Vicky Chrisner

I was a Girl Scout for a short time as a child. My leaders, while they tried and their hearts were in the right place, didn't create much opportunity.

My first leader was a nice lady, our meetings were afterschool at her house. She had a special needs son who was there and no one to help her manage him or her other daughter during our meetings. We did a lot of coloring. That's really all I remember.

My second leader was a single mom who kept missing meetings because of her work schedule. Eventually, she had meetings on Saturday mornings, but I could only meet every OTHER weekend because I went to my dads on alternating weekends. So, I dropped out.

It was quite a disappointment. I did a lot of the stuff to get badges (on my own), and I wanted to be a good little Girl Scout.


Committed to making sure my daughter had a better experience, when Rachael entered Kindergarten, I stepped up and offered to be a co-leader. I had no idea what I was in for! OH, THE FORMS!.... It's a paperwork blizzard!... and they refer to things like A130, B240... huh? What's that? They didn't tell us exactly what to do and the program for earning "petals" was not very structured. ("Daisies" are the K & 1st grade level of Girl Scouts, and they earn petals to complete a flower as they complete the main goals.) As I tried to learn things, the rules were changing. It seemed "Daisies" were an exception to everything. It was so frustrating.


One of my closest friends is a leader, and has been for a long time. I asked her how she could stand it. She said she does it because she loved it, not for her daughter. I just didn't get that at all. I was doing it for my daughter.

But, then, something amazing happened. I was in the grocery store and one of my girls saw me. She was so excited.... and came running to me, yelling, hugging, bragging to the entire store. Then it happened again when I was at school for something, and then it kept happening. One day I came home and there was a banner on my lawn that said "The Best Girl Scout Leader Lives Here". Then, they started giving me presents - pictures, trinkets, homemade poppyseed bread. Let me tell you.... it's all worth it. Every single silly GS rule, every lettered and numbered form.

Being a leader is a heart melting feeling. Who needs drugs with a high like that?

I admit, there was so much to learn, last year I felt like I was just following along. This year, I'm (at least trying) to really lead. We're off to a great start.

We had our registration meeting as a potluck dinner at a local park. We have an agenda; a strategy; and a great group. I lost a few girls who moved, but most of my troop returned (maybe I did do something right last year?). And, we're adding a couple new girls.

In October, we have 2 troop meetings, a SHARE fundraiser (to provide scholarships for those that need it), a leader meeting, and an outing to a Pumpkin Patch/Petting Zoo. Most month's have a calendar that looks pretty much like that.... and there is paperwork to do for everything... and emails, and calls... and my girls will squeal when they feed the animals, and giggle while they decorate their pumpkins, and hug me at least twice each time I see them.

If you're ready to volunteer, as a leader or even in a lesser capacity, go to the national web site, http://girlscouts.org/ to find opportunities in your area.

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Doyou live in Loudoun already?
Are you thinking of moving here?
Check out these resources:

LivingInLoCo.blogspot.com
TheRealEstateWhisperer.blogspot.com
VickyChrisner.com

Waters Edge, Grand Opening Tonight!

Now I have another reason to wish I was just a bit younger.

My church has a new Saturday night program called Waters Edge, targeted for the 20-30 something crowd.

The Grand Opening is TONIGHT AT 6:30.

It's a coffee house atmosphere with live music for young adults to hang out, meet others, and hear a short message. Featuring a local barista, local bands and a comfortable, casual atmosphere, I bet it will be a huge hit.

If I try to get in tonight, do you think they'll card me? lol


+++++++++
Learn more:

Leesburg Community Church
(formerly Leesburg Baptist Church)

Check out Water's Edge on Facebook

Tune into the Water's Edge YouTube Channel.

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Doyou live in Loudoun already?
Are you thinking of moving here?
Check out these resources:

www.LivingInLoCo.blogspot.com
www.TheRealEstateWhisperer.blogspot.com
www.VickyChrisner.com

So, you want to know what kind of people live in Leesburg?

The following Leesburg Statistics were printed in the September Guide To Loudoun and were based on information from The Town of Leesburg Economic Development Department, the U.S. Census Beareu, the Bureau of Labor, the American Community Survey and the Loudoun County Department of Economic Developement.

Population:
1980: 8,357
1990: 16,202
2000: 28,311
2008: 38,206 (Esimate)

Households
2000 Census: 10,325
2008: 13,828 (Estimate)

Racial and Ethnic Distribution
White 78.5%
Black: 9.6%
Hispanic: 9.9%
Asian: 5.1%
Other: 4.2%
Bi-or Multi-racial: 2.6%

Age Distribution
19 and under: 29.8%
20-44: 43.7%
25-64: 5.9%
Median age: 32.3

Educational Attainment
HS Grad or higher: 92.4%
Bach Degree or higher: 51.7%
Grad/Prof degree: 16.9%

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In a nutshell, it's mostly well educated, younger families with lots of kids. (Thus the continual political and public focus on our school system, which is reportedly one of the highest ranked in the nation.)

While median income levels were not offered in this article, Loudoun County remains the county with the highest median income in the entire country for two years in a row... competing for many years with Fairfax County for that title.

To read a more personal view on who lives in Leesburg, CLICK HERE. To learn more about what it is like to live in Leesburg or the surrounding area, stay tuned to www.LivingInLoco.Blogspot.com.

If you happen to get up and out early here in Loudoun, you might wonder where everyon's going in such a hurry so early on a Saturday morning. Let me tell you - Fall Soccer is in full swing, and the traffic is heading to one of the many soccer or other sport fields in the county.

The Loudoun Youth Soccer Association has "teams" starting as young as age 3. My little Devon is involved. Each Saturday morning, we head out to the field early. At this age, they don't play real games, although there is a rumor that at the end of the season they will have a scrimmage of some sort - I can't imagine that, but I'll have my video rolling for sure.

They have their little uniforms... my son often won't wear his uniform shirt and instead opts for a Spider Man undershirt and a sweat jacket. Oh well. We get to the school where they play, and get out onto the field. It's not just my kid that is a little apprehensive. They all head onto the field, each one clinging to the legs of an adult - usually one of their parents, but not always. After a few minutes, most of the kids let go and get into the rhythm.... although my Devon refused last week, and we sat on the sidelines and watched the whole time. I wouldn't let him partake in the team snack at the end of the game, saying it was only for the kids that played. He cried the whole way home - bet he plays next week!

It's actually a great program. Everyone is friendly. I am impressed with the coaching. At age 3, they are simply getting the kids to learn to move the ball. They play red light/green light with the ball; they practice little kicks and big kicks, and dribbilng the ball around cones. They usually all play with their own balls, although last week they did do a few exercises using only one ball for the team. The kids are never told they're doing anything wrong. They get positive encouragement the entire time.

At this age, we have one "practice" a week, same time, same place. At older ages the schedule becomes hectic. One of the girls on our street is in first grade and she has practice on Monday and Wednesdays and a game on Saturday! The practices are same place/same time, but the game places and times vary. As it stands, I can't imagine that.

Being a kid today in Loudoun is nothing like it was when I was growing up. If we played soccer, it was because two kids bumped into each other and one had a ball. I don't remember anyone that played on an actual soccer team. Now, most everyone's into it.

There are so many opportunities for kids today. My kids are both in swimming lessons twice a week, and in church activities, and one is in scouts and the other in soccer. Our schedules simply couldn't take anymore! Dressing and equipping the kids and busing them from place to place every day is a full time job. Yes, many of these activities take money. But, there are scholarships available for most. You'd be surprised how involved your kids can be with very little monetary involvement if you're on a tight budget.

Either way, it is worth it. My daughter, in first grade, has friends everywhere she goes. The kids are learning great values in these various activities. They learn team work, being honest and fair, friendly and helpful, courteous and respectful, how to get along with others, how to support their communities, how to follow directions and even how to lead. These values will hopefully serve them well throughout their lives. We all have to learn these values somehow, but in these activities it is much more fun that learning later in life, the hard way.

And for those that are curious, yes, I love being a soccer mom.

Stay tuned to learn more about Living In Loudoun County:

www.LivingInLoCo.blogspot.com

Recently, I had the opportunity to participate in a conference call with Dave Wheeler from Credit Plus. Credit Plus is a credit scoring company that supplies information to mortgage lenders. In other words, Dave is "the man" (or one of them) that creates, interprets and manipulates the credit scoring model.

During our conference call, he demystified many things for me, that I would like to pass along to you... it was a lot of information, so I have broken up these topics into a series of mini-posts for your easy reference.

Part 1: All Credit Scores Are Not Created Equal - now available
Part 2: How Inquiries Affect Your Credit Score - now available
Part 3: How Foreclosures and Short Sales Affect Your Credit Score - now available
Part 4: So What? - now available
Part 5: Rebuilding Your Credit - now available

These posts answer 90% of all the questions I get about credit scores. Hopefully, they will help you understand how your creditors are viewing your credit. Please keep in mind in the last 18 months, the credit scoring model has changed THREE TIMES. So, this is an ever evolving industry. However, the basic principles have remained constant for some time now.

If you're thinking of buying, I encourage you to start looking into your credit, but also to contact a mortgage lender who can further assist you. Credit reports are not the only thing that lenders consider, so beware. Do not spend every dollar you have to pay down existing debt... sometimes you'd be better off having some cash on hand. Let them help you look at the big picture. I actually suggest you start thinking about financing as much as 6 months to a year before you plan to buy. For a referral to a trusted lender, contact me today!