When Nicole, my eldest daughter, told me that she won a jalapeno-eating contest when she was an undergraduate at Stanford, I seriously wondered if she lost her mind.  Both of my girls love their food hot and spicy, and they must have gotten that taste for the torturous pain from Rob – certainly not from me.

Rob loves to cook with all kinds of spicy peppers, and our friend Mario keeps Rob in good supply with the variety of peppers he grows in his garden.  Last week, Rob “accidentally” forgot to take out the peppers before serving dinner, and when I took my first bite, I thought I was going to have a heart attack!  I ran to the sink and sprayed cold water on my tongue but it only relieved the pain for about 3 seconds.  Apparently, whole milk is the best remedy for the burn.

I was intrigued by this article “Feel the Burn! Why do we love chilli?” Apparently for men, eating super hot chillis is a form of machismo; but for women, it’s a form of excitement.  Back in 1912, Wilbur Scoville, a pharmacist and pharmaceutical researcher, discovered a method for measuring a pepper’s hotness.  Before tasting hot peppers, I highly recommend that you understand the heat in the peppers you eat.

500 Scovilles       = Anaheims

1,000 Scovilles   = Poblanos

5,000 Scovilles   = Jalapenos

15,000 Scovilles = Serranos

40,000 Scovilles = Cayennes

100,000 Scovilles = Thai Bird’s Eye

300,000 Scovilles = Habaneros

2.2 million Scovilles = Carolina Reaper

I’m still not sure why anyone would eat anything hotter than a jalapeno.  So I guess I’m neither macho nor exciting because I like “mild” peppers.  Pain is usually something I don’t inflict upon myself.  But to each their own!

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Supported by a loving family, we continued to celebrate Nicole’s EM Residency graduation at my cousin’s gorgeous home in Palos Verdes Estates. 

Over 25 family members joined us for a slideshow, Nicole Trivia (of course!), and a Nicole Roast!  So proud that Nicole has achieved her childhood dream of becoming an emergency doctor.  Big dreams, and a little hard work, do pay off!

She starts her UCSF EMS Fellowship in 2 weeks.  So happy she’s moving back to the Bay Area!

After 24 years of school (Merit Academy, Stanford Undergrad, Stanford Medical School, and Harbor-UCLA EM Residency), I’m proud to say that Nicole is officially an Emergency Medicine Doctor!

We watched her graduate with her 15 co-residents on the Queen Mary in Long Beach, CA.  She starts her EMS Fellowship at UCSF in 2 weeks where she plans to develop efficient systems for pre-hospital care and disaster preparedness protocols.  Nicole D’Arcy was in the first graduating class at Merit Academy, and she has set the bar and serves as a role model to so many Merit students. 

Congratulations Nicole!

In 2008, the Norwegian government collected a million packets of seeds from around the world to place them in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault.  They did this to secure seeds to protect food crops from climate change, wars, and natural disasters.  It was designed as an impregnable deep-freeze so we could restart civilization in the case of a massive disaster. They buried the Global Seed Vault deep into a mountain inside the Arctic Circle with the hope that we would never need to retrieve it. Thank you Norway!

But with our extreme heat wave of 2016, meltwater has gushed into the entrance of the tunnel where the Global Seed Vault is located. The permafrost is melting and the “failsafe” protection that we were relying on in the case of a natural or man-made disaster is at risk. So far, the seeds are still safe but further melting of the permafrost leaves the Norwegians concerned.  They are building a waterproof 100-meter tunnel and digging trenches to channel the water away.  Thank goodness their government understands the importance of protecting seeds and searching for solutions to climate change.

I hope people are listening and doing their part to reverse climate change.  I just wish our government – the oligarchs – would set policies to save civilization rather than destroy it. ARGH!

I’m concerned about the food we eat.  Everything from cheese, to meats, to oils, and grains contain irritants that cause inflammation. Even though I grow veggies in an aquaponics system and collect eggs from chickens on our property, my body is inflamed because it is reacting to the foods I eat. 

Decades ago, it was simply choosing between organic and non-organic veggies and fruit.  But today, our veggies are genetically modified (GMOs) so they grow bigger and can survive long hauls to grocery stores.  The animals we eat are raised in inhumane conditions where they can’t move and never see the outdoors. And our packaged foods contain over-processed ingredients with preservatives and chemicals so they can stay fresh on the shelves for decades. This can’t be good for our bodies.

I read a fascinating article “The Truth Behind All Those Gut Health Claims; No Alternative Facts Here.” 

It discusses how the digestive system affects every organ in our bodies and how what we eat affects our energy, immune system, mental agility, happiness, and skin.  My doctor just recommended that I cut out meat and dairy to cut inflammation and to better regulate my blood sugar.  

Sounds like we need to go back to eating food the natural way – the way they grow out of the ground.  Not sure about cutting out meat though!

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I’ve got exciting news: Jaclyn will start Kellogg’s School of Management on June 21^st.  It’s part of Northwestern University in Chicago, and it’s ranked #4 in the nation.

While many of the MBA students fly in for weekend classes, Jaclyn will be moving to Chicago for 15 months so she can take full advantage of the incredible marketing courses, professors, and networking.  She is thrilled to have this opportunity to meet high-caliber business students who share her passion for marketing. 

We’re so proud of her! And we’re happy that she plans to return to the Bay Area next September!

On August 21^st, there will be a total solar eclipse that will travel coast to coast across America.  The path is about 68 miles wide and if you’re on the path, you’ll see the total eclipse for about 2 minutes and 40 seconds.  The light show, however, will last for hours.

The 19 best places to catch the eclipse, according to Men’s Journal, are as follows:

Nashville, TN (1:27 pm)

Columbia, MO (1:12 pm)

Nantahala National Forest, NC

Stanley, ID (11:28 am)

Salem, OR (10:17 am)

Greenville, SC (2:38 pm)

Carbondale, IL (1:20 pm)

Jackson, WY (11:34 am)

Grand Island, NE (12:58 pm)

Blairsville, GE (2:34 pm)

Greenwood, SC (2:39 pm)

Charleston, SC (2:46 pm)

Wind River, WY (11:39 am)

Lincoln City, OR (10:16 am)

Jackson County, NC (2:36 pm)

Cascade, ID (11:27 am)

Great Smoky Mountains National Park, TN

Alliance, NE (11:49 am)

Casper, WY (11: 42 am)

If you miss this solar eclipse, there’s another one in 2024!

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Taking our “puppies” for a walk is an upper-body workout – literally.  On Mother’s Day, Jaclyn, Alex, and I took Beckett, Jersey, and Radar to Pleasure Point for what we thought would be a casual stroll on beach.  Instead, we had to separate the pups because of their power play – and our exhaustion as we tried to get them to “heel.”  Yeah right… So much for our puppy training classes.

Then Michael brought his son Micha to visit and when Micha said, “SCARED!”, I could only image the fear he felt as 2 giant puppies ran down the driveway to greet him.  They still don’t know their strength or weight as they often miss their target and slam into us because they can’t stop in time.  Luckily for Micha, Rob and Michael were there to lift him out of harm’s way. 

While Beckett and Jersey are still getting used to their growing body masses, they are absolutely the sweetest dogs we’ve ever had.  They love to lean on us while we cook and come to us on command.  They’re well trained and they even stay off of our carpets; they’re allowed on hardwood floors only!  

Yesterday I blogged about the new Periodic Table that has pictures and words to help you make sense of the elements and how we use them. 

Today, I have a song that’ll help you memorize the Periodic Table – if you need to for school.  Check it out: https://youtu.be/VgVQKCcfwnU. 

Remember memorizing the 50 states by singing a song?  Same concept and it’s very cool.

And if you want to see a 7-year-old boy sing it, check this out: https://youtu.be/tWcylfGWu9U.  Get ready to sing the entire Periodic Table!

I love this new periodic table that shows you how we use these elements. 

You can print this out for your kids, and they even have an interactive chart that pops up more information, images, and interesting facts about each element.

Finally, a fun way to learn the Periodic Table!