May 22, 2005
all's well that ends
>sigh<
I'm glad GS camping only happens once a year. For our troop it does, anyway. Other troops camp more often; me, I can only handle it in small, spread-out doses.
The foibles: a girl who, for all the excitement, never made it to the toilet in time (it seemed); several snits about rooming arrangements; scary-campfire-story-backfire (or success--everyone was so scared they wouldn't go to bed); a bad case of diarrhea Saturday night (not me, luckily), and rained-out s'mores.
The successes: bead-making, day-hiking, ice-cream-making, delicious-hobo-chicken-eating, pier-walking, beach-combing, rope-jumping, soccer-playing, hot-dog-roasting, cart-wheel-turning.
Everyone left happy (except the diarrhea sufferer, who left early). There was the requisite ONE DIRTY SOCK that no one claimed during pack-up. I learned last year that if I take it home, launder it, and bring it to the next meeting that it will still not look familiar to anyone, so this year I promptly trashed it.
I write now, working on about 4 hours of sleep total. We got home and unpacked, showered, and put our pajamas on (yes, it's 3 pm...I am NOT going anywhere else this weekend!!), and settled down in front of the TV to watch poker (on nbc SPORTS??) and the Magic Bullet infomercial.
I feel a sore throat creeping up on my sleep-deprived self, and I'm sniffly. But strangely fulfilled.
I've got a year to rest up for the next one. :) I'll post pics later.
Posted by mryonker at 02:02 PM | Comments (3)
May 20, 2005
anchors aweigh!
Well, not really. You realize that until last year I said (and saw in my head) "Anchors Away!"
Now that we have dabbled in sailing, I know what I'm really saying, and how to spell it. It still doesn't make any sense, though. The anchor is not away, and it is not aweigh (as in overboard), if you're leaving. (I should say "Yank them anchors in!")
But we *are* leaving this afternoon, to a fair state park for a scout camping weekend. Yesssireee. Eleven 2nd grade girls. None of whom will want to eat "hobo dinner" (chicken and vegies in foil on the grill--seasoned, of course). None of whom will care about the nature-hike-scavenger-hunt-I-spy that I've so laboriously planned. All of whom will complain about bugs, and cold, or wet, or hot, or whatever. All of whom will eat ONLY the hershey bars and leave none for real s'mores.
Well, I anticipate the worst so that it can be a great surprise when everyone is delighted and content. I've got plenty of back-up plans for food, and activities, and the like. I'll have pictures and a full report on Sunday.
Wish me luck! And do an anti-rain dance, if you've got one.
Posted by mryonker at 01:54 PM | Comments (1)
March 13, 2005
T-minus 6 days
Went out for an early run this morning. There is STILL snow on our streets up here. I know I've been harping about this too much lately, but good gravy. And all this week: snow, flurries, 30 degrees.
I don't care how much the run this weekend will break me; it will be well worth to have two days in the land where spring has begun.
In other news: Brownie Movie Night was last night. Normally this is a fun event I hold in my own house, but since we're remodeling things are not too comfortable here, so we held it in the church library. We watched _Raise Your Voice_, which boasts on the DVD cover that it is THE BEST Hilary Duff movie ever.
Hm.
The hardest part of this movie for me was watching the actors pretend to play their instruments. Oof. I would much rather the casting people find musicians who act, rather than actors who don't care whether they're actually looking like they're playing (guitar, piano).
Or at least find actors who have decent rhythm, so that their random strumming and chording actually follows the tempo and syncopation of whatever song they're supposed to be playing. It was more than distracting. I'm probably over-sensitive, though: one of my favorite pastimes as a kid (and now, if I'm bored enough to watch an award show or something of that sort) was to catch a band or singer sync-ing. And then to be promptly dissapointed that they were.
Also, the dad from _Firestarter_ played the over-protective, near-mean dad in _Raise Your Voice_, so I kept waiting for him to haul off and burn shit up with those dramatic nostril flares.
So, if you're a Brownie leader, looking to show a movie for movie night, I don't recommend this one, but not for the poor musician impersonations. Don't show it because:
- The beginning is INCREDIBLY sad. (The cover doesn't let on that horrible, tear-jearking tragedy drives the plot.)
- It is LONG. Nearly two hours. This was on the cover, but I figured 2 hours of Hilary would be fine with 10 eight-year-olds. Not all my girls could sit that long, I found out, Hilary or not.
- There are several situations that I didn't want to have to answer questions about. For instance, there's an exchange in which Hilary and a friend talk about a hand shake getting someone pregnant. Also, the words "damn," "jackass," and "crap" still make 8 year-olds giggle and me worry that they'll go home and repeat things and blame it on Girl Scouts.
- Groping and kissing. Not too much, but enough.
It makes me realize that PG ratings mean just that: *parental* guidance. As in, the Brownie leader is NOT the parent. It's rated G all the way for the next BMN. This movie was fine for Hannah (she knows birds and bees and that bad words are rhetorical--REALLY!). But I don't have the history or authority to "guide" girls through stuff like this.
Especially issues of non-musicians posing as them. It was simply too ugly for words.
Posted by mryonker at 01:12 PM | Comments (0)