Austin ModHouse

PCA invited us to the Porsche of Austin Taycan unveil party. 

$162k of super fast EV. 

We finally had a sunny day. We got the X5 35D detailed and we made a quick trip to Houston where we broke a few sales staff hearts by walking away from everything.

The RED Porsche did match her quite well. 

The BLACK Porsche was an even better match. 

I really liked the WHITE one, but Kat was not sold on the color of the seats (they did match her purse).

What excited Kat the most was exploring Houston's diverse Asian culture. I had her pick the restaurants and do some shopping as well. 

My favorite was One Dragon. Their soupy dumplings and crispy pork buns were delicious. 

"Everything IS BIGGER IN TEXAS! This is the largest Asian grocery store I've ever seen!", she was so excited.

"you better get me out of here before I buy everything!" 

We stopped at my favorite Taiwanese coffee shop, 85C on the way out of town. 

I work for AISD. I got the daughter hired on as well. She goes to work with me each Friday. Her first job! 

Posted by paul at 09:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

#2 son had this Valentine's Day plan in the works for a LONG time. We heard about it a week before. He had been shopping for fake blood on Amazon. I didn't ask why... he ended up waiting until the last minute, then asked me to run him to Walmart. I can tell you, the manager at Walmart will laugh at you if you go in looking for fake blood the night before Valentine's Day. "It's not Halloween!" he said with a cackle. Our friend Connie was there to save his plans. She knew that party city stocks fake blood all year long...

He put a little blood in Ziploc bags, and gave those out at school. He also got a prize in the school Valentine's dance. He would've received a prize for the costume contest as well. They informed him that he was disqualified due to already winning in the dance contest. Too much winning is not allowed? 

Kat asked that I take her for a walk in a park for Valentine's day. We went to Rollingwood Park as it's near and easy. The weather was really nice. Kat enjoyed the swing set, going higher, and higher.. 

Craft Beer Rooftop Deck blind IPA tasting:

Four different IPA in glasses numbered 1-4. We each made notes on preference, and tried to identify what was in each glass. 

Guess who successfully identified each one? 

That's right... KAT scored 100%. 

Austin Chinese American Network festival. Kat got to spend time with her people.

I enjoyed the matcha (green tea) layered crepe cake. 

Things are heating up in my metal art class. I made two sections of square tube (each tube was made from four flats). Then I joined those together. I was happy with the welds. The thing below was made from eight individual coupons (small flat pieces we use for practice welds).

Goji went home. #2 son was a bit sad to say goodbye to his friend. 

Posted by paul at 08:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

#1 son had another birthday. We thought airpods would be a good gift. He seemed slightly annoyed. He's happy with his cheap $10 bluetooth headphones... I don't think he's opened the airpods to try them. 

The food at Plucker's has been super inconsistent. Our wings came soggy and room temperature. The price was super low (redeem birthday meal), so we continue to return. I still hope they would have a dedicated food runner to get people the food in a more timely manner.  

A quick trip to check on our river property in Wimberley.  

My metal art class this semester is all about acetylene torch skills. I spend hours a week, holding a torch in one hand and a brazing rod in the other. 

We found a light dusting of snow. It didn't last long.

Goji spends 22-23 hours a day like this. If he's standing, it's to watch me in the kitchen. He dislikes going outside. I have to pick him up, carry him out. He wastes no time to takes care of business, and then runs to the door, wanting back indoors.

We are looking to replace our X5. Kat was in an all white sort of mood, so we matched vehicles to her attire. 

Food and Beverage pics below...

Sushi from Chef Jorge at Chinatown. 

Other Half Brewing Triple Cream was a special treat. 

A birthday gathering for a friend, at Perry's was enjoyed. A long table filled with seafood towers, tomahawk steaks and all the foods.

A custom Smash Bros cookie cake for the tournament #1 son hosted.  

Posted by paul at 09:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Now that he finished the custom artwork on his skateboard, it was time to ride. He researched the nearest skate park, and went twice this weekend.  

"I'm not doing this just to be COOL, I want it for transportation". I guess he's planning to go places....

He also completed a fun video of the build process for his skateboard.  

SWAY Westlake had their one year anniversary party. The rooftop was all open bar, with DJ and photo-booth. 

They had a few specials for the event in the restaurant downstairs. While it was good, and SPICY, the salt level was way high.  

The weather has been perfect. Low humidity and highs in the mid to upper 70's. I cleaned off our rooftop deck. Goji-Momma brought back some Turning Point from her trip to Dallas. We enjoyed some TIPA up there.  

It was a clear sky night for sure.  

We often tour open houses. Seldom do we find one we like, don't have things we would change. Or one that has all the features we would want from a home. 310 W Monroe (78704) was a really nice home.  

Our Super Bowl Sunday tradition of eating out often involves a few snags. We had carefully selected a restaurant that didn't have TVs, only to find a note on the door stating they closed for the occasion. There had been no notice posted to social media, their website, or even their answering machine. But things ended well as we were near Lin. Kat had wanted to take the family out for soupy dumplings, and these are the best in town.  

Posted by paul at 08:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)