Tropical Update/Eat, Pray, Love Review/Onion Chopping Eye Relief

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
What was tropical depression #5 and moved into the northern Gulf coast last week, is about to move back out over the open water just south of the Florida panhandle. The National Hurricane Center is giving it a 50% chance of becoming a tropical storm in the next 48 hours. Looks like it will hit southeast Louisiana again.

On Monday, there is a risk of severe storms in the northeast and for eastern Colorado and the corners of surrounding counties. Very hot in Texas and the southwest with plenty of 100+ readings. Steamy for th southeast with highs in the 90s. Pleasant for the Great Lakes and northern New England with highs in the 60s and along the California coast, highs in the 70s. Elsewhere, expect 70s and 80s.

Houston has another Heat Advisory for Monday. On Sunday, it hit 100 for the first time this year...just one degree shy of the record for the day. I would not be surprised if we hit 100 again on Monday. But rain will return this week and there will likely be some scattered storms Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday as more moisture moves into the area along with some weak disturbances in the upper flow...still very hot and humid all week.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let's do pray or rezar, pronounced ray-ZARR. What did I think about Ear, Rezar, Love? See the And More section.

I just finished reviewing the music CD for the first 3 volumes, to be released at about the same time as Volume 3, which will cover the alphabet (with words beginning with those letters), numbers 1 through 20 and colors. In the meantime, you can order my award winning DVDs, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco Volumes 1 and 2 on the shelf (in the education section) at Barnes & Noble stores or you can order them from http://www.frankandpaco.com, http://www.amazon.com, http://www.bn.com, http://www.bestbuy.com, or http://www.ebay.com/. Our ESL (English as a Second Language) version can be found at http://www.frankypaco.com.

AND MORE
Place to Go for Personalized Gifts, Especially for Baby
Just got back from an out of town baby shower for my nephew Josh and his wife Sarah. They are going to have a little boy in September and are naming him John Mason. I was delighted to see some personalized items that my niece had made for him including the blue and white checked romper shown at right. Turns out she has started a business personalizing bibs, wipey containers and much more. Check out her web site at:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/NeedleInACottonPatch
That whole family is very creative. Courtney herself had come up with some super fun baby shower games like modifying Catch Phrase with baby terms, Price is Right like game--gave 5 items and gave 2 prices and we had to pick the right one...whoever got most right--won. It was a fun time.

Eat, Pray, Love Review
I read the book, and I think Julia Roberts did a good job of portraying Elizabeth Gilbert. There were several parts that were glossed over or not even addressed at all. But, I think the movie would have been at least 3 hours if they hadn't done that. And, her love interest was way too good (and young) looking compared to the way he was portrayed in the book. I think it is worth seeing--I don't know if everything was shot on location--but the scenery was great. It is not a completely chick movie. I saw several couples in the theater--those men were so brave.

Minimize Tears While Chopping Onions
So, I'm chopping some onions and trying to remember the tip I saw on Alton Brown's show on the Food Network. I just could not remember. He explained how there are fumes realized that when they hit the eyeballs release sulfur and that is why your eyes burn. He suggested rubbing the cutting surface with vinegar and then said that is too stinky. Then, he said to cut near an open flame to burn up the fumes. Then, he said to cut with a very sharp knife to minimize the release of fumes. You can see him giving this advice on the following link from youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cU-gfFzC6Uw

EPA Sets Emission Limits for Cement Plants - First Ever for Mercury
For the first time ever, the EPA has established emission limits for mercury and other chemicals released from cement plants.

The following is an excerpt from the press release:
EPA estimates that the rules will yield $6.7 billion to $18 billion in health and environmental benefits, with costs estimated at $926 million to $950 million annually in 2013. Another EPA analysis estimates emission reductions and costs will be lower, with costs projected to be $350 million annually.

For the complete press release, see the following link:
http://sn130w.snt130.mail.live.com/default.aspx?wa=wsignin1.0

Poll Results
My poll about your feelings about Lance Berkman leaving the Astros for the Yankees got the following results:

33% said they were sad. 16% said they were more optimistic about the Astros. 50% said they don't care. No one said they are mad at him, they are less optimistic about the Astros, or they are happy for him. Only one answer was allowed. Thanks to all who participated. I'll try to put up a new poll in my next post.

Have a great week everyone!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman