Cookies Galore

I took over the job of Girl Scout Cookie Manager for all of my town. There are about 30+ Girl Scout Troops with about 350 girls. My job is to supply all the troops with the 8 varieties of GS cookies throughout the sale. I keep a stock of cookies to parcel out and resupply as needed. My goal at the end of today, the last day of sales is to have an empty garage. So far my plan has failed.

Every year GSUSA changes the types of cookies we sell. They will always have Thin Mints, Samoas, Trefoils, DoSiDos and Tagalongs. Then they have 3 other types that they replace after 1-3 years. This year the 3 types we have are Lemon Chalet Cremes, Dulce de Leche, and Thank U Berry Munch. All three are not selling very well, with the Lemon hardly selling at all. The Lemons got bad press this year. The bakery recalled some lots of Lemons because the taste was "off". Now our council did not receive any of these packages but the local news reported it and people were leery. Many of my troops found they could not sell these so I took them back. The Dulces are selling because they changed them from the previous year and the Thank U's have cranberries in them and people are just not jumping at that.

My garage is full of Lemons, Dulces and Berries. Now we have a program to deal with left over cookies. We collect donations for Operation Cookie Drop. Our donations are used to buy our cookies to send to US military. People are very supportive of this drive and give generously. The cookies left in my garage are used for Operation Cookie Drop. I really hope that the military loves the taste lemon as I think the bulk of what they are getting will be these. Besides, the chocolate based cookies don't travel as well and melt in the heat of the desert.

Buy cookies!

Teenage Girls

I'm very fortunate to have been a Girl Scout leader for over 9 years now. Currently I have a 2nd grade Brownie Troop and a 9th grade Senior Troop. Most of the 9th graders I have known for over 9 years and they are like my own kids.

At our Senior Girl Scout meeting we have a planning session on what to do next, do some badge work or an activity and then have a feast, er, snack. This last couple years I've been having them make their own snack. They get to chose for some meetings, I get to chose for others. Last night they got to decorate cut out cookies with frosting and sprinkles. It was a major sugar fest but then it's almost Christmas and we limited it to 2 cookies to eat now and take the rest home. They also consumed almost a gallon of milk too.

This time is also spent for open discussions. For most of them the topic is boys, school and fashion. They got started talking about how many of the boys at school talk openly about masturbation. My co leader and I let them carry on with these type of discussions and occasionally offer advice or correct misconceptions they have. Only 2 of the 8 girls are dating yet. I love that they can be open and feel free about their lives.

Oh yeah, our activity last night was cutting out snowflakes. They thought it was goofy until I showed them how to fold and cut the paper to make a 6 pointed flake. Then they didn't want to stop. Don't they teach snowflake making in school anymore? Next I'm going to show them paper doll chains.

Gotta love the weekends!

My friend Mary organized a family campout with her Cub Scouts in a local state park. She ran herself ragged for days preparing. Come friday night she texts me from the park.

Sent Friday 10:24pm: ok this weekend is doomed. we might as well leave now

Sent Friday 11:48pm: well we ran all day. did not get a shower till 6:30. j took the rv and it died. jump started it many times 2 get here

Sent Friday 11:49pm: any way. steve was helping him and backed his rv into a post. wrecked his rv

Sent Friday 11:50pm: and when i finally got 2 my campsite in the dark. i fell on uneven ground and i heard something snap

Sent Friday 11:52pm: was enough 2 scare john. he wanted 2 take me 2 the er. i am sitting lying w my foot up instead. johns cot broke and he is sleeping on the floor

Sent Friday 11:52pm: the end

I sent her this: All i can say is it sucks to be you

Sent Saturday 6:34am: eh. we all have our days dont we

So I sent her this: I kinda posted your text messages on face book

Sent Saturday 7:39am: that is hilarious. i was just thinking that if i go home and my house i broken into and ransacked. then it will suck 2 b me!

On Sunday I sent her a message as I hadn't heard anything for a while: Did you die? End up in the er? Did you have any fun? Did it rain?

Sent Sunday 4:02pm: not much at the camp though the thick canopy made it pretty dry. nice group camp. lots of privacy even tho with a pack of peeps

So turns out although it rained and she was laid up, the cub scouts had fun.

I was feeling for her as we took our Girl Scouts to a beach house on the ocean this weekend, that was the nicest house I have ever stayed in. WOW!! Hardwoods, granite, stainless steel, view, flat screens. Yeah, we were roughing it!

The other shoe dropped and landed on my head and it hurt, alot!

About 2 years ago, I was asked by my local Girl Scout council regional director if I would like to cover the regional office phones for a day while they all went to an all staff meeting at another location. I was happy to do this and even more happier when they said they would pay me for this. I believe I was asked because I was a volunteer leader in good standing. This filling in became more regular and soon I was asked to fill in for the office manager when she was on vacation or out sick. She was an older gal, pushing 70 and starting to make noises about retiring. Since my husband had starting making noises about me working more, I was more than happy to make myself available to the Girl Scouts and when they offered me a temp job last fall doing recruitment, I took it. This was for about 12 weeks and then I rolled back into covering the office manager for her vacation just before Christmas last year. In all I probably worked over 4 months for them all before this last bit, which was almost 2 months.

In April, the regional director called me and told me the office mgr was retiring and for a brief moment I thought she was going to ask me if I wanted the job! But no, she wanted to know if I could be the interim office manager while they posted the job publicly. I said of course. Then I said that I would like to apply for the position. She was silent for a few seconds, then she said, "but I thought you weren't looking for full time work. You understand this is full time." I told her that a couple years ago, full time was not what I would have wanted but circumstances change and I was more than able and happy to work full time. She then told me that I would have to step down from my roll as leader to my troops and any other involvement in our local service unit. That policy stated that staff could not be volunteers, that this was a "conflict of interest". This was something I had not considered and almost made me hesitate but I figured I could work something out. I later discovered that this was her policy not necessarily the policy followed by all at council. In hindsight, I think she was trying to give me a hint that I wasn't the person she envisioned in the position but I was very excited because I figured the job posting was just a formality and I was a shoe in. I'm such a sap.

So I came in a day before the gal retired, I took notes on what I knew to be gaps in my knowledge of the job and got ready to settle in. For almost 7 weeks I did the job I had hopes to be hired for. I audited the files more thoroughly than they had been done in years. I contacted over 200 volunteers to provide necessary paperwork that was outdated or missing. I cleaned file drawers and cleaned up the general area as there was 10 years of outdated materials. I went thru her computer files and deleted or updated files as needed. I taught myself how to use the council database, learning tricks and finding files to help the office run more smoothly. I fielded phone calls and covered for staff who seemed to drift on in whenever they felt like it, never keeping to the posted schedule they completed each week. Whatever I was asked to do, I did and when I had free time, I looked for ways to fill it.

After a couple of weeks, they posted the job and the applications came rolling in. There were over 150. The regional director and HR were overwhelmed and it took a while for them to sort thru and they came up with five people to interview. I was told I made the cut and would be interviewed. I thought my interview went well. I got to see all the other applicants as I greeted each one as they came in. But during the time this is going on, I was slowing losing my confidence that I was seriously being considered for this job. I heard from some of the area managers that the regional director told them she was hoping to hire someone who would want to move up into an area manager job eventually. That job pays about twice what the office manager gets and requires a college degree. Forget the fact that none of the other regional offices had ever promoted an office manager into this position. The RD knew I was not interested in an Area Manager position as I wasn't qualifed that that job. I started thinking about how taken back the RD had been when I told her I wanted the job. I was feeling less likely that I was going to hired. That my being so available and eager to work wasn't going to be the stepping stone I thought it was to land this job. I was starting to feel less like a stepping stone and more like a doormat. They went on to second interviews. It was me and 2 fresh faced gals with the ink still fresh on their college diplomas. They brought in the RD's boss from the main office and an office manager from another regional office to help with the interviews. My RD pulled me aside the day before and told me that her boss was an "all business" type of person and that I should be very serious and professional during the interview. So I was.

The next day, Tuesday, I was told that I did not get the job. My RD said the new gal would start on Thursday and that I could stay until the end of the week. I told her it would be better if I left on Wednesday. She seemed surprised at my reaction and then said, "oh, you're not in the middle of anything, right?" I had been doing a couple of things and told her I would leave notes on where I was for the new person. She told me that the decision to hire had not been hers to make completely that she was pressured by others. It was a long silent afternoon with everyone tip toeing around me.

On Wednesday, after a rough night, I went into the office. One of the area managers came in just before nine and I told her I couldn't stay. That it was just too upsetting for me. I was feeling pretty rejected. She told me that she and the other 2 area managers were pretty shocked that I wasn't hired. They felt that the RD maybe was wrong in thinking that the position would be a stepping stone to their own jobs. She told me that the RD was told by her boss to pick one of the two other gals who interviewed as that they were more dynamic in their interviews and that I had a bit too solemn and businesslike. So the RD telling me to be all business turned against me. Not just was I not the first choice, I wasn't the second choice, I was the biggest loser. This hurt.

I really don't think that the RD ever seriously considered me. That the last 2 years of me rearranging my life to cover the front desk at a moments notice was all she wanted from me. That to her I was just a volunteer that she could count on to fill in as needed and I don't think she wanted to lose that and hiring me would have left her without me to say, Jump? How high? I guess the saying, "nice guys finish last is true". I'm sure the new girl will be great, the job isn't rocket science.

I really thought I could add a lot to that job, that my years as a volunteer would have made me a better person for the position as I understand the people the office is trying to serve. But perhaps I'm wrong, that what I would have had to give up, the work I do with my girls, would have been too high a price to pay. Over and over we hear the words, "it's all about the girls". But being on the inside for a little while, showed me that sometimes, those at council forget that directive and they forget that the program can't be a success without the volunteers who work with the girls. So I'm back to being "Just a Volunteer" and it's a good place.

This will be my last post about this damn thing! I will restart my regular inane ramblings and try and resume my good humor! Maybe a couple of jello shots in the morning coffee will help!

Bleeding Green Blood

This is the final weekend of Girl Scout cookie sales in my area. The economy has taken a hit and so sales are slow. It also doesn't help that my 8th grade girls are not overly motivated to sell. They are more concerned about who might see them selling and label them as uncool then about the great activities we do with the funds. They want to travel to Disneyland or Walt Disney World but the rate we are going we might be able to so to the local zoo. We will have enough for at least a campout, lasor tag and some other fun things. They are great girls and I love being with them.

I also have 1st graders. These girls are damn cute but this is their first year and they are shy so they haven't been the over achievers I thought they would be. Still they raises about $700 and we are going to have some great times. We are going to Pioneer Farm, the zoo, the aquarium, the police station (ok thats free). I'm also going to take them and my cadettes to a local chocolate factory. If we ever stop having winter, I'd like to take them to the beach for low tide and a picnic. First graders are much easier to amuse and it's cheaper too.

Three weeks ago, I had 2100 boxes of cookies in my house. We now have 200 left, 100 of these will be going to Operation Cookie Drop which distributes cookies to our active military all over the globe. Now if my girls can't sell the last 100 boxes, well, I guess this will be snack for our meetings from now on. I'm tired of cookies. I'm ready for funner stuff

Coincidence or Conspiracy?

The world has hit a new low. The economy is so tanked that our local Sam's Club and the mall in which it is located has denied Girl Scouts access to peddle their cookies in front of their store. I think it is a conspiracy led by the Kebbler Elves and Dolly Madison.

Also Girl Scouts have been used as pawns in a local counterfeiting scheme. I think it is Bernie Madoff's newest attempt at recovering funds.

BUY MORE COOKIES!

Cookie Crazy

It's Girl Scout Cookie time in my area and I'm not only a leader to 2 troops (8 first graders and 8 eighth graders), I'm the cookie mom for both the troops. I don't mind doing it, as I'm so anal that I like being in control of the cookies.

Right now there are over 1100 boxes of cookies that my troops need to sell before March 15. This is in addition to the 1000 boxes they presold by taking orders.

So my public announcement is to support your local youth groups by buying a box or 2 of Girl Scout Cookies, Campfire Mints, Popcorn from Boy Scouts, etc. Bringing these programs to our communities is done mostly by volunteers. So think twice and help out.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!! You know you want some!

Letters to Santa

Someone suggested to me that my teenage Girl Scouts should contact the post office and offer their services to respond to the Letters to Santa that they receive. Think how thoughtful it would be for little boys and girls to get an actual answer to their letter. Then I started thinking about it, especially when Nicole said it would probably be a good idea for me to review the answers before they are mailed back.

I'm sure it will be something like this:

"Dear Santa, I want a cute cuddly teddy bear and book of poems. Love, Anna"
"Dear Anna, Teddy's are so out, I'm going to bring you Bondage Barbie and a subscription to Cosmo Girl. Peace out, Santa!"

