Weekend fun

I am booked back to back on the weekend fun! Last weekend I headed to Bend to get away for the long weekend with a friend. We stayed with another friend and had a great time getting away to the snow and enjoying a change of scenery. On Saturday I had my first snowshoeing experience - tons of fun! We went on a 4 mile loop and I really enjoyed it. It is amazing how quiet and peaceful it is with all the snow. Although I have to admit I'm not used to the 5300 foot elevation change....I pretty much live (and workout) at sea level here in Portland, so the altitude did wear on me a bit. After snowshoeing we spent some time in our friends' hot tub thawing out. We slept a lot, watched a few movies, and got outside to enjoy the sun (mind you it was still EXTREMELY cold). Saturday night we went to this event in Bend called Winterfest where they set up a big snowboard jump, beer gardens, a stage for bands, and an outdoor marketplace. Even though we were kinda wimpy when it came to the cold, it was a lot of fun to go hang out at the Bend Winterfest.

Now I'm back home for a really short week (I had yesterday off - thank you Presidents!) and on Thursday afternoon I'm off to Texas for a fun weekend with my sister, mom and cousin. I'm really looking forward to it! Brooke is going to be crazy busy being a Director for her club and performing with the Seniors in Sing Song, but I am so excited to see her in between performances and enjoy some time with some of my absolute favorite women! Not to mention I also get to spend some time with one of my very close friends from college.

Of course, all this weekend fun means I get to compact my workweek which as always makes things pretty interesting. It's totally worth it though!

The numbers are in....

Coraline made 16.8 million opening weekend. Smiles were everywhere at work Monday morning. I've never been particularly in tune with how well movies do money-wise, but over the last week or so I've found myself extremely interested.

Last Saturday evening a group of us went to go see the film at a sold out showing and we had a great time. There were a number of my co-workers also in the audience and I have to admit it was weird to sit in a public theater and hear the cheering when my company's logo flashed on the screen. It was also fascinating to see the entire theater stay through the very end of the credits to see all of the names and hear the cheers for different individuals as their names ran across the screen. My friends were oh so kind to cheer as my name crossed the screen.

Now we're looking to the long weekend for an additional bump at the box office - hopefully those that were not able to see it last weekend will check it out this weekend.

I'm heading out of town with a friend for the weekend. We are going to do some snowshoeing or hiking and a lot of relaxing. I have Monday off for President's Day and I'm looking forward to just getting away for a little bit. Then next Thursday I head to Texas to see Brooke in Sing Song and hang out with Brooke, Sarah, and my mom. It's going to be a busy, travel-filled next week and a half, but I'm looking forward to the change in pace and change of scenery. Right now the forecast for Abilene looks to be much warmer than the last time I was there for Sing Song - thank you Lord!

Okay - now I gotta get packed up for my weekend away, get my laundry put away, and get ready for another fantastic Office episode. That show has been on a roll lately!

GO SEE CORALINE PLEASE and other ramblings...

Things are buzzing around the Studio this week with the release of Coraline only hours away now, it's very exciting/nerve-wracking around work. Tomorrow night is the big premiere and then it will be in theaters Friday! Obviously we are hoping for good box office numbers for opening weekend. Even today I stepped out to grab some lunch up the street and the lady helping me saw my ID badge and started asking me about the movie. It was totally random - usually people don't even know anything about where I work. Anyway - I'm excited to see how Coraline does - if nothing else watching the stop-motion and understanding all the work that goes into it makes the movie incredible. If you do make it out to see it, stay to the very very very end of the credits to see someone you know in the list.... =)

We are getting a group together to go watch it Saturday early evening, then we are coming back to my place to have dinner and play some Wii. While I don't typically frequent animated feature films on opening weekend, I'm making a point of getting to the theater with a group in tow this weekend. Thanks to those of you out there who are making plans of your own to see it - let me know what you think of it - and if you can, see it in 3D, it's very interesting what all they can do visually to create a more "real" feeling.

In other news life keeps rolling along. Last weekend I was blessed to spend some time with a very close friend from college. She came down for the weekend and we got to go antique and boutique shopping in the Sellwood neighborhood. While we didn't really find any good buys, it was fun to get out of the close by stomping grounds and look at all kinds of things. This coming weekend, in addition to the Coraline viewing, I will be renewing my driver's license. I have had the same license with the picture from when I was 16 for, well, since I turned sixteen. Needless to say, I look a little different now. I'm so looking forward to a Saturday morning at the DMV - what else would you want to do?!?!

I've been exploring my neighborhood a little more lately too by doing what I now like to call "Urban running/jogging". What is "Urban running/jogging"? Well, it's when you go for a run, at rush hour, when it's about dusk, with your neon yellow running jacket, and your iPod shuffle and you observe all kinds of people, commuters, different buildings you haven't noticed before, strange noises you don't hear when you are driving, etc. I see road rage, I see homeless people struggling to stay warm, I observe employees closing up their shops, I see people walking home from work, I see different businesses I never knew were there, and the great thing is that everytime I go out it is a new adventure. Of course there are the crosswalks to deal with, figuring out the best way to avoid trampling over those walking pedestrians and construction zones to avoid, but all in all I'm enjoying this new method of discovery. I'll keep you updated on my future discoveries while literally running around this city!

Kayla's Favorite Things

Unlike Oprah, you aren't going to get my list of favorite things, but you are oh-so-privileged to get the full run-down of some of my recently-enjoyed favorite things...

1. Wii - My parents got me one for Christmas (thank you Mom and Dad!). We've enjoyed bowling, boxing, tennis, and Mariokart. I know I'm a little behind the times on the Wii, it's old news to you, but I'm loving it!

2. 24 - I love that this show is back on (I'm watching this week's episode right now). It's not the same watching it without my college roomies, but it does bring back lots of great memories. Like the time we watched 9 hours straight of it because it's so addicting and hard not to when we had it on DVD. And who doesn't like to root for Jack Bauer?!?! In college I used to tease my roommate throughout the entire show, asking her if she thought Jack was going to die, it would drive her crazy because she was more than a little smitten with Jack-Attack...

3. Neon-Yellow Brooks Running Jacket - This was another Christmas present (thanks again!) and it's awesome because when I'm running in the dark I know people will see me. Unfortunately there still aren't enough hours of daylight for running in the light, but I love this jacket because it ensures I'm seen in the dark. Plus it keeps me nice and warm!

4. Peanut Butter Cookie Luna Bar - Eventhough this was one of the Luna Bars that was recalled due to the Salmonella Peanut Butter scare, it has quickly become one of my favorites. Caramel Nut Brownie is a close second.

5. All the buzz about Coraline - It's so crazy/weird/exciting to see all the media buzz about the release of Coraline. I have seen it and its pretty cool - I hope you'll see it too when it comes out February 6th and let me know what you think!

Now that you know some of my recent favorite things, I'm thinking it's time to share some of my recent "things that annoy me" hmm....

Balancing Act

Life is a balancing act. That's part of why life is so hard - you're always trying to find that balance between all the different parts of your life..... or at least I am, I guess I should speak for myself here. Perhaps those of you reading have already found balance in your life. =)

Recently I've had balance on my mind - I've been thinking a lot about what I want to commit my time and energy to and what that means for my daily routine. The crazy thing about trying to find balance is that you never really find it. It's the search for it that you learn what you want more of / less of in your life and then you adjust accordingly.

So that's what I've been up to - working on finding balance in my life. I'll let you know when I find it.

At work we're getting excited for the release of Coraline - February 6th is the U.S. release date. It's exciting to see the culmination of years of work be released.

I know its been a while since I last posted - I guess while I've been trying to find balance I've neglected to blog. Actually, really it's just that I'm on the computer all day at work so when I get home I sometimes stay away from the computer.

Yep, still here

The last week/weekend have been busy with catching up on all the pieces of my life. Catching up at work, catching up on laundry, catching up on the dishes, and then a little more general catching up. This week promises to be pretty busy again with some work things and so on. I promise I'll "catch-up" on my blog soon..... =)

Back to reality, back to snow, back to Portland

This afternoon I made the drive back up to Portland - it was less eventful as the drive down to Medford thankfully. That is with the exception of the snow greeting me as I came into Wilsonville! It's supposed to warm up tomorrow and melt away, and that's exactly what I'm hoping it will do.

Tomorrow I head back to work after a total of 2 weeks off. Thanks to the Arctic Blast before Christmas I ended up getting a couple more days off than originally planned. It's been great to have this much time off to relax - I actually feel rested and ready to go at it again, even though I could continue sleeping in and relaxing for a few more days.....but who doesn't feel like that after a break?

I hope your 2009 is off to a great start and I look forward to sharing the new year with you!