Man Tag!

Mark, age 17, surfing at Nags Head beach, NC

9/27/08

So, I 've been tagged again. I'm starting to feel unnaturally popular...

What's your husband's name? Mark Toy Yoder (Toy was his father's Chinese last name before he was adopted by the Yoder's).

How long have you guys been married? 7 years this December.

How long did you date? Almost 3 years, if you count his mission. We sent letters back and forth every week while he was in Brazil for two years.

How old is he? He just turned 30 last month.

Who eats more sweets? Hmmmm. He eats a lot of cookies, but I am a chocoholic, and he DOESN'T REALLY LIKE CARAMEL. What is the matter with this man?? (Oh, wait. Mark wants to rebuff. He says he likes it-- but he's just not into the whole buy-a-bag-of-Kraft-and-inhale-every-last-one thing that I am.)

Who said "I love you" first? I did. He was on the phone in Brazil and I had gone over to his parent's house for his first Christmas phone call. He was a little shocked, I think.

Who is taller? Mark, by 6 inches.

Who is the better singer? I am.

Who is smarter? I would say I am better at spelling and grammar, but he is definitely better at math and abstract stuff. (Which way is north?.. Where did we park the car?.. Where are we, anyway?..) We were on an even keel with science until he decided to get his Master's.

Who does the laundry? Ususally me. I am obsessed with removing stains (I want whoever invented Oxi Clean to win a Nobel Prize) and love laundry products. Mark helps sometimes, but he refuses to fold fitted sheets.

Who pays the bills? I do.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Mark.

Who mows the lawn? Mark. I've never done it before.

Who cooks dinner? Mostly me, but Mark is more motivated now that we have a grill (there's something about cooking with fire that men can't resist...). And he makes better chocolate chip cookies than I do.

Who drives? If we're together, Mark prefers to. Apparently it is more manly, as is pushing the shopping cart or stroller instead of just dawdling alongside.
Who is the first to say they are wrong? ME, because I'm always the one screwing up. Mark is the most benevolent person and never does anything wrong. So I find myself groveling a lot.

Who kissed who first? Mark, but he was cute and asked me permission first. I was like, "Ummm no one has ever kissed me before-- OK, sure.."

Who asked out who first? Well, technically, Mark's dad Frank set us up (which I know he is quite proud of). He was teaching our Sunday School class and wanted to get us together. So he asked Mark to teach class for him one week while he was gone, and suggested that he ask me to help him with the lesson. So Mark had an excuse to ask me out for dinner, and we really did read over the lesson on that first date.

Who wears the pants? I just asked Mark his opinion on this and he said, "Madelyn does. She's the boss in this family!" (That's true.) But I think I am more opinionated about what goes on in the home, and Mark is happy to let me do a lot of the decision making. It turns out that surfers really are a more laid-back brand of people.

I love you, dearest!! Thanks for being such a sweetie!

I tag: Let's see..... Amy, Amber, Melodie, Nadia, and Rashahn

New camera!!!

9/26/08

I wish I could add sound effects to my post. Then I could have a dramatic "Waaaaahhhhh" with a trumpet fanfare to unveil my new digital camera, which finally got here today via FedEx. (Mark, upon arriving home last week, saw that the old one was indeed broken, and seized the opportunity to take the whole thing apart just for the heck of it. Then we threw it away. It was very final.)

I could have picked one of these up at any number of stores around here, but they only carried the plum color, and Mark said that for his sake, I shouldn't get the plum. There was also bronze and black, but I chose the blue. So here's what it looks like: my Nikon Coolpix S210!


It's about the size of a deck of cards, but thinner. (It's the same one you see in that Ashton Kutcher commercial.) I got it for $147 at BuyDig.com and it came with a free memory card. Sweet deal. I just needed a point and shoot, and this one is high quality and high performance (for the price) and my favorite thing about it is that it is FAST. Now I can hopefully not waste so many pictures trying to capture Madelyn at her usual whirlwind speed.

For any of you technical people out there who want to see the specs, here's a link:

www.nikonusa.com/Find-Your-Nikon/Product/Digital-Camera/26103/COOLPIX-S210.html

Prepare to be inundated with new photos soon. It has very irritating not being able to take any instant, uploadable, free pictures (as opposed to the portraits I took with my other camera--$17 for the film and then $25 for processing) for the past 2 1/2 weeks.

PS. Happy birthday to my fabulous sister-in-law Lori!! You are awesome!

Random Stuff

9/23/08

I had the following conversation with Mark yesterday:

Mark: Madelyn has decided that I am Spider-man and she is Batman.
Me: So what am I? (...No answer from Madelyn)
Mark: Ummm, Catwoman?
Me: A villian?! There's Superman, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles...
Mark: You can be Wolverine.
Me: OK.

So there you have it. I am a hairy mutant with a hot temper and an adamantium-fused skeleton. Perfect.


I've been wanting to share some recipes with you all--here's one I made up that turned out pretty delish, if you ask me:

Spinach Salad with Zesty Chicken Strips

5-6 skinless chicken tenderloins
5 oz. package fresh baby spinach, washed and dried
Small can mandarin oranges, drained
1/3 cup toasted walnuts, chopped coarsely (toast on med-high heat in dry skillet until brown)
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes
1/3 cup Craisins
1/3 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1/3 cup scallions (green onions), sliced

Marinade for chicken:
2/3 cup Italian salad dressing
1 Tbsp red chili powder
1 Tbsp cilantro flakes, or 2 Tbsp. fresh chopped cilantro

Coat chicken with dressing and sprinkle with chili powder and cilantro on both sides. Cover and marinate in fridge for at least 10 minutes, or up to an hour.

Coat skillet with nonstick-spray and cook chicken on med-high heat. Allow outside to get a little crispy and dark. Take off heat when internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. Set aside.

When chicken is cool enough to handle, cut into strips and place on top of tossed salad. Serve with poppy seed dressing or raspberry-walnut vinaigrette. Serves 4.

Try it, it's good! And since it's a salad, the measurements don't have to be exact. Just add however much you want to make it as big or as small as you need it to be. MMMmmmm. Here are links to a couple other recipes you simply must try:



Deep Dark Chocolate Cheesecake
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/236209








Frozen Sorbet Pie
http://www.readycrust.com//recipe_detail_template.aspx?recipeid=1240

OK, Liz has tagged me. In turn, I am tagging Mom, Monica, Marilee, Rachel B. and Natalie.

10 Years Ago, I Was:
1. 17 and in my senior year of high school
2. Going to ballet 4-5 times a week
3. 6 months away from meeting Mark for the first time
4. Trying to grow out my bangs, because I realized they officially don't work for me
5. Wanting to go into dance medicine. (I was putting together my Sterling Scholar in Dance portfolio. It sounded good. And I won at the regional level, thank you very much.) Although looking back now, I don't know how I would have ever gotten a job. Do you know of ANYONE with that career? Well, I still think it would have been cool.

5 Things on Today's "To-Do" List:
1. Pay bills because we finally got another student loan installment
2. Put away laundry
3. Get the bird poop off my windshield
4. Go run errands (Mark thinks it's ridiculous how I never seem to have a day when there aren't errands to be run. What he doesn't realize is that sometimes they're just my secret ploy to get out of the house.)
5. Make a real dinner so we don't end up just having cookies, which is what we all had for breakfast.

5 Snacks I Enjoy
1. Cranberry Almond Crunch cereal
2. Pop Weaver microwave popcorn
3. Yogurt drinks
4. Green chile cheese bagels
5. Cheeto puffs

5 Things I Would Do If I Were A Millionaire
1. Pay off student loans
2. Buy a house
3. Buy Mark a Toyota Tacoma and me a Nissan Xterra
4. Go to Europe and the Caribbean
5. Save for a rainy day (I'm sorry, Ty. I'd have to be a multi-millionaire before I'd lend any to you.)

5 Places I Would Like To Visit:
1. Disneyland with Madelyn, to watch her be in Princess heaven
2. Paris
3. Italy
4. Germany
5. London

5 Jobs I Have Had
1. Massage Therapist at Red Mountain Spa
2. Ballet teacher at Ballet Arts of Southern Utah
3. Cashier at Robert's Crafts
4. Mom
5. Jewelry designer for Desert Rain Designs--at least I could call it a job if I were making any money...

Whew. Now I should really get off my tush and do something else. But I can't stand the lack of pictures (that I took, I should say), so here's a few more of Madelyn. I took over 60 of her the other day, so there are plenty you haven't seen. Thanks for all the great comments about her photo shoot! She is the most adorable little girl! And I have to say she has been much better behaved since Mark has come home. Hallelujah, indeed.

Bragging Rights

9/21/08

**DISCLAIMER**
I love to take pictures. I have a beautiful daughter who is 3 3/4 years old today. Every year, I do a photo shoot with her (see below). Portrait studios do not sit well with this girl. I tried taking her when she turned one (turned out pretty cute--she couldn't run away yet) and then two (it was a disaster). Even I can't get her to pose and look at a camera. So I opt to chase her around and try to capture real-life moments. I love the results--and since I'm the photographer, I have rights to all the negatives! Bwa ha ha ha ha! Take that, Sears!!!
(Not to mention it doesn't cost me $200.)

So I am going to go ahead and barrage you with all the ones that turned out this year, even if it means way too many pictures. But you can go ahead and tell me which ones you like. I took these with my film SLR camera (my new digital one is ordered and on its way) and I'm going to give a shameless plug for Kodak Portra 400 ISO film, because it makes all the difference. Thanks, Grandma Nora, for letting me use your yard two years in a row.

Madelyn as a chunky 4-month-old

16-month-old

2 1/2-year-old

3 3/4 year-old (Look! She has hair!!)

Twirling

A
One of the rare ones--we've got eye contact and a smile!

B

C

D

E

F
So sweet

G

H
Look at that skin!!

I

J

K

L
This is my desktop picture. I LOVE it.

M

N
Grandma's zinnias

O

P

Q

R
She loves being a princess!

S

T
I love her laugh

U
She was trying to catch a butterfly

V

W

X
She thinks dandelions are the greatest

Y

Z
I love this even with the flowers in her face

Fabulous, right? Sometimes I impress even myself. ;) If I had to choose my favorites, (the letters go beneath the pictures) they'd be A, D, E, F, H, I, J, L, R, T, U, Y and Z. Hmmmm. I'm going to need a lot more wall space in my house.

Four Down, Four to Go!

Mark Yoder, PA-S

9/18/08

Mark came home yesterday. Hurrayyyyy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That was the longest 5 1/2 weeks of my life. Well, to tell you the truth, it wasn't all bad. I hardly had to do any laundry, cooking, dishes or grocery shopping while he was gone. I could stay up however late I wanted, go shopping a lot, and I didn't have to share this computer.

However, having to deal with Madelyn being sick for two weeks, then me getting sick, then Madelyn getting sick again, getting lost in Las Cruces, having a dead car battery, not knowing how to reprogram the DVD player, putting up with Madelyn's shenanigans 24/7 without any relief, and coping with an early miscarriage (I was 5 weeks) all on my own was something I'd rather not have to do again.

So for the time being, we are back together as a family. Mark's next rotation is here in Albuquerque doing surgery, but after that, he has to relocate once more to Española, 90 miles away. Then we'll be moving back to Utah. So it will be a busy fall coming up. I can't believe our time here has gone by so fast!

Outside the Cassie Health Center for Women

Anyway, Mark just completed his 4th rotation in Silver City, NM doing OB/GYN. He was working with Dr. Nwachuku, a Nigerian who has his own practice but also is head of surgery at the local hospital. He is a really nice person and Mark enjoyed his time working with him. He helped deliver two dozen babies and also assisted with surgeries--C-sections, tubal ligations, hysterectomies, ectopic pregnancy, cancer and exploratory surgeries. He loves surgery and is excited to be doing some more of it soon. He has always been good with his hands.

Madelyn decorated this cake for daddy. She used orange gel piping, four kinds of sprinkles, and Halloween sugar bats, spiders and witches. She is SOOO excited to have him home!

Well, here is when I'd be showing you more pictures from our week, (the ones shown were taken a while ago, or with my film camera) but I still haven't replaced my recently mangled digital camera, so you'll just have to take my word for what happened:

• An incident involving Madelyn (in her jammies) sitting in the bathroom sink with the water going, and about 10 soggy mellocreme pumpkins...
• A baby powder free-for-all in Madelyn's room. She looked like a Geisha girl, she was so white
• Followed by a bath in the kitchen sink (why not?), which is now her favorite place for baths
• Madelyn attempting to "fly" on her new plastic and tinsel witch broom
• A car battery so dead (from having left lights on in the car--Madelyn likes to see what she's doing at night when we're driving) that it took two different battery chargers, a neighbor's Cadillac, two sets of jumper cables, 6 tries and a half an hour to get started again
• We registered as Democrats

Actually, I did take some video of Madelyn taking a bath in the sink, and it's so cute that if I can ever find the right cables (Mark, where are you?? He's left again to go do paperwork at the hospital downtown), I will post it.

Poll

9/15/08

This is something that I was thinking about a couple months back, but never got around to posting. For some reason, I was pondering what animals we are most similar to. It probably stems from when I was in pageants as a teenager, and a question from one of the interviews was "If you were an animal, what animal would you be?" (Not exactly sure what that's got to do with representing one's city...) I said a cheetah, because I was "fast and sleek." Huh? To this day I still don't know why I said that. I should mention that I was 14 and so nervous that I was ready to die.

Sooo, after much soul-searching on a car ride home with Mark one night, I concluded that if I were an animal I would be: a beaver.
I know, I couldn't choose anything less glamorous. But I am fairly hardworking and fastidious about most things. Hopefully the rodent/large buckteeth thing doesn't apply.

But specifically, I am comparing myself to Mrs. Beaver, from The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. Remember how Peter, Susan and Lucy were with the beavers when they discover Edmund had left and betrayed them to the White Witch, and they are expecting a pack of wolves to come for them at any moment? Everyone except Mrs. Beaver throws their coat on and makes a beeline for the door, but she insists on packing food, handkerchiefs and tea things for everyone first, and then wonders if her sewing machine would be too heavy to carry along. ("I can't abide the thought of that Witch fiddling with it.") And then later, when they agree it was a good idea to pack the food after all, but that they'd be sleeping in a hole in the ground, she says, "If you hadn't all been in such a plaguey fuss when we were starting, I'd have brought some pillows."

I can sense some of you agreeing with this comparison in your minds already.

I decided that Mark is like a dolphin: Highly intelligent and social, but mostly prefers to have fun frolicking in the surf.

Madelyn (although this was a toss-up between a monkey), is most like a hummingbird: Small and feisty, zipping around from one thing to the next, and can survive solely on sugary liquids.


So I would really like to know--if you were an animal, what animal would you be? Discuss.