Soda Pop Cake

Hi, stitching friends!

As I write this, I'm mourning my iMac. In my mind, it's still very new, but according to the guy at Apple support, it is anything but new. (Apparently a computer I bought in 2010 is a dinosaur.) A few days ago, it started putting itself to sleep (screen going black) while I was in the middle of typing. I've done everything Apple suggested I do to fix it, from updating the OS to resetting the PRAM (whatever that is) to checking out my "hot corners" and energy-saving options. (I don't expect you to know what I'm talking about. I certainly don't.)

But alas, it keeps falling asleep.

Here's my philosophy on problems: Something is not a problem if, after you've fixed it, you're either the same as you were before, or better off. Since I'm getting a new iMac out of this deal, which will be newer, faster and shinier than the old one, this is not a problem. Irritating and stressful, yes, but not a problem.

What do you do when something stresses you out? I cross stitch, and I bake! Today I made a "soda pop cake," one of my favorite "secret" recipes. Excited for Mr. Wonderful and The Boy to get home today. I haven't made this in a long time, and they will be happy.

I learned how to make this cake years ago at a Weight Watchers meeting. It's so easy and delicious, and you will not miss the extra calories.

Soda Pop Cake

1 box cake mix
1 (12 oz.) can diet soda
8 oz. tub of Cool Whip Lite
5 oz. or 6 oz. container of your favorite yogurt

My absolute favorite combination is Betty Crocker Cherry Chip cake mix and Fresca. (Here's the trick: Pair a light-colored cake with a light-colored soda, or a dark-colored cake with a dark-colored soda. Avoid flavored sodas, as the artificial flavoring is rather weird in the cake.) Beat the diet soda into the cake mix for a couple of minutes, just as the package directs, but leave out the oil and eggs. Just cake mix and diet soda. Pour it into your prepared pan and bake as directed on the back of the box. You'll probably want to stick to the shorter baking time, and you might even check it a couple of minutes before. It bakes quickly.

When the cake has cooled, whisk the Cool Whip Lite and the yogurt (my favorite is Dannon Light & Fit Greek Strawberry) until blended. Frost the cake and keep it in the fridge. Serve cold.

This is sooooo good, and it's a fraction of the calories versus traditional frosted cake. You might even like it better. (I do.)

Until next time! Hopefully when I post next, I'll have Photoshop back up and running and be able to share some photos of my progress on Halloween at Hawk Run Hollow.

Birthday Giveaway Winners and Halloween at Hawk Run Hollow Update

Hi, stitching friends!

I'm excited to announce the winners of my birthday giveaways!

The winner of the "Snow" by Bent Creek giveaway is Kate. Congratulations!

The winner of the "Bless Our Home" giveaway is Sandy. Woohoo!

I've emailed each of these lovely ladies and will get their goodies in the mail as soon as possible. If you didn't win (and I was rooting for all of you who entered), don't despair. I plan to do more giveaways soon.

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Halloween at Hawk Run Hollow update

I've been busy working on Halloween at HRH, and wow, is this a fun stitch. If you've been toying with the idea of starting one of these behemoths, I encourage you to jump in. They're big, but they're broken up into smaller squares. I get the same satisfaction as I do working on smaller projects.

I've started on block two last week, and I'm almost finished! You can see a couple of my birthday gifts from Mr. Wonderful in this photo - the grime guard from SewMuch2Luv on Etsy and my Star Trek needle minder from Mad For Minders on Etsy. (You can visit their shops by clicking their names.) I'm loving the grime guard. I can tuck all that excess evenweave inside so it isn't flopping all over my lap and getting dirty as I stitch. And isn't that fabric cute? Love those bees.

Here is block one finished. I had been forewarned that the spider webs in the corners would be difficult to stitch, but I enjoyed them. I started by trying to put my stitches exactly where the pattern showed to put them, but soon decided to just "eyeball" it. As I stitched them, I felt like a spider weaving and anchoring her web.

Here are blocks one and two side by side. It's so colorful. I'm over the moon excited about how the project will look when it's finished.

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Mr. Wonderful has arranged for a weekend with our friends at their cabin in tiny Crouch, Idaho (population 170). When we arrive, the cabin is usually colder inside than it is outside, so our friend Rob builds a fire in the wood-burning fireplace and my hubby and I sit huddled together for a couple of hours until the temperature climbs to a human-friendly level. We're supposed to get snow on our way up, so think good thoughts for good roads! It's a little more than an hour's drive there, but it's a curvy, up-and-down stretch of highway. I'm glad Rob has four-wheel drive in his truck.

Be well, friends, and I wish you lots of stitching time!

Gifts for Me and Gifts for You!

Hi, stitching friends!

I know many of you are buried under snow or freezing your buns off in your part of the world, and I'm sorry. In Boise, we have "warmish" weather (highs in the 40s, lows in the 30s) and no snow. If I could, I would send our "winter" weather your way. But since I can't, I will send you a big virtual hug and my sincere wish that you stay safe on those roads and stay warm inside, hopefully with lots of time to stitch.

This will be a pretty short post today, as I have been doing a lot of stitching but not much finishing. I started "Halloween at Hawk Run Hollow" last week, and I have the LOFTY goal of finishing it in time to be framed before Halloween. In order to do that, I'm going to need to stitch three blocks every two months. Since January is over on Thursday, I have a lot of work to do to get and stay on schedule!

Here's my progress on block one:

(Don't you just love my needleminder? It's from Mad for Minders - lots more about that Etsy shop later on. Click on their name to visit them.)

I'm stitching Halloween at Hawk Run Hollow on 32-count tea/coffee-dyed Jobelan. The called-for fabric was too expensive for my budget at the time, so I came up with a solution. I bought white Jobelan and dyed it myself. I'm quite pleased with the fabric. Even though I've already made a major mistake that would require a LOT of frogging, I'm having a ball stitching this. I'm not going to rip out my mistake and start over (I don't have time) and I'm certainly not going to tell you where I messed up. If you can't spot it, I'm not going to help you! It's supposed to be a primitive piece, anyway.

🎉🎉🎉

Happy Birthday to Me!

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you might already know that January is my favorite month. When others are dreading the long, dark, winter days, I'm looking forward to the end of January because it's my birthday! Mr. Wonderful makes it extra special by pretty much giving me free reign to buy whatever my heart desires (as long as he doesn't have to go shopping or pick something out himself, which is fine by me). So, I've picked up a few new things...

Some new patterns, including "The Shores of Hawk Run Hollow" by Carriage House Samplings (and the fabric to stitch it, which has not arrived yet), "Hurray, It's a Snow Day" by Homespun Elegance, and "Liberty Hill Farm" by Silver Creek Samplers. I've also ordered "The Houses of Hawk Run Hollow." (I am ambitious, aren't I? Either that or crazy.)

And...another pattern (not saying which one!), in a book by Blackbird Designs, that I will be stitching this summer along with RJ and Mary of Stitching Friends Forever! It will be my first SAL and I can hardly wait. But I will be busy in the meantime for sure.

I ordered a project bag from DiddlyDaddleDesigns on Etsy, a grime guard from SewMuch2Luv on Etsy, and a blog book from Blog2Print, all of which are currently in the wind.

And these...

Needle minders from one of my favorite Etsy shops, Mad For Minders! Aren't they awesome? I am a total Trekkie nerd, and I love this retro snow girl.

Who's ready for a giveaway... or TWO?!?

My birthday would not be complete if I didn't share the love with you. I've put together a couple of giveaways that I hope you'll love. There will be a few hidden surprises with each one as well as what you see in the following photos. Please choose which giveaway you'd like to enter and let me know in your comment by using the phrase I give you. You must be a sidebar follower to win. I'll do the drawings on Friday, February 8.

Giveaway #1: Bless Our Home

The first giveaway includes Country Cottage Needleworks' "Bless Our Home," a cut of 36-count vintage country mocha Edinburgh, and a sweet Betsy Ross needleminder from Mad for Minders. (There will be a few extra hidden surprises as well!) If you would like to enter to win this giveaway, please say "I would like to stitch Bless Our Home" in your comment.

Giveaway #2: Snow

The second giveaway includes an out-of-print chart by Bent Creek called "Snow," a cut of 40-count vintage country mocha Newcastle, and this sweet, vintage Santa needleminder from Mad for Minders. (There will also be a few extra hidden surprises included in this giveaway.) If you would like to enter this giveaway, please say "I would like to stitch the Snow" in your comment.

Again, I will do the drawing and announce the winners on Friday, February 8. You must be a sidebar follower (and hopefully an email follower as well!) to win.

Good luck!

I hope 2019 brings you time with friends and family and lots of stitching time (and NO frogging!). Until next week, be well, dear friends. Thanks for stopping by.