Tuesday Forecast/Flood Threat/Sarah Scissorhands

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
What is left of Paloma is just northeast of Cuba. Redevelopment does not look likely because there is so much wind shear.

The big story in the states is the upper storm swirling over the central part of the country. A line of storms is spinning out and there is a tornado watch over north central Texas. Also there are winter weather advisories and warnings and freezing rain warnings in Nebraska, Iowa and South Dakota.

On Tuesday, there will be rain and snow over the northern and central plains. There will be thunderstorms southward to Houston. It is going to be a soggy couple of days in Houston. I would not be surprised if we have some flooding trouble...Wednesday looks like the wettest day of all. Humidity will be high...temperatures mild. Nice weekend coming our way...although Saturday will be breezy and cool--good for kite flying.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
The word of the day is haircut or corte de pelo, pronounced CORE-tay day PAY-low. When my hair is long, I schedule a corte de pelo.

If you want your children to learn another language and you want them to have the best pronunciation possible, they need to learn as children. Our award winning DVD, Volume 1 of Let's Learn Spanish with Frank and Paco, was created with the most accurate pronunciation possible--with a team of experts making sure every syllable was pronounced correctly. You can order our DVD from www.frankandpaco.com, www.venturaes.com, www.dololanguages.com, www.carlexonline.com,www.thecuriousmindstore.com, www.amazon.com, www.bestbuy.com, and http://www.barnesandnoble.com/.

AND MORE
Well Sarah did it again. I had her working on some exercises with cutting. After giving her the assignment, I went into the kitchen. When I came back, I found long pieces of hair on the floor. Yep. She cut it. The first time was right at the beginnning of kindergarten when she cut her hair right in the front...a couple days before school pictures. Well Santa is going to ask Sarah what happened to her hair. It's not that bad...it's toward the back. What I don't understand is why there...it had to be hard to reach that one spot. I figure it will take about 5 months to grow back out. When I asked her why she did it, she said, "I don't know". Well that answer hasn't changed. Tee hee!

Have a great Tuesday!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Monday Forecast/Bee Picnic/Frank Caliendo

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
Paloma is dieing over Cuba. The top has been lopped off by strong upper level winds. There is still a low level circulation. The National Hurricane Center has stopped issuing advisories. Forecast models indicate what is left will shift westward, but no intensification is suggested.

Deep trough begins digging into the nation's midsection on Monday. This means rain and snow in the higher elevations of the Rockies. Highs in the northern states will be in the 30s, 40s and 50s. Some rain and thunderstorms are possible from San Antonio to Oklahoma City.

In Houston, a few showers are possible on Monday. Look for the most active weather Tuesday and Wednesday. It will be more humid but still mild. Front moves through Wednesday afternoon or evening. Looks like the end of the week and the coming weekend will be very pleasant.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
The word is sting (as in a bee sting)--picadura, pronounced pee-kah-DOO-rah. The poor girl cried because the picadura hurt so much.

Spanish is a beautiful language. Even the word sting sounds more interesting and almost fun in Spanish--picadura. Well, children love to learn languages and they enjoy many intellectual benefits when they do--like higher scores on standardized tests in math and science. And on average, bilingual or multilingual folks earn more money as adults. So, invest in their future now...order our award winning DVD, Volume 1 of Let's Learn Spanish with Frank and Paco, a Dr. Toy Top 10 Educational Product for 2008. You can order it from www.frankandpaco.com, www.venturaes.com, www.dololanguages.com, www.carlexonline.com,www.thecuriousmindstore.com, www.amazon.com, www.bestbuy.com, and http://www.barnesandnoble.com/.

AND MORE
At yesterday's picnic, there was an amazingly large number of bees flying around once we had opened drinks and food. They were easy to shoo away except for one poor little girl. One landed on her hand and when she touched it, it stung her right in the palm. I immediately pulled the stinger out with my fingernails. Fortunately, I had a first aid kit and some anesthesizing spray. It did seem to help...but I felt so sorry for the little girl. She was so brave! I'm glad she wasn't allergic.

Gordy and I love the comedian, Frank Caliendo. We got to see him a couple years ago when he came to Houston. After the show, I told him he does a good job, and he said "I'm trying". Now, he has a show on Tuesday night at 10 pm on TBS called Frank TV. It is a riot. Today, we finally got to watch what we recorded this last week. Frank did impressions of George W. Bush (excellent), John McCain and Tom Brokaw. He also has a team of actors who do impressions as well. There is one guy who does a pretty good Obama. Check out the link to the TBS site for him: http://www.tbs.com/shows/franktv/. They have clips and even entire episodes. Enjoy!

The poll has closed for evaluating Michelle Obama's dress from election night. 1/3 liked it while 2/3rds of respondents did not. Now, after watching the intensity of Obama's action following election night, I have posted a new poll. You can participate by clicking your response at the right.

Happy Monday everyone!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Sunday Forecast/Hurricane Paloma/Baylor College of Medicine helps parents

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
As I write this blog, Hurricane Paloma has made landfall on Cuba. Here is the latest from The National Hurricane Center.

AT APPROXIMATELY 620 PM EST...2320 UTC...HIGH-RESOLUTION GOES SATELLITE DATA AND A RECENT POSITION FIX FROM AN AIR FORCE RESERVE UNIT HURRICANE HUNTER AIRCRAFT...PLUS SURFACE OBSERVATIONS AND RADAR DATA FROM CUBA...INDICATE THAT MAJOR HURRICANE PALOMA LIKELY MADE LANDFALL NEAR SANTA CRUZ DEL SUR CUBA AS A STRONG CATEGORY 3 HURRICANE WITH MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS NEAR 125 MPH...200 KM/HR.

It already hammered the Cayman Islands. It also has the distinction of being the 2nd strongest Atlantic basin November hurricane on record.

After crossing Cuba, the forecast models take it different directions as it falls apart. But it shouldn't matter unless it stalls over land...which it doesn't look like it will do. For one thing, the upper part of the storm should be sheared away.

Sunday weather in Houston: another pleasant day with some clouds by late afternoon--a cool morning and a warm afternoon. Look for rain on and off starting Monday and continuing until Thursday. Then...another great weekend.

On Sunday, the northern half of the country will be chilly with highs in the 20s, 30s and 40s. There will be rain in the Pacific Northwest and intermountain region and some snow showers over the Great Lakes states.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
The word is tired--cansado or cansada, pronounced cahn-SAH-dough or cahn-SAH-dah. I am so cansada (a ending as I am female) after hosting our 5th annual Smith-Magenis Syndrome picnic.

And when you are tired, what is better than shopping from the comforts of home? Speaking of that, when you do your Christmas shopping, don't forget to order our award winning DVD, Volume 1 of Let's Learn Spanish with Frank and Paco, a Dr. Toy Top 10 Educational Product for 2008. You can order it from www.frankandpaco.com, www.venturaes.com, www.dololanguages.com, www.carlexonline.com,www.thecuriousmindstore.com, www.amazon.com, www.bestbuy.com, and www.barnesandnoble.com.

AND MORE
For five years, Gordy and I have hosted a picnic for families who have children with Smith-Magenis Syndrome. This is the syndrome our daughter Sarah has. For more information, see prisms.org. Anyway, every year, we see new faces. And this is truly a lifeline as the syndrome is so rare and it is validating and comforting to the families of these children to meet others who understand.

Last night, Baylor College of Medicine medical students had Parents Night Out. This is a night when parents of Smith-Magenis children can drop them off and go out and have a break. You see some of these children are so difficult that the parents can not find anyone to watch them. Special thanks to all of these folks and Dr. Lorraine Potocki and assistant Yolanda for volunteering your Friday night to do this once a year. It is so very appreciated.

Well, enjoy Sunday everyone!

Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Saturday Forecast/Credit Card Scam/Hurricane Paloma

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
Paloma is a Category 2 hurricane and will hit Cuba late Saturday, then move through the Bahamas and out into the open waters of the Atlantic.

Meanwhile, the north-central and Great Lakes region of the country will be dealing with wintery conditions--snow and highs in the 20s and 30s. Much of the south will enjoy dry weather. The Pacific Northwest will also be showery.

Houston weather will be chilly in the mornings and warm and dry in the afternoons...Saturday will be especially nice.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
I spoke to a Mom's group at Prince of Peace Catholic church this morning. They had child care...so it was very peaceful. Ha! Ha!

So our word for the day is babysitter or canguro, pronounced cahn-GOO-row. It is wonderful sometimes to have a babysitter.

Doing some Christmas shopping this weekend. Don't forget to order our award winning DVD, Volume 1 of Let's Learn Spanish with Frank and Paco, a Dr. Toy Top 10 Educational Product for 2008. You can order it from www.frankandpaco.com, www.venturaes.com, www.dololanguages.com, www.carlexonline.com,www.thecuriousmindstore.com, www.amazon.com, www.bestbuy.com, and www.barnesandnoble.com.

AND MORE
I have to fly as I am involved in a very personal and important event tonight...I'll have more on this tomorrow.

In the meantime, I want to tell you about a terrible credit card scam. Here are the details:


Snopes.com says this is true. To verify see this site:
http://www.snopes.com/crime/warnings/creditcard.asp
This one is pretty slick since they provide YOU with all the information, except the one piece they want.Note, the callers do not ask for your card number; they already have it. This information is worth reading. By understanding how the VISA & Master Card Telephone Credit Card Scam works, you'll be better prepared to protect yourself.One of our employees was ca lled on Wednesday from 'VISA', and I was called on Thursday from 'Master Card'. The scam works like this: Caller: 'This is (name), and I'm calling from the Security and Fraud Department at VISA. My Badge number is 12460. Your card has been flagged for an unusual purchase pattern, and I'm calling to verify. This would be on your VISA card which was issued by (name of bank). Did you purchase an Anti-Telemarketing Device for $497.99 from a Marketing company based inArizona ?'When you say 'No', the caller continues with, 'Then we will be issuing a credit to your account. This is a company we have been watching and the charges range from $297 to $497, just under the $500 purchase pattern that flags most cards. Before your next statement, the credit wil l be sent to (gives you your address), is that correct?'You say 'yes'. The caller continues - 'I will be starting a Fraud investigation. If you have any questions, you should call the 1- 800 number listed on the back of your card (1-800 -VISA) and ask for Security.'You will need to refer to this Control Number. The caller then gives you a 6 digit number. 'Do you need me to read it again?'Here's the IMPORTANT part on how the scam works. The caller then says, 'I need to verify you are in possession of your card'. He'll ask you to 'turn your card over and look for some numbers'. There are 7 numbers; the first 4 are part of your card number, the next 3 are the security Numbers that verify you are the possessor of the card. These are the numbers you sometimes use to make Internet purchases to prove you have the card. The caller will ask you to read the 3 numbers to him. After you tell the caller the 3 numbers, he'll say, 'That is correct, I just needed to verify that the card has not been lost or stolen, and that you still have your card. Do you have any other questions?' After you say No, the caller then thanks you and states, 'Don't hesitate to call back if you do, and hangs up.You actually say very little, and they never ask for or tell you the Card number. But after we were called on Wednesday, we called back within 20 minutes to ask a question. Are we glad we did! The REAL VISA Security Department told us it was a scam and in the last 15 minutes a new purchase of $497.99 was charged to our card.Long story - short - we made a real fraud report and closed the VISA account. VISA is reissuing us a new number. What the scammers want is the 3-digit PIN number on the back of the card Don't give it to them. Instead, tell them you'll call VISA or Master card directly for verification of their conversation. The real VISA told us that they will never ask for anything on the card as they already know the information since they issued the card! If you give the scammers your 3 Digit PIN Number, you think you're receiving a credit. However, by the time you get your statement you'll see charges for purchases you didn't make, and by then it's almost too late and/or more difficult to actually file a fraud report.What makes this more remarkable is that on Thursday, I got a call from a 'Jas on Richardson of Master Card' with a word-for-word repeat of the VISA scam. This time I didn't let him finish. I hung up! We filed a police report, as instruc ted by VISA. The police said they are taking several of these reports daily! They also urged us to tell everybody we know that this scam is happening.

Have a safe weekend everyone!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Friday Forecast/Hurricane Paloma/Cheap Gas

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
Well, now I actually am going to talk about a hurricane--we have a hurricane named Paloma in the western Caribbean. See forecast track to right...forecast to become Category 3 (major) by Saturday as it heads toward Cuba. Looks like Cuba will get a direct hit and then it will move through the Bahamas and out into the open waters of the Atlantic.

In the Dakotas and western Minnesota, Blizzard and Winter Weather Warnings are in effect. There is a line of thunderstorms that moving along the cold front that is now pushing through southeast Texas. Look for storms on Friday from the Tennessee Valley southward to the Gulf coast states of Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.

Houston, we were spared severe storms. The cold front has arrived and it will be a pleasantly cooler day on Friday. The weekend looks spectacular with sunshine, low humidity, cool morning and warm afternoons.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let's do poll or survey--encuesta, pronounced ehn-QUES-tah. Don't forget to answer my encuesta about whether you like Michelle Obama's election night dress.

On Friday morning, I am visiting a mom's group at Prince of Peace church. You see, I give talks about the benefits of early language learning and I also give a little information about weather. These moms know that they want what benefits their children most and they are interested in learning more about language learning benefits. There are so many to discuss like improved cognitive development. You can give your children this tool in a fun, entertaining form, our award winning DVD, Volume 1 of Let's Learn Spanish with Frank and Paco, a Dr. Toy Top 10 Educational Product for 2008. You can order it from www.frankandpaco.com, www.venturaes.com, www.dololanguages.com, www.carlexonline.com,www.thecuriousmindstore.com, www.amazon.com, www.bestbuy.com, and www.barnesandnoble.com.

