Adventures in Canning

I'm one step closer to checking something off my bucket list.  :-D

One of my goals is to be a wife and mother who cans fruits and vegetables... and anything else I can learn to can.

Jars sanitized - Check!

Growing up, my mom canned every summer and fall -- tomatoes, applesauce, mincemeat, green beans, strawberry jam, yellow-wax beans, raspberry jam... and I'm sure there were more.  We had cabinets FULL of canned fruits and vegetables in our basement, and I always knew if something happened that we had to hide in the basement (tornado, nuclear attack), we had plenty of food.

20 lbs of fresh, ripe Colorado peaches - Check!

My true goal would be to have a garden someday where I grow my own veggies, and then can them -- but so far, Lexie (my kitty) and I have killed every plant in our care.  Thankfully, life is long and I have many things to learn.

Sugar, Pectin, Wax, Space, Motivation - Check!

Yesterday, I took my first step toward becoming a canning wife.  I have canned with my mom, in my mom's kitchen, but yesterday was my first time canning by myself and in my own kitchen with my own materials.

20lbs of Colorado Peaches
6 batches of peach jam
6 hours of work
24 12oz jars of jam
12 8oz jars of jam
First canning endeavor -- SUCCESS!

36 jars of peach jam! Whew!

To be honest, we don't use a lot of jam, but Hubby and I both really liked the idea of having jars of jam on hand for gifts.  We tasted the jam, and we agreed it is worth sharing.  (I won't give away baked goods that I don't think taste good).  The jam tasted great! :-D

First canning adventure completed!

My favorite part of canning: The knife cuts don't matter!

I am horrible at chopping, slicing, dicing, mincing... anything you can do with a knife and a cutting board.  I try so hard to make even cuts to have my veggies the same size, but so far, I am hopeless!  When I was chopping the peaches, the knife cuts didn't matter!!  The chopped peaches were going into a big kettle and mixed all around and turned in to jam -- no one cars about the different size of the chopped peaches!  YAY!

Lexie tried to help in any way she could... luckily when the jars with hot jam started coming out, she made herself scarce.

"Mom, you don't need a highlighter to can... let me get this out of your way!"

"Behind these jars, no one can see me!"

A Lifetime of Goals

Do you have on-going goals for yourself?

I sure do... I ALWAYS have a running list of things I want to do, be, learn, create in my head...

I read about others' goals in their blogs -- 30 Before 30, Three Goals This Month, New Year's Resolutions, the titles may be different, but the concepts are the same -- "these are my goals for the year/years/eventually"

I wrote down some goals my freshman year of college... I don't have them with me at the moment, but I remember re-reading them a few years ago, and I was surprised at how many of what I wrote at age 18 were either things I had accomplished, or things I still hoped to do someday.  I think I was surprised by how little I had changed over the years.

So, thinking about some goals for the next 50 years:

• Learn to play guitar
• Once again become proficient playing the harp
• Develop a regular exercise routine and stick with it for years
• Run a marathon
• Compete in a triathlon
• Read through the Bible cover-to-cover
• Perform in a musical
• Remain married to Chris until death parts us
•  Learn to sew well enough to sew curtains, kids clothes, crafts
• Learn to knit
• Learn to quilt
• Become a better cook -- and enjoy being creative in the kitchen
• Be more organized in the home -- papers, filing, cleaning schedule, laundry schedule
• Visit Egypt
• Serve on several missions trips (foreign and domestic)
• See University of Michigan play in the Rose Bowl
• Become an accomplished photographer -- possibly begin a photography business
• Visit many countries throughout Asia
• Have several children (a "large" family)
• Work to support child and animal adoptions
• Work with adults with visual impairments
• Learn to garden, and grow a vegetable garden
• Learn how to do my own blog designs
• Visit all 30 Major League Baseball Parks
• Experience natural childbirth (hopefully)
• Take our children on road trips around the country to National Parks, Monuments, and more
• Donate my hair to locks of love many times
• Visit a few countries in Africa
• Learn to be a mother (when the time comes, I will probably have a long list of goals for motherhood by itself...)
• Visit Australia
• Attend the US OPEN Tennis Tournament with my mom
• Attend the CMA Music Awards in Nashville with my mom, cousin and aunt
• Be a stay-at-home-wife, mom and homemaker
• Learn conversational Spanish
• Get an elk on a hunting trip
• Be the most amazing wife to Chris he could ever hope for
• Run the circumference of Mackinac Island
• Take Chris to NYC, Washington DC, Lexington, Alaska
• Learn to bake unbelievably delicious cupcakes and cookies
• Become an "early-riser" for at least a season of my life (maybe the new-baby season?)
• Pray Chris through graduate school -- however many degrees that may be
• Work towards becoming the Proverbs 31 Wife -- a lifetime process!
• Be the best mom I can be to our animals (not let them get lost in the shuffle of children)
• Earn my Orientation and Mobility certification
• Become a "crafty" Mom -- both in home decor, and children's crafts
• Be a regular blood donor
• Learn to love those around me
• Hike the fifty-four 14ers in Colorado (3 down, 51 to go)
• Read Centennial

There they are, 49 before 75... that is 49 goals before age 75 :-D

I'm sure there are more... and there will be more -- some goals may be met within a year, some goals may take me a lifetime.  But, I don't think I could ever survive without goals -- always new goals.

When Chris and I have little disagreements in our new marriage, we always come back to the phrase, "We have 60 years to get the hang of this".  Marriage and life are very similar -- they are both lifelong processes -- always adjustments, challenges, goals, habits, improvements.  I can't imagine not having a mental list of prayerful improvements for myself.

God is SO FAR from finished with me and I am so grateful that He will never give up.

What are some of your on-going goals?

New Every Morning

I love the fresh starts possible each year -- and in my life, I've found I usually have a fresh start about 3 times each year.

On January 1st, the whole world breathes a deep breath and sings "Old Lang Syne" and makes goals for a new year with a fresh perspective...

Then, when school lets out in early June, I a second chance to make goals for the summer (usually related to house-keeping, fitness, budgeting)...

Finally, since I'm a teacher, going back to school every fall is a fresh start with fresh goals, a different schedule and a new perspective on life and the year.

I thrive on these fresh starts because they are chances to breathe and reboot.  Maybe I made no progress on my goal from the last fresh start, but this is a new chance, and maybe a chance to adjust the goal so that I'm successful this time.

When Chris and I were at his grandparents during our vacation, someone offered for me to take some Christmas cookies home with me and I said, "Well, I'm not sure... the diet starts again on Monday," and every woman in the room raised her hand, or commented in agreement or began talking about her exercise plan for the new year.  On woman relative piped up, "I don't even try anymore."

Her comment made me realize how grateful I am for the three fresh starts of my year.  I might reach a point of helplessness with my goals, or complacency for a month -- but I enjoy the chance to take a deep breath and try again... or try something new.  If I got to a point of not even trying anymore... I don't even want to think about that.

I want to always be improving, learning, striving to have a better attitude, better habits, and to better reflect the light of Jesus.

HAPPY NEW YEAR and Happy Fresh Start!