I think making jam is super easy. Clean & boil the jars. Clean and cut the fruit and mix it with sugar and a little lemon juice. You can add pectin to make it "jell" but I read in Bon Appetite magazine you can just cook the fruit and it will jell on it's own and it gives a softer texture to the jam. I'm going to try that this year. Fill the jars, making sure the top of the jars is perfectly clean, put on the lids and boil them. I've never had a jar that didn't seal properly. You need a rack in whatever pot you use to boil the jars to keep them off the bottom of the pan. I love the shiny little jars filled with fruit. It just makes me happy.

It's funny, I love strawberry jam, but I make raspberry jelly. I strain every single seed out. It's messy, but I love it. I love that pure, clear raspberry jelly. I've never made a butter, but it's the same principle. You just cook off more of the water, I believe.

Kelly's raspberries aren't ripe yet so I didn't get to pick any but I did enjoy the bike ride. It's something new for my exercise and I'm LOVING the change. It uses different muscles and makes me feel really challenged.

Have a great day everybody!

I'm sick. I woke up at about 5:30 yesterday morning and felt nauseous beyond belief. It went on ALL day! I ate a bowl of cereal around 10:30 am and that was it. I did continue on my day - worked, went to my appointment for my massage (which was AWESOME) and then I slept from 2- 3 pm, and again from 5:30 - 8:45, went back to bed at 10 until 8:30 this morning. I feel very rested, but still punky. I ate some cereal again this morning, but I don't feel hungry. This is reaking havoc on my hypoglycemia... it's hard to eat when you're not hungry and food makes you ill.

Silver lining - tomorrow's weigh in should go good - right sorry - you know I have to make jokes. I just want to feel better! I have a bridal shower to go to this afternoon. I'm hoping they have light foods that I can snack on that won't turn my stomach. *ugh* I'll feel better tomorrow.. today I'm just going to go through the motions again.

gg--Thanks for the instructions. Sounds like something even I can do.

enygirl--Ugh nausea is the worst. I hope you feel better soon.

I have not run away!! My daughter (almost 3) is sick and I have been up all night for the last 3. My eating hasn't been great but I am going to refocus today and eat better. It is so hard when little ones are sick. I'm going to try to catch up tonight after she is in bed!

Enygirl- Ugh! "BE PATIENT?!?" I think you handled the work thing WAY better than I would have- way to go!

Karrebear- I hope your little one feels better! I gotta tell you, I got a glimpse of motherhood this weekend, and I REALLY don't know how you guys do it! It's so much harder of a job than anything anyone could do! The payoffs have got to be great!

gg- you've inspired me! ;o) Maybe I'll try some jelly-making this summer!

Haleygirl and mrsaugie- how are things going you two?

Shay- how is your marathon 10k going? How do you build up endurance? I can run for about 1 minute and I'm spent!

So, I had band camp on Tuesday, and ran my butt off. The marching band went to Water World (our water amusement park) on Wednesday, and I had a blast, and my muscles were screaming and I ran my butt off. Between carrying tubes up huge hills and trying to resist currents in the wave pool, it was definitely a great work-out! Then, Thursday, Friday, and today I took my section leaders camping for leadership training. Again, I worked my butt off. And I was so proud of my kids- they all had to plan a meal, and they all brought healthy food that didn't make you want to curl up and nap afterward. Noone brought soda, even! We ran around and hiked and played and hauled 5 gallon jugs of water that weigh a ton... and I worked my butt off!

SO WHY IS MY BUTT BIGGER?!?!? The scale said I gained 5 lbs. Is it seriously possible to gain that much in muscle mass in 1 week? Because if not I am ready to scream! It seems like the more active I am the less I lose. If that's the case I am happy to sit on my butt!

TTTA - i'm not sure about the weight thing - but you sound like you had a BLAST! I used to LOVE band camp! It was the GREATEST!

On a side note - tomorrow is the final judgement day for my divorce. I'm happy that it's almost done - but I'm still sad a little. The stigma of being a *divorced woman* for some reason bothers me - even though I've been seperated for 3 1/2 years, and have been w/ my WONDERFUL BF for 2 1/2. weird huh? Oh and I talked to my boss briefly on IM yesterday (he's in Canada right now) and we're going to sit down on Tuesday when he's in the office to discuss my pay and a "little background". i'm nervous about that too. I have no problem standing up for myself - but I hate having to do it when I've already proved myself - AND they agree with me!!!! It just seems rediculous! *sigh*

Oh well - tomorrow's official weigh in day - hopefully it'll be GREAT! I'd love to see a #1.2 drop from last week - to stay in line for my Christmas goal!

TTTA--Here is the program I am doing:
http://completerunning.com/dawn-on-t...s/13weeks.html

TTTA - Sounds like you had a BLAST! I bet a huge part, if not all, of the 5 pounds is water. A friend of mine bought "Canning for Dummies" and it looks like a really great book.

Enygirl - I know how you feel about the divorce thing. I thought I'd be happy when it was all over, and I was, but it was sad, too. Hope you feel better soon. Are you over your cold??

Karrebare - I hope your daughter is better. It's no fun having a sick little one.

Shay - The black team has almost NO chatter. Is the blue team thread still hopping?? I don't even want to check it anymore because it's so depressing to see in an entire day only 3 people post. I hope it gets better on Monday.

Hope you all had a great weekend!!

Shay- THANKS! This looks really doable- I have always wanted to be a runner, and it fits with my 30 second endurance level... Hee Hee! I'm headed to the gym tomorrow, I think I'll give it a shot!

TTTA -- i am in the process of moving but i am hold at 174. after 5the 4th i will be done and back up and running.

l think this week some time the computer is going to be taken down so i will be mia until after the 4th.

Hey all!

I've been sick. I'm NOT a good sick person. I'm feeling better now.

I have an appt. with my doc this afternoon. I have a bunch of questions about metabolism, body fat percentage, and what the heck is going on with my right knee. I'm hoping they have some way of measuring my body fat percentage and helping me out a little with kicking up my metabolism. I'll let you know how it goes.

The good news is I stepped on the scale this morning and am down .4 pounds! 3 weeks at the same weight makes me a grumpy girl.

Hope everybody is doing well!!

hey girls, the scale hasnt moved but thats ok i suppose, its so hot in my room(where the comp is) i havent been in here much..i dont have ac
ggmugsy-oh homemade jam sounds so good but...id eat it all thats why i dont even buy it lol
ttta- i know what u mean the more exercise the more i stay the same or gain but yesterday my friend said that i look like ive lost inches so i should really start measuring

I was down #1.8 this week to #194.6!! I'm In The LOWER #190's again! I went to the Dr yesterday and she said that I'm doing good on the weight issue. And she agrees that I should be doing 30 mins 6 days a week. She said I can go longer if it's lower impact (walking etc) but not to push myself so hard. We're also going to start tackling the emotional eating stuff. But more importantly the depression stuff. Which will be nice.

I'm just going to keep going and plugging along. Stick with me girls!!!

Hey everyone! Man am I tired. Jessie is still not 100% and was up a lot lastnight. I am pooped. I stayed the same this week. No change in weight! Hang in there everyone we will reach our goals!

Haley - I think measurements are a GREAT way to help keep you focused when the scale isn't giving you the numbers you want to see.

Enygirl - Great job!! Looks like you're back on track!!

Karre - Hope your little one gets better soon. I remember those exhausting days . .

Shay - Where you been?? Hope you are doing well!!

In the Numbers challenge thread TTTA posted about having a mouse in her office. I can't wait to hear what happened!

Hope everybody is on plan and happy!!