Heavy Rain Threat/Blowout Blessing/Psychic in the Neighborhood

WEATHER (INCLUDING TROPICAL CYCLONES)
Atlantic and tropical basins are quiet.

There is an excessive heat advisory for eastern California and southern Nevada (including Las Vegas). The advisory is in effect Saturday afternoon into Monday with temperatures expected to soar to 106 and beyond.

Jet stream is dipping slightly over the northeastern part of the US and that will trigger some severe storms from the Midwest eastward. Very hot across the southern plains and southwest with 90s into the 100s. Pleasant along the west coast and northern states with highs in the 50s to 70s. Steamy in the southeast with highs in the 80s and 90s.

Houston is getting drenched...one check of the radar this evening and you can see the upper low spinning overhead. It's a slow mover so look for more bands and heavy rain but because heavy rain has been spread out fairly evenly...the National Weather Service is not issuing any flood watches (yet). The system is slow moving with more heavy rain possible on Friday. Should see improvement by Sunday. Will update if needed.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY

Let's do psychic or parasicológico, pronounced pah-rah-see-coh-LOW-gee-coh. Find out about a famous para(p)sicológico living in Sugar Land in the AND MORE section.

That reminds me...I predict that you will be proactive and right away, order my award winning DVDs, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco. They are 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
My poll on the impact of reductions in special needs education is closed. More than one answer was allowed. Thanks to all who participated.

100% said they believe it will make special needs individuals more dependend on their aging caregivers.
66% said there will be more stress in the classrooms with special needs kids
33% said it will result in a more dependent special needs population, will cause a loss of talent in special needs education, and it will cause net increase in the economic impact of the special needs population. No one said it would cause no changes, result in a net increase in state support of special needs education, or will cause a nedt decrease in the economic impact of the special needs population.

Okay...that was so serious. Now for something more lighthearted--my new poll...which of these celebrities/shows do you think is going to burn out most quickly. Only one asnwer is allowed. Thanks in advance for participating.

I had a blowout yesterday...well maybe not exactly a blowout. I heard a little phish sound and felt a little something and thought I had better exit and check it out. I could not believe how bad my tire looked and how I almost couldn't tell anything was wrong. It looked like someone had slashed it from wheel to edge with a knife. Somehow it was still holding together...that was a Michelin tire by the way. Anyway, I called my hubby and I told him I would put the spare on myself. He said he was on his way. So I thought I would just have the spare on by the time he arrived. Nothing doing...I couldn't budge the lock/lugnut. Well, he couldn't either...we just couldn't get enough torque with the equipment that came in the car. Now, I will admit, we had put on special wheels...so the lugnuts were deeply recessed. Anyway, we went over to a Sears Automotive and they took pity on us and loaned us a cross lugnut undoer (can't remember the real name). Well Gordy was able to pop that puppy right off. And before long we were on our way. Of course, we were both sweatballs...with the humidity and temperature super high.

But, I thought afterward that I was so fortunate--I didn't lose control of my car. And my tire held together until I could safely stop. It happened on a day when Gordy could get away from work to help me. We were able to get someone to take care of Sarah right away (thanks Cindy!). It was a hassle but it could have been so much worse. Plus, I now know what I need to buy for our cars...one of those cross thingeys. It was a blowout blessing.

My buddy and reporter, Leslie Williams, has done it again. She has a fascinating article in the Houston Chronicle about a famous psychic who lives right here in Sugar Land. This lady is famous enough that I had read about her before. Check it out!
http://www.ultimatefortbend.com/2010/06/sugar-land-psychic-has-famous-client-list

Well, I have a premonition that it will be the weekend soon! Have a great one!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Weather this Week/2010 Hurricane Season Forecast/ChickFila Spicy Chicken

WEATHER
The jet stream is parked along the northern tier of states with just a slight dip into the western Great Lakes. There will a few spots with slight risks of severe storms. Highs will be in the 70s to 90s from the northeast to the southwest. Highs will be in the 60s along the west coast and over the Rockies with a few cooler spots in the higher elevations.

Houston hit 97 on the 28th (one degree shy of the record). Through the coming weekend, the weather will stay hot and humid with highs in the middle 90s each day and a slight chance for seabreeze type thunderstorms each afternoon and early evening.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let's do season or estación, pronounced eh-stah-see-OWN. A new estación is about to start and I'm not talking about summer. To learn more, go to the AND MORE section.

Time to get your children entertained and educated--order my award winning DVDs, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco. They are 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
CHICK-FIL-A'S NEW SPICY CHICKEN SANDWICH
I got to try the new spicy crispy sandwich premiering at Chick-Fil-A on June 6th. I must say...it is quite delicious!!! It's kind a flavor but if you don't like spicy...stay away because there is an after kick. You can always use the old trick of drinking or eating something with sugar in it. I think it was just right. MMMMMMM!

COUSINS AND THE CHRISTMAS HOUSE
My Aunt Shirley's funeral was beautiful. Got to catch up with lots of first, 2nd and 3rd cousins and once and twice removed and so on. While there, I visited with the daughter's of my great-grandma Tekla's brother. Janie, Esther and Dorothy are the Minten sisters. They referred to my great-grandma as Aunt Tilly and said her formal name Tekla is actually the Dutch equivalent of the English name Matilda.

Anyway, the sisters have an amazing "Christmas" house between Falfurrias and Premont. I've been there and it is amazing!!! Even the closets have Christmas. And they have a Christmas shop! It's a nice cool thought not that we are in the throes of summer heat. The house is open for tours from September into March. But they do open for tours during other months on request. For more information, go to:

http://www.santastxworkshop.blogspot.com/

HURRICANE SEASON FORECASTS
Tomorrow (June 1st) is the first day of the 2010 Atlantic Basin hurricane season (which runs through November 30th). Here is a summary of all the forecasts:

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released its forecast just a few days ago. According to NOAA, the average season has 11 named storms, 6 of them hurricanes, 2 or those major hurricanes (Category 3 or stronger--winds of 111 or higher). They are expecting an active to extremely active season with 14 to 23 named storms, 8 to 14 of those hurricanes, 3 to 7 of those major hurricanes. They don't put out a forecast for where they expect landfalls. They are expecting a busy season because of the ending of the El Nino episode (and thus less wind shear), warmer than normal sea surface temperatures in the Atlantic and the fact that we are still in a multi-decadal period of above normal activity. Here is the official report:

http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2010/20100527_hurricaneoutlook.html

Also here is the official list of names for the 2010 season:
Alex
Bonnie
Colin
Danielle
Earl
Fiona
Gaston
Hermine
Igor
Julia
Karl
Lisa
Matthew
Nicole
Otto
Paula
Richard
Shary
Tomas
Virginie
Walter

Dr. William Gray and his colleagues from Colorado State University are expecting 15 named storms, 8 of those hurricanes and 4 of those major. I will tell you that their revised forecast is coming out on June 2nd (2 days from now) and another on August 4th. They are also forecasting a 69% chance of a major hurricane hitting somewhere along the entire US coastline (52% is the average chance). The chance for Eastern Florida is 45% (average chance is 31%). From the Gulf coast of Florida to Brownsville, Texas the chance is 44% (30% is the average). For more info, check out the following.

http://hurricane.atmos.colostate.edu/Forecasts/2010/april2010/apr2010.pdf

The Weather Research Center/John C. Freeman Weather Museum is forecasting 8 named storms, 5 of those hurricanes, 3 of those major hurricanes. They are forecasting a 60% chance of a tropical storm or stronger hitting Texas (51% is average chance), 90% for West Florida (71% is average), 70% for eastern Florida (41% average), 40% for Louisiana to Alabama (59% is average), 20% for eastern US (36% average), and 20% Georgia to North Carolina (56% average). Here is the report:

http://wxresearch.org/press/2010huroutlook.pdf

Regardless of which one you regard as most likely, it is time to get your hurricane supply kit together and make sure you have a plan in case a hurricane threatens.

God bless all the men and women who gave their lives for our freedom. God bless their families and friends. And God Bless America.

Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Memorial Weekend Weather/Garage Sale Lessons/Deducting Clothing Donations

WEATHER
Trough over west and high pressure over east means a contrast in conditions...especially temperature. On Friday, highs in the Pacific Northwest/Intermountain Region/West Coast will be in the 40s to 60s. From the Rockies eastward, highs will be in the 80s and 90s (except for northeast which will have highs in the 60s and 70s).

Houston will be hot and humid through the holiday weekend. Look for a few afternoon and early evening showers and thunderstorms Friday and Saturday. Otherwise, great pool and surf weather. Enjoy! Do keep in mind that we have been having Ozone Watches and air quality problems...this will continue through the weekend. So folks with respiratory problems like asthma, the elderly and young children need to minimize their time outdoors--especially during afternoon hours.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
In my last post, I forgot to give you the Spanish word for aunt. I only provided the pronunciation. Sorry about that!!! So, here is the word: tía

If you are looking for a summer language camp, try The Language Factory. But, if you don't have time or the budget for a camp, try the next best thing...order my award winning DVDs, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco. They are 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
Last weekend's garage sale was a huge success. I got to use some of my rusty Spanish and still managed to sell some things and actually come out ahead. Some of our other neighbors also had garage sales. One of my friends sold her son's clothes and she said every piece went. I didn't sell any of Sarah's clothes because I give them to my sisters who have younger daughters. From my sale, I noticed that the toys and furniture items were the first to go. Electronics--phone/computer related were popular. But it took a while to get rid of a printer and an old fax/copy combo.

In the end, the whole experience was so exhausting and yet cathartic. I now have roomy closets and cabinets. I was hoarding all of these empty butter and cool whip containers and never using them...so I recycled those and sold any extra good pieces at the garage sale. Now, when I open my storage container cabinet, it is like a choir of angels is singing Alleluia. I actually feel myself relaxing--not cringing--because I know that a bunch of plastic bowls are not going to fall out. Ahhhhhhhh!

I didn't sell any adult clothes because I knew from a cleanout about 1 year and a half ago that you can probably get more via IRS deduction. But I could have sworn that I had found some prices on the IRS web site. So, I went looking and here is what I found.

"The fair market value of used clothing and other personal items is usually far less than the price you paid for them. There are no fixed formulas or methods for finding the value of items of clothing.
You should claim as the value the price that buyers of used items actually pay in used clothing stores, such as consignment or thrift shops. "

So, I went to an expert...my step-daughter Megan who volunteered in the Citizens for Animal Protection (CAP) thrift shop. Casual men, women and children's tops and bottoms were usually priced at $2. Really good shoes might got for $15 to $20 but everyday flip flops would only fetch $1 to $2. Purses...anywhere from $1 to $10, with the exception being knockoff purses like Chanel, Coach, Kate Spade etc. which could go from $15 to $30 each. So now you have your price list...get in there and clean out that closet.

Seriously, you would probably be amazed at how many clothes you could get rid off. When I did that cleanout a year and a half ago, I got rid of 200 items. I'll bet I could do that again.

So, maybe you can use this extra long weekend to do some closet cleanout...just remember to count everything and record for your 2010 tax return. If you have more than $500, you have to fill out IRS form 8832.

My poll on Justin Bieber is closed. 0% said that you had better believe they have Bieber Feber! 16% said only their kids do. 16% asked "What is Bieber Fever?" And, 66% said they don't have the fever and they are sick of hearing about him. Only one answer was allowed. Thanks to all who participated.

My new poll is about the cuts in special needs education budgets and thus staffing. More than one answer is allowed. Thanks in advance for participating.

Have a safe and fun Memorial Weekend, but let us never forget those who bought us our freedom with their lives.

Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Weather this Week/Hurricane Preparedness/Inspirational Man and Aunt

WEATHER
Ridge over the eastern US and trough out west will stay stubbornly in place this week. Only major modifier is low pressure off the eastern US that will force some slightly drier air southward middle to later part of this week. So east of the Rockies highs will be in the 80s and 90s. Very pleasant only the west coast with highs in the 60s and chilly for the Rockies and northern plains with highs in the 40s and 50s. There are even some high elevation areas that could have wintry weather.

Houston will be hot through the coming weekend with almost no chance for rain. Some slightly drier air arrives Tuesday/Wednesday but it will still be hot and fairly rain free through the weekend.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let's do aunt or , pronounced TEE-ah. One of my dear passed away this weekend. Find out why she was so extraordinary in the AND MORE section.

