Warming Trend Continues/Happy About McDonald's Happy Meals

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
The jet stream will continue digging over the west and that means snow and rain out west on Wednesday. Cool spot will be northern Maine with highs in the teens. The south and southwest will be warm with highs in the 70s and 80s.

Houston is being dominated by the flow around high pressure to the east. Humidity and temperatures will climb. Lows will be in the 50s on Wednesday, and highs will be in the 70s. As the jet stream moves edges eastward htly by weekend's end, we should get some rain and even a few thunderstorms.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let's do baseball or béisbol, pronounced BAZE-bowl. I love this time of year, when we start gearing up to watch béisbol.

Children love games. See the AND MORE section to hear about what Sarah will be playing soon. We thought about this love of games when we put together our award winning DVD for children, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco. That's why the very first volume has a chapter devoted to play. We find that kids love to watch other kids play. And while they watch, they learn Spanish. Order Volume 1 today from www.frankandpaco.com/. You can also order from http://www.venturaes.com/, http://www.dololanguages.com/, http://www.carlexonline.com,www.thecuriousmindstore.com/, http://www.amazon.com/, http://www.bestbuy.com/, and http://www.barnesandnoble.com/. For our English as a Second Language (ESL) version, got to http://www.frankypaco.com/.

AND MORE
Sarah has her first softball/t-ball practice with the Dream League tomorrow evening. She is super excited. The first games are this Saturday. I'll let you know how that all turns out.

Did you know that the small hamburgers at McDonald's have only 9 grams of fat? I've known this for a while and here is my healthy meal when I go there. I get a hamburger kid's meal with milk and apples. That is very healthy--especially if you don't eat the caramel dip (that comes with the apples). They don't care that I order it and sometimes there are cookies which I can take home and share. And the bonus is that I get a kid's toy which I promptly give to some deserving kid (like Sarah). So, don't tell me that you can't eat healthy at McDonald's. The salads are good too but watch out for those full fat salad dressings--they can have more fat than an entire happy meal (with fries).

Why am I so observant about all of this? Well, I have high cholesterol and don't want to go on the medicine. I've been trying to be more and more careful with diet (even though I've never been too careless). So if you see me with a french fry, just whack it out of my hand.

Have a wonderful Wednesday everyone!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

A Warmup/Poll Results/New Poll/You Knew It Wouldn't Last

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
Big troubles today (even some fatalities) as the early March snow storm moved up the east coast. Tonight, it has wound down a lot. Focal point for wet weather on Tuesday will be extreme northern Maine and the west and Intermountain Region. It has really been coming down in north central California--so much so that several flood warnings were issued. This could become a big weather news spot over the next few days as the rain/snow aren't over yet. There will also be showers in Denver and Vegas--but wow, the highs there will be in the 70s.

Houston will be mild with some clouds. Lows will be in the 40s and highs will be in the upper 60s to low 70s. Expect temperatures and humidity levels to climb during the week. There will be some showers this weekend--Sunday being the most likely day.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let's do employment or empleo, pronounced ehm-PLAY-oh. Now if you are looking for employment, it is buscar trabajo, pronounced boo-SCAR trah-BAH-ho.

Well, I am trying to be self-employed and have thoroughly enjoyed working on our award winning DVD for children, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco. Today, we began the process for editing the last 2 volumes. We have figured out an optimal way to proceed. I'll have more soon. In the meantime, order Volume 1 today from www.frankandpaco.com/. You can also order from http://www.venturaes.com/, http://www.dololanguages.com/, http://www.carlexonline.com,www.thecuriousmindstore.com/, http://www.amazon.com/, http://www.bestbuy.com/, and http://www.barnesandnoble.com/. For our English as a Second Language (ESL) version, got to http://www.frankypaco.com/.

AND MORE
Our poll about favorite pets has closed. Dog was the favorite, hands-down, with 64% of the vote. Cats and fish each came in at 14%. 8% said no pet was best. And no one selected bird, rabbit, hamster, snake, lizard or other as a favorite. I'm surprised about bird. I had 2 parakeets growing up. They were super easy to care for--just change out the newspaper, give them fresh water and food, and cover at night (also keep from drafts). Mine would fly around the room and land on my finger. And they sang so pretty. I never could get mine to talk. I wish I could have seen/heard that. Thanks for participating everyone.

Well, our new poll is about employment. Tonight, I ran into a neighbor, working at Walgreen's. I didn't know she was working there. She said that she and her husband were both in mortgage brokering and she lost her job. She said that it is best to work somewhere. I am so proud of her!!! I have been doing some part time work for a friend who owns a law firm, and I am having a ball...learning so much. I had never worked in a law office before. I have worked for a bank, at KFC, at a CPA firm, doing environmental consulting and of course, broadcasting. Producing my own DVD has been a combination of production, writing, financing, accounting, trademarking and more. Every job has been fun and fascinating. I love adding new feathers to my cap. So tonight, our new poll is about what you plan to do if you become unemployed. You may select more than one answer. Enjoy!

Congratulations to my step-daughter Megan. She is about halfway through her veterinary technician program and already making successful diagnoses. Her dog was rubbing its ear a lot. And Megan took it upon herself to get it checked out. She suspected ear mites--and guess what?! Bingo! She nailed it! Way to go Megan!!!

Well you knew it wouldn't last...that $1 Mister Carwash on Dulles has raised its prices. Now the price has gone up to a whopping $3!!! That's still the best price for a wash and hand dry by workers. Gordy tells me there is a carwash on Kirby that does the same for $4.

Have a terrific Tuesday everyone!!!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Week's Weather/Voice of Frank/Time Change Soon

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
March began with snow in Alabama and Georgia. Now the same storm causing the snow is winding up the eastern seaboard. It is going to be a difficult travel day on Monday. If you have flight plans, make sure to call your airline ahead of time. There will also be snow and some thunderstorms out west. In the middle of the country and through the southern states--nice quiet weather. Phoenix should make it into the low 90s. It will be coldest in the northeast and the Great Lakes with highs in the teens and 20s.

Houston will enjoy another sunny, dry day. As I write this, the entire area is under a Red Flag Warning due to high winds and dry conditions. Monday, the winds will die down. Look for a light freeze in outlying areas--protect those new plantings. Highs will be in the 60s. Temperatures will warm gradually during the week. There will be some showers by late in the weekend.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let's do savings or ahorros, pronounced ah-OR-ros. Don't forget to roll that rr. Soon, it will be time ahorros time again.

In my last blog, I promised to reveal the voice behind Frank the Horse in our award winning DVD, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco. It belongs to none other than my better half--Mr. Gordy Poole. I think he did such a good job that when I watch it, I forget that he is the one who did the voice. Gordy was always a big fan of Jim Henson with his muppets. He also counts meeting Mel Blanc as the one of the most memorable moments of his career. Gordy was so impressed that Mel came up with all of those Looney Tunes voices. I hope someday the world will get to hear all the voices Gordy can do.

Order your copy of the DVD today from www.frankandpaco.com/. You can also order from http://www.venturaes.com/, http://www.dololanguages.com/, http://www.carlexonline.com,www.thecuriousmindstore.com/, http://www.amazon.com/, http://www.bestbuy.com/, and http://www.barnesandnoble.com/. For our English as a Second Language (ESL) version, got to http://www.frankypaco.com/.

AND MORE
Well heads up...next Sunday morning at 2 am, Daylight Savings Time returns. You will move your clocks ahead, i.e. spring forward one hour. So, we will lose an hour of sleep that night. For a while it will feel like we are waking up earlier and going to bed earlier. To me, this time change is harder to adjust to.

Only one more day for the pet poll...don't forget to vote.

Have a great week everyone!

Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Weekend Weather/Severe Reports/James Drury, The Virginian Turning 75!

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
Severe weather is moving through the southeast as I write this blog this Friday evening. One tornado in Chelsea, Alabama and baseball sized hail in Demopolis Alabama have been confirmed.

Saturday, the stormy weather will be over the southeast with some of the worst being in Georgia and northern Florida. Highs over the northern plains will be in the single digits and teens. There will be snow over a few spots around St. Louis. There will be rain further east. Sunday, a new storm moves onto the west coast and look for rain/snow mix along the eastern seaboard--lookout Boston and New York.

