Relaxing Sunday

"That Tongue" Cedar Park, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/100 sec, ISO2500
“That Tongue” Cedar Park, 2017

こんばんは。How’s it going?

Sunday is my sleep-in day. But I don’t really sleep much later than I do during the week. The main difference is that I don’t need to wake up, so there’s no stress on Sunday mornings. 😄 It’s great.

This evening I grilled burgers 🍔 for the family, and since I had time I decided to grind the meat for the patties using our Kitchenaid rather than buy pre-ground beef. I think it makes the burgers taste so much better, and it is supposedly less risky health-wise to eat beef from a single animal, rather than hundreds of different animals, which is the way regular ground beef is made.

Today I bought a chuck roast, with bone-in because it was a reasonable price and the amount of fat looked good. Before grinding it helps to cut the beef into 1-inch cubes and put them in the freezer for 20 minutes so they just start to freeze. It goes through the grinder easier this way. I also put the meat-grinding mixer attachment in the freezer.

"Essential" Cedar Park, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/100 sec, ISO1600
“Essential” Cedar Park, 2017

I decided to use the charcoal grill instead of our gas grill to make sure we have the maximum flavor. The last time I made burgers, I didn’t press the patties together as tightly, and they sort of fell apart on the grill (and on the bun). This time I made them firmer, and also oiled the grill nicely using cooking spray. These two adjustments made a huge difference! The burgers held together nicely and didn’t stick at all to the grill. 😄

For toppings, we had the usual lettuce, tomato, and onion, but I also prepared jalapeño, habañero, avocado, Hatch chile bacon, pickle slices, ketchup, mayo, and mustard. For cheese, we had cheddar and Monterey jack. As you can see, there was a big variety of things to choose from to build your own burger!

I went for everything of course. 😝

"The Works" Cedar Park, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/90 sec, ISO3200
“The Works” Cedar Park, 2017

Today’s first photo doesn’t need an explanation, does it. 🐱 BTW, the cats just turned 1 year old! Time flies.

I hope you had a nice weekend!

おやすみ

バロン

Wishing for times past

Whenever I return from a vacation, I have the same wishful thoughts for a few days.

“I wish it were 48 hours ago. We’d be on the boat ride to EPCOT.”

or

“I wish it were 72 hours ago. We’d be on the plane to Orlando.”

or

“I wish it were a week ago. We’d just be board the ship and starting our cruise.”

Although it makes me feel a little melancholy, it also means I enjoyed our vacation time. It wouldn’t be great if I was thinking, “Thank goodness I am back at work!” 😆

Saturday Snapshots

"What's Goin' On?" Austin, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5.6, 1/125 sec, ISO400
“What’s Goin’ On?” Austin, 2017
"Peace, Love, and Woof" Austin, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5.6, 1/140 sec, ISO400
“Peace, Love, and Woof” Austin, 2017
"Out of Order" Austin, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5.6, 1/20 sec, ISO3200
“Out of Order” Austin, 2017

こんばんは。How’s it going?

For tonight’s blog post, I’ll just leave you with three photos of things that caught my interest while I was downtown this morning.

I hope you had a nice Saturday!

バロン

My Selfies

"Selfie with Jawa" Orlando. 2017
Photo info: Motorola Moto G (4), 2.44mm, f/2.2, 1/15 sec, ISO2000
“Selfie with Jawa” Orlando. 2017

So I was thinking… is this my first selfie ever?

Well, I did a little searching, and I found several I’ve taken throughout the years. But for phone selfies, there are only a few:

And for camera selfies, well, there are several from long ago! A short stroll down memory lane… enjoy!

So, the selfie of the Jawa and I may not have been the first, but it is at least the first with my latest phone. 😊

Day at Disney’s Hollywood Studios

"Disney Hollywood Studios" Orlando, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5.6, 1/640 sec, ISO400
“Disney Hollywood Studios” Orlando, 2017

For our second (and final) Disney park visit of this trip, we chose Disney’s Hollywood Studios. As mentioned in the previous post, the park is accessible via Friendship Boat shuttle, which makes a stop at The Boardwalk – a waterfront of shops and restaurants. We decided to walk to the Boardwalk from our hotel and get some breakfast before catching the boat to the park. It’s a nice area, and we had beautiful weather and enjoyed our coffee and breakfast next to the water.

"From the Boardwalk" Orlando, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/6.4, 1/800 sec, ISO200
“From the Boardwalk” Orlando, 2017

Disney’s Hollywood Studios is currently dominated by Star Wars. If you are a fan of the franchise (and we are!), it’s a great time to visit! Not only does the park have Star Tours, but there is a short film “Path of the Jedi”, live-action character shows in the main courtyard featuring Star Wars villains, and also C-3PO, R2-D2, and BB-8, and the really cool Star Wars Launch Bay building. The Launch Bay has a theater with short making-of film, detailed models of the spaceships, pod racer, Rey’s speeder, cantina bar, costumes and uniforms, photo ops with Chewie and other characters, and awesome artwork. It’s really a Star Wars fan’s dream! Highly recommended.

"Star Wars Show" Orlando, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.5, 1/80 sec, ISO12800
“Star Wars Show” Orlando, 2017

Other highlights of our trip include:

  • Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular – Amazing combination of images/video projected on the Chinese theater and fireworks/lasers/lights. Make sure to get a good spot where you can view the Chinese theater and adjacent buildings.
  • Toy Story Mania – It’s one of the only things that I am better at than my family. I need to hold onto this one as long as possible!!! 😜
  • The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror – Bay didn’t want to go on this ride last time because he doesn’t like “dropping” rides, but we convinced him to ride it this time. He says he didn’t enjoy it, but I think he’s glad he conquered it. And now we can’t make fun of him anymore!
  • Mama Melrose’s Ristorante Italiano – We celebrated Mariko’s birthday with a nice pasta dinner here. The food was yummy and it was a nice restful break before heading to more rides!

Please enjoy more photos from our day at Disney’s Hollywood Studios: