The bedroom is done!

So far, so good on our no-grocery-shopping challenge--of course, it's only been two days. I forgot to mention that the challenge also includes dining out, so we can't do that, either. Eli asked yesterday if we could get milkshakes from Sonic (we've only gotten them once or twice before, but they were insanely good, and he remembers that). I told him that if we make it through the whole no-grocery-shopping challenge (through June 30th), we can reward ourselves with a milkshake from Sonic. Big incentive!

Last night, I made Beans & Rice for dinner. I used to make this a lot when I was losing weight in 2009-2010. It's a super filling, hearty meal for very few calories, and it tastes great! We had some corn muffin mix in the pantry, and that actually sounded really good to have with the Beans & Rice, so I made a batch of those as well. As far as putting a dent in our pantry food, this meal used up the muffin mix, two cans of beans, some rice, and a can of tomatoes. From the freezer, the rest of a bag of frozen corn. (I love using up the last of something!)

I cooked extra rice, so I'll probably use it to make vegetable fried rice (or maybe with some shrimp). We LOVE rice, so you'll probably be seeing it a lot this month (well, until we run out...).

Last night, I made a batch of the English muffins I mentioned yesterday. I followed the recipe exactly as written, and they turned out SO good. I had one for breakfast today with butter and homemade strawberry jam.

The kids loved the English muffins as well, so I'll probably be making several batches of these (the batch yielded 7 muffins yesterday, because I used larger rings). 

Yesterday was my fourth day in a row of not going for a run. Monday was a rest day, but Tuesday and Wednesday, I was working on my bedroom all day, so I didn't run. Last night, I have no idea what possessed me to choose to run in 85 degree weather, but at around 5:00 pm I went for a run. It was really hot, but for some reason, it didn't bother me that much! 

I kind of like running in the evenings; during the summer, I may be doing that more often. Smashrun has a badge you can earn for doing 10 runs after sunset (you have to start the run before sunset, and end the run after sunset), so maybe I'll work on earning that badge. Today, sunset is at 8:59 pm--that just seems so late to go run! But it might be kind of fun.

Thanks for all the suggestions about what I should do with my bedroom windows! I really did like the contrast of the dark blinds, so I went a discount store to see what sort of curtains they had. I ended up finding some light green ones and a dark curtain rod. Once I put them up, I absolutely loved it! I tried getting a good picture, but the pictures turn out so dark that it's hard to see. Here is the best I could do:

(Yes, that is a lava lamp--I got it in 7th grade, and I refuse to give it up!)

My duvet is green (actually, the duvet is the first thing I bought, and I started changing the rest of the room to go with the duvet, haha) so the curtains go with the duvet really well. The whole room has such a bright, cozy feeling to it. Before, I never liked spending time in my room, but now I absolutely love it! (Estelle hasn't moved from my bed in three days except to eat and use the litter box).

The whole room ended up costing about $250 to make over--not bad at all!
Primer for furniture- $10
Primer for walls and doors- $16
Paint for furniture and trim- $30
Paint for walls- $30
Duvet- $12
Pillow cases/throw pillow- $8
Ceiling fan- $75
Wall clock- $15
Drawer pulls for dresser/night stands- $55

I got the duvet at the thrift store; the pillow cases, throw pillow, curtains and curtain rods at a discount store; the primer and paint for the furniture and walls, the ceiling fan (which was the most expensive part of the room), and the drawer pulls from Lowe's. I wish I had done it sooner--it's changed my mood for the better. Phoebs loves it, too ;)