Gretch Runs

I honestly can't believe it's Thursday already!  Where has the week gone?  Some weeks seem to dribble by in the slowest way possible, while other whoosh by in a blink.  I have a lot of thoughts to share today, so it's a perfect time to join the other bloggers and Think Out Loud . Australian Open If you're not a tennis fan, you can skip on to the next section because I need to talk about this crazy tournament!  I've been following tennis for the past few years, and I can honestly say that this has been the most surprising and insane Grand Slams (or tournament in general) that I've ever followed.  Not only did the men's #1 and #2 seeds fall early on in the tournament (to unseeded players none the less!), but the women's side has been unpredictable as always.  I love having a good underdog story, and on the women's draw we've had that with CoCo Vandeweghe and the incredibly resilient Mirjana Lucic Baroni.  To give you some perspective, Mirja...

Hi everyone!  Today I'm going to be joining in the Thinking Out Loud linkup fun.  I'm going to be sharing some things that are going on in my life and interesting things I've been reading about- but it's kind of random.  I would love to hear your thoughts, so please share them in the comments! Amazon Go Has anyone heard about this?  Basically  it's a grocery store with no check out lines- just scan an app to get in, pick up your stuff and go.  In some ways, this concept is really interesting to me.  I work in mobile payments, so it's encouraging to me that the future looks promising for my career, plus who likes to wait in really long lines? On the other hand, it seems like machines are replacing people more and more, which is a terrifying thought.  This seems like the first step in eliminating service jobs which is really going to hurt the economy and unemployment rate.  What do you all think? Side note- if any of you have a ...

Happy Thursday everyone! Today I have a different type of post to share today.  I don't talk about relationships or my dating life much on the blog, but I'm switching it up today!  I got married last Friday, and I thought it would be fun to share some relationship rules that I broke while Dan and I dated. I'll also be sharing some wedding pictures!  We got married at the Butterfly Falls at the Hidden Valley Inn in Belize (more on the Inn in upcoming posts!), and the pictures turned out absolutely amazing.  Since we had a "just the two of us" ceremony, there's not much to talk about the actual wedding.  In lieu of a full post on that, I'll be sharing some background information on our relationship, along with wedding photos and some #ThrowbackThursday pictures.  I hope you enjoy (and I promise- back to running stuff next week!) Guys are immature, so date someone older I've always read in magazines (which, by the way, have the worst datin...

Hi everyone! I'm excited for today's post, because I'm teaming up Amanda , one of my favorite bloggers out there, to give you some advice. Once I found out that Amanda is a licensed realtor, I knew I had to get some help with her during my home buying process.  Luckily for me, she was willing to share some secrets and now I'm going to pass that knowledge on to you. Whether you're currently house hunting, or hoping to do so in the next few years, I think this is all great advice and I hope you'll find it helpful!  Take it away, Amanda! Hi I’m Amanda! I’m a Licensed Realtor in Dubuque, Iowa. I started working in real estate as a part-time marketing assistant during college and I’ve been in the industry just about 3 years now. After graduation I obtained my real estate license and am now working as a Realtor/Licensed Assistant on a team of 3 Realtors. Some of these tips may seem like common sense, but as I think back to just a few years ago, I had ab...

Happy Thursday everyone!  As usual, I'm going to be joining in the Thinking Out Loud linkup today.  Instead of having a structured post like I usually do, I wanted to share my thoughts about a podcast that I recently listened to- a specific episode of the Lively Show with Brooke Castillo . The entire episode was really powerful to me and I took down a ton of notes while I listened.  Then, about halfway through the episode, Jess shared a quote by Joyce Meyer that made me drop everything and rewind to hear the words again. Worry is a down payment on a problem you may never have. I've always been a pretty anxious person.  It seemed like there was always something for me to obsess over, and worry about the worst possible outcome-   What if I give my speech in class and completely forget every word and everyone laughs at me? What if I get lost on my way to my new classes and I end up being late and get in trouble? What if...? This would translate int...

Hi everyone!  Today I'm going to be joining in the Show and Tell Tuesday linkup and sharing a more personal post.  The theme for today is Soundtrack of My Life, and I'm going to share a song that either meant a lot to me during different times of my life, or the lyrics highlight important events in my life.  This is going to be sort of a cheesy post, but I hope you enjoy a more personal post! Birth Step By Step - New Kids on the Block I was born on June 28, 1990 in Pittsburgh, and this was the #1 song at that time!  It sounds so 90's..right?   Elementary School Born This Way - Lady Gaga Early on in elementary school, I was tested for the Gifted Center, which was a program in the Pittsburgh Public Schools for people that tested above a certain IQ.  My mom always knew that I was different and actually thought that I was being tested for emotional support.  She could tell you a lot of stories about how I was always slightly o...

Hi everyone!  I have an exciting post lined up for today.  A topic that's been on my mind a lot lately has been balance .  Life lately has been really busy and hectic, and balancing my full time job with blogging has been a challenge! I've been talking about this with some of my blogging friends as well, and it seems to be a pretty universal issue.  I wanted to get some tips and tricks from other bloggers who balance a full time job as well to see how they do it all. To be completely honest, all of the ladies that I asked for advice I originally thought were full-time bloggers.  They consistently produce such high-quality content that I figured it was impossible to do that in addition to working!  I had to learn their secrets to success, and share it with you all.  I hope you'll find these tips helpful, and make sure you stop by and visit all of these amazing blogs. Alexa is a local Pittsburgh blogger who shares healthy versions of class...

I'm convinced that there are three types of runners- those who listen to podcasts on runs, those who listen to music on runs, and the very few who somehow make it through runs with no sound but the stomping of feet, and the rise and fall of the breath.  I personally fall into the first group.  To me, there's nothing better than catching up on my favorite podcasts while getting in my workout. I think that podcasts became popular thanks to Serial coming out last year, and now everyone is jumping on the bandwagon.  While I liked season 1, I've found other podcasts out there that I enjoy even more.  I think podcasts are the perfect way to get your mind of your body while you're running, and they really help the miles fly by!  I like how I can get lost in a new story, learn something new, or just be entertained. Today I'll be sharing some of my favorite podcasts.  I'm always adding new ones to my list, so this is ever evolving!  If you have any sugge...

Tis the season- for holiday gift guides!  Within the next month, our inboxes and blog feeds are going to be inundated with guide after guide.  What to buy for the office best friend or running pal.  What to get for the person who has everything or your newly-grad cousin who has nothing. One site that always comes out with tons of guides is Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop .  If you haven't heard of the website, it's an upper-class site full of expensive products, restaurant and travel suggestions, and tips for staying mindful and fashionable. Each year, Goop releases extravagant gift guides for different types of people.  Their gift suggestions range anywhere from less than $50 to over $90,000 (would a trip to the moon be a stocking stuffer or...?).  This year, I decided to tackle three of their guides- the Wanderer , the Ridiculous (and Awesome) , and the Dude - and try to find affordable options for a few gifts that I think are thoughtful and clever.   ...