Good morning, friends! I hope you have had a great start to your Tuesday so far. It’s been a very chilly one up here in Michigan!
Please ignore the chapped hands holding that delicious cup of coffee. That was the result of me thinking I’m too cool to wear gloves for a walk to the mail box and back yesterday. I don’t know what I was thinking.
It was below ten degrees out. As in seven degrees. Yeah… I guess you could say it finally feels like a Michigan winter has arrived.
It’s a bummer we didn’t get snow for Christmas, but we have had a few snowfalls since the New Year! I’ll be happy if it stays calm with a thin layer on the ground this year. Last year’s Polar Vortex broke both the cold and snowfall records. There’s no need to have a repeat of that, amiright?
I was craving something warm for breakfast today, but wasn’t really feeling oatmeal. I gave my best effort at over medium eggs…
Which, without a doubt, always turns into in-the-pan scrambling. It’s fine.
I paired my eggs with a couple of slices of turkey bacon, grapes, and used a milk frother with a sprinkle of cinnamon to jazz up my coffee. Sometimes I just feel like being fancy like that. It reminds me of getting Starbucks, only at home and not $5 an order. #winning
I’m coming to you a little later than normal today because I’m trying to practice what I preach. Let me explain…
Challenge Word of the Year
(This could also be considered to be a Coffee Talk. Grab a cup and get comforable!)
Back at our church in Orlando, our pastor always gave us a challenge with the start of a new year. During the first service in January, he talked about reflecting on the year we just said goodbye to and asked us to take some time to think about what we really want to get out of the new one.
More than anything else, what is one thing you want to be committed to following through with?
This could be interpreted different ways to different minds, but to mine, this one word becomes my motto for the year. I write it everywhere I can and try to remind myself of it when I catch myself slipping back into old habits.
My word for this year is ENGAGE. And I’m not talking about the kind of engagement you have before two people get married, either.
I’m talking about engaging in the present at that moment in time. I’d like to get over stressing about things that happened in the past, or even things I might be worried about for the future.
I’m also talking about really paying attention to everything that is going on around me and giving my family, friends, conversations, and even phone conversations my absolute full attention.
Too many times have I noticed couples or even groups of people out to dinner and one or more of them seems to be attached to their smartphone. As a blogger, I feel connected to mine to have accessible to take photos and such, but I have really given a solid effort at only using it for pictures while we are out of the house lately.
There’s a time and a place to scroll through your social media pages, check into places, and check emails. The couple of hours you gathered to meet with your friends or have a date night with your significant other is not one of those times.
I have gotten pretty good at dropping all of those habits once I get out of the house, but it tugs at my heart when I see other people doing it, especially if I can tell the people surrounding them are annoyed. Or, even worse, if both parties are totally disconnected from interacting with each other because they have both of their noses stuck in their phones.
I see commercials on television showing families doing this exact thing at the dinner table. The mom is on the phone, the dad is checking something on his laptop, and both children are entertaining themselves with either a game or facetime on their own devices. What’s the point of having dinner together if nobody is engaging in what is going on right in front of them?
Like I mentioned above, I have become pretty good at staying off of my phone when I am out to dinner and socializing. Every now and then I catch myself filtering or messing with a photo to post on Instagram while my friends are still around, and I get embarrassed. Things like that can always wait for later.
So, my challenge word for the year is engage. Not just to physically be engaged in what is going on around me, but also mentally. I mostly need to work on enjoying the present by leaving other thoughts of things I need to do when I get home or posts I need to write out of my mind until it comes time to complete those tasks. My challenge is to live in the moment and make the best out of every one I can in 2015.
Questions of the Morning
• What is your challenge word this year?
• What is your favorite way to cook eggs?
I would love to master all of the “over” styles: over easy, medium, and hard. You’d think over hard wouldn’t be that difficult. I should probably give it a try one of these days…
See you back later this afternoon!
![[in our elementary school era] 🚌😭
Skyler did great walking into KINDERGARTEN with a big smile on his face this morning. I, however, was a bit of a mess on our walk home. 🥹
It’s wild how fast these 5 years with him have gone … 7 since we moved to NYC and into our apartment, dreaming of the day our kids would someday go to the *awesome* school right down our block. 🏫
That day is today, and I still don’t believe it — feeling allll of the emotions and thanking God for placing us here and for being able to trust His timing through the journey. 🫶🏼 #hbshinnyc
SO proud of you, SK - you are going to rock your first year at your “big boy school” - WE LOVE YOU !! 🩵👑](https://lifeinleggings.com/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed/img/placeholder.png)
GREAT post!! I feel like as every year passes, I am so aware of how quickly time is going. The only way to make it slow down is to live every single moment you are given on this earth, and do what you can to remove the unpleasant experiences that make you wish time went faster. Happy engaging!!
Jill
Latest Post: The World’s Most Accurate Fitness Tracker – My Week of Shocking Results!
Thank you, Jill! And you are so right. Time sure does fly. Life is too short not to enjoy the present. That’s why I’m fully committed to engaging in it this year <3
I love this post! One of my goals for the year is to work on being present as well.
Love it!
Agreed with your word choice! I am very guilty of getting sucked into my phone too much. For the past month, I have been working hard to allow it be out for pictures or if I want to show Scott a funny video. But that is all. No phones allowed at dinner! 🙂
Same here. If I’m being really good, we leave our phones in the car and I use a camera to take photos!
You bring up a valid and excellent point, Heather. I’ve been trying to work on this more. Sometimes it’s hard for me especially if we are out at a nice meal at a restaurant and being the social media person and blogger that I am, I want to take pictures of everyone’s plates! Haha. Also, I chose a word of the year for myself as well over on my blog today. My word for 2015 will be Transition.
Oh totally. I usually sneak in photos when nobody’s looking, ha. I actually get embarrassed sometimes. Then I get over it if it’s a spot I know I want to write about! Love your Transition word. CONGRATS on the engagement!! <3
Wonderful post! I find myself surrounded by people who are constantly on their phones when we are out at dinner and it really can be sad. I always try to put my phone away when I am with others since I believe the people I am with deserve my attention. I think the more I try to engage with others, the more others realize the importance of engaging in the moment.
I completely agree!
Heather my intention for the year is to be more mindful everyday. With my words actions eating etc
That’s a great goal!
My challenge word would be peace. I’m a very high anxiety person and for 2015 I’m working on trying to be at peace with myself and where I am right now instead of worrying and trying to be 10 steps ahead.
Very similar to living in the moment. I love it!
I love this, Heather. I too cringe when I see people on their smartphones when they’re in public and supposed to be having a conversation with another person. My boyfriend is constantly checking his fantasy sports scores and it drives me bonkers. We are both trying to be better lately and don’t let ourselves use our phones while out to dinner (except for photos).
I need to think about setting an intention word for the year. I just finished grad school and would like this year to be focused on my new career, but I guess “career” isn’t the right word 🙂 Maybe, balance!
Maybe growth! Congrats on finishing grad school, that’s a huge accomplishment!
Love this! So true, I really try to make a conscious effort if I’m meeting a friend for coffee or something to never pull out my phone, unless I’m taking a picture of course. I save the phone scrolling for home on the couch but it can be tough when you see people constantly on their phones !
Definitely! Scott and I both get into a cycle of… well he/she is on their phone… so I can… it’s so silly!
I can’t agree more Heather! It is so hard having a blog and putting down technology. I always leave my phone at home when I go to dinner and my boyfriend will leave his in the car so we’re not without a phone.
That’s such a great idea. It definitely can be challenging at times!
I really like the idea of setting a word for the year and just finished reading a devotional on the Bible app for it too! I think engage is such a good one! I’ve gotten better at the phone thing too but definitely am scrolling through or texting when I’m with my friends or fam, and I would really like to stop doing that! My word for the year is “fearless” — I sometimes let fear hold me back and I want to live a more faith-driven life!
What a great word, and I totally agree that so often we’re together and not actually together. I definitely do my best to put my phone away when I’m out with friends.
My word for this year is consistency. I want to be more consistent in numerous areas of my life (fitness, friendships, family, etc) and I think it’ll be a great challenge for this year.
GREAT post!!!! and something i needed.. its so easy to get caught up in posting pics on instagram, the filter, etc… engage is such a great word for this thank you:)
I love Engage being your challenge for the year. My husband and I have actually talked about being engaged. We have made the phone no phones at the table to see if it helps. http://www.eatallovertheworld.com
I love your word for the year and the thought behind it! I’ve definitely been more concious of my phone use when I’m with other people because I don’t want to miss out on sharing that experience with them and whatever I’m doing digitally can wait. I find myself breaking this rule most when I am watching tv. I can’t just watch something; I also have to be doing something on my phone and that has to stop.
My word for the year is “self-love!”