Don't judge my love for HP

So we saw Harry Potter last night. Before I get into the movie, I would like to address something. It's amazing how series' like Harry Potter bring out the freaks interesting people. We got there about an hour and a half early because I knew what it was going to be like, even on a Wednesday night. And sure enough, there were already about 40 people in front of us. I kept staring at the floor because every time someone new walked in, I was like, oh great. There were 2 guys who were making bird noises for about 20 minutes. There was also a girl who had headphones on and was singing along very loudly, as if she were performing for us. There was a lady who brought a folding chair to sit in while in line. And, of course, there were the 2 couples that wouldn't stop hugging and kissing and basically making out right in front of us. Literally, one couple was less than 2 feet away and it was gross. So we enjoyed that for 90 minutes.

Sorry for that. Now, on to the movie. Uh, did the writers of the movie even read the book, or did they just make stuff up as they went along? I knew that I shouldn't have read the book again right before I went to see it!!

They didn't just add/remove stuff for the sake of time this time, no. They completely had characters doing things that, in the book, other characters did. Just one example: Luna did not find Harry in the train when they arrived at Hogwarts, Tonks did.

In addition to that, they had complete scenes that didn't even happen in the book! For example, when the Weasley's house caught on fire over Christmas holiday. I am almost positive that did not happen in the book.

And, most importantly, Harry and Ginny did not kiss in the Room of Requirement! She didn't even go in there with him! They totally kissed right in front of everyone in the common room after a quiddich match! That was my favorite part of the whole book and I was so sad that they changed it!

There were a ton of other instances where I would lean over to Lee and tell him that's not how it happened in the book. I felt like every 5 minutes I was the book police and had to let him know that wasn't how it was supposed to be! Even this morning, I would randomly say "oh and this did not happen in the book either!" I'm not going to go on and on (although I could and kind of want to) because I sound like a huge HP dork. I was just not expecting that much of a deviation from the book. I understand that things need to be sped up and maybe happen in a different way for the sake of time, but this was ridiculous. I hear that the last book will be split into 2 movies, and for the sake of the story line, I sure hope that it is!


and dumbledore pick up harry in the subway station
and harry did not hit on that girl at the subway station restaurant
in fact there was so subway station in the book
and hermione fixed harry's nose, not luna
and harry did not go to slughorn's parties, he avoided them
and harry and ginny did not come close to kissing over the holiday in the house
and mr weasley did not tell harry about the vanishing closet
we knew nothing about the vanishing closet until the very end
speaking of the very end, harry was not on the floor below dumblodore and the death eaters
he was on the same floor, behind a door, under his invisibility cloak, frozen by dumbledore's spell
and there was a big fight in the great hall and entrance hall at the end
and and and

YUM-O!!

Happy Wednesday!! That means the week is more than halfway over! Woohoo! :)

I am super excited because Lee and I are going to see Harry Potter tonight!! I know, I know, I can't believe that I've waited this long either! But I really hate to go when it first comes out because of all of the people, plus today is the first day it's playing on the IMAX screen so of course I had to hold out for that! I mean, there's even a 15 minute portion that's in 3D!! I am a dork. The movie is a little long, which will make it a late night for us. I am an old lady and I like to be in bed at 9 so I can read and relax and it's lights out by 10 for me!! No, I am not turning 85 on my next birthday, I just really like sleeping!

So last night for dinner, I made chicken parmesan and it was sooo good!! Seriously, I've tried to make this several times before and it has never turned out this good! And the best part is that it is a weight watchers recipe! That's right! I just had to share the recipe with you. And a picture. That is missing a couple of pieces because I didn't know how delicious it was going to be until after I had made my plate!

2 egg whites

1/3 cup bread crumbs (i used Italian style)

1/3 cup Parmesan cheese

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

3 Tbs flour

4 (1/4 lb each) chicken breast cutlets

1 Tbs extra virgin olive oil

1 jar prepared marinara sauce (I used Ragu Light marinara, it's my favorite even when I'm not watching calories)

1/3 cup part skim Mozzarella cheese

I use pie pans when I'm breading anything, they work great)

Lightly beat egg whites in one pie pan. In another, spread the flour. In a third pie pan, combine the bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, oregano, salt and pepper.

Working with one cutlet at a time, lightly coat both sides in the flour, then dip in egg whites and lightly coat in bread crumbs. Place on a dish and repeat the process for the remaining cutlets.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the cutlets and cook until browned on both sides and cooked through, about 3 minutes on each side. Reduce heat and pour marinara over cutlets. top each cutlet with 2 Tbs mozzarella cheese. Simmer, covered, until cheese melts. Enjoy!!

My everyday grocery store doesn't carry chicken cutlets, so I just bought 1 lb. of chicken breasts, dried them off with paper towels, placed them between wax paper, and pounded them (with a skillet) to about 1/4 inch thickness. I think that was the secret to the recipe. Just make sure you dry them off or it could get messy! (I learned that the hard way once :) )

I made pasta for Lee to eat his with, but I really enjoyed them without anything else!

So Friday is one of my friend's birthdays. So yesterday I went to get her a card and a little something. What I got is hilarious and I wanted you to laugh too. Originally, I wanted to get her some note pads from Anne Taintor because I think that stuff is hilarious. But, they didn't have any note pads at the place I went, so I settled for this magnet which I got a chuckle out of and I know she will too:
Annnnd, I got her this card! There were a couple of good ones, but I laughed out loud in the store when I came across this beauty:

I hope that neither one of those offended anyone! Not all of my friends would appreciate these gifts, but I know that she will :)

Woohoo, I love birthdays!!

I can't be the only one with a want button

When I was little, my dad would often tell me: "turn your want button off" :) Isn't he funny? He thinks he is anyway. :) I've always been the type of person that lives months ahead of where I am now. When Lee and I were dating, all I could think about was being engaged, then all I could think about was being married! Once I decided to buy a house, I wouldn't stop the search until I found the one. Those bookcases we're building? Once I had them in mind, I wouldn't shut up until we started on them! It's ridiculous. Sometimes I have to remind myself to live in the here and now and appreciate all that I have. Because I do know that I have a lot to be thankful for. Lately I haven't been doing that enough. I want a new house, I want a new car, I want a new dress, I want this or that. I have decided to turn my want button off!! (well you know, maybe except for the dress. my birthday is coming up, and every birthday girl needs a new dress, right?!) I think my want button is stressing me out, and stressing Lee out by extension! I am going to calm down and enjoy being a newlywed and spending as much time with Lee and the girls as I can.

Speaking of being a newlywed, my name is officially changed everywhere! I must say that I am quite impressed with myself :) I changed it at the SS office the week we got back from the honeymoon, I already have anew driver's license, and I changed it at the bank! I even got a new voter's registration card complete with my current address! For the past 2 years, if I wanted to vote on anything, I had to drive all the way out to BA! I also changed it at work and the only thing missing is my new name plate, which I hope I get soon!

A friend of mine that I used to work with invited me to a Pampered Chef party. I was totally excited because 1) I haven't seen her in a while except for the wedding and that doesn't count, and 2) I LOVE Pampered Chef! So I was really looking forward to the party that's on Thursday. Until today when she told me that my old boss will probably be there. She wasn't telling me to warn me, she was telling me because she knew that I would like to see her. And I would have, if it were a couple of months ago.

I have remained close with several of the people I used to work with at my previous job. For the most part, it's all of the "non-management" folk that I still talk to at least weekly. My immediate boss and I worked very closely together for the last 9-12 months that I was there. It was more than a work relationship, you know? Especially in that kind of job, where you are working with these people for 70+ hours a week for months at a time, you get to know everyone really well. Your personal and work lives are intertwined. It didn't hurt that our office was small, there were only 8 of us. When I left, I know that my boss was very unhappy with me and thought that I was making the wrong decision. She said that she felt like she was losing a daughter the day I left. :( It was really difficult for me to make the decision to leave there, because I loved most the people that I worked with, but it was the right decision for me. (no matter how much I complain about the current job, trust me when I say the situation is much better this way) It was my first job out of college. When I started there, I was living with my parents, and Lee and I had been dating only about 6 months. When I left, I had my own house, Lee and I were living together, and we were engaged. My co-workers there shared in all of that with me. They were like an extended family. Obviously, I invited everyone of them to the wedding. And it was kind of a slap in the face that my old boss was the only one who didn't come. She didn't even send her RSVP back to me. I was surprised. And hurt. And back in April, at the end of busy season, I send my 5 friends that still work there (old boss included) an email congratulating them on making it through. She was the only one who did not respond. If you knew her, you would not have expected that, as I did not expect it. I don't know, maybe I take things too personally. Maybe she just really could not come or something, but how can you not take that kind of stuff personally? The whole thing just really hurt my feelings, and now I'm dreading going to something that I was looking forward to. The only thing that is making it okay to go is the fact that I will know a couple of other people there, so I won't be alone and awkward.

I had to count to see how old I'm going to be!

How was your weekend? Mine was pretty good :)

The bookshelves are in the house!! They are only partially screwed into the wall, but I'll take it! We spent all day Saturday painting them with my paint sprayer!!! Remember when I bought that thing, oh, I don't know...like 6 months ago?! Well this weekend was my first time to use it and it worked like a dream!! I don't even want to think about how long those things would have taken to paint if I hadn't had that! The only thing is, well, I'm kind of kicking myself for using plywood. When we were looking, I was like, Oh, here's MDF, they use that stuff all the time on HGTV :) But for some reason we decided to use plywood and just face it with 1x2's. I figured that all of the knots and imperfections would either 1) sand out or 2) be camouflaged by the paint. WRONG-O!! The paint actually accentuates the flaws!! Lovely. Ultra white semi-gloss, I should have known. But you know, there's really nothing we can do about it now. So, once they are secured to the wall, my meticulous filling and touching up will commence. Perhaps I will be able to show you a finished product in about 6 months :)

Oh, I wanted to tell you that Zoe started her 'roids last week and within about 24 hours of the first dose, she was cured!! One million times better! Lee thinks she's put on some muscle ;) And Isabelle took her last dose of this de-worming medicine. Now we're supposed to take her off of all of her medicine and if she still continues vomiting, then she has to have a scope put down her stomach and the (new) doc thinks that they will either 1) find a foreign object in there and be able to remove it, or 2) take a biopsy, which is the very last thing to do. I'm pretty sure we'll wind up doing to scope thing, but we'll just wait and see.

I think I'm cutting my hair. Only like 2 inches, but still, I never though that I would cut it once I had finally been able to grow it out! It's currently halfway down my back, which is the longest it has been since high school! But I want to be able to curl it and do fun stuff with it, and right now I just feel like it is flat and stringy! I'm going on Friday.

My birthday is in 16 days :)

Time for goals

I don't want to work today. Really do I ever want to work? Ummm, no. And why should I really? My job is meaningless. Why do I care if we can save a multi-million dollar corporation a couple thou on taxes? I don't. We had a meeting the other day and I wanted to hysterically laugh at everyone and tell them to listen to what they were saying!! I won't get into the specifics because it's deathly boring but basically we are trying to perfect a program that is saving about $30k in taxes. Yes, that sounds like a lot, but in my corporate world, it is nothing. If we do something and find that it is off by $500k or less (sometimes more), then we don't bother fixing it because it's not worth our time! Crazy crazy world. Can I have that $500k we don't care about? Thanks. :)

So instead of working, I decided to use this time to list out my goals for the rest of this year. You are going to have to hold me to them.

You might have noticed a new space on the right hand side of my page: Weight Loss Accountability. Yes, by December, I will lose 20lbs. This is something that I have been trying to do since about January, but after losing about 10 and then gaining it all back plus some, I got a little discouraged. You might remember that I completely gave up on losing weight for the wedding because I was so frustrated. Not to mention stressed out by some wedding stuff. But I digress. So over there's a little tracker for me to record my weight lost. Not because you care, but because I care about having to put a '+any amount' for all to see. I started at zero and every week I will put a '-some amount', which will be the weight that I lost during that week. By December, the amounts had better add up to 20 or else I'm in big trouble and no trying to have babies!! I'm actually not a big fan of obsessing about weight, as much as I am about just getting my clothes to fit, but since weight's the only real, in-your-face way to track it, then that's what I'm doing.

(Yes, I said trying for babies, er a baby, as in one at a time please, God :) )

The other thing I am going to do by December is start and finish the real estate class for crying out loud!! I've only been trying to do this for over one year!! But it was just too much with working and planning the wedding, so I let it go and told myself that it would have to wait until after the wedding. Guess what? It's after the wedding! (yay for SO many reasons :) ) So I can finally devote the time to the class. Yippee!

In addition to those 2 (3?) major goals, I also need to do the following to the house, but perhaps not all before December:
- Finish sanding and painting the bookcases
- Install the bookcases
- Finish Lee's man room (paint, organize the stuff of mine that has to be in there, new tv)
- Paint the kitchen, living room, and bathroom
- Re-arrange the living room furniture (maybe get a new tv for there too!)
- Build a new vanity for the bathroom with hubby (we are master carpenters now, you know)
- Sand and paint kitchen cabinets
- New counter top and back splash for the kitchen
- Build deck in the backyard
- New carpet for the bedrooms

That's my long-term to-do list! I love making lists and crossing stuff off! It makes me feel so accomplished, even if it not a huge thing.

Hi :)

I have wedding pictures for you!!!! :) I'll let them (mostly) speak for themselves. I tried to narrow it down as much as I could. I really would've posted all 417 of them if it didn't take forever to post pictures!!

I stared at this dress for over one year before I could wear it! That's how far in advance I got it. And it took 7 weeks to come in before that :)

Touching up

Getting dressed!

Mary putting my garter on for me! You can see my Spanx. I don't care, I heart them and wear them under everything :)

I love this picture of my brother

Lee all ready to go! :)

We saw each other before. This is Lee's face when he first saw me :)


I love this one

My little flower girl doing a perfect job :)

Haha!! I told you that one of the doors was locked and I literally pulled him through the doorway with me!
I love how much Lee is smiling when I put his ring on!

We're married!

My family

This is one of my absolute favorites!! Aubree LOVED being in the pictures and we had a hard time getting her out of them :) How can you say no to that face?

Making it official!

They took about 3980 pics of our rings. These are my favorite
Cutting the cake! We were about to crack up because it was Italian cream and therefore didn't cut well at all. It more like crumbled.

Our first dance to "Then" by Brad Paisley. Perfect perfect song!

My dad and I dancing. He didn't enjoy it and at one point said that we should have asked them to cut the song into a shorter version! I am the only one that enjoys dancing in my family, including Lee.

At leat I got a twirl in!

I love this one of Lee and my dad

So, I really wanted a good picture of us walking out, I even wrote it down for the photographers. So I told Lee that we were supposed to walk slowly and smile at the cameras. This is the best one we got! You should see the others! You would think they were throwing boulders at us instead of rose petals because he was all hunched over and covering himself!! The end!!

I love lazy Sundays!

I'm skipping Not me Monday this week because I tried and it was just too difficult to discuss our weekend in opposite terms!

So, on Thursday, we took Zoe to the dr. Now, my family has been going to the same vet since before Isabelle and Zoe were even a twinkle in their mother's eye. My parents have a 15+ year old Yorkie and she has always gone to Dr. D. Okay. Well, recently, in the last year or so, Dr. D has been in the process (IMO) of turning his practice over to a different doc, a woman who is very nice but whom I don't really trust. One day I walked into the vet's office and it was painted all of these crazy colors and there was weird furniture, i.e. a huge red couch that is super modern, not really old Dr. D's taste. He's like 65. And then we started hearing that this new doc basically tries to "up-sell" you on everything. Oh, you have a new dog from a shelter? Why not pay $60 to find out exactly what breed he/she is or is made up of. Oh, your dog is really sick and there's nothing we can do? Why don't we try all of these experimental procedures that cost an arm and a leg and probably won't actually work. Oh, your dog throws up all the time? Let's do a scary procedure on her where we stick a tube down her throat that is ridiculously expensive. Oh, your dog has terrible allergies and you've been in with her several times since November of last year and know exactly what she needs? Well why don't you come in anyways for a freaking $80 visit where I scrape a hole into your dogs skin above her eye that will cause a terrible scab and then I'll give you something else to try and then if that doesn't work, just call back next week for the stuff we know will work. Okay. Those last 2 were my actual experiences. Sorry for the ridiculously long rant. My point is that I don't trust this new doc and I never know if she's trying to do what's best for my dogs or if she's just doing what's going to make her the most money. I think we're switching vets.

On Friday we worked on the bookcases! All day, from like 8am to almost 8pm, and then went out to dinner with Lee's friend that was in town! I barely made it to 10:30. Then we got up on Saturday and worked from about 9-2 and we were finished!! It wasn't even that difficult, once we figured out how to use some of the power tools! :) There was a slight learning curve there! So they are built, but I haven't sanded or painted them or anything. I do believe that once upon a time, I would have had no problem continuing to work on them until they were complete and installed, but I must be getting old or something :) I was so exhausted after that day and a half. We didn't even touch them again the whole weekend!

On Sunday Lee played golf for 8 hours. Yes, 8! He is crazy. I laid around the house and enjoyed the quiet. I read a lot, and did laundry and picked up the house. Pretty lazy Sunday.

Oh! Our wedding pics are ready! We looked at them last night online and I will say that they are much better than I expected! I knew I was doing myself a courtesy by expecting the worst ;) Anyway, a cd is being delivered to me, so I will likely post all of them several on here once I have that. If you can't wait and you have about 2 hours to kill, here's the website. There are a ton. You've been warned. www.collages.net username: Lee and Ashley pw: 14288

Welcome to my new and improved blog!!

Yay, I am finally debuting my new blog! I don't know what took so long, but I've been working on this forever! Or maybe just 4 days, whatever. I hope you like it! I felt like I needed to change it up since my old url was not applicable anymore; we are no longer getting married this year! AND I was tired of having to use the same layout since something was wrong with my comments section that didn't allow me to change it on the old bloggy! I'm hoping that is not the case this time around :)

I chose not to move my old posts over. I want this one to be fresh and new!

I'm so excited because today is my Friday! I'm taking tomorrow off so that Lee and I can work on the bookcases :) We have everything we need and we are starting tonight! Hopefully I can post pics of the completed project on Monday, that's our goal anyway. We would really like to have it finished by Sunday, but we have a couple of other obligations so we will have to wait and see how things go.

We're taking Zoe to the vet tonight. Her allergies are still terrible and she has been keeping herself up all night scratching away. I mean, I seriously don't think she has slept one night this week (neither have we for that matter). She has scratched one side of her snout, one ear and one eye completely raw. And, while we're on the subject of dogs, we have decided to take Isabelle to another vet for a second opinion about her tummy issues. She was doing great since the last vet visit, which was about 4 weeks ago. Then, suddenly this week she has started vomiting all the time again. I just have no idea how to help her! I really want to avoid having her sedated and a tube stuck all the way through her body, which is what our vet said would have to be the next step. I feel so bad for my babies :(

I am fighting the urge to go and see Harry Potter this weekend. I really want to see it! But, I also want to finish the book, plus I like to wait a couple of weeks for the initial craze to die down. I am gessing that my restraint will hold out until next weekend :)

Happy Thursday!!