Follow the Signs

Two of the very first awards we earned as Junior Girl Scouts were "The Sign of the Arrow" and "The Sign of the Star."

The Sign of the Arrow says "this is the way" on the path of Girl Scouting.
In the requirement section of the second-hand Junior handbook I bought, one of the requirements (#8 "Get together with another troop to meet new girls and do something together") completed noted a "Camp-In at Foley's"   I can only imagine the fun they would have had in Houston's best 9-story downtown department store!

The Sign of the Star says "A star shines in all directions and guides you along the way" on to new and bigger adventures in Girl Scouting.

These awards were established in 1963, replacing the Second Class Award.

1963 was quite the pivotal year in Girl Scouting.  The establishment of four age levels of Girl Scouting -- Brownie, Junior, Cadette and Senior -- with corresponding handbooks, and official dress uniforms (with white gloves!)

Get Lost…and Found

My early 1970's Cadette Girl Scout "Explorer" Badge

Orient yourself to the moment, the world, your soul.

"Lost really has two disparate meanings. Losing things is about the familiar falling away, getting lost is about the unfamiliar appearing."

Think about that. 

"There are objects and people that disappear from your sight or knowledge or possession; you lose a bracelet, a friend, the key. You still know where you are. Everything is familiar except that there is one item less, one missing element. 

Or you get lost, in which case the world has become larger than your knowledge of it.

Imagine yourself streaming through time shedding gloves, umbrellas, wrenches, books, friends, homes, names. This is what the view looks like if you take a rear-facing seat on the train. 

Looking forward you constantly acquire moments of arrival, moments of realization, moments of discovery. The wind blows your hair back and you are greeted by what you have never seen before. The material falls away in onrushing experience. It peels off like skin from a molting snake." 

Rebecca Solnit - A Field Guide to Getting Lost

Notwithstanding the airborne snake skin metaphor (I don't like snakes at all), she makes good directional points.  Let go, and leave your soul open to discover the unfamiliar and new moments. 

HEB Celebrates the Girl Scouts

With one of their reusable totebag designs to commemorate the 100th year of Girl Scouting - $2

Happy 100th Birthday, Girl Scouts!

I really loved (and wore!) the circa 1960's vintage Brownie and Junior uniforms pictured above.

Golden Girls

The school year is now in full swing. If you have a daughter, please take a moment and read this. With all the activities vying for your family's time, consider the Girl Scouts. Programs begin as early as Pre-K - Daisies. My daughter began her "tour" as we called it, as a 2nd grade Brownie, culminating in earning her Gold Award when she was in the 11th grade.

I've posted her Brownie, Junior and Cadette/Senior/Ambassador uniform vests earlier - (click here and here and here).

She was the first in her school's 55 year history to earn the Gold and to be able to proudly wear that gold trefoil pin (yes, it is real gold!) on her graduation gown. I also feel the Gold Award was a major factor in the college application and acceptance process. Colleges and universities seeked her out and encouraged her to apply to their institutions. In an ultra-competitive high school, she was the only student in her graduating class who was accepted into all eight private and public colleges and universities. The Gold continues to shine on in college, too, in her application acceptances for various campus organizations and student life leadership programs.

But it's not all about the badges, patches and pins and the cookies. Please read the following article which appeared in the Houston Chronicle. And in 2012, Houston/San Jacinto Council will be hosting the 100th anniversary birthday annual meeting celebration! It will be a great year for the Girl Scouts and your daughter!


When Juliette Gordon Low founded the Girl Scouts in 1912, women were less equal than men by law. While it was a very different world back then, the values she sought to instill in girls and young women remain as relevant today as they were then — courage, confidence and character.

From its very beginning, Girl Scouting taught girls to become the change they want to see in the world. The Girl Scout experience gave girls, then and now, the confidence and the tools to lead — to find inside the uncertain girl, the citizen who will become a catalyst for action and change.

I am proud to say that I am a Gold Award recipient. Winning this award is something I am still proud of to this day. It is a highlight and a milestone in my lifelong journey to become the best woman I can be.

You see, the Gold Award is the highest honor a girl can achieve in Girl Scouts. This award is the Girl Scout's equivalent of the Eagle Scout for Boy Scouts. Someone once described the Girl Scout Gold Award as being “what you really want to be remembered for” in Girl Scouting.

For many, the leadership skills, organizational skills and sense of community and commitment that come from “going for the Gold” set the foundation for a lifetime of active citizenship.

Less than 5 percent of girls who join Girl Scouts earn this recognition — a significant honor that requires recipients to demonstrate outstanding leadership skills, career planning, community involvement and personal development.

It takes more than 100 service hours and two to three years of intensive work to complete the award requirements, which include planning and completing a project, which is the culmination of all the work a girl puts into “going for the Gold.”

In the course of this time, I was often tempted to just quit. With all the distractions that high school brings to any girl, the commitment to this project was in itself a test of perseverance. It is something that a girl has to be passionate about in order to complete — in thought, deed and action. The project is something that helps you grow as an individual and fulfills a need within a girl's community (whether local or global), creates change and, hopefully, is something that continues to move you to do more. That's what this award did for me.

I became a Girl Scout Brownie at age 7, in my hometown of San Juan, Puerto Rico. My favorite memories are of the fall campouts, which provided me, as an only child, a way to foster my sense of independence, learn the value of camaraderie, and make lifelong friends. I have a picture in my office of two girls who were in Scouts with me. We've been friends ever since.

Scouting was even more meaningful as I got older. I realized that the Girl Scouts had prepared me by teaching leadership and self-reliance, and showing me that there are things out there that are bigger and higher than me, and we need to look at life in the big picture.

With Girl Scouting experience on my college applications, I was accepted to multiple schools on the mainland of the United States, and ultimately chose Syracuse University, for its strong marketing and communications programs. All the colleges and universities I talked with were impressed by my awards and longevity with Girl Scouts. If I had not had that experience, it may have been much tougher for me.

As Girl Scouting approaches its 100th anniversary in 2012, now is a good time to reflect on how far the organization has come and how far it has brought the generations of girls it helped form into leaders. If you were a Girl Scout growing up, you're still one today. Join the alumnae organization. If you have a daughter, as I do, give her the opportunity to succeed in life by getting her involved in Girl Scouts. If you didn't have a chance to be involved in Girl Scouting growing up, it's never too late. Become a volunteer. We as a community can help our young people fully develop the moral and ethical values that will serve them—and all of us—well for generations to come.

Rosa Hernandez, a Girl Scout alumna and volunteer, is vice president of market development for the Houston Astros Baseball Club.

(This appeared in the December 19, 2009 Houston Chronicle )

Be Prepared!

http://www.fminus.net/

Girl Scout Vest - Teenage Girl Scout Level

This khaki vest is for the older Girl Scouts - from Cadettes to Seniors to the newest level, Ambassadors. The Ambassador Girl Scout is a high school Junior or Senior (11th-12th grades). They wear the vest with the Girl Scout Bandana as their uniform.

The stars with the colored discs indicate the years and levels of Girl Scouting - Yellow for Brownies, Green for Juniors, White for Cadettes, Red for Seniors and Navy Blue for Ambassadors. The wings and rainbow bars represent fly-up and bridging to the next level of Girl Scouts. These are for Brownies and Juniors. The bridging activities are done with a troop. L became a Juliette - independent Girl Scout - after Juniors when her troop disbanded. (The Juliette program is a great way to stay involved in scouting, you don't need to belong to a troop.)

The rectangular squares along the bottom are Interest Project Patches. You can put them on either or both sides.

I must say, I am really liking the new insignia tab - instead of felt, it's grosgrain ribbon. No more twisting and pulling out of shape. L also prefers the gold traditional trefoil pin over the silhouette one. The PA's are Program Aide patches, Cadette and Senior levels. To the right of them, the Studio 2B charms and pin are heavy -- I put a piece of felt on the back of the vest and pinned through to support the weight and keep it from falling forward. I also put a little hand stitch between each charm loop to keep them spaced apart and facing the right way.

On the back of the vest are all the activity, group and fun patches, from cookie sales to camps to events.

L is completing her Gold Award project within the next few months. Staying in scouting through high school for her has proven invaluable, providing her leadership opportunities, service to the community, skill-building, personal growth and life-long friendships.

Who are these people and what are they doing here?!

As you can obviously tell, I have a rather eclectic group of friends and fellow bloggers in the right alley. I thought each week on Sunday I would randomly showcase one from the list and why they are there. I love to discover new blogs, and I think you will enjoy the introduction for new places to visit in Bloggy Land.

This week - Vintage Girl Scout A fun place to explore for all things Girl Scout. This link will take you to the Girl Scout "Sewing Room"!

It's Girl Scout Cookie Time!

It's that time of the year! Find your favorite Girl Scout, or she will find you, to place your order. You can also call the Cookie Hotline, 1-888-GSCOOKIE. Booth sales begin February 20 with the cookie-buying season ending in the Houston area March 29. Remember, they freeze well, too!

