Today's Pearl of Wisdom

From my dear friend, Debbie Splaingard, during one of our lovely, prayer and spirit-filled lunches in the Children's Hospital Food Court:

"Kara, don't uproot in doubt what was sown in faith."

Perfect words for an imperfect season of this girl's life.

(Me in warmer seasons...seems so long ago...)

High Hopes for the this Weekend:

1. Homemade bread pudding tastes as good as the recipe sounds.

2. Headache goes away STAT!

3. House hunting on Saturday is inspiring. That we find a house that is already perfect, affordable, and will remain on the market for another 6 months for when we are ready to buy it. Is that too much to ask?

4. Husband/wife personal training session with Vaughn isn't too disabling. Seriously, this gym is like NASA, and we are so not ready for that!

5. Hearing another great message and meeting a few more friends at Linworth Baptist.

Photographer Halle

During my mom and dad's annual Prime Rib Palooza, aka Family Christmas, I let my 7 year old niece, Halle, walk around a bit, unassisted, with my Canon Rebel. Here is a sampling of her efforts.

1. "Fiona in Crate"

2. "Emersyn as iCarly"

3. "Nativity"

4. "Family with Snowman"

5. "#1 Dad"

The last one is my favorite. She took about five pictures of the ornament from different perspectives. There were also a lot of pictures Peanut and new baby Eliza. I think this collection was a cute sampling of a truly kindhearted child's Christmas thoughts. PS: There were ZERO pictures of any presents. :)

She's pretty on the inside and the outside, don't you think?

2011 Resolutions:

This year, my resolutions are simpler than last. Its "U - M - O" for 2011, which stands for "Utilization, Motivation and Organization." You can take the girl out of cheerleading, but you can't take the cheerleading out of the girl...

Utilize: To make use of; turn to practical use or account

This year for the Morris family, utilization means we are moving to make better use of the things we already have at our disposal. I am freely acknowledging that our spending, whilst within our means, is getting a bit thoughtless. For instance, I am sure I have thrown away over $20 in spoiled cheese since Thanksgiving, and I know I have over a hundred dollars in unused gift cards laying about the house. I can't even contain the items I own in the house I have. Careless and poor stewardship!

Tonight I kicked off my resolution revolution by UTILIZING coupons from the Sunday paper. Specifically, I limited myself to purchasing FIVE items at the grocery store for which I had no coupons or in-store discounts.

Specifically, that amounted to: butter, a Command adhesive hook, brown rice, bananas, and Neutrogena face wipes.

After purchasing those items and then all my other, discounted, groceries, I saved $45.19. That was over 30% off my total bill! And I have a fridge full of food and two cases of Slim-Fast to show for it! Hooray!

To add to that, I learned shopping with coupons takes at least three times as long as ordinary grocery shopping, so now there is no time for loafing on the couch on grocery day...here I am, UTILIZING my time more wisely! ;) Har har har...

In all seriousness, better utilization of my time is a major Kara Morris goal for 2011. Let's be honest, I have a lot more time on my hands than a year ago...do I have much to show for it? Not really. So let's do better with that in 2011, Mrs. Morris!

Lastly, we are also increasing our utilization by starting an investment plan, making our credit cards and savings plans work harder for us, and trying utilize the clothes, shoes, and kitchen equipment we already have. AKA: Avoiding frivolous trips to the mall and making a conscious effort to pare down our junkie-status dining out habit.

It sounds like a major buzz-kill, but I'm actually very MOTIVATED to see how much we can save in 2011. Who knows, there may be a down payment on a new house in our future!

*FINGERS CROSSED!*

Next up: MOTIVATION