If you want your cherries on the super-tart side, add less sugar. You can also use a sugar substitute (like Splenda), honey, or agave syrup. To get the cherry pits out, score them along their sides with a knife. You may be able to pop the pits right out -- or just take a butter knife and wedge them out if they're being difficult. The cherries need time to soak up the sweetness of the sugar. It'll be so tangy that you'll need the water to dilute it later. You're looking for one mostly uniform consistency (the cherry chunks will keep it from being entirely uniform). Then reduce the heat and simmer for fifteen minutes. It should maintain a light bubble the entire time, reducing the liquid and turning almost syrupy. Squeeze all the moisture from the cherries into a separate saucepan. Don't just strain it -- really squeeze out all the juices. You're finished with the cherries; you can throw them away. Or keep them for a topping or a preserve! Then take the pan off, let it cool to room temperature and move it to a sealed vessel for storage in a refrigerator. That's it! The consistency is right; this is basically tart cherry juice concentrate. It's not supposed to be like juice -- it should be much thicker. Sparkling water (or even just water) works, too. Feel free to experiment with the ratio to find your personal taste. It may take a try or two -- but once you find the right combination, it'll be easy. Keep the rest in a resealable container to save for later. It'll keep for a couple weeks if kept tight and in the refrigerator.

Summary: Put the clean, seedless cherries and sugar in a saucepan. Cover the pan and leave at room temperature for 2 hours. Add the 1/2 US-pint (950ml) of water and stir until all the sugar dissolves. Bring the contents up to a boil. When finished, strain the mixture. Simmer the strained liquid until it thickens like maple syrup. To serve this drink, put one or two spoons of it into a glass of soda water.

Taking part in service projects will help you make a difference in your community while having the opportunity to earn cool patches. Your troop can volunteer somewhere, take food or supplies where it's needed, or just visit people who are lonely as ways of helping out. If you see a need in your area, bring it up to your troop leader and ask if your troop can help. Encourage your troop to volunteer at a community vegetable garden to help beautify your city while providing food to people in need. Plus, you'll be eligible for the Community Garden patch! Help your Girl Scout troop organize a pet supply drive to help nearby animal shelters, and you'll get the Pet Supply Drive patch. If your troop leader suggests a science experiment, it could be a fun way to get hands-on STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) experience while earning unique patches. Patches for science experiments include Paper Airplanes, Designing Roller Coasters, Egg Drop, and Digging for Rocks. Getting outdoors is a great way to be active while learning about natural science, plus it's a lot of fun! You can earn patches for everything from a nature walk to an overnight camping trip! Collect various leaves to earn the Spring/Summer Leaves patch. Gather and paint rocks for the Rock Painting and Hiding patch. Camp in the woods for the first time to get the 1st Campout patch! Girl Scout parties are a great way to spend time with your friends while bonding as a troop. Your troop leader might even have fun patches for everyone who attends the party! Pool parties are the perfect way to cool off on a hot day while earning the Pool Party patch. See if you can get a strike while you're earning the Bowling Party patch! You'll need a pillow and a sleeping bag to earn the Sleepover Patch! Craft projects help you express your creativity while you learn more about art, and they're always a fun way for your Girl Scout troop to spend time together. Make a plain T-shirt into a colorful work of art while you earn the Tie Dye patch. Get ready to decorate for the holidays as you earn the Make Ornaments patch! Learn the traditional art of weaving to earn the Weave Baskets patch. Girl Scouts are most known for their cookie fundraisers, but there are actually a number of different events you can join in to earn patches. Wake up early and attend a breakfast fundraiser to get the Pancake Breakfast patch. Raise money washing cars to get the Car Wash patch. Join your friends selling cookies outside of a business to get the Cookie Booth patch. Some fun patches aren't for attending events, but for meeting certain accomplishments, such as having perfect attendance at meetings. Other accomplishment-based patches include bringing a friend to meetings, always being on time, and getting good grades in school.

Summary: Join in service projects with your troop to earn fun patches. Take part in science experiments to learn while earning a patch. Join your troop for some time outdoors to earn nature patches. Attend Girl Scout parties to get fun party patches. Get involved with crafts to earn a variety of crafting patches. Participate in fundraisers to get patches while raising money for your troop. Attend all of the Girl Scout meetings if you want patches for attendance.

How we feel inside is expressed in our eyes and on our faces. Learning to recognize the association between facial expressions and certain types of emotion goes a long way in being able to read emotion. Don't be fooled! People can manipulate their facial expressions to appear to look happy when they are angry or sad actors do this convincingly all the time. Look for other cues as to how they really feel. Note her body language or tone of voice. Make eye contact open, penetrating "cold" eyes suggests a different emotional state than a "warm" smile. A genuine smile uses more muscles than one that is faked or forced. The corners of her mouth and cheeks should be raised. If the muscles around her eyes also tighten and "crow's feet" form (clusters of wrinkles around the outer corners of eyes), then it is a good indicator of a genuine smile. This might seem obvious, but people try to control or cover-up their true emotions by smiling when they are sad. Genuine and spontaneous emotions are hard to fake. Sadness is associated with frowning (lowering the corners of the mouth). It is also associated with raising the inner corners of the eyebrows (near the noise). Additional cues are loose, drooping eyelids that cover part of the eye. Anger and disgust are often associated with one another and create similar facial expressions. We wrinkle our noses when we are disgusted, angry, or annoyed. Anger and resentment can be towards someone or about something. When we are angry, we pull our eyebrows down, purse our lips (tighten them and suck-in the margins), and bulge our eyes. In contrast to anger, expressing dislike, disgust, or disdain for someone or something is associated with a raised upper lip and loose lower lip. We also pull our eyebrows down, but not as much as when we are angry. While fear is a negative and surprise is considered a positive emotion, both activate the sympathetic nervous system and trigger a "fight or flight" response. When something unexpected happens, whether it is good or bad, it stimulates a part of the brain that is outside of our direct control. When this happens, we pull up our eyebrows and eyelids so our eyes are wide open. When we are afraid, we also pull our eyebrows in (towards the nose), our pupils dilate (get bigger) to take in more light, and our mouth is open. We also tense up the muscles in our face, especially around our mouth and cheek. When we are surprised, we tend to arch our eyebrows and drop our jaw. Our mouth is open, and the muscles around it are relaxed and loose.
Summary: Take note of her facial expressions. Recognize a genuine smile. Distinguish sadness from happiness. Recognize anger and disgust. Recognize fear and surprise.