One evening in 2012, in the dead of summer, I was heading south back to Austin from Dallas. Along the I-35 corridor, intermittent storms popped up and down just to the east over flat ranch land. It was around 7:30, and the sun was getting lower on the horizon. As a passenger, I could let my eyes … Continue reading
Last week I was in Vegas. This week features Earth Day. So I couldn’t stop thinking that those two don’t belong in the same paragraph. Bam. Flying into Las Vegas, you can’t help but notice that there’s a whole lotta desert on every side as far as the eye can see. Still, the fountains flow. … Continue reading
If you take a year off, it’s only fitting that you spend a little time explaining where you’ve been and what you’ve done. It was actually a pretty full year. I learned how to row. I started painting. I lost 20 lbs. (and gained it back, just so I can lose it again this year). … Continue reading
I confess. I may now be able to bake cookies on the dashboard of my car, make polymers in my kitchen, and identify a coral snake with a quick and keen eye, but it appears that I’m an awfully slow learner when it comes to those Big Life Lessons. My last post was one year ago … Continue reading
It’s That Time of the Month — in fact it’s That Time of the Year when you’ve got permission to let your inner prankster loose for a day. April Fool’s is here. Let’s be clear: scouts are inherently do-gooders. Scouts don’t balance cups of water on top of doors waiting for innocents to walk into an unexpected … Continue reading
It’s spring break time. Be sure to take one. Whether it’s a full-on trip or a simple afternoon flying a kite, treat yourself. I just hope your kite doesn’t end up like these: Need a little help building your own kite? Check out this post. The BSP is on spring break this week — be … Continue reading
Now, in the season of gratitude that always precedes each new year, I’m grateful to share a guest blog post from Kelly Henkins. She’s a music journalist and blogger who stumbled into my music earlier this year – but she’s also a lifelong scout. Kelly was kind enough to share this beautiful and personal perspective … Continue reading
It’s time for a repost of one of the BSP’s most popular posts — how to make a Christmas tree door decoration from old compact discs. In truth, I still can’t decide how I personally feel about this little project. It’s a pretty interesting way to reuse those un-recyclable CDs, but my brain still reminds … Continue reading
Around this time last year, I took some time to learn a bit about floral arranging and tried my hand at creating some very reasonably priced arrangements to decorate the table and house for Thanksgiving. I’ll be trying many of these tricks again this year, and it seemed like a good time to repost this … Continue reading
Hard to believe, but this little project has just entered its terrible twos, and it’s been quite awhile since I shared an update on actual progress and growth. The Virtual Troop Leaders have graciously bestowed their approval on a new slew of badge tasks, and that update is right here. While it may appear as … Continue reading