Houston hit 85 on Friday, one degree shy of the record. Saturday will be cool and windy--starting cloudy with sunshine in the afternoon--highs will be in the low 60s. Sunday morning lows will be in the middle 30s. Highs will be in the 60s. There is a Red Flag Warning for counties west of Houston--combination of wind and dry vegetation will make the fire danger very high.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let's do cowboy or vaquero, pronounced vah-care-ROH. I some interesting information about a beloved TV vaquero (see the AND MORE section).

In our award-winning educational DVD for children, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco, we use horse and rooster puppets to narrate. The horse comes with a Texas twang (even though the voice is created by a man from Iowa). Do you know who it is? I'll have the answer in my next blog. You can get your copy at www.frankandpaco.com/. You can also order from http://www.venturaes.com/, http://www.dololanguages.com/, http://www.carlexonline.com,www.thecuriousmindstore.com/, http://www.amazon.com/, http://www.bestbuy.com/, and http://www.barnesandnoble.com/. For our English as a Second Language (ESL) version, got to http://www.frankypaco.com/.

AND MORE
This youtube trip down memory lane is for my sister Liz...this is the Season 8 theme song from The Virginian.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ynyq7je37Hk&feature=related
Interesting trivia--in this season Tim Matheson is there and in season nine, Lee Majors is there.

Well guess what everyone?! I did some digging and James Drury has a myspace page. Here is the link:
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=214232626
And his 75th birthday is coming up April 18th. Here are the instructions on how you can send him a special birthday greeting:

Mr. Drury's birthday is April 18. We are starting early to get the word out. Making it possible for all James Drury's friends to have time to get their birthday cards in the mail to arrive on time.We are setting a deadline so we'll have time to compile and mail all the cards to Mr. Drury.
The Deadline is April 4, 2009
Mail Birthday Cards To:
James Drury
P. O. Box 822
London, OH 43140 USA

I think he still lives here in the Houston area (oh yeah, he moved here and dealt in oil and gas for a while). I think that London address is for his fan mail staff. This is all just speculation. Maybe he has moved to Ohio.

Have a great weekend everyone!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Weekend Forecast/Megan's Big Award/Extremely Important Safety Tips

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
Severe weather is possible across the lower Mississippi Valley and some southeastern states. As I write this there have been a couple dozen reports of hail and high wind ahead of an advancing cold front. Biggest threat on Friday should be hail. It will be very cold over the northern plains--highs in the single digits. There will be some snow showers around the Great Lakes and northern New England as well as in the Denver area. There will be rain along the eastern seaboard (especially the northern half).

Houston hit 81 on Thursday and will likely make 83 on Friday. It will be warm and muggy. Cold front arrives early Saturday but rain will be limited. Highs on Saturday will be in the 60s with sunshine returning in the afternoon. Sunday will be sunny and cool with a light freeze possible early for outlying areas. Highs will be in the 60s.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let's do poem or poema, pronounced poh-ay-MAH. Congratulations to my step-daughter Megan on her award winning poema (see AND MORE for more details).

Correction on yesterday's word--accent belongs on the last syllable.

Speaking of award-winning, have our mentioned that our educational DVD for children won 2 major awards? Yes, you can get your copies of Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco from www.frankandpaco.com/. You can also order from http://www.venturaes.com/, http://www.dololanguages.com/, http://www.carlexonline.com,www.thecuriousmindstore.com/, http://www.amazon.com/, http://www.bestbuy.com/, and http://www.barnesandnoble.com/. For our English as a Second Language (ESL) version, got to http://www.frankypaco.com/.

AND MORE
In reference to yesterday's blog about 809 area code scam, special thanks to "Scott" for his comment on yesterday's blog. He gave a link for a site you can use to check out specific phone numbers and he reminded us that you can always google the phone number itself to see what comes up. Thanks Scott!

CONGRATULATIONS to my step-daughter Megan, who was a winner in the Hilary Duff With Love Valentine's poetry contest. Extra points were give for poems which included the words "with love". Megan won some free Hilary Duff perfume stuff. Way to go Megan and you smell so good!!! Here's the poem!

