Had the best weekend in Atlantic City! MV and I stayed at the newest luxe resort, The Chelsea. It's the only non-gaming hotel, and it's right on the boardwalk! Good for non-gamblers like us. It's smaller than most of the others, but it's just as nice, and it makes up by being more focused on the guests, which i loved. I definitely recommend it here if you have a few hundred dollars to spare. The Fifth Floor is a must-see!! Get the Rescue Package- 2 free breakfasts at a Stephen Starr restaurant, $50 gas card, and $20 in quarters to gamble at the casinos!

www.thechelsea-ac.com

Yea so the 25th is our month-iversary. This past one was our 32 months, so i surprised MV by taking him to The Chelsea. I did my research! and i picked Chelsea, partly b/c it's colors are pink and purple, and the indoor decor is a Tiffany blue!  It was so hard to keep it a secret since i booked it a week in advance! Luckily, i was able to get the Luxe Ocean King, which is the room with a full ocean view.  Once we pulled up by the entrance, we were warmly greeted by the valet guy and the bell-man, who whisked our luggage along with us to our room.  He came in and set them down, and then he recommended The Fifth Floor, which has a Stephen Starr restaurant called Chelsea Prime.  It also has an outdoor terrace, an outdoor pool, and another lounge called The Living Room. We werent able to go into The Living Room b/c there was a private wedding party going on.  But MV treated me to dinner at Chelsea Prime.

As we were in our room getting ready, i surprised MV with another present!  I got him a Tag Heuer watch!!  It was an impulse buy when i was at the Staten Island Mall several days before, but i felt like i was being led to Littman Jewelers by some unseen hand, and the kind saleswoman was an angel!  It was as if my feet were possessed, and i found myself over the Tag Heuer watches.  The one in the front caught my eyes, and the angel saleswoman showed it to me. She mentioned it was their newest line.  After i told her it would be a gift for my boyfriend, she smiled and offered me a discount!  I also got approved for a great deal that doesnt require me to pay interest.  I saw no reason to turn back now, so i got it, and the angel gift-wrapped the new Tag watch...  MV was definitely caught off-guard when he found it sitting on our bed.  I've been meaning to get him a nice watch since i started my job last year, so it's about time!  Well worth the wait because MV loved it!

We were on the elevator going down to The Fifth Floor, and the doors opened to a seductively-lit seating area with a fireplace. Inside Chelsea Prime there's a bar and a white grand piano. We sat in the dining area and experienced such great service as well as steak and foods worth salivating over the menu for! For drinks, I recommend their signature, The Chelsea cocktail, which is a mint-cucumber vodka martini.  We also had pinot noir.

The feeling of fullness and all that alcohol got us tired after dinner!  By the time we woke up, it was 3:30 am!  But that didn't stop us.  Atlantic City's motto is, "Our lights are always on", so we didn't even think twice about getting up to go to Borgata at 4 in the morning!  We brought our complimentary $20 with us and tried our luck at the slots.  After spending about $3, i somehow managed to win an extra $25!  LoL i never win at slots, so that was a big deal to me.  We cashed out after that haha.  We walked around a bit more and couldnt help but notice how packed it still was at the casino at such an hour. Gambling is so addictive! I'm glad MV and I never fell into it.

After a spontaneous night, we were still able to get up at 8 am for complimentary breakfast at the other Stephen Starr restaurant, Teplitsky's Cafe.  It wasn't your rinky-dink complimentary breakfast.  It was a full table service restaurant. We got fruit salad, cinnamon bun, the Big Lebowski, and giant stuffed french toast, finished with OJ and hot chocolate! and we just payed for tip! hehe gotta love that.

Sadly, we checked out at 12pm.  Then we headed to Harrah's where MV treated us to a couple's full-body massages at Elizabeth Arden's Red Door Spa.  That spa hit the Forbes List as one of the best spas in the country.  It was extraordinary!  There's a jacuzzi, steam room, sauna, and fully equipped showers & vanity room.. and that's just the women's side!!  MV told me that in the men's side, there's also a game room with flat-screen tv's. 

After the spa, we got 2 passes to The Pool, Harrahs's newest venue that made it hugely-popular again.  It's indoor and warmed up to a sizzling 80 degrees.  We sure felt overdressed among the scantily-clad guests, while we're in our sweaters hehe.  We sat at the poolside lounge, and ordered the Tropical Split, a sweet alcohol smoothie.  and we just sat there and took our time since we felt SoooOOo relaxed after our massage!

--((Harrah's is nice, but the service sucks! You'd think the girls at the front desk of the spa would've been more welcoming, or the bikini-clad waitresses at The Pool would be a little more helpful... but that's all they are, nice-looking faces in a nice-looking environment.. NNOOO logic or even the slightest bit of intelligence!  They actually looked miserable! haha thats what you get when you take on a sucky job that uses you NOT for your mind!  o well, that's too bad.   Harrah's should up their standards when hiring staff.  Which is why i loved The Chelsea.  Their staff is out of this world.  Or like from another time: traditional, friendly service. I havent been greeted by a bell-man in a while!))--

We finally got up and headed over to Caesars to do some shopping.  The valet guy gave us the Ceasars' Diamond Valet Pass, just because he liked our smiles!  That means free valet parking, automated self-checkout, and we get bumped up the wait list! We got our car right away while the others who were there before us were still waiting.  Anyway, at the Caesers Forum Shops, MV was able to get his watch fitted and he wore it right away.  It looks great on him.  Then we went to LV and he bought us matching key-holders!  well they're different designs, but they're both key-holders all the same. Except his holds 6 keys and mine holds 4 since i dont need that much.  They look so cute together =)

Aww i really didnt want to leave and end our great getaway.  We took alot of pictures, and i will soon post them on FaceBook when i get the chance.  Right now, though, i have to get ready and visit my girlfriend in central jersey and see her new apartment by the beach!!  Yea, i'm still on vacation until Thursday, so i have to keep busy hehe.

Xox

after a week off, i finally went to work the other night.  During that week, i went to Atlantic City for a Nursing Symposium with Dee and Carol.  We stayed at Taj Mahal where the lectures were held in the ballrooms. Topics covered Critical Care, CCRN review, ER, PACU, Peds, and Neonatal. The whole place was so nice! We also visited Tropicana, Borgata, and Caesars.  We had a lot of fun.  Pictures are up on my FaceBook. 
If you're signed in, click here: CCRN Parade.

it was business + pleasure, but mostly pleasure... because our job is fun! hehe

When i finally came back to work, i was warmly welcomed by my coworkers asking how it was.  i wish they all came with me! We always have a good time when we're out.  Every month we plan a big dinner outing.  Unfortunately this month the dinner was the same time i was in AC.  This weekend they're all going on an overnight cruise on the Hudson river! Even my manager will be there!  Man, i would SO love to go, but since everyone else is going, somebody's gotta stay and work! LoL.  Plus i spent a good amount of money already at Atlantic City... those roulette tables are the devil! well, there's always next month.

Anyway, yesterday morning when we got out of work, a bunch of us decided to grab breakfast.  Our nursing assistant drove us all to Queens to that famous Filipino restaurant, Krystal's, for some gooood tapsilog, pan de sal, chicken bbq on a stick, pancit sotanghon, and sago!! lol it was a feast! Two of the Filipino nurses ended up treating us all.  We converted our non-Filipino coworkers! lol. We bought her a kasava cake to bring home... and i bought a whole loaf of brasso de mercedes!  It's my mom's favorite dessert hehe.  After all that, we were driven back to Manhattan.

I slept so good when i got home. hee-hee.

pea'S'e

This time, i mean that metaphorically!  I'm talking about my insatiable appetite for Life.  I'm always hungry.  And I'm having my cake AND eating it too!  Who says that's impossible?  I'm living it. 

