PUMPKIN

I love everything about Fall, but pumpkins are sort of the physical embodiment of that love. Here is what I did last night:

Yup, I made that there Glitter Pumpkin, and it is the most perfectest sparkly thing since Edward Cullen. Plus it was an easy enough project that it would be pretty difficult to screw up, even for a person such as myself. (Thank you Martha or whichever of her underlings came up with this idea!)
In other pumpkin-related news, we went to a pumpkin patch last week, the same one we went to last year. The light was perfect and we were all feeling festive, so I took lots of pictures.

On Saturday we went to the North Carolina State Fair, which was, to be honest, kind of a bust. It was hot, crowded, expensive (Brooke paid $8 for a BBQ plate that tasted terrible), and Isobel and Jude weren't old enough to enjoy much anyway. But we did see cows, goats, some amusing T-shirts for sale, and some incredible pumpkins:













I've been eating lots of pumpkin-y sweets. LOTS. And because I can't not share something that brings me so much joy, I made a google document full of recipes. I haven't tried all of them, but the ones I haven't tried yet come from friends who are very reliable sources. So here it is, the pièce de résistance:

PUMPKIN EXTRAVAGANZA

You'll note the absence of a pumpkin pie recipe. Here's the shocking thing: I don't particularly like pumpkin pie. I know, it's strange, given my passion for pumpkin. I think it's the custard-y texture that bothers me. Another glaring omission: I don't have a recipe for Pumpkin Cheesecake! Anyone have one to share?
**Edit: Master Baker Amy shared a Pumpkin Cheesecake recipe, so I've added that and fixed the blank page 6 problem. Enjoy!**

In closing, I think this is beautiful:

(Don't laugh. I lived in Nebraska for 7 years as a kid, so corn has sentimental value.)

In which Isobel is fêted.

That's right, folks, wee Isobel has completed her third year of life. Can you believe it? It's strange to me that she is no longer an infant, no longer a toddler, but a preschooler now. Luckily, she's the size of your average 18-month-old, so I can still scoop her up and pretend she's my little tiny baby. A lot of older children have the same urge. She gets picked up a lot, and then she says, indignantly, "Hey! I'm not a baby!"
Come to think of it, I can understand how she feels. I've always been fairly tall, but as a tween I was extremely scrawny. I had a few friends who were bigger who liked to exert their physical strength by putting me in frequent headlocks, throwing me over their shoulders, etc. Isn't that weird? I mean, these are girls we're talking about, not big tough jock boys. Maybe the way they treated me was an extension of their frustration with their own changing bodies. Anyway, it was humiliating at the time, but kinda funny in hindsight.
Moving on, here are a few photos from Isobel's birthday party: the cake, the tiger (face paint by Grandma), the friends.

It was a good time! Isobel has a great group of friends who all play together really well, and they didn't make me sorry for not planning any games. We did have a piñata (at Isobel's request) and some fantastic food, provided by Brooke's dad.

In other news, we had my friend Wendy here visiting for a week. Highlights included sushi and the North Carolina Art Museum. Regardez!

(Isobel liked rice at the sushi joint, but she wasn't particularly impressed with the museum.)

And, just to balance out this Isobel-heavy post, here is a photo of Jude's party face on during Isobel's birthday snacktime shindig at school:
Speaking of babies, I HAVE A NEW NIECE!! Her name is Amélie, and she is beautiful. Photos will be posted here sometimes soon.
One more thing that you probably already know, thanks to my shameless self-promotion on facebook and gmail: I'm now a reviewer for The Blue Bookcase! I love this book blog. So far I've reviewed Tender at the Bone and shared my Top 10 Literary Crushes, but you should really just read the whole blog because all of the writers are cool and smart.

T.T.F.N.

run, run, run, run, run

This morning I ran my very first 5K, the Women's Only Walk and Run here in Greensboro at Women's Hospital (where Jude was born just over 7 months ago! Ah, the memories). Isobel ran in the Girls' Only Mini Walk and Run, and she rocked it. She even ran an extra lap around the course, just for good measure.

Ha! That face just says "Yeah, that was fun... I guess... but what was the point?" I think the whole procedure was a little confusing to her, but she didn't mind getting a medal and a bandanna.
Jude was pretty sad for most of the morning. It was MUCH colder than I expected, for one thing, and I didn't dress him warmly enough. Plus he just didn't appreciate all the commotion and being separated from me. Poor little guy.

He perked up a bit as it got later (and hence warmer) and he took THREE naps today to recover from the ordeal.
Here I am, looking triumphant!

My primary goal was to RUN the whole time, and I did it! I ran harder than I do on my usual morning jogs, and I came in at 33 minutes 27 seconds- 384th place (out of 2,203 finishers). I had a really good time, and the best part was proud Brooke waiting for me at the end.