Addicted to Girl Scout Cookies!
I can usually mark the exact day when my New Year’s Resolutions fall completely apart. This year, it’s today, Jan. 9, with the announcement that it’s Girl Scout Cookie time. 
Why I cannot resist this particular confectionary temptation as opposed to the scores of other boxes of cookies I’m faced with everyday remains a mystery to me. I don’t think it’s not being able to say "no" to a 10 year-old little girl earning her cookie badge -- although that is certainly a difficult maneuver. No, there must be something else that attracts me year after year.
Is it their unique marketing techniques? I can’t remember the last time a Girl Scout actually came to my door selling cookies, but I certainly buy dozens every year. My husband gets hit up at work from co-workers with scouts. I have order forms thrust into my hands at the hockey rink or baseball fields. There are even Girl Scout cookies on Facebook. And just when you think you’ve dodged the ordering window, there are card tables set up outside of the grocery store entrance with enough shortbread inventory to rival a London Costco outlet.
I can’t imagine that the manufacturer would dip the Thin Mints in a chocolate liqueur or lace Trefoils with Oxycotin -- that’s got to violate all sorts of child labor and alcohol laws. But there is some habit-forming biochemical that makes me sneak a few Tagalongs from a brown paper bag first thing in the morning.
And as I muse every January over my weakness for the tasty treats, I know there are certainly some very frustrated Keebler elves wondering as well. (I mean they bake cookies in a tree for goodness sake, and there is no mobile sales team hawking Fudge Stripes door-to-door -- even if they are uncommonly good.)
Now, I don't want to be too harsh on the Samoa-Selling Scouts -- I've got two little girls coming down the direct sales pike myself. It won’t be long before I, too, am among the throngs of parents selling cookies for a cause. Maybe that’s when I’ll finally learn the secret to their success.
Or at least have found an appropriate 12-step program to control my Do-Si-Dos® habit.
[Photo: Times files of the tasty addictive treats]
Sharon Kennedy Wynne has sunscreen in her blood. She may have been born in Buffalo but she got here as fast as she could, in time for kindergarten. She grew up in St. Petersburg, graduated from the University of Florida journalism school, and even got married at Sunken Gardens. She's one of the few adults we know who actually loves taking her kids to the beach. She has two sons and with 10 years of parenting under her belt, she's starting to feel a little less out of her league. She comes from a large family and loves to debate, so brace yourself when the hot topics come up.
Amy Hollyfield is a workaholic mother of two young
daughters, blessed to have a work-at-home husband who makes their life possible. She was born in Detroit and moved around a lot as a kid (read: Air Force brat). She has lived in Florida since the month after she
graduated from Northwestern University. She lives for the yelps, hugs and kisses that greet her on nights that she makes it home before bedtime.
Sherry Robinson was born in the Sunshine State but she feels more comfortable inside a mall than outside at the beach -- thank goodness her husband is the outdoorsy type. He takes their two sons on night hikes, beach runs and bug hunts while Sherry does her best to take care of the homestead -- and find out what is new on the store shelves. A graduate of the University of South Florida in 19noneofyourbusiness, Sherry has been at the Times for nearly 20 years. And with nearly 10 years of parenting experience, Sherry is eager to offer up some great dish on raising kids and keeping your sanity.
Guest blogger Tracey Henry, a.k.a. Suburban Diva, is a frantic, slightly frazzled mother of four. She is a freelance humor writer and author which is the only thing that parenting four children ages 12-1 trains you for, except perhaps court jester and professional bull rider. She and her husband have lived all over the country, but settled in Florida eight years ago because the beachcombing is so much better here than on the banks of the Mississippi. Their family time includes a lot of sport -- both watching and playing -- and fun in the sun and surf. Catch her in Whoa, Momma! and on her site, 
Sherri Day and her husband welcomed their daughter into the world in early 2008. So far, she describes parenthood as exciting, exhausting and exhilarating. A self-described Southern belle with small-town values and big-city idealism, Sherri was born in rural Georgia. She received her bachelor's degree in journalism from Clark Atlanta University and her master's of journalism from the University of California at Berkeley. She is the Brandon bureau chief for the Times. Sherri moved to Tampa from Brooklyn four years ago.
Love the girl scout ccokies!
Posted by: Luby | January 12, 2009 at 04:38 PM
I used to stock up until I found out where palm oil comes from, which is in these cookies among lots of other things. www.cspinet.org/palm
It's horrible! :(
Posted by: Amber | January 12, 2009 at 04:01 PM
Family Dollar sells 2 types of cookie that are just like the GS cookies for half the price-Peanut Butter covered in chocolate and the chocolate covered coconut ones. Not to take anything away from the GS organization,I'll still buy some from them too.
Posted by: chill | January 12, 2009 at 10:58 AM
Anonymous, try taking those frozen Thin Mints and throwing them in a blender next time you make a Grasshopper. AMAZING.
Posted by: Amanda | January 09, 2009 at 09:53 PM
thin mints.....yumm....... I like to stick them in the freezer, then sit down with a nice big glass of cold milk and enjoy. But yes, boxes will disappear before we know it!
Posted by: Anonymous | January 09, 2009 at 08:10 AM