Light at the End of the COVID-19 Tunnel

     It's hard to believe that it's been a year since the COVID-19 pandemic swept the globe. It's sobering to think of how man lives have been lost due to this horrible virus. Last week, I received an email at work saying that library workers were now eligible to receive that COVID-19 vaccine aka the Facui Ouchie.  After making our appointments online, we were able to get our first of two shots yesterday at the local health department. Below is a photo of me and hubby after getting our first shots holding of vaccine cards. 

 

     Our second and final dose is scheduled on April 7 which I is timely since my 42nd birthday will be the next day on April 8.I feel happy, grateful, and blessed to be able to get the vaccine and hope that this is the first step in ending the COVID-19 pandemic. 

March Athlete Spotlight From Fleet Feet Fresno

I was recently surprised by being honored on the Fleet Feet Fresno Instagram and Facebook on March 1st for their athlete spotlight! I am flattered and honored to have my running journey and experience with Black Girls Run (aka BGR) highlighted by first Black Girls Run Central Valley last month and now Fleet Feet Fresno. Below is my finisher photo from the Honolulu Marathon in 2019 (aka my first marathon) followed by my running journey and experience with BGR.

 My running journey started in 2007 with the Winter Winds 2K (1.243 miles) in my hometown of Huntsville, Alabama. Unfortunately, I was under this mistaken impression that you could run a race without any training at all-just willpower and happy thoughts lol. After barely finishing the 2K, I belly flopped on some grass and told my husband I’d never run again and I didn’t run again for four years.

In 2011, after many life changes (moving from Alabama to California, becoming vegan, getting Sisterlocks,) I decided to restart running as a way to move my body regularly, set goals & see them through to completions as well celebrate what my body can do. I re-entered the running world by completing the Conquer the Bridge 5.3K in 2011 then in 2012, I ran my first half marathon (Tinkerbell 1/2 Marathon). After having the Tinkerbell 1/2 marathon medal placed around my neck, I was hooked on running!

I’ve completed over 80 in person and virtual running events ranging in distance from 5Ks to 10Ks to 1/2 marathons. Thanks to encouragement from my BGR sisters, I completed my first full 26.2 miles marathon last year in Hawaii!

I joined BGR in 2011 and what drew me to BGR is the sisterhood created based on movement and that this group is about support, encouragement, positivity, and lifting each other up.
Since joining BGR, I discovered a strong and diverse group of women from all walks of life constantly working towards taking charge of their health and life through movement. I love that BGR! One of my favorite race memories is from after the Wine and Dine 1/2 Marathon in 2012 and being introduced to Florida BGR members as well as participating in a group photo.
I feel blessed that a chapter has been created in the Central Valley and value the lifelong friendships I’ve made through being in this group. Thanks for allowing me to share my run journey & know that I feel honored to be traveling on this walking/jogging/running health journey with all of you!”

February Goals & Life Updates

     I'm happy to say that I'm still following the goals I set for myself in January and have only 17 miles left to complete the Slow AF Run Club Winter Warrior 100 miles challenge that runs from January 1-March 31. Below are the two latest mileage trophies  I recently unlocked by completing running and walking workout. 

     In addition to the Slow AF Winter Warrior Challenge, I also signed up for the free February Share the Run 20 mile running/walking challenge sponsored by Fleet Feet Fresno and Black Girls Run. By completing this challenge, each participant finisher receives a $15 Fleet Feet credit to be used to purchase an item in the future. Below is a photo of my virtual race bib followed by the finisher's badge I entered today.  

     In reference to life outside of exercise, work is going well in that our library system is now providing contact-free pick up service and our library patrons are happy to be able to come by and pick up their library holds a couple of times a week. 

     I recently had the opportunity to check something off m bucket list by being a model in a professional photoshoot. I follow Russo's Books which is a Bakersfield bookstore in California and recently one of their employees, Jason Frost,  who is also a photographer posted on Instagram that he was looking for women to participate in his #blackwomenread photo series.  After looking at his past photos for this series, I decided to contact him to participate. Below are two of twenty-two photos taken by Jason Frost of Jason Frost Photography. If you want to see all of the photos, visit my Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/tamaradjohnsonevans. 

 

New Year, New Goals

 

Happy 2021! Although 2020 was a tumultuous year, I am excited about what 2021 will bring. I stopped creating New Year's resolutions some years ago and instead focus on obtaining goals for each year. Having said this, here are my list of goals to achieve in 2021:

1. Start each day by completing devotional reading 
2. Increase my run/walk intervals by 2 minutes (currently doing 4/1 - 4 minutes running and 1 minute walking)
3. Run three days a week (preferably Tuesday, Thursday, & Saturday)
4. Shift from a junk food vegan diet to a plant based whole food vegan diet
5. Remove junk food sweets from my diet (and eat fruit instead.)
6. Break weight loss goals down into 5lbs increments (to prevent being overwhelmed by large to number of weight to lose)
7. Work on having more date nights with Den
8. Take time to practice self care daily (by doing something not tech related such as word search puzzles)
9. End each day by writing in my journal (as a way to decompress from day)
10. Add strength training to my workout routine.
11. Write two blog posts a month (aiming for at the start of the month and at the end of the month.)
12. Support black owned businesses (both physically and online)
13. Support vegan businesses (both physically and online)
14. Establish a better work/life balance (aka only do work during work hours)

2021 Popsugar Reading Challenge

Each year, I take on different reading challenges as a way to get outside of my reading comfort zone. For 2021, I plan to complete the 2021 Popsugar Reading Challenge which contains a total of 50 books as well as the 52 Book Club Reading Challenge.

Below is a list of reading prompts for the 2021 reading challenge. After I finish each reading prompt, I will update this list. If you want to see more of the books I've read this year, you can check out my Goodreads profile at: https://www.goodreads.com/user_challenges/15431036.

2021 Popsugar Reading Challenge:

1. A book published in 2021: Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert
2. An Afrofuturist book: My Soul to Keep by Tananarive Due
3. A book that has a heart, diamond, club, or spade on the cover: Fattily Ever After by Stephanie Yeboah
   
4. A book by an author who shares you zodiac sign: Ribsy by Beverly Cleary
5. A dark academia book: What Big Teeth by Rose Szabo
   
6. A book with a gem, mineral, or rock in the title: The Final Revival of Opal & Nev by Dawnie Walton
   
7. A book where the main character works at your current or dream job: Deal with the Devil by Kit Rocha
8. A book that has won the Women's Prize For Fiction (2017:) The Power by Naomi Alderman
9. A book with a family tree: The House of Broken Angels by Luis Alberto Urrea
   
10. A bestseller from the 1990s: The Bridges of Madison County by Robert James Waller (1993 & 1994)
    
11. A book about forgetting: Still Alice by Lisa Genova
12. A book you have seen on someone's bookshelf (in real life, on a Zoom call, in a TV show, etc.:) The Passive Programming Playbook by Paula Willey and Andria L. Amaral
    
13. A locked-room mystery: Home Before Dark by Riley Sager
14. A genre hybrid: Seconds by Bryan Lee O'Malley
15. A book set mostly or entirely outdoors: 100 Hikers 100 Hikes by Andrew Camani
16. A book with something broken on the cover: Childhood Disrupted: How Your Biography Becomes Your Biology and How You Can Heal by Donna Jackson Nakazawa
17. A book by a Muslim American author: Proud: Living My American Dream by Ibtihaj Muhammad (Young Readers Edition)
18. A book that was published anonymously: Letting Ana Go by Anonymous
19. A book with an oxymoron in the title: Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
20. A book about do-overs or fresh starts: Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
21. A magical realism book: The Charmed Wife by Olga Grushin
22. A book set in multiple countries: Contents May Have Shifted by Pam Houston
23. A book set somewhere you'd like to visit in 2021:The Museum of Rain by Dave Eggers (California Central Coast)
24. A book by a blogger, vlogger, YouTube video creator, or other online personality: Feeding My Soul (Because It's My Business) by Tabitha Brown
25. A book whose title starts with "Q," "X," or "Z:" Quirky by Melissa A. Schilling
26. A book featuring three generations (grandparent, parent, child:)
27. A book about a social justice issue: Spirit Run by Noe Alvarez
28. A book set in a restaurant: Sweet Bean Paste by Durian Sukegawa
29. A book with a black-and-white cover: The White City by Karolina Ramquvist
30. A book by an Indigenous author: Bury My Heart at Chuck E. Cheese's by Tiffany Midge
31. A book that has the same title as a song: Between You and Me by Mary Norris
32. A book about a subject you are passionate about: I Love it When You Talk Retro by Ralph  Keyes
33. A book that discusses body positivity: The Self-Love Revolution by Virgie Tovar, MA 
34. A book found on a Black Lives Matter reading list: The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson
35. A book in a different format than what you normally read (audiobook, ebooks, graphic novels:) Hidden America by Jeanne Marie Laskas (large print)
36. A book that has fewer than 1,000 reviews on Amazon or Goodreads: The Silence by Don Delillo
37. A book you think your best friend would like: Pop Sonnets by Erik Didriksen
    
38. An book about art or an artist: Leonardo's Knots by Caroline Cocciardi
    
39. A book everyone seems to have read but you: Sula by Toni Morrison
    
40. Your favorite prompt from a past POPSUGAR Reading Challenge: book based entirely on its cover - Reading the OED: One Man, One Year, 21,730 Pages by Ammon Shea 
41. The longest book (by pages) on your TBR list: From My People: 400 Years of African American Folklore edited by: Daryl Cumber Dance (736 pages)
42. The shortest book (by pages) on your TBR list: I'd Rather Be Reading by Anne Bogel (149 pages)
43. The book on your TBR list with the prettiest cover: Make Your Own Sunshine by Janice Dean
44. The book on your TBR list with the ugliest cover: All Systems Red by Martha Wells
45. The book that's been on your TBR list for the longest amount of time: Dirty South by Ben Westhoff
    
46. A book from you TBR list you meant to read last year but didn't: My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
47. A book from you TBR list you associate with a favorite person, place, or thing: A Pictorial Guide to Biltmore by Rachel Carley
48. A book from your TBR list chosen at random: Rediscover Jesus by Matthew Kelly
49. A DNF book from your TBR list: Afraid of Everything by Adam Tierney
50. A free book from you TBR list (gifted, borrowed, library:) Secrets of a Former Fat 
    Girl by Lisa Delaney

The 52 Book Club's 2021 Reading Challenge

Each year, I take on different reading challenges as a way to get outside of my reading comfort zone. For 2021, I plan to complete the 2021 Popsugar Reading Challenge as well as the 52 Book Club reading challenge which contains a total of 52 books. 

Below is a list of reading prompts for the 2021 reading challenge. After I finish each reading prompt, I will update this list. If you want to see more of the books I've read this year, you can check out my Goodreads profile at: https://www.goodreads.com/user_challenges/15431036.

The 52 Book Club's 2021 Reading Challenge:

1. Set in a school: Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
2. Featuring the legal profession: In Five Years by Rebecca Serle
3. A dual timeline: The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James
   
4. An author who is deceased: Naughtier Than Nice by Eric Jerome Dickey (July 7, 1961 - January 3, 2021)
5. Published by Penguin: The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
6. An character with the same name as a male family member: Lawrence: The Bunny Who Wanted to Be Naked by Vern Kousky
   
7. An author with only 1 published book: #Veryfat #Verybrave by Nicole Byer
   
8. A book in the 900's of the Dewey Decimal System: American Like Me (920.073) by America Ferrera 
9. Set in a Mediterranean country: My Italian Bulldozer by Alexander McCall Smith
10. Related to the word "fire:" Fighting Fire by Caroline Paul
11. Book with discussion questions inside: The Deep by Rivers Solomon
12. Title starting with the letter "D:" Deception by Selena Montgomery
13. Includes an exotic animal: Remote Control by Nnedi Okorafor
    
14. Written by an author over 65 (when published:) Pandora's Lab by Paul A. Offit, M.D.
    
15. A book mentioned in another book: The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen (mentioned in "I'd Rather Be Reading" By Anne Bogel) 
16. Set before the 17th Century: Empress of the East by Leslie Peirce
17. A character "on the run:" Dead Girl Running by Christina Dodd
18. Author with a 9-letter last name: Poor Unfortunate Soul by Serena Valentino
    
19. Book with a deckled edge: Evicted by Matthew Desmond
20. Made into a TV series: High on the Hog: A Culinary Journey From Africa to America by Jessica B. Harris
    
21. Book by Kristin Hannah: Between Sisters by Kristen Hannah
22. A family saga: The Cousins by Karen M. McManus
23. An ending that surprises you: Mosquitoland by David Arnold
24. A book you think they should read in schools: Adulthood *for Beginners by Andy Boyle
25. A book with multiple character POV: Slade House by David Mitchell
26. An author of color: Reckless by Selena Montgomery
27. First chapter ends on an odd page number: My One and Only by Kristan Higgins
28. Includes a historical event you know little about: They Called Us Enemy by George Takei
29. Featuring the environment: Fragile Earth From the Editors of Collins
30. Watch out for dragons!:Fire in His Blood by Ruby Dixon
31. Shares a similar title to another book: Legacy by Helen Hardt
32. A selfish character: Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage
33. Featuring adoption: Before and After: The Incredible Real-Life Stories of Orphans who Survived the Tennessee Children's Home Society by Judy Christie & Lisa Wingate
34. A book you'd rate 5 stars: Make Something Good Today by Erin & Ben Napier
35. Set in a country that starts with the letter "S:" The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning by Margareta Magnusson
36. A nameless narrator: The Strange Library by Haruki Murakami
    
37. An educational read: A Loving Approach to Dementia Care by Laura Wayman
38. Recommended on BookBub: Introvert Power by Laurie A. Helgoe
39. An alternate history novel: River of Teeth by Sarah Gailey
40. Found via #bookstagram: Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo
41. An endorsement by a famous author on the cover: Night of the Mannequins by Stephen Graham Jones
42. An epistolary: Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn
43. An character with a pet cat: A Street Cat Named Bob by James Bowen
    
44. Includes a garden: The Memory Theater by Karin Tidbeck
    
45. A coming of age novel: How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents by Julia Alvarez
46. Winner of the National Book Award - any year: Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman (Young People's Literature 2015)
    
47. A character with a disability: Sunnyside Plaza by Scott Simon
48. A cover with a woman who is facing away: When Winter Comes by V.A. Shannon
49. A flavour in the title: Chocolate Friday by Edwina Martin-Arnold
50. A shoe on the cover: Danger, Sweetheart by MaryJanice Davidson 
51. Published in 2021:Eartha & Kitt by Kitt Shaprio
52. Re-do one of the previous 51 categories from this 2021 challenge: (character with a disability) Always Only You by Chloe Liese

Election Poll Worker Chronicles: Day 4 (Election Day)

Day four of election poll work was long but rewarding. My day started at 6:30am and before the polls officially opened at 7am, we set up tables outside the lobby area so that voter can have an area to complete voter registration paperwork. The lines quickly developed and stayed steady throughout the day. We stayed busy until after 8pm and the last voter left around 8:30pm. After the final voter left, we locked up the polling location so the inspector and all the election clerks could count the paper, electronic, and vote by mail ballots received that day. After the ballots were all counted, then we took down all the voting equipment before leaving for the evening. I finished the day happy to have helped so many people successfully vote, receive a pin for being a poll worker and hit my step goal of over 10,000 steps a day.