A New Month

 February 1st. Seems this last month has gone by quite quickly.

 Looking back there are some things to mark in the 'I did it' column and more than a few to enter in to the 'failed it'. One of the most positive things this month was the low spend. I didn't do as well as I could have on the food spending. There were several reasons for this. I had thought about cooking mostly from what we had but with the way the food shelves in the shops near us have been recently I thought it was better to keep some things on hand. Also, during winter I hate driving in the snow so I want to make sure I have things on hand so that I don't make myself too anxious. I didn't hoard or go overboard on the food spending but I feel comfortable enough that we items on hand if needed. 

I feel pretty good about leisure spending this month. We didn't eat out at all. I can't remember if MIL and I went to craft stores this month or not but I didn't go alone at all and I spent no money in one or one online (despite having some items in various shopping carts). I do admit to having a book failure. I purchased three books and the magazines I showed. I'm going to try to continue on for this month - perhaps do better. Money is still quite tight so that's an incentive lol. 

 I got all my neglected housework done today. I did go for a really long walk, partly with my friend and partly by myself. It was such a beautiful day I couldn't stay inside. The sun was shining, the skies were blue and it was above freezing!!! We are going to be under a Winter Storm Warning in a few hours. Because it is above freezing it is raining outside. That is going to turn to snow as the temperatures fall. It is supposed to snow most of the day tomorrow. We are in the line to get between 7-12 inches when this is all done. Of course, that's just a prediction. We could end up with very little lol. 

I did go through a few photos today. I thought I'd share one of the Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker (try saying that fast a few times!) that got me sidetracked yesterday. Isn't it beautiful?

My phone did an update and now I find it really difficult to manage my phone photos. Sigh. I have two of my photo-a-day to share. 

31/365 Phone Photos. Things That Make Me Smile. 

A nice walk in the park. Made me smile because even though this park is even further in the middle of town it was filled with birdlife and wildlife! 

32/365 Phone Photos - Things That Make Me Smile. 

The calm before the storm. The beautiful day made me smile. It was warm (well, warm for Michigan!), sunny and the birds were singing.