Toberman House visit

Toberman Neighborhood Center (http://www.toberman.org/) is a non-profit, multi-purpose neighborhood center that provides various social service programs to low-income individuals and families living in the South Bay, moving them from poverty to self-sufficiency. One day last December, my daughter's girl scout troop provided and served dinners to 120 kids and adults who were at the Toberman House at the time. Most kids were there for after school activities. My daughter didn't get a chance to go because we were in Taiwan at the time. A month ago, our troop leader informed us that we were invited back to the Toberman House, as part of a Grade 7 Girl Scout troop who will be there serving food at the House. We are in charge of providing side dishes (vegetables, breads, salads, potatoes). As the theme was Italian night, I tried to figure out what would be the appropriate side dish for my daughter to bring to the Toberman House today. I thought Garlic Bread can be a good side dish to Italian food, so I went to www.allrecipes.com and found a great Garlic Bread recipe (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Roasted-Garlic-Bread/Detail.aspx).

So I went to Sam's Club this morning and got all the ingredients I need to make enough Garlic Bread for 120 people. As I was browsing down the aisles for the ingredients I need (Italian loafs, garlic, butter, grated Parmesan cheese, and parsley flakes), I saw Pepperidge Farm's Texas Garlic Toasts. I thought to myself, this would be far easier than to make the garlic bread from scratch, and not necessarily more expensive either. At 32 slices, each box sells for $7.06. I immediately bought 4 boxes and we are all set for today.

今天女兒的女童子軍團要去 Toberman House (http://www.toberman.org/) 的餐廳服務。每一位女童子軍要負責帶一道菜和幫忙端菜。去年十二月中旬, 女兒的女童子軍團已經去過一次, 但是我們剛好回臺灣, 所以沒能跟著去, 只有買了幾盤冷凍的義大利寬麵請同團的媽媽烘烤後帶去。這一次女兒的女童子軍團是要跟著兩團七年級的女童子軍一起去 Toberman House 的餐廳服務。我們要負責帶附菜(青菜、沙拉、馬鈴薯)之類的菜。我想了好久, 決定帶蒜蓉麵包。還上網 (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Roasted-Garlic-Bread/Detail.aspx) 查看了蒜蓉麵包的做法。今天一早送了小孩上學之後, 馬上開車到 Sam's Club 買做蒜蓉麵包的材料 (義式麵包、蒜頭、帕瑪森奶酪、奶油及歐芹粉)。逛著逛著卻看到了Pepperidge Farm 的德州蒜頭土司 Texas Garlic Toasts . 一小箱三十二片才 $7.06, 比自己買麵包來做還便宜。所以當下就買了四盒回家,省了我不少時間!

到女童子軍團的攤位賣餅乾 Booth Sale of Girl Scout Cookies

Today was our Girl Scout Troop's second (and final) Cookies Booth Sale in front of a grocery store. Last week, we went to Ralph's. This week, we were assigned to go to Bristol Farm. Although it was sunny, it was still very windy and cold. My daughter was wearing 4 layers of clothing (turtle neck, t-shirt, sweater, and a heavy hoodie) and she was still cold. Luckily we didn't have many cookies to sell as our Troop ordered cookies conservatively for our booth sale. I brought from home the 11 boxes I still had left, hoping to sell them at the booth. When we got there, the Troop only had 3 flavors of cookies left--Thin Mints, Tagalongs, and the Sugar-Free Chocolate Chips. I added a box of Dulce de Leche and 4 boxes of Samoas to the mix. We quickly sold those. Around 4:30, we had 2 boxes of Tagalongs left on the table and everyone just decided to call it the day. There wasn't a lot of foot traffic at Bristol Farm, not sure if it was the windy weather. Last week at Ralph's, we sold 57 boxes of cookies. I think we sold less than 20 boxes today. I guess location mattered. The girls had a lot of fun selling the cookies together, despite the cold and windy condition.

今天又輪到我女兒到她的女童子軍團的攤位賣餅乾。上星期天已經到過 Ralph's 擺攤位賣餅乾了。這星期我們到了Bristol Farm 擺餅乾攤位。可能是因為到 Bristol Farm 買菜的人少,再加上又冷、風又大的天氣,今天的賣氣不佳。不過一群小女生在一起不管在做什麼都可以玩得很開心。我和女兒大概三點到場,一直賣到剩下兩盒餅乾才跟其他媽媽決定不要再賣了。實在是在外面站得太冷了,大概四點半就收攤了。今年賣女童子軍餅乾的活動就到此為止,要再等到明年二月才又會開始此活動。 ()

再過幾天,在市面上可能就要看不到女童子軍的餅乾了。如果妳們想嚐一嚐這些餅乾的滋味,大家可能要等到明年三月了。順便在此介紹女童子軍餅乾的八種口味:

THIN MINTS (Top-Selling Girl Scout Cookies)

Thin, mint-flavored chocolate wafers dipped in a chocolate coating.
巧克力漬薄荷味的巧克力薄片。




SAMOAS
Also known as Caramel deLites: Vanilla cookies coated in caramel, sprinkled with toasted coconut and laced with chocolate swirls.
巧克力醬漬住香草餅乾的底部,餅乾上頭灑著香脆的椰子肉及可口的焦糖和旋轉式的巧克力醬。



TAGALONGS
Also known as Peanut Butter Patties: Crispy vanilla cookies layered with peanut butter and covered with a chocolate coating.
巧克力醬漬滿二片香脆的香草餅乾夾加花生醬。
今年所有含有花生原料的餅乾銷售成績都不甚理想。原因出自於前些日子美國最大的花生廠所製造的花生產品被查出含有沙門氏菌。所以很多人都不敢買有花生成份的餅乾。

DO-SI-DOS
Also known as Peanut Butter Sandwiches: Peanut butter filling sandwiched between crunchy oatmeal cookies.
二片香脆的麥片餅乾,中間夾著花生醬。




TREFOILS
Also known as Shortbread: A traditional shortbread cookie made in the shape of the Girl Scout trefoil logo.
傳統的酥油餅乾。餅乾上面印著女童子軍的 "Trefoil" 標誌




LEMON CHALET CREMES

Cinnamon sandwich cookies with lemon creme filling.
桂皮香料三明治餅乾,檸檬夾心。





DULCE DE LECHE

Introduced in 2009, these are Latin caramel cookies.
拉丁奶油焦糖餅乾。




SUGAR-FREE CHOCOLATE CHIPS COOKIES

Introduced in 2008, they are small sugar-free cookies.
無糖巧克力曲奇餅乾。

少了一個小孩! Missing my daughter!

My 9 year-old daughter went to a horse camp this weekend. She went with her Junior Scout troop. It's the second time she has spent the night away from home. Two years ago, she did an over-night backyard camp with her Brownies troop girls. But she was only 5 minutes away from me. This time, she is in Bonsall, at least 2 hours away from our house. It's a strange feeling to have only one child in the house. Although I miss having my daughter around the house, I feel lighter. Instead of the responsibility of taking care of two kids, for today, I only have to worry about the immediate needs of one child.

I have been checking the weather channel since last week for the weather condition of Bonsall. I'm so glad that the rain forecasted for this weekend was not realized. I worry whether my daughter knows to put on an extra layer of clothing when the temperature drops at night. I worry about the dry, itchy condition of her face, especially around her eyes. I wonder whether she will put the cream that I had packed for her on her face. With all the wondering, I also know that this is a good experience for her. She won't have a mother hovering over her, making every decision for her. Whether good or bad, she will have to solve any problems that she encounters on her own.

早上起床後就覺得很輕鬆。今天我少了一個小孩。昨天我的女兒跟她的女童子軍隊去了 Bonsall (San Diego) 附近的一個馬術農場露營。 Bonsall 離我家有兩個小時的車程,所以還算蠻遠的。 我擔心她晚上冷的時候不會自己多加一件衣服。我擔心她皮膚乾的時候不會塗我幫她準備好的乳霜。再怎麼樣,遠水也救不了近火,所以只能期待她能展現她的應變能力,有辦法解決自己碰到的問題。不過我想我的擔心是多餘的。想一想,這趟露營活動也是女兒成長過程中必經的路。這就是住在美國的小孩,幸福、自由的地方。

什麼是女童子軍餅乾? Girl Scout Cookies

The Girl Scout Cookies are a familiar part of American culture. For more than 90 years, Girl Scouts, with the enthusiastic support of their families, have helped ensure the success of local Girl Scout Cookie activities. From its earliest beginnings to its current popularity, the sale of cookies has helped Girl Scout Brownies, Juniors, and Girl Scouts 11-17 have fun, develop valuable life skills, and make the world a better place by helping to support Girl Scouting in their communities. Girls are proud that their efforts provide resources for their local Girl Scout councils and for their own Girl Scout troops/groups.

Basically, Girl Scout cookies are cookies sold by Girl Scouts of America as a fundraiser for their local scout units. Each box of Girl Scout cookies is priced at $4 per box. $0.75 from each box of cookies sold by a Girl Scou will go back to the Troop that Girl Scout belongs to. Top-selling girls can earn prizes for their efforts. There are also unit incentives if the unit as a whole does well. In 2005, over 200 million boxes were sold.

For the last 2 years, as the parent of a Junior Scout, I accompanied my daughter when she went door-to-door selling Girl Scout cookies for her troop. This is the first year that she didn't sell door-to-door. She simply did not have the time to do it anymore. I ended up buying 20 boxes and supported her troop that way. I know it defeats the spirit of the Girl Scout cookies for me to buy the cookies, but she happened to have school projects due during the 3 weeks she was allowed to sell the Girl Scout cookies. It was simply too time-consuming for my daughter to sell Girl Scout cookies door-to-door this year.

First, she needs to pre-sell the cookies door-to-door. She has to ask the people who responded to the door whether they want any Girl Scout cookies, then she needs to take the orders down and make sure the Troop's cookie mom get the order and the money (Yes, the Troop collects the money from the girls/parents first so they can pay the Girl Scout organization when the cookie moms pick up the cookies). Then when the cookies arrive, she needs to deliver the cookies to the people on her order list and collects the money. In many incidences, she had to go back to the same address several times because people were not home for the delivery to be made.

I do think the experience of selling Girl Scout Cookies is a valuable one, especially for shy girls. At 6 years old, my daughter learned that selling door-to-door is not as easy as it looks, especially when the product she is selling is slightly more expensive than its counterparts at supermarkets. She had to learn about rejections and the joy of making a sale. It's very "real world".

Selling door-to-door presented a challenge for us as well weather-wise each year. Although the weather in southern California is better than most other states, early- to mid-February (when the cookies pre-sale takes place) is usually when our worst weather presents itself. I don't let my daughter out to do any door-to-door sales when it's raining outside. In our neighborhood, where the roads are windy and have no sidewalks, rain usually means poor visibility. It's just not safe for anyone to walk outside in the rain, let alone a small child selling cookies door-to-door, even if she's accompanied by her parent.
Although we didn't participate in the door-to-door selling of Girl Scout cookies this year, we will be at the Troop's cookies booth sale at 2 local grocery stores in March. That's when each Girl Scout Troop takes turns staking out in front of grocery stores, trying to get people who walk by to buy Girl Scout Cookies.

每年二月至三月是美國女童子軍賣餅乾的季節。所有的女童子軍會到自家附近去賣餅乾。在家長陪同下,小女童子軍必需要到陌生人家去按門鈴。當有人開門時,小女童子軍就要問開門的人要不要買“Girl Scout Cookies”。美國人很好,通常一半以上的人都會買。一盒女童子軍餅乾並不便宜。一盒要賣四元美金,但是買餅乾的人都知道這些餅乾錢是要用來贊助女童子軍的,所以一點都不吝嗇。但是賣女童子軍餅乾是一件很辛苦的事情。每個女童子軍得挨家挨戶地按門鈴詢問買餅乾的意願。確定要買之後,小女童子軍就要把買方的姓名、地址、電話抄下來方便一個月後交貨。回到家後,小女童子軍要算出每個餅乾口味賣出幾盒以及賣出的餅乾之總盒數。算好之後,把總盒數及支票(賣出的金額)交給負責餅乾業務的媽媽們,好讓她們有錢去女童子軍的餅乾總部提貨。收到餅乾之後,小女童子軍又得挨家挨戶地去送貨、要錢。我和我的女兒常常碰到買主剛好不在家而讓我們多跑好幾趟才如願交貨、收到錢。

今年我的女兒實在太忙了。在二月初她剛好連續有好幾個週末都在趕功課,無法出去賣餅乾。為了減少女兒的負擔,我買了二十盒女童子軍餅乾留給親朋好友吃。雖然這不是女童子軍賣餅乾的基本精神,但是小孩子實在是太累了,只好這樣子了。不過我的女兒在前二年的確曾經挨家挨戶地、按步就班的學著賣餅乾。她的最高記錄是賣過125盒女童子軍餅乾。雖然今年她無法挨家挨戶地去賣餅乾,她在三月十五日及三月二十二日會去她的女童子軍團的攤位賣餅乾。

女兒要去露營了! Going Camping!

My 9 year-old is going camping with her Junior Scout troop this weekend. It's not the first time she has gone camping, but it will be the first time she'll be away from me for 2 whole nights. The last time she spent the night away from me was at an overnight backyard campout at a friend's house 5 minutes from our house. She was 7 at the time. I wasn't as worried then because she was only a phone call (and a short car ride) away. This time, they are going all the way to Malibu to a horse camp called the Rawhide Ranch for 3 days and 2 nights.

http://www.rawhideranch.com/

It'll be a great experience for her learning about horses and not relying on her mom at all. She has to think for herself and make decisions on her own. That's part of growing up.

The weather forecast for this weekend is rain! It doesn't rain often in Los Angeles, so this should be interesting for the kids as well. I still have to buy a few more things for my daughter to pack for camp. Neither my husband nor I are outdoor/camping type of people, so I had to buy a sleeping bag for her specially for this camping trip.

I found a great sleeping bag on Amazon. It's the Coleman Kids Explorer Sleeping Bag. I tried looking for a sleeping bag at Walmart and Target (should have gone to Kmart as well) for a children's sleeping bag that is light and warm enough for 25F climate. I initially saw this sleeping bag on Walmart.com for $20 but the website said the sleeping bag wasn't available on-line, so I went to the store and this item wasn't even in their inventory system anymore. Someone at Walmart.com needs to work harder updating their on-line presentations. Amazon sells it for $32.99. It's a little pricey, but after reading the reviews by other customers, I went ahead and ordered it. I got it 2 days later and it's a great, light sleeping bag. My daughter is about 4"9' and the bag is just right for her in length and width. She absolutely loves it. I like the gray color because I know her brother will get to use it after she outgrows it.

For my daughter's camping trip, I still have to buy her an extra pair of jeans, a small bottle of insect repellent, sun screen, and Listerine (for her retainer). I guess it's time to go to Target.

這幾天很忙,最主要是上個 weekend 的課外活動特別多,所以平常留到 weekend 要做的事情都沒做。女兒的病才剛好,整個 weekend 都在看她努力的把功課補寫完畢。看著她一天天的長大、變成熟,這種滋味我還是第一次有所感受。她再八年就要上大學了。所以我也只剩下八年的時間跟她好好的相處,創造我們母女倆的美好回憶。我要我的小孩有個愉快的童年。算一算我女兒的童年也快過了。面對我們的是陌生的未來,尤其是如何去面對女兒青少年時期會帶給父母的挑戰。我想我們必需要用智慧、耐心、包容、及愛去面對這些挑戰。不過這話說起來簡單,做起來就難了。反正船到橋頭自然直,到時候再去煩腦,現在擔心這個也沒用。

我等一下要趕快去幫女兒買她去露營要用的東西。