I missed Friday Favorites last week because we were at my in-laws enjoying family. So, I’m going to be playing a bit of catch up. This week, I’m going to highlight my Girl Scout adventures from the past couple of weeks. Check out everyone else’s favorites over at A Little Bit of Everything and Momfessionals!
Breakfast at Beatniks
We have a breakfast/lunch place in town called Beatniks that I love. I haven’t been there in a while, so when my husband told me we could go whereever we wanted to as a late birthday meal, I chose here! I love that their number cards all have Beatnik images or quotations from famous Beatnik authors. I didn’t take photos of the food, but it was delicious as always.
Making a Rainbow
I’m excited to be leading a workshop at our Girl Scout Council’s Fall Festival where leaders will be putting together sets of colorful activity cards. I’m in the middle of reformatting the original file so the cards can be printed using less paper (because we “use resources wisely”!) and updating some of the instructions, which are definitely showing their age. These cards have a long history—passed from leader to leader, troop to troop, and even from one Council to another. You can tell the original was created on a typewriter and later scanned in!
As I retype them, I’ve been enjoying reading through every single card. The set includes five colors, each with its own theme: Red for Pre-meeting Activities, Orange for Openings (flags and more), Yellow for Activities you can do at meetings or anytime, Green for Special Events (ceremonies, special occasions, etc.), and Blue for Closings (including “Make New Friends” and other favorites). I’m not sure why I haven’t used these cards more often in the past—but after working through them, I definitely will in the future!
Girl Scout Service Unit Retreat
For the past three summers, our Service Unit team—the amazing volunteers who support local leaders and girls by organizing events, training opportunities, and mentoring new leaders—has taken a weekend retreat together. This year we booked a cozy VRBO near a lake about two hours away, and it was just what we needed!
We kicked things off Friday night with CPR/First Aid renewal (taught by the one teammate who keeps her certification through work), followed by a delicious dinner she cooked for us. Saturday was a balance of business and fun: we held our annual planning meeting in the morning, then headed down to the lake where our Council staff member happened to be camping with her family. A few of us brought paddleboards—mine was brand-new, bought the day before to replace a kayak I’d rarely used (which we happily sold to a friend who’s a dedicated kayaker). The weather was perfect, and it felt so good to be out on the water. I managed to stand up once (turns out I need more core strength!), but spent most of the time sitting, paddling lazily, and laughing with friends.
That evening we cleaned up and went out to dinner at a local brewery before heading back for our legendary game night. Our group is famous for raucous laughter and tears-rolling-down-your-face moments, and this year’s pick—For the Girls—did not disappoint. Let’s just say there was plenty of uproar and a fair amount of blushing!
On Sunday we enjoyed a simple continental breakfast before packing up and heading home, recharged and reconnected. I’m so grateful for this group of women who not only make volunteering fun but truly enrich my life.
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