Let's see what a good Girl Scout and Girl Scout mom I am. . . From the top: Lemonades, Thin Mints, Caramel DeLites, Thanks-A-Lot, Shortbread (I still call them Trefoils), Peanut Butter Sandwiches, Peanut Butter Patties (I think they used to be Tag-A-Longs in my area. They are my favorite along with the classic Thin Mints), and New! Reduced Fat Daisy-Go-Rounds. Different Council regions may have different bakers and different names for their cookies. There's a cookie for everyone -- even if you can't eat them, our soldiers and food banks will take them. Whatever you eat or donate, all are good and help support the Girl Scouts. Visit the official Girl Scout Cookie Program website for more information, FAQ's and fun trivia!

Almost Golden Girl

Just got word today that L's proposed Girl Scout Gold Award project received approval by the Gold Award Committee! She put in over 130 hours in less than 18 months working on the preparatory 4 B's. And she'll get a "credit" of 7 1/2 hours applied towards the 65 separate hours for her project.

A cookie well hidden...

Updated: Times 68! (Ah, that's the trouble of something turning out cute..."Can you make some more?"! I was able to squeeze out 12 more with just 3" left over. Was that a lucky purchase yardage guess or what?) Girl Scout cookie goodie bags to give to presenters at an upcoming event. The ribbon is from Costco, the 50 yard, lifetime-sized roll...I still have almost half a roll left! Fortunately Jo-Ann's had their Symphony broadcloth on sale this week for $1.29/yard, cheaper and prettier than the originally-planned muslin. In case you want to cover your cookies, the dimensions are 10" x 29" with the fold at the bottom.

Sew Subversive/Sew Strange

Saying out loud after flipping all the way through and looking at the back cover -- this is from Taunton?! (The Threads people) Not as much about sewing-sewing as refashioning what's in your closet or at Goodwill. Appealing maybe to the 19-20 year olds. L would not have anything to do with the "fashions" and if you are older or younger and not living in a "cool" city like San Francisco (which is where these people are from), you'll look like an idiot. Such promise. They tried. AlterNation is better. Save $14.95 or wait for Half-Price Books, or look for it at the library - 646.404 Stitch Lounge Presents Sew Subversive Down and Dirty DIY for the Fabulous Fashionista by Melissa Rannels, Melissa Alvardo, Hope Meng 2006 ISBN 978-1-56158-809-1

What the H...?!

Got Milk?

Get Girl Scout cookies! Here's an easy cookie booth locator for the Girl Scouts of San Jacinto Council. I'm sure your local Girl Scout Council webpage will have a similar link, too.

(Thin Mints - eat directly from the freezer - Cool!)

(Samoas - aka "crownbusters")

Marshall Zukoff had nothing on the Girl Scouts! Junior Girl Scout Edition

Not only did she fill the vest, but also a sash, too! She didn't wear both at the same time, the sash is more a place to keep and not lose the patches.

Same troop, they stayed together for Junior Girl Scouts. Unfortunately, the leader moved at the end of the three years and the troop disbanded, along with the South Texas Council. We tried to find a Cadette troop, but it wasn't a good fit with the girls who had also been together forever and the leader who didn't give a flip. L tried for a year and a half and finally gave up.

Thank goodness the Girl Scouts have the Juliette program, named after Juliette Gordon Low, the founder of Girl Scouting, where you can still be a Girl Scout albeit without belonging to a troop. Because the San Jacinto Council is the second largest council in the US, there were and are plenty of opportunities and events to participate as a Juliette. I think it is especially great way to keep girls in scouting. Cadettes (6th-9th grades) are often outta-there at this level and drop out. At this age, there are other opportunities-sports, band, school-competing for the girls' time, and you can't discount bitchy mean girls of this age. Yikes! Fortunately, L wanted to stay in scouting and earn the Gold Award. She's had a lot of fun meeting other nice girls (yes, there are still some out there!) and is looking forward to beginning her Gold Award project this summer.

Click on photos to enlarge

Here's a link to her Brownie vest

L's vest has been featured on the Web! Here it is on AboveGroundPool

Marshall Zukoff had nothing on the Girl Scouts! Brownie edition

Is what my husband the history major used to say when he would see L's Girl Scout vests! When L decided she wanted to switch from the Senior Girl Scout sash to the vest, it was a fun trip down memory lane to look at her Brownie and Junior Girl Scout vests. She was so fortunate to be in two very active, very fun Brownie troops - one at her school, the other in our neighborhood, as evidenced by all the Try-It's and patches.

Click on the photos to enlarge

SWAPS

Here's a small collection of L's Girl Scout SWAPS (Special Whatchamacallits Affectionately Pinned Somewhere) and a neat link to a collector's website. I thought the angels might be a fun project for a troop, crafting afternoon or Christmas gift tags. The center is a paperclip with a pony bead threaded through 1/4" ribbon. The angel pin is three pony beads, a 6-sided faceted bead, a wooden bead topped with a 1/2" sequin.