Best Way to Track Santa/Changes in Travel and Local Weather

HURRICANES AND WEATHER

Well, before I do anything else, let's get down to the important business of tracking Santa--here is the link you need to Norad--don't be fooled by imitations. It's really neat because they offer the tracking information in several languages.

http://www.noradsanta.org/

Happy Santa tracking! Ho! Ho! Ho!

Well, back to weather. There are some improvements--a cold front is marching into the eastern U.S. this Christmas Eve afternoon. And although there will be thunderstorms (and there is has already been a high wind report (causing damage) in McCreary, Kentucky--the line is moving fast enough that the storms should be over fairly quickly. It is actually a fairly mild today ahead of the front but it will be noticeably colder after the front passes.

One good thing is that aside from any ice that will freeze from leftover puddles, icing won't be a widespread problem for major population centers. So places like Boston and New York City should be okay for travel on Christmas Day (again watch for patches of ice early). The main trouble spots will be along the Great Lakes and in northern New England. Out west...still lots of winter weather advisories in place--mainly for the higher elevations.

Christmas Day, Thursday, will be in the teens for the northern plains--in the 30s and 40s across the northeast, 20s and 30s northwest, 50s southwest, 20s, 30s and 40s midwest, and 50s, 60s, 70s south and southeast. The wettest areas will be out west and in the Carolinas.

In Houston, we do have a weak cold front approaching. The bad news is that it really is weak. Looks like it will stall close to the coast and then head back north before most of us can even notice a dip in temperatures and humidity. So, we'll start the day in the upper 50s and end up in the 70s with the muggies returning by afternoon. The low clouds and fog will hang around. Stronger cold front arrives (with rain) on Saturday, bringing lows back down to the 40s and highs back down to the 60s.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
The word is anticipation or expectativa, pronounced x-spect-tah-TEE-vah. I can tell you firsthand from dealing with Sarah that expectativa is at an all time high the day before Christmas.

A special thank you to all of you for supporting our endeavor--Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco. You believed in us, some of you participated in our shoots and many of you have spread the word about our award winning product. Please continue to tell your friends to go to www.frankandpaco.com and www.frankypaco.com. We are looking forward to many new developments with this line in 2009.

AND MORE
Received 2 packages from the U.S. Postal Service. They rang the doorbell and Sarah and I opened the door and caught the attention of the postal clerk err she drove out of sight. We shouted Thank You and Merry Christmas and she shouted Merry Christmas right back. And to all a good night!

Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Winter Weather/Travel Troubles/La Posada

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
A wintry travel mess, especially for the Great Lakes and northeast. As I write this, there is freezing rain in Chicago. All of this will be marching eastward during Christmas Eve. So make sure you check with your airline. There are bound to be lots of delays and even cancellations.

The figure to the right shows the weather advisories as of the time I write this...so it is time sensitive. Please note the the brown areas are wind advisories only--not winter weather. Also, note that a couple items down is the color coded radar and that is looping to an up to date point.

A very cold day again on Wednesday for the northern tier of states with snow and freezing rain across the northeast. There will also be rain and even some storms across much of the east.

For Houston, another cool to mild day with some rain--a few thunderstorms are possible as a weak front moves through. It will be cooler and less humid on Christmas Day, but I think we will have trouble shaking free of the clouds. The next front arrives Saturday and it looks like there will be sunshine for at least part of the coming week.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
The word is present or regalo, pronunced ray-GAH-low. I think it is more fun to give a regalo than to receive one.

The gift of language is the gift that keeps on giving. You can be the bearer of such a wonderful thing by giving our award winning DVD, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco. Order from our web site 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
Adriana Gutierrez, Spanish teacher and friend, sent me this wonderful information about a Spanish tradition called Las Posadas. This was celebrated by many of my friends in the Rio Grande Valley, where I grew up. Thank you Adriana!

LA POSADA
A wonderful Mexican Christmas tradition, LA POSADA literally translates in English as "the inn" or "the lodging" and symbolizes the journey of Mary and Joseph as they searched for shelter in Bethlehem before the birth of Jesus.

The nine-day celebration lasts from December 16 to Christmas Eve (Noche Buena or "Holy Night") and includes a candle-lit procession of children and parents reenacting Mary and Joseph's journey through Bethlehem.

The holiday ritual includes a lively and colorful pageant of children (the "pilgrims" or peregrinos ) - costumed as Joseph, Mary, angels, shepherds and the Three Wise Men - who travel from house to house until they reach a designated home where Las Posadas will be celebrated.

Upon arrival, the hosts or "inn keepers" meet the procession at the door to begin the holiday fiesta with an exchange of lyrics from the traditional Pidiendo Posada:

Outside Singers
En el nombre de el cielo (In the name of heaven), os pido Posada (I ask you for shelter), porque no puede andar (because my beloved wife) mi esposa amada (can continue no longer).

Inside Singers
Aqui no es meson (This is no inn), Sigan adelante (continue on your way). Yo no puedo abrir (I am not about to open.) No sea algun tunate (You may be a scoundrel.)

Upon opening the doors at the final stop, the tune changes, the Joseph, Mary and pilgrims enter,
and all sing these final verses in unison:
Entren santos peregrinos, peregrinos (Enter, holy pilgrims), reciban este rincón (receive this corner), y aunque es pobre la morada, la morada (for though this dwelling is poor), os la doy de corazón. (I offer it with all my heart.)

Soon, everyone begins celebrating with traditional songs & prayers - just before an explosion of merry making that includes Christmas music, piñata bashing and sweet treats!
On Christmas Eve, Las Posadas culminates in all-out feasting at the Cena de Noche Buena when families gather for Christmas Dinner.

Especially in northern Mexico - and in Mexican communities in USA - the festivities may include a Christmas tree, lots of presents, or even a visit by Santa. However, Three Kings Day or Epiphany on January 6 remains a traditional day for gift exchanges in Central and Southern Mexico and throughout Latin America.

Yes indeed...let us never forget the true meaning of Christmas!
Happy Holidays everyone!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Freezing Rain Advisory/Severe Weather Threat/Poll Results/New Poll

A Freezing Rain is in effect for counties north of Houston until 6 am Tuesday morning. Here is the advisory from the National Weather Service.

MOISTURE WILL CONTINUE OVERRIDING THE COLD AIR AT THE SURFACE TONIGHT AND PRODUCE A CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION LATE IN THE EVENING HOURSAND OVERNIGHT. TEMPERATURES WILL PROBABLY BE IN THE 32 TO 36 DEGREE RANGE FOR MOST OF THE NIGHT...BUT COULD DROP TO OR BELOWFREEZING WHERE PRECIPITATION OCCURS. ONCE THE SURFACE TEMPERATUREREACHES 32 DEGREES...THE LIGHT RAINFALL WILL FREEZE ON CONTACT AND POTENTIALLY CAUSE SOME TRAVEL PROBLEMS ACROSS THE ADVISORYAREA. LIGHT ACCUMULATING ICE ON BRIDGES AND OTHER ELEVATED STRUCTURES SHOULD BE THE PRIMARY PROBLEM.

Low pressure is developing off the upper Texas coast. That combined with a warm front will warm us up on Tuesday and potentially bring some storms to the area. I think it is most likely that there will be rain. The National Weather Services is especially cautioning about waterspouts (offshore by definition).

The northern states are in the big chill. There is lots of wintry weather--see figure at right. Check your airline for delays--Chicago, Milwaukee and Minneapolis will be trouble spots.

Houston, overnight will be cold. Then, look for a rapid warmup on Tuesday. A weak front will dip temperatures slightly on Christmas Eve...Christmas morning will start in the 50s and end near 70.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Sarah said we should do snowflake. I know we did snow, but humor me. So, the word (phrase) for snowflake is copo de nieve, pronounced COH-poh day knee-A-vay. Every copo de nieve is beautiful and completely unique.

See how fun that was...and it can be even more fun to learn Spanish when you are watching our entertaining and award winning DVD, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco, 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
Our poll about how you think our winter compares to normal is closed. That wasn't really fair for me to ask because officially we have just begun winter (remember that it began yesterday?). So sorry about that. Multiple answers were allowed: 80% of you think this winter is colder than normal, 0% think it is wetter, 20% think it is warmer and 40% think it is drier.

Just for fun, here are some statistics for November and December so far.
The average high for November was 73.3 The normal is 72.0. The average low was 51.6. The normal is 49.8. So, November was warmer than normal. There was 2.92 inches of rain--1.27 below normal.

So far this December, the average high is 65.5 and the average low is 43.6. We will have to have enough cool temperatures to get the average for the entire month down to the normal high of 64.6 and the normal low of 42.8. So, far there has been .90" of rain. The normal for the month is 3.69". So if there is to be a normal amount of rainfall for this December, we will have to get almost 3 more inches before the month ends.

I will revisit all of this once winter is over. Thanks for participating in the poll!

My new poll question is:
Do you think 2009 will be better, the same or worse than 2008?

Be safe everyone, Happy Hanukkah and enjoy the holidays!

Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

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

Travel Weather/Decorating Holiday Cookies

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
If you have travel plans to Boston, New York, Minneapolis, Seattle, or Portland (either one), there may be travel delays. In fact, for any air travel, you should be checking for delays due to weather because much of the northern tier of states will be dealing with wintry weather today and any flights going through those areas will be affected.

Meanwhile, it is another warm day across the south. But, a cold front is moving through the southern plains and that will cool things down for a couple days.

For Houston, a mild day with the cold front arriving this Saturday evening. It will be cloudy with some light rain Sunday and Monday. Sunday's highs will struggle to break 50. Monday will be even colder with lows in the low to middle 30s and highs near 40. Winter weather advisories may be issued for this time frame. So, stand by for further developments. Temperatures warm a bit. Christmas Day low will be about 50 with a high near 70--a comfortable day.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let's do frosting or glaseado, pronounced glah-say-AH-doh. I love to eat the glaseado on the cake.

Still looking for feedback on our web site for Spanish speakers who would like to learn English. Go to www.frankypaco.com and let me know what you think. So far we are getting the most hits from the U.S., Mexico, and then Peru.

You can still get our award winning DVD in time for Christmas...just choose priority mail after ordering through our web site, 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/. This is truly the gift that keeps on giving because they will benefit from the cognitive improvements, language learning brings, for their entire life. If you are more interesting in a full immersion type product, go to http://www.frankypaco.com/.

AND MORE
We had a little gathering last night for our neighbors' children. It is called Cookies and Carols. My mother played carols on the piano and we visited the homes of neighbors and sang boisterously--Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and Jingle Bells. Most of the kids rang jingle bells as they sang. We also decorated cookies--thus the word of the day--frosting or glaseado.

I don't have a recipe for homemade frosting but I do make my own sometimes. In a pinch you can use a jar of frosting and just add your own food coloring. Just remember that those few drops of food coloring make it more runny. To make homemade, I use about 2 and half cups of confectioners sugar, a half stick of butter (1/4 cup), a little vanilla (if you want the frosting white--don't use any vanilla), and a little milk. You can adjust the amount of sugar and milk as needed for the desired consistency. Add only a little milk at first and leave room for the food coloring drops (i.e. don't make it too runny before you add the food coloring). Happy Baking!!!

Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Forecast/Sugar Cookie Baking Tips and Recipe

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
Since I know many of you are beginning your holiday travel, tonight I am posting the Storm Prediction Center watch/warning map (to the right). Please remember that this is time sensitive, but it gives you an idea of the trouble spots. Also, want to mention that the brownish color in Texas is for wind advisories. The rest are winter weather advisories/watches/warnings.

A bitterly cold day on the way for Friday across the northern tier of states. Some parts of Montana won't break 0 (Fahrenheit)! Meanwhile across the south it will be warm and balmy. Look out for wintry precipitation across the Sierra Nevada and northern Rockies and Wasatch Range of Utah. There will also be some of the same across the Great Lakes states, Ohio Valley and northeast.

Houston is under another Dense Fog Advisory until 8 am Friday. Look for fog again Saturday morning. It will be a muggy day with highs in the 70s. Cold front arrives Saturday night. Sunday and Monday will be cool with highs in the 50s. There should be some showers on and off into Sunday morning and then some storms are possible on Tuesday.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let's do cookies or galletas, pronounced gah-YET-tahs. I love making and decorating sugar galletas.

If you know any Spanish speakers who would like to learn Spanish, our Spanish site is fully operational from product review through checkout. Go to www.frankypaco.com and let me know what you think.

You can still get our award winning DVD in time for Christmas...just choose priority mail after ordering through our web site, 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/. This is truly the gift that keeps on giving because they will benefit from the cognitive improvements, language learning brings, for their entire life. If you are more interesting in a full immersion type product, go to http://www.frankypaco.com/.

AND MORE
Making some sugar cookies today. The recipe is 2.5 cups of flour, 1.5 cups of confectioner sugar, 1 cup of butter (that's 2 sticks), 1 teaspoon of vanilla, 1 egg, 1/2 teaspoon of salt (if desired), 2 teaspoons of baking powder. Now here is one of the things you need to know. When you mix all of this together (and it is recommended to mix the dry ingredients together first), you will have to mix for a long time with your mixer. You may think something is wrong because it will just look like a bunch of dry ingredients and you may think, oh no, I need to add some liquid or another egg or something wet. Don't do it!!!! Just be patient and keep on mixing (maybe for 10 minutes). Soon the dough starts to ball up in tiny pellets which clump and get bigger and bigger until you have a big glob of dough. Form that into a ball and cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours (if you have time)...it just works better when it is cool. When you are ready to roll out the cookies, coat the surface liberally with flour (I work on wax paper), coat your rolling pin (or you can even use a straight sided glass--plastic is safest) with flour, coat your cookie cutters with flour. Press down and lift...if you are lucky the dough will lift with the cutter and you can gently lay it down on the cookie sheet. Keep applying flour to all surfaces as you work. Pick up the unused cookie dough and roll out again and again until you have used it all up. You can apply sprinkles before you bake. Spray the cookies with some cooking spray, sprinkle and press gently. Or you can wait and spray with butter after baking, sprinkle and press gently, or you can apply frosting and add sprinkles/decorations. Cook at 350 for about 7 to 8 minutes. Watch carefully toward the end as you don't want to burn them. Happy Baking!

Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Change in Christmas Forecast/Surprises at Garden Ridge Pottery

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
Most of the western U.S. is under winter weather advisories/watches/warnings. And it is snowing over much of the southwest (especially the higher elevations). Meanwhile flooding remains a concern in southern California and Nevada. Winter weather advisories/watches/warnings are also in effect from Oklahoma through the Midwest and New England.

Thursday highs will be in the single digits for the northern plains and northern Rockies while the northeast will not get out of the 20s. The south will be much more mild (70s and 80s for highs) south and southeast.

A Dense Fog Advisory is in effect for the Houston area and coastal counties until 9 am Thursday. A warm front will move through the area overnight bringing some balmy conditions for the end of the week. Next cold front arrives late Saturday. Sunday will be cool (in the 50s). Monday will also be chilly.

HERE'S THE BIG NEWS FOR HOUSTON! Temperatures will warm on Wednesday but it looks like a secondary shot of cool air will arrive in time for Christmas Day. Christmas morning will be in the 30s.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let's do dense or denso, pronounced DEHN-sew. Yesterday we had niebla for fog. So tonight we have niebla densa.

2008 was a wonderful year for Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco. The DVD was recognized as a Top 10 Educational Product by Dr. Toy and a Top 15 Educational Product by Homeschool.com. Don't miss out on the excitement!!! Order your copy from our web site, http://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/. This is truly the gift that keeps on giving because they will benefit from the cognitive improvements, language learning brings, for their entire life. If you are more interesting in a full immersion type product, go to http://www.frankypaco.com/.

AND MORE
Went into Garden Ridge Pottery for a few last minute Christmas items. First of all, there was lots of stuff 50 and 75% off. But what struck me the most was the spring floral arrangements as I walked into the store. I had to do a double take to remember what time of year it is. And, there wasn't a ton of Christmas stuff left. I asked the cashier if anyone was actually buying the spring stuff and she said, oh yes, we have had quite a few sales. Wow! I am just so not in that mindset right now. You can get some terrific Christmas deals (for this year or next)!

Have a terrific Thursday and safe travels everyone!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman