Anniversary

We celebrated our 4th anniversary on July 24. Noel had the day off from his internship and I decided to take the day off so we could spend the day together. We headed to Newport Beach/Balboa Island and had a fantastic day. The weather was great and we spent the day walking around the town, stopping in shops, and eating.

We were told by my friend, Meredith, that we had to try a "Balboa Bar" (vanilla ice cream dipped in chocolate and then dipped in a topping of your choice...we chose nuts). Thanks for the tip, Meredith! It was delicious!

Here we are on Newport Pier. We ended up eating a late lunch at a restaurant on the end of the pier. It was a great setting. We were sitting on the second floor, outside, overlooking the ocean and enjoyed a glass of Chardonnay with our fresh fish sandwiches. Yum!

Earthquake

You may have heard that LA was hit with an earthquake yesterday. I (Heidi) am actually at a conference in Niagara Falls, NY, so I missed all the excitement (kind of a bummer after living there 3 years and never feeling a quake!). I just wanted to let you know that all is well in our home and everyone's okay. I talked to Noel last night and he said a few books fell over, but that's about it. He was at work when it happened, but everything is fine there as well. Needless to say, I was freaking out when I heard about it and wasn't able to get a hold of him, but am much calmer now. I can't wait to get home tonight!

Old vs. New

Since I started working from home about a year ago, Noel and I always planned for me to get a new desk when we moved. We didn't think it would be worth investing in for such a short time, since we never planned on staying here and wanted to move as little furniture as possible. Well, since we decided to stay for another 4 years, we thought it was about time to improve my workspace. No more working on a tiny desk and staring at a white wall all day. That gets old really quickly! My new desk is so much bigger, gives us much more storage and is in a corner by our front window. What a difference! I love it so much. And I've handed down my tiny desk to Noel, who can now work at a desk rather than the dining room table. I'm happy, he's happy, and life is good in Snyderville.

My old desk.

My new desk (to the left is a big window). Once we paint, the desk will stand out more and look fantastic. I can't wait!

Make it stop!

Busy day at the Snyderville blog, I know. But I felt like I needed to let out a cyber-scream. The occasion? Those wonderful red contraptions pictured above. Here goes: "Aaaaaaaaaah! Make it stop!"

Those red things are high-powered fans that have been set up at the base of the building next door to try to dry out its nether-regions after a big plumbing problem. They have been running non-stop for 3 days now, right outside our window. Imagine someone turned on a shop-vac in your living room and left it running for 72 hours. That's what it sounds like around here, with no sign of relief. They were just here checking it (they turned it off for a second and the knot in my stomach relaxed for a moment), but they decided it is still wet down there. Aaaaaah! I'm a seminarian on the edge!

A Great Heidi Lunch

Today Heidi decided to have a random assortment of who-knows-what for lunch. When she got it all assembled and sat down to eat, I thought it was so funny I had to take a picture of it. It was like her own little buffet. Included in the meal were (starting at the top and going clockwise): a bowl of yogurt with raspberries and granola, cherry tomatoes, baby carrots, green peppers, two types of crackers, red bell peppers, a homemade fruit smoothie, hummus (for dipping the veggies in), and five layer bean dip. A great lunch, huh?

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Here's to you as you turn 52
Just a year ago we were at the zoo
Two years before we were on the shore
Downing fruit smoothies and asking for more
We took this picture of you in that haven
But of course you look different now that you've shaven
Have a great day and eat lots of cake
It's your fifty-second birthday, for heaven's sake!

Happy birthday, Dad!

Watch

I think my new watch has an attitude. I finally had to get a new watch after my old one of 5 years (which only cost $12!) gave out. I think I definitely got my money's worth out of that one! Anyway, my new watch stops every night while I'm sleeping. I don't think there's anything wrong with the battery because it runs fine during the day; it never slows down or stops. It doesn't stop at a particular time either, so I don't think there's anything wrong with the action. I think it just has an attitude problem. Maybe it thinks, "You're sleeping, so I'm going to sleep, too". Who knows.