I can’t leave you hanging on the pumpkin situation.  Despite my protest desperate excuse that it was still too early and our pumpkins would turn into blue furry mushballs before Halloween, we did in fact get a carvin’.

We had a fool proof system.

Lulu gutted.

Gigi and I drew.

Did you know that having your tongue out increases your concentration by 40%?  Uh…yeah…and you are also a winner in the British National Lottery…please just leave your bank account and social security numbers in the comments section.

How do you like my Sue Sylvester costume?

Velma‘s getting a run for her money.

Daddy carved.

He’ll do anything for a laugh.

Lulu wanted to for one moment feel the warmth of the spotlight and the roaring laughs from the crowd embracing her.

Yeah, that didn’t pan out.

The end results:

Mine was the white/ghost-like pumpkin which either means that I am extremely racist or just like to be different.

By the time we went to bed, it was clear that Gigi was sick and staying home from school today.

Doesn’t she look miserable?

While Daddy was still home, I managed to get a great and PAIN FREE workout in.  My doctor called this morning and I’ve been cleared to return to my normal activity, though cautioned not to run long distances or do heavy lifting.  That’s okay, all in all today, I did a 20 minute run, 30 minutes of upper body weights and 30 minutes of Pilates.  Somebody stop me!

For breakfast, I had apple crisp.

I cut up a Honeycrisp apple, topped it with cinnamon and about 1/3 c. each of Kashi Go Lean and Kashi Go Lean Crunch.  I’ll never get sick of this.

The weather was miserable today, starting out dark, rainy and cold.

But then just a few hours later, it was sunny and dry.

Gotta love the Northwest.

After breakfast, we played veterinarian and dentist, and then Gigi informed me that she had found a way to stop her nose from running.

.

Forget the H1N1 vaccine, my brilliant daughter has cured the Swine Flu.  Just ignore the pounding headache after ten minutes and the floaters in front of your eyes.

After solving the pet, orthodontic and world health crisises of the day, it was time for lunch.

I made a tasting plate.

  • carrots
  • pickle
  • kabocha fries
  • broccoli
  • Smart Dog
  • organic ketchup
  • tahini dressing for dipping

Ahh, the unattractive Smart Dog.  It doesn’t matter how you dress it up, like Jon Gosselin, it’s still a weiner.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get the pickles or a good share of the carrots.

They are both chewing pickles and Gigi is making an orange/carrot sandwich.  I’ll get you the recipe.

After lunch I had a tea party with a ballerina…

…and a fairy.

Then the dancing started.

I’m praying their prom doesn’t end the same way.

We had pizza for dinner tonight, and in the Quest for Protein (coming soon to a Sony Playstation near you), I made a quinoa crust.

  • 1/4 c. dry quinoa, prepared (~3/4 c. cooked)
  • 2 tsps. ground flax, mixed with 3 T. water
  • 1/2 t. dried basil
  • 1/2 t. dried oregano
  • 2 t. nutritional yeast
  • 1/4 t. salt

Combine flax and water and set aside. Combine cooked quinoa, nooch and spices, and then add flax mixture.  Press “dough” onto a greased cookie sheet, sprinkled with cornmeal.  Bake at 425 for 15 minutes.  Top as desired.

I baked my crust a little too long, or as my grandpa says, “When it’s brown, it’s cooking.  When it’s black, it’s done.”

This is a really light, crispy crust and would double well as a tostada or even crackers.  I topped mine with organic pizza sauce, sauteed onions, mushrooms and red pepper.

On the side I had some Brussels sprouts that I pan fried with salt and lime juice.

Lulu’s Halloween costume came in the mail today.  Problem is, she wanted NOTHING to do with it.

Luckily it was too big anyway and someone else was really interested.  Remember Banana Phone?

Of course, it’s organic.

Then Gigi spied her witch costume and you could see her little brain trying to figure out what to do.

Problem solved.