Children have an inate ability to copy and learn pronunciations correctly. If you want them to pronounce the words of other languages correctly, you need to start them early. So, don't delay--order my award winning DVDs, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco. They are 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
Hurricane Season for the Atlantic/Caribbean/Gulf of Mexico Region begins on June 1st. This is Hurricane Preparation Week and the National Weather Service has posted some valuable information to help you and your family prepare.
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/HAW2/english/intro.shtml

On June 19th, the annual Houston Galveston Hurricane Workshop will be held at the George R. Brown Convention Center from 10 am to 3 pm. Admission is free. Once again, I will be here moderating the session for the broadcast meteorologist public meet and greet. So put it on your calendar and get ready to pose questions to your favorite on air meteorologist.

At the pool this weekend, I met an amazing man, his family and friends. He was in a wheelchair and Sarah wanted to know why. Of course, he overheard our conversation. So, I looked him right in the eye and said, "She wants to know why you are in a wheelchair". Very patiently, he told us how he used to be a motorcycle police officer and one day as he drove down the highway, a woman turned right in front of him and he smashed full speed into her car and broke his neck. Now, he is paralyzed from almost the neck down and has only a little use of one arm. He can't regulate his body temperature. So, he has to be careful about being out in the heat. He recognized me from being on FOX. So I told him to look for me on Facebook and he would she my notices when I posted a blog. He was at the pool to watch his grandson. His former home nurse...now a best friend was also their with his wife and son. I was so touched by all of them and rejoiced that they are living life with as much joy as possible and to the fullest. God bless them and all who have had and are having such trials.

My dear Aunt Shirley passed away yesterday. He is what I posted about her this past February. I love you Aunt Shirley.

I was thinking about my Aunt Shirley. I used to visit her family during the summers...often for weeks at a time. I was one of those "city folks". But, my heart was in the country. I loved running around barefoot, collecting eggs from the chickens, picking blackberries from the wild bushes along the back fence, riding Sam the horse bareback and drinking milk (unpasteurized) from the cows. By the way, that milk tastes very different from what you buy in the store.

Anyway, Aunt Shirley was a joy! She had a great sense of humor. I used to ask her why she didn't have a dishwasher and she would answer...I already have 4 dishwashers. When I asked where they were she would point at me and say "you, and her and her and her" (she was pointing at her 3 daughters after pointing at me. Then she would belt out a hearty laugh. We were up around 5 or 5:30 to do "the work" and that was taking care of the animals. Aunt Shirley whipped up these wonderful breakfasts--my favorite was the cream gravy with bits of sausage over biscuits. She packed up huge lunchboxes and sent her 3 boys off to work the farm. During the day, us girls took care of the chore of the day. She had one day devoted to washing clothes. For a long time, she had one of those ringer washers. One day was for going "up to town" to shop for groceries and run errands. My aunt and cousins got dressed up...in dresses! Then, there was alway "the work" at around 5:30 pm which was again taking care of the animals. There was always a wonderful dinner too and usually dessert. Then, Aunt Shirley would stay up until about 12:30 am sewing clothes for extra money on the side. She made outfits for entire dance drill teams and made many wedding dresses. She was extremely good at what she did. Of course when I look back on all of this, I marvel at how hard she worked every minute of every day and yet had a ready laugh that shook the rafters. She was a blast!

Don't forget to hug someone you love extra hard this week.

Have a great week everyone!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Summer Temperature and Precipitation Outlook/Weekend Forecast/La Nina and Hurricane Season

WEATHER
Troughiness over the western US will be fairly persistent for the next week or so. High pressure will hang over the southeast. Highs will be in the 80s and 90s from the southwest to the southeast. There will be 70s from the Midwest through New England and along the west coast. Highs will be in the 50s and 60s over the Rockies and northwest. There is a slight risk for severe storms from Texas into Wyoming.

Houston will be hot and humid through the weekend and the coming week...with highs in the upper 80s and low 90s. There is only a slight chance for showers and thunderstorms each day. As I write this post this evening, ther are some storms northwest of Houston.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let's do summer or verano, pronounced vair-RAHN-oh. Invierno is just about here....find out what the Climate Prediction Center is projecting temperature and precipitation wise for the June through August time period in the AND MORE section.

Check out this testimonial I just got from a fan of our award winning DVD series, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco.

