I’m back! I made it!  My first blog convention was the mother of all conventions, BlogHer, which was was held in NYC this year.  This also happened to be my first trip solo to NYC so when I say, “I’m Back!” there’s some real relief and actual surprise that I did it all by myself…just like a big kid.

Here are some of the highlights from my trip which I feel like I need to get out there based on the thousands of other BlogHer posts that have gone up since Sunday:

• I packed 100lbs worth of luggage for a four day trip for just myself.  I regretted it the minute I walked out my door, but even more as I dragged it around Penn Station and across New York City Streets, oh, and dropped half of what I was balancing IN the middle of a street.  It’s a good thing there weren’t any people or cars in the intersection with me. *cough*
• The Dateline special where they took a black light to a hotel room and showed how much human juices are all over the beds, walls, remotes, and phones has almost ruined the experience for me.  Thank God Lysol makes travel spray.
• For four days and three nights I peed with the door closed, took long showers (some days I even took multiple showers), and I didn’t watch Nick Jr, PBS Kids or Disney for even one minute. It was glorious.
• 4500-5000 people at a conference is as insane as it sounds.
• Of all the stuff I packed, I forgot Depends and nearly peed myself from laughter about 20 times just on Saturday night.
• When my husband told me that he had the same level of confidence in sending me into NYC alone as he would our 7yr old son, he wasn’t being mean, he just knows me.  In the five times I left the hotel alone, I got lost four of them.  Two of those required me asking directions from a police officer (and one of those times I looked like a pirate hooker, but more on that in my next post)
• Microsoft Windows is officially my favorite company of all time ever.  I found out Friday morning that I was one of five winners of the #WindowsStyle Makeover (you can see my entry in my last post). The prize package was even more amazing than I even realized and I went home with $1500 of new clothing, a new Windows 8 PC, wireless keyboard, mouse, a Windows phone, Xbox Kinect and games.  I may even be leaving some stuff out.  I felt like I was on the Price is Right only hosted by the even-sweeter-in-person @KristinaLibby.  I also got to sit with Celebrity Stylist/Wearapist, Jeannie Mai, for some much needed wearapy.  Jeannie’s consult was kind but honest, and then we did some online shopping on the new Windows 8 PC.  It.was.incredible.

• After my hour or so with Jeannie I was sent to Toka Salon on Madison Avenue where they worked their magic and gave me a fabulous blow out/style and make up for the night’s parties.  Check out my after picture; I swear it’s really me:

•  Next time I’ll pace myself during the day, make time for a nap so I can enjoy the parties at night.  I’m way too old to be up from 6:30am until 1am.
• My camera was, of course, broken and I only have a handful of photos from the weekend, but I can’t post a lot of the pictures anyway because half the people I hung out with are anonymous bloggers.  Putting a face to the name of some of my favorites was a fun experience too, and I feel like I know their secret identities now.  I was able to meet all but a couple of the people I was hoping to see, and everyone else that I wanted to meet was even more entertaining in person.  If you don’t already follow Naps Happen, MotherhoodWTF, Ninja Mom, Let Me Start by Saying, The Bearded Iris, Honest Mom, The Healthy Mom, People I Want to Punch in the Throat, Mommy Shorts, or Four Plus an Angel then get on it. These ladies are the real deal. (And I’m sorry if I left anyone out, I can barely remember my own name after this weekend)
• I met a TON of new bloggers and I’ll have new reading material that should last me ten years past dead.  So many of the brands were amazing too, and I can’t wait to see what develops from all this weekend’s networking.
• And since I’m too lazy to find out for sure which bloggers are okay with me posting pictures, I’ll leave you with one of me and already well-known Bearded Iris from Friday night. She wins the award for Best Intro/Welcome because she gave me a free freaky dance/dry hump the first time I met her in person.

     This was definitely an experience I’ll never forget the rest of my life, and one that’s left me with a two day hang over (and I only had a few glasses of wine all weekend).  All the excitement and socialization has left me exhausted… Of course I knew my vacation was officially over on Sunday as soon as I sat in my cab which smelled of fresh puke, the escalators were broken and I had to carry my luggage at Penn Station down two flights of stairs while being pursued by a homeless guy offering to carry it for $5, I almost sat in a poop-smeared seat while waiting for my train, after exploding a half a bottle of Sprite all over myself on the train with 50 minutes left to ride (soaking wet) home, and my daughter announced she pooped in her underwear 10 minutes after I walked in the door. Even though the universe threw me a less than fantastic Sunday, that’s just the balance of it all.  We wouldn’t want me feeling too fabulous….back to frizzy and frazzled but thankful for such a great experience with new friends, great connections, and thanks to Windows, probably the prize of a lifetime!