Girl Scout Booth Sale #6 of 2014

Another day, another booth sale.  Same location too.  The weather was nicer, so we were back outside selling our cookies.  Tonight, we sold about 60.

Girl Scout Booth Sale #5 of 2014

Tonight, our girls ran another booth sale.  Due to the cold temps, the girls were allowed back inside, just inside the door.  While people got their groceries and rented lots of movies, few were buying cookies.  We sold around 50 boxes in 2 hours.  We did get several donations, which we loved!

Girl Scout Booth Sale #4 of 2014

This morning was our fourth booth sale of the season.  Three girls and another parent were with me in front of our large super center.  We dressed in layers, expecting the temperature to be in the 30s and 40s, but the Sun was shining with all its might, so we warmed up quickly.  We sold 60 boxes today.

Girl Scout Booth Sale #3 of 2014

This afternoon/Tonight, 4 girls and a few parents braved the freezing temperatures and even more frigid wind chill to sell Girl Scout Cookies.  The folks at our local grocery store have always been absolutely amazing, and today was another example of their greatness.

The parents and girls were bundled up in many layers to be prepared for the weather, but when they arrived, the store manager allowed them to move inside the entry between the two sets of doors where the carts are stored.  It was still cold b/c the doors wouldn't stay closed, but it was so much warmer than being in the whipping, freezing wind.

I arrived with about 30 minutes to go, and when I saw the manager, I thanked him.  He said, "No thanks necessary.  You would be popsicles by now."

All the employees are just so kind, and we greatly appreciate them!  In the end, watching folks run in and out braving the cold to get their dinners and other groceries, the girls sold 53 boxes.

Girl Scout Booth Sale #2 of 2014

We had another booth sale today.  This time, we were in front of a larger super center.  While there were a lot of people going in and out, we didn't do as well today as we did last night.  We only sold 78 boxes.  Well, maybe we will have better luck at the next one.

Girl Scout Booth Sale #1 of 2014

We had our first booth sale of the season tonight, and it went well.  We were in front of our local grocery store from 6:00-8:00.  Even as the temps were falling, the girls did an amazing job.  We sold 129 boxes!

Girl Scout Cookie Time

Tonight, we had our annual Troop/Parent Cookie meeting because our sales start tomorrow.  Things are different this year.  We usually take orders and then deliver cookies in mid-February.  This year, we can take orders and make deliveries simultaneously.  We also start booth sales a month to 5 weeks earlier, so they start next week. Our cookies also went up to $4.00 a box too.  The girls are so excited.

Happiness

Happiness is . . . having my niece and nephew for 6 days of Spring Break!
I can't want to spend time with them. They are setting the schedule for the week, and since Gram is still in rehab for her broken leg, we will include her in as much as we can, and when we can't, we will show up with dinner or ice cream to tell her all about our day.

We'll keep you posted on our adventures!

Today, we begin with our last Girl Scout Cookie Booth Sale of the season.  2 hours in front of our local Walmart before we spend some time getting the final items for their Be Prepared goodie bag of the church shut-ins.


Bronze Award and Girl Scout Meeting Update:
I missed the last Girl Scout meeting because of the Visitation, but the girls decorated bags for two themes--Be Prepared, in honor of Girl Scout Sunday, Girl Scout Birthday Week, and Girl Scout Birthday, and Easter.  Few items were donated for the bags, but the items that were donated were placed in their respective bag. Once we finished our shopping today and finalize the bags, I'll let you know what was placed inside.

We continue to hear "thank you" and what joy the Valentine's Day bags brought the church members.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day/Weekend

How did you spend Martin Luther King, Jr. Day weekend? 
Did you watch the Inauguration? I absolutely love hearing The Battle Hymn of the Republic!
Did you go somewhere fun with the family?
Did you try a new recipe?

Yesterday, I decluttered the corner hutch in the kitchen along with the microwave stand and a built in cabinet/hutch. I gave it a once over with the dust rag too.  I attempted to straighten the desk area in the office/library/front room.  I didn't get very far with that. I did a few other things no one will ever notice too.

Today, after my morning workout and taking care of a few errands, I decided to do a little more cleaning. While doing a little laundry, I decided to throw in the bathroom shower curtain and liner.  I took the rod down to give it a good bleaching.  It has rusted and left a yucky reddish, orangeish, black stripe down one side and a reddish, orangeish stripe down another. I got some of it off, but it is still noticeable.  I'm not sure what else to do.  Maybe paint it? I also cleaned the sink and fronts of the bottom kitchen cabinets and dishwasher.  Microwave is fairly clean. I dusted my bedroom ceiling fan too.  After throwing the last load in the dryer, I decided to take out the middle spinner thing from the washer.  It was so gross underneath.  I went to the following websites to see how to clean my top loading washing machine--
Ask Anna: How to Clean the Washing Machine and One Good Thing by Jillee: How to Clean Your {Top-Leader} Washing Machine. I wiped down the washer and dryer while waiting.

Well, after an hour and a half of water and vinegar, it ran through the whole cycle.  It looked clean as I looked inside.  However, I took the middle spinner off again, and it hadn't changed.  I poured a little bleach directly on that gross, grey stuff.  I decided to make sure it was all covered and soaking.  I left it for about an hour. I filled it with hot water just to cover the gross area and then ran the rest of the cycle without the spinner thing on it. Well, when looking into the washer, it looks very clean.  However, the process did nothing for the yucky grey stuff under the spinner.

Now . . . if someone would come sweep, vacuum, and clean the bathrooms.  :-)

While we are in the midst of Girl Scout Cookies initial sales going door-to-door or selling at parents' work places, we are also getting organized for booth sales.  I learned how to use the "Sign Up" tab on our Shutterfly site.  What a great tool!

Girl Scout Cookies

We kick-off our cookie sales this Friday.  If you read this post between January 11th and 27th, and find yourself craving cookies, just comment and let me know how many of what kinds, and we will be glad to get them to you in February.  :-)

My co-leader/BFF and I are pretty laid back when it comes to cookie sales.  We expect everyone to participate, but we do not hold our girls to a hard and fast minimum or goal.  We discuss goals, how much we get per box, and how we plan to use the money, but we aren't crazy about how many they must sell.  Whatever funds we don't have, parents pitch in to make up the difference. (The thing that bothers me the most is that we only get $0.55 or $0.60 per box. We do a lot of work (and have a lot of fun) for such a small amount of money.)

We are well aware of a troop that has a point system or massively detailed system for how many cookies must be sold, what that covers (activities), etc. For every box not sold to meet the ultimate goal, that is more the parents have to pay or more service hours the girls must do.  This system is so complex that I cannot even begin to explain it to you.  It is just mind boggling!

Yesterday, my co-leader overheard two fathers discussing one father's daughter's cookie meeting and the expectations of the troop leader.  He was just blown away at her expectations for initial sales, but at the same time, his daughter barely sold any cookies--somewhere around 20 boxes.

Maybe it is just us, two girls, now leaders, who were selling cookies as Brownie Girl Scouts back in Kindergarten, but the cookies sell themselves.  I put a framed picture of my niece with a little explanation next to the cookie order form in the lounge at my school.  When I go back at the end of the day, I have sold at least 20.  I do this over and over until the end of initial sales. I carry my form to department meetings and other gatherings of educators. Normally, if one buys, another will buy.  My last ditch effort is to send out an email to the whole campus just reminding them to buy before the deadline.  Once the cookies come in and we have our booth sales stash, I take various boxes to work, and I sell them with no trouble.

Cookies sell themselves.  Remember, when you see girls (or their parents) selling in the next few weeks, you are supporting a wonderful cause.

Do I have any Girl Scout followers?  What are your secrets to selling cookies?

Happy New Year!

It has been a while since I last posted.  Time flies when you're having fun!  How is your Girl Scout year going?

Ours has been busy, but not so busy all at the same time.  A Junior Troop was disbanding, so the remaining girls joined us in September.  These girls have been a wonderful addition as we had two Juniors in our troop.  They have been able to focus on the Agent of Change Journey and discuss ways that lead them to more leadership roles.

In November, members of a disbanding Brownie Troop joined us to add to the fun, friendship, and experience.  The Brownies have been working on their Brownie Quest Journey and have all but finished.  With all the new girls, they have earned the new Making Friends badge.

In December, those interested walked in our local Hometown Christmas Parade and helped pick two tags from the local Angel Tree.  Our girls are so kind and giving.   After donating blankets, comforters, etc. for the Share the Warmth campaign and gloves, hats, and scarves for Warm Hands, Warm Hearts, they voted to adopt an Angel from our community.  The girls chose two.  For those who were available, we met at our local superstore and purchased two shirts/blouses, two pairs of pants, and items related to their wish list.  What a great experience!

Our January meeting brought us cookie training and COOKIE Sales!!  The girls are out and about selling away.

February is going to be a fun month, and I hope March tops it.

What are you doing to celebrate the 100th Anniversary?

We have some extra Brownie Try-Its from the old program.  If you are in need or are interested in earning some, let me know.

Snow Day = Girl Scout Planning

I am off work and almost every school district and business around me is closed today due to the sleet and snow that fell overnight and this morning.  What does one do with a day off?  Well, if you are a Girl Scout Leader and/or serve on the Service Unit Team, there is always work to be done.

I have been working with my co-leader the past few days to plan our next meeting.  This meeting will incorporate cookie booth sales and World Thinking Day.

We have been working on both Try-Its tied to cookies.  One is in the Try-It book, Cookies Count, I believe, but the other, Smart Cookie, can be found online at http://www.girlscouts.org/program/gs_central/insignia/online/cookies/brownie_smart_cookie.asp.
By the time our booth sales end, our girls should have both of these.

We need to make signs for our booth sales, discuss "thanking" our customers, practice selling to booth sale patrons, and ask our parents to work with our girls on making change.  We have to create a shopping list too, so we just need items to make the posters for this part of the meeting.

The rest of the evening will be spent working on our presentation station for our local World Thinking Day event.  Those organizing the event let us know two days ago what our country would be.  (We had to give our top 3 choices.)  We have been asked to create a presentation board, possibly made from a science fair board, that shares something about what Girl Scouts is like in that country, their language, a snack, a game, a SWAP, and their flag.

We are going to make a flag from a pillowcase.  We will probably create it with fabric paint, but we haven't made a final decision yet.

We haven't decided on our snack yet, but we need to feed about 150 people, and we need something that can be kept hot or cold easily or can be enjoyed at room temperature. 

As for our SWAP, we need something easy enough for our girls to complete and also make 150 during our meeting.  Besides making the item, we need to print little cards with our troop #, World Thinking Day 2011, and something that goes along with our country.

We have seen a couple of games that wouldn't be too hard, so we will have to make sure we have the space necessary around our station to play it.

Our presentation board will include the Law, Promise, pictures of uniforms, and more that represent Girl Scouts in our country.  This will probably be posted in the country's language and English.

Guess we'll complete the shopping list, and when we thaw out, we'll go get the supplies.  The meeting should be fun.  Maybe I will be able to post some pictures.


What are all of you doing for World Thinking Day?  Know of any helpful sites?

Do you have any good ideas to make the most of booth sales?