I have a toddler who loves Vol. 1 (little guy likes it so much that he scratched it trying to put in the player, uhggg) of Frank and Paco. I have been amazed at how quickly he, me included, is picking up the language. While I don’t have a formal “Spanish lesson time” with him, I have it playing in the background. On more than one occasion, we have been at the grocery store, playground, car, etc., and he will use the proper word to describe something he has seen. I have bought many language videos “blindly” and been disappointed because the description on the box wasn’t accurate for what I was looking for. Yours… dead on!!!

So don't miss out...order Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco. They are 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
Okay...lots of new figures out today. Climate Prediction Center has posted the new 3 month precipitation and temperature outlooks. See figures at right. Above normal temperatures are expected west and southeast with below normal over the central US.
Rain chances are projected to be above normal from southeast Texas and through the southeast US and over the central US and below normal in the northwest.

The new drought figures are also out...most of the continental US has little to no drought except for UP Michigan and northern Wisconsin. The drought conditions in that area are expected to persist through August.

I also read up on the El Nino/La Nina forecast and it looks like we are in a neutral period with a "significant" percentage of models suggested that we will slip into a La Nina pattern by August. This is important because statistically during La Nina hurricane seasons, more storms tend to form in the Atlantic, Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico (due to less wind shear caused by the La Nina Pattern). So, we shall see.

It's almost time for my big garage sale with neighbors. I can't believe how much junk I had accumulated. Can't wait to get all this stuff out of here and into homes where it will be appreciated.

Have a great weekend everyone!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Severe Threat/Special Needs Ice Skating/Do You Have Bieber Fever?

WEATHER
Weak trough over the northwest US with weak surface cold front crossing into Texas. Slight risk of severe storms on Tuesday from Texas to Wyoming. Pleasant for the northeast and Great Lakes with highs in the 50s and 60s. Warm and muggy across the southeast and southern plains. Rockies will be pleasantly cool with highs in the 50s and 60s.

Houston area is under Severe Thunderstorm Watch until 5 am Tuesday. There has been some large hail to the northwest of Houston. My most recent glance at the radar indicated that the bowed line was splitting. Best place to be tonight--indoors. Tuesday will be hot and humid again with another round of late afternoon/early evening storms. Extended through the weekend--hot and humid with only slight chance of showers and thunderstorms each day.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let's do skate or patinar, pronunced pah-tee-NARRRR. Do you like patinar...I think it is fun. Find out about Sarah's first ice skating experience in the AND MORE section.

By the age of 8, 80% of neurological pathways in the brain have been formed and studies show that the brains of mult-lingual children have more developed pathways. So, stimulate those brains...order my award winning DVDs, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco. They are 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
Saturday was the big special needs ice skating event--1st time in Sugar Land. Many thanks to Cheryl Sewell of the Arc of Fort Bend County and her husband for meeting all the attendees and signing them in. Here is some information about how it got started. It began with a group called STARskaters.

Jim O’Neill, a founder of “STARskaters” ( http://www.STARskaters.org ) is organized this activity. “STARskaters provides an on-ice skating experience for therapy and recreation for children and young adults with any type of physical or developmental disability. The program is open to anyone five years of age or older who would normally be unable to enjoy an on-ice skating experience due to their disability.”

Sarah used the ice walkers and also rode in the ice sleds. It was a lot of fun. I think the sleds were most popular. We are looking forward to a 2nd event next year.

Well I got a big break from Ticketmaster today. I happily ordered Astros tickets for Gordy and me and Megan for Father's Day and then remembering after hitting the Submit button that Gordy's schedule had just changed so that he is now working on Sundays. So I called Ticketmaster which is supposed to have a no refund/exchange policy and explained how I threw my brain out the window. And, hooray! They refunded the money and I was able to order tickets for another time we could all go. Yay!!!

I have been getting ready for a big multi-family garage sale. Oh my goodness, but we have racked up some stuff since we moved into this house almost 10 years ago. It is almost as much work as getting ready to sell your house. But it is going to feel sooooooooooooooooo good to clear out some of these things.

My poll on the BP oil spill is closed. 40% thought they should work faster to fix the problem. 60% said they are doing the best they can. 0% said they are pleased with the progress. Only one answer was allowed. Thanks to all who participated.

