Many families don’t camp in this day and age, so most kids are missing out on a lot. It’s a shame, because God’s wonders are free of charge and open 24/7. I applaud the fact that GSUSA decided to make the outdoors a priority recently and offer new badges (and the requirements are free of charge – bonus!).

Now that I’ve gotten that comment out of the way, here’s a pretty cool activity you can do with your troop that they can take home. One of the neat thing about Scouts is that you never know what will pique a child’s interest that eventually blossoms in the future. It sounds pretty cheesy, but it’s true! Continue reading

1982 World’s Fair, Part Two

Reminiscing No Comments I get injured, jenny, mrs. vickers, stories, the 80s, trips

It’s time to finish the saga that was The 1982 World’s Fair Trip™! After thinking through it, I probably could have just added this post to the original one because there’s not much to it. But I couldn’t think of the name of the waterpark featured in this post at the time, and I wanted to go on and publish what I had. It had been lingering out there for a couple of weeks. This memory has nothing to do with Girl Scouts, so feel free to skip it unless you’re interested in another probable self-absorbed post. Continue reading

June 29 2015

Camp WaBak Song

Traditional Stuff 8 Comments camp wabak, songs, traditions

(h/t to Lois Graves for sending this to me!)

Did you know Camp WaBak has its own song? It was written by Jean (“Happy”) Ligon in 1968:

Song of WaBak

Back in the hills is a camp we know
It’s been there long and we have learned to know
It’s a place to learn, to love, to grow.

Shining sunlight greets the day;
Rain may come, but clouds will blow away
And sun will smile as campers play.

WaBak, WaBak, where the wind blows free;
WaBak, Camp WaBak,
It’s a home for hearts, for you and me. Continue reading

June 26 2015

Tic Tac Toe and Doodles

Reminiscing No Comments memories all alone in the moonlight, trip out west, troop 20

The other day, I was going through some boxes of my stuff up in the attic and came across the notebook I took with me on our Trip Out West™. So as a follow-up to my “Kids These Days” post, I just wanted to post some examples of what you do when you’re stuck in a van (not down by the river) for eight or nine hours a day before the days of portable DVDs, cellphones, and tablets: Continue reading

June 17 2015

Camp WaBak’s Cabins

Traditional Stuff 1 Comment badges we don't need no stinkin badges, camp wabak, history, lois, patches, summer camp, traditions

Note: If you’re looking for what the units and cabins for rent at WaBak look like and the inside of them, please visit this page.

Although I am a Georgia girl through and through, I have found myself developing quite an affinity for Camp WaBak. WaBak is located just north of Marietta, SC near the SC/NC border off of 25.

Did you know Camp WaBak’s cabin sites are named after former GS badges? Continue reading

June 10 2015

Summer Camp Memories at Whitehall Forest

Reminiscing No Comments ghost stories, I get injured, jenny, memories all alone in the moonlight, northeast georgia council, patches, stories, summer camp, the 80s, university of georgia

I never got to go to an overnight camp growing up, but I did attend a few day camps during my time as a GS. We usually spent the night on Friday, but I never did have the full blown camp experience.

Note: This recollection is based off of thirty-something year old memories. The details may or may not be fully factual with what actually happened, but I think they are pretty close! 🙂

whitehall-forest One of my favorite day camps was the one held in 1983 at UGA’s Whitehall Forest by the Northeast Georgia Girl Scout Council. I attended it along with a few of my troopmates if I remember correctly – Jenny being one, perhaps? ~~I’m just going to assume it was her. Let’s go with it, shall we?~~ Edit: I talked to Jenny and it WAS her! Continue reading

June 8 2015

Enter the Uniform Zone… IF YOU DARE!

Opinions 1 Comment dead horses, gsusa, memes, squirrel, traditions, uniforms

Warning:

Originally this was going to a lengthy post about my view on uniforms. I moved part of it into its own post when it strayed so far off topic, so all was left was this serious explanation. But then I started reading thread after thread and argument and argument over uniforms on various GS groups that it almost became absurd. I almost just scuttled this post altogether because it would beat an already dead horse into oblivion, but you know what? IT’S MY PARTY AND I’LL CRY IF I WANT TO.

ENTER THE UNIFORM ZONE… IF YOU DARE!

Although I don’t spend nearly as much time on Facebook as I used to, I do browse through the FB group Girl Scouts Gab from time to time. I can’t find the exact post now, but basically the leader was asking others about getting her girls to wear uniforms and asking what others do.
Continue reading

June 7 2015

Now is the Summer of Our Discontent

Experiences as a Leader No Comments eeyore, leader issues, parents, pity parties, troop 2562, troop stuff

Warning:

This is probably going to come across as a depressing and possibly whiny post, so if you don’t want to read it, just stop now.

Welp, it’s the end of the school year, and it’s time to submit all of the fun financial and administrative paperwork for the council. One of them is the Troop Forecasting Form in which you attempt your best to give the council an idea of how many girls you’ll have in your troop next year. I sent out an email to my parents to get their input as has been done in the past by our primary troop leader.

I should preface that I’ve always been aware that with each passing year, you lose girls. I know it, and it’s just inevitable, especially when you hit the Cadette level. This has been the case since I was a scout, so there’s no reason to think this is anything new. The reasons have been discussed elsewhere ad nauseum. Continue reading

May 27 2015

Uniforms from the Past Made Me Cry

Reminiscing No Comments memories all alone in the moonlight, the 80s, uniforms

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I’m in the middle of writing up an opinion about the current state of uniforms, and at one point, I got completely caught up in talking about the uniforms from the 80s. Imagine that. Anyway, I decided to post this flashback in its own separate post.

I’m just going to start off by saying uniforms in the 80s were not designed for those with sensory processing disorder. Of course, nobody had even HEARD of sensory processing disorder, so I’m not blaming anyone. If you were wearing something that made you jump out of your skin, you just learned to deal with it.

Like Girl Scout uniforms…. Continue reading

May 11 2015

A Pet Peeve of Mine

Random Things That Don't Fit Anywhere Else Kinda Like Me No Comments inquiring minds want to know, pet peeves, uniforms

I keep meaning to really sit down and put some thoughts down about some serious topics lately, but I’ve only had time for these quick hits. Here’s another one!

So if you’re going to some Girl Scout shindig, and you would like to wear something GS (as you should) and your insignia tab at the same time, here’s what it looks like if you try to pin the tag where it really ought to go: Continue reading

Girl Scout with a Cause

Create Your Own Planisphere