Apples Flambe

Last night we had a collaborative effort to create a HUGE flame in the apple dessert I was making!
It started out with our friend Spencer making the connection that the apples in the skillet with all the cinnamon and brown sugary goodness was a lot like bananas foster. Then, a few minutes later I looked at a huge bottle of rum I had and was like, when am I ever going to finish this! Then, Spencer got a "great" idea and decided that we needed to flambe the apples like they do at fancy restaurants at your table with the bananas foster. Jared grabbed the lighter and the rum, which made me very nervous, and decided he was going to play dessert chef. I was hesitant, but thought, it's a Tuesday night, why not have a little fun!

So, Jared threw the rum on there and the skillet was not hot enough to make the flame on its own, so Jared clicked the lighter and the ENTIRE pan went up in flames. Spencer was like, shake the pan so it goes out, because it just kept flaming! I screamed and I am sure the neighbors loved that, but then the flame went out after Jared tossed the apples a bit!

What a fun night! The dessert wasn't bad either! Again, apples with brown sugar, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and butter, how can you go wrong! I will definitely be setting more desserts on fire in the near future!

jury duty

So I thought I would write about my experience at jury duty yesterday...
I got my summons a couple of weeks ago and was super annoyed that as a student, I still had to put my time in and serve. I went yesterday at 8 am and they herded about 200 people through the metal detector upstairs to a large room (which included awesome posters similar to the one you see above!) Haha! I was super surprised at how many people were there.

Next, there was a lady who did a 20 minute presentation followed my a 10 minute video...super cheesy video! The speech included a portion where we had to simulate an earthquake drill. I just sat there and sipped my coffee observing all the interesting people in the room. There was one guy who had a shirt on that said "Do I look like a people person" with a giant St. Bernard on it! It was sooooo awesome. I wonder if I wore it specifically for jury duty day or if that was a common shirt in his collection. The lady next to me tried to pay another guy $20 to call and see if she needed to be there. How silly...of course he didn't accept the money.

Now, we waited from about 9:30-10:00 before they called anyone up to check in. We went up in groups and got a badge. Then at 11:30 they made a call for the first round of people who would go to the courtroom to be selected. Luckily, my name was not called and I was left in the room with 100 people. So yes, that means that 100 other people got selected to go to get narrowed down to 12. Nice....

Then at 11:50 (10 minutes before the lunch break) They said everyone else who is left here is done for the day.

Ahhhh...A sigh of relief....even though I did think it would have been cool to serve on a jury, the time would not have been cool! So I picked up my things, checked out, and went to school! Didn't have to miss class after all! And I am not at the courthouse today! Yippeee! And I finished my first book in 2 years...lame I know! But I was proud! (The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis)

Houston's first LEED pediatrics building

Check it out! It's my Dad! He is the architect for Houston's first LEED Green Certified Pediatrics building! I am so proud! Go Dad!

If this doesn't inspire....

I don't know what will!

This is some pretty incredible playing! And some energetic and focused conducting! Can you believe this orchestra is in my city and I still haven't been to see them! I need to go ASAP! I am thinking about buying tickets right now!

First Day of school?

This morning, Jared left for his first day at Sony! It really felt more like I was sending him off to his first day of school or something. :) He will meet new people, have a totally different work environment, have all new software to learn, and new area of town to get to know. I am so excited for him, but I think I might have been more nervous last night than him when we were falling asleep! He is already in my prayers this morning :) Weird that this is Jared's first day and Obama's? Well, hopefully it is a good sign!

On another note, I am dog-sitting out here for my brother's girlfriend's aunt and uncle...random, I know, but they have two of the most adorable golden retrievers, and a hot tub!!! I will post some pics of the dogs if I can get a camera. Ours finally died! RIP cannon powershot! :(

you should do it too!

So I haven't been blogging as much lately because I have joined an online site where you can read the bible through in a year and share comments about the readings with friends who are also members on the site. I can't believe I have kept up with the readings and it has been so wonderful to have more consistent time reading the bible. Go to www.youversion.com if you want to set up a username so you can join in! It isn't too late to start! You can even start on today's readings as your first day! My username is robinbobin if you want to search for me! See you there! In the meantime, I will try to blog more. :)

School starts in a week, and Jared starts his first day at SONY imageworks tomorrow! We are both so excited! Please pray with us as we transition to this new phase!

New Year's Resolution

So, I have never done resolutions before, but this year I thought of a few quick ones! You can check in and see how I am doing!

1. I am not going to watch American Idol this season. It takes up way too much time, and I have a lot of other things I need to get done! (Thesis, Recital, Competitions, etc...)

2. I am going to read the bible through for the first time ever! I am reading through on youversion.com. You can create a username and post comments about passages you read. Much more beneficial than facebook, which brings me to my next resolution...

3. I can only check facebook once a day, and hopefully not everyday as I become less addicted to it! :) Wish me luck!

4. Eat healthier and exercise. I have new running shoes and an ipod shuffle, so I can enjoy my time outside running (hopefully 3-4x a week). Also, am going to try to only make one dessert a week! EEEKkk!

Let me know if you have any good resolutions!