Very, very, very quick post.

I’m in the guest bedroom at Natalie’s house, about ready to pass out from exhaustion. This has been quite the long week, and my weekend is only going to get busier (but so, so much more fun.) In the morning we fly to Boston– send up a few quick ones that snow overnight won’t delay our flight out– and get approximately 48 hours in the most fabulous city (ok, 3rd most fabulous) in the world to eat, drink, play, network, schmooze, make friends, see the sights, and really anything but sleep. Did I mention our hotel has warm cookies for each guest upon arrival?

Fergus lost his manhood on Wednesday, but as the receptionist told me when I picked up this morning, “I don’t think he even realized he had surgery.” He’s already back to his rambunctious puppy self, and I will miss him terribly in my absence. I had my first midterm of the semester on Tuesday, pretty sure I rocked it, though I find myself caring less and less as we get closer to May whether I did or not. The fact that we’re leaving for Vegas for Spring Break two weeks from tomorrow is nuts. Complete and utter insanity. I will mostly likely be back here in the ‘burbs next weekend for a night while Neil gets his car in tip-top shape before the drive, so there really is no rest for the weary. Not that I’m complaining, things are quite awesome as of late.

(Oh, bootcamp still leaves me pretty sore– and ravenous– but getting up before the sun is getting easier, and I’m starting to notice larger muscles. Now if only the extra inches around my abs that have settled in post half marathon training would get the hell outta here.)

BOSTON BOSTON BOSTON

I’m headed to Boston!!

Natalie and I will be headed to Bean Town at the end of the month for a PRSSA conference and there are no words for how over the moon excited I am. One weekend definitely won’t be enough time, but I. am. over. the. moon.

NEW ENGLAND, HERE I COME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We went to The Fighter as a family today and it was simply fabulous. And I’m not just saying that because Mark Wahlberg has managed to catapult his way into my Top Five Celebrity Hotties, or because the kettle corn was fresh at Jordan Creek. To continue my Oscar predictions long before any nominations are made, Christian Bale will absolutely, positively win most every acting award ever for his supporting performance as Micky Ward’s brother Dicky. When the credits roll and we saw the actual Micky and Dicky, everyone in the theater was like HOLY SCHMOLIGANS because Christian Bale seriously became Dicky. The acting was just impeccable all around– the characters you’re supposed to hate, you’ll really hate– and the story wasn’t dragged out longer than needed. The feel good ending (sorry, did I just ruin it?) doesn’t hurt, and the Bostonian, Masshole accents are the icing on my New England-loving cake.

In other news, some really scientific research has led me to believe that my sanity can spend about 72 hours at home before I start itching for an escape. I mean, I love my family, but they can be at times… challenging. I realize this is not at all a problem exclusive to me, especially around the holidays, and that as I get older things will only become more testy. Perhaps making this all worse is that I accidentally grabbed NPH’s phone charger from his house so now have both of ours… and he has none. His phone is dead for at least another couple days, and I have no texting outlet who is equally as bored at home on his couch. I’ve been passing my time baking a ridiculous amount of Christmas goodies and perfecting my great-grandmothers apricot crescent cookies that will get to make an appearance again finally when we go to my grandma’s tomorrow. Unless I eat them all on the journey there in some sort of emotional breakdown over how much I miss my basset hound.

It’s no secret how excited I am for Christmas, so I figured I’d get some of it off my brain and onto the ol’ bloggity blog JUST in case any readers were looking for ideas. Giant cough toward the boyfriend/ anyone of blood relation. So, drumroll please– I present to you now:

Brittney’s Ideal Christmas Wish List 2010

1. Gallons– nay, vats– of V8 Soups. I don’t have a favorite flavor (ok, I could live without the Southwestern Corn), just buy out your grocer’s entire stock of V8 Soups. If you haven’t had these, I urge you to mow over small children and animals to get to your hands on a magical green carton– I promise you’ll be hooked.

2. Remote start for my car. Because it’s getting cold out and I’m a wimp.

3. A plane ticket to Germany (Munich, please!) With D-Bag. For Oktoberfest of next year. Really not that much to ask, right?

4. A semi-truck load of Morningstar Farms Chipotle Black Bean Burgers. You can buy them in 18 packs at Costco, they are my FAVORITE. Seriously, I get really excited for lunch now. Being a vegetarian tastes so much better than my previously meaty life.

5. Hawkeye gear for Fergus. No, I will not take gifts for him as a replacement for ones for myself, but he’s got a self-proclaimed godmother who’s going to spoil him (and perhaps dress him up for a Christmas card-style photo shoot). Natalie, he needs Hawkeye gear for the games– the black will go well with his red coloring.

6. A job starting in about June in Boston/DC/a major metropolitan area on the east coast in either event planning/ public relations/ writing/ being fabulous.

7. Java House gift cards even though I realize those damn chai tea lattes are just all sugar. Ooh, while we’re at it, throw in some gift cards to Which Wich, Target, Bruegger’s, HyVee, Kum n Go, and some extra ones to Target. Pretty sure I could just live there.

8. Do they sell boxed seasons of Say Yes to the Dress? Because um, YES PLEASE.

While the growing pains of going back to class are slowly working themselves out, it is safe to say I am psyched for the next chapter of my life. The job hunt part, the getting back to the office and have meetings and a desk and getting satisfaction from my work part, heck– even the “I’m so busy/stressed/overwhelmed I could puke part,” because it means I’m doing something. During my internship and even sometimes just jobs as a student, the signs of a budding workaholic have started to emerge. (Somehow this has never, ever translated into being a study-aholic. Huh.) Over the summer on my weekends off, I’d be up early on a Sunday at 713, writing cover letters, sending emails, doing research for our events at work. (Can I say where I worked yet? I think I can, it’s over with. It was a zoo. No, an actual zoo.) I’ve officially had five days of class this semester and already had two job/internship interviews, got one of them (the other was literally like 45 minutes ago, keep your fingers crossed) and have taken on at least two other side, unpaid projects that relate to my major because I want RESUME EXPERIENCE, DAMMIT. And because these things keep me much more personally fulfilled than relearning the functions of a subject and direct and indirect objects like we’ve been doing in my Languages of the World class. Sorry, lady– you’re very nice, but far too old to still be teaching, plus I learned that “cat” is a noun like twelve years ago. Another emerging theme of this semester seems to be the whole “I went abroad, now what?” thing, though it’s gotten better than me looking for flights to Munich during all free time with my laptop (that time is now reserved for looking for post-graduation PR jobs in Boston, duh.) I’m a Global Buddy for the Study Abroad office, and we have a returnee reunion this afternoon for all of us post-foreign study kids to get together and commiserate over why the hell America has such stringent open container laws. Finally, in other WAY more exciting news– this weekend is the kick-off of what is sure to be the Iowa Hawkeyes’ greatest football season to date. The only thing that trumps my excitement for tailgating this weekend is that the Iowa vs. Iowa State game is next weekend already. And the only thing that possibly trumps my excitement for that is that the movie The Town comes out not even a week after that and it’s set in Boston and is by the same people as The Departed and you can bet NPH and I will demand Coral Ridge Mall has a midnight showing for it.