Mrs Payan Reads

Must Reads in 2021

Here is my list of books that I am planning to read in 2021. I will add as a caveat that I am quite out of the loop as far as Children’s books and Young Adult titles. I am planning to remedy that and will probably start with award winners from the last few years.

Also, please excuse my formatting issues. I am still learning how to work with this new (to me) version of the editor on WordPress. I am working with the mantra that “done is better than perfect” in this case.

A study of race and my biases:

I feel like this may be quite an ambitious undertaking. I definitely feel the need to dig in and do this work, but I think it may take me a little bit longer to get through some of these books because it is uncomfortable.

Stamped from the Beginning by Ibram X. Kendi

Friday Black by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

White Fragility by Robin DeAngelo

Not Light, But Fire by Matthew Kay

So You Want to Talk about Race by Ijeoma Oluo

Open City by Teju Cole

Books about Coaching:

I learn best by reading and reflecting. I am looking forward to more learning this year as I continue to refine my craft and settle into my new role as an instructional technology coach.

Taking the Lead by Joellen Killion

The Art of Coaching by Elena Aguilar

For Entertainment:

The majority of this list comes from a list that my sister shared with me. She started an online book club and we are making our way through the list of 14 new books that you will read in one sitting. So far, the titles I have read from that list have been quick reads and intriguing, as promised.

Pendergast 14-19: I started this series in January 2020. I have stuck through it so far, so I will work to get through the rest of the series this year. These are certainly not books to read in one sitting, but they are intriguing mysteries and the character of Pendergast is certainly a unique character.

Pizza Girl by Jean Kyoung Frazier

If I Had Your Face by Frances Cha

The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi

A Burning by Megha Majumdar

Sea Wife by Amity Gaige

Survivor Song byPaul Tremblay

It is Wood, It is Stone by Gabriella Burnham

The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue

Luster by Raven Leilani

I set myself a goal of reading 70 books in 2021. I was able to read 59 in 2020, but I did not read many (if any) middle grade or young adult books. I am hoping that I can easily add in some of these titles and have a higher book count this year.

I also had about 6 weeks last Spring that were really slow reading weeks for me. I think the anxiety about the virus really manifested itself in my focus and concentration. I just could not lose myself in stories the way I usually do. Thank heavens, that seems to have remedied itself!

Here’s to a wonderful new year full of reading and writing! I would love to hear from you in the comments.

It’s Monday, What Are You Reading? 12/28/20

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly link up hosted by Kathryn at Book Date . Then, Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee at Unleashing Readers decided to give it a focus on kid’s literature. This is a chance for bloggers to recap their weeks of reading and share their plans for the next reading adventures they will take. Visit the host blogs for a list of great blogs participating and a whole bunch of titles to add to your to-read lists.

The last time I wrote one of these posts was in March of 2018. I recently have decided to make my writing a priority again and will be starting up on this blog again. What better way to get started again then to join back into one of my favorite link ups?

Finished This Week:

This book was an impulse purchase on Black Friday. I am so glad I stumbled across it! I absolutely love Jane Austen and this book really honored that feeling. The stories of the different characters who end up as members of the Jane Austen Society are interesting. However, what I loved the most is how the characters used the literature to help themselves heal from different trauma that they had experienced. And of course, the book is a comedy of manners in and of itself that mirrors a great Jane Austen novel in the twists and turns of the story and the fates of the protagonists. I highly recommend this one to anyone who loves Austen.

This book is the 13th installment of the Pendergast series. I started the books on a recommendation from a friend. Each one of the novels featuring Pendergast is outside of the type of novels I usually read. The elements of supernatural and a few really far-fetched details sometimes make the suspension of disbelief difficult. I was close to giving up on this series, but this book has brought me back. This one is closer to the murder mysteries that I enjoy reading. I will say that the authors do a great job of making their characters very intriguing and that is why I keep coming back for more, despite a few crazy plot twists.

I came across this book in Target last week. I read The Guest List earlier this year and really enjoyed the quick and suspenseful read. I quickly searched for this book on my library app and was able to borrow it right away. The Hunting Party is very similar to The Guest List. In both books, a group of people travels to a very remote and isolated spot for a quick getaway. In this book, a group of friends takes a trip each year for New Year’s Day. This year, things go very wrong and one of them ends up dead. I won’t say much more because I don’t want to spoil it, but there are some good twists that make this one fun to read. I would also recommend The Guest List if you do like this one.

