Because they can't leave well enough alone

To fall in with the present administrations general standard of "fix what isn't broken until it breaks" the FDA or Health Department ... Or whoever is in charge of this thing has changed the FOOD PYRAMID ....

Again

They just did this within the last 6 yrs - I know this because I remember going online with my kindergartener to see what they said she had to do for a good diet ... Btw, it was anything but healthy ... And according to their charts my 11yr old who is in a size 1 is technically "obese" .... But then so is my football player son who is nothing but muscles.

So they have simplified things ... NOT

The "pyramid" is now a plate ...

1/2 is veggies/fruit
1/4 is meat/protein
1/4 is grains (breads/multi grains)

That's 100% ....

WHERE IS THE DAIRY?

They are only recommending ONE serving of dairy a day, and even that is supposed to be low or no-fat.

They are going after bleached flour & white rice because of the paranoia over diabetes. Diabetes is the new "disease of the month" I guess ... M not saying it's not an issue but since when is it the go rN nets job to tell us what we should and shouldn't eat?

Let's understand that this is just another way for the skinny people to attack those who don't fit their thin-little-world ... Let's remember that in a cataclysmic world, the skinny people get eaten first.

Oh the cost of this restructure? A rather modest $2 Million .... But haven't heard if that is just for the new design or all the research that went behind it.

Six "healthy" tips ... They say
1. Enjoy food but less of it
2. Avoid over-sized portions
3. 1/2 plate should be fruit/veggies (fries count, right?)
4. Fat-free or low-fat dairy products
5. Lower sodium foods (of course they never say that without sodium your body will shut down)
6. Drink water, not sugary drinks (is there no other alternative for people with touchy stomachs?)

Oh please ... This is just the governments way of attacking the fast food industry without actually coming out with it.

Look my Big Mac has a salad on it (granted it could use less dressing on it) and my fries should count as a veggie too -hey it's a potato or twos worth of veggie! And it's a diet coke which is practically water ... At least it's not sugary.

Actually we haven't been getting fast food as much anymore with the gas prices the way they are ... In fact we've taken to eating homemade food before leaving for the in-laws on the weekends ... Less to do with health than it does economy ...

But then that's even becoming a question with the costs of food these days.

Crash and Burn

Well ... there's no question about it. I've fallen off the wagon this time.

Herrschner's had that Regia 4 ply on sale for less than $3/skein and I fought it as long as I could. I got three each of two different colors.

Actually things would have been fine .... I would have passed it all by .... until I found the Bernat Bling Bling for less than $1/skein in pretty Moulin Rouge for my oldest daughter (5 balls is enough for her to make a super simple poncho for herself) .... and they updated the Scrapbooking sale page.

Oh my downfall are the tins that look like old-fashioned lunchboxes ... I have so many uses for them. Well there's lunch tins, of course. but there are also: sorting of it-bits that won't fit nice in my scrapbook boxes w/o risk of bending; holding stampers; hiding the seeds from the mice; present giving (such a unique box); recipe boxes (the new ones are a little too big for 3X5s and a bit small for 6X4's though); candy holders; easter baskets; cookie jars; etc. etc. etc.

I don't think they will be ant proof though. But I've gotten totally addicted to them.

I don't know where Herrschner's came up with them .... I haven't seen them on just the regular site .... they just seem to show up on the sales page out of the blue.

Well got to go. Got a pattern to perfect (and it is looking really nice if I do say so myself) and a house to clean for Sunday.

Why do I have to wait til the last minute all the time???

Stupid enablers

You know the end of the movie "Planet of the Apes" (the good one with Charlton Heston, not the remake that looked like monkeys could have done a better job) where Taylor finds the statue of Liberty's head in the sand and realizes that he as been on Earth the whole time? And he yells "Damn them ... damn them all to hell..."? You know that scene?

That's me and Herrschner's today .... only it isn't the Earth they've ruined, its my Yarn Diet they are trying to ruin.

They are having a stash stuffer sale going on and I just got the email for it this morning -- conveniently after the free shipping offer was over btw -- but that is probably a good thing because then it would have been totally irresistable, and I don't need that.

It is totally tempting ... bling bling is $1.29 skein .... they have Cheerio (nylon based) for 99 cents .... Regia 4Ply in Prints (more of an ombre) for 2.97 ... Sparkle Soft for $1.89.

AHHHHGGGG!! I've already got a bunch sitting in my 'shopping cart' waiting for me to break down completely. I just can't be strong any longer.

At these prices I can get a ton of yarn I know .... or samples of yarn I have never heard of .... without smoking the bank acct too much. But then there is hubby. I love him. I know he wouldn't like me to order anymore yarn. No more.

In our room I have a stack of boxes which I keep by my side of the bed. It is how I combat the temptation to order more yarn. It stands about 4 1/2 foot tall. It could very easily fill each of these boxes with yarn. and still needed more boxes.

Usually when I start feeling weak I can look at those boxes and it will make me rethink my yarn purchase (much to Knit Picks shigrin, I'm sure ... at least at Herrschner's I will still order other stuff like needlework/scrapbooking) but this time .... with these prices it just isn't working.

Its the Regia .... it really is. I love the colors they have offered. It will take about 3 skeins to make a pair of socks -- well I could get away with 2 skeins but I would like a bit of extra for patching heels and toes later (even hand mades wear out).

BUT I have so much yarn waiting to be created into their projects now it just seems unfair to put more in those boxes to sit and wait.

But then I look at the economy. I may not be able to buy yarn for too much longer. My goodness some of the stuff I've seen out there is $20 skein and it isn't even hand-dyed. While $20 is pretty steep for yarn, at least with the hand-dye or hand-spun you can see why it would cost so much (neither is very easy to do in large batches). BUT still...it won't be long until I end up in the same problem my mother had.

High gas prices. High heating costs. High food costs. Limited income.

You have to pick & chose where the money goes. And I hate to say it .... but crafting would be the first thing to get snipped out of the 'budget' (yeah, like I've got one of those...lol...my sides hurt now).

So really its mom's fault. She grew up in the depression so she was denied being able to get stuff when she wanted it, heck chances are she couldn't even get stuff when she needed it. Anyhow so then we went thru Inflation under President Carter and things got tough again (milk actually went up over $1.50/gal!!) and the yarn train got thin again. And just as the train started picking up speed we got a LeeWard's Craft Store within 20 minutes of the house (res. streets too).

Then ma became a totally hoarder of yarn. And it stuck ever since. And really it got passed on to me too. I in turn will pass it on to my daughters ... we have the 'addictiver personaity' gene -- I swear!

so now I'm using my blog as a way to avoid the purchase I know I'm going to be making.

yeah i wll probably break down and get the sock yarn. Its just too yummy to pass up. Kind of like chocolate -- which explains the waistline.

I'm so dead.

On or Off the Wagon?

Okay, today I'm feeling like I'm at my Senior Hayride again in high school. You know the one where they try to push you off so you have to run to catch up to the wagon? Well when they tried to do it to me, I didn't competely fall off so there was controversy amongst my friends whether it really counted or not.

Some said that technically since I held onto the wagon and never lost my balance was able to hop back on with out missing a step... it didn't count. Some said that since my butt left the platform, even for a little bit, it counted as being pushed off.

Well that's where I am today .... only its the Yarn Diet wagon I may or may not have fallen off of.

Herrschners had this super sale on hanks of their tapestry yarn. They came in an asst. of 5 hanks (about 43 yds each hank) ... so I ordered 10 sets. Even though its made for needlepoint, I figured it would be great for socks, especially those which have images or stripes. I thought it would work out great.

But now that they are here I'm wondering if I fell off the wagon or not.

Is it considered cheating on my diet by using a product meant for another craft?? I mean...it is yarn...but its technically for needlepoint not knitting or crocheting.

Its 100% virgin wool ... but there are no washing instructions - which makes sense, its not made to be used in garments .... it is moth-proof and color fast so I think it will be fine.
Some are twisted hanks and some are more like a skein of floss.
They are thicker than I thought ... or worsted than sport ... actually more of a DK weight, so they would make a rather thick sock.

Definately going to have to gauge it up before starting.

So here I sit amongst my colors (18 different colors) and not a white in the bunch. Which totally amazes me ... I thought for sure I'd get a ton of white, black, deep blue, etc. But I got a lot of autumn tones instead ... some lovely deep browns, crisp goldens, deep apple, and muted blues -- okay not too keen on those, but I will find a use for them.

I will have to find the color charts for these and get them into the 'stash counter' on the side bar .... "DMC Tapestry" I think would be best heading.

Well off to finish my exchange project. blew my knee out this weekend and was bed ridden so didn't get it off to my partner like I thought I would have. I'm so bummed. Even found two mistakes, one was easier to fix than the other ... have GOT to get this done and off.

New Stash Arrivals-2007Jul8-14, part4

This is actually my biggest weakness when it comes to sock yarn these days....Brownie Socks. My youngest is a Brownie scout (entering her second year) and I just refuse to pay the prices they want for the extended uniform parts. I know it goes to support the cause, but still I just can not bring myself to pay $5 a pair that she will just out grow and I can't recycle the yarn. At least if I make them myself I can "unstitch" them and then make them to fit her leg & foot again using the same yarn! AND each pair will only have cost me....get this....$1.94 with the Starlette Chocolate, and $3.98 with the Mellowspun Camel & Cocoa! And depending on how well they work up, I may even get two pair out of each....we will have to see. Both yarns are available at Mary Maxim's online.

I can't find a pattern online yet for the official Brownie pattern, but I don't think anyone in her troop will grimace if I find something close (currently the online GSA catalog are out of stock of them and they don't know when they will be coming in... So making is my only other option...the local store didn't have any either).
Well, that's it for stash adds for now! More next week....yep, more!
I've heard of ladies going on "yarn diets"....but remember....as Richard Simmon says "the first three letters in the word diet spell the word DIE!"