get me to buy some eye shadow (it was the cheapest thing in the magazine). At this point, I hadn't perfected my saying NO skills. I made my purchase, and then she pulled out her calendar and said, "Now, when are you going to have your party?" I tried to avoid it by telling her I would email my friends to see if they were interested, and she said the only way they would agree to a party is if we had a set date on the calendar. She marked November 10 as our Mary Kay makeover party and told me to email my friends right away.
I went and emailed all my friends. I did not get a positive response from any of them, which was fine by me, so I went to her the next day and told her no one could do that day. What did she do but pull out her calendar and erased the 10th and said I should try for the 18th. Once again I was stuck. To be honest, I did NOT email any of my friends the second time around. I could tell from the first email I sent that no one wanted to do a party. I did not want to do a party, either, so when she came to be this final time, I was finally ready to tell her NO!
I found her working last Thursday, so I went up to her and said, "You know, I'm not getting a positive response from any of my friends. It sounds like they already have products they used and aren't really interested in Mary Kay. I don't want to waste your time any longer, so I think I'm going to have to cancel the party altogether."
"Well, did you call any of them personally or did you just email them?
"I just emailed. That's how most of my friends and I communicate."
"I've found that if I call my friends, they are more likely to respond positively than via email."
"I'm sure that's probably true, but I just didn't get a good response from anyone. I just think I should cancel the party."
She kind of glared at me. "Then I guess I'll just book another party for that date then if you're not interested. You do know that you get $50 of free makeup if you do the party, don't you?"
"Yes, I'm aware that I get free makeup if I have the party, but none of my friends wanted to come, so I'm just going to have to say no."
As much as it sucked telling this lady no (and still having to see her everyday), it felt amazing to say NO and not feel obligated to have a party when I don't want to have a party. I'm going to try to say NO more often. It's so refreshing.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
All In A Day's Work
Every day with 14, 15 and 16 year olds is a new adventure. I go through many emotions on a daily basis, from anger, to annoyance, to happiness, to embarrassment. Within in a 50 minute class period, I experienced all four of those emotions.
Anger: We are reading Of Mice and Men, and chapter 6 (the very last chapter) is a HUGE scene. I've asked the students not to read ahead so we can read the chapter together. And I've asked them not to tell their classmates the ending if they already know. One student, who is one of my daily annoyances, decided to shout out the ending to the entire class. As it was completely silent, he shouted, "George shoots Lennie in the head!" I was furious.
Annoyance: I have a football player who tries to compensate for not being very smart with comedy. Everything that comes out of his mouth is a big joke to him, and when his classmates laugh at his lame jokes, it only eggs him on. He was on a roll today with lame comment after lame comment. I paired them up to work in groups, and he decided to try to entertain rather than do the work assigned to him. When I called him out on it, he made a lame comment about how I always pick on him. I was so annoyed I said, "That's because you're always making smart-ass, uneducated comments. You don't think before you speak." I think he was so surprised I said ass that he shut his trap and didn't say another word.
Happiness: In this same class, I have a student who is failed. He's had an F since the first week of class, and he's done very little to try to improve. However, he is really enjoying Of Mice and Men and is actually reading it. Today he came up and showed me all his homework (early) and asked for the next set of questions so he could get a head start on it. I was so happy to see him trying.
Embarrassment: One of the characters in Of Mice and Men is Curly. He is the only married man in the book, and his description says that he wears a glove full of Vaseline in order to keep his hand smooth for his wife. Ummmm...RACY! I blushed when I was reading it. Today we were talking about Curly and some of his characteristics. We were finishing our discussion of Curly when a student raised his hand. "Ms. Nichols, why does Curly wear a glove with Vaseline on his left hand? I don't get it." I immediately turned bright red and began to stutter. I had no idea what to say. So I avoided the issue. I said, "Ummm, well, if you don't know the answer to that question, then you don't need to know. I should not be the one to tell you that. AND we're moving on..." Every student began to whisper, trying to figure out what it meant. One boy goes, "Oh, I know what it means," and he did a gesture behind his friend's back. I have no idea what he did because I made sure we moved on. Gosh, that was awkward!
That was all in just 50 short minutes. It was an interesting day to say the least.
