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I took some personal time off this week...I guess you can call it a staycation. And it all kicked off quite nicely when my friends called to invite me to Atlantic City for the weekend.
My friends were quite astonished that I was able to fit all my clothes for the weekend into that one little bag, lol. But I was determined not to have to carry a lot of stuff. We arrived in AC Friday night & got checked into our rooms. It was my 1st time on the Jersey Shore since Hurricane Sandy. I didn't get close enough to the beaches to see any significant damage, but if the view from my hotel room is any indication, The Shore's making a comeback. I captured some gorgeous pictures from my room window the entire weekend...
The whole purpose of our trip to AC was to celebrate a friend's birthday. So before heading down to the casino, we all gathered in his hotel room for a champagne toast. And the hotel really made sure that he was well taken care of. Not only was there champagne, but he also had seafood platters & chocolate-covered strawberries...
After the champagne toast, we headed down to the casino...
We also had a great Chinese dinner at one of the casino restaurants that night. The next day, we got up & headed to the spa for full-body massages & pedicures. It was AMAZING! I'm a huge fan of spas & spa treatments. If I could get a massage & reflexology everyday of my life, I would. We took a break from the spa to grab lunch, then we returned to hang out in the sauna & jacuzzi for a few more hours. Then it was back to the hotel room to shower & get dolled up to see Alicia Keys in concert. Before the concert, we stopped at another restaurant in the casino for a delicious steak dinner. Afterwards, it was off to the show...
And while I hear that DMX made a surprise onstage appearance at Alicia's New York City concert at Madison Square Garden, there were no such surprise appearances in Atlantic City. Instead, her buddies Maxwell & Jay-Z were shown via video on the big screens above the stage when it came time for their duets with her...
It was really an awesome show! You forget just how many hits she has. I was really hoping that she'd perform her song "Unbreakable" & she did! I mean, it was a super short version of it, but she performed it nonetheless.
After the concert, we headed back to the casino. A couple of my friends stayed at the tables to gamble, while I went with another friend to a club inside the casino. I'm not a big club person. I mean, I don't have a problem with clubs, but I'm just over them. I've done so many club broadcasts over the course of my career--especially when I used to work in Hip-Hop radio. I'll go to a club if, say, a friend is having a birthday celebration there or if there's an afterparty. But just to go for the hell of it? Nah, I'll pass. I went this time because my friend really wanted to go. We danced for a little while, but I quickly got tired of guys trying to grind on me as they passed by & everybody spilling their drinks all over me. So we left pretty quickly & returned to the casino. But believe it or not, I didn't gamble a single time over the weekend...I didn't even touch a slot machine. I was pretty okay with just watching my friends gamble.
On our way out of AC at the end of the weekend, my friends stopped at Wawa for some snacks for the ride. They asked me what I wanted & I got this overwhelming feeling to drink an Icee! Heck...I didn't even know if Wawa sold Icees, but I told them to get me one if they did. I normally only have Icees when I go to the movies, but they always make me happy & remind me of my childhood. So I thought that having a nice, huge Icee while on vacation would be the coolest thing ever. Sometimes it's just the little things that make life great!
Other than AC, my vacation was all about domesticity. I did a bunch of things that I don't normally have the energy to do since I work overnights, like Spring cleaning. I did some document shredding & putting things in their proper places. I even bought a gorgeous new Spring-appropriate wreath to put on my door...
Isn't it pretty?! I also had my groceries delivered, so my fridge is stocked with a bunch of healthy foods. Here's what I made for dinner last night...
I'm severely anemic, so to up my iron intake, I try to get in steak & iron-rich veggies as much as I can. I prepared that dish by seasoning the steak with salt, pepper & garlic powder. Then I seared it on both sides over high heat in a little olive oil & butter. After searing it, I put it under the broiler for about a minute or 2 on each side. And I actually sauteed the veggies in the same pan that I seared the steak, so they sauteed in the juices from the steak. The veggies were Swiss chard, Brussels sprouts, onions & red, green, yellow & orange peppers. Yummo!
Like I said, I was in full domestic goddess mode all week. Now that vacation's over, it's back to work!
