Thursday, February 4, 2010

Girl Scouts: Do-gooders Or Saboteurs?



     Yeah so it's that time of year again.  It's time for New Years Resolutions of becoming a healthier you to come to an end.  It's time for Chips Ahoy and Oreo sales to drop dramatically.  That's right, it's Girl Scout Cookie season again.

     To most people this is a great time of year.  You run into the booth in front of the grocery store and pick up a box or two of those world famous Thin Mints and you feel good about your decision.  You feel good because not only are those Thin Mints delicious, but the $4 a box is going to a very good organization which teaches values and morals to the young girls of America. 

     As the father of one of these young girls, I have seen the positive effects that the Girl Scouts of America can  have on the lives of these girls.  They do things for the community, they go on outings to teach the girls life skills, and everything they do helps to build the self confidence and self esteem.

     Here's where The Girl Scouts of America and I have a problem.  The estrogen and sugar fueled marketing campaign that is the Girl Scout Cookie Season leaves a trail of failed diets, abandoned workout regiments and overwhelming feelings of guilt in its wake. 

     About a week ago, I started the P90X challenge as some of you may know.  You can call it bad timing if you'd like, but I call it sabotage.  A day or two after I started the program, The Boss and daughter come home with a car full of Girl Scout Cookies.  You heard me right, A CAR FULL!  With my arms hanging from my body like wet noodles and the extreme soreness that engulfed my entire body from the previous night's workout, I helped them unload the boxes of evil deliciousness into the garage.  Box after box of Thin Mints, Thanks-A-Lots, Peanut Butter Sandwichs, Shortbread, Peanut Butter Patties and Caramel Delights were simply too much for my will power and self control to handle.  Not to mention the big blue eyes, now in puppy dog mode accompanied by the pouty lower lip, "Wont you buy some cookies from me Daddy?"  I mean, who are the ad wizards who came up with this perfect scheme?  I had no choice, I bought the cookies.  I bought 3 boxes and I got my fix.  That night, I did an extra set of Feifer scissors to make up for my earlier lack of self control.  My P90X friends, you know what I'm talking about.  Thanks a lot Girl Scouts of AMERICA!!!  

      


      

10 comments:

  1. I love cookie time!! But I'm sorry it's messing with your program. Good luck!

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  2. i ate an entire box of thin mints myself this week...had them hidden in my file cabinet. ugh. made myself sick. those little girl scouts are evil! (yeah, i was one. on my honor.)

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  3. This is one of the few occasions you'll hear me say, "Thank God I'm not working!" I'd be obligated to buy cookies from every colleague who knew a Girl Scout.

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  4. We bought six boxes. And they're not lasting NEARLY as long as they should have. Sigh....

    Just gave you a One-Minute Writing of the Week award for 1/16-1/23. Congrats!!

    -C. Beth
    The One-Minute Writer

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  5. One Minute Writing of the Week is a big deal to me. Thanks so much C. Beth. I've been chasing that one for a while.

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  6. Them little girls know how to work it. Puppy dog eyes and pouty lip and just for good measure DADDY! LOL!

    Sorry about your workouts. Is the challenge still on?

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  7. Yeah, the challenge is still on. The competition is fierce too. We really aren't saying too much to each other about it but we are both working out butts off and trying to eat a lot better. We gave the cookies to a friend who said he can sell them all at work. It was cool, we didn't ask him to or anything. He stopped by the other night and upon hearing that we had the cookies decided to take them all. So we are out of the danger zone for the moment, but I know we will have to order more. 8)

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  8. I like the lemon cookies those little girls absolutely FORCE me to buy every year. Hope you are still P90x'n your way toward that camara...good luck.

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  9. Hey, I just saw Pink (the singer) on an interview where she was asked how she stays so fit and guess what she said??? You guessed it! P90freakin'X!!!! She also said that it was Drea Webber who taught her the moves she did at the Grammy show--how about them apples? Tony's sales will go through the roof, I'm sure. Not that that will help your noodle arms feel any better, but a thin mint might...Can you eat just one?

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  10. Wow, you guys have quite the selection of cookies down there. Up here, our Canadian equivalent, the GirlGuides, just sells one kind of cookie, a box with one row of vanilla sandwich cookies and one row of chocolate sandwich cookies. But I love them. Since moving to a condo where the GG can't go door to door, I've missed out on the springtime tradition, I can't wait until my nieces are old enough t join GG so I can take them out to sell cookies! - G

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