What is this? I don't even....

Struts: Sexed up Kids Toys

I wish I was kidding about these, but they're real... and apparently created by an equally appropriately named toy company "Playmates Toys" ((Somehow I don't think Hugh Heffner would find these quite as appealing though.))

 These are at least as bad as those AWFUL Bratz dolls, which might as well say: "Teach your Daughter to dream of being a Five Dollar Hooker and dress like one too." And they're playing on the Girls and Horses thing too. And the fact that they're Horses in ultra tall stiletto heels is just... I mean... what the HELL.

 This is the sort of thing that makes me cringe over the idea of ever having a daughter, since so many girls toys these days are like this. I can't even picture how difficult it would be to raise a girl with a healthy sense of self esteem when this is the sort of shit she has for toys and rolemodels.

 All around us we've got the message that girls are 'empowered' when they slut themselves up, have sex left and right, ((because empowerment is ALL about courting STD's and pregnancy, and having a black book like a lounge lizard.)) Oh and we can't forget that we're increasingly seeing the mindset that being a Mom is the lowest you can sink. Being an Actress or a Hooker is clearly a better profession. ((Is there much difference between Actress and Hooker these days? There wasn't way back in the day, and Hollywood seems to tell us NOT MUCH HAS CHANGED.))

 What the hell is wrong with this picture?

 Seriously, someone BURN this crap. Can we get back to the point where part of empowerment is respecting your body and yourself?

Birch Leaves

So at long last I am definitely and officially doing a practice lace knit!

 I'm doing a pattern called "Falling Birch Leaves" from a designer on Ravelry, who was nice enough to do some really beginner level patterns for people like me who really aren't ready to launch into giant gauzy round shawls with beads and twenty-yarn-overs in a row. ((See above))

 It's also my first time reading a lace chart, which so far is going better than I would have expected. I am however doing the knit in a practice run in Caron Simply Soft ((A springy leaf green)) which is a considerably larger, heavier yarn than the pattern calls for, which is making the leaves far more '3D' which is kind of interesting. I'll be trying it in a much lighter yarn afterward, but working with a Worsted-weight yarn is good practice, because it's less delicate and just a bit easier to handle.

 I also bought MiniMonster some new shoes, he's now got a pair of bright blue Baby-sized Converse. Well... toddler really. They have slots for lacing up, but really those are mostly for show because there's a hidden strip of velcro, which means I don't, in fact, have to spend as much time trying to struggle with a disinterested toddler to get his shoes on as it probably looks like I did.

 I was going to get him another pair of "Robeez" moccasins, but when I checked the only store in town that carries them, the only options were pink, lacy, and flowery. ... As much as I don't have a problem with any choices Mini might make later in life, I think I'm going to avoid going down that path personally. It would just seem weird to have him dressed in his favorite hot-wheels shirt and a pair of pink, flower covered moccasins.

 So we ended up going over to Khols and I found him a pair of shoes within 20 minutes. Take that expensive specialty children's store. :p