Fast Food Junkie

I love to eat, but I'm no cook. In Sins of the Border, Lila faces the same dilemma. And because her husband, Steve, travels constantly for his work, and having two teens who practically thrive on junk food, she's not motivated to break out the cookbook or organic ingredients.

In fact, Lila cruises through Taco Bell so often the guy who works the drive-thru window begins to hit on her. As she laments, And no, I don't think I'm hot, the pimpled-faced drive-thru window guy at Taco Bell does. For some reason he thinks I'm attractive and makes little comments as I whiz through at over-the-radar speed like, "Hey, why don't you come back for some more this afternoon? I work late today."

Do you rely on fast food when you're not motivated, or forced to cook? If so, what's your favorite vice? And have you had a kid who feels brazen by the shield of the drive-thru window try out his pick up lines on you?

I spent this past weekend in southern Arizona, working with a humanitarian group that provides water, food and dry socks to immigrants passing along the trails of the Sonoran desert.

I know the issue of immigrant crossing is not a popular one. And I know that most people feel that providing water to immigrants encourages, perhaps even entices them to cross the border.

But after my journey into this world of trekking through incredibly rough terrain to deliver water to people who are traveling through land that is so hard to navigate that we had to rely upon a seasoned guide with detailed trail maps and GPS, I realized that setting out these rudimentary supplies would NEVER encourage anyone to cross the border. I have lived in the Sonoran desert for over 20 years. I know how hot it gets and how much you rely upon water to survive. And I've always worked out and considered myself to be in decent shape. I've run a half marathon and numerous other races without so much as a sore muscle.

But this was different. This was real--carrying as much water as your back muscles could bear, feeling I was holding up my group whenever I had to stop for that extra sip of hydration, skinning my hands as I slipped on a rocky slope.

The journey from the Mexican border is at best 4 days, over mountainous terrain, rocky dry washes and thistled brush that tears at your skin. With the chances of dehydration, heat exhaustion, injury from a fall, and arrest--you know these people are desperate to get out. And after experiencing my weekend along the border, I know that humanitarian groups who supply life-saving measures are not encouraging immigrants to cross the border, they're only giving them one last hope.

Death Knows No Boundaries

Since 2006, 11,000 Mexican citizens have been murdered, with the majority of these deaths related to the dominace of drug cartels. The wave of violence has become so serious, that in February of 2009, a CNN article reported that Mexico is now spinning toward civil war.
Add in an economy in shambles (CNN also describes Mexico's financial structure as having "gone off a cliff"), and one doesn't have difficulty understanding why so many Mexicans are willing to risk their lives to cross the border into the United States.

While it is illegal to cross without first attaining the proper permission from authorities, I don't think it's a crime to want to live in a safe environment that gives opportunity and hope. And it is never a crime to provide humanitarian aid to a human in crisis.

The border fence was constructed as a strategy of deterrence. Officials believed that the incredibly harsh terrain, with its limited natural water sources, which immigrants funnel through would solve the border issue. 5,000 deaths later, immigrants are still risking their lives to come to this country.

With immigration reform being such a complex and volatile issue, it appears the border issue will not be solved any time soon. And with Mexico's poor economy and escalating violence, it seems unlikely that a resolution of illegal immigration is also not imminent. But what can, and must be stopped, are the needless deaths that can be prevented by distributing clean drinking water to border crossers. And what also must be stopped is giving littering tickets, which can carry severe penalties, to concerned U.S. citizens who are distributing life-saving water.

Three humanitarian aid groups, No More Deaths, Samaritans and Humane Borders have initiated a series of negotiations with the highest levels of the federal government to come to an agreement over this issue. Their mission is to convince officials at the Department of the Interior and Buenes Aires NWR that every effort will be made to remove any water bottles placed along border crossing trails, along with any additional items not native to the environment. More importantly, these humanitarian groups are hoping to convince officials that saving lives should never be considered a crime. Too many have died over this dipute already.

Doggone Drivers

Any of you have teenaged drivers? If so, do you feel they have the ability to pre-plan and react to sticky situations? Or is unleashing a newbie driver onto the open road akin to unleashing a dog onto a highway?

My daughter, after much hounding at me, got her driver's license last week. And this week, she got into her first accident--on the first day of driving without me in the car! She's 1 for 1, or I guess I should say 0 for 1.

In Sins of the Border, Lila's daughter, 15 year-old daughter, Ellory, likes to sit in the car, play her music and pretend she's driving. I wish I could say that my daughter was still pretending. But unfortunately I let loose this 5 foot, 85 pound driving machine onto the streets of Scottsdale. Actually, I should say she WAS set loose. For the next few months, I'm going to be co-piloting. I don't think Scottsdale is ready for my daughter. And I don't think she's solo ready either. At this point, I think I'd feel more comfortable with a pooch at the wheel.

Have you experienced similar driving incidents with your teens? Who has the better judgement, or dog or a 16 year-old girl?

Starbucks the Antedote to Alzheimer's?

Does working at Starbucks help prevent Alzheimer's? I think the jury's in that daily engagement in activites that fire up brain cells keeps the mind sharp and helps stave off this dreaded disease. I don't know about you, but I'm always amazed how the barristas at Starbucks can remember and recite complicated drink orders faster than I can say, "One cup of Joe, please." They sound like grad students with advanced degrees in chemisry specializing in complex formulas for coffee connoisseurs.

In Sins of the Border, Lila is constantly amazed by the ability of these barristas to memorize a complex order in a nano second, then aknowledge this conversion to memory wth the simple response, "No problem."

Do you think working at Starbucks can be an anecdote to Alzheimer's? And are you a Starbuck's devotee? If so, when you frequent, do you order a simple "tall nonfat latte?" Or do you order a beverage of a more exotic persuasion? What's your favorite Starbuck's drink?

So Much for Preview

Aak! When I hit the preview button my post looked fine. Now that it's "published" the spacing is all messed up. So much for me and technology.

A Pampered Life

In Sins of the Border the Catholic Girls take a trip to a famous spa called Destiny. All of Lila's friends get fabulous pampering treatments. For instance, Patrice receives a crystal facial by a therapist that looks like a Ralph Lauren clothing model. No, make that a Calvin Klein underwear model.

Lila gets a lymphatic drainage from a 5 foot 5 block of a woman she secretly calls Grunhilda.

In my life, it's my birthday. My dog, Macky, got a fluffy treatment and has his friends over to play. I get to work and have a 2:30 "gourmet" lunch of Top Ramen. But tonight I get to step out in Catholic Girl style at the Blue Martini. Now, if I could just take some candles off my birthday cake!

How do you like to spend your birthday? Love to go out and get crazy? Or spend a quiet evening at home? Anyone into spa pampering? What's your favorite way to spend your B-Day?

Practical Stilettos an Oxymoron?

I ended up attending my daughter's Back-to-School Night in a pair of semi-practical shoes. Did I forgo my fashion sense and whimp out? No. As I was racing against the clock, or school bell, to get to the event on time, I slipped on heels and bounded for the door. Hearing that the clickety clack of my heels had become a resounding CLACK! I checked my shoes, and discovered they'd been mysteriously worn to the "bone" by whom I suspected was my dog, Macky.

Not having another pair of spiked heels that would get me through the night and matched my outfit, I settled for a pair of low wedgies.

This morning when I was cruising through images of stilettos, I was taken aback by the REALLY weird ones. I thought it would be fun to post some pics, but feared my blog site would get censored. Then I came across the red tennis shoe stilettos featured at the top of the page.

What do you think? Could this solve the problem of the desire to add heigth without sacrificing comfort? Do you think stilettos in the form of tennies will ever catch on? My guess is no. Let's face it--there's nothing that makes a woman feel (or look) sexier than a great pair of heels. And, my guess is you guys think there's nothing better than veiwing a woman strutting her stuff in them.

Spiked Heels

I'm getting ready for my daughter's High School Back-to-School Night. It's the evening the parents scuttle from class to class to get a snapshot of how their student's day runs. It's also the night our kids get to say to us, "I told you I couldn't make it from my locker to class on time--that's why I've racked up 10 tardies in 2 weeks."

But it's great in that you get to meet all 7 of their teachers. One year I had a conflicting engagement and felt lost for the entire year. I'm very visual, and if I can't put a face to a name, I'm cluless. Factor into that a teen who doesn't want to divulge any more details than you can pry out of them and it's really tough. I long for the days when I regularly volunteered at their elementary school, and my children welcomed me into their domain with smiling faces. But once they hit middle or high school, it's a whole new game.

In Sins of the Border, Lila also shares these same lamentings. She also shares another problem I tend to have--clickety clack spiked heels. In Chapter 1 of Sins of the Border her shoes reverberate throughout the Catholic Church as she hurries into Sunday Mass. I can't tell you how many times I've suffered that embarrassment.

For tonight, I'll have to snare a pair of heels that don't make too much noise, as I perpetually run late and don't want to call attention to myself, or get detention. And because my daughter just switched high schools, I'm not too familiar with the lay-out of the land.

Now I just need to find a low noise pair of heels (I'm only 5 foot 2 so I like to add a touch of heigth whenever possible) and get going before the 1st bell rings. Sound familiar? Anyone into spikey heels? Or do you like to go the practical route?

Commercial's Over

Okay, now the commercial for Sins of the Border is over and I'm ready to get down to gabbing, er, blogging. I've been up since 3 a.m. writing so I may sound a bit punchy. Decided that would be a good time of the day to put together my blog. Entered about 3 good posts, kept hitting the wrong "Save" button and then losing them. So the blog I posted was not my fave.

Now, I'm crunched for time as I have to pick up my 16 year-old daughter who's hounding me to get her driver's license today. She's beeen cranky lately (any other moms with female teens ever have that problem?), and I personally don't feel 100% comfortable unleashing her driving skills onto the community of Scottsdale. She's not a bad driver, mind you, it's just that it's hard to let go.

What does this have to do with Sins of the Border? In my book, the main character, Lila, has a petite daughter named Ellory who is slightly modeled after my Taylor. Because they're so tiny, the seat of the car is always moved up to the dashboard whenever I (or Lila) want to drive the vehicle. And what else do the 2 have in common? They may be small, but they have mighty personalities.

Welcome to Sins of the Border

Do you love a murder mystery with a strong female heroine that doesn't take "nothin' from nobody?" One who's determined to solve the brutal murder of a beloved local artist--even if she has to use some unsavory and often dangerous means? Do you like a story that keeps you on the edge of your seat, makes you laugh, but also makes you think?

Join Lila, and her three feisty friends, for Catholic Girls' Nights Out, as they discuss forensics over flavored Martinis. But their gossipy fun soon turns deadly as Lila closes in on the killer.