I spent a weekend with my girls camping and reaffirmed my belief that what girls want is to get out and do.

At the end of this article is the critique of the Girl Scout program in February 2008. The "Current State" reflects what GSUSA identified as problems. The "Future State" seems to be what they are trying to create with the Journeys. The "Obstacles" category are the problems GSUSA identified.

It is no secret that I hate the new award requirements; however, my girls are stuck with them, so I'm trying to make lemonade out of lemons.

Older girls have a variety of awards they can earn for performing community service. Here is a run down of what is available.

The third World Center to open its doors was Our Cabana in 1957. Our Cabaña is located in the suburbs of Cuernavaca, Mexico. With housing for 84, it is the largest of the four world centers and is located about an hour south of Mexico City.

The beauty of the Girl Scout program as I've known it over the years is that it is flexible enough to encompass all interests. Aside from the many try its, badges, and interest project awards available, troops and councils can and do offer their own awards and patch programs.

The new requirements are out for the Bronze, Silver, and Gold Awards. As I mentioned in another article, Journeys are required for these awards. That is the good and the bad news because that is all that is required as a prerequisite to the award projects.

I've been getting a lot of emails, saying "I thought I was alone in disliking/hating the Journeys. Thank you for your articles." To all of you who wrote and to all of you who just thought that, you're welcome. Writing the articles is a lot like stating the obvious though.

I recently received an email that lectured me on not being a good reporter when I wrote my article on the second round of the Journeys. I was chastised for publishing a less-than-glowing article before their publication. First of all, let's me be clear; I am not a reporter.

In tracking the most-accessed articles of mine on Bella Online, I've noticed that the bridging article that lists the requirements to bridge to Juniors is often forwarded to others.