Princess Kara Kakes

And the winner is....

As I sit here in my living room, enjoying the 79th Annual Academy Awards, I can't help but think, will there be awards shows in heaven?? In my ideal heaven there most absolutely would be, but it would be an ongoing show, one where everyone is a winner, and everyone is on the fashion 'do' list (possibly some for the first time ever). I love award shows. Where the world comes together to celebrate the best in motion pictures every year. Sometimes we agree, sometimes we don't. Just imagine, once you enter the pearly gates, they call your name and you head to the stage, with a thundering roar of applause in the background as your friends and family who are already there cheer you on. Some of you will give a funny and amusing acceptance speech, some will be short and sweet, some will be long as you list off every possible person who had anything to do with your life as a Christ follower, and some will be deeply emotional and moving. You say your thanks and then head backstage with your reward, eternal life. Your picture is being snapped every moment as you give your quick interviews. You head off to the after party, and then you join the audience in welcoming more residents of heaven. What an amazing thrill that would be!

Top 6 of 2006

So, I've been thinking about my favorite movies of 2006. I've decided to do a top 6 of 2006 for movies. Now, keep in consideration that I am no paid movie critic. These are just my personal favorites that I will own, or already own on DVD.

6. Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest
This movie was good. It wasn't as great as the first one, which makes me even more excited for the final installment which will be released Memorial Day weekend. I'm not one of those girls who are completely in love with Johnny Depp or Orlando Bloom, but this movie was good, so it's on my list.

5. The Pursuit of Happyness
This movie, of course, made me bawl my eyes out. It is such a warm hearted film about overcoming your circumstances to become the person you want to be. Will Smith was absolutely moving in this film. The scene that will haunt me forever is the one where he and his son are taking refuge in the bathroom of a subway station. Someone is banging on the door and his son is asleep in his lap. Tears just start flowing from his eyes and you can literally feel his pain and sadness. When this movie comes out on DVD, you HAVE to see it. It is so inspiring.

4. The Last Kiss
Some of you may think that the only reason this movie is on my list is because of my love for Zach Braff. Well, I may not have seen this film if it wasn't for that love, but I am so glad I did. It didn't do very well at the box office, but this movie is so real. It's sad in the fact that people treat each other this way and they think about their relationships this way, but it is so fascinating. This movie is about relationships. There are 5 different stages of relationships going on this movie ranging from the bachelor to the 30 year marriage. Do not watch this movie expecting to laugh. It's deeper than that. It's out on DVD and I would highly recommend watching it. It's rated R, so that's just a word of warning. By the way, the soundtrack to this movie is the best since Garden State. It brought me to my new favorite artist, Joshua Radin. Check him out on iTunes, you will not be disappointed.

3. Little Miss Sunshine
Talk about a crazy, off the wall comedy. This movie cracked me up the whole way through. I was laughing out loud, I was crying, it was amazing. It's about a little girl, who is not really beauty pagent material, who is fulfilling her duty as runner up in the Little Miss Sunshine competition in California. The family is totally messed up and they all pile into this crappy van to travel from Albequerque to California. Steve Carrell is fantastic as the gay uncle and Toni Collette is on my top actress list for sure. Definitely head to Blockbuster right now and rent this movie. It's an 'independent' film, so if you're more mainstream in your film taste, it may not be for you. But check it out anyways.

2. The Devil Wears Prada
Two words, Meryl Streep. She is such an amazing actress. This movie was adapted from a bestselling novel. I read the book a couple of years ago and was thrilled to hear it was going to be made into a film. This movie really makes you think twice about your career versus your personal life. Anne Hathaway is gorgeous and I would kill for her fabulous Chanel wardrobe in the movie. The things she has to do for her outrageous boss is astonishing. It truly is one of my new favorite movies that will stay in heavy rotation in my DVD player.

1. Dreamgirls
Okay, okay, I know. It's all the critics picks right now and it's up for quite a few Oscars, but it really is my favorite movie of 2006. I LOVE musicals and this one was so different and so fantastic. It's about the rise of a girl group in the 60's. It's loosely based on the career of Diana Ross and the Supremes. Beyonce is really becoming a great actress. Better than Austin Powers. :) Of course everyone knows that Jamie Foxx can sing, just look at Ray. Eddie Murphy sadly released an album in the 80's, and the other main girl came from Broadway. And then there's Jennifer Hudson. I remember sitting on my couch watching Simon criticize her for her looks on American Idol. I bet he's eating those words now. When she sang "You're Gonna Love Me", I was holding back tears. It was so powerful and she is such a great actress. Seriously blown away. Go see it before the Oscars, that way you'll understand when it walks away with a ton of awards.

There are many movies that I still want to see that opened in 2006. Many of them are Oscar contenders and I would love to actually see all the main nominated movies before the award show. I know that there are many good movies that are not on my list. It's just that I haven't seen them all. So, if you agree or disagree with my list, let me know! So, now that the fast is over, let's grab some popcorn and head to the theater!

Don't Touch My Stapler

So, it was a normal Tuesday morning. I arrived at work and turned the corner to find a foil covered dish on my desk. Well, I had not brought any leftovers to work so I was not sure what to expect. I pulled back the foil and lo and behold, my stapler had been submerged in JELL-O!!

If you watch The Office, you would know that this is a trick that Jim has played on both Dwight and Andy. It's really quite amusing. So, Dan Barnes, my hat's off to you my friend.

Just a warning, watch your back.

**Note** Only one stapler was harmed in the making of this prank.

Ice Ice Baby

Well, this weekend I endured the Ice Storm 2007. I drove to Oklahoma on Friday morning, just before the storm hit. I spent the weekend with my parents as we were 'iced' in. Friday night my Dad and I ventured out to Pei Wei and Blockbuster. Saturday morning we slept in and stayed warm by the fireplace. Dad and I again ventured out to go get lunch, and some new wiper blades for my car. Yeah! We went to church Saturday night and it was a very small crowd. It was amazing how many churches cancelled their services over the weekend. What else was amazing was how much tv coverage the storm had. The only time there was regularly scheduled programming on was during prime time. I mean, how many times can you say, "It's slick out here". Duh. Kyle and Crystal joined us for church and then we went out to eat. I invited them back to the house to play the Amazing Race DVD game. Mom and I won both games coming from way behind. It was great fun!

My plan was to head back to TX on Sunday, but the roads iced over Sunday night with another front carrying more freezing rain and sleet. I decided that I did not want to chance driving back yet, so I staying in OK. Mom and I cleaned out my old closet and the she made my dad a floor pillow. It's huge, but it's super comfy. Dad and I made our way to his office to check the roof because some other buildings around his had collapsed. All was fine.

So I drove back around noon on Monday. Enjoy the pics from my drive. The iced trees were so beautiful with the sun shining down on them. I did take the pics while I was driving. I was careful, I promise. All in all it was a wonderful weekend. I could not have picked a better place or better company to be snowed (iced) in with.

What I Did On My Christmas Vacation

Ahhhh.... vacation. When's my next one??

So, I took the week after Christmas off and headed to Oklahoma to spend the holidays with my family. I hadn't taken more than a 4 day weekend since I've been on staff, so it was a much needed break. I had a great time celebrating Christmas. On Friday night we celebrated with Crystal because she was going home to Oregon. It was a nice evening and my Mom set the table with her fine china and we had a great time! We went to the Christmas Eve service the next day at LifeChurch.tv and then headed off to the Hornets game. They lost, but we had a good time. Sunday was a lovely day of my Dad and I installing new weather stripping on the back door. What he thought would be a 2 hour project turned into an all day project. We finished well enough and headed out to see We Are Marshall. It was a wonderfully inspiring movie that of course made me cry. :)

Christmas Eve was a great day, until I got sick about midnight. I had no sleep that night and unfortunately it was not because I stayed up to see Santa. We all got together to open presents about 7am and then I headed off back to bed. After a while I moved to the couch to at least be with my family on Christmas. I slept most of the day. The rest of the week was me recovering, returning, and relaxing with my Mom. We saw Dreamgirls, which should win all the awards it's up for, and watched some of my movies that I brought. We had a great time.

Friday I went to my best friend from high school's baby shower. It was so great to see her as she lives in Kansas City and I haven't seen her in a couple of years. She is due on Valentine's Day with a bouncing baby boy. Check out the photos to see some pics from the shower.

New Year's Eve was spent at the wedding of a great friend. Check out some pics from Jason and Ashley's wedding. We had a great time and spent the New Year with them. After the wedding we headed to IHOP to ring in the new year with our healthy breakfast. :)

Now it's back to normal. Back to waking up to an alarm. Back to work. I tell you what, I'm not waiting another year for another vacation. Even if it's just hanging out at home. One more thing, I've decided not to make any New Year's Resolutions this year. I was just too depressed when I looked at the resolutions I've made over the past two years, and I refuse to start out the year with disappointment. So, this year all I am going to do is to live my life to the fullest and follow all the paths that God has set before me. So, I wish you all a Happy New Year and may God bless you!