Showering With Strange Men

Matt had to be to a breakfast meeting at 7:00 so he was up and at 'em early. I had big plans today, too!  I was ticking another item off my birthday bucket list, spend a day at the spa.  I labored over the decision to spend the day at the spa. It is quite expensive to spend the whole day and I had an internal conversation with myself that is reminiscent or conversations Matt and I have before a big purchase - is it a one day thing that won't be remembered?  Could that money be spent on something long lasting, such as new bathtub tiles?  After what felt like weeks of deliberation I opted for a half day at the Mandara Spa at the WDW Dolphin resort.  Rain had set in for the day so I didn't mind spending the time inside.

I had a salt scrub, massage, and a facial. There's a decision one has to make when getting a massage - commando or no commando. There are pros and cons to both options.  The rationale for my decision was that I would most likely never see the masseuse again, so what the heck?

The salt scrub was interesting, painful and relaxing at the same time. The actual scrub was quite chafing, but my skin's reaction when he moved to a different area was quite soothing.  Then he told me I needed to rinse the salt off before starting the massage. He  walked over to the shower that was in the room and turned it on.  He stepped our of the room and said when he heard the shower curtain slide closed he would walk back into the room to set up the table for the massage. Continuing in the vein of I will never see this guy again, I showered with another man in the room that was not my husband.  He did graciously step out of the room when I finished in the shower so I could situate myself under the sheet for a massage.

Oh, a massage is sweet bliss.....

I have mixed reviews on the facial and on facials in general. I've only had one other facial before this one, but I have some questions: why does the esthetician want the client to be in the buff under a sheet?  She started out by massaging my feet, I thought facial = face.  Maybe she was using some reflexology to stimulate some pores in my face.  Anyway she was wrecking the amazing afterglow of my real massage.

She proceeded to apply and remove different gooey products to my face.  I think i fell asleep for a short bit because I seem to remember letting out a little snore that jolted me awake.  The most bizarre bit of the whole thing was at the end.  I was back to the a relaxed almost floating on air feel when she stood up and struck a bell over my face. This was not a pretty little chime, I think it was Big Ben's American cousin.  Slightly embarrassing and really jarring to the system.  She got the same look Opie got in the TSA line back at the airport.

After the cute valet retrieved my car I went over to Downtown Disney to see if there were any things my kids could not live without.  In between rain storms I grabbed some lunch.

There is a new service that parents can pay a lot of money for at one of the shops at Downtown Disney, and it entails gobs of makeup, glitter, hairspray, and fake hair to be applied to girls as young as three. Think Toddlers & Tiaras but more glitter. Personally I think the creator of this serve should be ashamed of themselves because the girls look horrendous. If the goal is to look like a princess at the end, I'm not sure which princess they are channeling because I don't remember Belle or Cinderella looking like they like to work at those places near the Sonic in Tampa.  That's just my opinionated opinion.

The rain was starting to bum me out, and Matt was only able to answer my texts at random times so I went back to the villa (I love saying that) to watch some TV and call the kids.  M always loves to talk!

The need for dinner came up again and I figured last night's dinner and a movie was a good option again. I dodged rain drops and saw Harry Potter for the second time.  I cried just as much this time as I did the first go around.

Again Matt finished up just as I did at the movie.  We had to pack our bags because tomorrow's wake up call was going to be a slap in the face.