Oh Christmas Tree,

Every year my family chops down a Christmas tree in the mountains, and every year, it’s a fifteen-foot, asymmetrical, six-branched, Charlie Brown tree that we love unconditionally. This year we outdid ourselves; It is unclear how we failed to notice until we were back home, but our tree is seventy percent brown – not just “dead brown” but “diseased brown.” The point is, four cans of Snow-in-a-Can fixes that problem.

Happy Holidays,

britt

To Ammon, Idaho natives

Picture of and my brother, Spencer, and I country waltzing at my brother (Steven)'s wedding reception this weekend. It was, in fact, a barn dance. Colorado mountains, belt buckles, cowboy hats, fu manchus, and everything. Loved every single second. 

Fellow Country Mice,

There are rumble strips at various points across the Bay Bridge between San Francisco and Oakland; they are supposed to be a signal to drivers to slow down, and when I moved to San Francisco, my dad drove me across the Bay Bridge. It was a clear night, and we could see the whole skyline. I looked out over this amazing, beautiful city, and got excited about living in the middle of all that: shopping at big department stores, sight-seeing, eating at trendy restaurants, wearing fancy dresses, and having new, big, city-girl adventures. But then, when our little Camry drove across those rumble strips I thought, “Hmm. Why are there cattle guards on a bridge?”

Maybe I’m not so city mouse.

britt

hello family,

Page: thank you for the chocolate chip cookie recipe. You are the absolute best, and I love you. The ninjabread men cookie cutters were my gift to Spencer for Christmas. He got me ALL EIGHT HARRY POTTER MOVIES. My family is the best at gift giving, we love doing it, and we start months in advance. Steve got me a hot chocolate maker and some James Bond movies. Sam gave me my favorite sweat pants and a very sweet letter. Jules got me and Chris matching Perry the Platypus t-shirts since we're about to become the Perrys.

Two hours before Chris and I were supposed to head to Utah, I decided that, as a parting gift, I would leave behind chocolate chip cookies in The Greatest Shape Ever. I miss you, see you for New Years Eve,

- daughter, sister, chocolate chip cookie lover

Spencie,

I brought my computer to the office because my brother got his wisdom teeth taken out right after I did. I brought a movie to watch while he was in there, and then I just slept the whole time anyway - but not before taking this picture... which I have absolutely no memory of taking. 

Thank you for getting your wisdom teeth out with me. I was so scared. They hooked me up to a pulse monitor before the whole process started and I had a resting heart rate of 97. When the dentist came into the room it immediately jumped to 112. So thanks for being there that morning, and thanks for being here now for this Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter marathon. 

- girl with zero wisdom teeth and the best little brother ever

Family,

Friday I had dinner with my friends from school, and I got to eat some delicious food and  hear some hilarious travel stories. Saturday I went to an outdoor movie in Union Square with my friends from the ward. I'd never seen Roman Holiday before, and it is adorable.

Thanks for taking care of me the past few months, and thanks for checking up on me during the first week. Things I forgot over the summer:

• Four hours feels like an eternity when you only read 36 pages. In related news, hearsay is not my fave and "a brief history of American accounting, finance, and auditing" did not feel "brief."


• My hair gets bigger in humidity - not Monica big, but still.


• I love USF and the people I go to school with.


• It is wonderful to be in school with women (52% of the students) and be taught by women (3/4 of my professors).


• I'm registered for 600-level classes. Yikes.

- your favorite older thithter

to all my past passengers

 picture of the daisies at my house. there's like 200 white ones, and then this little pink guy.

Recall every time you've ever driven with me: You and I were going to that thing, and you feared not only for your own life, but also the safety of the drivers and pedestrians around us. I know I'm a terrible driver. I'll be the first to admit this. I've been pulled over. Many times.

Fast forward to today: People at work were figuring out who would drive to lunch. I declined for, oh, several hundred reasons. Reason #1, one of the passengers is a police officer - and he isn't patrol, he isn't security, he is a traffic guy. He knows all the rules.

