On Saturday afternoon, while George was out for a bit, I took a long, hot shower. Okay, it wasn’t THAT long, I do have two kids, but it was long enough to give my hair a good washing and conditioning. When I got out, I didn’t just rub my hair with a towel and call it a day – I used the hair dryer, I busted out the heat-activated shine enhancing gel, I used a big round brush, and I actually (gasp!) styled my hair. I even used a touch of hairspray and I can’t even remember the last time I did that!
When I put Breanna down for a nap, I came out and sat on the living room floor with some nail polish. I painted my toenails a vivid red, and my finger nails a soft, sparkly pink-white shade (then I did the same for Hayley).
After supper, I put my contacts in, put on a bit of eyeshadow and eyeliner, and threw on a long flowery skirt, a black tank top, and a pair of shoes that would show off my red toenails.
And THEN George and I put the girls in their car seats, whisked them over to his parents’ house, dumped them off, and left. On a DATE. We went on a date. Just the two of us, no kids, no friends, just us. Do you know the last time we went on a date with just the two of us? Do you? Because if you do, I would love for you to tell me because I can’t actually remember. *
Where did we go? HELLO, DO YOU NOT REALIZE WHAT WEEKEND THIS WAS?! We went to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, duh. And I nearly peed myself from the excitement of finally seeing it. I won’t spoil it for anyone who hasn’t seen it yet, but in general, I loved it tremendously and although they left out a few things I would have loved to have seen (no kidding, the book is over 800 pages long, of course they couldn’t include everything or else I’d still be there), overall I thought they did an amazing job and I loved it. Also, it bears noting that Daniel Radcliffe is becoming a better actor with every movie.
When the movie was over, I babbled excitedly, filling George in on the extra stuff that didn’t make it into the movie (not that he wanted to know, being perfectly happy to live life without ever reading the books, that heathen) and talking about how I am – no joke – setting my alarm for 7:30 next Saturday so I can be up at the store when it opens at 8 am to buy the final book. If my kids were a bit older I would very seriously head downtown and park my ass at the big bookstores for their midnight release.
Anyway. Dork, I know, but I love me some Harry Potter.
On the way out from the theater, George called his dad and found out the girls were still up, which I had expected since Hayley never sleeps if she can avoid it and Breanna had napped until 4:15 that afternoon, and told him we’d be there in about 45 minutes. We swung by to see our friends Dean and Joanne so that I could meet their new puppy. Since Joanne made such a fuss over how nice I looked, having made such an effort, I got her to take a picture.
After a quick beer with them, we headed out to pick up the girls. Breanna was very jolly when we arrived but was also very happy to see me arrive at the door. Hayley insisted on putting on a brief show so she sang for us before we finally headed home. Breanna conked out within five minutes, at 11:30 and Hayley hung in there until just about midnight.
I love being with my kids and I love going places where they’re welcome too, like last weekend when we went up north – family fun is definitely a big priority. But I have to say that getting all ready for a date like I used to once upon a lifetime and just going out somewhere with George is something that I enjoy and really need to do more often.
But not until after next weekend when I’m done my reading marathon and find out who lives and who dies at the very end (SOB) of the Harry Potter series.
* Oh wait. I remember. The last date we went on together like that was when we saw Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban back when Hayley was about a year and a half old. We missed seeing Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire because I was busy pushing Breanna out of my body the same day I was hoping to see it. I am nothing if not predictable, right?
I found the movie completely baffling. I know things had to be left out but it seemed to me that everything that was relevant was left out. Very little made sense. My husband only sees the movies with me, he’s never read a book. The first four movies he could make a story out of and follow and know what was happening. This time He was completely dumbfounded the entire time. Nothing flowed in any manner and no connections were made to anything and explanations were nonexistent. Those of us who read the books knew what the High Inquisitor is, and what power she held; that was completely left out in the movie. Trying to explain that and so many other things to my husband on the way home just made him give up.
I know I’m judgmental and I usually have a lighter opinion the second time around with these movies, when I watch them as movies instead of interpretations of beloved books. But, I don’t see my overall opinion changing much.
I am the first “didn’t like” opinion I’ve come across after reading about the movie across the Internet since it opened. I don’t like my minority status, but I’d really like to understand what was so good about to for everyone else?
Sherry you look lovely. You deserve a night out.
Sherry, you look beautiful. And you have gorgeous hair and great ARMS, too! I swear, that little Hayley is an absolute clone of her daddy. Beautiful family.