A mindless debate or an essential comparion? The Girl Scout Cookie Taste Test

As a former Girl Scout reppin' troup 345 for the better part of the 90's, I know as well as anyone out there the greatness that IS Girl Scout Cookies.

I used to pride myself on the ability to push large amounts of the goods that were comparable to dealers the DEA would be concerned about. I'd sell em by the armful with my eyes on the prize of a new patch to neighbor my beadwork and jazzercize accomplishments.

No longer living in my native Stark County, I've kind of lost connections to the girl scouts I'm aware of and therefore, my annual sugar addiction has not been fulfilled. What's interesting though, a couple months ago I had stopped in Dollar General to grab something and saw some cheesy, generic versions of the GS classics, Thin Mints and Peanut Butter Patties. Well, they were called "Mint Thins" and "Fudge Peanut Butter," but by the DG company keeping the appropriate cookie color codes on the box, there was no doubt. And for only 1.50 a box in comparison to the now inflated 3.50 a box for the original, I was game for a trial.

I had gotten a box of both, and really enjoyed them, but as GS cookie season approached and I was able to get some authentic goods, I knew right away a taste test was in order. I didn't want it to be JUST my opinion, and as difficult as it is for me to share the GS goodness, I recruited a few taste testers.

First, thin mints VS mint thins.


During a weekend home, I grabbed friends, Rachel and Yekat, equipped them with both the GS and DG version and let them have at it.


I asked the girls which cookie they preferred, and also which they believed to be the GS cookie. Rachel chose the GS cookie as her preferred bite, and also identified it as the GS cookie.


Yekat, after testing both options, also correctly identified the GS cookie and noted it as her favored choice as well.

Onto the peanut butter patties (now, tagalongs... bleh) VS. Fudge peanut butter


Unfortunately, Rach isn't the biggest fan of peanut butter, so at this sit down the pressure was all on Yekat.

Yekat moved onto tasting the peanut butter options (that is after finishing both her AND Rachel's thin mints) and was a lil more contemplative.


She talked back and forth about the cookies before putting her chips in the corner of cookie #2. Cookie #2 was what you ask? The girl scout version.

Seems as though test #1 clearly put the girl scout cookies on top.


The next day, I posed the same trial to my mom and sister. During this run, we saw some varied results. My mom who surely knows her girl scout cookies, easily identified the real from the store brand, although she seemed to almost lean to the DG mint thins, but not enough to change her allegiance.

My little sister on the other hand, after trying both cookies actually seemed to better enjoy the DG versions. Good news for her and 2 extra dollars in her pocket a box.

As for myself, I'll never be able to break ties with my love, thin mints. As for the peanut butter biscuits? I actually kind of favor the DG brand. They are a little thicker and have a lil extra PB.

A mindless debate or an essential comparion? You be the judge, just don't make a call til you trial it yourself!

FAT TUESDAY AND....FRUIT SNACK JESUS?

For some, Fat Tuesday may mean colorful parades, self-indulgence, and a neckful of colorful beads. But for this girl enjoying the simple life in the small village of Cedarville, Ohio, the holiday is a little less than extravagant.

That is, until last Tuesday's glimmer of excitement in the form of intriguing cakes at work.

My co-worker, Renea, decided to make the day a lil more festive and recognize Fat Tuesday by bringing in 2 cakes. Ya see... supposedly it's a tradition (and I had partially heard of this before) that often times people will bake a cake and have a small hidden cross or "baby Jesus."
Renea couldn't bring herself to bake a representation of the Lord in either her yellow cake with chocolate icing, or her chocolate cake with vanilla icing, so she opted to hide a red fruit snack in her baked goods.

As the morning went on, people took pieces of the cake, strategically, to try and locate the treasure and as a result, win the awaiting prize. My good friend, Erin and I scoped out the two options of sustenance and promise and choice our pieces. No luck.

About an hour or so later, Erin and I being the munchers we are AND due to the fact we had heard no excitement over anyone finding "Jesus," we made our way back to the kitchen. We discovered the cakes with pieces missing like the randomness of a bad jigsaw puzzle, but we had a new found desire to not only find the winning piece, but to win the mysterious prize.

I thought it would be in the chocolate cake. So, Erin chose a middle slice, I pulled it out and cut through.... to no avail. Fail. The great part of this game? Having to eat additional cake as a loser helps with the pain of falling short.

Erin walked to the white cake. After analyzing some marks Renea made in frosting and scoping out the pattern to which previous pieces had been removed, I slowly pointed to the top right corner piece with a sense of victory in my bones. As Erin slowly pressed her plastic cutlery through the chocolate, then through the white cake to unveil a glimpse at the red fruit snack.

"Waaaaaaaa!" she wailed loud enough to surely be heard by the clients on the other end of the phone lines to hear.
We immediately ran to the back room with the excitement of a small child enthused to show their mother a new trick. We presented "Jesus" to Renea and received our prize. CANDY! Ok now, maybe you were expecting more from the anticipation I built. I know that's the go-to reward for kids for anything from toilet training to remembering their 2nd grade math homework, but Erin and I were stoked. We sit at a desk all day, it's tiring, and we love any good 'ol pick me ups.
Until next time when we celebrate this unofficial holiday that reminds us of obesity and bad behavior...

So... I am in a Clooney movie...

Yah.... RIGHT!?!?

My life is a constant series of random events and opportunities that seem to appear out of nowhere. The most recent occurrence appeared in the form of a text message at 11:30pm last Wednesday night.

My friend, Sarah is associated with a local talent agency and had connections to the upcoming George Clooney movie "The Ides of March" that was taping in SW Ohio. She had planned on needing to be on set Friday, but late Wednesday her agent called her and told her that not only did they need her on Thursday, but that she should grab a couple people to come along. Hence the late night text I received.

Now, who in their right mind passes on the opportunity to be an extra in a movie directed by AND starring George Clooney? I'll tell ya who, NOT this girl!


I stayed up all but 2 hours that night washing clothes and prepping outfit options as we were instructed to bring 3-5 choices for the wardrobe people to sort through. Hey y'all... the life is rough :-)

At 6am Sarah, two other friends Naomi and Stephanie, and I headed out as we had a call time of 8:30 and a 2 hr drive ahead of us. After getting to Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, getting checked in, going through wardrobe and waiting for everyone to get coordinated, we were instructed to get on a bus that would take us across campus to set.

We filmed inside the auditorium in the building seen here... :-)

On the bus, we were told more information about the movie, the scene we were shooting that day etc. I can't tell ya toooo many details because you'll have to go see the movie when it comes out in October, but it is a political movie and we were a part of a debate scene where Clooney (Gov. Mike Morris) stands his ground against a Senator Pullman.

To not bore you with step-by-step commentary of the day, I'll give you the overview.

• Naomi and I sat together house right just a few rows from the stage, but had annoying college boys behind us.
• Clooney is quite the jokster. He was constantly trying to make us laugh and finishing the scene by ad libing things like "George Clooney is very attractive," "This movie is going to be awesome," and "I love green beer." (That final comment in connection with it being the infamous "Green Beer" week at MU.)
• The crew and AD dept. were super awesome and fun to work with. I assumed I'd feel like part of a cattle call and pushed around, but it really was a lot of fun and I was able to learn a lot by watching how they set up shots and just operated in general.
• After a few hours, everyone was dismissed except the first few rows in the auditorium, which included Naomi and I... awesome. We got to do a few extra set-ups and then headed out to get lunch, be told we were getting paid (which was in contrast to what we had originally believed) and cross our fingers as they announced door prizes. Unfortunately, the itunes gift cards, tv, and wii set were not in the cards for us. Over it.
  

Here is Naomi and I on a bathroom break... we couldn't take pics where they were filming, so here is out "kinda-on-set" picture!


That was day 1. Luckily, as 80-90% of the extras were dismissed, we were part of the group invited back for Friday shooting. Score.

Day 2...Friday morning Sarah, Naomi, and I headed out even earlier as our call was 8am. By the time we got to set we were told that a few other of the actors would be in the day's scene. Who you ask?

RYAN GOSLING! (Not to contradict popular belief, yes... he was very attractive.)


the always entertaining Paul Giamatti...


and the classic Phillip Seymore Hoffman.


Although it was only a few hours of shooting, we had glimpses of the additional celebs, got to be involved in another part of the debate, and we were able to get a better understanding of how the scene would be coming together in the movie itself.

On top of that, I almost got to meet George. Almost.
Long story short, George and I have a mutual friend in Hollywood storyboard artist, J. Todd Anderson. I worked with him recently doing some choreography for "Nativity: A Pop Opera," an annual show he does in the Dayton/Cinci area, and George has collaborated with him on projects like "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" Upon texting J. Todd to tell him I was on set with George, he told me that I should tell George that I know him. After our final scene on Friday I talked to a few members of the crew and asked if I could stick around to try and catch George in a "down" moment. We waited for a bit but seeing as he was working double duty acting AND directing, and since we needed to catch our bus back to not have to walk in the rain, we decided we'd have to catch him the next time :-)

Among all of that, what was the craziest thing we saw? Well, since you asked, I'll tell ya. After we concluded shooting, we were standing outside trying to escape the rain waiting for the buses back to our base. There was a woman, baby in stroller, camera phone in hand, standing in the ever-intensifying rain apparently hoping for a star-studded glimpse. Unfortunately, they would still be shooting inside for quite a while, but I'm sure your baby will thank you for that pneumonia later. **Mother of the Year nominee**... syke.



So overall, it was just a pretty cool Thursday-Friday combo for my average Ohio life. But let's hope this was a peek at my fabulous life to come!

A month later... haha (Dayton's CW wrap-up)

So the last few weeks have been a serious whirlwind of activity, from Dayton's CW activities, Oscar festivities, and a chance meeting with George Clooney (stories to come!) I'm hoping you can excuse my absence from blog-world.

Let's catch up...
First, The Dayton's CW Star Competition... for all of those who supported me throughout my crazy endeavor... THANK YOU! Although y'all were mad-crazy awesome voters, I just missed out on making the final 10 and continuing to the final stage of the competition. To be completely honest (although, if it had worked out I would have been psyched), I had started to feel like it wasn't right and that, although a great learning experience, it wasn't right that I continue on any further. I felt at peace with the competition ending for me, and while I wish the final 10 luck, I am excited and ready for the next crazy door that God flings open for me.

BUT-
before the final 10 were announced, all of the competitors assembled at a Wright State University Basketball game to rep the station and mingle with fans. We set up a photo booth and had a blast wrangling in people to take pics with us!

Sam and I gettin' ready for the crowd to come...


But we did our individual shoots first...



Then the crowds came...


Do ya dougie!
But as the fans got enthralled with the game, the star competitors couldn't help but keep posing...

First Ginger, Brittney, and I...

Then Jordan and I faced-off...



And if that wasn't enough, afterwards a few of us hit Chipotle and then did a lil karaoking.

Here's Donald and I... signing off :-)