Cut to the chase: me driving a cop and my boss on one really nervous burrito trip. It was bad.

- the girl who gave up driving for almost two years, and will continue to forgo driving for as long as she lives in California

dear accutane,

As soon as you were gone, I could tell. I tried to tell my Dad what it was like, but I couldn't find the right comparison. Like fog lifting, like waking up from a bad dream, like being lost and then finding home, like suddenly remembering the right answer on an exam... But I guess Dr. Seuss has the most accurate post-accutane description. "And what happened then? Well, in Who-ville they say that the Grinch's small heart grew three sizes that day! And the minute his heart didn't feel quite so tight, he whizzed with his load through the bright morning light, and he brought back the toys!"
Anyway, you left last Wednesday. And I think my heart grew three sizes. I just wish it had happened sooner.

- a post-Who-ville Grinch

Chimera,

picture from jen lee, who I love with all my heart.

I thought the first day of August would feel better, but it doesn’t. And it rained all day. “A rainstorm in the dessert” should be a symbol for relief, sustaining life, fresh starts. But the wind, the cold, the clouds, the rain… it all feels like an entirely different metaphor.

- an English major, who sees metaphor in everything

to the sea,

"The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears, or the sea" Isak Dinesen

This has been my calendar for July. This morning I decided to take Dinesen's advice with all three kinds of salt water. I worked in the morning, cried all day, and since I'm not near the sea, my family thought I could just learn how to wake board - which I did.
And it's not that I'm "cured" yet, but I made it through the day. I'll be back in about a month, I have missed you.

- wake boarder who can't actually get over the wake

Harry,

I'm excited to see you tomorrow. in 3D. These glasses are the best idea ever.

- 3D novice (never been to a 3D movie before)

Pam Dixon (Michelson),

1. I went four wheeling this weekend with my family and Paul. Do not let this picture mislead you. I almost never drove. 2. Ash - totally thought of you the whole time. We need to go do that together. 3. I have mixed feelings about wearings a Cubbies hat when I love the Giants so much and this post is about the Angels.

I'm sure you've heard this before, but this weekend I watched Angels in the Outfield, and I must say, great job casting Adrien Brody, Matthew MacConaughey, and Joseph Gordon Levitt all in one movie before they became super famous... seriously, amazing. I'm also excited to go see Green Lantern, which you were also the casting director for. You're the best, thanks for everything.

- appreciator of handsome men in classic movies

Spencie,

Thank you for setting up the hammock. Best surprise ever. I love you.

- your favorite person in our family

Dear Idaho,

When I was taking my property test, quite by accident I discovered that my “happy place” is in Ammon, Idaho. I was a little surprised, to be honest, but tonight spring was in full bloom and I remembered why I could endlessly savor these nights. My dad and I headed out to the garden to pick some rhubarb, and just being around the trees in my backyard is debilitating; the air around the thousands of lush apple blossoms is intoxicating. This smell is second only to the long-awaited rhubarb raspberry pies baking in the oven right now.

- rhubarb pie enthusiast

Martin Espada-

Between the fifth and sixth readings, Paul and I took my brothers up to school. I could not love them any more than I already do.

I learned about Pablo Neruda via your Republic of Poetry. I had a couple books I wanted to read over the break. And instead, I just read the Captain’s Verses (seven times). Here are some highlights:

For me you are treasure more laden
with immensity than the sea
(la infinita)

And when you appear
All the rivers sound
in my body, bells
shake the sky
and hymns fill the world.
(la reina)

Your whole body has
A fullness or a gentleness destined for me.
(el alfarero)

and the stolen branch

Dear 2010

picture of my brother lighting New Years bottle rockets.

You and I, we took on a lot.

Wounds I thought had healed, reopened.
Scars I'd hoped were permanent, faded.
Then some new scrapes
and band aids.

Law school.

A Kafkaesque romantic history in which we discovered that I
was actually the author of the (senseless)(menacing) complexity
And I felt like a lady.

We called six cities across the country "home."

Sometimes I got what I wanted/needed/deserved.

So many republicans.
So much (but not enough)
about contract law.

And thank you for all of that.
Here's to fresh starts
moving on
clean hands
blank slates
And taking root
settling down
staying put.

miss you already

britt

Dear Santa,

my roommates put Christmas in our living room while we watched White Christmas. I sat on the couch and worked on my criminal law outline... yes, I can see how that makes me a terrible roommate.

This year for Christmas I'd like some guilt-free free time. I want to read Catcher in the Rye and the Economist. And nestle in bed watching movies. And start filling out job/internship applications for the summer. I'll eat hummus and and drink hot chocolate, and not really care about anything except for how I'm going to decorate my apartment and what I'm going to wear on New Years Eve. I think my (hilarious and beautiful) friend Molly has it right: the problem isn't so much that I have no free time - it's that I feel guilty for every single second that I don't spend studying. This year for Christmas, it would be great it just relax.

britt

little Brittney,

We don't really get "the fall" in the Bay Area, so I loved this text that my mom sent me of the Aspens (my favorite tree) in front of our house.

One of my favorite Mark Twain quotes is, "History doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme." You'll read it next semester in Dr. Hickman's class. And while we're on the subject of your Sophomore year, I might as well tell you: it will not be awesome. Anyway, I just started law school, and my life "rhymes" with yours in the following (internet appropriate) ways:

• Homework all the time: 21 credits of a new major then, first year law student now
• Ross, Joey, Chandler, Phoebe, Rachel, and Monica are my best friends.
• Love my classes – even though I’m working way too hard
• A roommate obsessed with Korean soap operas
• Another brother about to go on a mission
• A frighteningly similar dating pattern
• A close friend from Sunnyvale
• Video chats and g-chat
• Accutane
• No car

Those things (and a few others) create an interesting rhyme scheme. It's kind of eerie, like Poe's "Telltale Heart," or Spears' "Baby One More Time." I think the similarities would freak me out if I wasn't so happy here. The good news is, and hear this on every level, as not awesome as your life is now, I'm doing it better this time around. It's awesome.

britt

Doug,

Thanks for taking me out on your Gold Wing. I've wanted to do something like this since the second grade and I found out Erica Gardner's parents were bikers. Then there was Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Then there was a huge biker community in Central New York... Hyperbole aside, I genuinely believe my life has been building up to the trips we took this week. I loved the ride to Jackson - I haven't been there since I was sixteen. I loved watching a full moon rise over the Tetons listening to Ave Maria. I even loved being rained on through Palisades. In 30 years, when I pay off the massive student loans I just accepted, I'm buying a bike and going to Canada. That's how much I loved it all. I can't believe how awesome you are. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

britt

Ryon,

for those of you who don't understand this post (Pfosty, I'm sorry...), it's because it's fraught with Friends references.

My favorite part of the day was at Eastern Market: the crab cakes, the cupcakes, sitting around that crowded table, talking about the good old debating years. The rest of the day at the monuments and Old Town Alexandria were perfection, but Eastern Market was like the girl at the copy center and a big tub full of jam. I loved seeing you and Jake leave the "high school friends" world and become part of my world out here. It was like, I finally understood what Lionel Richie's been singing about.

britt

Patrick -

picture from when I turned 22. and this is the only picture I have of Patrick and Janet. so this is Devin, Kevin, me, Scott, Patrick, and Janet.

I’ve never met anyone who could make a mix like you. Yesterday (my first day back in our hometown) I got in the Camry to drive up to Rexburg, and sitting in the CD player was a mix that you made me back in 2008. Beat It, the Bravery, “I’ll give you my jacket, I’ll give you my heart” – it was amazing, and I love you for it. I hope you and Janet got my postcard a few weeks ago, and I hope I see you both soon.

britt