Easter weekend

Happy Belated Easter! I had all sorts of fun things to blog about this weekend, but kinda took the weekend ‘off’ and this is my first chance to sit down (Not really, I still have TONS of schoolwork to do, but this is somewhat time-sensitive, too. If I wait too long, it will be old news!) and type it all out.

There was LOTS going on this weekend for us, with Andrew’s grandmother visiting and Abigail home from school…

I ran in the Bunny Hop 5K…and scored SECOND PLACE in my age group! Holy smokes! Seriously…despite some of my recent PRs here and here, when I saw the 1,011-runner crowd lining up, all hopes of placing went right out the window. In fact, I was having a bad morning due to a sudden neck spasm and stress (what else is new?), so I really had to pep-talk my way through the entire (almost all uphill, if that’s possible) race.

The neat thing was that the course went right by Andrew’s parents’ driveway! I waved as I passed the first time… (I’m in pink and purple.)

Andrew’s family (and the dogs!) came out to cheer me on…

Here I am on the way back, just a 100 yards or so from the finish. LOVE my purple running pants!

Andrew was convinced I’d placed in my age group (based on the small number of ladies who finished ahead of me), so we waited around for what seemed like forever at the finish for them to post results.

At least the oranges were good and even the store-bought oatmeal raisin cookies were decent. Andrew ate my hot dog, but I caved and got another one and ate about half when the results still weren’t posted…

Sure enough, I DID place–I got SECOND! Prizes for the Bunny Hop are chocolate bunnies, which, despite their appropriateness, are (in my mind) a bit counterproductive. Carolyn had the brilliant idea to throw mine in the freezer and use it to bake with later. It’s currently crushed into small pieces and chilling with my other chocolate.

We spent the day relaxing at Andrew’s parents’ house and running errands on Main Street. We wanted to show grandma the new cupcake place, and while there, I picked up this little guy:

Perhaps the most memorable event was our dinner Saturday night, and, as usual, I got no photos. We ended up at a local hibachi grill/Japanese Steakhouse/sushi bar due to our large party (8) and lack of pre-panning (it was 6:30 and we were trying to find a restaurant without an hour wait). Can I just say the Layers aren’t big on change, ethnic food OR fish??

Let’s just say that if Carolyn’s face had frozen they way she was turning up her nose at the menu, she’s be one unhappy camper. In all honesty, Andrew and I were pretty nervous–we’d taken everyone here thinking it was akin to a Benihana, but it turned out to be about 95% sushi and sans-hibachi tables. Our table ended up with five chicken teriyakis, one beef teriyaki, one soba noodle and one edamame order with an Alaska roll. Can you tell which one was mine??

The night wasn’t a total loss; we ended up in a room of our own and had a few good laughs, and everyone got to experience a few things out of their comfort zone 🙂

Happy Easter morning! I got up early to cook breakfast 🙂

I made the Clinton Street Baking Co.’s buttermilk waffles (thanks for the book, Susy!), maple-roasted bacon and fruit. I even made the maple butter from the cookbook and it. was. divine. Even Andrew loved it.

As always, we did Easter baskets. Andrew’s is full of junk food and candy. I threw in a Bananagrams game, thinking it would be a good 2-person game for the house.

Andrew (as usual), went way overboard with my basket this year:

He collected all sorts of my favorite gourmet/health foods, like sweet potato chips, Luna bars, flavored seltzer, Starburst Jellybeans, Ritter chocolate with Marzipan (Heather introduced me to it before we moved last year)…

…brie and special topping…

…I’ve been DYING to try this chocolate bar since I saw it in a Food Network magazine like two years ago!

Dave sent me home with some Cadbury creme eggs last weekend, and I broke into it Easter morning! (I was good; I only ate half, though.)

Andrew particularly liked his tangerine-flavored Jelly Belly carrot. I had to force him to eat one before church… Seriously, who has to be forced to eat ONE jelly bean EVER? I wasn’t going to eat a bunch of candy all alone!

After church (we accompanied the Layers), we rushed home to finish our contributions to the meal and walk the dog before heading back to their house.

Butter ‘lambs; are a big deal around here. I saw them at the grocery store a week or so ago and wondered where they’d been all the other Easters of my life. Not where I lived, apparently.

I made caramelized pear, sage and orange biscuit bites, a recipe I found in a cookbook of Susy’s last time I was at her house. They were pretty darn good, but I don’t know if I’d make them again.

I also made Pioneer Woman’s Tres Leches cake for dessert. I. CAN’T. STOP. EATING. IT. Seriously. I had two pieces yesterday and two pieces (so far) today. Not good.

We spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out before Abigail had to head back to school. I studied for my Micro test (I have THREE tests and a quiz this week…say a prayer for me, people!).

The rest of the family played ‘bean farmer,’ which I believe is really called Bonanza.

Andrew taught grandma.

Carolyn opted out and instead searched for dishes on the iPad.

After a light dinner of sandwiches and leftovers–not that anyone was terribly hungry–Andrew and I headed home to rescue the puppy and prep for the week ahead…if only I’d had another day off!

