The most expensive jam ever...

Ok, so here is our blackberries take 2 post. We finally had some time to do something with the 2 gallons of berries we have so we decided to be adventureous and make jam and since we are moving soon we thought it might not be a good idea to make the kind you put in the freezer. So we made REAL jam.

Neither of us have ever attempted such a thing so we decided to try a small batch first, you know, in case it was super gross. The recipe seemed simple enough...mix berries, and sugar and heat on the stove...30 minutes later you have jam.

Well, I am not usre if it is because we started with frozen berries or because we used apples instead of pectin like the recipe said, but 2 hours later we finally had our jam! We calculated the time we spent between going to pick the berries and to make the jam compared to our hourly wages and we figure the jam cost us about $200. So at $100 a bottle-it better be good!

Prego Pictures

Ok, so most of you will probably not really care to much about these pictures so I will not be offended at all if you decide to skip this post, but, for those who have been asking for them...here they are! Pictures of my big pregnant belly!

This is me at around 25 weeks...

And this is me at between 26 and 27 weeks, the end of my second trimester. Although people keep saying they didn't even realize I was pregnant I think they are just being nice-cause I know my belly doesn't normally look like this~

Unsolicited Advice

So, at this point it is obvious that Dianna is definitely pregnant. At the end of the second trimester, the belly is kind of hard to miss - a fact that was confirmed by our trip to Wal-mart this evening. The random guy standing in back of us started telling Dianna (out of nowhere) about how hard the first delivery is -because it was hard for his wife- and told Dianna that she needed to be sure and get an epidural for her delivery. Dianna doesn't want an epidural- Dianna hates needles. The thought of having a huge needle stuck in her back scares the daylights out of her. She'd rather go natural and I am okay with that. Dianna was very polite in letting that man know what her opinion was on the matter. Come to find out, this is now a daily occurrence for her. Apparently everyone in the entire world feels they need to tell her what she needs to do when she has the baby. It happens EVERY DAY. I guess I'm just a little amazed at the nerve of some people. It would be one thing if Dianna was asking advice from a close friend or family member. But complete strangers coming up to you and telling you what you have to do (and completely out of the blue)................ I don't know why being pregnant makes what would normally be considered inappropriate and rude an acceptable thing to do. But I guess I shouldn't be surprised- the same thing happened at the beginning of the pregnancy regarding birthing choices- hospital versus birthing center, water birth versus normal delivery, drugs verses no drugs, etc. I mean, come on people. Now, this is all my ramblings- Dianna seems much more calm and patient with it. Good thing that it is her having the baby and not me, because my opinion about it is:

BACK OFF !!!!!

On a lighter note, we had our first craving episode a couple of weeks ago where we had to go get hamburgers and milkshakes at 10:30 at night. Anyone who knows Dianna knows how strange that is for her. But I wasn't complaining- I drove her right over to the nearest Braums and got her the burger and shake she wanted while helping myself to a double cheeseburger and large milkshake as well. Hey, I'm just trying to be the supportive spouse that I'm supposed to be :).

Blackberries

So we went to pick balckberries from the Merry Berry Farm in Balch Springs with our friends Maren, Jake and Tessa. It was the day after the big storms here in the area and we are happy for some cool weather. To be honest picking berries with two pregnant ladies in June in Texas might sound a little crazy, but it wasn't that bad-unless that is is you stepped in one the MANY ant hills that were so water soaked that the little buggers were on kamikaze missions! Poor Tessa's little ankle's were eaten alive! But were picked 2 gallons and Alan has decided we have to make jam-which of course we can't just freeze because we are moving soon, so I guess we have to figure out how to make real jam and put it in jars. That will be an adventure!

Oh and Alan learned a vaulable lesson about blackberries, you want them to be ALL black or else they are very tart! Nothing a little sugar can't cure though!