While this little one was not thrilled to reside at the vets for over a week,

I at least got to shack up in these digs on my latest business trip working at the NYC Toy Fair:

No, I did not run away to a far away land, nor did I forget how to type. I was simply working 14 hour days at a trade show and did not have time to wash my face before bed let alone share my long days with all of you!

Traveling for work for over a week is exhausting! You are constantly on point, you cannot escape your coworkers and you don’t even get to eat at regular times (and those meals you do eat are far from nutritious).

For example, these muffin tops were lunch one day.

And this trip involved lots of heavy lifting – those are just a few of the boxes…

In addition to all day workouts of manual labor moving cardboard, I craved some cardio and tried to fit in a few mornings on the stationary bike in the hotel gym, along with some strength training exercises ripped from magazines.

Let’s just say I was thrilled to land yesterday back home with no tape gun, box or toy in sight! And my return was made even sweeter with a very special guest waiting for me at the gate:

There just happened to be a Valentine’s Day wine tour in my neighborhood that evening and what better way to reunite best buddies than over some sips of fermented grapes?

And finally, we enjoyed a healthy balanced meal (my first one in over a week!) together.

I am overjoyed to be back home and swing into my routine again. So stay tuned for more posts and updates as I detox from work overload and continue on my healthy living path.