Poopers, Pointers and Scoopers

My friend and neighbor, Tod Schroeder, told me a great little story a few years ago and it has really stuck with me.  It's a story about a guy walking his dog when the dog poops on the lawn at the park.  He just ignores it and continues on.  Plenty of people stop to point it out and complain, but only ONE person actually cleans it up.  The moral of the story is that there are basically three kinds of people - the people who create problems (poopers), the people who point out problems (pointers), and the people who solve problems (scoopers).  I guess there could be a fourth group - those that just don't care about the poop in the first place, but I think firmly believe that if you are not part of the solution, you are automatically part of the problem, so I would have to group those people in with the poopers or pointers.  I am such a SCOOPER!  I am always busy trying to solve the world's problems.  Maybe that's why I never have time to blog!  Well, that, and I never really do anything interesting enough to share...

I truly believe I was born to scoop - that's why I am always the first to sign up for PTA president or volunteer for a service project.  I think that often times scoopers have the hardest job.  I have been SO discouraged when I think I am helping.  Some people don't want your help, many people want to tell you how to help but don't actually want to participate in helping, and other times you feel like you're beating your head against a brick wall because the task at hand is so overwhelming.  But I honestly can't sleep at night if I know that I am not helping with all the things that I could or should.   I can't help but think that if I don't do it, nobody will.  And when you are the scooping example, it's amazing how many people around you follow suit. 

So, I guess my random thought for the day is - BE A SCOOPER!  I have accepted that I can't change the world, but that doesn't mean I can't change my little corner of the world :)  Happy Scooping!

Don't Judge Me

Words to live by.  It's my new favorite saying from my new favorite blog - Vintage Revivals.  There's a link to the blog on the right.  Check it out - I promise you'll love it.  "Don't Judge Me" just sums up my life.  I'm sure many of you live perfect lives with clean houses and top-of-the-class kids, but I don't.  I have been scuzzed off plenty of times for hitting the grocery store in my pajamas or letting my kids snarf cupcakes and Slurpees instead of eating dinner.  Oh, well.  Those people don't know what they're missing.  Here's the latest less-than-perfect happenings at the Lang house.  And remember - don't judge me :)

 

Each of my kids gets their room redecorated for their birthday this year.  Carter was up first in January.  He chose the paint, accessories and bedding.  I LOVE the orange.  Throw in a few skateboard silhouettes, a Beatles poster (there are more framed posters above the dresser, but that's obviously not in this pic), hang a few guitars on the wall (come to think of it, maybe I will post a pic of the other wall, it's pretty cool) and you have a room that SCREAMS "Carter".  His bedding is pretty cool, but you'll just have to take my word for it.  If I waited to take the picture on a day when he made his bed and cleaned his room, the picture would never get taken.  Remember, don't judge me.

 

Maddie's room was up next in March, but we actually did it over Spring Break in April.  Pick some beautiful gray paint, add some Pottery Barn bedding, sew some accent pillows and create some awesome magnet boards, create a wall of fabric, then throw some dirty socks on the floor and never make the bed.  That's pretty much Maddie's room in a nutshell. Remember, don't judge me.

Lunch with Jen and Victoria - yay!  I served in the Primary presidency with these ladies when we were in Midvale.  Now we have each moved out of the neighborhood and had sort of lost touch.  So when Jen suggested we have a little reunion lunch, I was all over it.  We were just missing Georgia, but we'll get her next time.  I have a photo almost identical to this one that was taken years ago when we were serving together.  I keep it on my nightstand because I love to surround myself with things that remind of happy times and good friends.  Maybe I'll have to add this one to the frame.  I don't know what happened in this pic, but I look like I have had some bad plastic surgery or something.  Whatever.  Don't judge me.

We have entered the world of competitive jazz dance.  Um, yikes.  Masey has a great team and we love the studio she is at.  I just don't know that I love the competitions.  When I look around at the crowd I just think, "I didn't know that the white trash population in Utah was this high."  Can you remember the scene in The Blind Side where the mom turns around and yells at a belligerent spectator and basically tells him to shut his mouth or she'll shut it for him?  Those people congregate at the dance competitions.  I digress.  The bottom line is that Masey loves to dance and is having fun.  She belongs to a team that is definitely not white trash and has a wonderful teacher.  She also loves dancing with her good friend, Emma, who is in the photo with her.  It makes the hours of curling hair all worth it, even if we are headed to a tacky dance competition.  Remember, don't judge me. 

I'm sure you've heard of those evil moms who don't document every minute of their kids' lives with photos.  Well, I'm one of those moms.  This is one of the only pictures I have of Easter.  Thank goodness Auntie Karen had an Easter party, or I probably wouldn't even have this!  I'm sure my kids will be scarred for life because I don't take my camera everywhere I go, but remember, don't judge me.

 The annual Red and White game at the U.  It always falls on the weekend right near John's birthday, so this is what he loves to do every year.  We all head over to the campus bookstore after the game and load up on new Ute apparel.  Then John and I make the kids walk around campus and tell them all the stories from the "good ol' days".  Yes, Maddie looks like she is wearing a trucker hat.  Remember, don't judge me.

Ah, St. George.  One of my favorite places on Earth.  Ah, the Bedingfields.  Some of my favorite people on Earth.  Combine the two and you have a dreamy weekend.  Too bad it was cold and rainy, but we made the most of it.  Junk food, dominoes, hiking, Pizza Factory...I want to go back just thinking about it.  My favorite part about the Bedingfields is that they don't judge me. :)

My glass and brass palace is slowly but surely making a change for the better.  Just this week we got new stainless steel appliances!  Woot woot!  The next step is to refinish the cabinets and I think the kitchen will feel brand new!  If you look closely, you can see my reflection in the oven door.  Yes, I'm crouching down just to take a picture of my new oven to post on my blog so that everyone will tell me how awesome I am and I can feel good about myself.  Don't judge me.

Red velvet cupcakes made in the new oven.  This was a cause for celebration - we have been without an oven for 8, count them - EIGHT weeks!  That's what you get for picking a special order range, I guess.  How did I manage to feed a family of five for 8 weeks with no oven?  I'm just a genius.  Ha ha.  Thank goodness for our roaster and crock pot.  Plus, the stove still functioned and the barbecue came in handy more than once.   Maddie was so excited about perfecting the Georgetown Cupcakes signature frosting swirl.  And yes, I do have half-naked Barbies and various other junk cluttering up my island at any given time.  Don't judge me. 

Maddie is 15!

We celebrated Maddie's birthday on Saturday, March 12.  At our house, every birthday begins with breakfast in bed.  Then we spent the day shopping for new stuff for her room (all my kids get to redecorate their rooms for their birthdays this year) and ended with dinner at GoodWood - Maddie's favorite restaurant.  I can't believe she's 15 - it is so fun to have a daughter to do all the "girlie" stuff with.  We love to go shopping, eat junk food, watch chick flicks, make up awesome dances to Justin Beiber, etc.  She is so beautiful, smart, funny, SOOO kind and generous, and worthy of every compliment I can think of.  It is so fun watching her grow up and I can't wait to see what the next few years hold for her.  We love you, Maddie!

Waffles for breakfast

Okay - she is not sneezing, just blowing out the candle :)  We had to settle for a tiramisu Vintage Cupcake this year because our oven officially died and we are currently awaiting the delivery of our new range. 

Monthly Update

Did I say I was going to blog once a month?  Well, I really meant approximately once a month.  I still have pictures from Masey's birthday at the beginning of December on my camera rather than on the computer, so it's a little tough to add any current photos :)  Madison took hundreds of pics from the swimming season (and hers have actually made it to the computer!), so I am posting some of those.

We have been as busy as ever.  Carter's basketball team celebrated an undefeated season and made it to the second round of the post-season tournament.  Now he is torn between wanting it to be warm so his soccer team can start practicing and wanting it to snow so he can hit the slopes with his friends a few more times this season.  He has been a snowboarder for a few years, but decided to take on skiing this year and is loving the challenge. 

Madison graduated from Suzuki Level 4 in violin and participated in the ASTA Stringfest (I think that's the right name for it) at Weber State.  She is now preparing for the solo and ensemble festival through Weber School District at the end of March, where she will be playing both the bass and the violin.  I would love to post some pics of her playing, but she has a knack for standing right behind someone else and all of our photos / videos consist of random kids with Maddie's bow poking out from behind someone's shoulder.  She is swimming with the Barracuda swim team during the off-season to improve her skills for next year's high school swim season.  She decided against trying out for water polo this year and has regretted it ever since.  She already has plans for next year's team. Maddie is also celebrating her 15th birthday on March 12.  I can't wait for her to get her learner's permit and hit the road!  I'm sure I shouldn't be wishing for her to grow up too fast, but it will be so nice for her to be able to drive herself to her activities and lessons next year. 

Masey has been busy with her dance team.  They are preparing for the dance competition season.  This is a first for our family, so keep your fingers crossed that she has fun!  I am just nervous that I am not up to curling that much hair for every competition and arguing with Masey over who gets to apply her makeup.  She loves to do her own makeup, which can be interesting :)  She is our resident drama queen and sweetheart rolled into one.  Her latest obsession is love notes.  She writes a note for everyone in the family each day and puts it under our pillows for us to read when we go to bed.  She even writes sweet notes for the dog.

I am going to start posting some of my favorite Cooking Light recipes - I figure if my family enjoys them, yours might as well.  Look for the first installment sometime this week.

Maddie swimming the butterfly - I'm not sure if this is the individual medley or the team medley.

Maddie on the block for her leg of the girls' 200 freestyle relay.

We're baaaaack....

After giving up blogging entirely, and then remembering that my previous blog wouldn't allow for comments, I have turned over a new leaf. Blogging helps me keep track of my life in a semi-organized fashion, and I hope that you will enjoy reading my blog as much as I love keeping in touch with all my family and friends through their blogs. I also love to get new ideas and insights from other people, and I think blogs are a great way to do that. So, onward and upward with my blogging efforts. :)

I have set a new goal for myself - I am going to blog AT LEAST once a month for the entire 2011 year. It's mostly for me. Time flies and before I know it, another year is gone and my memories start to fade. Thank goodness for digital photography and online scrapbooking :) I just realized that I am on the laptop and all my pics are on the desktop, so I'll post some favorite ones later.

Brief update on the Langs:

John is busier than ever at work. The economy gave us a run for our money last summer, but we hung in there and thanks to John's extra efforts, the business is now doing better than ever. Work consumed most of John's life during 2010, but he managed to find some time to squeeze in a new hobby - road biking. We have the greatest neighbors and friends who already bike, so John joined forces with them and has been biking ever since. The obsession with Utah football still runs deep at the Lang house, and John loves his season tickets more than life itself. He was completely distraught that we didn't make the trip to the Vegas bowl this year. He is already planning our fall trips to follow the Utes around the country.

I am busier than ever with Maddie, Carter and Masey. I am literally counting down the days until we have one more driver - Maddie turns 16 next year, which means I have additional help getting everyone where they need to be. I love that my kids are busy, but some days are ridiculous. I am still serving as the Primary president - this makes year 13 for me serving in a Primary presidency in one capacity or another. I guess they'll just leave me here until I get it right :) I really do love it. The kids are fantastic and I work with some of the best people around. I still worship Cooking Light as a second religion and I have big projects coming up this spring / summer with yard renovations.

Maddie is a superstar. She does EVERYTHING - and I mean EVERYTHING! She is currently on the Weber High swim team and also participates in the Orion Jr. High orchestra. She plays the bass in orchestra and continues with her private violin lessons. For Christmas she got a bass guitar and is teaching herself to play the piano as well. Throw in voice lessons, Young Women, homework, snowboarding, and hanging out with friends, and you have no time left over. I don't know how she squeezes it all in. I just pick her up and toss her in bed when she finally collapses at the end of the day :)

Carter is 11. That pretty much sums it up. He loves to be in the middle of everything and rarely stops talking (much to my dismay, many times). He is into anything and everything physical - skateboarding, soccer, basketball, baseball, snowboarding and swimming. He is literally ALWAYS moving. The only sport that he hasn't shown any interest in is football. As a mom, that is just fine with me :) School is just a minor road bump in his social life and he lives for weekends when he can hang out with friends. He is also playing the guitar and we have just started with a new teacher that he loves - it's funny how a beautiful, cool guitar teacher can motivate you to practice :) John has been coaching Carter's basketball team for the past few seasons, and Carter is eating it up. They have so much fun and it's a great way for them to have a little time for themselves.

Masey just turned 6 in December. She LOVES being in Kindergarten and can't wait to get on the bus every morning. She is a girl's girl, and loves dance, tumbling and cheer. But she can also get down and dirty - she loves soccer, swimming and doing anything outside. We just have to make sure there is a diva outfit and a hot bath ready immediately afterward - she likes to look her best and hates to actually be dirty for very long. She plays the violin along with Madison and really loves her teacher. She is quite the social butterfly, and our house is often filled with friends.

We count our blessings every day and are so grateful for all that we have. Can't wait to see what 2011 will bring!