Ice Storm/Lead Compliance Hurting Small Business

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
First of all, looking at the figure to the right...here is the color key:
Lavender - Freezing Rain Advisory
Pink - Winter Storm Warning
Blue-Gray - Winter Weather Advisory
Purple - Ice Storm Warning
Green - Short Term Forecast
Beige - Hazardous Weather Outlook
White - Nothing special

As I write this, this evening, Dallas area and surrounding counties are having an ice storm. It is going to be a messy morning on Wednesday as the swath of icy conditions extends from Texas into the northeast. If you are driving northward, please wait as long as possible (for daytime warming) and check road conditions. If you are flying anywhere, make sure you check with your airline as there bound to be a lot of delays and cancellations.

Highs Wednesday will be in teens and 20s from Midwest through the Great Lakes and Northern Plains and into the northeast. There will snow and ice from Memphis to Cleveland to Boston. There will be also be snow, ice and rain for the Intermountain Region and Pacific Northwest.

Houston will have a chilly day. Morning rain will taper off by mid-morning. Temperatures will start in the upper 30s and end up close to 50 with some sunshine by late afternoon. The rest of the week will be on the cool side with lows in the 40s and highs in the low 60s.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let's do treacherous or traicionero, pronounced trah-ee-see-oh-neh-ROW. The road conditions north of Houston will be traicionero early Wednesday!

I spoke at a career fair today and met a wonderful lady who does medical missions in Mexico. She said that she has some rudimentary Spanish but oh how she wishes she had learned it as a youngster when it comes so easily. She listens to educational tapes etc. but it only gets her so far. We talked about all the benefits of early language learning. You see, the brains of children are inherently wired to help them pick up new languages quickly and effectively. Contrary to popular belief, their minds do not get confused. In fact, there is an amazing ability to compartmentalize, identify and sort language based on structure.

So, help your children learn other languages now!!! One fun way is through our award winning DVD, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco. This DVD has been recognized as a top educational product by Dr. Toy and Homeschool.com. Order it today from our web site 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/. If you are more interested in a full immersion type product, go to http://www.frankypaco.com/.

AND MORE
I hope you will allow me to vent...about bureaucracy run amuk!!! In August 2008, the government passed a law that all products sold to children under the age of 12 have to demonstrate less than 300 ppm lead using one of the "accreditted testing laboratories". One of my buyers contacted me saying I have to give such proof by February 1. Now of course this all comes for a very good reason--all the high lead content products coming from China. I have yet to look at the Code of Federal Regulations citation but let me tell you what this means to me. Assuming I can even get a lab to do it in say a short time like 2 weeks, it will cost me $15,000 to do the analysis!!! Well, that is a deal breaker for this small potatoes farmer.

So, I contacted our supplier. He offered that they could give me a copy of testing done by one of the their big clients--with all identifying information removed for their confidentiality. Guess what the test results showed? Only 15 ppm!!!--much lower than the limit of 300 ppm.

I am just hoping and praying that these lab results will suffice. So, please say a prayer for me...I would sure appreciate it!!!

Have a safe Wednesday everyone!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Winter Weather Travel Trouble/Poll Closes/New Poll

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
Be sure to check out the latest winter weather advisories on the Storm Prediction Center's graphic at right. A cold front will move through Texas on Tuesday and there will be some rain behind it...some locations in central and north Texas could have problems with icy roads Tuesday night and early Wednesday. This might also cause some airline delays.

Tuesday will be in the teens across the northern plains. There will be snow and ice from the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys westward into Texas (by late Tuesday). There will be rain in Seattle and in parts of central and south Texas.

Houston will be balmy on Tuesday. Cold front arrives by evening. Wednesday will be a chilly day with lows near 40 and highs near 50. There will be rain early.

SPANISH WORD FOR THE DAY
The word is technology or tecnología, pronounced tehk-no-low-HE-ah. I am enjoying some new tecnología.

