It's the Final Countdown

Hello ladies and gentlemen. This is it. The sun is setting on the Blog Wars era and I'm feeling good. Confident even. Mike has gone dark and won't tell me where his numbers are until the contest is over. I can respect that. Either he's WAY ahead or WAY behind. And I think he's behind, people.... WAY behind! At least that is my hope!

As I mentioned earlier, Mike and I are going to be out of town tomorrow... all day. No access to internet until late tomorrow night. Some would consider this a problem but not me. My readers are the best and I have complete faith in you and your little resourceful selves. Just do what you've been doing and we are going to win this thing!!! Yes we are!

I am really hoping that while you've been here on my blog you have found something that has perked your interest. Something that has made you spend a few minutes here and maybe want to return. I love blogging. I really do. I love reading other blogs and then sharing my ideas, crafts, photography, etc.. on my blog. If you have enjoyed your time here then please feel free to subscribe to this blog. Just click on the subscribe to posts button on the left. And if you're just here for the giveaways then you're going to have to come back again soon because sometime next week I'm doing another giveaway from this talented blogger/photographer! Don't miss it!

Man Cheats on Wife Using Digg

This blog war has been crazy and fun and did I mention crazy? It all started with Mike thinking he could get as many people to visit his blog as I had visiting my blog. Since he is an Internet Guru of sorts and I am a stay at home mom that rarely sees the light of day I really never believed I would be in the running. He has many, many tricks up his sleeve such as posting smart and cool stuff on digg and I only know a few things. I know that when stay at home moms bond together they can do anything!

I never dreamed it would get this huge! I have had so much support from my wonderful family, friends and so many strangers! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

Considering how Mike started this whole war off by changing by URL so that when my blog address was typed in it took you to his site. Cheater!!! He took it down right away though, cause he's nice like that! We have one day left in this little war of ours and I am trying to make a final push to win. Please help me out. Do what you can. Post on your Facebook, send out some e-mails, do what you can and help me win!!!

Crunch Time!

Ok everybody, I've just been informed that this little Blog Wars contest will end at 11:59 p.m. PST, Saturday, February 28th.

I am excited to share the out come of this whole thing with you first thing Monday morning, but before I get ahead of myself I wanted to discuss the prizes for commenting.

1st Prize will be a gift from the amazing Upon the Shelf Home Decor store run by my beautiful and talented sisters Jana and Kara. I'm not sure what exactly the prize will be but it will be good. I promise! Visit their store's blog here to get an idea of what you might win!

2nd Prize will be an adorable ruffle apron, hand made by none other than MOI! The colors won't be the same as the one in the picture but I'll let you pick a base color and I'll surprise you from there. (I got the apron pattern from this blogger. Check out her site too. It's wonderful!)

3rd Prize will be three adorable hand made bookmarks, also made by yours truly! They will look something like this...

Now just to get a final little push going here's what I'm going to do - If you want to be entered into the drawing all you have to do is leave a comment. Many of you have done that already and I'm keeping track so don't worry, your name is already on the list.

For those of you that REALLY, REALLY, REALLY want to win I am adding an extra bonus. If you post something about my blog war on your blog with a link that directs them over to this site then I will enter your name into the drawing THREE more times!!! Yay for you! But you must leave a comment in this post letting me know that you linked to me.

Now I know many of you have already done this and I really, truly appreciate it. The effects have been marvelous! I thin I know everyone that has done this and I have kept track but in case I missed you would you please leave a comment on this post letting me know that you posted a link from your blog? That would help me (and your chances of winning) out a lot!

So let's make one final push to win this thing. Mike and I are both going to be out of town all day tomorrow so I am counting on you all to help me win this thing!!!

Many loves to you...

-Karli

****This Giveaway is now Closed***

Our Divine Roles As Women

I taught a lesson to the young women in our church this past Sunday. The lesson was entitled, "Attitudes Towards Our Divine Roles As Women." Wow. Divine. We have DIVINE roles as women in this world. I believe that. I really, really do. The lesson started off with this little poem,

"You never know what a girl is worth,

You'll have to wait and see;

But every woman in a noble place,

A girl once used to be."

Take a minute to think about all the 'noble' women that you know, knew, or have ever heard of. They didn't wake up one day and become noble. They weren't born that way. At one point in their lives they were just a little girls, making tough decisions and trying to do what was right. They probably each had influences in their lives that molded them into the women they are now, and maybe they were the influences that have helped to mold you into the woman you are now. So I encourage you, be a noble woman. You have a divine role in this world as a woman. A mother, sister, daughter, wife, aunt, grandmother or whatever it may be. You are a daughter of our Heavenly Father, and He loves you. Don't ever forget it!

I found this wonderful message on Motherhood from Gordan B. Hinckley, who was our beloved prophet before he passed away last year.

“Most of you are mothers, and very many of you are grandmothers and even great-grandmothers. You have walked the sometimes painful, sometimes joyous path of parenthood. You have walked hand in hand with God in the great process of bringing children into the world that they might experience this estate along the road of immortality and eternal life. It has not been easy rearing a family. Most of you have had to sacrifice and skimp and labor night and day. As I think of you and your circumstances, I think of the words of Anne Campbell, who wrote as she looked upon her children:

You are the trip I did not take;

You are the pearls I cannot buy;

You are my blue Italian lake;

You are my piece of foreign sky.

(“To My Child,” quoted in Charles L. Wallis, ed., The Treasure Chest [1965], 54)

You [mothers] are the real builders of the nation wherever you live, for you have created homes of strength and peace and security. These become the very sinew of any nation.” Gordon B. Hinckley

This is Getting Good!

Ok, things are looking good around here. Mike is still in the lead for the day but I have complete faith in my readers! And to show you my undying gratitude I am going to add a little summin' summin' to the mix. Now, I already promised that if you leave a comment somewhere on my blog sometime this week then I will enter you into a drawing for three cute bookmarks that look like this. But I've just upped the ante. Can I get a Woot! Woot!!! No really, go ahead a shout out a little Woot! Woot!!! There, doesn't that feel better?

Anywho... my awesome and super supportive sisters own the BEST home decor store. They are located way up here in Norther British Columbia but they are willing to ADD ANOTHER GIVEAWAY just by leaving a comment!!! Yay for kick butt family!!! And the best part.... they will ship ANYWHERE!!! Woot! Woot!!!

I don't know what the giveaway will be but I can assure you it will be great. Feel free to mosey on over to their store's blog and just look at the awesome inventory!!! Something you see there just might end up in your pretty little fingers soon!

And just to clarify... I will still be giving away the bookmarks to one lucky commenter but I think I just may have to pick more than one winner. Who knows, maybe by the end of the contest there will be multiple winners. Maybe first, second, and third place winners. Maybe I'll even throw in a cute apron!

Love you all and thanks for the continued support!

S.O.S.

I just got word that my husband is beating me on the blog wars today. The last three days I was well ahead but he somehow got some tech savy people on his side and has pulled to the front.

So please, I am outright begging you... HELP PROMOTE ME! Invite your Facebook friends, write a quick blurb on your blog, send out mass e-mails to all your contacts, and if it comes down to it, get on the telephone and call all the listings in your local phone book! Ok, maybe that's a bit excessive, but I need you. I need you bad!!! (and he just let me know that he has a few tricks up his sleeve that he is holding on to for a final push.)

Ok, I'm officially scared that I might not actually win this thing...............

All right, I've pulled myself together (which is a good thing because I'm working at my sister's store today and there are customers here!). I have complete faith in all of you.

Thanks for all you've done so far and keep up the great work!!!

Love you! -Karli

I forgot how much I can get done during nap time. Today I was reminded. Both Luke and Walker took naps today. At the SAME time!!! Yay for me! So being the wonderful mother that I am, I plunked Porter down in front of the Wii with a nunchuk and Shrek and I went to work on something I've been wanting to do for a few days.

I really didn't like the mirror in my bathroom. It was just so .... boring. So I decided to spruce it up a bit with... yep... another mirror. I found this beautiful round mirror at WINNERS for only $25!!! Yes, $25!!! I couldn't believe it. In Karliland that is a great deal. So I bought it and put it to good use, making my boring, drab bathroom mirror look spectacular. I anchored it with some nice brown ribbon and an iron star that I found HERE.

I love it! And if you like it, well, just wait till you see what I've been working on for my other bathroom. I'll give you a hint. My fingers are covered in spray paint!!!

And I couldn't resist posting a close-up of this little piggy. Isn't he adorable? I dare you to look at him and not smile. You can find this little guy at this store too. And there is another awesome cast iron soap dish there with a rooster instead of a piggy. If you're into that sort of thing. :)

And So It Begins...

If you read my blog with any kind of frequency then you know all about the contest that Mike and I are having this week. Yes folks.... this is the week. If you are new to the blog you can read all about the contest HERE. Up until now we've both been spreading the word and trying to get some interest in our blogs but now the gloves are off and we are ready to roll!

So I invite you to do the right thing and visit my blog every day this week. I hope to have fun ideas/recipes/crafts and photography tips for you all to enjoy. So come back often!!!

And one more thing... I'm going to have a giveaway!!! If you leave a comment on any post sometime this week I will enter your name into a drawing for three corner bookmarks. You can see what they look like HERE. Just be sure to leave an e-mail address so I can contact you!

P.S. Please feel free to visit Mike's blog too. You can find it here. But please... hold off until next week! :)

P.S.S. or is it P.P.S.? Anyway, I just wanted to let you all know that if you feel the need to write about this little contest on your blog then I would be okay with that. I suppose! :)

***This Contest has now CLOSED***

My son Porter likes his LEGO's. That kid can build and build and build. In fact, today I kicked him out of his LEGO 'fort' because I wanted to do some painting in there. People I am not kidding when I tell you we almost had a melt down!

The other day he brought me one of his latest LEGO creations. I was impressed. The kid just turned 5 and I think he did a great job!

A Twist on Rice Krispy Treats

Mmmmmm! Now this is something I know you will enjoy.

Since I don't officially have a name for these, I will call them...

Yummy Non-Marshmallow Rice Krispy Treats
(original, I know)

Ok, this is what you are going to need to make these perfect little nummies:

Yes people, six simple ingredients will send you to a happy place!

And all you need to do is this...

First take one cup of corn syrup.

Next take a cup of yummy white sugar.

And mix them together in a saucepan!

Until it looks like this...

You still with me? Good!

Mix those two suckers up and heat them until the sugar is melted! But be careful here. If you overcook it then your finished product will be hard like a rock. Or a hockey puck. Or a brick. Just ask my sister Jana. She'll tell ya!

So then, add one cup of peanut butter!


...and mix it all together so it looks like this...

Okay, I know it looks divine, but we're not done yet. Stay with me!

Next you're going to need to measure out 6 Cups of this stuff...

Just put the six cups in a big bowl and mix it all together. Easy peezy! Then toss the whole bunch of it into a greased 9x13 pan.
Mmmmmm. And we're not done yet. No sir!

If your smart you'll leave some of the dredges in the bottom of the bowl.

That way you can get a little taste of what's to come! And if it's good then when you give your three year old a taste and then ask him if he likes it he'll answer, "I don't like it... I LOVE it!!!" Yay!

Continuing...

Next, take your chocolate chips.

And measure 2 Cups.

Then melt them. Melt them good!

And pour the melted chocolate on top of the Krispies in the pan.

Are you excited yet? You should be. I mean, look at these guys...
They were so stoked to taste the finished product. I had to keep kicking them out of the kitchen. I mean, I can't stand when I'm cooking and little fingers keep getting in the way while snacking on the food! Ahhhh!!!

Okay, we're almost done here.

Actually, anytime I've seen these made before this is where we would finish, but I always like to take things a step further...

So if you want to go a step further then follow me...

I decided to take a bag of these little beauties,

Mmmmmm, Skor. Oh how I love you! Your little crispy goodness, the buttery taste that melts in your mouth, the.... oh, sorry. I lost myself for a bit there. Ok, I got it together now. Let's continue shall we?

So, I took these little crispy Skor bites and this is what I did with them...
Just sprinkle about half of the bag over the entire pan. Or you could to the entire bag but I only used half a bag. And that was plenty!

So there you have it. A super easy treat that I probably took way too long to explain, and took way too many pictures. But now you have no excuse for messing up!

Were they yummy? Absolutely!
Was it worth it? Duh!
Do my hips thank me? Certainly not!

EnJoY!!!

Poor Horsey!

This is what happens when an already busy mommy decides to spend time recruiting people to visit her blog while making dinner and trying to fold laundry...

I mean, I didn't even think that the poor thing needed a haircut! I guess my three year old figured differently. I suppose I'm going to have to hide my scissors a little better next time!

BYU Mint Brownie Recipe

I'm taking the advice of my good friend Kelli, and posting a recipe that people over on her blog seem to love! And I'll vouch for these beauties myself. If you are any type of a brownie person then you must try these. They are.... divine.

BYU Mint Brownies

Makes one 9 by 13 inch pan of brownies

Prep and Cook: 90 minutes Cool: 1 Hour

1 c. Margarine
1/2 c. Cocoa
2 Tbsp. Honey
4 Eggs
2 c. Sugar
1 3/4 c. Flour
1/2 Tbsp. Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1 c. Chopped Walnuts
12 oz. Chocolate Icing (Use your own recipe or purchase some chocolate frosting. You can also search the Internet for Chocolate Icing recipes.)

Mint Icing
5 Tbsp. Margarine
dash of salt
3 Tbsp. Milk
1 Tbsp. Light Corn Syrup
2 1/3 c. Powdered Sugar
1/2 tsp. Mint Extract
1-2 Drops Green Food Coloring

1. Melt margarine and mix in cocoa. Allow to cool. Add honey, eggs, sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix well. Add nuts. Pour batter into a greased 9 by 13 inch baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Cool.

2. Prepare mint icing: Soften margarine. Add salt, corn syrup, and powdered sugar. Beat until smooth and fluffy. Add mint extract and food coloring. Mix. Add milk gradually until the consistency is a little thinner than cake frosting.

3. Spread mint icing over brownies. Place brownies in the freezer for a short time to stiffen the icing. Remove from freezer and carefully add a layer of chocolate icing.

This recipe is from the Sugar-n-Spice, Cougareat Food Court

Here's the Dress

First off, a huge thank you to all those of you who have been visiting my blog to help me win the competition! Things are going great but we won't know till the end of the week who has won because we are adding the totals for the whole week. So please, keep on coming back!

Next... Mike got me an awesome Valentine's present and it just came in the mail yesterday!!! I was so excited that I had to try it on right away! A few of you asked for pictures of me in it so I obliged. I'm not one to post many pictures of myself so this is a real treat! :) Ha!! Plus some of you asked for pictures specifically and I'm not one to dissapoint. Heehee :)

And it's hard to take a decent picture of oneself in the mirror of the laundry/bathroom when you haven't even put any makeup on for the day because you've too been busy recruiting people to your site all day! It's really hard!

Homemade Gift Wrap

We had two birthday's in December of this year and I am a firm believer in making birthdays special. Especially in December when so much focus seems to be on Christmas, (which really is a good thing)! Unfortunately, when it came time to wrap the birthday presents I realized that the only paper I had was Christmas paper! What's a girl to do? So I did what any self respecting crafty-ish (is that even a word?) mother would do. I made my own!

This paper was for Porter's birthday. I just started pulling out things that I had available to me and this is what I came up with. I used a large circle punch to punch out a bunch of circles in fun scrapbook paper scraps that I had lying around. I wrapped the gifts in butcher paper and then used a glue stick to randomly place the circles on the paper. To finish it off I just added a bunch of curly ribbon and voila!

And these are from Luke's birthday. I started the same as last time by getting out my trusty butcher paper. I wanted it to look a little different this time so instead of cutting out scapbook paper I just got out a new stamp set that I had recently purchased. I picked two ink color that I liked and went to town. For a little extra something I added the ric-rac and that ended up being my favorite part. Then I just used those fun little bubble stickers for his name.

Since making my own paper for these birthdays I rarely use store bought paper. I love that these are so unique and one of a kind. I even did some for a baby shower a few weeks ago and it was adorable. I just forgot to get pictures! Just imagine reds and whites with huge pink ric-rac... Adorable!!!

And don't forget to check out my current giveaway by clicking here. Contest open until March 2nd, 2009.

Best Recipe Ever

Check out this recipe I found. It is the best thing I have ever tasted

Edited to Add: This post was actually posted by Mike. He thinks he's hilarious! But you know what... I'm going to leave it here. I'm going to let him think that he can trick my readers into visiting his blog. So go ahead, click on the link above if you want to visit his blog. I'm not worried about losing. Cause my blog rocks and his is... well, I'll let you decide.

Mamalicious Monday!

It was Ward Conference in the Blue Mountain Ward yesterday. With Stake Visitors and all the regulars the place was packed. The primary had been asked to perform a song they had been working on called, "The Family is of God." The children learned the song in sign language. All four verses. It was awesome! Since I am the chorister for the kids, it was my duty to usher them up to the stand, get them situated and then lead them in the song. Everything went perfectly. I'm not sure there was a dry eye in the whole chapel. It was beautiful.

I am also the Secretary in the Stake Young Women's so I was sitting on the stand before and after the song. About 2 minutes before it was time for the kids to sing I noticed Mike take all three boys out. I figured that they needed a potty break or something. I hoped they could hurry back because both Porter and Walker had learned the song and were excited to perform it with their classmates. I was a little bummed when it was time to sing and they weren't back yet.

So, back to the kids singing... They did a wonderful job and I was so proud of them!!! Like I said, there wasn't a dry eye in the chapel.

And then it happened... Just as the song was finished and the entire chapel was silent, we all hearda voice yell out, "I JUST HAD TO GO POTTY!" I froze in place. That voice sounded very familiar. The entire chapel cracked up laughing and I turn to see Porter running up the aisle to the front where all the other kids are just getting ready to go sit down with their families. Yep, my child decided to let everyone know that he was late because he had to pee. When he got up to the stand his cousin let him know he had missed the whole thing and he was really quite bummed. I told him not to worry and that he could sing it for us again at home. He wasn't impressed.

After everyone had sat down and the next speaker was well into his talk I started to think that maybe I had imagined just how loud it really was. Maybe not everyone had heard Porter's yell. Maybe they weren't really paying attention to the little five year old redhead running down the aisle and yelling. Alas, it did happen and everyone did hear it. This was obvious when after Sacrament Meeting everyone let me know just how 'cute' Porter was.

And you know what? He is cute. And funny. And a really good little boy that just wanted to sing a song with his friends. Next time Porter. Next time we'll be sure to take you potty after the song!

If you'd like to participate in Mamalicious Monday you can read all about it here. It's just a fun way to write a little bit about your experiences as a mother.

Happy Birthday Mike!

It's Mike's birthday today. He's 31. And hot. Still. And I love him a lot. In fact, I think I might just love him a little more each birthday he has. This was a good one too. We slept in while the boys and our new cat terrorized the house. The boys and I made him a big breakfast of mostly meat products, we hung out and did nothing for a few hours and then Mike took the boys outside to play in the balmy -2* C weather. After they came in we gave him his gifts which consisted of a certificate to take a vacation sans kids to the tropical location of his choice, a new camera to journal said vacation and the best gift of all... a birthday cake that was dreamed up with none other than Mike in mind. If you know Mike, you'll know that he really LOVED the cake. At least he acted like it. And that's what I'm going to keep telling myself. Cause that sucker took a lot of work. And a special shout out to Jana for helping me with it!

And just in case you didn't recognize it, it's supposed to be an i-Pod touch.

This is just a picture of the leftover fondant. I'll just warn you, if you ever want to make a multitude of colors of fondant make sure your hands are up to the task of kneading, and kneading some more and then kneading a little more. My hands were killing me by the time we got all the colors done! Turns out black fondant isn't terribly easy to make!

Frost on Willows

Lately I've been dreaming of the days when warmer weather will grace us with her presence. I dream of the warm evenings where we take walks with the boys down to the park. I dream of playing "Mad Dash" with the family at Grandma and Grandpa's house. I dream of cute capris and t-shirts.

But then Mother Nature decides to do something like she did this morning and I am content with the long northern winters.

At least for a little while longer.

Green With Envy!

Sorry but when you take a look at my new purse you just might be a little jealous! You can read all about yesterday's crazy "Ladies Craft Day" here and here. I won't re-write the story myself, especially when I have something as awesome as this to show you...

Ahhhhhh!!! It's awesome right? Yep, I discovered this awesome store, Winners and I'm pretty sure I'll be there again... soon!

Where the Magic Happens!

I am a firm believer in a person's bedroom being their sanctuary. I've tried hard to make our room that 'sanctuary' for us. It needs some more work but I feel like I am slowly getting there. I still would like to add something more over the bed. I know this great store here in town where I can get some cool round thingy's to match the square one already over the bed. Plus I really want to add some more texture and fabrics too. But I think it's looking pretty good so far. So tell me, what would you do different? What would you add or take away? I look forward to hearing your comments.

This is one of my favorite things in my bedroom. They are just a little bit funky and different but I love the colors and textures of them!

Table Runner 101

For our latest Ladies Craft Day we decided to make table runners out of Jana's old material. She was very generous to share her old scraps with us. I say scraps but they were very beautiful pieces. We each chose some color themes and with Jana's help picked 6 or 7 different fabrics that coordinated. I sewed my squares earlier today and I love how the colors look together. Just don't look too closely or you'll notice that the corners don't all match up. And yes, those are toys in the background of one of the pictures. Because when I start a'craftin' I let some things slip. And the toys all over the floor ended up just sitting there for the better part of the day. Just keepin' it real here people.