Rain for Many Areas/Toad Suck Park/Table Rock Lake

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
Tropical Atlantic and Pacific are quiet.

Ridge is beginning to flatten and retrograde as a trough begins to dig southward into the central US. On Monday, highs will be in the 90s and 100s across the southern plains and southwest with highs in the 70s along the coastal sections of California. Highs will be in the 70s and 80s across the rest of the country. Many locations will have a chance for thunderstorms but no severe storms are predicted by the Storm Prediction Center.

On Monday, Houston will have some thunderstorms Monday and Tuesday. Chances decrease middle to later part of the week. But there will still be a few Wednesday through Friday. Highs will be in the low to middle 90s early in the week and middle to upper 90s later in the week.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let's do restaurant, or restaurante, pronounced rehs-tair-RAHN-tay. Check out the AND MORE section for the name of a restaurant that we think is unique.

Speaking of eating, your kids will love learning the spanish words for several words associated with eating (and drinking). They are presented in a fun, musical way in the first volume of 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,%20www.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
We're staying in Aunts Creek Resort, which is near Reeds Spring and Kimberling City, MO (outside of Branson) on Table Rock Lake. On the 12 hour drive from Houston, we usually stop at a restaurant in Hope, Arkansas called Dos Loco Gringos. Well, first of all, if that name was correct it would be Dos Gringos Locos--2 crazy white men. But, anyway, we find the Mexican food interesting and tasty and we stop there almost every time we make the trip. I asked Anthony (one of the waiters) how that name came to be. He said that years ago, the two men who bought that restaurant, already owned 2 other restaurants and their friends said they were crazy to buy another one...since they were "white" guys, they came up with the name "Dos Loco Gringos"--literally translated--Two Crazy White Guys. Now you know.

For years, we've seen the exit for "Toad Suck Park" outside Conway, Arkansas. And we've always wondered what in the world it was all about. Come to find out it is a recreation area run by the Corps of Engineers. But we wanted to know the origin of the name. And I pulled the following from the Conway Chamber of Commerce web site.

"Long ago, steamboats traveled the Arkansas River when the water was at the right depth. When it wasn't, the captains and their crew tied up to wait where the Toad Suck Lock and Dam now spans the river. While they waited, they refreshed themselves at the local tavern there, to the dismay of the folks living nearby, who said: "They suck on the bottle 'til they swell up like toads." Hence, the name Toad Suck. The tavern is long gone, but the legend and fun live on at Toad Suck Daze."

Hi, it's me again. Toad Suck Daze is a festival Conway has in the spring. Check out these sites for more information.

http://www.swl.usace.army.mil/parks/toadsuck/index.htm
http://www.toadsuck.org/

It has been rainy on and off for the past week in the Table Rock/Branson, Missouri area. But after the morning fog lifted, we had a spectacular day. Check out the photo at right--the view from the deck of the cabins we are staying in.

Have a great week everyone!

Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Weather Pattern Change/Road Trip War Stories/Economy

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
Tropical Atlantic and Pacific are quiet.

Jet stream/upper pattern still has strong ridge over western US. But on Sunday, the ridge begins to retrograde to the west and that will all troughiness to develop in the central US. That also means that locations further west will get rain and that there will be more rain in the south and midwest.

On Saturday, there could be some severe storms from Missouri to New York. On Sunday, severe weather threat is further east of there and just east of the Rockies in Colorado and New Mexico. It will be in the 90s and 100s across the south, especially Texas and the desert southwest. Mild along coastal California and the northeast, Great Lakes and even Ohio Valley.

Houston will be hot and humid through the weekend with some isolated showers or thunderstorms. Some locations will get heavy rain on Monday and possible Tuesday but clouds and rain will help cool things down a bit.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY

Let's do bathroom or baño, pronounced BAH-nyo. When you are on a road trip, sometimes you just need to stop and find a baño. See the AND MORE section for a related story.

Since finding the baño is so important, we put that term in the first volume of 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,%20www.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 demands on your energy has closed. 58% said that work outside the home demanded the most energy. 28% said children demanded the most. 14% said volunteering took the most. No one said that work inside the home, spouse or other took the most energy. Only one answer was allowed. Thanks to all who participated.



Our new poll is about economizing. What measures have you taken because of the poorer economy (or have you taken any)? More than one answer is allowed. Thanks in advance for answering this poll.



Since I am on the road again (as I write this), I am reminded of some childhood roadtrips we took. Now, there were 8 of us altogether, piling into a station wagon. One year, we put our clothes in trashbags (so we could squish everything into the back). You just can't fit that many suitcases in a station wagon with 8 people. Besides, I don't know if we all had suitcases anyway.



I remember our air conditioning going out...but I don't remember feeling hot. Bet Mom and Dad were though.



But this is one of my most memorable recollections. As we made way in the dark late one night, my little brother work up and had to use the bathroom really bad. We were in the very back of the station wagon. My parents didn't want to pull over. So, my mom handed me a plastic cup and said to have him use that. Well, he had to go a lot! The cup was about to overflow and mom and said throw it out the window. So I reached ahead to the second row of seats window and tried to throw it out. Well, you probably know what happened...yep...several of us were all wet. Ewwwwww!!! Adventures in traveling with a bunch of kids. I think I was pretty mad at the time. But, we just had to deal. We were good at that.



Here's hoping your road trips are dry ones.



Happy Weekend!

Cecilia Sinclair

Wonder Weather Woman

More rain expected/One lady's success at becoming author

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
No tropical development in Atlantic or Pacific.

Well the jet stream/upper flow continues it's ridge west and trough east pattern. By early next week, the pattern shifts to more of an omega pattern--ridges west and east coasts and trough in the middle US. This will bring more rain/storms to the central and south-central US in the coming week.

Friday will be hot from Texas through the desert southwest highs in the 90s and 100s. Look for some thunderstorms Texas and Florida and some potentially severe weather Iowa. northwest Illinois and Wisconsin. Highs will be in the 60s and 70s west coast of California, Great Lakes and northeast. Elsewhere, highs will be in the 90s.

Houston will be steamy on Friday with a few thunderstorms possible. There were so heavy downpours on Thursday--Bellaire picked up almost 2 inches. The grass is loving it. There will be a few showers/thunderstorms through the weekend and the upcoming week looks rainy as the upper trough moves into position over the central US.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let's do author or escritor, pronounced ehs-cree-TORE. Do you want to be an escritor? Find out how one woman did--see the And More section.

Authors love words/language. And one way to help your children learn language structure is to expose them to more than one language. A good start is 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,%20www.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
For all you aspiring writers, I have a story for you...a while back I was introduced to the mother of a friend. I found out she is a much published author. But I had never heard of her. Well, about 4 decades ago, she had written some children's books and a novel and approached a publishing company (about getting them published). They said they liked her children's books but they had way more than they needed. Then they asked her if she would be willing to try her hand at writing biographies for children. Well, she decided to give it a try. And, she succeeded! From then on , she made a career of writing biographies for children--she found a niche. She is still writing today (even though she is in her 80s). I am enjoying one of her books right now--a biography of Abner Doubleday. She said she never did get that novel published, but she has had a very successful writing career.

Happy reading and writing!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

More Rain/No Sales Tax Weekend

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
In the Atlantic, two areas of disturbed weather are close to land. In fact one will bring heavy rains to Puerto Rico and Hispanola early Wednesday. According to the National Hurricane Center both have less than a 30% chance of developing.

On Wednesday, it will be very hot in the Intermountain Region and desert southwest--100+. Pleasant along the west coast. South will be warm and humid with highs in the 80s and 90s with thunderstorms. Mild in the Midwest, Great Lakes and Northeast with highs in the 60s and 70s and low 80s.

Houston, I think there will be some showers in the morning...from the outflow from storms to the north late Tuesday. There is a slight chance for showers and thunderstorms through the weekend with a better chance early in the coming week. Temperatures will be warm and conditions muggy.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let's do shopping or compra, pronounced COHM-prah. Thinking about back to school compra -- you might want to plan it for the no sales tax weekend--find out when that is in the AND MORE section.

Shopping for educational products for your children can be overwhelming. But when it comes to learning languages, here's a product that has received awards from people who know about educating our little ones--it's 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,%20www.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
In Texas, if you are thinking about back to school shopping already...you might want to wait until the 2nd to the last weekend of August (right before most public schools are starting). Since I have retail sales, I got a notice from the state saying this is when the no sales tax weekend is.

Happy Shopping!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

More rain/Lightning Safety/What is a severe storm?

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
There is one area of disturbed weather east of the tropics. Odds of development are low. Looking at the long range steering pattern, I do see an important (if only temporary) shift coming up. According to at least one long range model--at the end of July, the ridge (which is now over the western US) looks like it will shift eastward so that it is positioned over the southeastern US. This is not good news for Texas as anything that moves/develops in the Caribbean/Gulf could be steered toward Texas. So, I will watch this very closely.

On Monday, the ridge continues to bring 100+ weather to the southwest, Intermountain Region and interior Oregon. West coast of California will still be nice and mild with highs in the 70s and most of the northeast, Great Lakes, northern plains will have highs in the 70s and 80s. The southeast and Texas will have highs in the 80s and 90s. Look for some severe weather mainly in the central US. There will also be some thunderstorms in the southeast.

The Houston area has enjoyed beneficial rains this weekend. There were more rain totals over one inch on Saturday. As I write this, the totals are not final yet for Sunday. There will be scattered storms Monday in the Houston area. Highs will be in the low to middle 90s.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let's do squat or agacharse, pronounced ah-gah-CHAR-say. In which type of weather, should you agacharse if you can't get to a safe shelter? See the answer in the AND MORE section.

Lightning has electricity and our bodies have electricity. In fact it's those little electrical impluses in our brain that fire when the brain is doing its work. You can stimulate the development and function of those neurological pathways by stimulating it and one of the best ways is through language learning. Give your kids this kind of stimulation. Order our award winning DVD, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco, Volume 1 is just the ticket. Order your copy from www.frankandpaco.com/. You can also order from http://www.venturaes.com/, http://www.dololanguages.com/, http://www.carlexonline.com,%20www.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
Thinking about stormy weather reminds me of a funny incident from when I worked at in TV weather. We were having tremendous thunderstorm activity--unbelievable amounts of lightning--like a strobe light. There were no severe thunderstorm warnings being issued by the National Weather Service because technically, this kind of storm did not meet the description of a severe storm. One viewer called and complained--asking why no severe thunderstorm warnings were issued. I told him that the storms did not meet severe criteria and he responded--but this storm has VERY SEVERE lightning. Well I had to agree with him on that one. But in case you were curious, here is the official definition of a severe thunderstorm pulled from the Storm Prediction Center web site:

The term severe thunderstorm refers to a thunderstorm producing hail that is at least penny size, 0.75 inches in diameter or larger, and/or wind gusts to 58 mph or greater, and/or a tornado. Although lightning can be deadly, the NWS doesn't use it to define a severe thunderstorm. If it did, every thnderstorm would be severe, by definition. Also, excessive rainfall may lead to deadly flash flooding, but heavy rain is not a severe criterion either. The flood threat is handled through a separate set of watches and warnings from your lcoal NWS forecast office.

For more information, go to their FAQ page.
http://www.spc.ncep.noaa.gov/faq/

Remember, if there is lightning, the safest place is in a non-metal structure--1st floor, away from windows and doors and stay out of the tube/shower, off land line phones and plugged in appliances. If you can't get indoors, a vehicle is a good alternative--just don't touch the metal parts of the car. If you can't get into a car, get to the safest low spot, away from water and tall objects. Squat down (with as little of your body in contact with the ground as possible), making yourself as small as possible.

Have a great week everyone!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Rain This Weekend/Poll Closes/New Poll/Looking for Kayakers

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
There are two areas of disturbed weather in the Atlantic--both are weak and have low prospects for developing.

Big shift west in the jet stream is heating things up out west and allowing cooling rains in Texas. Hooray!!! Texas really needs the drought relief! Highs on Saturday out west will be in the 100s except for the coast of California which will have highs in the 70s. Very pleasant over the eastern US with highs in the 60s (Great Lakes) and 70s. Southeast will have highs in the low 90s. Note the severe storm threat in eastern New Mexico, southeast Colorado, and west Texas.

Houston -- some more thunderstorms over our southern areas on Friday...a whopping 1.7 inches fell in the Friendswood area...hey, share some with the rest of us. Well, it looks like there will be even more showers and thunderstorms this weekend with Sunday being the most likely day. Additional cloud cover with keep highs in the low 90s on Saturday and upper 80s on Sunday.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let's do skyline or horizonte, pronounced or-ree-ZONE-tay. I think the Houston horizonte is very pretty--but where are the kayakers? See AND MORE section for more on that.

For rainy periods like we are expecting this weekend, our award winning DVD, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco, Volume 1 is just the ticket. Order your copy from www.frankandpaco.com/. You can also order from http://www.venturaes.com/, http://www.dololanguages.com/, http://www.carlexonline.com,%20www.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
Have you been downtown lately? I can't help but me amused (and tell me if I am missing something)...have you seen those banners hanging on the posts? They show a beautiful Houston skyline but the foreground, there are two people kayaking. Now, I'm wondering...do people go kayaking on Buffalo Bayou? More importantly, as visitors see downtown Houston for the first time--do you look around to see where these kayakers are? Just wondering...

Our poll on the tax incentive for trading in high gas using vehicles is closed. 20% said they are considering it and 80% said they are not. Thanks to all who participated.

My new poll is about the demands on our schedules. What takes most of your energy. Only one answer is allowed. Thanks in advancing for answering.

Have a great weekend! Enjoy the rain!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

More rain expected/Princess Oreo/Watching disturbance in Atlantic

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
There is an area of disturbed weather a few hundred miles west of the Cape Verde Islands (in the eastern Atlantic). According to the National Hurricane Center, this area has less than a 30% chance of developing as it moves westward. Will monitor. In the eastern Pacific, Carlos and Dolores have weaked to tropical depressions and are not a concern to land.

Very hot on Friday across the southern plains and southwest, Intermountain Region and inland areas of Washington and California. Cool spot will be the northern Great Lakes with highs in the 50s! Southeast will have highs in the upper 80s to low 90s. Elsewhere, look for highs in the 70s and 80s. There is a slight risk for severe weather east of the Rockies and across a portion of the southeast.

Some much needed downpours in Houston on Thursday... from the Harris County Office of Emergency Management rain gauge network, 0.9 inches along I10 just inside Beltway 8 and 0.7 near Channelview, 0.6 in Friendswood. Never fear, there will be more scattered showers and thunderstorms Friday, Saturday and Sunday. At times, temperatures will be decreased by the showers and extra cloud cover will help keep things slightly cooler overall.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let's do princess or princesa, pronounced preen-CEH-sah. May I introduce you to princesa Oreo? See And More section for more.

While my stepdad is in town doing cancer treatment, he and my mom are having fun doing all kinds of extra things they might not have time for otherwise. Every Tuesday and Thursday night, they take Spanish lessons. Gerry is really making amazing progress! You go Gerry! And the school of research shows that language is very beneficial and stimulating to the neuro-pathways of the brain...improving function and learning--especially in children. So don't let your little ones miss out! Order our award winning DVD, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco, Volume 1 from www.frankandpaco.com/. You can also order from http://www.venturaes.com/, http://www.dololanguages.com/, http://www.carlexonline.com,%20www.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 was uploading some photos to order hard copies and I had to love the photo at right. I want to tell you about the sweetest, most patient dog I have ever meant. The pretty girl in the middle is Oreo. I think Oreo is 13 years old...really old for a dog. But she still has some get up and go. She never barks. And she puts up with all kinds of abuse like wearing tiaras (you can't see it but there is also a wand in her collar). Sarah always enjoys Oreo so much when we visit cousin Sophia. Oreo loves to snuggle and followed us from room to room. When we went somewhere, she was quick to jump into the car...she loves an adventure. When we got ready to leave, she climbed up into the back seat. The only person who could persuade her to come out was my sister Julie...the person who found her wandering along a road when she only a puppy. Oreo truly is a princess' best friend.

Have a fantastic Friday!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman