Jul 14, 2009

Who's Your Twin?

I was at the local donut shop getting coffee this morning. And the daughter of the owner, who has seen me at least once a week for the last year, asked me if I worked at the bank next door. She was in utter shock when I said "no." She swore that I worked there and couldn't get over the fact that it wasn't me.

Reminded me of the numerous times I've been chased at the store or in the mall by individuals calling my name (or "a" name that wasn't mine), swearing that they knew me. Even after catching up and talking to me for a few minutes, they would still not believe I wasn't the person they thought I was.

So, leads to me to believe the old adage of "everyone has a twin somewhere in this world" is TRUE.

Who's my "true twin?" I'd have to say Belinda Carlisle, lead singer of the Go Go's.

OK, so I know we don't really look alike. But stay with me. Here's why I think we're twins.....I am a child of the 80's. All through High School, people told me I looked like Belinda Carlisle. Then, I cut my hair short (molly ringwald in Breakfast Club style...see SILLY photo taken in about '86/'87) and was sort of "mod" (i.e., wearing lots of black). When I cut my hair, I received comments ALL the time that I looked like her. When I went to college, comments continued. And the topper was one time I was at a bar, and a guy I did not know walked by and said "belinda." TRIP!

It's probably because we both have light hair, round faces, chubby cheeks, and high cheek bones.

So, when that many people say you look like her, you're twins...Right? HA!

(By the way, did you notice I haven't changed a bit from my 80's photo to now.... r i g h t ...)

Who's your twin?

Jul 6, 2009

Dangers of RSS Feed into Twitter Account

I'm a victim! First time ever (hee hee).

Recently, I learned through kind followers on Twitter that "inappropriate" links were showing up in my Twitter postings. (very bad bad stuff). At first, I thought my account had been hacked. After further investigation, I learned that my automated RSS feed from my google alert "allintitle: girl scouts" was pulling in XXX information. It happened two or three times in a week, (appalling, I know). I immediately shut down my auto feed and now post updates manually.

Thankfully, those who follow me immediately alerted me to the situation with comments such as "Not your usual feed," "doesn't look like something you'd post," "is everything Ok?".

The moral of the story -- auto feeding is not always the best approach. So be careful.

Thank you to everyone who follows and understands!

5-Finger Behavior Contract

At the beginning of each year, my girl scout troop sets rules and expectations for the year. I learned the 5-Finger "Full Value" method at a Girl Scout training (I believe it's used in outward bound programs as well). Highly effective and the girls enjoy doing it. To find more "full value" contract ideas, just google "5-finger contract" or "full value contract."



5-Finger "Full Value" Contract

SUPPLIES
Large piece of paper (tape a few together if you need)
Markers

PROCESS
1) Each girl traces their hand on the piece of paper, side-by-side in a "friendship" circle.

2) INSIDE THE CIRCLE -- the girls write all the things we ask of each other such as selling cookies, positive attitude, safety, cleaning up, rules, attend meetings, wear sash, say hello whenever we see each other etc. Commitments should apply inside AND out of school.

3) OUTSIDE THE CIRCLE -- the girls write all the things that we keep OUT of troop - such as put downs, negativity, disrespect.
  • Agreement for inside and outside circle should fulfill the five categories: Physical & Emotional Safety; Participation/Commitment; No Put-Downs or Negatives; Taking Responsibility for Personal Actions; Celebrate Efforts
  • Modify categories for your troop/group
4) DISCUSS -- each girl has to agree to EVERYTHING written on the paper. If they can't agree to it, then discuss as a troop whether or not it should be listed.

5) Girls discuss consequences of not fulfilling contract and agree.

6) If everyone agrees, they sign their hand as a binding contract.

7) Bring contract to every meeting. I take a picture of it and print for their Troop binders.

This is a powerful activity to open conversation with the troop. The first time I did it, we wrote "everyone has to say HI to each other -- whether at school or at sports -- no matter who we are with." Surprising, this was hard for some girls. And surprising, some of the more "popular" girls found this hard. It was eye-opening for the others to know that even those who seem to have it all can be shy. But they discussed and all agreed to do it. It has made a huge difference in the respect levels w/in my troop.

The Spider Web of Friendship

Traditions are an important way to build connection with a group of people or an organization. In college, I was an Alpha Phi -- our traditions included ceremonies, songs, and handshakes. To this day, when I see my sorority sisters, we reminisce about the traditions we shared that only we knew about.

I wanted to share a tradition of my Girl Scout Troop 31621. (reposted for the Friendship Book).

SPIDER WEB of FRIENDSHIP

SUPPLIES: a ball of yarn

Have group sit in a circle.

  • Leader begins.
  • Hold onto the end of the yarn and unravel enough yarn so you can throw the ball across the circle to another girl.
  • Each girl passes the ball of yarn to another girl across the circle while holding on, creating a big spider web.
  • Create a theme so as each girl passes the ball the to the next girl, they need to say something positive. For example:
    --What I admire most about you is....
    --What I learned about you this weekend is...
    --Why I enjoy being with you is....
    --The leadership quality you most posess & why is....
    --You are the example of a good Girl Scout because....
    --Have them pass to someone they don't know and say, "I'd like to get to know you better because...."
  • As the girls get older, I set rules that they can't say "nice" or "pretty" as a comment. They need to try harder.
  • When everyone has passed the ball, hold on for a few minutes and reflect. Reflect on you day's activities together. Tell the girls that in order for the spider web to be strong, everyone must hold tight. If one girl lets go, it will crumble. This is why we need a strong troop with strong participation (we don't want a crumbling web...). Give the girls an opportunity to reflect as well.
  • To unravel, everyone can drop the web gently -- then roll up the ball. OR, take it as an opportunity to pass the ball in reverse, winding it as you go and giving opportunity for the girls to comment back to those who passed them the ball.
I started the Spider Web tradition as Daisies after a meeting. Then we introduced it in First Grade during our first campout before lights out. Now, the girls ask for it every year! It's been very special and I hope they will always remember it!
 

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