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Welcome!

Anyone who knows me, knows how nostalgic I am about my three years as a Girl Scout. I was a Junior from 1980-1983, back when 4th, 5th and 6th graders were Juniors and Daisies hadn’t been created yet.

I even won a contest to design a Council’s Own patch.

My three years in Girl Scouts coincided with years of extreme financial hardship in my family. My dad had lost his job due to health issues and we were on the verge of losing our home. My mother worked two jobs: a day job processing credit applications for dairy farms and a night job at a Hallmark store. My older sister also worked at Hallmark and contributed her earnings to our family. My little sister, who is six years younger than me, was born with lung problems and was very susceptible to pneumonia in her first five years of life. When our house’s heater caught on fire in the winter of 1981, my parents were unable to have it repaired. The cold house exacerbated my sister’s lung issues and contributed to her chronic pneumonia. Ultimately we lost our home in 1983.

Winning the contest didn’t “fix” my life, or take away my worries. But it meant so much to the insecure, scared little girl in hand-me-down clothes. The same little girl who worried about her family and her home was just trying to be a normal 9, 10 and 11 year old. That night, skating around with my hands in my pockets and a smile on my face, all of my problems fell away. It was a brief reprieve but an important one. At the 1982 Tagoma Skating Party, I was a Girl Scout first and foremost. But more than that, I was a Girl Scout with courage, confidence and character.

If you were a Girl Scout in the 1980’s, you probably remember that we had red hoodies that held our participation patches. Remember when Girl Scouts sold calendars? Read more here »

I went on to have a daughter, become a leader, a service unit representative and a National Delegate. I even attended the 2015 National Convention. This blog started as a way to give leaders helpful advice for organizing their troops. I created printables for myself and passed them along to other leaders as freebies. I continue to design graphics, printables and troop resources for leaders and troops. The REAL EARLY stuff is in the archives. Both free and for purchase items can be found in my Teachers pay Teachers store. Personalized items and resources can be found in my Etsy store. If you’re looking for specific topics, be sure to use the Categories section drop down on the lower right hand menu.

To show my commitment and support to Girl Scouting and leaders all over the world, once you purchase an item, all future updates are available free. This applies to products in both of my stores.

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