Anger: We are reading Of Mice and Men, and chapter 6 (the very last chapter) is a HUGE scene. I've asked the students not to read ahead so we can read the chapter together. And I've asked them not to tell their classmates the ending if they already know. One student, who is one of my daily annoyances, decided to shout out the ending to the entire class. As it was completely silent, he shouted, "George shoots Lennie in the head!" I was furious.
Annoyance: I have a football player who tries to compensate for not being very smart with comedy. Everything that comes out of his mouth is a big joke to him, and when his classmates laugh at his lame jokes, it only eggs him on. He was on a roll today with lame comment after lame comment. I paired them up to work in groups, and he decided to try to entertain rather than do the work assigned to him. When I called him out on it, he made a lame comment about how I always pick on him. I was so annoyed I said, "That's because you're always making smart-ass, uneducated comments. You don't think before you speak." I think he was so surprised I said ass that he shut his trap and didn't say another word.
Happiness: In this same class, I have a student who is failed. He's had an F since the first week of class, and he's done very little to try to improve. However, he is really enjoying Of Mice and Men and is actually reading it. Today he came up and showed me all his homework (early) and asked for the next set of questions so he could get a head start on it. I was so happy to see him trying.
Embarrassment: One of the characters in Of Mice and Men is Curly. He is the only married man in the book, and his description says that he wears a glove full of Vaseline in order to keep his hand smooth for his wife. Ummmm...RACY! I blushed when I was reading it. Today we were talking about Curly and some of his characteristics. We were finishing our discussion of Curly when a student raised his hand. "Ms. Nichols, why does Curly wear a glove with Vaseline on his left hand? I don't get it." I immediately turned bright red and began to stutter. I had no idea what to say. So I avoided the issue. I said, "Ummm, well, if you don't know the answer to that question, then you don't need to know. I should not be the one to tell you that. AND we're moving on..." Every student began to whisper, trying to figure out what it meant. One boy goes, "Oh, I know what it means," and he did a gesture behind his friend's back. I have no idea what he did because I made sure we moved on. Gosh, that was awkward!
That was all in just 50 short minutes. It was an interesting day to say the least.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
A Love Story
Once upon a time (about three years ago), a young man named Brian had a crush on a young lady named Tiffany. They went to the same church, and he had his eye on her for some time. In order to make contact, he started planning BBQ's at his house and invited Tiffany every time. Oblivious to the fact that Brian liked her, Tiffany couldn't quite understand why Brian was inviting her to his house every weekend. She was unable to attend every time she invited, and soon Brian began to assume that Tiffany was not interested in him. He decided to invite her to one more BBQ, and this time Tiffany could actually come! They soon began dating.
In the meantime, a girl named Shiloh began student teaching at Columbine high school with Tiffany. They soon became fast friends and found that they had a lot in common. Even after student teaching was over, Tiffany and Shiloh remained good friends. Shiloh had the opportunity to meet Brian several times, and she adored him. He was a quality guy who was just perfect for Tiffany.
Brian proposed to Tiffany this past May. She said YES! The wedding planning began. This past weekend, Tiffany and Brian got married. Shiloh, of course, was invited, and it was the fanciest, most fabulous wedding Shiloh had ever been to. The reception was at the Brown Palace Hotel, which is an amazing hotel downtown. It was a black tie event, and no cost was spared. Shiloh felt a little bit like Pretty Woman when she sat down at her table and found four knives and four forks at her place setting. What do you do with all that silverware?
In the meantime, a girl named Shiloh began student teaching at Columbine high school with Tiffany. They soon became fast friends and found that they had a lot in common. Even after student teaching was over, Tiffany and Shiloh remained good friends. Shiloh had the opportunity to meet Brian several times, and she adored him. He was a quality guy who was just perfect for Tiffany.
Brian proposed to Tiffany this past May. She said YES! The wedding planning began. This past weekend, Tiffany and Brian got married. Shiloh, of course, was invited, and it was the fanciest, most fabulous wedding Shiloh had ever been to. The reception was at the Brown Palace Hotel, which is an amazing hotel downtown. It was a black tie event, and no cost was spared. Shiloh felt a little bit like Pretty Woman when she sat down at her table and found four knives and four forks at her place setting. What do you do with all that silverware?
It was a four course meal, which included appetizers, triangle shaped, mushroom filled pasta, salad and steak or salmon. Delicious! Dinner was followed by a live band who played until midnight. Shiloh took her friend Brandi as her date, and they had a great time enjoying the open bar, dancing and fellowship with other great people. 
Tiffany and Brian dancing their first dance (they took dance lessons and did a little routine that was so adorable-he dipped her).
Shiloh and Tiffany
Brandi and Shiloh dressed to the nines and enjoyed a fabulous night downtown.
Tiffany and Brian dancing their first dance (they took dance lessons and did a little routine that was so adorable-he dipped her).
Shiloh and Tiffany
Brandi and Shiloh dressed to the nines and enjoyed a fabulous night downtown. Sunday, November 8, 2009
My Little Helper
I love to cook and bake. Every few weeks, I get the notion that I need to do something fun, and today was one of those days. I was semi bored and thought that carameled apples sounded fabulous. I drafted Case to help. I tricked him into believing that unwrapping the caramels was the funnest thing he could do all night, so he stood faithfully for 30 minutes unwrapping caramels. He did a fantastic job, and got about half of the bag done before becoming bored and wandering off to play. I finished unwrapping the candies, and then Case helped coat them with nuts, Reese's and sprinkles. Here, Case is enjoying some of the caramel on his spoon. 
These were no disappointment. They were delish, and we each enjoyed a portion of one after dinner.
These were no disappointment. They were delish, and we each enjoyed a portion of one after dinner.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
The Farm
I got yelled at via text today by my Aunt Janelle for not blogging about this sooner. I didn't even know you could get yelled at via text until I got this one: What??? No blog on THE weekend?????
She's talking about two weekends ago when we headed to NE to celebrate my grandparents 65th Wedding Anniversary. Pretty darn cool, if you ask me. Read Shan's blog to hear some cool stories from their marriage: G-rents.
She's talking about two weekends ago when we headed to NE to celebrate my grandparents 65th Wedding Anniversary. Pretty darn cool, if you ask me. Read Shan's blog to hear some cool stories from their marriage: G-rents.
These are two of the coolest people I have ever met, and anyone who meets them says the same thing. Grandpa is 89 and still going strong. Grandma is 88, and she's just about as precious as any person can be. They are fabulous, and I am lucky to have them as my grandparents.
My dad's parents have been married for at least 60 years, so we have a great example of what a good marriage looks like. Above is Grandma Van Kloepping, Grandpa Bill Kloepping and me. Below is Grandpa Leon Nichols, Grandma Reva Nichols and me. People say I look just like Grandma Reva.
On that Saturday, we had family pictures and then mom, Aunt Lisa, Aunt Janelle and Uncle Doug (my grandparents children) threw a fabulous open house for my grandparents. They sure are popular! Before the party, they got over 100 cards in the mail. At the party, they got at least 100 more. After the open house, we had dinner together as a family.
And after dinner, unbeknown to Grandma, a few of us stayed at the bar to have a drink or two (or 10) and play shuffle board. It was by far one of the funnest nights I've had in a long time. Here, Aunt Janelle (who I keep thinking is my mom because they look so much alike) and Katie are showing us their dance moves.
Me and Katie
My dad's parents have been married for at least 60 years, so we have a great example of what a good marriage looks like. Above is Grandma Van Kloepping, Grandpa Bill Kloepping and me. Below is Grandpa Leon Nichols, Grandma Reva Nichols and me. People say I look just like Grandma Reva.
On that Saturday, we had family pictures and then mom, Aunt Lisa, Aunt Janelle and Uncle Doug (my grandparents children) threw a fabulous open house for my grandparents. They sure are popular! Before the party, they got over 100 cards in the mail. At the party, they got at least 100 more. After the open house, we had dinner together as a family.
And after dinner, unbeknown to Grandma, a few of us stayed at the bar to have a drink or two (or 10) and play shuffle board. It was by far one of the funnest nights I've had in a long time. Here, Aunt Janelle (who I keep thinking is my mom because they look so much alike) and Katie are showing us their dance moves. 
Me and Katie(Don't judge my hair-it had been a long day and a few drinks)
Aunt Janelle, Me and Katie
Me and Uncle Bobby
Aunt Janelle, Me and Katie
Me and Uncle Bobby (He and his family came from Phoenix for the weekend)
Me and Uncle Jimbo
Me and Uncle Jimbo (Aunt Lisa's husband-they live in Thornton)
Collin and Me
Aunt Janelle and Me
The next day, we headed out to the farm. My grandparents have lived in this house over 50 years, so my mom and all her siblings grew up in this house. It's tiny, tiny, and it still amazes me that six people functioned in the house, but it sure did bring back a lot of memories being there.
Grandpa Bill got out the tractor and took us all for a ride. Case and Kye were first. They even got to steer.
Then Carson got to go.
Then I took a ride. Thanks Grandpa Bill. The kids will remember that for a long time.
Collin and Me
Aunt Janelle and Me
The next day, we headed out to the farm. My grandparents have lived in this house over 50 years, so my mom and all her siblings grew up in this house. It's tiny, tiny, and it still amazes me that six people functioned in the house, but it sure did bring back a lot of memories being there.
Grandpa Bill got out the tractor and took us all for a ride. Case and Kye were first. They even got to steer.
Then Carson got to go.
Then I took a ride. Thanks Grandpa Bill. The kids will remember that for a long time.Wednesday, November 4, 2009
"Just Ask Her!"
My mom is coming to visit next week, and she's going to come to my school to watch me teach. I'm pretty excited to show her the school and introduce her to my students. However, I'm kind of nervous, too. She's going to be sitting in the back watching my every move. I am going to have to find a cool lesson to teach next Wednesday. Wish me luck!
I was supposed to have been observed by my principal by last Friday, but he never contacted me, so I'm waiting for him to make his move. That will also be nerve racking to have the big guy sitting in my classroom. I've had AP's (Assistant Principal;s) casually stop in for five or 10 minutes, but the Principal is supposed to stay the entire time. And then there is a big interview process about what went well/what didn't go well. That will be interesting.
I've really been making a connection with my students, so it's a lot of fun to develop these relationships. The sad part is that the semester is over in just a few short weeks, and I get new students (not all new, but many new) come January. I will miss the old ones. I have really connected with my 10th grade class (the one where I read the letter to them). Ever since reading that letter, we have become "friends" and every day is fun and exciting.
It's funny the things I hear my students talking about. They don't realize that I can hear a lot of what is going on in the classroom. Sounds travels. For example, the other day I heard two girls whispering.
"You ask her."
"No, you ask her. I'm too embarrassed."
"Fine...Ms. Nichols. I have a question for you after class."
They continued their whispering. I heard one say, "She has to know the answer. She's an English teacher." I assumed at this point that they were talking about an English question. I couldn't have been farther from the truth.
"I'm kind of embarrassed. I don't know if I should ask her."
"Just do it. She's a girl. She'll know the answer."
"Do you really think she'll know what a clitoris is? It's kind of a weird word."
I ended the conversation right there by telling them to get back to work. As soon as the bell rang, I went about looking REALLY busy, and luckily enough, the girls decided they were too embarrassed to ask me their question. Phew. Not sure how I would have answered that one.
I was supposed to have been observed by my principal by last Friday, but he never contacted me, so I'm waiting for him to make his move. That will also be nerve racking to have the big guy sitting in my classroom. I've had AP's (Assistant Principal;s) casually stop in for five or 10 minutes, but the Principal is supposed to stay the entire time. And then there is a big interview process about what went well/what didn't go well. That will be interesting.
I've really been making a connection with my students, so it's a lot of fun to develop these relationships. The sad part is that the semester is over in just a few short weeks, and I get new students (not all new, but many new) come January. I will miss the old ones. I have really connected with my 10th grade class (the one where I read the letter to them). Ever since reading that letter, we have become "friends" and every day is fun and exciting.
It's funny the things I hear my students talking about. They don't realize that I can hear a lot of what is going on in the classroom. Sounds travels. For example, the other day I heard two girls whispering.
"You ask her."
"No, you ask her. I'm too embarrassed."
"Fine...Ms. Nichols. I have a question for you after class."
They continued their whispering. I heard one say, "She has to know the answer. She's an English teacher." I assumed at this point that they were talking about an English question. I couldn't have been farther from the truth.
"I'm kind of embarrassed. I don't know if I should ask her."
"Just do it. She's a girl. She'll know the answer."
"Do you really think she'll know what a clitoris is? It's kind of a weird word."
I ended the conversation right there by telling them to get back to work. As soon as the bell rang, I went about looking REALLY busy, and luckily enough, the girls decided they were too embarrassed to ask me their question. Phew. Not sure how I would have answered that one.
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