I’ll be up for air sometime on Thursday!

it was a green kind of weekend

I’m not Irish. Nor do I really “dress up” for holidays. (Well, I’d love nothing more than uber-festive Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners, but not everyone is up for that in my families. Sigh.)

But there is something about St. Patrick’s Day that makes me want to pull out all the stops and (tastefully) adorn myself in green. Maybe it’s the spring weather. Maybe it’s the fact that I’m already a huge ‘green’ fan. Maybe it’s the few ‘strategic’ green articles of clothing I own.

Anyway.

We’re having phenomenally good weather here this week (which is a boon for the parades and things), and so to take full advantage of it, I decided to run outside. In green. You see, for the last few (maybe four or five?), I’ve been running a 10K on, or in honor of, St. Patrick’s Day in head-to-toe green. Wright-Patt ABF always had their St. Patrick’s Day run (and I was a sucker for those lunchtime base runs), and even after separating from the military, Susy and I still participated in them until I moved last year.

Well, it’s just more than a 10K (6.3 miles, to be exact) from our driveway in Orchard Park to Andrew’s parents’ driveway in East Aurora. So, I ran there. I packed up a gym bag, my phone and purse and sent them all with Andrew so I could shower after at his parents’ house. It actually worked out perfectly; Andrew often goes into work for a few hours Saturday morning and then we like to meet up in EA for lunch/coffee/walking around/errands/hanging at his parents’ house, so this eliminated the second car I would have driven to get there. SCORE!

Which brings me to the POINT of this entire post: the green.

Sadly, despite thinking about snapping a photo during my run, I failed to actually take a photo of me in my running get-up and didn’t remember until I was half-naked and jumping in the shower. Sad.

Just imagine neon-green Nike running shorts, a light-green 3/4 length shirt with a light-pink “Speed Demon” printed on the front, paired with my hot pink “Suck it up, Cupcake” sweatband and sunglasses (thanks mom!). That shirt was perhaps the best Goodwill find yet. You get the picture.

With the nice weather, I busted out my favorite shoes on the planet:

We went to Arriba for lunch for outdoor seating and enjoyed Margaritas and tacos. I had wanted something light, (I would have been fine with a banana and yogurt) but Andrew doesn’t often request Mexican, so I wasn’t about to turn him down. And, in fact, we both ordered the single tacos, which I feared might not be enough, but it was plenty! I took half my grilled chicken taco home (essentially a taco salad on a burrito shell, minus the cheese), along with half the sides I ordered (corn pudding, because it’s AMAZING, and black beans). Score one for healthy options at what could have been a calorie-bomb AND portion control! I even went easy on the chips and salsa 🙂

Not to mention, Andrew ordered the carnitas taco, which is a seasoned pork taco filled with a pineapple salsa and cilantro cabbage slaw… Holy Smokes! He inhaled it. Let’s just say he’s counting the days until he can go back.

Afterward we walked about the village, popping into stores here and there. I needed more honey, so I got a bottle of the local stuff at the co-op’s mini-Market. We picked up a bottle of Rose at Salut, the new wine store, and I indulged in an ice cream cone from Fowler’s. (Hey, at least we walked a TON.)

We came home and promptly became bumps on logs and continued watching season 1 of Big Bang Theory, borrowed from Carolyn.

We did, however, manage to take a walk to Vincenzo’s, the local Italian Ice place in the Orchard Park village, for a post-dinner treat. They even welcome dogs INSIDE and have treats for them, too!

Please note my GREEN PSU sweatshirt 🙂

Check out my running outfit for Sunday morning: same shorts, different shirt. I mean, if one actually HAS neon green running shorts, you gotta take full advantage of them this time of year! (That, and the amazing weather!)

After church and lunch with friends, we headed all headed to the parade downtown.

We definitely saw some interesting things… Mohawks, various combinations of green and festive hats, sunglasses, tights…. You name, we saw it.

The parade was mostly marching bands and Irish dancing groups. Irish dancing is, apparently, very big around here.

There really weren’t all that many “floats.”

At least we got a nice shot of us 🙂

I’ve had a great spring break and weekend and am SO NOT READY to go back to ‘real’ life…

Bravin’ the weather

I finally ran outside this morning.

We got a dusting of snow overnight, so I was a little anxious about my footing. I think it’s going to take a season if running in the snow to really get used to it.
I was excited to wear my newest piece of running gear, my Under Armor tights.

Last time I ran outside, my poor legs were still cold in the shower after (boy is that a weird feeling–warm water on cold legs!),so I announced to Andrew that maybe some thicker running pants were in order. You know, since we live in Buffalo now.

Look! New laces!

These trail runners came with long, thin, round laces and they didn’t stay tied very well, so I used this as an opportunity to brighten them up. LOVE the result!

And man am I glad I had I had those shoes! For about half my run I was on snow-covered sidewalk, which felt a little like running in sand, so I was thankful for a little traction. I can’t imagine running in my regular shoes…I would have been sliding all over the place! That, and the slush would all but destroy them in a few short runs, so I’m really happy I ended up with these.

Verdict on the tights: my legs were definitely a bit warmer, during and after the run, but it also wasn’t completely frigid outside. I think a colder morning will have to determine their “cold gear” abilities, but I’m happy for an additional pair regardless.

Happy winter running, all!