It is hotter than...

(nice try--you WISH I would swear on my blog)...blazes...chili peppers...an oven...Mazatlan in August...my car's engine driving through Las Vegas...possibly even the surface of the SUN.

I am really very fed up with the heat level in this house, as well as all the houses and buildings I have been in today. This may be the sole reason that I could end up believing in global warming. I tell you what, it NEVER got this hot around here when I was younger. And the past two summers have become unbearable at points.

Last two days I have taken freezing cold showers. Today I even plunged myself into the ocean in my workout clothes just to try to lower my soaring body temperature.

And I quote from the National Weather Service, "JULY WEATHER IN SAN DIEGO...UNDER THE PROTECTIVE BLANKET OF MOIST AIR FROM THE PACIFIC, TEMPERATURES ARE LOW FOR
THE LATITUDE. THE DAILY MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE RARELY EXCEEDS 85 DEGREES. THE HIGHEST TEMPERATURE IN JULY WAS 100 DEGREES IN 1930...HOT...HUMID WEATHER IS ALMOST UNKNOWN."

Raise your hand if you feel protected by the blanket of the Pacific. Anyone? I didn't think so.

Now, mind you, I know there are many of you out there who live in much hotter climes. However, you likely have air conditioning in your homes. Rare is the home in coastal San Diego that has central A/C, we just don't have the infrastructure for this kind of heat.

In light of this suffering, I am going to list the things I have recently found to be handy in providing relief from the heat (if only temporary):

-Carrying around a 10 lb bag of ice from the grocery store
-Building a fort in the living room with white sheets as the roof, then blasting a fan into it
-Freezing cold showers (already mentioned above)
-The ocean (also already mentioned above)
-Driving around in your car (those ALL come with a/c thankfully)
-Drinking lots of cold lemonade (sometimes too much)
-Ice cream
-More ice cream

How to make a Dumpling

Last Sunday I learned how to make a certifiable Chinese dumpling. It was amazing. Let me in fact walk you through the steps.

1)Take small "dumpling wrapper" (looked like a mini tortilla covered in flour) and finger paint water around the edges.
2)Fill with William's magical pork concoction (not too full or it won't close, Jenny knows that from hard experience).
3)Fold over into a half-moon shape and seal moistened edges--see #1--together. I hate the word moist but its the best descriptor in this case.
4)Decoratively fan the edges by folding pleats in the tortilla wrapper thingy. In my non-creativity I would have chosen to skip this step and leave them plain, but the dumpling Czar (William) wouldn't allow it.
5)Repeat steps 1-4 over 100 times. Ok maybe not that many but that's what it felt like.

I had several difficulties with this new skill. First being I could not figure out how much to put in the wrapper. Second, my fingers were too clumsy to make the pleats look nice. Third, I couldn't figure out how to keep the flour from turning into homemade play-doh all over my hands when it mixed with the water.

Successes of the evening included lining up the dumplings properly on the pan (so as not to incur the wrath of the dumpling Czar), reliving my days of childhood finger painting (only with water this time), and forcing James to make "just one more." And, of course, eating the little pockets of goodness.

Overall, I feel like a pro at dumpling making. And to think someone (no names to protect the innocent) almost convinced me not to go for the pre-dinner lesson. I never would have appreciated those scrumptious morsels without all that hard work!

These are highly sought after and rare pictures of non natives constructing the elusive Chinese dumpling.

Summer Reading

As most of you know, in approximately 6 weeks I will be embarking on my yearly trip to Cabo. Where I will lay by the pool for 7 days, read books, and drink virgin pina coladas from the swim-up bar. Maybe surf a little with my brother and dad. Ok, you are wondering, why are you telling us this?

I need suggestions for reading material poolside. It is imperative I take at least 7 books with me, as I generally read 1 per day. Unless it is young adult lit (on Emily's suggestions) in which case I can read 2 per day. Please submit your ideas for my summer reading enlightenment. I would love it!

This is a picture of the circumstances I will be in come August 10-17 (from previous year's albums)...

Costco and Sushi

No, not sushi from Costco. Two separate topics. Sushi and Costco are two of the most amazing concepts available to commercial America. Let me extol to you the virtues of these two wonderful things.

1)Costco--Where in the world can you find prices on food that never go up? The ice cream there, at the food court, has been $1.55 as long as I can remember. That is AMAZING. Also, who knows how they can give you such great prices on memory foam, iPods, and hummus all under the same roof. Not to mention, the fantastic capabilities of the Photo Center (upload online for pickup in 1 hour), bakery, and pizza (what is it 8.95 for a large pizza?). Once I popped a tire and I had the greatest service ever at the Tire Center, and they are incredible because no matter how busy they are your car is always ready in 45 minutes. That doesn't even happen at the Jiffy Lube sometimes. I am currently sitting next to an extremely quiet tower floor fan which was purchased at the one and only Costco. My favorite pillow came from Costco. I can get 6 toothbrushes for 12 dollars (I love brushing my teeth). Where else can you get samples of beef jerky and protein shakes from 80 year old ladies wearing hairnets (don't worry because my grandma used to be one)? And, to boot, it was started right here. I shop at the ORIGINAL Costco warehouse, a little info for you history buffs out there lest anyone was thinking this post has no substance.

2)Sushi---I will never understand how sushi can fill you up but never make you feel like you overate. It is like it has a magical capability to satiate your hunger perfectly. Every time. How does it do that? There are an infinite amount of different sushi rolls, a great thing for someone who loves it as much as I do. I never get bored with sushi because each restaurant is like a whole new experience. Let me also say that NEVER in my life have I sat in a velvet booth with curtains around it and adjustable lighting until I started eating sushi. Said booth is at Harney Sushi, love it. I mean who can hate the idea of raw fish and salmon eggs wrapped up in a piece of seaweed? DELICIOUS. No, truth be told, when you put it that way it is a weird food. But so incredibly delicious. And nutritious. Sometimes, but beware the tempura. That will get your arteries every time. Sorry for the graphic description for those of you who think the idea of sushi to be absolutely nauseating. I think I was supposed to be born a mermaid because I've never found a food that comes out of the sea that I don't like...

That being said, the most incredible commercial concept in all the world is El Corte Ingles. That's in Spain. I have a song that Emily and I wrote all about it in Spanish. I will not bore you with the details. Also, I will not write any more here about foreign concepts because this is meant to be a patriotic post, touting only the commercialism of the USA. Yay for 4th of July and FIREWORKS!!!

Maybe you can all comment and post your top two American commercial concepts? That would be fun.