I’m in Utah!!

Yesterday, after a hop skip and a jump in the clouds from Sacramento, I stepped off the plane to a warm, sunny day in Salt Lake City.  A friend of mine from high school lives in Tooele, Utah, about 40 miles from SLC.  She treated me to the culinary delights of The Red Iguana, a restaurant famously featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.  I had a delicious dish, called Puntas De Filete a la Nortena, which is top sirloin tips sautéed with bacon, jalapeño strips, onions and fresh tomatoes, served with almond mole,   served with corn tortillas and a side of refried beans. It was over-the-moon delish.

After dinner I had the privilege of attending her son’s high school football game and see her son get honored as a graduating senior.  A quick pit stop to get ice cream to energize us so that we could stay up and finish my SWAPS.  Weeks prior to attending convention I began to plan my SWAPs design.  At first I was going to go with the strawberry theme, since my online self is straw/jen/berry.  But I thought about why I’m attending convention and felt it would be a disservice to the state of California if I didn’t represent the importance of agriculture in our state and region.  As a part of the Girl Scout Heart of Central California Council, I wanted to honor exactly what makes us the “heart” of Central California.

So I came up with an agricultural-themed SWAP in a bag.  After false starts and stops, supply issues, lots of online surfing to get just the right thing and tricky shipping to get it on time…here is my #GSC14 SWAP:

• The Diving Girl Apples fruit crate label represents the bounty of California’s agricultural heritage and the historic significance of California’s abundance of crops that feed many states.
• The mini California’s are self-explanatory and cute!
• The buckwheat groats is the soil and the grass represents the fields.
• Lastly, the tomato represents one of Yolo County’s (where I live) #1 crop!

I’m happy with the finished product.  Opening ceremonies are tonight and I look forward to lots of SWAPing.