Weather for the Week/Sarah's list for Santa/Winter Begins

Winter has officially begun (as of 6:04 am central time). And, I'm not talking about the fact that it is cold in Texas...it really is winter now--we have arrived at the Winter Solstice.

The earth's axis (from pole to pole) is tilted at 23.5 degrees relative to a line perpendicular to the line connecting to the sun. In winter that 23.5 degree angle has the North Pole tilted away from the sun at an angle of 23.5 degrees. The sun makes its lowest path across the sky and thus, this is considered the day of the year with the shortest amount of daylight. Please note that the length of days just before and after this point are nearly equal. But technically, from this point on, the days will slowly start to get longer. The speed with which the length of day increases will increase as we get closer to the vernal equinox (the start of spring).

There is certainly plenty of wintry weather to go around...the figure at the right shows the winter weather advisories/watches/warning for the midwest and northeast and for much of the west--as of this Sunday evening. Monday will be a cold day for most of the country except central and southern Florida.

In Houston, look for a cold Hanukkah (Monday, the 22nd)--high near 40, that's it-- and then rain on Tuesday and Wednesday with a rapid warm up. Christmas Day (Thursday) will be mild with a low in the upper 50s and a high near 70. Please note, that winter precipitation will not be a problem--the only caution is that there could be some ice on roadways Monday evening as the rain begins and temperatures remain relatively cool.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let's do travel or viajes, pronounced vee-ah-HEYS. There is lots of viajes around the holidays.

Got a funny Christmas card note--apparently a friend is driving his wife crazy singing the theme music from Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco. Please folks--learn Spanish--don't fight!!!

Well the tune is catchy--thanks to the musical talent of Cherish the Music. I think that is one reason kids just love the video. It is one reason they want to watch and an effective way for them to learn Spanish.

So, drive your spouse crazy, order our award winning DVD from 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 interesting in a full immersion type product, go to http://www.frankypaco.com/.

AND MORE
I saw it--with my own eyes. We took Megan's car through the $1 Mister Car Wash on Dulles Ave. near Highway 90. It is a fully automated car wash but get this--they have someone directing you into the wash and they have 2 people drying the car. And then the vacuums are free!!! I just can not believe this is possible. They do have some more elaborate wash packages which go for a whopping $3 and $5--that's it!!!

Here's an amusing anecdote for Christmas. When Sarah saw Santa, he asked her, what presents do you want for Christmas? Sarah answered right back--All of the presents. Well, of course she does! It's frightening how smart she is.

Hope everyone is getting a chance to relax and spend time with loved ones. Be safe in your travels (local or far away).

Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman