Gretch Runs

We're already through another month of reading, and it's crazy to me to put these reviews together and see how much I'm reading. I'm already through 30 books so far, which is more than what I usually read in an entire year! I think that joining a book club and also reading instead of watching TV to relax has made a huge difference and I love it.  Here are the books I read in April- Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney Things have been wrong with Mr and Mrs Wright for a long time. When Adam and Amelia win a weekend away to Scotland, it might be just what their marriage needs. Self-confessed workaholic and screenwriter Adam Wright has lived with face blindness his whole life. He can’t recognize friends or family, or even his own wife. Every anniversary the couple exchange traditional gifts – paper, cotton, pottery, tin – and each year Adam’s wife writes him a letter that she never lets him read. Until now. They both know this weekend will make or break their marriage, but

April was a big month for me! There were a lot of big life changes as well as some fun trips and events going on. Just a quick summary- I started out the month by pacing a friend in the Umstead 100 Mile race. It was so much fun pacing and I think I'll do it again! Dan and I also volunteered at a water stop during the race and that was also a great time! I don't think an ultra marathon is in my future but I definitely enjoy being a part of the weekend. I ran my own race- the Tar Heel 10 Miler. Even though I originally wanted to race it for a PR I ended up just running with some friends and had a GREAT time! Right after the race I went to Richmond to meet up with my mom, sister, and nephew. We spent a few days together and it was a great trip! We explored a lot of cool areas and visited two of my favorite breweries- Stone and Hardywood. Need to go back since it's such a quick drive from Raleigh. While all this was going on, Dan and I were house hunting! It was a sudden decisi

Good morning everyone! Life has been so hectic lately- so far in April I volunteered and paced at the Umstead 100 Miler (SUCH a great experience), ran in the Tar Heel 10 Miler, visited Richmond with my family, dove straight into house hunting, and got offered a new job! Like I said in my monthly goals post- life is full of changes lately! Can't wait to share more. For today's post since I haven't been on here much lately, I thought it would fun to do an old fashioned favorites post. I have a few things that I've been loving lately and want to talk about, so I hope you'll find something new to try (and also share with me any life-changing products you're obsessed with). Let's get into it! Backpack  - Funny enough, I actually got this backpack at the start of 2020 because of all the travel I had planned. I'm finally getting to use it this year and absolutely love it! It has so many useful compartments to keep me organized, and it also works great for worki

Good morning and Happy Monday! I hope you all had a great weekend. Mine was very busy but so fun- one of my friends ran in the Umstead 100 Miler (that's not a typo- she ran 100 miles!!). I got to pace her for one of her 12.5 mile loops, and then Dan and I both volunteered at the race. It was probably the most fun I've had at a race, maybe ever? I'll definitely be back again next year! Today I'll be sharing the books that I read in March! There was a huge mix of duds and great books, along with some vacation reads and Book Club picks. Here's how the month of reading went- The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner A female apothecary secretly dispenses poisons to liberate women from the men who have wronged them - setting three lives across centuries on a dangerous collision course. One cold February evening in 1791, at the back of a dark London alley in a hidden apothecary shop, Nella awaits her newest customer. Once a respected healer, Nella now uses her knowledge for a d

March was such a fun (and long!) month! It feels like so much has happened that when I was looking back at what all I did it was hard to believe it all happened in 31 days. For one thing- I had two amazing trips that were the highlight of the month- a last minute quick getaway to Myrtle Beach with friends and a long-awaited trip to Savannah with two of my friends from Pittsburgh. Secondly, Dan started a job this month which has flipped our lives upside down (in a good way!). Plus he celebrated his birthday last week! We're making lots of changes, and I think there will be more to come in April.  I kind of failed on my monthly goals because the month was so nuts so we'll just focus on my annual goals.... Spend More Time Outdoors 1000 Hours Outside  - January - 54 total hours, breaking down to 41 hours running/walking/hiking, 5 hours reading, and 8 hours socializing/misc.  February - 52 total hours, breaking down to 31 hours running/walking/hiking, 7 hours reading, 13 hours socia

It's been a while since I've done a "Currently" post, and I just saw that San posted one and thought it would be fun to post my answers! Here's some new things going on for me- CELEBRATING | Dan's new job! He started working at a robotics company this week, and we went out to dinner at Vivace, a great Italian restaurant in the North Hills. It was delicious! TRYING TO | spend as much time as possible outside, and train hard for my upcoming race. I haven't done a 10 miler in so long and it's one of my favorite distances so I can't wait to see how it goes. FEELING | overwhelmed by all the changes going on in my life right now, but also like I have no place to complain with everything going on in the world.  PLEDGING | my monthly charity to a cause helping Ukraine. My work is doing a special match for donations made to support Ukrainians so I wanted to make sure I could make as big of an impact as I could. LOVING | the weather lately- it's been in