"Dear Santa, Please bring me a Star Wars light saber and some action figures. Your good friend, Bobby"
"Dear Bobby, Star Wars is so lame and action figures are just dolls for boys, you are gay. Here is a gift card to Abercrombie, try to look cool at least. Yo, Santa"

"Dear Santa, I want a wii, an xbox, a Nintendo DS and an iPod. And games for all and iTunes cards. I have been very good, Molly"
"Dear Molly, You couch potato! Get outside and do something. Santa will bring your lazy butt a bike and you will like it! Love to you always, Santa"

"Dear Santa, I hope you and Mrs Claus are doing well this year. And that the elves and reindeer are happy and healthy. If it wouldn't be too much trouble, I'd like a bb gun for Christmas. I'm so glad we could meet at the mall. Love, Ralphie"
"Dear Ralphie, What a brown noser you are! That phoney at the mall didn't even have a real beard! As for a bb gun. You'll shoot you eye out, kid! From the REAL Santa!"

Of course that is just my fear of what might happen. They would never do anything like that....

Small Town Fun

I had a good day at the craft fair yesterday. I was positioned between my father-in-law who was selling hand carved wooden letter openers and my neighbor Joell who made hand stamped cards.

I was selling earrings, mini Christmas Stockings and small wallets. Here are some of the Shrinky Dink earrings I made to sell at the craft fair.

Here is a picture of a couple of my cozy wallets as I call them. They are big enough for your ID, a bank card or 2, some change and folded paper money. They are great for stuffing into your pocket when you don't want to carry a purse.

I made about $130 and I had fun chatting with so many people. I live in a fairly small community and so it's not hard to find someone you know.

After the fair, I met my Daisy Girl Scouts in town and we walked in the Santa Parade. They were dressed as Christmas Presents and were very cute, shyly waving at the crowds. The best part was IT DIDN'T RAIN!! I love my town.

The Agony of Defeat

Is anyone else old enough to remember ABC's Wide World of Sports show? The opening scenes show someone winning ("The thrill of victory") and some schmuck crashing down a snowy hill side (the agony of defeat). I'm that schmuck, ok, not that particular schmuck, but I have experienced that agony of defeat (I also experience agony of da feet but that is due to being incredibly flatfooted, having plantar fasciitis and bone spurs).

I live on the Wet Side of the Mountains in Washington State and winters are wet. We are surrounded by mountains that offer up snow sports but us hugging the Sound, snow days are few (thank god, keep those kids in school!). When we get snow, whole cities close down, we can't cope.

Presidents Day Weekend 1990: Woohoo, it's a winter wonderland and we are ready! We load up our SnoTube (inflatable inner tube with handles for added safety?!?) and we head up to Lower Woodland Park in Seattle. Seattle is like Athens and is built on 7 hills, although somewhere down the line, they plowed down Denny Hill and that area is called by old timers (ah, me, native person) as Denny Regrade. But the problem with inner tubing down city streets is that there are cars and to hit a car would be bad. Example: Slide under front of Mercedes, slice off head, head becomes hood ornament.

So we head to a park. Tons of people are there already, sailing down the hill. They head down and the track that has been made veers off to the left and you gradually slow down. I'm with 1st husband and Brianne who was 8. Like all smart women, I made 1st go first and make sure it was safe. Then Brianne goes and she sails down and left like everyone. Now it's my turn and I start down the hill but I start to spin around. Now I am going backwards and gaining lots of speed. I turn left and I realize that left is now right and I'm heading into a stand of TREES! I turn my head just in time to see the tree that I hit. I don't know how fast I was going but I bounced about 6 feet from the tree and lay on the ground. (btw, the tree was about the size of Redwood and was not harmed by my attempted suicide) From upside down, I can see 1st and Brianne running down to see if I am a live. I had knocked the breath out of me and was gasping as I rolled over to see if I could stand up. I could stand but I was dizzy and my back and head hurt like hell. 1st says, we better go home. I said, we better get to a hospital.

Going to the hospital ER on a holiday weekend is great. Getting there was half the fun, as our hospital is on a hill and the streets are covered in snow. I hoped we all would need to be transported by ambulance after we crashed but we finally made it. There were about 20 people in the waiting room, all looking pretty bad themselves, because why else torture yourself with a 6 hour ordeal at the ER. I'm checking in and the 2 clerks ask me if I need a wheel chair. That's when I realize that there are no identical twins in front of me but that I'm seeing double. I get that wheel chair and I'm moved right past those poor waiting folks. I didn't think I looked that bad, except for the whiteness of my face and tree branches sticking out of my sweater and hair! And the fact I was bent at an angle, think Quasimodo.

By this time, I'm listing to port and can't seem to straighten my back. They send me to xray and the tech there is crabbing at me because I can't boost myself onto the table and she has to get a step stool. I didn't break any ribs or my back but I bruised the hell out of my kidney. Oh yeah, I cracked my skull, hence the double vision from the concussion. They eventually send me home with pain meds (yipee!) and muscle relaxers and instructions to see my regular doctor in a few days.

Now we hadn't been back in Seattle very long and I didn't have a regular doctor, so I called my HMO and they gave me one. About a week after the accident, I'm sitting on the exam table, the doc is done checking out my bruises and asks me if I could be pregnant. Why do you ask? I say. Because you look pregnant to me, says doc. I'm just fat, I say, and I have an IUD. Doc says, I'm taking some blood for a test. Waste of time and lab work, I'm thinking.

2 days later, the doc's office calls and tells me the good news. It's positive! I'm thinking, OMG, this baby is going to be deformed. I've been on pain meds, muscle relaxers and had xrays of my body! And don't forget that IUD. My kid is going to be born looking like a teletubby with this plastic thing embedded in it's skull!

Doc says to stop taking drugs and come on back for an IUD removal. So as I'm in stirrups and they've pulled the useless device, doc says, oh yeah, this might cause you to spontaneously abort the fetus and if it does, can you save what you expel and come right to the office or ER. So for 5 days, I lay in bed hoping not to miscarry. All is well? Nope, now they are concerned that it's ectopic and so now they want to ultrasound to see where it is. Turns out the egg planted itself above the IUD and was nicely settled it.

My little mishap is now 18 years old. I blame everything that he does that annoys me on his father and the fact that I took drugs.

Oh yeah, my whole point to this story is that the Girl Scouts in my town are planning to have an event at one of the passes this winter and everyone will go inner tubing. This is something that my troop will want to do and I'm having anxiety attacks thinking about it. I can't watch the winter Olympics much less people I know sliding down a hill. I'm dizzy just thinking about it.

Girl Scout Cookies

When I was about 9 years old, my Girl Scout troop took a field trip to the Grandma's Cookies plant near the Seattle Center. I was so excited (yes, I loved cookies then too) because this was the place that made Girl Scout Cookies. When I was a kid, they only had a couple of varieties of cookies and Thin Mints were my favorite. We got to the plant and they took us on a tour. We saw the huge oven and conveyor belts that moved everything along. They were making THIN MINTS! I was in heaven. We saw the chocolate cookies come down the line. They were baked, then cooled. A dollop of creamy white mint was dropped into the center of each cookie and then they got a bath of dark chocolate. I could hardly contain my excitement as they told us we got a free package of cookies at the end of the tour. My mouth was salivating as we neared the end and got handed a package of Coconut Macaroons. WTF! I'm sure they weren't allowed to give away Girl Scout cookies but I was a kid, what did I know? I took my cookies and did not tear into them like all the other girls as I hate coconut. I hate how it smells, I hate how it tastes and I hate the texture of it in my mouth.

Girl Scout Cookies are no longer made my Grandma's Cookies in Seattle. GSUSA has licensed a couple of bakeries to make their cookies. So that means that all Girl Scout Cookies are not the same. Every year the Girl Scouts work with the bakeries to shake things up and they change the line up of cookies. The old favorites are there but they have 3 kinds that they are always messing with. Almost every year they bring out 1 or 2 new cookies. This year they have a new cookie "Dulce de Leche", a caramel cookie. Now I can't pronounce this cookie so how are my 1st graders going to? And to add insult to injury, they got rid of All Abouts! I love All Abouts, the shortbread cookie that had a chocolate layer on the bottom. There were perfect for making s'mores.

Of course my freezer is full of Girl Scout cookies and we drag a box out now and then and then add cases more each spring. Once I found a box of cookies in the freezer, Thin Mints, and figure out they had been in there 5 years. Did I mention that frozen Thin Mints, although they no longer have that creamy layer of mint, still Rock, even after 5 years.

Eye on Silver

Tonight I took my Girl Scout troop to the Silver Award Workshop. The Silver Award is a very involved project taking months of preparations just to get to the point you can do some worthy project for your community. You would have thought I'd dragged these girls to watch a politcal debate. We were by far the largest group there, our 8 girls and 2 adults being half the total there. And they did me proud. When asked what they knew about the Silver Award and why they were there, they all replied, "We know nothing, and our leaders made us come." So we learned about the steps we need to take, how long it might take us and some ideas and way to make our project good for our community.

So my thoughts on this:

Could our girls do a Silver Award Project? Yes. Will they? I'm not taking bets on it.
Do my girls understand more about the SA? HA! At least they have their handouts.
Will my girls come up with ideas on their own about projects? Huh? What's a project?
Out of 9 girls, how many can now identify the IP book and tell me what an IP is? Repeat the question?

So what are Jackie's and my goals for the troop? To supply them with opportunities to do great things, to have a place for fun and be safe.

I got a Job!

Rob told me that after the wedding, it was time for me to get a job, at least one that paid. For the last 6 years I have been a stay at home mom. Contrary to popular belief, I did not sit home and eat bon bons. I was on the go, eating bon bons. I've been volunteering. Mostly with the Girl Scouts as a leader and for 3 years as the Service Unit Manager (I kind of oversaw the other Girl Scout leaders in our city). And I would volunteer at the kids' schools for field trips etc. It was a good life, it was important and I'm still doing the volunteering. Of course now, I've got a job too.

After Rob told me to find a job, wouldn't you know it, but the Girl Scouts called me and offered me a job. This was right after I told my unemployed son that he needed to get on the ball because people don't just offer you jobs out of the blue. Then out of the blue, I got a job.

It's only temporary for a few weeks while they are busy and then I will be filling in for the Receptionist for a few weeks while she is on vacation. This will take me through most of November.

My job is helping to recruit new Girl Scouts and new Girl Scout Leaders. I get to print bracelets on the weird paper that is plastic fibers that you can't tear. I get to take these to the elementary schools and during lunch, put a bracelet on each girl as I talk up Girl Scouting. This is not hard with the little girls, they all want to be a Girl Scout and camp, sing, play etc. The older girls are not so easily swayed to the idea. Already by 4th grade, they are thinking it's not so cool to be a Girl Scout. I do get most of them to think about it after I talk about my awesome troop of 8th graders and all the fun they have and all their plans. These bracelets have information for the parents so they can bring their daughters to a Recruitment Event.

The Recruitment Event is in the evening at the girl's school or a neighboring school. We get the girls and parents to come with promises of fun activities and information. We even give out a free gift - a GS pencil or a GS chapstick. So everyone shows for this, the girls go off to have fun with a Girl Scout troop who is helping out and then I get to talk with the parents. I give them information about Girl Scouts - a brief history, some fun facts, etc. Then I get to the point and ask, "Who came here tonight ready to sign up to be your daughter's leader?" Sometimes there are warm bodies ready to go. Mostly, it's more a confused look of "what?? don't you have leaders waiting to take on our darling daughter?" I divide everyone up into age level groups and talk with each group. I find that a lot of parents lose their fear of leading if they can do it as a team. Some nights we are very successful on recruiting leaders, other nights not. Hopefully every girl who is interested in Girl Scouts, will have a troop to join.

So I like my job. I like getting to meet people, to see the excitement of the girls when they think about being a Girl Scout. I like it when a parent says, "yes I can do it, I can be a leader"

It takes a village to raise a child and many hands make light work.

Wedding 2008

It's over. The wedding of the decade happened and it was a fantastic event. The weather held and the ceremony was outside. It was beautiful. The vows were meaningful and the bride and groom a glow in their love. The reception was wonderful. The food was great, the DJ was great and the servers were the best. I have the most fabulous network of women who step up when needed. I hired Girl Scouts and their leaders to help setup, serve, bus and tear down. This left me, mother of the bride, the opportunity to enjoy this special day. It was the best wedding I have ever been to and it was worth all the money. We will remember that day forever.

Wedding Bells are Coming

Time has slipped away since my b-day. Brianne and I have been working hard at putting together what will be the wedding of the century, or at least that is how long it will take for Rob and me to pay it off.

This event is on August 17th so we have very little time left and are now trying to pull all the loose ends together. I am not going to go into the cost, except to say that a small country could run for a year on what it is costing. It will be wonderful though. Brianne has fantastic taste and has gathered together people who she feels confident will bring her dream together. Many of my friends are there to help. One Girl Scout leader is officiating. Another with her troop is being our setting, serving and cleanup crew. Another is working on finding us a reasonably priced bartender. I'm so blessed with such friends. The responses are pouring in and we are in for a big crowd. It really doesn't matter what the cost is, as it will be so great to share our joy with so many people.

Tomorrow, I will be sewing up a storm, creating beautiful bridesmaid's dresses. So much to do and so little time left!