Halloween Pics, Highlights of the Week, A Few Thoughts

So I am dying to know how Halloween was for you?  What all went down?  Parties, costume pictures, regaling me with your drunken escapades & stories…it’s all welcomed and appreciated because things were very G-Rated and family-friendly around here.

We had Halloween Round 2 Saturday Afternoon.  Previously, last Wednesday, we had Halloween Round 1 by way of a Trunk-n-Treat.  Check that post out for pictures in you missed it.  But here’s a few pics from the Disney themed Halloween celebration (which is the Round 2) where the kiddies walked from store to store collecting candy at a local mall.

There were lots of Little Princesses.  Mine’s in pink, of course.

And some dressed-in-pink-goth-Princesses passing out candy in front of Hot Topic

And gosh, it was so crowded.  You would have thought they were giving away free candy or something.  Oh wait, they were.

The highlight was when a candy store was giving away candy.  But they gave a very lame piece of taffy, not chocolate.  Sigh.

We decided to take a rest for a minute on a bench

 

But my Princess was tired, hot, and on the verge of an over-stimulated meltdown, so we split.  Goodbye Halloween 2009.

And then Saturday night, for the actual night of Halloween, we skipped the door-to-door knocking; rounds 1 & 2 were enough for us.   My observation with most things in parenthood, not just Halloween, is that less is more.  We had our fun and since and since it’s back in the low 70s in the evenings here, we went for a lovely walk as a family, and I put a vat of candy outside with the Candy Honor System and called it a night.  So that wraps up Halloween 2009 for us, how about you, fill me in!!!

Moving along and because it’s the weekend, you know it’s time for a Weekly Recap and Highlight Reel of all the Yummies I made the previous week.  But before I roll the highlights, I wanted to thank you for the response on the Vegan Hot Cocoa.  My little 50 calorie, quick, vegan method blows Swiss Miss Away if I do say so myself.  Give it a whirl and let me know whatcha think!

And the Raw Vegan Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding is really soooo easy and tastes far more complicated, rich, and sinful than it really is.  Something in between what a chocolate tapioca crossed with melting chocolate fudge would taste like is what I think it’s like.  With no effort, yay!  I may just happen to be having a Give Away and it may just happen to involve Chia Seeds starting in a day or two….

So to recap the Week’s Eats….


Sunday I posted the Raw Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Balls

And also my Tips & Thoughts for What Makes This Recipe one of my Best Ever

Monday I came at you with Vegan PB & Chocolate Chex Mix (aka Puppy Chow)

And Broccoli Salad

And Roasted Sweet Potato Fries

Tuesday I made the almost Raw Vegan Pumpkin Spice Donut Holes – 5 Minute Recipe

Wednesday I got in the fall spirit with Roasted Acorn Squash

and Acorn Squash Fries

And Dehydrated Seeds

Thursday I graced you with Sundried Tomatoes

And Cauliflower & Broccoli Salad

Friday I hooked you up Guiltless Vegan Hot Cocoa

And the Raw Vegan Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding

 

So for the final time this month, things today were brought to you in VeganMofo spirit.


Yoga Today is Sirsana (Headstand).  Your shoulders and arms should be absorbing about 90% of your weight, and only 10% is absorbed by your head.  If you’re feeling it too much in your head & neck, you need to really concentrate on building your arm & shoulder strength, ok love?

Thoughts of the Day:  For the past few months I have thoroughly enjoyed and have loved reading everyone’s blog and commenting on as many blog posts of yours as I possibly can.  Lately though I’ve realized that between taking care my husband and my daughter (read: my two priorities above all else), taking care of my house & day-to-day life stuff, making all my delish eats & treats, blogging about them, all while trying to squeeze a little downtime into my life that’s not in front of the computer screen, I am going to have to cut back on commenting on other blogs a bit. 

For those of you that have gotten used to my daily and sometimes epic comments on your blogs, I may not comment on every post or comment every day, but know that I am still reading.  I’d rather leave thoughtful comments with less frequency than write something akin to “nice apples”.

Know that I love receiving your comments on my blog, and I am still going to make my rounds in the blogosphere, I am just not going to comment on every blog, every day.  I just can’t.  Lately I am in the leaving 50+ comments per day range and it’s just too much for me.  Of course I could have just kind of disappeared and not drawn attention to this, but that’s not my style and I also didn’t want anyone to think I was mad at them.

So I think you all get it and hopefully understand, and maybe some of you even feel a bit overwhelmed with balancing commenting, blogging, and life…so I won’t beat a dead horse anymore.  Bad vegan pun there, sorry.

Switching it up, here’s something I was wondering, for any vegan/vegetarians, what do you do for the Day of Thanksgiving or even the other major winter holidays where the meals center around turkey or other animal flesh?  Just curious on that because being that we’re the lone rangers out here in AZ and have no plans to get together with family this season, I am grateful I don’t have to explain any of my “weird food choices” to anyone.  Gatherings should be a time of celebration and not having to explain yourself, or worse, go away hungry from the dinner table.  So how do you handle it?  Or even if you’re not veg/vegan, does anyone give you grief for your “weird” (read: healthier) food & lifestyle choices?

Stay Tuned For A Vegan No-Bake Holiday Pie…

P.S. I am announcing the winner Sunday of the Fruition ProBars Give Away so this is Last Call: Get Entered, my sweethearts!