Tropics Getting Busy!/New Poll

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
The tropics are really heating up! First of all in the Pacific, Hawaii still has a Flood Advisory for Oahu and High Surf Warnings (from dissipating Felicia) and as I check the radar this morning, there are more rain bands over Oahu and approaching the northern islands. Now, Tropical Depression Nine-E (see forecast track at right) has developed and long range forecast from National Hurricane Center slowly strengthens it while steering it toward Hawaii. More to come on that.

In the Atlantic, we are watching 4 areas including Tropical Depression #2 which might be Tropical Storm Ana (first named storm of season) by the time you read this post. Good news is that even with some slow strengthening, it should not endanger any land areas. However, the area just off the west coast of Africa does bear watching...long range models suggesting that it will get into the Gulf by the end of next week. The other 2 areas of disturbed weather will be watched but their potential to develop looks limited.

Jet Stream is starting to dig out west which means cooler temperatures will be moving into the Rockies in a couple days while the ridge builds out east. Today, Wednesday, it will reach the 90s and 100s across the southwest and south central US. Look for 80s east. The Pacific Northwest will be nice and cool in the 60s with 70s western California. There will be many areas with thunderstorms, some severe central and east coast (see figure at right).

Houston hit 99 on Tuesday...more hot and sticky weather through the week with some scattered showers and thunderstorms Wednesday and Thursday.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let's do school or escuela, pronounced ehs-CWEH-lah. See our new poll about kids going back to escuela in the AND MORE section.

We are working hard on finishing up Volume 2 of Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco. Our technical team is reviewing right now. In the meantime, you can purchase our winning Volume 1 DVD, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco from the shelves of many Barnes & Noble stores throught the US. If not there, you can also order your copy 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, go to http://www.frankypaco.com/.

AND MORE
Our last poll on Tiger Woods was a bust...no one had an opinion about his performance and potential to perform. But I'll bet our new poll garners some interest...what is the best thing about the kids going back to school? Only one answer is allowed. Thanks in advance!

Have a wonderful Wednesday everyone!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Weather for the Week/Meeting the Wiggles/Felicia and Hawaii

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
Some excitement in the tropical Atlantic with an area of disturbed weather off the west coast of Africa which has a 30 to 50% chance for development (according to the National Hurricane Center). It is moving westward about 10 to 15 mph...at least 7 days from any land impacts.

Felicia is now a tropical storm...forecast by the National Hurricane Center to potentially move through the Hawaii Islands..particularly Mauii and surrounding islands as a tropical depression on Tuesday. More to come on that.

Ridge has flattened and the jet stream is way north...that means highs in the 90s as far north as Boston and Medford, Oregon and 100s in the desert southwest. Milder 70s and 80s along the west coast and northern states. Look for some severe storms from the plains to the northeast.

Houston had some beneficial thunderstorms over the weekend. Look for some isolated storms each day of this week...still hot and sticky though.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
A special thank you to dear friend and fluent Spanish speaker Tom Ryan. He caught a typo in Friday's spanish word of the day. I guess I shouldn't be writing these blogs so late in the day. Thanks Tom! Never ever want to teach a word incorrectly. The word for treatment is tratamiento, pronounced trah-tah-mee-EHN-toe.

Today, let's do concert or concierto, pronounced cown-see-AIR-toe. The Wiggles gave a fabulous live concierto today at Hobby Center.

And speaking of performances, we just reviewed the our upcoming 2nd volume of the Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco, My Day, My Body, My Feelings. Just a few more finishing touches and a technical review and it will be released! Will let you know soon! Plan on purchasing that one for all your holiday gifts for kids.

In the meantime, you can purchase our winning Volume 1 DVD, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco from the shelves of many Barnes & Noble stores throught the US. If not there, you can also order your copy 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, go to http://www.frankypaco.com/.

AND MORE
Today was a super exciting day!!! We not only went to see The Wiggles Go Bananas! Live in Concert show but we also met the Wiggles in person. Because Sarah has a syndrome and I knew that The Wiggles were originally educators and have a special place in their hearts for special needs children, I asked if Sarah could meet them. And the answer was certainly. We had to be there by noon and at about 12:20, Sarah, Gordy and I and other special children and their families were ushered to a private room where the Wiggles visited with us and allowed us to take pictures like the one you see at right. Sarah was sure to ask about Greg and how he is feeling. And she told Captain Feathersword, "Hi there Captain Feathersword" and he said, "Ahoy there matey". The coolest part is that later we saw Anthony and he said "Nice meeting you Sarah". he remembered her name after meeting all those families. I found that quite touching and impressive.

Speaking of touching, I ran into Linda Rosas, a friend of my Aunt Elizabeth Gearhart, who has worked closely with the ill at Comfort House in McAllen. Elizabeth was very involved in the care of Victor Alvarez, a youngster with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA). Well, Linda's granddaughter Courtney Rosas also has SMA. Linda is devoted to making Courtney's quality of life as good as it can possibly be. Courtney is now 6 thanks to the tender loving care provided by her and her daughter, Courtney's mother. Linda quit her job once they received the diagnosis and has taken shifts with her daughter for the care of Courtney. They never get more than 4 hours of sleep at a time and have run through all of their savings. They are having a fundraiser on October 4th at Clear Lake Lanes Bowling Alley. It will be a 50s theme. To get more information, contact Linda at courtneysgrandma41303@hotmail.com. And be sure to check out their web site www.our-sma-angels.com/CourtneyBrooke. By the way, August is national Spinal Muscular Atrophy awareness month.

A couple of the dancers, Karl and Mario, took the photos with the Wiggles before the show. Karl met Anthony at a gymnastics center where he worked and Anthony invited him to come on the show. He has been with the group since last Spring. Mario is a dancer who has been with the group for 3 years. I noticed Mario had a bandage on his arm and I asked him if he had hurt a muscle and he said yes. I asked about the Wiggles themselves getting injuries since they are as old as me (and some of them are older!). He said that they get massages and have had troubles on and off. For example, Murray has had trouble with a nagging injury in his leg.

Well anyway, the reason Anthony was visiting the gym is because he is all into working out in gymnastics now. We have a DVD from one of the older shows and there is mostly dancing. But now they have some gymnasts and do a lot of gymnastics in the show...including Anthony, Captain Feathersword and Jeff. All of them including Murray have become super thin. But the most changed is Anthony...he was sooooooooo skinny. Looks like he is having a great time getting in shape! He seemed to really enjoy himself.

Yesterday, we met up with the twins at the pool. Alexander and Michael are now up to 9 and 11 pounds respectively. They are 3 and half months old. Alexander slept most of the time. But Michael was smiling and wiggling. I got to cuddle him for a long time. Both are doing very well. And so are proud parents Ned and Danielle and big brother Teddy.

Well gotta run! Have a wonderful week everyone!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Rain in Forecast/Hurricane Felicia/Best Cancer Treatment

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
Tropical Atlantic is quiet. In the Pacific, Enrique is a tropical depression. Felicia should start to weaken soon. But according to the National Hurricane Center, a weakened depression over tropical storm strength version of it should move over Hawaii late Monday. More to come on that.

Ridge is shifting eastward and it is going to be a very hot weekend from the southern plains into the southeast with middle and high 90s and highs humidity. There will be thunderstorms in many locations but the severe threat will be in the northern plains and western Great Lakes states.

Houston hit 99 on Friday. Some isolated storms brought 1.5 inches of rain to Sugar Land and 1.3 inches in League City. Isolated storms are possible again on Saturday with highs in the middle to upper 90. Looks like there will be some scattered storms on Sunday with slightly cooler temperatures.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let's do tratimiento, pronounced trah-tee-mee-EHN-toe. There is a unique cancer tratimiento in Houston. Learn about it in the AND MORE section.

Our award winning DVD, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco, is on the shelves of Barnes & Noble store throught the US. Please look for it and encourage your family and friends to purchase it. We are being tested. We gave them 650 DVDs and in 6 weeks, 43 have sold. I was told by our distributor that is excellent for an educational product in the summer. It should keep us in Barnes & Noble's good graces. But, it sure would help if we sold more. You can also order your copy 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, go to http://www.frankypaco.com/.

AND MORE
I put a picture of the MD Anderson Proton Therapy Treatment Center to the right. This is where my stepdad recently completed a course of treatment. This is more than just your standard radiation treatment. This is a very specific radiation that starts and ends at precisely the right point to avoid damaging healthy tissue ahead of and behind the cancer area. There are only 2 facilities in the world which have this kind of technology and this is one of them. My stepdad was able to lead his normally crazy busy life with a minimal impact. We are happy to report that he has completed the course of treatment--I believe there were 38 sessions. His followup will be in 3 months.

As I've mentioned, I am on the board of The John C. Freeman Weather Museum. The associated Weather Research Center does lots of research including tropical meteorology. Their forecast for this year is 7 named storms, 4 of those hurricanes. On August 4th (3 days ago), Dr. William Gray and colleage Dr. Phil Klotzbach issued a revised forecast for this season (partly based on the El Nino which as developed). They are now calling for 10 named storms, 4 of those hurricanes, 2 of those major hurricanes. They forecast issued in early June called for 11, 5, and 2 respectively. An average season has 10, 6 and 2 respectively. The following is an excerpt from a report recently released by the Weather Research Center discussing how we have had no storms yet and how that does not guarantee a problem free season (as proven through previous seasons with slow starts).

"Since Weather Research Center [WRC] does not update their Seasonal urricane Outlook during the season, they continue to expect a total of seven namedstorms in the Atlantic with four intensifying into hurricanes. There have been 30 otherhurricane seasons when the first storm formed after August 1, since 1900. There have been only four seasons [1941, 1920, 1914 and 1905] when the first storm formed afterSeptember 1. The last time we experienced a similar late season start was 2004 whenAlex formed on August 1, according to Weather Research Center [WRC] meteorologist Jill F. Hasling. However, a late start does not mean a break. For example, Ivan theTerrible occurred in 2004 and in 1988, Gilbert became a large Category 5 hurricane.And who could forget Hurricane Alicia in 1983 which was a Category 3 hurricane whenit made landfall in Galveston.The peak of activity for the Atlantic Hurricane Season is from August 15 to September15 so we still need to be prepared.WRC’s 2009 outlook gives the Louisiana to Alabama coast the highest risk ofexperiencing a tropical storm or hurricane. Additionally, the outlook anticipates seven hurricane days and 47 tropical storm days during this year’s season.Below is a table of the date of the first named storms in the years indicated. There were 30 years from 1900 to 2008 when the date of the first storm was after July 31. There were 18 years whenthe date of the first storm was August 15 or later, 12 years when the date of the first storm wasafter August 20, and four seasons when the date of the first storm was after August 31. Thelatest date for the first named storm was September 15. In other words you have 27.5% chanceof having the first storm after July 31st, 16.5% chance of having the first storm after August 14th, 11% chance of having the first storm after August 20th and 3.7% chance of having the first storm after August 31st."

Speaking of The Weather Research Center, they have a wonderful model page. If you want to see some of the models meteorologists enjoy reviewing, go to this link:

http://wxresearch.com/model.html

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

EcoFriendly Home Extermination/The Shack/Heat Advisory

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
Tropical Atlantic is quiet. In the Pacific, there is Hurricane Felicia and Tropical Storm Enrique. Felicia is forecast to head toward the Hawaiian Islands (but weaken to a tropical storm or weaker before it affects the islands late Monday). More to come.

Louisville was hit hard by heavy rain on Tuesday. There was a record 4.5 inches. Today, the rain is over but more rain is possible for the end of the week. Area rivers, especially in southern Indiana are rising with some moderate flooding forecast. Some homes will be impacted.

Excessive Heat Warning is in effect through Thursday for Phoenix again.

On Thursday, the ridge which was parked over the central US will slide eastward eventually setting up the southeast US with a moist flow off the Gulf. That means rain will be more likely in Texas and the southeast by late in the weekend.

Thursday's highs will be in the 90s and 100s in Texas and the southwest. There will be a few 90s in the southeast as well as some thunderstorms. Along the west coast, Great Lakes and northeast, there will be highs in the 60s to 80s. Look for severe weather in the northern Rockies and northern Plains to the Midwest.

Houston is under a Heat Advisory until Thursday evening. There is a slight chance (10 to 20%) for thunderstorms, but the ridge should prevent any major outbreaks. Highs will be in the upper 90s to near 100. Highs in Houston on Wednesday and Monday were 100. Look for scattered storms started Sunday.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let's do book or libro, pronounced LEE-broh. Find out what I think about the libro, The Shack, in the AND MORE section.

Speaking of reading, one of the things we do in our award winning DVD, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco is show the words as they are introduced. This way the kids can see the word while learning it. Order your copy 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, go to http://www.frankypaco.com/.

AND MORE
Today was a day of celebration!!! Megan graduated as a Veterinary Paramedic from the program offered by HCC. This program is 12 months (3 semesters) with quizzes or tests almost every day. It is very intense. Words can not explain how very proud we are of Megan. She worked so hard. Factor into that her learning disabilities and you can believe that she worked very, very hard. She is very passionate about animals and she is going to make a wonderful employee for some clinic. Her interest area is mainly dogs and cats. If you know of anyone looking to hire for this role, please let me know.

I won't belabor this, but I will share a brief anecdote about something that happened to Gordy and me. Last fall, we were contacted because someone with Gordy's name wrote a hot check at a Beall's in another city. Gordy has never even shopped at a Beall's. XPressChex sent us a letter demanding payment. When I called they insisted that it was my husband as they had his driver's license number. After numerous phone calls and a couple months, we wrote a letter explaining that they had the wrong person and to check my husband's signature against the one on their check. We copied a letter to our attorney. All of sudden yesterday, we are contacted by a collection agency/attorney and they insist that we pay up. After many hours of phone calls and searching, we were finally contacted today by XPressChex and they had re-looked into the matter. They said that the cashier at Beall's had written the driver's license number down with one number incorrect...and that incorrect number just happened to be the one belonging to Gordy. Because there is a publicly available database where you can look up someone by their DL, we were located and blamed. There is more, but you get the idea. Make sure to question the DL accuracy if this ever happens to you.

A few days ago, I mentioned that when we got back from vacation, we had ants in the master bath. My good friend Peyton said they have also noticed more bugs getting into their house. This brings me back to doing home exterminating. I have some wonderful eco friendly stuff. I started treating my own home when I got curious and did some research. I use a product called EcoExempt, produced by EcoSmart. This stuff is safe for humans--deadly for insects. It is made of 10% Rosemary Oil, 2% Peppermint Oil, and 88% Oil of Wintergreen, Mineral Oil USP, and Vanillin. The directions say that if swallowed, do not induce vomiting, but get medical help if you feel nauseated. The only complaint I have is that the peppermint smell is very strong. After I do an application, I always see dead bugs for several days. Just get a home sprayer and mix with water according to directions. Check out their web site:
http://ecosmart.com/

I finished the book, The Shack, over vacation. It was a fairly quick read. I think this is book is very good for anyone who has had a terrible tragedy. I recommend it. I am not gushing about it, but I think it was healing.

Have a terrific Thursday!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Weather Shift/Poll Results/New Poll about Tiger Woods

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
Tropical Atlantic and Pacific are quiet.

Strong ridge over western US eases eastward this week. As it does, all of Texas will be scorching again for the early to later part of the week. The ridge will slide into the eastern US and that means wet weather for the central US starting the end of the coming weekend and into the early part of the coming week.

I took the liberty of posting the 3 month temperature and precipitation outlooks for the US (August through October). Notice that much of the south and southwest is expected to have above normal temperatures while some of the central US and Rockies will have wetter than normal weather.

On Monday, look for 100+ for much of the Intermountain West up to Oregon and into Texas. Phoenix has an Excessive Heat Advisory through Monday. There is a slight risk of severe storms in the the Midwest, but thunderstorms are possible in the southeast, Great Lakes and southern Rockies.

Houston will be very hot and humid with extremely low rain chances. Look for rain to return next Sunday and increase early in the following week. This is going to be a very hot and steamy week.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let's do injured or lesionado, pronounced leh-see-oh-NAH-doh. Tiger Woods and other players sometimes get lesionado. But, how well do they recover? See the AND MORE section for a discussion.

As I mentioned in yesterday's blogs, we will be dealing with feelings (including being sick) in the upcoming Volume 2 of our DVD series, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco. Sad is one of the words. Volume 1 has won 2 major awards and covers topics like Home/Family/Eating/Drinking/Play. Order your copy 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, go to http://www.frankypaco.com/.

AND MORE

Our poll about economizing is closed. More than one answer was allowed. 33% said they are eating out less, are purchasing fewer luxuries, are reusing and recycling more, and are using coupons. 66% said they are buying fewer clothes, working harder to find bargains, and working more. 0% said they are going on less expensive vacations, taking staycations, other, or are not economizing at all. Thanks to all who participated.

Our new poll is about Tiger Woods. What is your opinion about his playing ability? More than one answer is allowed. Thanks in advance for participating.

We're back from our trip and busy with all those settling back in chores. Noticed some ants in the bathroom. Last time this happened was before Hurricanes Rita and Katrina. Animals do act differently before weather changes. But as you might note, Rita and Katrina did not directly hit Houston. So, maybe this is a good sign. We'll see! With last year's Hurricane Ike, we did not have any ant trouble beforehand. Hmmm.

Have a wonderful week everyone!!!

Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Records in Weather/Severe Threat/Vacation Memories

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
Tropical Atlantic and Pacific are quiet.

An Excessive Heat Warning is in effect for Phoenix and the Seattle area hit a record 103 on Wednesday. Seattle had 3 days of record heat in a row although Saturday’s high should “only” be about 90. It’s that ridge—remember the ridge that brought so much record heat to Texas? Now, the West has been getting the same treatment. Happy first day of August!

As the weekend begins, the ridge is flattening a bit. There is still some troughiness over the northeast US and that is allowing some weak cold fronts to move through the Oklahoma/North Texas, and Arkansas. This will set the stage for thunderstorms and as is the case for today’s weather—some severe cells.

Houston, another hot and steamy day with some scattered showers and thunderstorms. There is a heat advisory for the coastal counties where higher humidity will lead to more stressful heat. Look for even more of the same on Sunday with slightly cooler temperatures due to more rain.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let’s do sad or triste, pronounced TREES-tay. It is so triste when vacation is over.

Feelings are one of the things we cover in our upcoming Volume 2 of our DVD series, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco. Sad is one of the words. Volume 1 has won 2 major awards and covers topics like Home/Family/Eating/Drinking/Play. Order your copy 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, go to http://www.frankypaco.com/.


AND MORE
Heading home from Table Rock Lake. Taking the more scenic route through northern Arkansas. It is not very far from Little Rock to Branson…but on the road we take with hills and turns and little towns, it always takes longer than say an Interstate.

Last year when we were heading home, we stopped at this little restaurant called Kelley’s in Marshall, Texas. There was only one waitress on duty (I think the other one was sick) and the place was packed to the gills with locals. They all gave us that look as we walked in (you know—you aren’t from these parts are you?) Well, the poor waitress was running around like a chicken with her head cut off. So, one of the old-timers got up and started pouring coffee for everyone. It was a really good breakfast—just took some time to get it.
Well, back to this year’s trip--
On Wednesday, we hit the lake early. There are some restaurants on the water where you can dock. One of our favorites is a place called Campbell’s and that’s where I lost my camera. That was a special day though, because Jeremy was with us. Jeremy is the older brother of Lindsay and Kylie. I got some great pictures of him with his sisters right before I lost the camera. That was such a bummer, because Jeremy does not like to have his picture taken. And, he actually had humored me—cooperating and smiling. But, alas, those photos were lost. So, I took one with my picture phone. Unfortunately, the window of opportunity had passed. Jeremy wanted to sleep as he was about to drive back to Chicago. So, all I could get was the photo at righ with Jeremy sleeping while his sisters (so kind and obliging) gave me more nice smiles. Happy to report that Jeremy made it home safely and caught the Cubs/Astros game the next day. He was sure to let us know how bad the Astros were beat. Jeremy had arrived on Sunday evening—a nice surprise for Joni—she didn’t know he was coming.

Thursday was rainy. So, we headed to Branson Landing (on the east side of Branson). That’s on Lake Taneycomo. Lots of your favorite shops, but what we girls really enjoyed was Cantina Laredo. The sign said gourmet Mexican food and I’m thinking “gourmet Mexican”—what in the world is that? Well, now I know. The spices were different than your standard Mexican fare—but not weird—they were unexpectedly delicious. I would love to watch the chefs and see what they use. I had the tortilla soup and chalupa (with chicken). I wouldn’t change a thing about the soup…just perfect. The chalupa was a feast for the eyes with lots of colors and the chicken and some tortilla chips artfully and colorfully arranged. As I looked around at the other plates, they were also works of art. And the dishes were colorful and varied. They also offered both mild and hot salsas with perfectly crisp and non-greasy chips. The wait staff was attentive and just the right amount of friendly. Even though the décor was upscale, the treatment was not ostentatious. I thought with the décor , that the servings would be tiny, but they were substantial enough to allow everyone to leave satisfied if not slightly full. We ate there at lunch and my entrée was only $7.99. I thought that was surprisingly reasonable. See photo at right.

Well, here’s the funny part…as we were leaving, I noticed some newspaper articles which they had displayed in the entryway. The chain was started in Dallas and there happens to be one on Westheimer in Houston. I had never heard of it. So, I guess we’ll be going to check it out.

At the end of Thursday, the sun was out and Friday, we had an absolutely perfect day on the water. Took Sarah for a long ride on the jet ski. The faster the better with her. Just watch her or she’ll try to make it take off on you. We didn’t even get back to the cabins until about 6. None of us wanted the day to end. But alas, it was time to pack up the boats and cabins.

Aunts Creek Resort is slowly being sold off—the cabins beings offered for purchase. Several have already been sold. There is a very good chance we won’t be able to stay there next summer. So, we will be looking around for another location. This has been a trend in recent years. The resorts used to have 3 months of people staying. But with sports and August school starts, the time people can come is getting shorter and shorter. A lot of these resorts just can’t make it on only 2 months of rentals.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Static Weather/Casualty on the Lake/Job Training for Disabled

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
Tropical Atlantic is quiet. There is an area of disturbed weather in the tropical Pacific about 1400 miles east of Hawaii. According to the National Hurricane Center, it has less than a 30% chance to develop. Will keep you posted.

Upper pattern has flattened a lot...so much so that an asssociated frontal boundary has drawn up mostly stationary over central Arkansas causing training of rain cells and flooding. This pattern will change little over the next few days--with minor flucuations in the north south position of rain producing storms.

On Thursday, there will some severe storms in west Texas (see figure at right). Highs will be in the 90s and 100s in south Texas and much of the desert southwest. The west coast of California will be in the 60s. The rest of the country will be in the 70s and 80s. Much of the country will have rain.

Houston will continue hot and very humid. Look for scattered thunderstorms on Thursday and Friday (Friday being cooler due to more cloud cover and rain cooling). Over the weekend, there is only a slight chance for rain. But, it will still be hot and humid.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let's do camera or cámara, pronounced CAH-mah-rah. Find out what happened to my cámara in the AND MORE section.

We used a different kind (and much more expensive) cámara while shooting our award winning DVD, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco. Order your copy 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, go to http://www.frankypaco.com/.

AND MORE
Well we had our first casualty of the trip...on the dock of a restaurant called Campbell's, I was doing my 2 handed still camera vs. movie camera when I dropped the still camera. And although I thought it would stop below my feet, it rolled and skidded right into the water. Now I don't care that much about the camera...but I had snapped about 20 photos...many of which were very meaningful. I watched it sink as the turtles and huge fish (catfish?) tried to nibble at it. The camera was ruined the minute it hit the water, but there is always the hope that the memory stick might retain the photos. No point in thinking about it--it is dangerous and too deep to dive for anything in the dock water. Besides, I'll be some of those fish are 3 feet long.

We drove into Branson yesterday. Sarah loves the arcades. We also decided to stop at The Toy Museum. There was an amazingly large number of toys (more than 1 million come to find out). They claim to be the biggest toy museum anyway. Made me feel a bit old as I say some things on display that I had played with. Worth seeing at least once.

I am so proud of Megan, my step-daughter. She did not get to make this trip as she is completing finals for becoming a veterinary technician. You see, we set up this reservation a year in advance because these places book up. Poor girl has been checking in with us frequently. This is her first year to miss ever. She is making the grades!!! Monday will be her last exams. You go girl!!!

Started a new book (thanks Mary Ann--that's my mother-in-law). It's called The Shack (by William Paul Young). Will let you know what I think.

My good friend Leslie has written another fantastic article for the Chronicle. This one was especially of interest to me because it discusses how to train disabled young adults so they can get jobs and make a living--it's called SUCCESS. Please share this with your friends who have children with disabilities like autism, mental retardation, Asperger's
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nb/fortbend/news/6550990.html

Don't forget to answer the poll about you are economizing.

Gotta close and visit with the family. These times are too few and too fast.

Have a terrific Thursday everyone!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman