Pumpkin Cookies with Chocolate Chunks

Things around here are slowly getting back to normal. Yes, I've only been to work two days out of the past seven. Sure, my train line was washed out and will take weeks to fix. And yeah, BF had to wait in a long line this morning to get gas (it's an odd day, so he could fill up today). I can't complain because so many others are so much worse off.

Since I live in New Jersey and work on Long Island, I wasn't able to get to work last week. The one day I tried it took me four and a half hours to get there in the morning and five and a half hours to get home. Not a recipe for a happy girl. I was forced to work from home. Which, if you're a lab scientist, is very difficult to do. You run out of things to do rather quickly. I spent some of my work hours baking and working out. Between thinking about science and reading literature of course.

I made it to work yesterday in a record breaking tree hours. I have since taken a friend up on their offer to stay at their place on the island until train service becomes tolerable. I've been told that it's okay and encouraged for me to bake while at their house.

It's kind offers like these that I've seen throughout this disaster. Friends, neighbors and strangers helping each other. Humanity really shines when times are tough and people in the tri-state area are looking pretty bright. Stay tough everyone out there, things aren't great right now, but they'll get better.

Wilde in a Hurricane

Hello everyone!  I hope that you are all safe and sound after this crazy storm that ripped through the east coast.  If you are far away from the path of Sandy, I hope you enjoyed your Halloween last night!  Can you believe that Halloween has been rescheduled here in the state of New Jersey?

Kids in NJ have had a rough few years with trick-or-treating.  Last year there was a freak snowstorm just before Halloween.  It brought down so many trees and power lines, they cancelled trick-or-treating due to safety reasons.  This year it's the same problem.  Hurricane Sandy blew down so many huge trees and brought down a ton of tree limbs.  They fell on homes, cars and power lines, which is the reason behind postponing Halloween again this year. 

Boyfriend and I fared the storm with very little to talk about.  Montclair (our town) is located only ten miles from the city and shore, but we sit high on a hill overlooking the city.  We knew we would have no issues with flooding.  All day Monday, as Sandy blew and blew, our lights flickered until they finally went out around 6:00pm.  What do you do when the power goes out?  We stared out the window at the rest of Montclair, which still had power somehow.

Luckily we had just finished cooking dinner, so we enjoyed dinner by candlelight.  So romantic with all the wind and rain howling outside.  It isn't that cold out right now and our water continued to run, so we just hunkered down for the next few hours. 

Tuesday morning we woke without power.  My office had a delayed opening, but with all the bridges, tunnels and trains shut down, there was no way I could get to work.  BF and I had cereal for breakfast and spent the major portion of the day doing a puzzle.  Around 5:00pm the power came back on.  With a high five, we celebrated the return of electricity.  We are lucky, we were powerless for only 24 hours.  Our apartment happens to be on the same grid as a fire station and hospital.  Many millions of people are still without power.

My thanks go out to the hardworking people of the public transit, power companies and the first responders that are helping everyone in the tri-state area through this disaster.  Stay safe out there everyone.  I for one will be here at my apartment, because there is no public transportation for me to get to work!  Working from home this week, as much as a lab chemist can work from home!

Before the power went out on the Wilde household, I made this delicious fall cake.  Sure, you can make a pumpkin cake, but I thought I would change it up and make a butternut squash cake!  I made this last week and brought it to the office.  While placing it in the lunchroom, I put a label on it reading "Pumpkin cake!" because I'm pretty sure people would be suspicious of a squash cake.  Give this a try if you find yourself with an abundance of butternut squash this fall!

Cheesy Polenta with Sausage

I can't believe that it has been over ten months since I had my braces put on!  And it's been far too long since I've updated all of you on the progress/process.  For those of you who are less interested in my orthodontia experience and more here for the food, don't worry, I made you a delicious dinner.  (That is also braces friendly!)

For those of you just tuning in, as a thirty-year old woman, I decided it was about time I got braces.  Well, my dentist "strongly suggested" me having a consultation with an orthodontist.  I was mad at my new dentist (seriously, it was the first time I had an appointment there!), but I was also mad at my old dentist (the one I had since I first got teeth.  The guy who told me I didn't need braces.).  Eventually I decided that it was a great time in my life to get my bite adjusted.

Invisalign was not an option, the corrections required real braces and *gasp* rubber bands!  I was okay with the braces, but he wanted me to wear rubber bands?  Like the ones that looped from top brace to the bottom?  I didn't know if I was okay with that.  I just kept thinking, *It's only 18-21 months, I can handle it.*

In February of this year, I had these fancy ceramic braces affixed to my teeth.  Until the metal archwire was attached, the brackets themselves were almost invisible.  Even with the wire in place, it's the only thing you can see when I smile.  It took some people at my office months to realize I had the braces put on.  My mom and brother had to be reminded that I had them, as they didn't notice them either.  My close coworkers made fun of me for about a week, but I just made fun of them for a wide variety of reasons and we all got used to my braces.  Recently, my orthodontist got new bands (the little rubber bands that attach the wire to the bracket) that are completely clear.  I'm in love with them.

I've had some questions from people along the lines of "I want to get braces, but I'm afraid they will hurt!"  I'm not going to lie, they were uncomfortable the first two weeks.  I was aware of every last tooth in my mouth.  After the initial adjustment period (and loss of a few pounds), it really hasn't been that bad.  After my monthly adjustment, one tooth or another might hurt for a few days, but it quickly goes away.  Also, as your teeth start to line up properly it becomes much easier to speak normally.  I've finally learned to say M words properly, I'm sure I'll have to get used to speaking again once the braces are removed.

So yes, I'm about halfway through my term in braces.  I just have three things to say...

1. I think my old dentist was in cahoots with my dad.  He totally saved him a bundle of cash by not pushing braces on either my brother or I.  And Wilde brother would do well to get himself some grills.  Dudes got crazy teeth!

2. I would totally get them again.  I'm really looking forward to having all my pearly whites lined up and biting down in the proper fashion!  I can see the progress they've made already and I can't wait to see the final result!

3. If you are thinking about getting braces, don't worry about the pain, your ability to eat, what other people will think.  The pain isn't crippling, you'll just decide which foods are too much work to eat and you're doing this for yourself, ignore those haters!

Get braces and make this dinner - very braces friendly!