My new poll is about Justin Bieber. Are you a part of this Bieber-mania? Voice your opinion. Only one answer is allowed. Thanks in advance for participating.

Have a terrific Tuesday!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Location Severe Storm Risk/Debit v. Credit Cards/Help Get Clean Water Everywhere

WEATHER
Jet stream is hanging over the northern US border with some minor dips west and east. This means most of the continental US will enjoy mild weather today (Friday). There is a threat of severe weather over southeastern New Mexico and west Texas and from Arkansas to New York City. Highs nationwide will be mainly in the 60s to the 80s. There will be some 90s in the southeast, Texas and the southeast.

Houston will be warm and muggy for the foreseeable future. There will be a few showers and thunderstorms around over the weekend. But it will be hit and miss. Highs will be primarily in the middle to upper 80s.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let's do debit card or tarjeta de débito, pronounced tar-HEY-tah DAY DAY-bee-toe. Find out why you might want to avoid using your tarjeta de débito, or at least be more careful about checking your bank transactions when using it. See the AND MORE section.

Learning language and math and science skills are linked. Research shows that children who learn more than one language score higher on standardized math and science tests and have improved scientific hypothesizing than children who are monolingual. Help them begin that language learning process--order my award winning DVDs, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco. They are 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
My sister (the world traveler for her work getting radiation sources out of countries where terrorists could get their hands on them) was visiting recently and believe me, she has seen a lot going to Africa and Georgia (old Russia). She said the thing most people don't realize is the extreme lack of clean drinking water in developing/3rd world countries. She said on one trip to Georgia, she was so thirsty, she was dreaming about water. When a hotel manager asked about her visit, she said it was great except she was just so thirsty. He laughed and said ahhhhh and opened a cabinet behind the desk. In it were rows and rows of Evian water. He said he keeps it for visitors from countries like the United States. She was so relieved.

My sister also added that in many countries she has visited, what ends up happening is that people just drink the water anyway. They end up chronically ill with various intestinal maladies. Some cause death.

So truly, this is such a serious problem. As I mentioned in previous posts, my dear Aunt Awanda passed away. She was a huge advocate for mission work and one of her big passions was getting clean water to people in poor countries. So, when I went to make a donation in her memory, I found out that she was a huge advocate for a waterlines, a non-profit, completely volunteer based organization which helps make clean water available around the world. They don't have a "donate now" button. But you can mail a donation to:
302 East Coronado Road, Santa Fe, NM 87505 USA

To learn more, here is the link:
http://www.waterlines.org/

A friend of mine recently said he will not use debit cards because of the lack of protection. I personally only use mine at ATM machines. Plus, I had heard other stories including one where a friend of mine went through a driveup at a fast food restaurant using her debit card to buy a $1 item and how an employee got her information and ran up huge deductions from her account before she realized it.

So, I started checking around and here is what I learned. The big difference between debit and credit cards is that with debit cards, any purchases take the money out of your account immediately. With credit cards, you have until the statement arrives to pay and even then you can choose to pay only part of it and pay interest on the remainder. From an AARP article, I learned that with a debit card, if you report a loss or misuse within 2 days, your maximum out of pocket is $50. If you report within 60 days, your maximum loss is $500. (Note: some states have a $50 limit). If you wait longer than that, you are likely out of luck. Also, if your account becomes overdrawn, you may have to absorb all fees for being overdrawn. Here is the link to that article:

http://www.aarp.org/money/credit_debt/a2002-08-14-ManagingMoneyDebitCards.html

And from Credit Card Forum, with credit cards, you can reverse charges if you receive damaged goods...not usually the case with debit cards. There is much more detail in their article at the following link.

http://creditcardforum.com/credit-card-fraud/23-why-your-debit-card-isnt-safe-any-purchase.html

Now, for both credit and debit cards, who hasn't heard about stories about crafty employees using "skimmers" to copy the scan information off the card? There is more on that in the following snope article:

http://www.snopes.com/crime/warnings/clear.asp

Bottom line, unless you are vigilant about checking purchases on your debit card account, then it is a race against the clock to minimize the amount of unrecoverable withdrawals from your account, if someone steals your debit card or your debit card information.

So, be careful everyone!

Have a great weekend!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman