Gretch Runs

Happy April everyone! It's already time to go over my goals and how I did this month.  To be honest, this month I didn't really pay attention to my goals that much.  It was a stressful month and I felt like I always had my mind on other things and was running around a lot, so some of my numbers are a little lower which is fine. I can't expect every month to be fantastic!  Let's just hope that April is a better month :) Each month, I'll go through each goal area and talk about my progress on each resolution.  If there's a "+" by the resolution- that means I was successful that month!  If there's a "-", unfortunately I missed the mark.  Some of my goals are more of a year-long thing, so until I complete the entire goal (for example saving $15,000) I'll have a "-" (which is why none of my fitness goals have a "+").  I'll give you a quick update on my progress though, and hopefully there will be a "+&

Happy Wednesday everyone!  I'm really excited to share a recipe with you that is perfect for this time of year. A few months ago, I met up with Alexa, the amazing blogger behind Fooduzzi.  We met at a local coffee shop called Big Dog Coffee in the Southside.  She suggested that I get her favorite drink- a turmeric tonic.  I've never had turmeric in a drink before, so I was definitely intrigued and followed her advice.  I'm so glad that I did, because the tea was amazing and has been on my mind ever since! I have been trying to come up with a recipe that is close to the original drink that I had, and I think this one comes pretty close.  It's spicy and sweet and can be enjoyed hot or cold.  I can't get enough of it, and I hope you enjoy it as well!  Before I share the recipe, I wanted to give you a few facts about turmeric.  This is a popular ingredient lately, and for good reason!  There are tons of benefits of this plant, which I want to share: Health bene

Hi everyone! How's your week going so far?  I can't believe it's the final week of March, and I'm really excited because April is going to be a HUGE month for me.  It's been really crazy around here lately, and I had originally planned on sharing a new recipe today.   Unfortunately, I had the post all drafted out and went to take pictures (last minute of course because I've been rushing around like a crazy person) and they did not turn out well at all.  I'm going to try again today and hope that I can share the recipe tomorrow because it's a really good one!   In the meantime, I'm happy to be doing a fun survey today.  I was tagged by Emma and JW , and loved the fun questions!  I hope you enjoy, and I tag all of the bloggers out there to do this survey next! Are you named after anyone? Nope!  I do have an interesting story about my middle name.  When my mom was born, nothing sounded good with her first and last name, so my grandparents left

Hi everyone and Happy Monday!  I hope you all had a great weekend and Easter holiday.  Dan and I spent the weekend in Carlisle with his family to celebrate his birthday, so I wanted to give a little recap of what we did!  My week of running was boring and mostly recovering from my half marathon , so I thought it would be more exciting to talk about my fun weekend.  Enjoy! The weekend was all about dogs!  Dan's dad has a few acres of land, so Selma and her best friend Lily ran all around.  The weather was absolutely perfect all weekend, so we spent a lot of time outside with them. Happy dog = Happy life :) How adorable is Dan's mom's pitbull!?  I love him! I think Lily was a model in another life...she's always ready for the camera! We took a trip down to Gettysburg to check out the museum and some battlefields.  I also got to see part of the marathon race course!  It was so beautiful down there. So many open fields! In the museum, we wa

Happy Friday everyone!  Today is a very special day, because it's Dan's birthday!  I have a different Top Five Favorites planned for today, to honor my all-time favorite.  Instead of talking about myself like usual, I'm going to be sharing a few of Dan's favorite things, some songs that he's loving lately, and his favorite shows.  I hope you enjoy a closer look at what he's into! 541 Levi's Sneaky shot of the jeans! As long as I've known him, Dan has been a Wranglers and plain t-shirt (usually with Penn State or another logo on it) kind of guy.  I've been trying to inject some style into his life without much success, because he finds most jeans really uncomfortable, too restricting, or "scratchy".  I finally got him to try on some Levi's when we went up to Tanger Outlets a few weeks ago, and he actually liked these jeans!  These are the 541- Athletic Fit Stretch Jeans , which are relaxed in the waist and hips, but are tapered

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 into staying up all

Hi everyone!  Today is a very happy Wednesday, because I have a great post lined up for you today.  You all know that I have a thing for energy bites, and today I'm sharing another version of my favorite treat.  These delicious treats are so decadent and incredible- but they're Whole30 compliant!  That pretty much makes them a health food, right? I love to make a big batch of these (this recipe will make two dozen) and grab a few when I can sense that rungry feeling coming on (which seems to be all the time now.)  Is anyone else in that part of their training where you're hungry all. the. time ?!  Luckily, these are really quick and easy to whip up, and have been my saviour at work or before I head out for a run.  They honestly taste like brownie batter, and I couldn't be happier with how these turned out.  My sweet tooth and stomach are both very  happy with this one! Brownie Batter Energy Bites 1/2 cup walnuts 1/4 cup cashews 1 cup of pitted dates 1/2 cup

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 off  as a kid, so she w