punkins!

when i was little, i would call them punkins. actually, i would call them that until i was in undergrad :) if my best friend wasn't such a grammar nazi, i probably still would call them that. but i suppose i can handle pumpkin.

i absolutely love halloween. i haven't celebrated as i would have liked for the past couple of years. i'm not sure why. i really am hoping to change that this year :) i'm volunteering at boo in the zoo - and i'm excited! this at least guarantees that i'll be wearing a costume at some point.

anyway, i haven't carved a pumpkin since my second halloween in dc (and this is now my fifth!), so i thought it was about time.

here's my beauty. i call he sam.

i hate the smell of pumpkin guts, but i persisted. nice 'n' clean, huh?

here are the seeds, after they were cleaned.

i mixed up some butter, oil, worchshire sauce, garlic salt, and oregano. mixed in the seed and spread them out on a foil lined pan.

baked in a 325 degree oven for 30-35 minutes.

they were savory and delicious.

and then it came time to carve my masterpiece! i searched templates and galleries upon galleried of pumpkin carvings. i couldn't find one that i wanted to do. i found a ghost that seemed cool, but then i went to my friend robert's house over the weekend and decided that my ghost would be lame compared to his bad-ass skull. he reall did a good job. them, i decided that i would do a monster. something playful, but still very appropriate. i looked over the sesame street website for some ideas. i though image of telly, oscar, and cookie monster might help. i think it did. so... have a gander at sam. i think he rocks!

no candle and room lit.

room lit and candle lit (and a fuzzy focus).

in the dark with candle lit.
kicks ass, no?