Books I am Currently Reading:

I can’t believe that this really happened. It seems so clear nowadays that the radium was clearly the culprit in the medical issues that these girls went through. This nonfiction book is very well written. I find myself really losing myself in the narrative. I have been reading it for a while now. I find I can only take so much of this story at a time. It frustrates me. I will be working to finish this one this week.

I just started Blue Labyrinth. It is the 14th book in the Pendergast series. It started out with a bang. I will probably get through this one pretty fast, but you never know.

What’s Next?

Pizza Girl is up next. My sister started a book club with the intention of reading through this list of books. So far, the books have all been very interesting and caught my attention in different ways. It has been nice to have a list of books that are relatively quick and easy to get through.

Marie Benedict was one of the authors that I enjoyed hearing the most when I attended the Savannah Book Festival last February. It was so cool to hear about her process in researching and then imagining historical fiction based on powerful women who may not have been recognized as such. I really loved The Other Einstein and The Only Woman in the Room. So, when I saw that her next book is about Agatha Christie, I had to have it! I pre-ordered this book and should have it tomorrow. I am sure I will dive in pretty quickly.

What are you reading this week? I would love to hear from you in the comments!

Celebrate This Week-4/15

It’s Saturday and that means it is time to reflect on the week and celebrate things both big and small. Join our community and celebrate this week by linking up or just stopping by the host Ruth Ayres’ blog to read others’ celebrations.

New Friends

This week, I had two very nice and very fulfilling conversations with people who are my neighbors in the apartment complex. We met to talk about essential oils, but our conversations went so much deeper. I came out of each of these meetings with so much more energy to think about the future and where I am headed. I am excited that one woman who I met with is interested in doing a book study together. The conversations that I had with both of these new friends were cathartic and just what the universe ordered for me.

VIP Kid

I was curious and have been looking at the idea of teaching for VIP Kid for a long time. I applied to this company, and didn’t really know how quickly the process would go. Turns out, you have hard and fast deadlines when going through the process.

I would definitely advise anyone who is interested to make sure they understand the whole interview process before even applying. You have to prepare some online classes and you have short timelines in which to do so. I sucked it up and got it done.

I was hired and now I need to do the work to get classes booked and start teaching. In this company, you teach Chinese children English online. It is interesting because the hours you work are really different, since you are dealing with the time difference. I am excited to see how things go in the next few weeks! Wish me luck with getting classes booked!

To apply for VIP Kid, you just need to have a Bachelor’s degree. It is obviously helpful if you have teaching certifications and/or experience, but it is not necessary. If you look into it, and decide to apply, I would love to help you through the process and give you some tips for the interviews.

Here is my referral link: https://t.vipkid.com.cn/activity/popup?refereeId=14886431&refersourceid=a01

Daily Harvest

I just started getting a new subscription box last week. It is super fun and I feel so healthy!!!

The box is full of frozen cups. There is a selection of smoothie cups, overnight oats, chia pudding, harvest bowls, and sundae cups. You can choose the cups you would like in the box and they ship right to your door, with a fun piece of dry ice in the package!!

All of the recipes are fun and tasty and all include some sort of super food.

I highly recommend this for anyone who just wants to up their produce intake in a yummy way! If you use the referral code here, you will receive 3 free cups in your first box: https://daily-harvest.com/r/RE-6K5KE4L

School

So, basically, I have had a tough year. Again. I won’t go into much detail, but it has been rough. A small part of that has been teaching 2nd grade. I have spent so many years in intermediate grades and middle school that the transition back to primary was rough (there are many, many, many other factors but this definitely had a role in it).

I am excited that my principal recognized that and has decided to place me in 4th grade for next school year. This is absolutely amazing! I will love being back in my wheelhouse and being able to better serve the students and families at this school, through increased competence in my job.

The other thing I am celebrating when it comes to school, is the ease of using Mystery Science for an engaging learning opportunity. I am loving it, and so are my students! I am thankful for their free trial opportunity right now.

What do you have to celebrate this week? I would love to hear from you in the comments!

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It’s Monday, What Are You Reading? 3/26

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly meme hosted by Kathryn at Book Date . Then, Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee at Unleashing Readers decided to give it a focus on kid’s literature. This is a chance for bloggers to recap their week of reading and share their plans for the next reading adventures they will take. Visit the host blogs for a list of great blogs participating in this meme and a whole bunch of titles to add to your to-read lists.

Finished This Week:

I finished the historical novel, Watergate by Thomas Mallon this week. It was quite a departure from the type of books that I usually enjoy. I did like learning more about a scandal and a time in the history of our country that I really didn’t know much about. The book was interesting in the way the author imagined how each key actor must’ve been feeling in an omniscient narration style. If you enjoy political intrigue and historical fiction you will enjoy this book.

Books I am Currently Reading:

I am reading The Rose Legacy by Jessica Day George in anticipation of an author visit this May. This book will be coming out on May 1, 2018. So far, it is intriguing and magical.

I am also reading Business Boutique by Christy Wright. I really enjoy listening to her podcast and am enjoying learning more about how to put together a business plan. This is a practical guide that any woman who is putting together a business should have.

I am also reading the first book in the Petra Delicado series by Alicia Gimenez Bartlett. I like to read in Spanish to keep up my fluency. This is quite a long series and they are mysteries so I am hoping that I like them in order to have lots of material to get through. So far, the book is okay.

What’s Next?

I am not sure what I will read next. I am on Spring Break this week and may take most of my time for writing and working on my new website and my doTERRA business. I am sure there will be at least one more novel that I will get to though. It will depend on my mood this week.

What are you reading this week? I would love to hear from you in the comments!

Celebrate This Week-3/24

Spring Break

I made it through the last couple of crazy weeks! We all need a break and I hope that after our time away, my students will not be on each other’s nerves so much. Having some time away will be good for us all.

Alone Time

As an introvert, I love time to myself. I get so much energy from being alone and being able to do whatever I please. This week, I will have a lot of time to myself. My husband’s school does not have the same break as mine, so I am off and he is not. That gives me all kinds of alone time during the work week. I am really looking forward to that time to myself.

My New Coffee Cup and The Ultimate Coffee Machine

I splurged last week on a fun new travel mug at my local coffee shop, Colectivo coffee. I had so much fun using this mug each day this week. The best part is the fancy coffee machine that is available to me at my apartment lobby. Great coffee in a fun mug puts a smile on my face to start the day.

What do you have to celebrate this week? I would love to hear from you in the comments!

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Celebrate This Week-3/17

St Patty’s Day

This holiday always reminds me of my grandmother. We had corned beef and cabbage together most years to celebrate her Irish heritage. I love seeing all the celebrations and the fun that people have during this time of year.

Sunshine and Spring On Its Way

It has been a great week full of sunshine. The temperatures here in Wisconsin are still Winter temperatures, but the sun has been so much fun to see. It seems to give everyone a much more chipper outlook on life.

Apartment Living

We sold our house last fall and moved into a swanky new apartment building. I love being able to walk to a lot of fun businesses and restaurants. We both feel so much lighter without the responsibility of taking care of a house and a lawn. We also were able to make some smart financial moves with the sale of our house. At this point, we have settled in and almost everything is put away in its new place. We purged SOOOO many things and that feels amazing too. This week with the sunshine, it has felt so nice to get out and take walks and enjoy this life.

Reading as a Balm for our Souls

This week was tough. My class is a very large class of 31 second graders. Within that big group, there are about 5 kiddos who have tantrums and have a very difficult time with following directions and not always getting what they want. On Friday, there was a point that I just knew we needed to do something else besides what was on the lesson plans. What is amazing about this group of kids is their love of a good story. We stopped what we were doing, I gathered them to the carpet, and we read some good books together. I hadn’t yet read these picture books, but I was happy to see them on Epic Reads so I could read them to the kiddos. We enjoyed the stories of Rosie Revere, Engineer; Ada Twist, Scientist; and Iggy Peck, Architect. For those moments of reading, the arguing stopped, the poking and shoving and tapping and throwing little things stopped, the extra talking stopped, and we all just enjoyed some great books.

What do you have to celebrate this week? I would love to hear from you in the comments!

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Celebrate This Week-8/19

Birthday Milestone

On July 31st, I turned 40 years old. I had a nice birthday lunch and gave myself a new fun Keurig coffee maker.

An ice cream flight at a local ice cream shop. Yum! Perfect birthday treat for me.

Turning 40 did not feel much different from turning any other age, but I did do some extra reflecting on things.

I remember throwing my mom a surprise 40th birthday party. It was difficult because my father had passed away a year before, so I had to call around to her friends and get them to help me. I was only 14, so I needed rides to the stores to order cake and get party supplies. I think the party was a success. I have never asked my mom if she was actually surprised or not. I am not sure I want to know the answer to that. What really stood out to me in approaching my 40th birthday is how young my mother really was when she became a widow. I am so grateful every day for my husband and his good health. I can’t even begin to imagine how difficult that stage in my mom’s life must’ve been.

The other thing that I always find myself reflecting on is the way our life has evolved into a life without children. Turning 30 was very difficult for me, because I had goals in my head of being a mom by that time. All my other big life moments were achieved along the time line I had imagined for myself. Yet, there I was turning 30 without a baby. I have since come to terms, for the most part, with the fact that my husband and I have stopped hoping for a miracle baby. Yet, turning 40 seemed to bring out one more twang on the heart strings and one more tear down my cheek, highlighting my grief for one brief moment before tucking it back away.

Although my reflections may have been downers, I did quite enjoy my birthday. I do love and appreciate all the warm wishes that were sent my way. It is so nice to get to be the center of attention for just a little bit of time. We had a great time at the birthday party my mother threw for me! We rented out a room at Ale Asylum brewery in Madison, and had our own private patio with the party room space. So fancy!

A Season of Plenty and Stepping Out of My Comfort Zone

For about a year, I have been working to build a business with doTERRA essential oils. I have been teaching classes and sharing experiences with the oils and helping people to discover how these products can help their health. Last Sunday, I taught a Back to School workshop. It was the best attended class I have taught thus far. It was so nice to meet other teachers in my district and to share essential oils with them. I am getting to the point that my efforts are earning me a small side income and I am so grateful for that! This road of working to build a business has also led me to many different resources for personal development and I have enjoyed learning and improving my habits.

Healthy Choices

I have been consistently getting to the gym and working to eat a Paleo diet. Although I am not perfect at following the rules, I have been able to try some fun new recipes this week. I figured out making cashew cheese, which was actually quite easy. After having success with that, I decided to try making almond milk. It was so delicious! And easy! I will definitely make that again soon. (I just have to hide the almonds from my husband who LOVES nuts–which is the reason I haven’t made more yet–my almonds disappeared)

A Wonderful Summer

My husband officially heads back to school next week, and I will have my unofficial start at putting together my new classroom. I am feeling very blessed with having had just the right mix of getting things done and being lazy this summer. I am ready to head into the fall and feeling rejuvenated by a full and happy summer.

What do you have to celebrate this week? I would love to hear from you in the comments!

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Celebrate This Week-7/29

Family Time

I went to Madison to spend a night with my mother two weeks ago. Every year, we try to go to Maxwell Street Days, a massive sidewalk sale on State Street downtown. I drove to Madison on Thursday afternoon and we went out to dinner and an outdoor concert. The capitol building was so beautiful as we walked back to my mom’s condo!

During that short trip, we shopped, had lunch with my aunt, and went to my great-aunt’s house to pick raspberries before I drove home Friday afternoon (we won’t discuss the ridiculous traffic in Milwaukee and the extra hour sitting at a standstill). I love living close enough to pop over for an overnight!

I also have enjoyed some awesome morning walks with Ramon and the two dogs. Since we are both teachers, we both have the summer off. It is great to be able to spend time together. (We are also learning to give each other space…that is something that we have to relearn each summer for some reason)

Our Rambunctious Duo

Kiko sure loves this beige couch while Carmela seems to enjoy the purple one. A dog’s life certainly is a lot of napping. Maybe we should take a cue from them!

Healthy Choices

We have been eating better during the last week or so. I love summer vegetables and am subscribed to a CSA box this summer. It is so fun to get creative with the abundance of veggies in my box!

A salad with sugar snap peas, cabbage, cucumber, and tuna.

A dinner of baked cod, zucchini soup, and roasted beet salad.

I also was more consistent in getting my workouts in this week, and I signed up for a new workout challenge in August!

Fun new grippy socks for my Barre workouts.

What do you have to celebrate this week? I would love to hear from you in the comments!

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Celebrate This Week-7/8

Sunshine Through the Sunroof

We recently traded in a car so that we could bring our monthly payments down and have more money to budget toward paying off debt. Both my husband and I were very happy with this decision. The best part about it is that now we have two cars with sunroofs. Now, don’t get me wrong, we don’t have super fancy cars. We just have cool features in our cars.

Sunroofs make me happy. I love sunshiny days and I love being able to enjoy them in my car. It just makes my day brighter. One of the best memories I have of my father was during the three months before he passed away, when he finally purchased a Mercedes Benz. He had dreamed his entire life about being able to have a Mercedes. He finally got to a place in which he could afford to lease the lowest priced sedan and he went for it. He LOVED that car. And it had a sunroof. Driving down the roads with our windows down and the sunroof open and blasting folk music is one of the best movies that plays in my mind. I was thirteen and I seldom had times when I thought my dad was cool, but these were moments in which I just enjoyed being with him. My sunroof now reminds me of this. Every. Single. Time.

A Rambunctious Duo

We have our hands full with our two dogs. Kiko is the newer addition to our house, and he sure is full of energy! The two dogs play every morning from the very first second that we let Kiko out of his crate. It is so much fun to have such energy in this household. And, they are pretty darn cute!

Summer Speed

I love the slower pace of summertime. I have spent a lot of time making goals and doing some work, but mostly we are just playing it by ear after a two week visit from my brother-in-law. We loved having him here, but it is great to have our house back to normal.

What do you have to celebrate this week? I would love to hear from you in the comments!

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I Want to See You Be Brave

Working to create the life you want to live requires bravery. I’m not talking about climbing mountains or facing dragons, I’m just talking about stepping out of your comfort zone. But that is scary.

If I were not careful, I would be in danger of becoming a hermit. I am a homebody. I find my energy in the peace and quiet of being alone (well, maybe not quite alone, I usually have a dog to cuddle). However, the dreams I have and the goals I want to accomplish require human contact. So, I need to get out of my house and see people.

Putting yourself out there is scary. Currently, I am working to build a business. The best way to do this is to become vulnerable and ask people if they are interested. This puts you in a position to receive a lot of no answers. If you aren’t careful, this can take you to a place you don’t want to go. Being brave in this endeavor involves learning to realize that rejection of your offer does not mean rejection of you. Facing this and continuing to go for it, means being brave and being yourself.

Sometimes, when someone really strays from the social norms, it is hard to understand them. However, the mere act of choosing a different path is an act of bravery. I think about my sister when I think about this. She has created a life she loves doing something she never thought she wanted to do, until it slapped her across the face. When she decided to leave her medical residency to be a stay-at-home mom, I’ll admit that I was one of the skeptics. I was there when she came home after trying to go back to work. I was jealous of this opportunity that she saw in her life. I tried to convince her to stick to convention and follow-through with her schooling and her plan. I was not the only one.

She confronted the demons of what other people thought and went with her gut and worked out a plan with her husband and gets to be a mommy every single day. Choosing to not go through with her residency plans had some consequences for her. She now has a medical degree and is a MD but without board certification. She has the ridiculous amount of medical school debt. But her bravery in choosing her life path made her search for a part-time job to help with the debt. She found a job that mixes her passion for writing and her medical expertise and she can work from home with flexible hours. I would say that this job is probably even more of a fit for her than working in a clinic would be. And she gets to be a mommy. Every. Single. Day. (And she is really good at it)

I think there are many examples of people out there who are living their dream every day. But many of them did not get there without a big act of bravery. At some point, you need to choose to leap. And hope you don’t fall.

Now, I also don’t want you to think that I am saying that you need to be unconventional in order to have a good life. I absolutely love my conventional full-time job of being a teacher. I am not sure I would want to give that up (although not having a job that I have to leave home to do would be awesome too). But it takes bravery to stand up and say that you are happy where you are. Have you noticed? People seem to love to work to bring you down a notch. Don’t let them. Be brave and go for what you want in life, whatever it is.

I want to be brave and I want to see you be brave.

Learning to love the person you are and to dismiss the feeling that you are not good enough takes some guts. Do it. Be brave. Live your best life. And maybe act like a weirdo and dance crazy in public. It might do you some good.

I would love to hear your story. Tell me about your best life. What do you have to do to be brave? I would love to hear from you in the comments.