The shopping center next to the happiest place on earth

Later that night we decided to give Downtown Disney a whirl. Cody and I used to walk around and people watch there all the time, but haven’t been back since we moved out of northern Orange County two years ago.

The police vehicles were so cute. Can't you see them
trying to chase down teenage riff raff in one of these?





Vouchers from Compass Books that would make any husband happy.








We got to feel like kids again inside the Lego Imagination Center.
I forgot they had so many models inside.






































Basin had a ton of great bath products and fresh cut soaps.








My favorite was the red Mickey that smelled like gingerale.








One of the employees gave us a bath bomb demonstration.
Cody saw how much I liked them and bought a barrel of five.























After that it was time for lunch dinner linner at Rainforest Cafe. I absolutely adore their China Island Chicken Salad and fell in love with their banana crepes with vanilla ice cream and chocolate and caramel sauces.











Then an additional sweet treat at Marceline's Confectionery.











And some goodies for my niece and nephew.








A note for all you gentlemen out there -
A real man isn't afraid to hold your bags when you shop.





A couple shots of the Rainforest Cafe at night on our way out.








Another great day :)

Thankfully MRIs are more hands off

The Monday before last I went in for my fun medical procedures. Aside from having to wait an extra 45 minutes with a completely full bladder that was about to burst because the original lab tech flaked, there wasn’t a replacement around, and the crew on staff was already short handed...I got an extra surprise.

I thought I was going to get the normal ultra sound you see pregnant ladies get. You know the one - slap some goop on my belly, move the rolly thing around, and use your fancy machines to take some pictures. But no, I was so special that I got to have TWO kinds done. The regular type and the type that should’ve totally taken me out to dinner and a movie beforehand. On a lighter note, the tech praised me for doing a good job drinking all that liquid. She could see my bladder filling up again halfway through the super special procedure.

Afterwards we went for breakfast at the Original Pancake House to use a 2-for-1 coupon and help take my mind off all the fun.

Cody had a spinach-filled crepe with mushrooms and onions in a blended cheese sauce and topped with hollandaise.




I had an oven-baked dutch baby with whipped butter, lemon, fresh strawberries, strawberry sauce, and powdered sugar.




I guess it’s good I let the lab tech get all touchy feely with me. It turns out I have a growth that the radiologist can't identify as benign and I need to have an MRI. Maybe if I'm good we can go for pancakes after.

A definite plus in my book

The first Sunday of our vacation we had brunch at Mimi’s Café with HotNurse and LawyerDude, an emergency trip to Walmart for a fan since our air conditioning was (and still is) broken, a quick stop at Starbucks because we were melting, and a side trip to Cost Plus just to kill time.

That little side trip was an unexpected highlight of our day.

We found a ton of great spices on sale and stocked up for future kitchen adventures. (Thank goodness I found me a man who likes to cook!)

Truffle oil that brought me back to the Burger Bar in Vegas...Kobe beef burger with pan-seared foie gras, provolone, portobello mushrooms, and black truffle oil…Mmmm.





Chocolate syrup for chocolate sodas – another Vegas treat I fell in love with at Everything Coca-Cola.





Chocolate with a kick





Funky syrups that I’m both scared of and curious to try





Fun for only $2.99





Easy drink mixes for summer parties - just add booze, water, and freeze!






Where Sunday pot roast comes from





And the origins of NASCAR




All in all, it was a pretty good field trip and I'm sure we'll be back.