Speaking of technology, we have the perfect educational DVD for your family, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco. This DVD has been recognized asa top educational product by Dr. Toy and Homeschool.com. Order it today from our web site 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/. If you are more interested in a full immersion type product, go to http://www.frankypaco.com/.

AND MORE
Well, I got my new Palm Centro today. Come to find out, Verizon offers Palm products. Yay!!! It was a breeze to download my kazillion contacts and addresses. And the interface is very familiar. I am enjoying this new technology.

Our poll about the Galveston seawall is now closed. 85% of respondents thought it should be rebuilt to specs even better than before. 15% thought it should not be repaired at all and no one thought it should be returned to its pre-Ike state. Thanks to all who participated.

Our new poll has to do with changes in technology and how you feel about it? I guess this poll is a technological enhancement. It is one of the gadgets offered by blogger.

Enjoy! Happy Tuesday everyone!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Wet Forecast/Economy Looked Good Here/Solar Eclipse

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
A wet Monday on the way for much of the country. There will be snow/ice from New York City to Oklahoma city and westward to Reno. Look out for icey roads in Oklahoma. There will be some rain in Corpus Christi northward to Dallas and westward to Los Angeles. Bitterly cold across the northern plains and northern New England with subzero to near zero highs.

Houston will be on the drippy side, at least for the first half of the week. It will be cloudy but warmer with morning lows near 50 and highs in the 60s. Slightly warmer Tuesday and then another cold front brings chilly weather for Wednesday and Thursday.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let's do wet or mojado, pronounced mow-ha-DOUGH. Much of this week will be mojado. Please note that rainy is lluvioso, pronounce you-vee-oh-SEW.

Our award winning educational DVD, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco, Volume 1 introduces youngsters to terms that make up their world. For example, there are words for family members, parts of the home, food and drink and play. Order it today from our web site 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/. If you are more interested in a full immersion type product, go to http://www.frankypaco.com/.

AND MORE
Gordy and I took Sarah to ChuckECheese Saturday. I have never seen it so busy! Some of the machines were running out of tickets...the staff was working very hard trying to keep up. Now, of course, you would expect it to be busy on a Saturday. But I was thinking--gosh, this does not look like a time of economic distress. One nice thing about ChuckECheese is that you don't have to order food. But just looking around, it looked like everyone was eating and drinking. Kind of gives me hope! Also, if you get a kid's cup and bring it back...you can get it filled for free.

There will be a solar eclipse over the Indian Ocean on Monday. The cool thing is that it will be a kind called annular--the moon won't completely block out the sun but will fit just inside the sun's circumference leaving a ring of sunlight on the edges. This has to do with the position of the moon relative to the earth and sun. Well, guess we won't see it, but at least we can comfort ourselves by knowing that skies will be cloudy here anyway.

Have a great week and stay dry!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Cool Weather/Allergy Trouble/School Reopens

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
Cold front is moving across the U.S., ending the milder weather. There is some rain across the southeast and the eastern seaboard in advance of the front. Coldest places today will be the northern plains and Great Lakes states and it will be the same on Sunday. Highs over northern Minnesota and North Dakota will be in the negative single digits. On Sunday, there will be some snow from the Great Lakes to as far south as Kansas City. There will also be showers (lower elevations) and snow (higher elevations) from the Rockies through the Intermountain Region and to the west coast as far north as Oregon.

Houston will be chilly all weekend. Highs on Sunday will be in the upper 50s after morning lows in the upper 30s. Monday will be milder. Although there could be some breaks with sun, most of the weekend will be on the cloudy side.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let's do cloudy or nublado, pronounced new-blah-DOUGH. It will be nublado in Houston for most of the weekend.

We are continuing to move forward with our DVD, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco, top educational product according to awards from Dr. Toy and Homeschool.com. We just ordered another 1000 copies of Volume 1. So, never fear, there is plenty of stock. Tell your friends and family about this fun, innovative teaching video fro youngster. Order it today rom our web site 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/. If you are more interested in a full immersion type product, go to http://www.frankypaco.com/.

AND MORE
I have so much to tell you today.

First of all, have you been sneezing your head off? The culprit might me a tree pollen--Ash Juniper (and I think it is Ash Juniper Mountain Cedar). According to the City of Houston Health Department measurements at their gauge in the medical center area, tree pollen is high and the majority is Ash Juniper. I know I have been sneezing like crazy--Ah ha! You can get the levels anytime you want by calling their hotline for a recorded message -- 713-247-5846. Please note they do not update on weekends or when there is rain.

Christa McAuliffe school reopened this month!!! As you may recall, this school had a lot of damage from Ike and was shut down for the first half of the year...there will be a big celebration later this month. Thank you Leslie Williams for letting me know and here is a link to her article in the Chronicle, http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nb/fortbend/news/6222499.html.

It's that time of year--getting books in order. I am still on a learning curve with Quickbooks and I have determined that I need to be more vigilant. I resolve to do better in 2009!!! It is taking me a long time to get everything in order. I just want to say sorry in advance (to Chuck, my CPA). You are going to need an extra dose of patience and don't laugh at me too much this time!

I got to speak to about 70 preschoolers at St. Laurence Weekday Children's Program yesterday. This is where Sarah went for 4 years and they were just awesome with her. Anyway, as I have mentioned before I have been teaching 1st grade CCE and how challenging that has been for me given that they are just starting to read. Well, it is even harder to keep the attention of preschoolers (especially 70 of them)! Yikes!!! I took along puppets Frank and Paco and they were a big hit!!! I tried to make my voice as deep as the originals (done by my husband Gordy and good friend Raul Feliciano Sanchez). The kids didn't seem to mind. The photo at right is from Stacey Slaughter--one of Sarah's teachers. Nisha Mathur, also one of Sarah's teachers, had invited me. Nisha is an award winning teacher who is always challenging her bridge class students.

If you know of anyone who would like a weather talk with Frank and Paco, the puppets, assisting, just let me know at 713-823-4401.

By the way, congratulations to Stacey Slaughter for completing the Houston Marathon!!! She used the event to raise money for a very special cause. Stacey has a huge heart and is always looking for ways to help others.

I am getting so excited about the Groundhog Day Gala which will be held at the Houston Zoo the evening of Monday, February 2nd. I will be there along with some famous local individuals--I'll have more in coming blogs. http://wxresearch.org/gala/

Now that is not all going on...there also be free festivities at The Weather Museum earlier that day. Here is the official invite!


Come celebrate Groundhog Day at The Nation’s First Weather Museum!

Houston – Meteorologists from The John C. Freeman Weather Museum at Weather Research Center are asking Pacha the Sloth and BK the Owl from the Downtown Aquarium to help in making a forecast on when winter might end.

WHERE: The Weather Museum
5104 Caroline St. in the Houston Museum District

WHEN: Groundhog Day – Monday February 2nd
10:00am – Pacha the Sloth looks for her shadow
10:15am – BK the Owl looks for her shadow
10:30am – Museum Meteorologists issue their forecasts

WHY: Discover the myths of Groundhog Day. Just how often is the
groundhog right? Get some answers on why the groundhog
looks for his shadow while enjoying fun activities at the Nation’s
first Weather Museum!

COST: Free Family Fun All Day at The Weather Museum

If the animals see their shadow then there will be six more weeks of winter, and if they do not see their shadow, then spring should be just around the corner.

Museum
Info: The nation’s first weather museum opened in the Houston Museum District
in April 2006. The museum is open Monday through Saturday 10am to 4pm.
Learning about weather safety is a key element to the John C. Freeman
Weather Museum. The museum provides a fun and stimulating facility for
people of all ages to learn about the weather, its history and public safety.

Contact: (713) 529-3076 or www.weathermuseum.org


Finally, I want you to know that our goldfish, ICarly and Sam are doing very well. But, I have been having trouble keeping that tank healthy (clear). After doing some more research, I found out that you should only have one goldfish per 3 gallons. Well guess what, our aquarium is only 3 gallons. So, we are double loading it with 2 goldfish. Yikes! Will keep conditioning the water, changing filters and doing water changes.

Happy Weekend everyone!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Weekend Weather/Name Change

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
Much milder across the east but now the northern plains are getting socked hard with the cold again. Places like Cut Bank, Montana, Minot, North Dakota, and International Falls, Minnesota will either be below zero or very close to it (and I'm talking about the highs). Meanwhile, it will be nice and mild across the southern states from California to North Carolina. There will be snow around the Great Lakes, the Rockies and Sierra Nevada. There will be rain out west. There could be a few showers in Texas--before an advancing cold front.

And speaking of that cold front, Houston will be might balmy on Friday--highs close to 80. So, don't overdress the kids. It will be a cooler weekend with a few showers...lows in the 50s Saturday and 40s Sunday and highs both days only in the low 60s.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let's do restaurant or restaurante, pronounced rehs-tahr-rahn-TAY. If you go to a Spanish speaking country, you definitely want to be able to ask for a restaurante.

I have lots of research about the benefits of learning more than one language and here is a sample:
...use of 2 or more languages endows the language user with special awareness of objective properties of langauge and enables them to analyze linguistic input more effectively...bilinguals outpeform th eunilinguals on a number of cognitive, linguisitc and metalinguistic tasks, even when the differences in intellegence are controlled.
This comes from Mohanty, A.K. (1992). Bilingualism and cognitive development of kond tribal children: Studies on metalinguistic hypothesis. Pharmacopsychoecologia. Special issue: Environmental Toxicology and Social Ecology, 5(1-2), 57-66. from PsycINFO database.

Our DVD, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco, has been positively reviewed by the teachers at Learning Inc. and has been awarded top educational status by Dr. Toy and Homeschool.com. So, what are waiting for? Order it today rom our web site 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/. If you are more interested in a full immersion type product, go to http://www.frankypaco.com/.

AND MORE

Gordy and I stopped in at what is now called Lupita's Restaurant on Highway 6 in Sugar Land (near Williams Trace). You may know this restaurant as the former Pico de Gallo. I am just helping get the word out that the restaurant--food--owners are exactly the same except for the name. Apparently, this was not the only Pico de Gallo in Texas--so they had to change the name. The owner named the restaurant Lupita's after his loving wife Lupita. If you go there you will see the family working away. Their son manages the restaurant at night. So, don't be frightened away by the new sign.

Have a Fantastic Friday everyone!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Milder Temperatures/Cecilia Loses 1 Pound/How Giving Blood Helps Donors

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
Well the change is already happening. The jet stream is flattening out allowing some milder conditions in the previously frigid northeast. D.C. will be in the 40s on Thursday--that would have been much more pleasant inaugural weather. Trough is starting to dig out west. Checking out the radar this evening--it is raining and snowing. That is such good news for places like LakeTahoe in California. Was just talking to my sister out there--she owns a retail shop and said business has been really slow because there hasn't been any snow. Well, hang on sis, the snow is on the way.

Thursday, there will be snow in the northern Rockies, Great Lakes coastal areas and northern New England. Highs in the northeast will be in the 20s and 30s and highs in the northwest will be in the 40s (cooler in the higher elevations).

Houston will be very comfortable on Thursday with lows in the 40s and highs in the 70s. Next cold front arrives very early Saturday. Highs on Sunday will be in the low 60s.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
The word is blood or sangre, pronounced sahn-GRAY. Read below for the benefits of giving blood (talking about benefits for the donor).

One of my fellow CCE teachers and friends stopped me the other day to say that she had ordered our spanish teaching DVD for her niece who just loved it--it was a big hit!!! You saw the extremely positive critique I posted earlier this week. Trust me! This is an easy and very effective way to get the youngsters you love fired up about language learning. Order our award winning DVD from our web site 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/. If you are more interested in a full immersion type product, go to http://www.frankypaco.com/.

AND MORE
So from yesterday's post, I guess I caused some confusion in the email with blog link I sent out. In that email I said I was going to lose a pound in 30 minutes and to read the blog to find out how. Well, it was because I gave blood. You see 1 gallon of water weighs about 8 lbs. And 1 pint is 1/8 of a gallon--thus the 1 lb comment.

Anyway, I did give blood today. Interesting data published by the American Medical Association--giving blood is actually beneficial to donors. You see, many Americans get too much iron in their diet. Research shows that by regularly giving blood, you help restore the iron to proper levels--this has been shown to reduce the number of strokes and heart attacks. Now, of course we know that it is good to give blood--every pint donated can save 3 lives. So, go ahead and save some lives today. You'll be glad you did. And one more thing--they tell you not to do any strenuous exercise and to eat plenty for the next day or so--so you can kick back, eat well and not feel one bit guilty!

Happy Thursday everyone!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

3 Month Temperature Outlook/Giving Blood/New Cell Phone

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
The big 200!!! Woohooo!!! Yeah! This is the 200th post of HurricanesSpanishandMore from yours truly, Wonder Weather Woman! And my gift to you is the 3 month Temperature Outlook from the Climate Prediction Center (posted on January 15th)--see at right.

Notice the south and southwest through the Tennessee and Ohio Valleys are supposed to be above normal. The Pacific Northwest is supposed to be below normal. There is also a prediction of above normal temperatures for northern Alaska.

It is interesting to see the shift that will begin in another day or two. For the last week, the jet stream has been digging deep over the eastern U.S., allowing very cold air to sit in place over the northeastern U.S. Now, that jet stream is going to start to flatten and then a new trough will dig over the western U.S. This will allow a nice warmup over the eastern U.S. Eastern trough returns in another 8 days.

Wednesday will be chilly across the Great Lakes and the northeast with highs in the teens and 20s. There will be snow along some of the Great Lakes coastal areas. There will be showers in San Francisco.

Houston will start cold with temperatures in the 30s. Highs will be in the 60s. Temperatures will warm slightly into Friday with a weak cold front passing on Friday. Still, the weekend will be pleasant with cool mornings and mild afternoons. There will be a few scattered showers over the weekend.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let's do telephone or teléfono, teh LEH foh no. I ordered a new cell teléfono.

If you already have a copy of Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco, do me a favor, pick up your teléfono and tell all of your friends and family with youngsters about it and how early language learning enhances cognitive development. Come on, you know what to share that important information!!!

Order our award winning DVD from our web site 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/. If you are more interested in a full immersion type product, go to http://www.frankypaco.com/.

AND MORE
Okay so here's the deal. If you sign up for another 2 year contract with Verizon you get $80 back--well I was going to sign up anyway--so I got the refund. Of course, you have to talk to them to get the refund and then they start reminding you that your phone is just a dinosaur. Okay, I admit it...mine is but I haven't changed until now because I want to get the kind that holds all the addresses of contacts etc. Well, the problem is that I have a palm pilot that took me about 7 hours to set up (with addresses) some 6 years ago. And I would guesstimate that it would take me about 15 hours to re-set it up. A couple years ago, I called Verizon about what to do and they didn't have any answers. But now I think I can create a csv file and upload it somehow. Well, I am going to try--so wish me luck. I ordered a cool touch screen phone, but I got one with a keyboard for entering all that contact info. fast. I'll let you know how it all turns out. And, I will take suggestions.

Gordy and I watched the inauguration this a.m. I can't imagine how cold everyone must have been but I did notice that once the address was over, a lot of people were getting out of there. I used to do weather on the roof at FOX when I filled in during the mornings. I was only up there for an hour, but I can tell you that my feet were completely numb by the end of that hour. When I moved to Connecticut at the end of the 80s, I didn't have any winter clothing to speak of. I made the stupid mistake of wearing open-toe shoes while I scraped ice off my car. For months after that I had terrible pain in my toes whenever they got cold. Oh yes, I was glad to be in a nice warm house watching the inauguration.

Lexington Creek Elementary is having a blood drive tomorrow, Wednesday from 8 to noon. I will be in there giving blood at 11:30 (after cafeteria duty with Gordy). So come on by and give some blood with me. Walk-ins are welcome.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman