August

I'm not sure how August snuck up on us so quickly, but here we are and it's August 19th already! Summertime, can you PLEASE slow down just a little? I don't feel like I've had a real chance to enjoy you yet and even though autumn is usually my favorite season, this year it means big changes and I am not ready for them!

We've had a pretty eventful month so far. My brother finally left for Sweden. I miss him already and it's weird to think that the next time I see him he'll have a kid and so will I. Did I mention how I'm not ready for that yet? To bid Rob and Lorena farewell, we decided to get together for dinner with them in D.C. one last time. I took a day off of work and we drove up to D.C. early to tour the Taiwan Embassy. The Consular Director ended up taking us out to lunch and driving us to the Ambassador's residence where they greet their Taiwanese guests. I had no idea such a home existed in D.C. -- it was incredible and Brian loved it because that meant he got to do something different in D.C. instead of all the things I usually make him do (which we still ended up doing later in the month anyway), plus he got to practice his Chinese.

Here's the Ambassador's residence:

Here's the inside -- it was all decorated in Chinese decor (I don't have any good pictures of that yet), which was beautiful.

Just a random shot of Brian (and a security guard) at the Supreme Court. Brian took a similar shot of me, but I look like I am about 200 lbs in it, so it will not be posted here.

Afterward we met up with all my siblings for an excellent steak dinner . . . and then we wished Rob and Lorena good luck and sent them off on their Swedish adventure!

Brian's sister Aleesha is staying with us for a few weeks while she completes a pharmacy internship. We're trying to keep her entertained every weekend while she is here. Our first stop was the White House (we also met up with France and Lindsay while we were there and had an amazing lunch at Old Ebbitt--I wish I would have taken a picture of my food it was SOOO good!).

That's it for now -- more to come!

Email Pet Peeve

I like email. I email a lot. Seriously. A LOT. For example, yesterday alone I sent out 63 emails (according to my "sent items") in an 8-hour period. And yesterday was just an average work day. During really busy days I probably send out even more than that. As a result of all this emailing and writing that I do, I type pretty fast. The last time I did an official typing test I believe it was somewhere around 75-80 wpm. Therefore, I do not think it takes any extra time to type out an entire word versus an abbreviation of that word -- especially when the word is already short to begin with. Maybe it will take a millisecond longer to type out the word in its entirety, but if you don't think you have that kind of time you seriously need to take a deep breath and slow down!

Example: I frequently send emails to my boss with items she has requested, documents for her review, etc. Her response is usually this: "Thx!" Excuse me? Thx? What is that? Was my article that I just spent several hours writing not worth enough to you to put forth the extra millisecond it would take to type the 3 extra characters in "thanks"? Are you really that busy? Every time I get her "thx" I try to come up with some justification for it in my head, but I just can't. In fact, I just timed myself and it actually took me a half-second longer to type "thx" as opposed to "thanks" because it's such an unnatural "word" to type that I had to put more effort into it. Seriously, thx? What lazy person came up with that?

Okay, that's all. It's Friday. You know it's a slow day at work when you've only sent out 21 emails. Thx for letting me vent!

Happy Anniversary!

July 14, 2007

We made it to two -- the best decision I've ever made! I love you, Brian!

It's a . . .

BOY!!!

Welcome to Richmond!

*My little cousin Michael Jeppesen (okay, he's not so little anymore since he surpassed the 6-foot mark long ago) was called to serve in the Richmond, Virginia mission. Michael and his twin brother Kirk (who was called to Ghana, Africa) are more than just cousins to me (whether they like it or not). Since I never had younger brothers of my own, these two more or less filled those shoes. Despite the age difference, I can't think of anyone we had more fun with growing up (was it because we were so immature that we just related better? I don't know!). Since they're from the Rexburg, Idaho area, I was always envious that my sisters, who both went to Ricks College, got to hang out with them so often. Michael leaves for the MTC tomorrow and I hope he knows that although I probably won't be able to see him very often (unless he gets put in my ward), that he'll have someone nearby who is praying for him!

(Downtown Richmond)

Dear Michael (I mean Elder Jeppesen),

I honestly thought you were lying when you called to tell me you were called to serve in the Richmond, Virginia Mission. What are the chances? I'm sure you've had time to research all about it, but I wanted to share some of my favorite parts of the "mission" with you:

See this -- yeah, that's a cotton plant. Yes, cotton! There are cotton plantations in Virginia. Welcome to the south! By the way, you should probably know that you should never refer to Virginia as the STATE of Virginia. You'll get shot. Here it's the COMMONWEALTH of Virginia. Weird? Yeah, I know.

Although Kirk may be going to a place that some people refer to as the foundations of civilization, you will be going to where the foundation of America began. This is Jamestown, Virginia -- the first permanent English settlement in America.

Maybe on your p-day you and your companion can dress up like this and take pictures to send back to your family. Your mom will probably hang them on the fridge and brag about you:

What we have next is one of my favorites: Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson located in Charlottesville, Virginia. If you are lucky, maybe they'll send you here during the fall . . .

When it looks like this . . . (you don't see this back west!)

Lastly, this is Williamsburg. Another one of my favorite places to visit. And yes, people really do dress up like this and perform regularly . . .

If I had more time, I could make this post really, really long because there are so many things about Virginia that I love. Lucky for you, this is where it ends. You'll get to experience it all for yourself soon enough! I love you, Michael! Hopefully we'll run into each other somewhere in the Commonwealth soon.

Love,

Brittany

Happy Father's Day!

I don't know what I'd do without this man. He's always had a special place in my heart and I cherish every moment I get with him--especially now that we live thousands of miles apart. I think it took me awhile to find the right guy to marry because no one came close to comparing to my dad.

Thanks, Dad, for always being there for me. Thanks for flying out to the East Coast to see us at least 3 (sometimes more) times a year. Thanks for holding us to high standards and teaching us to be our best. Thanks for always keeping the Gospel strong in our home and for being a good example. Thanks for having a great sense of humor and for always making me laugh. Thanks for always knowing the right thing to say and do. And most importantly, thanks for being my dad! I sure do love you!

Lastly, Brian wouldn't be the man he is without the great example of his father. I had an easy time transitioning into the Richman family partly because Brian's dad was so wonderful and made me feel so welcome.

Happy Father's Day!!!

One Big Happy Family

My mom just sent me these pictures -- three decades of the Candrian family. They were too good not to share.

1988: Times were so simple back then and I didn't even realize it. I was 7-years-old and my biggest worries were probably whether to flip my bangs out or curl them under . . . Rob probably had no idea that someday he would lose that thick red hair. The things no one tells you when you're that young . . .

1998: 17-years-old and probably 15 lbs lighter (okay, with my recent weight gain it may be more like 25 lbs lighter). Rob left on his mission the next month and when he came back two years later, Amy didn't look like the Amy he used to know . . . Also hopefully we were out of our puka shell necklace stage by the time he got back (probably not though -- I think I hung on to those shell necklaces for years).

2008: Still one big happy family . . . with two new additions (and two more currently on the way).