I have a fulfilling and rewarding career that i love!  I work full-time, but i have enough days off to do other things.  I work 13 nights a month! That's 3-4 nights a week.  Which means, 3-4 days off a week!  I also have enough vacation time, Holidays, and Personal days, and enough Sick days just in case... *knock on wood*.  So i have an abundance of time off!  Yea, i work 12 hours straight during the night shift.  Yea it get's hectic sometimes.  But at the end of it, i still find it amazing what i do: I help sustain human lives.  Truly amazing.  I work with the best staff, from our assistants to the physicians, to housekeepers and engineers, to the administration.  The teamwork is like no other.  Positive attitudes help me get through the night.  It's all about optimism and taking responsibility.  I'm glad i chose to work at this hospital.  My manager is great!  She really listens to the nursing staff.  She also gives me awesome schedules!  Gotta love it when i get 5 days off!  I really can go on mini-vacations every month, but I'm managing my finances, and boy is that complicated!

Finance... when in school did i ever learn about that?? Certainly not when i was studying Nursing!  At first it was like another language... I'm making all this money, and i didn't know what to do with it!  Now it's pretty exciting!  It's exciting because i take full control of my finances!  I decide how much i want to put into my student loans, my credit cards, my savings account, and my 403B... and believe me, I square away a big chunk of my paychecks into those categories.  I hate the feeling of being in debt, and i love the feeling of a safety blanket of savings.  So i feel much better when i put alot into both.  With my 403B, i began planning my retirement when i started my career!  And also at the same time i started my career, i started saving to go back to school!  I'm not about to take another student loan.  Debt is evil, so i'm trying to get of it asap.

You know what else is evil?  Renting an apartment when you don't have to.  Doubly evil is renting an apartment in Manhattan when you don't have to!  The rent is extraordinary!   At the end of my year's lease, I decided not to renew it.  I moved back home-- i missed my mom and brother.  I missed my car!  The city is wonderful, but then at times it made me feel claustrophobic.  Peace and quiet in the city are rare.  Space in the city is rare, not to mention expensive!  I felt it was unnecessary for me to rent when i can still commute from home to my job.  It wouldn't make much of a difference to me, except maybe tens of thousands of dollars in my wallet!   It was such a relief to sign that last rent check.  And it felt good to be close to my brother and mom again.  it's also nice to know that i can live on my own if i wanted to!

My pleasures in Life are simple: friends, family, and love.  I'm becoming more and more of a minimalist.  Too much material possessions just end up being clutter.  For example, I don't wear any of the "sick" Jordans i used to collect anymore.  What value do they hold but egotism and bragging rights?  They may be worth a pretty penny on Ebay, but i'm mainly just trying to get rid of them.  Now they're just taking up space in random stacks of shoeboxes on my floor.  That example is no different from the rest of us women who collect fancy bags and shoes.  My room is a mess!  I could take at least 75% of the things in it and tell you that i fully don't need/use/want them anymore and can throw it out or donate to charity.  It's such a huge daunting task, though... one of these days i will complete it!  It certainly will get me a few tax breaks!

Love.  Besides my immediate family, i have a precious handful of friends who i consider close enough to be like my family.  These are the people i've grown up with or just recently met and made immediate connections with, confided in, and learned to trust.  With them, I share individual and unique bonds which I believe could last a lifetime.  I also have a boyfriend who loves me completely and lets me be myself, who won't--and refuses to--leave my side even in bad times, even when i'm being totally irrational and too stubborn to admit it.  Because he gets me.  He just gets me!  I've never met a guy who treated me that way.  He's taught me many things, of which the most important i learned when he didn't even utter one word.  I'm too lucky to have him.  It brings tears to my eyes, the kind of love he shows me.  He never falters.  I have to thank his parents for bringing up a such a gentle man.

So this is how i'm having my cake and eating it too.  I really can't complain, especially when i work alongside physicians who work twice as much as i do!  Or maybe i just prefer to see things with optimism.  It could be as beautiful as that. Simply beautiful.

<3 Xox