AND MORE
I have a Southwest Rapids Reward credit card. I use it for everything possible. We usually get 2 free round trip tickets a year with it and considering Gordy's family is all up in Iowa, this really helps. This is such a great deal. And another neat thing is you can transfer a free ticket to anyone you want. We have used these to fly Megan different places.

What's the cheapest gas you've been able to find. I got some today at a Valero at Dulles and Lexington for 183.9. Let me know if you find it cheaper anywhere else.

I've got a lot of special extra activities in the works...more on that very soon.

Happy Friday!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Thursday Forecast/Michelle Obama's Dress

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
Paloma--yes Virginia, looks like we will have a Paloma. Tropical Depression #17 is in the western Caribbean and will likely become Paloma in the next 24 hours. I put up the National Hurricane Center 5 day path forecast to the right. Notice that the cone of uncertainty does not ever include Florida. So it looks like Cuba and the Bahamas will have to deal with it--as a hurricane.

This evening there is a tornado watch and a severe thunderstorm watch from Oklahoma up to Iowa (respectively). It is ahead of a cold front which will move through Houston in the early morning hours on Friday. Look for a very muggy day on Thursday. Houston will get some showers and thunderstorms around Midnight (Thursday night into Friday morning). Thursday will be showery in the northwest, stormy from the midwest into Texas and there will also be a few showers in New England. Highs will only be in the 30s and 40s in the northern plains and northwest.

For Houston, look for more rain on Monday and Thursday (especially Thursday with a strong dip of cold air) in the coming week.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
It is dress or vestido, pronounced vehs-TEE-dough. Did you see Michelle Obama's vestido last night?

There is so much to remember as we get into this busier time of year. Hey, here's a reminder, you can improve memory of the youngsters you love (a benefit of early language learning) and get one thing off your busy list by buying our award winning DVD, Volume 1 of Let's Learn Spanish with Frank and Paco, a Dr. Toy Top 10 Educational Product for 2008. You can order it from www.frankandpaco.com, www.venturaes.com, www.dololanguages.com, www.carlexonline.com,www.thecuriousmindstore.com, www.amazon.com, www.bestbuy.com, and www.barnesandnoble.com.

AND MORE
Okay...5 of the poll responders think we should think about getting rid of the electoral college. No one thought we should leave it. Now, it is time for a new poll. Did you like Michelle Obama's dress last night? I know you are dieing to voice your opinion.

Have a terrific Thursday everyone.

Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Wednesday Forecast/Matt Lavine gets publicity from Ken Hoffman

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
Big upper trough will dig southward into the central plains and cause wintry weather in the higher elevations and thunderstorms from Oklahoma to Dallas. Many locations across the Rockies and Intermountain region will have highs in the 30s and 40s.

In Houston, it will be a warm and muggy Wednesday with highs in the 80s. Look for some storms in Houston on Thursday evening as the next front ushers in a pleasant weekend. Look for another round of rain and even storms on Monday.

Polo in the Pacific has petered out. Now say that 5 times fast...good for the mouth muscles. In the western Caribbean, however, I think we will have a Paloma in a day or two. But it will move northward and then northeastward crossing Cuba and the Bahamas before heading into the Atlantic.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Surprise, it's president or presidente, pronounced preh-see-DEHN-tay. Looks like we have elected Obama as the new presidente.

I remember reading months ago that Obama thinks that children should be encouraged to learn more than one language. Well, you can make your own executive decision now and give your favorite youngsters the gift of language--buy them our award winning DVD, Volume 1 of Let's Learn Spanish with Frank and Paco, a Dr. Toy Top 10 Educational Product for 2008. You can order it from www.frankandpaco.com, www.venturaes.com, www.dololanguages.com, www.carlexonline.com,www.thecuriousmindstore.com, www.amazon.com, www.bestbuy.com, and www.barnesandnoble.com.

AND MORE
I've been watching the difference between the electoral vote count and the popular vote. Considering the disparity and what happened in 2000, I think a lot of folks are questioning the electoral college system of voting. Don't forget to voice your opinion by answering the poll at right.

Well, remember when we talked about Matt Lavine filling in at CW? He just concluded his last weekend there but not without getting the attention of Houston Chronicle columnist Ken Hoffman. I think it was the tights thing that grabbed him--see the article at
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/life/hoffman/6092611.html

Have a wonderful Wednesday everyone!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman