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_...and now, a holiday poem for you, from WebSpider!
Whatever you celebrate, we hope you have fun!
                                          .    .    .
Twas the week before Christmas, when all ‘cross the floor
All the puppets were stirring as JP wished them more:
“May your stockings be stuffed with all sort of treats,
Like kisses, and hugs, and holiday sweets!”

They should have been nestled in snug puppet beds,
But visions of sugarplums danced in their heads!
And Judy was sewing, still hard at her work –
With Christmas this close, she didn’t dare shirk!

 
 
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Hi everyone! I think WebSpider's been doing a wonderful job these past two weeks writing about diabetes, don't you?

Well, you may or may not know it, but today is World Diabetes Day! And I thought the best way to celebrate would be to share some more healthy munchings, this time specifically diabetes-friendly ones. Of course, all of my favorite snacks are already diabetes-friendly - like carrots and alfalfa (and alfalfa salsa!!!) - but we also have a number of yummy recipes that Judy Puppets and I like to whip up in the workshop too!

Keep reading for some of them...

 
 
Hi everyone!

I really love Halloween - everything's so spooky, the air is all gusty, the clouds are taking strange shapes, and it feels like ANYTHING can happen! It's fun to tell scary stories and decorate with cobwebs, orange and black streamers, and pumpkins! My favorite is actually the Jack Be Little Pumpkins, which are tiny pumpkins that can stay fresh and pretty for months if you keep them out of the sun. Judy likes the larger pumpkins though, because then she can carve all sorts of faces into them. With my little Jack Be Little Pumpkins, I draw the faces on with permanent marker.

Right now all the stores are full of candy and other sweets, but Judy Puppets and I wanted to share some of our favorite healthy Halloween treats!

***

First off, speaking of pumpkins, here are three great recipes from Heidi Swanson at 101 Cookbooks for roasting pumpkin seeds after you've carved your pumpkin:

Sweet & Spicy Pumpkin Seeds
1 egg white
1/4 cup natural cane sugar
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
scant 1/2 teaspoon fine grained sea salt
1 cup fresh pumpkin seeds

Preheat oven to 375. In a medium-sized bowl whisk together the egg white, sugar, cayenne and salt. Add the pumpkin
 
 
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Hi everyone! We've been having a lovely time in Albany! We're staying in a beautiful cabin right next to the river, and it's so quiet! I hope you've been enjoying how lovely and warm the weather's been - or at least it has been all weekend here on the East Coast! We had big beautiful blue skies with light sketches of cloud, like a sand spray. And the breeze has been just right, to give a little of that early fall feel. The trees are all turning all those pretty autumn colors, and when the sun starts to set, it's the perfect mood for campires and ghost stories!

I'm too young to remember, Judy Puppets says, but we're very lucky to have such nice warm weather. She told me once, about fifteen years ago, it was already so cold in October that she had to go trick or treating in the snow!! Can you imagine?

Speaking of trick or treating, I'm so excited about Halloween - are you? What's your favorite ever costume? I'm thinking of going as a ghost, but I don't want it to be too scary.

Today's blogger: Willow

 
 
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Today's blogger: Willow (with Rocky in the background)

[Sent back to the workshop from Atlantic City for publication via carrier pidgeon]

Hello everyone! We had a super fun drive up and have only just arrived! Rocky called shotgun, so I sat happily in the back (it's safer for us little ones anyway) and led the car in songs! What are your favorite car songs? I like "I've Got Sixpence," "The Wheels on the Bus," and of course, Baby Puppets's new hit song, "Hooked on Breastfeeding!" Judy Puppets also led us all in singing "On the Boardwalk (in Atlantic City)" in honor of our first destination.

Rocky meanwhile was VERY excited to be on another road trip.  I think he really likes to see everything zooming by as we drive along, and he kept hollering out the window every time he saw another bird. Judy Puppets had to keep him from flying out the window himself to say hello! It was so funny! I took some pictures so you could see how funny it was too!

Anyway, I hope you all had a fun happy day like we did!  Byyyyyye! [carrier pidgeon reports that Willow waved goodbye at this point]

 
 
We are en route to the Desmond Conference Center in Albany, New York, to speak at the WIC Association of NYS!  Brett is flying out from California to join Judy and Willow at Judy's presentation to the wonderful WIC community.  We are thrilled and excited to attend and meet fellow leaders within the public health arena.  Hopefully our stories and strategies will help cultivate rich programming opportunities and improve the delivery of health education messages!
 
 
Hey there!  Willow Wabbit here, sending my hello across the seas to you - from Bangkok!  Judy, Demetri, and me have been here for a couple of days now and all I can say is WOOOOOOOWWWWW!!!!  ...
 
 
Exciting news!  Puppet Treehouse has been honored by British Airways in their "Face of Opportunity" initiative.  The UK-based airline asked the question, "Why would your organization benefit from face-to-face meetings?" and we answered! 

We happily introduced our mission of working with communities to improve public health. 

We shared our enthusiasm for bringing what we do to communities around the world. 

We affirmed that the opportunity to spread awareness of public health issues is the opportunity to make a stronger planet.

And what do you know?  British Airways got "on board" - and sponsored the first chapter of our "Puppet Treehouse In the Sky" project!  As a "Face of Opportunities" Finalist, we joined community leaders in London to discuss the importance of face-to-face connections in an increasingly virtual world and then set forth for our first destination: Thailand. 

We fly out in early September - stay tuned for more!