Paper__kat

Author: paperkat

  • Daily Writing Prompt 11.22

    Daily writing prompt
    Beach or mountains? Which do you prefer? Why?
    View all responses

    “Beach or mountains? Which do you prefer? Why?”

    I have only been to mountainous areas twice in my life many years ago. I have been to a beach multiple times that I can actually remember in more detail. I think I enjoy the beach more because I don’t have to worry about the large heights involved with the mountains. I also enjoy the sound of the waves on the beach. I do not enjoy the sand being everywhere and sticking to everything. Mountains are nice because they’re still usually windy and have a beautiful view. Overall, they both have pros and cons, but if I had to pick just one, it would be beach.

  • Book review: “Leaders Eat Last” by Simon Sinek

    In my continued pursuit of learning about leadership and the mindsets that leaders pursue (vs. manager’s mindsets), I have seen many posts and videos from Simon Sinek on the internet. I saw his video about the topics in this very book and wanted to learn a little bit more so I dove into this book.

    Overall, I recommend this book if you are looking to improve your leadership mindset. I often find myself in a “me first” mindset and Leaders Eat Last is all about how that mindset will completely hinder your ability to grow as a leader. It is challenging to move out of that mindset but this book really helped me to see the importance of moving into the role of leadership by a natural progression of earning respect through serving people rather than expecting any respect.

    The book also goes through the information about leading millennials, however, this information is fairly outdated since leaders are in search of how to lead Gen Z more than millennials.

    For a fairly comprehensive summary of the information that is in this book, I also recommend Simon Sinek’s talks on YouTube like this one.

  • Daily Writing Prompt 11.21

    Daily writing prompt
    What are your family’s top 3 favorite meals?
    View all responses

    “What are your family’s top 3 favorite meals?”

    The top favorites recently are tacos, chicken & veggie stir fry, and spaghetti. These are all relatively easy meals to make during the week while we’re working and going to school. I have also recently learned how to add more and more veggies to all of these meals. For example, with the tacos, I cook the meat with diced bell peppers in it and serve them with lettuce, tomatoes, and avocado.

  • Daily Writing Prompt 11.13

    Daily writing prompt
    What’s the coolest thing you’ve ever found (and kept)?
    View all responses

    “What’s the coolest thing you’ve ever found (and kept)?”

    The only things that I have found and kept were pieces of nature, like a full, in-tact yellow butterfly that had died on the ground and not been destroyed by the wind. I kept it in a clear glass box and it stayed preserved fairly well. Other things that I’ll find and keep are flowers that I’ll dry and keep or flower petals and cool patterned leaves. Typically if I find unnatural objects, I turn them in to a lost and found, but I rarely find things like that.

  • Daily Writing Prompt 11.12

    Daily writing prompt
    What part of your routine do you always try to skip if you can?
    View all responses

    “What part of your routine do you always try to skip if you can?” I don’t have a very structured routine anyway but the part I tend to skip is washing my hair. It is unfortunate but that’s what dry shampoo is for.

  • Daily Writing Prompt 11.04

    Daily writing prompt
    What will your life be like in three years?
    View all responses

    Oh, man. This one is a difficult question because I have NO idea. My son will be in his first year of school. I hope to have a second child by then. I hope to have changed careers as I am currently studying cyber security, I hope to be in an entry-level position by then. Other than my hopes, I don’t have any ideas as to what it may look like because I have no idea what God has planned for me in three years.

  • Daily Writing Prompt 11.1

    Daily writing prompt
    What are your favorite websites?
    View all responses

    My favorite websites differ from the websites I use the most. My favorite website by far is Coursera.org because they provide free and paid courses in many different topics and industries from organizations and universities. The websites that I use the most are Instagram and YouTube because they are easy entertainment and I am more than likely addicted.

  • Progress From 9.29

    To recap, on 9.29 was a daily writing prompt about “What is your #1 priority for tomorrow?” and mine was to lock in on my health and fitness goals. Here is an update on my progress.

    I have managed to focus my nutrition on protein-focused foods as well as fruits and veggies. I have had a few too many sodas still through the week and a few too many junk foods, so this week will be about lowering those sodas and junk foods. I got a menu plan for this coming week set up and I bought the ingredients necessary such as the chuck roast for the pot roast that I’ll make in the crockpot tomorrow morning. For snacks, I have plain greek yogurt, cottage cheese, granola, and frozen berries to thaw and mix in.

    For my activity, I walked a 5K on Saturday 10/5, and that got me into a medal-motivated mood. I found virtual competitions that I can enter through The Conqueror’s Challenges (https://www.theconqueror.events) and those allow you to compete in a self-paced distance-based competition in order to earn a medal. I enjoy walking and cycling, so both of those activities can help me earn points towards the challenge. I started with their Lord of the Rings challenge, The Shire, which is 145 miles total and I gave myself a goal to complete it in 6 months. Next week, I hope to jog as well and work my way up to a run so that I can cover more distance and hopefully finish the challenge sooner than expected.

    As these progressions continue, I hope to be able to share my menu plans and grocery lists if that’s something interesting to you. They aren’t going to be made by a nutritionist or anything, they’re just my own ideas and trying to be nutritious from my limited knowledge of nutrition.

  • Daily writing prompt 10.05

    Daily writing prompt
    What would you do if you lost all your possessions?
    View all responses

    This is a really sad one but I’ve had to think through it a couple times because of my work in processing insurance claims. I would have to grieve the memories that the things are connected to but I would have to move on eventually. It would probably recur a few times later on where I would remember and grieve the loss or miss an item. I would also work through replacing items, starting with necessities. It would be a whole rebuilding process.

  • Daily writing prompt 9.29

    Daily writing prompt
    What’s your #1 priority tomorrow?
    View all responses

    My number one priority for tomorrow is to keep myself on track. I’m going to be tracking my nutrition and my fitness much more strictly like I was in the first half of the year and I fell off in June or July. I am continuing on from where I left off so I’m not starting from scratch like I did in January, but I did fall off my plan. To start, I’ll be prioritizing protein in all my meals and then I’ll also be reducing my sweet snacks in favor of increasing fruits and proteins. I use the MyFitnessPal app to track the calories and macros that I eat through the day as well. The other part of this plan will involve setting a specific time each evening about 7:30-8:30 PM for my at-home workout. I don’t try to think about it, I prioritize upper body or lower body, alternating which one each day, I put on my headphones, and workout for about an hour to an hour and a half at a slow pace. I basically took a whole quarter off my plan and now I’m setting up to have the last quarter of the year to dial back in and lock in. Wish me luck!