Brown Rice Pudding

My mom used to make rice pudding a lot when I was little. Oh man was it good! Well I have been craving some but I don't buy white rice since I'm trying to be healthier. So I looked up a recipe for brown rice pudding and I thought I'd share it for any of you homey desert lovers.


Ingredients

* 2 cups cooked whole grain brown rice
* 1 1/2 cups milk
* 1/2 cup maple syrup or honey
* 1-2 cup dark raisin (optional)
* 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon or nutmeg or allspice

Directions

1. In medium saucepan, combine rice, milk, syrup [& raisins, if including them], & bring to boil.

2. Reduce heat & simmer 20 minutes, stirring frequently.

3. Remove from heat & stir in butter & cinnamon.

4. If desired, garnish with additional cinnamon.

30 DS Making Progress

While I'm going to go ahead and wait to post my measurements again until 30 days have passed to make sure they are accurate, I have seen shrinkage in inches and weight. I have lost about 5 pounds! While it's not Biggest Loser numbers I'm very happy :) It's a steady move down the scale and I can't wait to get into the 170 range. I'm 181 right now and my first mini goal is 175.

I think setting mini goals is important to keep me motivated. It will take months for me to get to my ultimate goal of 140-135 so it's good to have steps in between. In the meantime I'm looking forward to fitting my clothes better. My tummy is wrecked from the stretching process and while I would look pretty good in my size 13s if my tummy were tighter I'll look sloppy until that happens no matter what size I wear. That's where all the ab work will pay off. My tummy is where I have seen the most difference in inches since I last measured.

Well. I just have to stick it out! There is definitely improvement and as long as I keep going it will only get better :)

Stupid Carpet Cleaners!

We live in a nice apartment complex. Not extragant, but nice. However they have been doing a lot of renovations and there has been so much noise EVERY DAY that my son gets woken up as many as 3 times a day from his naps! But I've been keeping myself from being too frustrated by the fact that it's usually over by 3. Today, though, minutes after Caleb had fallen asleep for a much needed nap (he'd been getting very fussy and hadn't slept much all day thanks to lawn mowers and grinders and welding) when they started using the noisiest machine to clean carpets I have ever witnessed. And he kept trying to go back to sleep but there was just too much noise! And now I have this cranky, crying, overly tired baby who is too wired to sleep. Ahhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!! Stupid freaking carpet cleaners! Well there is my vent, I'm off to try and soothe my son.