What's In a Name?

My newest niece has finally been named! Kerala (pronounced CARE-uh-la) Grace Duffy was chosen by the whole family:

Kerala was chosen by Vicki, because it is the most beautiful place she's visited in India (Wiki it and find out more about it, also known as "God's Own Country). See beach photo.

Grace was chosen by Denali, the big sister in the bunch (pronounced "Gace"... she's two).

Duffy...well Ryan contributed this one, but really got to do the most chosing for Denali's name, yet another place their family will one day visit I'm sure!

To see more pictures, click on the Ryan and Vicki link under "Our Friends"

Sickened!

This week Jack and I went tandem in being ill. He with full-blown influenza, me with a BAD cold and laryngitis. It has NOT been fun, but we have learned a few things from our experience:

1. Don't ride in a car with someone who has a suspicious and persistent cough.
2. Don't hang around the house with someone who is visibly ill.
3. You can never have too many pillows and blankets.
4. Home remedies DO help: Recipe for a Hot Half Bath
If you have a blasting headache and fever, run a HOT bath (should turn legs red within a few seconds of sliding into the steamy water), have a cool compress standing by for the head, only cover up to your waste (to pull congestion down from your head/chest), stay until you have been sweating for several minutes (5-7) and then wrap-up and sweat more in order to KILL BUGS.
5. Frozen cherries in a 1 quart bag work great as a cold compress.
6. There isn't enough hot water in our 1 bedroom apartment for TWO people to take hot half baths (described above).
7. A good collection of books and movies makes ALL the difference when you are sick for several days.
8. Good friends that make grocery funs can come in VERY handy.
9. The internet is a great time-waster when you are recovering from a nasty illness.
10. Doctors aren't much help when it comes to the flu, a cold or laryngitis (they cost money and offer little useful help).

An Auntie (and Uncle) of Two!

Yesterday at 1:58 PM (Germany time) my sister-in-law and brother had their second beautiful daughter. Denali, the BIG sister now, wants to name her Minnie Mouse March Grace Duffy. The Grace might stick, but Ryan and Vicki will still need to work out the final name when he returns from Iraq any day now. She is beautiful, with a nose, mouth, face shape and probably hair like Ryan. Here's a picture of her with Ryan's picture nearby.
It's a great feeling to be an Aunt. I wish I could see the girls more, but when we do have a chance to visit, I like to teach the how to sing, dance, be good girls, and to teach them about Jesus, as much as is possible with toddlers and infants. Hopefully we'll get to see them sometime before Christmas.

The Moon Turned Red

This winter there was a lunar eclipse, which turned the moon red. I took this shot outside our apartment in the parking lot. I thought it turned out pretty well.

Indulging the Taste Buds

On a recent trip out of town, I was given a nice meal allowance and decided to use it! I thought I'd put a little plug in for Frank's Diner in Spokane, WA with this lovely picture of the hot chocolate I ordered early one morning. It was fantastic!


The last night of my trip I decided to explore a "fancy" restaurant, again in Spokane, called Wild Sage. One item on their menu (you the know the one that you look at outside the restaurant to make sure you can afford to eat there) that drew my attention was Pesto Gnocchi. Here's a picture of it before I devoured it.


And I couldn't pass up the tantalizing coconut cream pie with passion fruit sauce. Little did I know it would be decorated with edible orchids. It was decadent and well worth the stomach ache afterwards.
A final word on indulging the taste buds is one that describes a more REGULAR occurrence at home. We discovered the pizza dough for 98 cents at WINCO and couldn't wait to try our own toppings. So we added some pesto, artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomatoes, olives, mushrooms, spinach and sometimes other ingredients. It tastes fantastic and is cheap to boot.



Enjoy a tasty treat for yourself...

Avoiding "Blogger" Deliquency

One day I'm going to be good at this. Or maybe, I'll just keep expecting people to keep checking our blog to see how life is going and making comments, even though I haven't posted for well over a month (and this seems to be the norm lately). Expectations dashed once again.

This is truly a testament to how busy life can be. As we are drawing close to Easter, I've been thinking more about simplicity. What is REALLY important? Relationships, health, beauty, being present rather than living in the future or past. This is my list.

A conversation with a good friend yesterday reminded me that it is good to simplify. To test certain traits or character or habits to see how important they really are. So, drawing from the goal of another friend, I've decided to not buy clothes for myself for an entire year (this doesn't count necessary replacements for important garments). I made this decision in mid-January and now it is easier than I thought it would be to purchase clothing for myself. I look in my closet and see rows, in my wardrobe and see piles, just the fact that I've mentioned "closet" and "wardrobe" are indications of my bounty. And I've actually found that resisting consumption of clothing for myself, has helped me be more others-focused. We'll see how this goes as the year progresses.

During this pre-Easter week draws on I hope to simplify my life more by fasting from criticism this week and prayer at least twice a day for others whom I tend to criticize or are struggling. I'm finding already that I really have to be aware of my thoughts, and to think positively, instead of negatively about situations as my first reaction. I hope this exercise will prepare me to be more ready to receive a message from the Lord this Easter. This is such a wonderful time of year to focus on my spiritual and emotional health. Pray for me in this endeavor.

Us at our favorite gelato place with friends