January 12 2015

Why I Don’t Think We Should #banbossy

National Operations, Opinions    1 Comment    , ,

I don’t think we should ban the word bossy.

As you all know, the latest 4 color glossy GSUSA PR campaign has been “Ban Bossy.”  Here’s the description per the banbossy.com website:

When a little boy asserts himself, he’s called a “leader.” Yet when a little girl does the same, she risks being branded “bossy.” Words like bossy send a message: don’t raise your hand or speak up. By middle school, girls are less interested in leading than boys—a trend that continues into adulthood. Together we can encourage girls to lead.

So you say – “Amy, what’s wrong with that?  You don’t agree?”  Continue reading

January 9 2015

Side business?

Random Things That Don't Fit Anywhere Else Kinda Like Me    No Comments   

Maybe we should buy a whole bunch of these and sell them along side the cookies for a profit at our booth sales.  😉

This Kitchen Gadget Locks Your Cookies Away So You Can’t Eat The Whole Box In One Sitting:

A nifty gadget called the Kitchen Safe secures the lid on your treat jar and prevents those with a sweet tooth from mindless eating. It’s like a temporary sugar restraining order.  The safe is equipped with a lock and a timer. Users can bolt their box of goodies for as short as one minute to as long as ten days, and there are no overrides. In other words, the box can’t be opened until the timer hits zero.

H/T Huffington Post

November 23 2014

It only took 25 years

Reminiscing    No Comments    , , ,

You’ll all be glad to know that I finally finished sewing the last two badges (Backpacking and Camping) on my senior sash.  It only took 25 years.  The safety pins were even rusted.  But it’s done!  FWIW, I got these two at my Gold Award presentation and just forgot I had only pinned them on since I never wore my sash after that.  Continue reading

October 27 2014

Kids These Days

Reminiscing    No Comments    , , , , , , ,

National Center WestBack in 1987, my Girl Scout troop visited National Center West in Ten Sleep, WY, which at the time was one of the national Girl Scout centers.  I believe GSUSA sold NCW in 1989.  If anyone else would like to share any stories about NCW, I’d love to hear them!

Well, our troop (and a few additional girls) embarked on a three week cross country trip from Athens, GA to Ten Sleep and back again in between my eighth and ninth grade years.  Yep, a van full of 13 and 14 year olds cooped up in a van day after day.  We were not down by the river, though.  Now that I am older and a GS Leader, I don’t know what the heck Mrs. Vickers was smoking to come up with this.  But I’m truly thankful she did.  We didn’t just go to NCW and back, we also visited places like the Petrified Forest, the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone National Park, Zion National Park, Mount Rushmore, the St. Louis Arch, and many, many points in between.  We stayed at NCW for one week in tents in a primitive camping site.   Continue reading

September 5 2014

From retro to historical

Experiences as a Leader, Reminiscing    1 Comment    , , ,

Yet again, I’ve been wanting to update the blog for a month now, but real life kept getting in the way.  But I’m back, jack!

Anyway, we had our first GS meeting as Juniors yesterday, and I think we’re going to have a good year.  I love this age.   We kicked things off with the GS Way badge to get back into the swing of GS.  As I was looking through the badge activities, I saw some of the badges I earned as a Junior featured!  Yay!  But then I read what the blurb said: Continue reading

July 28 2014

Communication Station!

Ideas    No Comments    , ,

Recently I have been struggling with figuring out the best way to communicate that works best for our parents/girls AND me.  I am very much a computer based person, because if you saw my office space, you would understand.  Paper falls into the enormous void known as my desk, and it’s never to be seen again until I find it and have no idea what it’s referencing.  Plus, I don’t do well when someone asks me what time their daughter needs to be at whatever event or if they’ve paid for something at the beginning of a meeting when I’m trying to get the girls settled.  My brain short circuits.  I also would like things to be as automated as possible and to not have to send multiple reminders.  I need a reminder to send reminders. Continue reading