Road Trip!!!

Greetings:

OK...  All of that One Year stuff is behind me now.  We crossed over 10,000 Page Views.  It's onward and upward from here.  Thanks!!!  If you love Music, I hope you got a chance to check out my Post from Tuesday.  It was Twisted Mix Tape Tuesday (60's)... OK, that was a Shameless Plug  That was my first attempt and it was a lot of fun.  I am so looking forward to more of that each Tuesday.  For this week though, yes, my "Little Bride" got her usual and familiar "itch."  That would be code for:  "I want to go to Lake Charles."  And, of course, that would be code for:  Road Trip...

So, if you don't live in the Southern portion of the United States, or just don't know, Lake Charles is in Louisiana and it is approximately two hours East from where we live in the Houston area.  Louisiana is abundant with Casino's and Texas is NOT!!!  So therefore, The State of Louisiana gets a lot of our money each year.  Actually, they should lay out the Red Carpet when we arrive, because we bring them money and they usually, certainly more often than not, keep it.

Do You Like This???

Anytime Donna and I have plans to go somewhere...  an out of town trip, an evening out for dinner, a party, or maybe even just a trip down to the pool, my "Little Bride" swears she needs a new top.  Sometimes shoes are included in that need.  Heaven knows "nothing in the closet" would work.  Ha!!!  So, while I was at my desk last Friday night, Donna walked into my "Man-Cave" and asked, "Do you like this?"  Of course, I did.  Five minutes later, she came back in and said, "Do you like this?"  Of course, I did.  And five minutes later,  and another five minutes later, and another...  I know at some point I said, "Holy Smokes!!!"  You know, I'm wondering if the store where she shopped has any merchandise left.  Ahhhh yes, I was told that this was a shopping trip not only for our Sunday overnight, but that she needed work clothes as well.  OK, to be fair, I made a quick trip over to Penney's myself to get a shirt for dinner Sunday night.  Just one shirt.  Just sayin'.  One last note on the "Do you like this?"  A Mani-Pedi for her on Saturday...  Yes, I did like that!!!  A Lot!!! 

And We're Off...

Now, for this trip, I am going to brag on Donna.  Usually, as soon as we arrive at the Casino, she is ready to get "right in there."  She is ready to start loading her Slot Machine with money.  This trip...  We checked in around 4pm, went straight to the pool, came back to the room and cleaned up, and went to Dinner.  Wow...  Dinner at Ember Grille & Wine Bar.  Worth the trip if it ended right there.  Finally, after dinner, at around 10pm, a full 6 hours later, we entered the Casino.

Let The Fun Begin...

No matter how much money you win or lose while in a Casino, if you like this sort of thing, it's always a blast.  Don't get me wrong...  Winning is a whole lot more fun than losing.  But, it's fun nonetheless.  On Sunday night, I was down a little, and Donna was up a little.  But hey, the Libations are always free inside the Casino, so, it's kinda a Win-Win.  Donna loves to play both the Slots and Roulette.  I am strictly a Roulette guy.  Numbers 20 (our Anniversary) and 23 (Donna's Birthday...  Justin's Birthday as well) are my main two numbers on every single spin.  They have been very kind to me over the years.

Sweet First Spin on Monday...

A week or so ago, I had to dig through Donna's purse for her keys.  Not only did it take me five minutes to find them, I thought to myself how badly she needed a new purse.  When we checked out at the front desk Monday morning, directly across from the desk is a Boutique, Modele, for the Ladies.  The same Boutique that I had bought her purse that now needed replacing.  It was at that moment that I said to Donna, "Let's go in there."  I told her to see if she could find a purse she might like.  Hello smile that I love and just absolutely makes my day!!!  I told her to pick one out and if I had a decent day at the Roulette Table, I would buy her a new purse.  Now, as luck would have it, and I'm not making this up...  I sat down at my Roulette Table, some 20 minutes later, slipped in $100 to start off, slowly punched in my numbers, including 20 and 23.  On that very first spin Monday Morning, the ball spun around the wheel, slowed to the point when it drops into a numbered slot and...  Boooooooya!!! It fell right into the number 20 slot!!!  Let's just say that I had enough money on that #20 that I immediately cashed out my winnings and saved that ticket while sliding another $100 into the machine to keep playing.  With that winning ticket from that 1st spin, Donna would get her Purse, a new Necklace she liked, and I was heading over to Studs, appropriately named for us Guys, to get the awesome looking Fedora I had spotted in the window earlier.  Winning!!!  No matter what else happened, win or lose, we were winners on Monday.  Did we hit the Jackpot???  Nadaladaenchilada...  But, we had an awesome Saturday night Dinner, she got a new purse and necklace, and I got a spiffy new hat.  Hello Lunch and Libations.  And a sweet ride home Monday afternoon.  Gotta love our Road Trips.

Donna wanted some Color...  She got it.

She spotted this in the store and we picked it up as well...

I'm Lovin' My New Fedora...

Editors Note:  I've always wanted to say that...  I just want to add here, in all fairness, that Donna & I are a "Team."  We always have been.  We both contributed to this trip and the fun we had.  My "Little Bride" deserves an "atta-girl" for her part too.  There...

              Takin' it "To the House"         

Recipe's:  As it states on her website, "It's Summertime."  Therefore, I am going to keep my love for Salad's on display here...  Her website would be skinnytaste.com... and my Salad for you to try this week would be Southwestern Black Bean Salad...  All the ingredients you should love and it just pops!!!  Find your smile with this one.

OK...  This was my attempt Last Night:  It was a Winner!!!

Music:  A few weeks back, I had a Bob Marley & The Wailers tune that I really liked.  Well, here is another of his that, for me, has a really good beat and sound.  Are you ready to Party???  A Punky Reggae Party.  Click that arrow and give it a listen.  Enjoy...  (source)

Market Watch:  Well, this was a week of "Going South" for both the Dow and Facebook, as they each dipped slightly through the week, closing yesterday at 15,040 and 22.97, respectively.     

The End:  Wow...  Another week in the books.  Thanks so much!!!  Always much appreciated.  Please check in on Tuesday's now and see what music is on the Mix Tape.

Be safe, be smart and always Smile...  It's "Happy Friday"

adios...  vaya con dios