Our friendship may have started only 1 year ago,
But as of today you are my sister this I know,
We have been together through good times and bad,
You are the one true friend I will always have
With Love

Okay, I know you just loved hearing the Daniel Boone theme song. Well here is the one for Davy Crockett (also with Fess Parker). Now, dusting off the cobwebs, I think there was a movie and a TV show. This link is for the movie version--it is longer (and slightly repetitious) but still good.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwy8-Y8XTto&feature=related

My friend whose car was burglarized Monday (with purse snatched) summarized her entire experience and also gave out some valuable tips. Just so you know, they are pretty sure they saw the man who did it as he walked by where they were picnicking and said hi--scoping out the situation. The police officer assigned to the case says that they did not hear him break the window because it is tempered glass and all you need to do is tap it just right with a key or something hard. So here are her 3 main points:

Please pass this on to everyone you know.
If you don't want to send the whole thing (it's long, I know) send this:
1) A popular new way for someone to steal your stuff is for them to camp out in parking lots (of parks, gyms, stores, Home Depot, etc.) & for the thief to watch what you do with your personal belongings. You might think you are safe to "lock" your purse/wallet in your trunk, but the thief is watching you put it in your trunk after you pull up! He knows it's there, so after you walk away, he can shatter your window, access the trunk button & off he goes. Also, be careful about bringing shopping bags back to your car from one store, & heading into another store. Same concept...they're watching you put the bags in the car, so they know what to take & where it will be.
2) If you have your stuff stolen, be sure to set up a fraud alert thru Experian/Equifax or Transunion. Plug their ph#'s into your cell ph along with 800#'s for your credit card accts & bank branch you bank thru...this will help, so you don't waste valuable time calling 1411 while the thief is spending all your money!! Their ph#'s are listed on this website: http://www.dmv.org/news-alerts/identity-theft.php
3) If you can, try not to carry your ATM card on you, b/c it can act as a debit card, & often the theif does not need your pin# to make a purchase, just your zip code (which he can access from your drivers license.) This is the quickest way that they drain people's accounts! Also, NEVER CARRY YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY CARD, or anything with your social security # on it.
Good advice!!! Thanks so much!

Have a safe Friday everyone!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Storm Threat on Thursday/Scam Clarified/Daniel Boone's Great Theme Song

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
More widespread wintry weather on Thursday across the northern 1 to 2 tiers of states. Very cold in North Dakota with highs in the negative single digits. There could be some severe storms in Missouri, Illinois, Arkansas, Tennessee. Very mild across the south with highs in the 70s and 80s.

Tomball made it to 80 on Wednesday. Houston will be even warmer Thursday. Lows will be in the 60s and highs will be in the 80s with high humidity. Next cold front arrives early Saturday. Weekend will turn cooler.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let's do scheming or maquinador, pronounced mah-key-NAH-door. Watch out for people who are maquinador. See the AND MORE section to learn more about it.

We're not scheming but we sure are planning. We have met with a publisher who wants to sell our award winning DVD, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco, directly to various school districts. But don't wait for it to come to your school. Order your own copy for your youngsters from www.frankandpaco.com/. You can also order from http://www.venturaes.com/, http://www.dololanguages.com/, http://www.carlexonline.com,www.thecuriousmindstore.com/, http://www.amazon.com/, http://www.bestbuy.com/, and http://www.barnesandnoble.com/. For our English as a Second Language (ESL) version, got to http://www.frankypaco.com/.

AND MORE
Lydia Baehr put together a wonderful video of The Groudhog Day Gala. You can watch it on Youtube via the following link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Nd3qiwQHj4.
There is a very nice sound bite from Mayor Bill White (about 1/3 of the way in).

I got an alarming email about an 809 area code scam. The real truth is not quite as bad as the email that is circulating, but you can get the nitty gritty details at this SNOPES link:
http://www.snopes.com/fraud/telephone/809.asp
Basically, the 809 area code is in the Dominican Republic and because of that, there is no required disclosure of fees etc. You will usually get some enticing message which motivates you to dial a certain number. And when you do, you are given tricky information that encourages you to stay on the line for a long time--meanwhile you are being charged. AT&T also has info. on their web site. Bottom line is don't return a call unless you know the number you are calling. There are also a couple other area codes being used to this end. Be careful.

My sister Liz recently purchased the Daniel Boone show on DVD. I loved the theme song from that and was singing it. Sarah wanted to know more. So, we pulled it up on youtube. Here's the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhYRDPG8Mu0
Enjoy your trip down memory lane.

Have a terrific Thursday everyone!!!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Turning Warm and Muggy/How to Butcher a Chicken

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
There's a slight dip in the jet stream over the eastern U.S. So there is some rain in the southeast. As a warm front pushes northward Wednesday, there will be few thunderstorms in the mid-Mississippi valley. Highs over the northern plains will be in the single digits and teens. There will be a few snow showers over the Great Lakes and some rain/snow from the Pacific Northwest to the northern Plains. The south will be warm/balmy over the southern Plains and southeast.

Houston will be warm and muggy on Wednesday with a low near 60 and high in the upper 70s. Look for more warm weather through Saturday.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let's do chicken or gallina, pronounced gah-yee-NAH. Want to know how to butcher a gallina? Read my AND MORE section. By the way, chicken you eat is pollo, pronounced poy-YOH.

We have a lot of words for eating in our award winning DVD, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco. So kids can really relate to that. You can get your copy at www.frankandpaco.com/. You can also order from http://www.venturaes.com/, http://www.dololanguages.com/, http://www.carlexonline.com,www.thecuriousmindstore.com/, http://www.amazon.com/, http://www.bestbuy.com/, and http://www.barnesandnoble.com/. For our English as a Second Language (ESL) version, got to www.frankypaco.com.

AND MORE
When the going gets tough, can we get tough enough and down to earth enough? There are so many lost abilities. I look back on my childhood. My mother made our clothes (or we wore hand me downs from cousins). Of course nowadays with consignment and thrift shops, you can buy clothes cheaper than making them. We had homemade cakes and haircuts. We had birthday parties at home. We washed our own cars--mowed our own lawns. Many of my friends did not even have a home telephone. Cable wasn't even available until I was in high school. For many years, we had one portable black and white television--that's it! We never did get cable.

Now on food, we had a lot of advantages. My grandfather would butcher a young bull every year or so. We would get the meat for $1/pound. Now that was everything including the yucky liver. None of us liked it, except my Dad. I think it annoyed him that we carried on about how bad it tasted. Once when we had taken in some dogs, my mom let us feed it to them. I don't think she liked it either. We had plenty of fruit, because my grandfather grew citrus and that lasted for months. My mother made homemade cinnamon rolls or pumpkin bread for us to snack on every day when we got home from school. There was no junk food in our house--no cookies or chips or soda. We ate peanut butter sandwiches for snacks. She did buy lots of bread. She bought extra loaves and froze them. We drank powdered milk, when regular milk was too expensive. Adding a teaspoon of vanilla to each gallon made it taste more creamy.

We always had some sort of vegetables growing like Mexican squash and cucumber. My mother made exactly the right amount of food for our family of 8. We didn't eat seconds. We didn't have dessert except on birthdays and holidays.

We bought used cars and prayed they didn't break down. One car I drove in college was so rusted that my dad cut out a coffee can bottom and nailed it to the hood so the engine wouldn't get wet. When I took it for inspection, the man told me, I would like to fail this car, but technically it passes. I was just glad to have a car that could get me to and from school and work. After I graduated and bought a car, my sister took it cross country for 2 years. Then she sold it.

My mom and dad would not say "if you get a scholarship", they would say "when you get your scholarship(s)".

And how about raising your own chickens and butchering them? Well I know how to do that because I spent some summer weeks on my uncle's farm. One time, we butchered a couple dozen chickens. You have a big vat of bowling water ready. You grab the chicken by the head and then snap it really hard. It should pop right off. Now, be decisive because you want to make it quick. The bottom will bounce around for a while because the nerves are still working. Then you put the body in boiling water. That gets the feathers loose so you can pluck them. The nerves are still working so the body will react when it hits that hot water. Then you pluck it. Then, you gut it. That I have not done. But I have cut up whole chickens. So, I think I could figure it out. My grandmother loved doing the gutting part. She was such a character.

Well, that's about enough. Bottom line is that it's amazing how little you really need and what you can do it you have to.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman