Homemade Strawberry Jam

So here's the deal. For a long time my mom has made homemade strawberry jam, and I think I'm addicted. I've tried other stuff, you know, the store bought kind, and it just doesn't come close. Every time we go back to North Dakota I bring as much of the good stuff home with me as I can.

Well, a couple weeks ago our supply started to run low. We took two butter tub containers full of jam home with us from Christmas last year. For the average person, you'd think that two 45 oz. containers of strawberry jam would be enough for what, like 2 years?

Not so for me. I slather it on anything I can, including pancakes, crepes, and of course, sandwiches. Well, I haven't been able to take sandwiches to work for a few days because we only had enough jam for one sandwich. Taking the last jam for a sandwich is like eating the last doughnut. You just don't do it.

Well, we finally went crazy this last weekend and decided to make jam. Not anything fancy and cooked-like, just plain old freezer jam.

I think it turned out really well. We tried two different recipes from two different pectins (that's the stuff that you have to have to make jam). We haven't decided which one tastes better yet because one is still setting. I'm sure they'll both be delicious. And now I can take sandwiches to work again. YAY!!!

Just a quick update on the jam (from Tricia): We used both Sure-Jell and Ball's, and I think they taste about the same. Ryan likes the Sure-Jell better, but we're making another batch and it's going to be Ball's. Here's why: Sure-Jell used 4 cups of sugar and 2 cups of strawberries, while Ball's used 1-1/2 cups sugar and 4 cups of strawberries! Since I couldn't taste a difference, and Ryan only sort of could, we are definitely going with the one with less sugar. Plus, there were a lot more steps in the Sure-Jell recipe and I'm all about simplicity. Anyways, just thought y'all might want to know the difference!

Awake While My Husband Is Asleep

Well, here I am again. Awake while Ryan is asleep. I am so jealous that he can just fall asleep as soon as his head hits the pillow! So, what sort of things do I do when this happens? Not much exciting. Mostly I surf the net, watch HGTV, eat cereal, or just lie there next to him wishing the snoring was a soothing sound to me. I'm sure there are many spouses that can relate.

I just tried to find a picture of him sleeping, and I don't have any! Maybe I will try to get one and post it on here later. He really does look so cute while he's sleeping. And while he's awake. Wait! I found one (there are also a lot of other asleep people in this picture, Ryan is the really cute one in the bottom left corner):

Anyways, the only updates on me are that I went home to Arizona this weekend and got a sunburn and a cold. But I was still happy to go because I love to see my family! We went dune buggying, Mindi and I played the Train Game, we went swimming, and went out to eat at Serrano's, one of my all time favorite Mexican food restaurants. I think it's because of the really yummy bean dip that comes complimentary with the chips. Anyone from Mesa probably knows what I'm talking about. So yes, it was a good trip, with some hopefully short-lasting souvenirs.

Nerd Blog

As I'm getting used to this blogging thing, I have a hard time thinking of things to write about that anyone would care to read. I think the problem is that most of my work and interests are very nerdy. Or at least somewhat nerdy. I figure that most of the people who read this blog probably won't be interested in a lot of the things that I do.

For that reason, I've decided to split off and do another blog. This one will be my nerd blog, and will completely full of my fun with techy, nerdy things. That way those who want to read those things can, and those who don't, don't have to. And that should make everybody happy. :)

Happy Father's Day!

Ryan's Birthday!

Ryan had his 24th birthday last week, so I tried to do everything I could to make sure he had the best birthday ever. I made him breakfast in bed (although he woke up and took a shower and then got back into bed), we got to have lunch together (usually we don't), and then went out to dinner (Red Robin). Finally, we had a cheesecake birthday celebration!

I made three cheesecakes for Ryan's birthday: Chocolate chip cookie dough cheesecake, chocolate truffle cheesecake, and peanut butter cheesecake. I think they turned out pretty well:

Ryan's mom always made him cheesecake for his birthday, so I have just continued the tradition since we've been married. People seemed to like it, though there were also squiggly balloons that seemed to be a little more popular (probably because they made good weapons for the boys to play with).

Anyways, it was good fun. I think he had a good birthday.

An internship!

So, as some of you may know, I recently started an internship with the Church. In a whirlwind of craziness, I went from having no internship to having an offer in hand within about 6 hours.

Anyway, I've been working in the Quality Assurance area of the ICS (Information and Communications Services) department. To those of you non-techies out there, that means software testing. I'm currently working on testing out some new technologies for possible future use in the department.

Anyway, I'm loving it so far. The environment is great. The view out the office window looks something like this:

Well, sorta...

I'm not so excited about the bus ride up there (1 1/2 hours each way), but in three weeks of working there the bus pass has already paid for itself. Plus, I'm still working for some professors doing research-y things, and the ride there and back gives me a chance to get things done (although 6:30 am is not my most productive time).