Hurricane Kyle Close to Landfall & Finding Heroes

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
Hurricane Kyle will make landfall this evening on the western end of Nova Scotia. It's movement now to the north-northeast...moving eastward enough that the Hurricane Watch was dropped for Maine.

Low pressure over Yucatan could become a rain maker for Florida by mid-week as it moves north-northeastward. Probably won't have time to become a tropical depression. We shall see.

Elsewhere, close to home...no tropical weather...just the influence of high pressure...pleasantly cool morning and warm, dry afternoons. No big changes for the week ahead. Lows will be in the 50s and 60s (depending on the day and location) and highs will be in the middle to upper 80s (a few 90s are possible). Enjoy!!!

SPANISH WORD FOR THE DAY
I am choosing hero or héroe, pronounced ay-row-ay. I will explain why I chose this word in my AND MORE section. Sometimes, you find an héroe in the most unlikely place.

Learning more than one language has been shown to improve memory. Here's one research study that proved it.
In this study, 60...bilingual and 60...monolingual children in three age groups...were compared on episodic memory and semantic memory tasks...and verbal tasks...Positive effects of bilingulism were found on both episodic memory and semantic memory at all age levels.

This came from: Kormi-Nouri, R., Moniri, S., & Nilsson, L. (2003). Episodic and semantic memory in bilingual and monolingual children. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 44(1), 47-54. from PsycINFO database.

And it doesn't have to be a chore to reap the rewards of language learning. In fact, it can be a gift in the form of a fun and entertaining DVD called Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco Volume 1. This is the DVD I produced and created, and it has been recognized as a Top 10 Educational Product for 2008 by Dr. Toy!!! You can order through http://www.frankandpaco.com/, Ventura's Educational Supply, Dolo Publications, Carlex Inc., The Curious Mind Store, amazon.com, bestbuy.com, and barnesandnoble.com.

AND MORE
Trucks were picking up branches on Austin Parkway near Highway 6 this morning. They were using a small crane looking contraption to grab bunches and put them in the back of the truck. So, hang in there everyone...the branches are slowly starting to disappear.

Latest Centerpoint numbers...89% have power (2.0 million). This means 11% still do not.

And sometimes, getting power back doesn't mean you will keep it. Last night, we had the honor of meeting one of these unfortunate individuals. Barbara and her husband were at Dairy Queen, having a quiet dinner and looking for a power outlet. Their power had just returned the day before, only to be lost again. I found out that Barbara was trying to get some work done, because she had already reported back to work as a school teacher. And she still had 10 family members from Galveston crammed into her 1700 square foot home (and don't forget, they brought their dog too). She said it has been so hard trying to get food cooked outside before it gets completely dark. She said it really messes with you psychologically, especially getting the power back and then losing it. When she told me about her job as a teacher, her eyes lit up and she said, I just love it. And I'm so glad to be back as of last Monday. The kids were ready too!!! Well, Barbara is my hero! She keeps on going even in the face of great personal adversity and sacrifice. She is taking care of a lot of people (family and students)!

Have a good week everyone!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Hurricane Kyle and Happy Birthday in Spanish

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
Ooohh aahhh....so nice outside. And, there will be no big changes through the end of the coming week...lows will be in the 50s and 60s. Highs will be in the middle to upper 80s.

Kyle is now a hurricane...it will make landfall late Sunday near extreme eastern Maine. Not much more strengthening is likely as it raises northward.

Disturbed area that was in the southern Gulf Friday is now over the Yucatan. There are also 2 disturbed areas in the Atlantic...which are of no immediate consequence to any land area.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Since today is Sarah's 7th birthday, I thought it would be nice to learn how to say Happy Birthday in Spanish -- Feliz Cumpleaños - pronounced fay-leez coom-plee-ah-nyos. Feliz Cumpleaños to our dear Sarah. And thanks to big sister Megan for helping to her birthday so nice! You are the best Megan!!!

Another advantage of learning more than one language is improved grammar. Check out this research:

This study aimed to validate the effects of second language learning on children's linguistic awareness...The results showed an advantage for the children who attended bilingual classes since kindergarten: they were better at grammatical judgment and correction tasks and word recognition.

This came from Demont, E. (2001) Contribution of early 2nd-language learning to the development of linguistic awareness and learning to read...International Journal of Psychology, 36(4), 274-285. from PsycINFO datebase.

Heres's a way to expose children to more than one language. Purchase our award winning children's DVD, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco Volume 1. It has been recognized as a Top 10 Educational Product for 2008 by Dr. Toy!!! You can order through http://www.frankandpaco.com/, Ventura's Educational Supply, Dolo Publications, Carlex Inc., The Curious Mind Store, amazon.com, bestbuy.com, and barnesandnoble.com. THANKS FOR THE SUPPORT EVERYONE!

AND MORE
We are now beginning the 3rd week with no power. Centerpoint reports that 85% of power has been restored (to 1.91 million)...leaving 15% still without power...no refrigerated/frozen groceries, no in-house laundry service, no lights, no a/c and possibly no fans, possibly no phone service, no ability to easily charge cell phones, no ability to easily access the internet, no ability to use any appliance that accesses electricity, sometimes no school to attend, sometimes no work place to go to. Imagine that for more than 2 weeks...no fun at all. We haven't forgotten those of you who are doing without so much.

Coming soon...our own Disney store...it's official. Sarah has more Hannah Montana stuff than any girl in the world. Just ask her Dad.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman