Friday, January 9, 2009

Weekend Forecast/Unexpected Toad/Ike Conference

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
Snow/Rain are moving through Iowa and parts of the midwest this evening. Saturday there will be snow from the Great Lakes to New York City. There will be rain in Texas and Louisiana and in the most extreme northwest states. Look for a rain/snow mix for St. Louis and Cincinnati. Highs will be in teens from the northern plains to the northeast.

Houston will be cooler by mid-morning as the next cold front arrives. There will be some showers and skies will be overcast until around midday on Sunday. It will be cool through the weekend. A stronger push of cold air arrives Thursday...stay tuned for developments--possibly the coldest so far this season.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let's do workshop or taller, pronounces TAH-yair. I attended a taller today.

Workships are opportunities to learn. We all know that learning new things stimulates the mind and helps it work even better. Research study after research study shows that early language learning is very beneficial to kids. It even helps them hypothesize better in science. Wow!!! Well it just so happens that we have and award winning DVD called Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco that kids love to watch. You can order it now--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 interested in a full immersion type product, go to http://www.frankypaco.com/.

AND MORE
Sarah and I walked to pick up our mail this evening and what did we find?! A toad!!! On January 9th!!! Well, it was almost warm today. At first we named him Taylor because Sarah's cousin Taylor was coming to visit. But then Sarah decided to name it Fun-Tiki after a local place she loves which has arcade games, miniature golf etc. We enjoyed visiting with Fun -Tiki for a while. Don't forget you can see any of the 14 TOAD HUNTERS videos on www.youtube.com. Just type in TOAD HUNTERS in the search field.

The Weather Research Center/Weather Museum Post Ike Hurricane Conference went very well today. The speakers were fantastic and of course the moderators were unbelievably wonderful too (note I was one of them). I learned a lot including that 60% of homes in Houston were damaged. Wow!!!

I'll have more on the conference tomorrow. Right now...I want to visit with my nephew Taylor.

Happy weekend everyone!!!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Wildfires Report/Fate of Wanda #2/Weekend Forecast

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
Coldest air Friday will be over the northern plains with highs in the low teens. There will be snow across many of the northern 2 tiers of states. There will be a few spotty showers in the south.

Houston will be mild and more humid with highs in the middle 70s. Cold front arrives early Saturday keeping temperatures in the 50s during the day...expect a shower or two. Sunday will be cool in the morning and in the 60s in the afternoon.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let's do sad or triste, pronounced tree-STAY. I am triste today as I am grieving.

There is nothing sad about our DVD for children, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco, winner of two prestigious educational awards. Kids love watching the lively puppets, Frank and Paco as they discuss words and phrases in Spanish. Your kids will love learning while watching it. So order it now--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 interested in a full immersion type product, go to http://www.frankypaco.com/.

AND MORE

This report comes from my friend Dr. Brian Pettigrew--he is talking about wildfires in the Boulder area.

"They started yesterday when a powerlines were knocked over by our continuing onslaught of near-hurricane force winds down the lee slopes of the Rockies. I live about 8-10 miles outside of Boulder and I could even see the smoke from there. It was quite amazing."
Thanks Brian for that report!!!

Well I am so sad tonight as Wanda #2 didn't make it. I am mulling over the next step to take with the aquarium.

I am excited about tomorrow as I will be the Session Chair for Session 1 of a post-Ike workshop being given at the University of St. Thomas Scanlan Room. Hope to see you there!!!

Happy Friday everyone!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Next Rain/Fish Tank Sage Continues/Great Photo Deal

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
A nice day on the way for much of the country--especially the southern tier and the central plains. There will be snow around the Great Lakes, the northern plains and northern New England. There will be rain and snow for the northern Rockies and the Pacific Northwest.

Houston will enjoy a delightful day...cool morning and mild afternoon. Friday will be a bit more humid. Saturday will be cooler with a few showers. Upper trough sets up to the northeast starting Saturday and that keeps us in a mild to cool pattern for several days.

SPANISH WORD FOR THE DAY
Let's do picture or fotografĂ­a, pronounced foh-tow-grahf-EE-ah. I have a bunch of fotografĂ­as from the holidays.

The visual elements of our DVD for children, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco, winner of two prestigious educational awards, are colorful and fun. Your kids will love learning while watching it. So order it now--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 interested in a full immersion type product, go to http://www.frankypaco.com/.

AND MORE
Some gardeners have black thumbs...some fish owners (like me) have a black fishnet. But I'm learning. My dear friend Barbara from Sitka sent a suggestion about some medicine to put in the water. I picked some up and started the treatment today! Unfortunately, Cosmo didn't make it! And Wanda2 is looking bad. I do have a plan for what to do if Wanda2 doesn't make it. So stay tuned for further developments.

Looking for a good deal on prints...go to shutterfly.com. For $20, you can get 200 prints...that's 10 cents each!!! Don't make the mistake of using the 30% off prints deal...you would have to order 1250 prints to make up for the 200 prints. The reason--they charge $29.95 for the 30% off deal.

Happy photo developing!!!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Sunshine for Houston/Goldfish Shock/Library Reopens

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
Some severe weather is possible over southern Alabama and the Florida panhandle. Those little diamonds in northern Alabama indicate Flash Flood Warnings. Snow/ice is falling to north of the rain but most of that will switch to plain rain as a warm front passes.

On Wednesday, there will be snow for all of the Great Lakes states and northern New England. Look for a rain/snow mix in Boston and rain with thunderstorms southward into Florida. There will be a rain/snow combination for the Rockies from Colorado north and west to the Pacific Northwest. The coolest spot will be North Dakota with highs in the single digits.

For Houston, delightful weather is on the way...sunshine with cool morning and mild afternoons the next 2 days. Saturday, there will be rain with a weak cold front.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let's do fish--the kind you eat is pescado, pronounced pehs-CAH-doh. The kind in an aquarium is pez, pronounce PEHZ. I'm having some trouble with my pez.

Children love pez and they love learning languages. Little do they know that learning languages makes their brains work even better. So, let them be entertained and educated...buy our DVD for children, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco, winner of two prestigious educational awards. You can order it now--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 interested in a full immersion type product, go to http://www.frankypaco.com/.

AND MORE

The photo at right was taken on December 28th...we hurried to get the shot as the weather was turning warmer. The snow you see there had already melted some and refrozen...it was rock hard...no snowman making with this stuff...more like ice skating. But Sarah got a kick out of it anyway. Last winter there was lots of snow on the ground. Other winters, there has been none at all.

In case you didn't know, the First Colony Library is back in business! Here is the official statement:

First Colony Branch Library has re-opened for regular business, after a lengthy closure to repair damage from Hurricane Ike. Area residents are very happy to have the resumption of library service and the library staff is glad to be back to business as usual. The library's regular hours are: Mon 12:00 noon - 9:00 pm; Tue - Thu 10:00 am - 9:00 pm; Fri 12:00 noon - 5:00 pm; Sat 9:00 am - 5:00 pm; Sun CLOSED.

Now I don't remember having this much trouble with fish when I was growing up...I had them all--guppies, mollies, swordfish (those little ones), angelfish, neons and yes, even goldfish. Well I couldn't stand it...the water was looking murky--some accidentally large feedings with the help of Sarah. So, I cleaned the water today. I was very gentle with the fish and gave them time to transition. Well, now I think Cosmo is on its last leg...or should I say fin. Looks like we'll be heading to the fish store again tomorrow.

Anyway, I looked up information on goldfish and couldn't believe all that I read. I never had to de-chlorinate the water. Maybe the water was different in the valley. They talked about antibiotics, changing out water 10% at a time, goldfish being territorial and adding new ones at night etc. etc. Wow! It is so complicated now!

One useful thing I read is that you should have 1 inch of fish per gallon of water. We have a 3 gallon tank so with 1.5 inch long fish, I think 2 is just the right amount. Now, if I could just keep 2 alive. Wanda #2 is doing great--knock on wood or the plastic tank anyway.

Stay healthy everyone!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Monday, January 5, 2009

Wet Weather/Poll Results/New Poll/Dry Skin Remedy

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
You know I can check who is reading this blog and we have readers from other countries like India, Pakistan, Spain, South Africa and China...welcome all of you and sorry if I left anyone out! I guess I should consider doing some international weather. What do you all think?

Rain is causing flooding concerns for the Tennessee Valley (see graphic at right). And to the north of the flood zone, there are winter weather advisories/watches in effect all the way to Boston.

Tuesday will be in the teens across the northern plains. Balmy weather continues in Florida with many locations in the 50s. Look for a wintry mix from DC to St. Louis and rain from Norfolk south to Atlanta and into Texas and Louisiana.

Houston will be cool again with highs in the 50s. There will be rain mainly in the morning. Warmer with sunshine on Wednesday--highs in the 70s.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
It's time to clean up and that is just what I did most of the day...so let's go with clean up or limpiar, pronounced leem-pee-ARE. Don't procrastinate--limpiar.

I was just reading a Hints from Heloise and she was talking about various activities which stimulate the brain. One of the ones she mentioned was language learning. A language teacher I know told me that sometimes she gets elderly students who have precriptions from their doctors to learn language--the stimulation is so beneficial to their brain function. The biggest winners with language learning are children--benefitting in a multitude of ways including improved cognitive development. So, don't delay--help them learn languages.

One good way is through our DVD for children, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco, winner of two prestigious educational awards. You can order it now--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 interested in a full immersion type product, go to http://www.frankypaco.com/.

AND MORE
Our resolutions poll is closed...note that more than one answer was allowed. Here are the results:
63% get more fit
9% make more money
54% spend more time with family
27% do more things I enjoy
27% devote more time to my faith
0% I have no resolutions

Thanks to all who participated. The next poll has to do with how you feel after the holidays...again more than one answer is allowed. Don't forget to vote!

Every time I go to Iowa I get very dry skin and Sarah gets eczema...we're just not used to the drier air. If you have trouble with that, I highly recommend using Eucerin cream...not the lotion! You can get a generic version of that at places like Walgreens...for about half the price. We had such trouble with Sarah's skin when she was little. I used to coat her with the Eucerin after her baths. It helped so much. And even if you use it only once, it works so well.

Remember my family members who had to fly and drive all night to get to the Iowa game in Tampa. Well they spent the weekend in the area and just loved the beaches. They said it was even nicer than they had envisioned. They are safe back home in Iowa...the return trip went much more smoothly. Happy Birthday Joni!

Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Wet Weather Coming/Cherishing Every Moment/What Sarah Named Her Fish

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
Well I hope everyone is tucked in at home...back from their holiday travels, refreshed and ready to get back to their "normal" schedules.

At right, I have the latest watch graphic from the Storm Prediction Center. Remember that the brown counties are ones with wind advisories.

Monday will be bitterly cold in Minnesota with highs in the low single digits. There will be thunderstorms for the lower Mississippi Valley and Tennessee Valley and rain for much of Texas. Look for showers in Atlanta as well. There will be snow along the eastern Great Lakes and over the Rockies and Intermountain Region. Look for rain in the lower elevations of the Pacific Northwest.

Houston will be cool, cloudy and wet with temperatures hovering in the 40s. Expect more rain on Tuesday with warmer temperatures but still cool. It will be back to mild and dry by mid-week.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
It is a relief to return to normality or normalidad, pronounced nor-mah-lee-DAHD. After the holidays are over, we welcome normalidad.

Less than a day left to vote in the poll about resolutions--don't miss your chance to voice your opinion. And don't forget the most important resolution, order our DVD for children, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco, winner of two prestigious educational awards. You can order it now--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 interested in a full immersion type product, go to http://www.frankypaco.com/.

By the way, we are starting to get some orders for the English teaching version for Spanish speakers...I appreciate you passing the word!

AND MORE
Santa brought Sarah an aquarium and today we got the fish for it...2 goldfish, one mostly orange and the other orange and black. Sarah named them Cosmo (orange) and Wanda (orange and black) from the Fairly Odd Parents show. I didn't even know she had ever seen that show. Anyway, Cosmo and Wanda seem to like their new home.

The weather turned cooler mid-afternoon but it was a delightful day...we went to the park with many of Sarah's neighborhood buddies. It was so nice to be outside, running and laughing. We really missed them while we were away. After reading about John Travolta's experience, I just want to hug my family even closer. My resolution is to keep treasuring each day, each moment--loved ones are so very precious!

Got the Christmas decorations put away this evening. Welcome 2009!!!

Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Saturday, January 3, 2009

Travel Weather/Personal Travel Saga/An Old Friend Encounter

HURRICANES AND MORE
Winter Storm Warnings/Watches/Advisories are in effect for many locations along the Rockies (included the mountains of southern Arizona). New Mexico also has several warnings in place. And the western Great Lakes states are being hit particularly hard this evening. Thunderstorms are moving along the states bordering the northern Gulf (from Louisiana through Alabama).

On Sunday, it will be very cold in North Dakota with Minot staying below zero all day. Meanwhile, it will be balmy across the southeast with Florida in the 80s. Look for rain and some thunderstorms from DC to northern Florida. Look for winter weather in the Great Lakes states and in New Mexico and Arizona.

Houston missed the thunderstorms today...the development occurred just to the east. Next cold front arrives midday Sunday but highs will still be in the 70s (during the afternoon). Expect it to be much cooler on Monday with rain as overrunning sets up. Tuesday will likely also be wet and cool.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
I set up my 2009 calendar today thanks to my wonderful CPA Chuck Newton. He sends some pocket sized ones every year. I have a PDA but I just want to see it on paper. Anyway, the word for today is calendar or calendario, pronounced cah-lehn-dar-EE-oh. It is satisfying and exciting to see your plans written on a new calendario.

You can also make notes for your resolutions on that calendario and here is something to write down...vote in the poll (at right) about resolutions because we only have 1 day left before it closes. And mark one more thing down...order our DVD for children, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco, winner of two prestigious educational awards. You can order it now--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 interested in a full immersion type product, go to http://www.frankypaco.com/.

AND MORE
Let me tell you my travel saga and some refreshing results.

First of all, we were supposed to leave Omaha (across the river from Council Bluffs, IA-hometown of my hubby and where his family lives) at 6:50 pm yesterday. After visiting with family and friends, including Gordy's former teacher, Father Paul Monahan, I ventured downstairs at about 3:50 pm to finish packing. I just happened to pick up my cell phone and look to see if there were any messages. Well, there was one from Southwest. They had left a message wanting to know if we could catch the 4:55 pm flight to Chicago and then on to Houston as there would be a long delay for the flight to St. Louis and we would have to spend the night in St. Louis. So, it was either catch the flight through Chicago or fly home on Saturday (weather permitting). Well, I was concerned about weather for the next day...so I yelled to Gordy "Let's go!" I have never packed that fast in my life. But my trusty brother-in-law David delivered us to the check-in at 4:25 pm.

Well, we got on the plane but barely! I had my trusty Zebra postage printer in my carry-on and security just didn't know what to make of that. (Note: I had trouble with it on the way up too). I brought that for any DVD orders we had during our time away. Finally, finally the security official offered it back...he asked me if I wanted him to repack it in my stuffed bag and I said no thanks and grabbed it and raced to the gangway. This guy was like Tim Conway's old man character on the old Carol Burnett show.

We all got on (and I am leaving out a few other mundane time consuming details but you get the picture). So, we land in Chicago. We are supposed to have a 3 hour layover--leaving Chicago at 9:10 pm. So we check the flight information...the flight is delayed to a 10:40 pm departure. Yikes!!! Would there be any possibility we would have to stay the night? We had no idea where our luggage was...I had left some of it in check-in in Omaha because the computers weren't allowing our late arrival. Oh well...I did have a change of clothes for Sarah...most important thing.

So, Sarah and I headed to the bathroom...Sarah was bumping into a lady at the sink and she turned around and I realized almost immediately that it was a college friend of mine (from the meteorology program at A & M) whom I had not seen seen 1987--Patrice O-Raheiley--now Sharkey. She still had those same sparkly eyes and beautiful long hair. Patrice is the one who got the weather job in Bryan when I tried out too. Well anyway, she was super smart and I always admired her. We had had some fun times too. It was as if 22 years had gone by in the blink of an eye. So, I dragged her over to meet Gordy and Megan. Now, I ask you, is it a small world or what? And what were the odds of us meeting at the time at that airport in that bathroom. We weren't even planning to go to Chicago originally! Wow!

Our plane finally left at 11 pm or a little thereafter. We landed at about 1:30 am. Sarah was wide awake and asked to play some games we got for Christmas. But we finally managed to get her down at about 4 am. My wonderful husband watched her after she awoke bright and bushy eyed at 8 am...I slept in until 11 am. When I ran into several friends at the store they all commented at how well rested I looked. I didn't tell them I had just woken up...Ha! Thanks Gordy my love!!!

One more thing...at HEB, one of our friendly helpers said the store was just dead on New Year's Day but he said now everything is getting back to its crazy busy schedule.

Oh yes...they had an ice storm in Council Bluffs today--sure glad we got out last night!!!

Safe travels and happy first week of January!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman