Gretch Runs

It's almost the end of the year, and I'm getting very close to my annual reading goal! This month I was really busy with some trips and bathroom projects, so I listened to more books than usual. I also started some holiday books that were so disappointing, so if you have some good ones please let me know! Business or Pleasure by Rachel Lynn Solomon The premise of this book absolutely sold me- a woman has the worst one-night-stand of her life, then gets an amazing opportunity to ghost write a memoir for a celebrity and guess who it is?! Of course hijinks ensue, and while they're working together on a book, the writer is also teaching the celebrity how to be better in bed. It's pretty cheesy and predictable but I still enjoyed it as a quick and easy read. My Rating- 3.5/5 Kiss Her Once for Me by Alison Cochrun I absolutely adore Christmas romances, so when I saw this on a list I picked it up without even reading what it was about. As it turns out, it's about another o...

I realized today that I need to wrap up my posts about my trip to Europe, because we just booked our flights for our next trip! This is to a part of the world we’ve never been to before, and a new hemisphere! Any guesses where we’re going? But back to our last trip. So far I shared about going to the sea , the mountains , and the lake , but now we’re journeying up to Austria!  We went there for a good reason- the Red Bull Ring is right outside of Slovenia in the town of Spielberg, Austria. For those of you who don’t know, Dan and I are both big Formula One fans (he’s been one for a while and I got into it after watching Drive to Survive).  He found out that there are opportunities for regular people to drive cars on the same track that the race uses, so we had to do it! I got to be a passenger princess and it was such a cool experience- we got over 150 MPH and it was insane how fast it felt, but still way slower than the actual drivers. We also got a tour of the track and got ...

Somehow we're almost through with the month of November, but I still have lots of fun books to share that I read in October! Let's get right to them- Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez For the most part I really enjoyed this book- Abby always writes such great characters with so much depth and the conversations always seem so realistic. My only complaint about this was all of the fake drama- I usually love the fake relationship trope, but this time it just seemed so forced and dramatic for me. I liked the side characters a lot, particularly the grandpa and Jafar! Such a fun and easy read. My rating - 3.5/5 When in Rome by Sarah Adams This was another cute romance by an author I love to read and I know it'll just make me feel happy on the inside when I read it! This was a bit more of a slow burn to me- it took a while for me to get into it but once I did I couldn't stop. I liked the town setting and all of the quirky town people, and also loved the developing relationship. Supe...

I am so late with my book reviews this month, but I had a lot of really good reads and didn't want to skip sharing them! I'll get right to it- but be sure to let me know what you read this month and loved. House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J Maas This was my book club pick for the month and I'm so glad I got to read it! I know this series (Crescent City) is full of really long books, so I didn't really want to get started with them. This started a bit slow but I loved the world building and quickly was not able to put it down. I like how this was more of a modern world with fantasy elements. The characters were all great and I loved the relationships that got built! I do think it was way longer than it needed to be, but I'm excited to read book 2. My Rating - 4/5 The Ex Hex and The Kiss Curse by Erin Sterling Spooky season meets romance! These books were so quick to read and were the perfect cozy little read for the month. I read them out of order but it doesn't...

September has come and gone, and it's actually starting to feel like fall is around the corner. We're getting a few mornings of cooler weather, but the days are still nice and hot, and I love it! This was a busy month for me but wasn't very fun- I had to start going back to the office three time a week (which is frustrating since my team is all in Pittsburgh, so I come into the office to sit alone and not see anyone!) and also had to work almost every weekend! It's been really busy and stressful at work, and honestly getting in the way of the work/life balance that I always try to keep. I'm working way more hours, and also just feel tired and stressed all the time, so I'm hoping that October will get a bit better. There weren't a lot of highlights this month, but finishing my fourth triathlon of the year and spending that weekend with friends was definitely one of them! It was also my only weekend I didn't end up working, so I was thankful for a little t...

This past weekend, I completed my fourth and final triathlon of the year! Going into this year all I wanted to do was do more tri's so I could find out if I really liked them or not, so I think I can successfully check that goal off. My final one was the same that I did last year- the Wrightsville Beach Sprint Tri- and I improved in some areas and got way worse in some. Let's go over the race! Swim If you remember from last year, this was the one leg that I was really dreading. I was so nervous about it but I ended up doing way better than I expected. This year I went in with the goal of just going for it and pushing as much as possible because I worked really hard on swimming this year! As soon as we started, I just immediately kicked off and went for my freestyle. Just like last year, the salt water kept me afloat and made it really easy to keep going!  I surprised myself by actually swimming the entire distance and not taking any breaks- I didn't really feel tired at all...

We are officially in the final stretch before my last race of the year! I'm so excited to see how I do compared to last year. This was a week of transition- I'm back in the office now so that's definitely changing how my workouts went and how I could squeeze them in again. I'll figure it out but for now it's been a little rough! Here's how the week went-  Monday 1 hour yoga Yoga was very much needed today- I had my first day back in the office this morning (after 3.5 years away!). It was a long and stressful day so it felt great to end my day with some stretching and easy movement. Tuesday 30 min run Very sticky and warm run today at lunchtime- I headed to a park that I haven't been to in a while and it was great to have a change of scenery! Wednesday 1 hour bootcamp Today's class was so hard! Our first three stations were all wall sits- one regular one with a weight overhead, and then holding a weight and just using one leg in the hold. It was really ch...

We are getting closer and closer to my next (and possibly last?) race of the year! It was a great week of training- minus doing some road biking because my bike was in the shop getting a tune up for the race. Otherwise, things are clicking in place and I'm excited to see if I have any improvements from the race last year! Here's how the week went- Monday 1000 yard swim I did a straight swim today- no sets or warmups, just swim nonstop. I felt good on this and could have kept going which is always a good thing! 4.5 mile hike Since it was a holiday, I decided to go out to my favorite park for a hike. I was also planning on kayaking afterwards but it seemed like that was everyone's plan and it was super crowded! So, I just ended my kayak and headed home to relax the rest of the day. Tuesday 40 min run If you can tell by our expressions, it was a toasty one this morning! I joined Erica for a run around the Art Museum, and we took it easy with some walks up the hills.  Wednesday...

I had another up and down month of books! On one hand, I had what might be my favorite book of the year so far, and on the other I had some duds and one that I gave up on. Let's see what I read- and please leave suggestions on some fun fall books I can read the next few months!  Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros There was a lot of hype around this book- I saw it everywhere on Instagram and Tik Tok, and the wait at the library was months long. I wasn't sure what to expect, but as soon as I started I was pulled into this incredible world. This book takes place in a world that's like Harry Potter meets Hunger Games, with more dragons thrown in. There's a lot of action, as well as sweet moments and some romance as well. I loved this so much, and definitely think it's one of my favorite books so far this year. My Rating - 5/5 obviously! Mean Baby by Selma Blair You should already know that I love celebrity memoirs, and I also love Selma Blair as a person (from what I've ...

August was such a fun month! It definitely felt like it was the height of summer fun, with lots of outdoor activities with friends, outdoor festivals and concerts, birthday celebrations, and races. It was a good time! There were a lot of highlights for me, but the top one was probably something I've been looking forward to for months (and honestly years)- seeing the musical Wicked! I love musicals and any kind of live performance, so I was really excited when a friend was willing to go with me and we had an amazing time. The show definitely lived up to my expectations and I absolutely loved it! Here's a look at how my annual goals are going- we're getting down to the end of the year which is crazy to think about! Annual Goals Korean Vegan Cookbook I tried out the noodle chapter in the book, which I was pretty intimidated by! I've never made noodles before, so I decided on the knife cut noodle soup recipe which the author says is the easiest to make. I liked how the soup...