This blog entry was first published August 8, 2013.

As Girl Scout Leaders (and as "Mom" is Trainer for the Girl Scout Council), we like to repost this story from time to time, in hopes that it may someday inspire other Girl Scouts to follow their bliss!

So people who've recently met us often wonder WHY we frequently refer to Girl Scouts in conversation, on our Facebook Page,
etc. etc. etc.
Well, simply put, Girl Scouts STARTED this business!

Girl Scouting is far more than cookies, crafts, and camping! It's about
Leadership, Business, and finding yourself. Since 1999, our household has been firmly connected to the Girl Scout world.
1 Girl Scout, 1 Leader, 1 Registered Girl Scout Dad,
and 1 brother who reluctantly got dragged to lots and lots of
camps & activities, always surrounded by more Girl Scouts.
Yes, there were Cookie Sales.
Yes, there were LOTS of crafts...glue, beads, string, fabric, art
supplies EVERYWHERE!
And yes, of course, there was plenty of CAMPING!
 But Girl Scouts is a great program to develop leadership and business skills too!!!

 In 2011, our Girl Scout 
Ambassador Troop of High School Juniors &  Seniors were required to work on a program called a "Journey". For those who've done "Journeys", bear with us a minute while we explain.
For those with puzzled expression, a "Journey" is a program that guides Girl Scouts through the process of
Discovering subjects they are passionate about,
Connecting to the world and the people around them, and
TAKING ACTION to actually DO SOMETHING to make the
world a better place in relation to that passion they found in the "Discovery" phase.
This particular Journey called "BLISS: Live it/Give it" required the
girls to "adopt a dreamer". 

Yeah, it sounds  a little corny, and the girls really had to rack their brains to figure out who this "dreamer" should be, what that person's DREAM was, and how in the world GIRLS could help this person achieve their dream. No small task (especially for a bunch of 16-17-year-olds!) And the girls really didn't want to waste their time doing the steps simply because a book told them to. They wanted it to be personal, meaningful, and REAL.

 Brains buzzed, heads turned, and fingers pointed.
At ME, their humble Troop leader of 12 years.

 They decided that after devoting my time to THEM for so many years, it was time for ME to get "ME" back.

Remembering some super-cool furry hats I had recently made for them to use at a Japanese POP culture event they'd hosted, they hit on a plan, a theme, and new LOOK! Monsters...about to be all the rage!

Together, they came up with a name for the new venture.
One girl researched what was needed to start a business. 
One girl created a LOGO.
One girl set up an Etsy account. 

And so on. Until "Mostly Monsters" was born. But when they went to
create the FACEBOOK page, they discovered that "Mostly Monsters" was already taken  by another crafter far away in New Zealand.
So Plan B...where we were from? CHULA VISTA!
Best "small town" in a Big City!
New name: "Mostly Monsters Chula Vista"
(or "Mostly Monsters CV" for short)

 And so with a lot of help from the girls in the first few months, we
brainstormed hot new trends, colors that pop, ways to revamp popular old favorites with a new monster twist. At first, the Girl Scouts helped with simple gluing, photography, and of course price tagging. \
SO MUCH TAGGING! Their help with the piddly details left me free to create. And Taylor  (also a member of the troop) got dragged in too, once it was discovered that SHE had the youth, talent and the artistic eye to keep things young & fresh (as well as the added incentive of contributing to HER college fund!)

 And so without Girl Scout Troop 5007, "Mostly Monsters Chula Vista"
would never have been hatched!

 The girls- now ALL High School graduates- continue to support our business with word of mouth,  sharing on the internet, and of course,
modeling our wares in the real world!

 So we like to pay it back AND pay it forward by donating what we can to local Girl Scout events, helping other girls to reach THEIR goals, and teaching projects to both girls AND their leaders!
This past weekend, we had the privilege of teaching over 90 women and men how to make a series of AMAZING craft projects using recycled goods that tie in to current Girl Scout programs at the
"Girl Scouts San Diego Council's Volunteer Celebration and Conference". We had a wonderful time, and really enjoyed giving back to the community that helped us get started just a short year and a half ago!

THANK YOU, Girl Scouts Troop 5007 for helping us achieve our
  "BLISS"!!!

Well, we survived a scorching weekend in Pacific Beach at an outdoor show, but the temperatures in Southern California just keep going up and up and up. This is TOUGH when you're SUPPOSED to be working on Fuzzy Faux Fur hats for the upcoming show AND Halloween month!

But we're trying to figure it out and slog through until San Diego decides it time to be "FALL".

So here's how "Mom Monster" is handling it:

"My personal routine: Wake up while it's still dark (ugh) but at least cool enough to do some work. Grumble like crazy, have some COLD coffee or tea to wake up, sew like a madwoman and do computer stuff. Once it's too hot to function and the sweat starts trickling down your nose, find an excuse to hop in the car with the air-conditioner blasting...like the fabric store, grocery store, heck, even just drive around if you have gas! (There's a room AC in our bedroom, but hubby works nights sleeps days, so there's no way to do ANYTHING in there during the day.) When you are bored out of your mind and can't think of anyplace else to go, head back home and let the hot air hit you in the face as you open the door. Sit and complain it's too hot and there are a million things to do, try to do them, but give up and melt on the couch, where even the CATS are melting. Once the sun goes down, see if you can figure out something to eat that does NOT involve cooking, and look longinglt at the projects you WISH you could work on, know you SHOULD be working on, but proscrastinate because it's still too hot. Around 9 or 10:00 PM, decide to give up and go to bed. After sitting in the bedroom (which has a room conditioner), get up, grab some hand-sewing, and fall asleep with a needle in your hand. Get up next day and do it ALL OVER AGAIN."

In the meantime, enjoy some photos from the PB show...