New York is still cold.

M&M store view from my window. Screen is 6 stories tall!

I'm in NY. In a hotel overlooking Times Square. I came to NY once when I was 10. I don't remember coming to Times Square, so I've enjoyed the last two days. It's a bit differnt than I was expecting, but I don't really know what I was expecting.

It's bright! Like other worldly kind of bright. We were in a restaurant last night and the lights are so bright that when you looked outside it seemed like day time. Like a crazy sensory experiment. Your body knows it's night, but your eyes tell you its day.

I wish I had a bit more time to explore. Especially since today I figured out where the Gershwin theater is and they are playing WICKED. Everywhere I go lately is taunting me with Wicked. Seems wrong.

NY is just as cold as when I was here in December. Next year I must invest in a thicker coat for traveling. I almost brought my big winter coat on this trip, but something about my shimmery white coat with the fur trim (AKA my sassy eskimo coat) seemed kind of unprofessional. Instead, I decided to go with my tailored, light lavender, wool coat, so I look professional, but am cold. I guess that's better in this context.

In other news, I've been quite worried about my hair. Pretty shallow, I know, but still. It's been in a ponytail mode for about 3 months. Hard to argue with the functionality of ponytail hair, but I want it to be long and amazing. I don't really have amazing hair, though. I have thin hair. Thin hair looks amazing for about 5 mins and then it goes ppppbbbbtttt. So on Saturday I went to the hairdresser and said "really, I need better hair. What can we do?" So we colored it and highlighted it to rid me of those pesky grays. We trimmed it and he styled it for me - I think to inspire me. Then he asked me what kind of product I use. To which I responded "I'd rather not say, but let's put it this way...I get really excited when it goes on sale 2 for $5." I got the serious hairdresser look and he said "you are 33 years old. It's time to stop using such cheap product."

So he hooked me up with good stuff and 2 people told me how good my hair looked today. 2! Shallow, but self esteem building. I'll take it. I may even text my hairdresser and tell him he was right. My hair has responded to the more expensive product in such a positive way even other people noticed. He will gloat for about 10 years if I do, but I feel like I should spread the self esteem around. He had a hand in the hair, he should reap the benefits.

I have now written two paragraphs about my hair. Eesh. Moving on...

hmmm...

I don't really have much else to say. I don't want to write about work and apparently all I do is work and worry about my hair. What a stunning self revelation.

In other news, I miss my kids, though no one has cried into the phone this time. I talked to them tonight and it was ok. I also really miss Chad. Really miss him for some reason. He put a valentine in my suitcase, so when I arrived last night there as a card inside my bag. It was a cute, funny card and it made me laugh and tear up at the same time. He texted me twice today, just to check in and see how it was going. He's a good man. I'm not sure how I got so lucky.

Work is good. I hate the traveling. Really hate it. But I like my job and I want to be doing it. I just tell myself I'm on a vacation recon mission. Just scouting out the great places to bring everyone back to, because really wouldn't the girls die to stay in a room overlooking the 6 story screen outside the M&M store? They would. Trust me, when the 6 story blue M&M winks at you just before you close the curtain and go to sleep, you feel pretty special.