reunion weekend

It’s Reunion Weekend here in East Aurora. That means the 5K, sidewalk chalk competition and sale and, of course, all the high school reunions. Andrew’s is tonight at a local bar, Wallenwein’s Hotel. Hi Bob!

We started our day off with the RERUN 5K at Fireman’s Field. It was the first time I’d been there, so it was neat to get acquainted with another part of the village.

Before:

After (VERY SWEATY):

Andrew ran with me–yay! Well, “with” might be slightly misleading. More like 3:33 minutes behind.

Andrew: “This heat and that hill in the middle killed me.”

Me: “What hill? Oh, I suppose that was a bit of an incline…”

He threw his water at me.

I LOVE just-ripe bananas! And the Braeburn apples. Did you know New York used to be the apple capital of the country, if not the world? Apparently Washington has overtaken NY’s production. Oh well, more for us!

There was also a one-mile kids’ fun run. Adorable.

Guess what?! I won my age group! HOLY COW! This was a shocker, since despite the small size of the field, it was FULL of “real” runners. Not that I’m NOT a runner, but you know what I’m talking about. Teeny sports bras and compression shorts abounded. The overall female winner (with an 18-something time) is a college runner at Bucknell. At least five or six youngsters (16-20 year-olds) smoked me.

I ran the 5K in 22 minutes flat, which is definitely my best time ever. So proud!

The awards were pint glasses and beer mugs. I chose the pint because I love the size and collecting those with neat designs. I picked up a couple colorful ones recently that are teal and brown and say “Buffalo Lounge.” I can’t wait to use them in our future house.

Check it out! Andrew’s high school track and cross country coach was the one handing out the awards–neat!

I’ve come so far as a runner from where I was in college; it’s hard not to be just ecstatic.

After the run we popped by the co-op. Alix Martin and her team had started the mural project earlier this morning and I was supposed to take some photos of the progress. I’ll link to that once it’s finished so you all can see!

We cleaned up at Andrew’s parents’ house, then headed over to Main Street for the sidewalk sale. It’s an annual thing and all the shops along Main Street bring out their wares, as well as typical fair booths and festival food.

Look! It’s Van Gogh’s “Starry Night!”

Kids hard at work on the piece that, I believe, took second place.

What fair would be complete without kettle corn?

Andrew passed on the popcorn in favor of…

…FUNNEL CAKE! I was full of self-control and only had two bites.

It was pretty steamy out (even I was getting warm!), so the mister was a hit with those who didn’t mind getting a little wet.

We took a break from the heat and headed into Tuscany on Main, the newest olive oil and vinegar store in town. They were having tastings and we loved it. We’ll definitely go back. I tried fig, chocolate, blood orange and cherry balsamic vinegars, pear champagne vinegar and garlic olive oil. DELICIOUSNESS!

There was fencing…

…and chess demonstrations, just to name a few.

We’re headed out in a few minutes for Andrew’s reunion–must go get ready!

date night and how i’m going to make up for it today…

Andrew and I went on a date last night. An actual date. I don’t even remember the last time we had a “true” date. Sure, we go out to dinners and movies all the time, but they never feel like a “date.” It’s just not-eating-at-home, or grabbing something convenient, or going to see the new summer blockbuster with Andrew’s family. I think because we can go out often, we DO go out often, which takes away some of the “special-ness” of it all.

So, we decided mini-golf would be our date. It was a typical New York summer night; the temps have dropped again (thank goodness!) and I was in a t-shirt, pants and a jean jacket–can you believe it! As always, I lost to Andrew, but perhaps played my best 18 holes EVER, so that was fun. After golf we stopped into Target to explore the new “Fresh” section they just put in. We shared a cherry ICEE and a bag of popcorn and walked up and down the aisles, which was probably more fun for me than for Andrew, but it was nice to see what they had.

We left with some odds and ends and then made ANOTHER stop…this time to get DESSERT. (Not that I needed it, but I’d had a crazy craving for chocolate and we’d discussed going to Taffy’s; I needed no more persuasion than that!)

Taffy’s is a 60-year-old hot dog and milkshake stand that is now on the corner of a busy intersection in Orchard Park. Strip malls filled with Tim Horton’s, McDonald’s, Lowe’s and the like have sprouted up around it, yet it remains a local favorite. It’s a tiny building surrounded by four-person gliders with canopies–perfect for a summer day or night.

They’re known for their milkshakes; they have a menu with about a hundred (or more!) options, all divided by main ingredient, like fruit or chocolate. Thank goodness! I’m indecisive enough!

I got a Raspberry Truffle milkshake (raspberry and chocolate) and Andrew got a vanilla ice cream cone. We split an order of cajun curly fries. YUM. We’ll definitely go back, and I’ll be bringing the camera because Taffy’s deserves a post of its own!

I’m still four pounds away from my goal (grrr), so in order to make up for last night’s overindulgence, I’m going LIGHT today. Very light.

Breakfast was a banana (I love eating bananas plain when they are yellow with just the tiniest hint of green; once they have the brown dots all over them I tend to mix them into things or slice them on toast with peanut butter) and coffee. After my workout, I fixed myself a fantastic, Kath-approved snack:

I mixed up plain lowfat yogurt, flaxseed meal, 1 tbsp chocolate chips and the last of my frozen cherries in the blender, then topped with the last of my Great Harvest Groovy Granola. YUM. The granola makes it pretty high in calories (220 for 1/2 cup) but it also keeps me full for awhile.

I’m planning on finishing up the last of my hummus and veggies for lunch, with some fruit. I’m cooking here tonight, finally, and we’re having Trader Joe’s Mango Chicken Sausages (they’ve been living in the freezer since Ohio!) with barbeque chips and fruit for dinner.

I bought Birthday Cake-flavored Kefir at Wegmans yesterday (I know, it sounds weird) in hopes that if I poured it over fruit it would KINDA taste like ice cream. We’ll see.

Waldfest

Andrew and I went to Waldfest yesterday afternoon. It’s a local German Festival just outside of East Aurora. (All photos courtesy of Andrew, my hero with the camera, who graciously carried it around and got into picture-taking mode for me.)

A friend of Andrew’s from work invited us and we thought it would be a great time. It was pretty warm here yesterday (upper 80’s), so we waited until about 4 p.m. to go.

It was packed, although not uncomfortably so.

We walked around, found the beer tent and got ourselves a couple Weissbiers.

And who can pass up bratwurst and mettwurst at a German Festival?

I like mine with sauerkraut and mustard. (Excuse my nails; I’m in desperate need of a manicure!)

Kegs.

This is Bart, a friend of Andrew’s from work. He had this awesome camera case that was actually a small backpack. It’s now my mission to find one for us. Maybe that’s what Kath uses to tote her camera around everywhere! As you can see, it was warm.

Bart is also somewhat of a photographer. I don’t know him that well yet, but this photo really captures, in my mind, who Bart is: a guy full of life, always with a huge grin and having the most fun possible.

This photo makes me look like I was drunk and double-fisting, neither of which would have been true. I stuck to about a cup and a half but thought this was a great shot.

Our group tried to give this guy some beer but he dutifully waved them off; he was working the event.

Another fun shot…

I ponied-up four tickets (TWO DOLLARS! Although I guess it could have been worse…) for a bottle of water. Must. Alternate. Alcohol. With. Water. Seriously, I really am responsible when I drink. Not that we’re big drinkers; I just feel better (mentally and physically) if I’ve balanced out any alcohol I’ve consumed with big glasses of water.

This shot has a bit of a story… This was the ice cream guy. Bart (at this point shirtless because of a beer spill) managed to get a bunch of free ice creams for us. I nabbed one of the strawberry fruit bars (love those!) and when I went to throw my trash away Andrew wanted to get a photo… Don’t worry; we’re pretty sure he was more into Bart than me!

This guy walked by our group and stopped to chat:

There was music and dancing on the stage as well.

We had a great time but left before the bitter end. We both love ethnic food outings, so we’re looking forward to upcoming Italian and Polish festivals as well.