Tuesday Bento and Donburi

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"Lunchtime" Austin, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/6.4, 1/480 sec, ISO200
 “Lunchtime” Austin, 2017

こんばんは。How’s it going? Today was another beautiful day, although the weatherman said a cold front was coming through this morning and we might have some rain. I don’t know if 70° F is considered a cold front, but whatever!

A Rare Lunch

So for a year or so now I’ve been eating 1.5 meals per day instead of the common 3 meals per day tradition. I estimate 1.5 because I don’t eat breakfast, but will often have a small snack in the afternoon, and then have a normal dinner. Oftentimes I skip the snack and just have one meal.

This week, though, I’ve eaten lunch both Monday and Tuesday, which is extremely rare. But yesterday the Banh Mi food truck was outside the office and I couldn’t resist. And today I wanted to finish up my oyakodon leftovers so I packed a small bento (actually a plain glass food container) to enjoy at lunchtime. 🍱

It was such a nice day that I decided to eat in one of the office park’s many courtyards, but of course I chose the one that has a PokéStop! Not only did I get to enjoy my bento, but I stocked up on Poké Balls and other goodies, as well as caught several Pokémon, including a new type for me.

Even though I only spent half an hour outside, it was refreshing and I went back to work with a clear mind. 😀

Korean Donburi

Tonight Mariko had to work again, but she prepared an easy dish for me to cook for myself and the kids: a Korean-style Donburi. As you may know, donburi is basically a bowl of rice with some kind of topping. Tonight’s donburi was onion, carrots, and spicy Korean pork, which Mariko bought from the Korean market.

"Korean Donburi" Cedar Park, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.2, 1/100 sec, ISO2500
 “Korean Donburi” Cedar Park, 2017

We also enjoyed a fresh green salad, which went perfectly with the spicy pork. In fact, we wrapped the pork with lettuce just like we were at the Korean BBQ. おいしかった！

I hope you had a great Tuesday!

おやすみ

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Cloud photos

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"Sun Peeking" Cedar Park, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/6.4, 1/1600 sec, ISO200
 “Sun Peeking” Cedar Park, 2017

こんばんは How’s it going?

Today’s photo is of my favorite subject, and an easy one to photograph: clouds. Although I see them almost every day, they are still fascinating to me! Especially because they move so slowly that they appear stationary, but then a minute later, they actually have changed quite a bit. You notice this more if you are taking photos of them. 😃 If you aren’t quick with the camera, the moment that you wanted to capture will be gone… but don’t worry, there will always be more clouds “on the horizon”. 😃 ☁️

I hope you had a nice day!

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Making Oyakodon

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"Oyakodon" Cedar Park, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5.6, 1/45 sec, ISO3200
 “Oyakodon” Cedar Park, 2017

こんばんは。How’s it going?

Another gray-day here, but the temperatures are in the 70s.

• Oyakodon

Tonight I was in charge of dinner for myself and the kids. We could have gone to our favorite burger place, but Mariko mentioned that I should try to add to my list of dishes I could prepare. So, I got out my “Quick & Easy Donburi Dishes” book and tried my hand at my favorite meal: Oyakodon. I’ve posted about oyakodon before, and how much I love it, but this is my first time ever making it by myself!

The recipe I used was very simple, with only a few ingredients, and it’s very hard to screw up. I think you’ll be able to make a delicious meal even if mistakes are made. However, there is a little bit of finesse involved if you want to get the eggs just right, which I wasn’t able to do. Basically, I overcooked the eggs a bit. 😒

I have to say, it tasted pretty good, and the kids liked it, but I’d have to say there is some room for improvement. 6.5 out of 10. Next time I’ll do better! 😄

• Not 100%

So, the past few days, something has been going around and a lot of people have been sick. I must have caught the bug as well because I haven’t been feeling well all weekend. I have some achy muscles, a little dizziness sometimes, and a yucky sinus condition. But, it’s not serious and I am still able to work and do normal stuff. Just not 100%. Hopefully tomorrow I’ll be better!

I hope you had a nice day!

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Afternoon at Explore UT

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"UT Tower" Austin, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5.6, 1/180 sec, ISO200
 “UT Tower” Austin, 2017

こんばんは。How’s it going?

It was a rainy day, but Explore UT was happening at the university, so Bay and I grabbed an umbrella and headed down to check it out. Bay is preparing for college and we wanted to check out the architecture activities down at UT. We first stopped by the materials lab at the School fo Architecture, which was pretty interesting. They have hundreds of different kinds of building and interior materials to browse and get the imagination going. They had some really cool stuff, of all kinds of materials, including a lightweight nest-like thing made of mushrooms. Wild!

"Cool Material" Austin, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5.6, 1/90 sec, ISO3200
 “Cool Material” Austin, 2017

Bay is more interested in building design, so we asked one of the students if there were any activities focused on that, and he directed us to the next building over (Goldsmith), and as luck would have it, Jonathan, a 3rd year architecture student was heading over there and showed us the way. Not only did he give us directions, but he gave Bay a one-on-one tour of the drawing activity class, then took us to the design studios, where students were deep into their work. It was so cool!

"Architecture Students" Austin, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5.6, 1/100 sec, ISO1250
 “Architecture Students” Austin, 2017

Jonathan explained a lot about the projects, some famous architects, and what Bay could expect from being an architecture student. He was very passionate about architecture, and I think Bay was impressed by the studios and the work that he saw. Very valuable information and experience!

"Explaining" Austin, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5.6, 1/100 sec, ISO2000
 “Explaining” Austin, 2017

This was our third time to visit Explore UT, but it was by far the most interesting. It made me excited for Bay, and it also brought back a lot of memories of when I was in college and the good times that I had there in the studio working on projects. I am hopeful that Bay will have a great college career!

Make sure to check out a few more of the photos I took below, and also the UT School of Architecture Instagram account. おやすみ！

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