Wordless Wednesday

Adventures in Training #7: May Recap & June Goals

It is two weekend into June and I have been putting off this post. May was not the best month for me, I had high hopes. I started the month off with my first 5k of the season and it was awful. It was for a great cause and that was a good thing but...it was a cross country hilly course. I was thinking it would be easier on my joints but the grass was long and wet and ended up straining my hip which is still giving me issues. I ended up basically just walking it, it was really tough (for me anyway).

I did make it out on Wednesdays with Amanda a couple times to "run", we really just walked. I only swam once or twice and used the elliptical and treadmill maybe once. I can't even say for sure...like I said a bad month!

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I didn't even really take notes, I wrote down three:

5/2 - 25 min on elliptical

5/5 - first 5k of the season. Not a fan of running on wet grass, found it really hard. Took me longer than normal @ 46 minutes. Oh well.

5/7 - 600 meters in 20 mins.

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All the notes for May, the first week. :( Anyway, since it is already June here is what I am currently doing and what I hope to continue. I am trying for four days a week. Monday's I have been trying to swim (pool has been closed the last two times I have gone), Wednesday's 'run' with Amanda or go to the gym if we can't make it, and Thursday's ride with Gracie. The hope is to also try to ride on Saturday or Sunday  a longer distance.

Only two more months before I do this crazy thing!

Wordless Wednesday - A day late

This is what you find on your camera roll when you let a toddler play games on your phone...

Wordless Wednesday

Strawberries!

We have a small strawberry patch that has just been bearing so much fruit; and it is awesome! Last year I bought two plants, which quickly spread, but before we were able to pick anything something else got to them first. So, this year I put up some chicken wire and it has done wonders, except for the few eaten by bugs and possible chipmunks I have been really surprised how many strawberries these little plants are yielding.

Strawberries are super easy to grow, you just need to make sure you keep critters away. My son has really enjoyed helping pick/gather the berries. Because of the fence I pick the berries and hand them off to my son who then either piles them up or puts them in a container (and he sneaks one or two every now and then also, I can't blame him sun warmed berries freshly picked are the best).

The first batch of strawberries we just ate, the next batch I wanted to do something with, we ended up with over a pound of berries so I wanted to make sure we would use them before they went bad. And they just keep coming.  So, with help from my son we cut the berries in half (he used a dull butter knife) and we put them in a pot to make jam.  I have never made jam, but have always wanted to so we gave it a shot.

Strawberry Jam - (for one 16 oz jar) 1 pound strawberries & 1/2 to 3/4 cup of sugar

Cut strawberries in half or quarters if they are large, and put in a non reactive pot.  Add about a 1/2 to 3/4 cups of sugar and cook on medium heat until just starts to simmer.

Using a potato masher, mash the strawberries. I like some larger chunks, but if you wanted to make it smoother mash longer and strain through a sieve.

Continue to cook down the strawberries, stirring occasionally.  The berries will thicken up, and once it coats the spoon and leaves a trail when you stir it should be ready.  At this point you can either put in a container and put directly in the refrigerator or can the jam. 

Yum...