Warming Up in Alaska/New Fish/Ike Conference/Sweet Peas Crop

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
It's finally going to warm up in Fairbanks, Alaska. Check out the latest forecast from the National Weather Service.
TODAY...MOSTLY CLEAR. PATCHY ICE FOG. HIGHS 25 TO 40 BELOWZERO...EXCEPT AROUND ZERO IN THE HILLS. LIGHT WINDS. .
TONIGHT...PARTLY CLOUDY. LOWS 25 TO 45 BELOW...EXCEPT AROUND5 BELOW IN THE HILLS. LIGHT WINDS. .
MONDAY...MOSTLY CLOUDY. A CHANCE OF SNOW IN THE AFTERNOON. HIGHSZERO TO 15 BELOW. LIGHT WINDS.

Wow! Monday's high will be zero to 15 below zero (instead of the 25 to 40 below zero it was today).

There has been a lot of talk about that cold air diving southward...but the good news it looks like the main thrust of the cold air will pass to the east of Houston. Sorry everyone in the Ohio Valley and northeast and Great Lakes!

Monday will be very cold for North Dakota and Montana with highs in the low single digits. There will be snow from the northern plains through the Great Lakes states. Look for rain in Seattle and Florida.

Houston will be mostly sunny and cold in the morning. There will be a light freeze for the most of the area except the coast. There will be only be about 1 to 2 hours of freezing temperatures for the Houston metro and 3 to 6 in the suburbs. A couple more reinforcing shots of cool air arrive early Tuesday and early Thursday. No rain is expected until the weekend.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY

Let's do pet--animal, doméstico or de compañía, pronounced ah-KNEE-mall, doe-MEHS-tee-coh or day cohm-pah-NYEE-ah. It's fun to have a doméstico.

Today I spoke to the children at the Kid's Church at Brentwood Baptist Church. Frank and Paco the puppets joined me as we taught them some Spanish and meteorology. It was a blast and I really want to thank Reverend Barbara Jordan and George Micheaux for the invitation and warm hospitality.

Of course I brought our winning DVD called Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco. You too can enjoy it by ordering from our web site www.frankandpaco.com/. You can also order from http://www.venturaes.com/, www.dololanguages.com, www.carlexonline.com,www.thecuriousmindstore.com, www.amazon.com, www.bestbuy.com, and http://www.barnesandnoble.com/. If you are more interested in a full immersion type product, go to http://www.frankypaco.com/.

AND MORE
I really enjoyed my visit to Brentwood Baptist today. I had met Reverend Thomas at The Little Gym where her daughter and mine were taking classes. Barbara Thomas is also the author of The Melanin Factor and you can purchase her book through Amazon.com. Here is a description:

Jared, a medical researcher, develops a serum that stops the progression of the HIV virus. His discovery, which should have resulted in universal praise, instead places him in deadly peril.
The pharmaceutical company where Jared works leads its field. Bret, son of the company's founder, will do whatever is necessary to preserve the company's wealth and power. But the company profits more from keeping Jared's serum off the market. Colleagues die, intrigue thrives, and a series of odd incidents, convince Jared that he needs help. His friends-a newspaper reporter, a computer expert, and a professional bodyguard, all close since their high school days-bring their experience to the table to help him. Their discoveries confront Jared with surprising revelations about his family. Secrets exposed, each person comes face to face with the truth.

We bought 2 new goldfish today...see photo at right. Sarah named the orange one ICarly and the spotted one Sam (from the show ICarly). Hopefully, these two will make it!!!

And check out my sweet peas. Last summer's crop was okay but this batch planted around November 1st is growing like crazy. We love to open the pods and eat the sweet peas right on the spot. I really should have planted them October 1st, but as you can see, the Houston winter is very agreeable to them.

Our latest poll, about how you feel now that the new year has started, will close on Monday. So be sure to vote!!!

Well I learned a lot at the post Ike Hurricane Conference that I attended on Friday. There were speakers from the energy sector and they said that 60 platforms were completely destroyed. Another 31 had major damage. I also learned the difference between rigs and platforms...rigs are something in the act of drilling. Although Ike did a lot of damage to the platforms, Hurricane Rita of 2005 did much more because it moved over an area with more of them.

I think this kind of workshop may become an annual event put on by The Weather Research Center/The Weather Museum. Don't forget to check out their web site (I have a link at right). There will be a big gala on Groundhog Day on February 2nd at the Houston zoo. Seats are still available. I will be there and my mom and stepdad (Cherish the Music) will provide the musical entertainment, a medley of weather themed songs...very creative!!!

I'll have more on the gala as we get closer.

Have a wonderful week everyone!!!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Weekend Forecast/Unexpected Toad/Ike Conference

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
Snow/Rain are moving through Iowa and parts of the midwest this evening. Saturday there will be snow from the Great Lakes to New York City. There will be rain in Texas and Louisiana and in the most extreme northwest states. Look for a rain/snow mix for St. Louis and Cincinnati. Highs will be in teens from the northern plains to the northeast.

Houston will be cooler by mid-morning as the next cold front arrives. There will be some showers and skies will be overcast until around midday on Sunday. It will be cool through the weekend. A stronger push of cold air arrives Thursday...stay tuned for developments--possibly the coldest so far this season.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let's do workshop or taller, pronounces TAH-yair. I attended a taller today.

Workships are opportunities to learn. We all know that learning new things stimulates the mind and helps it work even better. Research study after research study shows that early language learning is very beneficial to kids. It even helps them hypothesize better in science. Wow!!! Well it just so happens that we have and award winning DVD called Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco that kids love to watch. You can order it now--from our web site www.frankandpaco.com/. You can also order from http://www.venturaes.com/, www.dololanguages.com, www.carlexonline.com,www.thecuriousmindstore.com, www.amazon.com, www.bestbuy.com, and http://www.barnesandnoble.com/. If you are more interested in a full immersion type product, go to http://www.frankypaco.com/.

AND MORE
Sarah and I walked to pick up our mail this evening and what did we find?! A toad!!! On January 9th!!! Well, it was almost warm today. At first we named him Taylor because Sarah's cousin Taylor was coming to visit. But then Sarah decided to name it Fun-Tiki after a local place she loves which has arcade games, miniature golf etc. We enjoyed visiting with Fun -Tiki for a while. Don't forget you can see any of the 14 TOAD HUNTERS videos on www.youtube.com. Just type in TOAD HUNTERS in the search field.

The Weather Research Center/Weather Museum Post Ike Hurricane Conference went very well today. The speakers were fantastic and of course the moderators were unbelievably wonderful too (note I was one of them). I learned a lot including that 60% of homes in Houston were damaged. Wow!!!

I'll have more on the conference tomorrow. Right now...I want to visit with my nephew Taylor.

Happy weekend everyone!!!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Wildfires Report/Fate of Wanda #2/Weekend Forecast

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
Coldest air Friday will be over the northern plains with highs in the low teens. There will be snow across many of the northern 2 tiers of states. There will be a few spotty showers in the south.

Houston will be mild and more humid with highs in the middle 70s. Cold front arrives early Saturday keeping temperatures in the 50s during the day...expect a shower or two. Sunday will be cool in the morning and in the 60s in the afternoon.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let's do sad or triste, pronounced tree-STAY. I am triste today as I am grieving.

There is nothing sad about our DVD for children, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco, winner of two prestigious educational awards. Kids love watching the lively puppets, Frank and Paco as they discuss words and phrases in Spanish. Your kids will love learning while watching it. So order it now--from our web site www.frankandpaco.com/. You can also order from http://www.venturaes.com/, www.dololanguages.com, www.carlexonline.com,www.thecuriousmindstore.com, www.amazon.com, www.bestbuy.com, and http://www.barnesandnoble.com/. If you are more interested in a full immersion type product, go to http://www.frankypaco.com/.

AND MORE

This report comes from my friend Dr. Brian Pettigrew--he is talking about wildfires in the Boulder area.

"They started yesterday when a powerlines were knocked over by our continuing onslaught of near-hurricane force winds down the lee slopes of the Rockies. I live about 8-10 miles outside of Boulder and I could even see the smoke from there. It was quite amazing."
Thanks Brian for that report!!!

Well I am so sad tonight as Wanda #2 didn't make it. I am mulling over the next step to take with the aquarium.

I am excited about tomorrow as I will be the Session Chair for Session 1 of a post-Ike workshop being given at the University of St. Thomas Scanlan Room. Hope to see you there!!!

Happy Friday everyone!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Next Rain/Fish Tank Sage Continues/Great Photo Deal

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
A nice day on the way for much of the country--especially the southern tier and the central plains. There will be snow around the Great Lakes, the northern plains and northern New England. There will be rain and snow for the northern Rockies and the Pacific Northwest.

Houston will enjoy a delightful day...cool morning and mild afternoon. Friday will be a bit more humid. Saturday will be cooler with a few showers. Upper trough sets up to the northeast starting Saturday and that keeps us in a mild to cool pattern for several days.

SPANISH WORD FOR THE DAY
Let's do picture or fotografía, pronounced foh-tow-grahf-EE-ah. I have a bunch of fotografías from the holidays.

The visual elements of our DVD for children, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco, winner of two prestigious educational awards, are colorful and fun. Your kids will love learning while watching it. So order it now--from our web site www.frankandpaco.com/. You can also order from http://www.venturaes.com/, www.dololanguages.com, www.carlexonline.com,www.thecuriousmindstore.com, www.amazon.com, www.bestbuy.com, and http://www.barnesandnoble.com/. If you are more interested in a full immersion type product, go to http://www.frankypaco.com/.

AND MORE
Some gardeners have black thumbs...some fish owners (like me) have a black fishnet. But I'm learning. My dear friend Barbara from Sitka sent a suggestion about some medicine to put in the water. I picked some up and started the treatment today! Unfortunately, Cosmo didn't make it! And Wanda2 is looking bad. I do have a plan for what to do if Wanda2 doesn't make it. So stay tuned for further developments.

Looking for a good deal on prints...go to shutterfly.com. For $20, you can get 200 prints...that's 10 cents each!!! Don't make the mistake of using the 30% off prints deal...you would have to order 1250 prints to make up for the 200 prints. The reason--they charge $29.95 for the 30% off deal.

Happy photo developing!!!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Sunshine for Houston/Goldfish Shock/Library Reopens

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
Some severe weather is possible over southern Alabama and the Florida panhandle. Those little diamonds in northern Alabama indicate Flash Flood Warnings. Snow/ice is falling to north of the rain but most of that will switch to plain rain as a warm front passes.

On Wednesday, there will be snow for all of the Great Lakes states and northern New England. Look for a rain/snow mix in Boston and rain with thunderstorms southward into Florida. There will be a rain/snow combination for the Rockies from Colorado north and west to the Pacific Northwest. The coolest spot will be North Dakota with highs in the single digits.

For Houston, delightful weather is on the way...sunshine with cool morning and mild afternoons the next 2 days. Saturday, there will be rain with a weak cold front.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let's do fish--the kind you eat is pescado, pronounced pehs-CAH-doh. The kind in an aquarium is pez, pronounce PEHZ. I'm having some trouble with my pez.

Children love pez and they love learning languages. Little do they know that learning languages makes their brains work even better. So, let them be entertained and educated...buy our DVD for children, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco, winner of two prestigious educational awards. You can order it now--from our web site www.frankandpaco.com/. You can also order from http://www.venturaes.com/, www.dololanguages.com, www.carlexonline.com,www.thecuriousmindstore.com, www.amazon.com, www.bestbuy.com, and http://www.barnesandnoble.com/. If you are more interested in a full immersion type product, go to http://www.frankypaco.com/.

AND MORE

The photo at right was taken on December 28th...we hurried to get the shot as the weather was turning warmer. The snow you see there had already melted some and refrozen...it was rock hard...no snowman making with this stuff...more like ice skating. But Sarah got a kick out of it anyway. Last winter there was lots of snow on the ground. Other winters, there has been none at all.

In case you didn't know, the First Colony Library is back in business! Here is the official statement:

First Colony Branch Library has re-opened for regular business, after a lengthy closure to repair damage from Hurricane Ike. Area residents are very happy to have the resumption of library service and the library staff is glad to be back to business as usual. The library's regular hours are: Mon 12:00 noon - 9:00 pm; Tue - Thu 10:00 am - 9:00 pm; Fri 12:00 noon - 5:00 pm; Sat 9:00 am - 5:00 pm; Sun CLOSED.

Now I don't remember having this much trouble with fish when I was growing up...I had them all--guppies, mollies, swordfish (those little ones), angelfish, neons and yes, even goldfish. Well I couldn't stand it...the water was looking murky--some accidentally large feedings with the help of Sarah. So, I cleaned the water today. I was very gentle with the fish and gave them time to transition. Well, now I think Cosmo is on its last leg...or should I say fin. Looks like we'll be heading to the fish store again tomorrow.

Anyway, I looked up information on goldfish and couldn't believe all that I read. I never had to de-chlorinate the water. Maybe the water was different in the valley. They talked about antibiotics, changing out water 10% at a time, goldfish being territorial and adding new ones at night etc. etc. Wow! It is so complicated now!

One useful thing I read is that you should have 1 inch of fish per gallon of water. We have a 3 gallon tank so with 1.5 inch long fish, I think 2 is just the right amount. Now, if I could just keep 2 alive. Wanda #2 is doing great--knock on wood or the plastic tank anyway.

Stay healthy everyone!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Wet Weather/Poll Results/New Poll/Dry Skin Remedy

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
You know I can check who is reading this blog and we have readers from other countries like India, Pakistan, Spain, South Africa and China...welcome all of you and sorry if I left anyone out! I guess I should consider doing some international weather. What do you all think?

Rain is causing flooding concerns for the Tennessee Valley (see graphic at right). And to the north of the flood zone, there are winter weather advisories/watches in effect all the way to Boston.

Tuesday will be in the teens across the northern plains. Balmy weather continues in Florida with many locations in the 50s. Look for a wintry mix from DC to St. Louis and rain from Norfolk south to Atlanta and into Texas and Louisiana.

Houston will be cool again with highs in the 50s. There will be rain mainly in the morning. Warmer with sunshine on Wednesday--highs in the 70s.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
It's time to clean up and that is just what I did most of the day...so let's go with clean up or limpiar, pronounced leem-pee-ARE. Don't procrastinate--limpiar.

I was just reading a Hints from Heloise and she was talking about various activities which stimulate the brain. One of the ones she mentioned was language learning. A language teacher I know told me that sometimes she gets elderly students who have precriptions from their doctors to learn language--the stimulation is so beneficial to their brain function. The biggest winners with language learning are children--benefitting in a multitude of ways including improved cognitive development. So, don't delay--help them learn languages.

One good way is through our DVD for children, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco, winner of two prestigious educational awards. You can order it now--from our web site www.frankandpaco.com/. You can also order from http://www.venturaes.com/, www.dololanguages.com, www.carlexonline.com,www.thecuriousmindstore.com, www.amazon.com, www.bestbuy.com, and http://www.barnesandnoble.com/. If you are more interested in a full immersion type product, go to http://www.frankypaco.com/.

AND MORE
Our resolutions poll is closed...note that more than one answer was allowed. Here are the results:
63% get more fit
9% make more money
54% spend more time with family
27% do more things I enjoy
27% devote more time to my faith
0% I have no resolutions

Thanks to all who participated. The next poll has to do with how you feel after the holidays...again more than one answer is allowed. Don't forget to vote!

Every time I go to Iowa I get very dry skin and Sarah gets eczema...we're just not used to the drier air. If you have trouble with that, I highly recommend using Eucerin cream...not the lotion! You can get a generic version of that at places like Walgreens...for about half the price. We had such trouble with Sarah's skin when she was little. I used to coat her with the Eucerin after her baths. It helped so much. And even if you use it only once, it works so well.

Remember my family members who had to fly and drive all night to get to the Iowa game in Tampa. Well they spent the weekend in the area and just loved the beaches. They said it was even nicer than they had envisioned. They are safe back home in Iowa...the return trip went much more smoothly. Happy Birthday Joni!

Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Wet Weather Coming/Cherishing Every Moment/What Sarah Named Her Fish

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
Well I hope everyone is tucked in at home...back from their holiday travels, refreshed and ready to get back to their "normal" schedules.

At right, I have the latest watch graphic from the Storm Prediction Center. Remember that the brown counties are ones with wind advisories.

Monday will be bitterly cold in Minnesota with highs in the low single digits. There will be thunderstorms for the lower Mississippi Valley and Tennessee Valley and rain for much of Texas. Look for showers in Atlanta as well. There will be snow along the eastern Great Lakes and over the Rockies and Intermountain Region. Look for rain in the lower elevations of the Pacific Northwest.

Houston will be cool, cloudy and wet with temperatures hovering in the 40s. Expect more rain on Tuesday with warmer temperatures but still cool. It will be back to mild and dry by mid-week.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
It is a relief to return to normality or normalidad, pronounced nor-mah-lee-DAHD. After the holidays are over, we welcome normalidad.

Less than a day left to vote in the poll about resolutions--don't miss your chance to voice your opinion. And don't forget the most important resolution, order our DVD for children, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco, winner of two prestigious educational awards. You can order it now--from our web site www.frankandpaco.com/. You can also order from http://www.venturaes.com/, www.dololanguages.com, www.carlexonline.com,www.thecuriousmindstore.com, www.amazon.com, www.bestbuy.com, and http://www.barnesandnoble.com/. If you are more interested in a full immersion type product, go to http://www.frankypaco.com/.

By the way, we are starting to get some orders for the English teaching version for Spanish speakers...I appreciate you passing the word!

AND MORE
Santa brought Sarah an aquarium and today we got the fish for it...2 goldfish, one mostly orange and the other orange and black. Sarah named them Cosmo (orange) and Wanda (orange and black) from the Fairly Odd Parents show. I didn't even know she had ever seen that show. Anyway, Cosmo and Wanda seem to like their new home.

The weather turned cooler mid-afternoon but it was a delightful day...we went to the park with many of Sarah's neighborhood buddies. It was so nice to be outside, running and laughing. We really missed them while we were away. After reading about John Travolta's experience, I just want to hug my family even closer. My resolution is to keep treasuring each day, each moment--loved ones are so very precious!

Got the Christmas decorations put away this evening. Welcome 2009!!!

Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman