My favorite punch is one large tube frozen orange juice (plus one can water), and a large can of pineapple juice. Mix these together and then add a 2 ltr. bottle of Sprite. If you are short on space for ice, just make the mix up in a big pitcher and add ice to the pitcher...then you don't have to have ice for each glass. For 14 I would double the recipe. When you make up the mix, the frozen OJ will cool the pineapple juice, so it won't have to be refrigerated.

That does sound tense. Sorry it was a bad experience for you. I've seen a lot of soldier with rifles and bayonets in my travels in Latin America, but they never made me tense, for some reason. When I crossed the border between Belize and Guatemala, they were having a war over a border dispute, and there were thousands of soldiers at the border. I grew up 25 miles east of Fort Hood (the largest military base in the world, according to them), and so I was used to seeings lots of soldiers growing up and never thought much about it. When I traveled through Chiapas and Oaxaca while they were having guerrilla warfare, I merely thought that I was close to a military post. I thought the same thing when hordes of soldiers would board the train from Laredo to Mexico City near San Luis Potosí. I still think that SLP probably has a military base nearby. You may have seen a naval base in Corpus Christi as well. The last time I saw a large military presence was in 1992 during the Rodney King riots when L.A. was under martial law. That was scary because I had nowhere to go. I looked up Nuevo Progresso, and it looks like a nice place to visit - much smaller and easier to navigate than Reynosa or Matamoros. It looks like you had rather warm weather with possibly a couple of cold days in the 60s. My parents said it had been in the 80s where they are. I'll look forward to seeing your pictures! I haven't been to "The Valley" (south Texas) since the 1980s! Lars

I prepare 3 meals a day, 7 days a week. We may eat out for one lunch, but it is rare. So, I'll take shortcuts any day when the quality isn't compromised! Trader Joe's has been the best thing that's happened to our food budget, quality of premade foods, and our health. I've lost 6.5 lbs since I started eating 100% TJ's food and beverages on January 9th! It took so long for our town to get one recently, and now it has made a big difference. Lou...I love making Italian sauces. My DH and sons say that my best sauces are those that I call "pantry pasta" meaning whatever I have in the pantry may be used! What sauce recipe do you want to share? Thanks, Cameron

Oh, how I would love to be there, but 3,000 miles is a bit far for me. It will be spectacular, I am sure. Jackie