My Jam Berry Party

Most people that know me,

know that I adore canning.

I love the entire process...

the smell of the fresh berries,

the heat of the berries cooking,

the sweet sugar,

and then the best part...

the pop-pop-pop of the jars sealing themselves.

When I hear that sound,

I know that summer has been saved and

people will be enjoying a little bit of summer 

on any day of the year.

There's a very simple joy in the process.

I also love that I know everything that is in those jars.

I know the farms that grew the berries,

I know the amount of sugar,

and I know that it's been made with all the love that I can squish in there.

Also, I know that with each jar

not only are people enjoying the goodness of homemade jam,

but they are doing something very good.

You see, I don't jam to make money...

nope...not at all.

I jam to raise money for my heart projects.

All of the profits go to help animals.

Often the money goes directly to Fences For Fido

to help us unchain dogs around Oregon and SW Washington,

other times it goes to a need that I see in the community like

Oregon Humane Society, Strut Your Mutt, or P.A.W.S.

Currently, I'm saving money to help stray dogs get medical help and their forever homes.

This is a big goal,

but I'm hopeful that all of this jam will make the difference 

in lives of precious souls that I don't even know yet!

Have I tempted your heart and tummy yet?!

Well, if not, maybe this list of jam flavors will.

• Strawberry
• Raspberry
• Blueberry-Lime
• Blackberry
• Prickleberry (Raspberry and Blackberry)
• Triple Berry (Strawberry, Raspberry, and Blackberry)
• Berry Field (Strawberry, Raspberry, Blueberry, and Blackberry)
• Peach
• Blushing Peach (Peach with a kiss of wild blackberries)
• Peach Pie (A taste of peach pie in each bite!)
• Vanilla Maple Bourbon Peach
• Peach Bellini (Peach with Champagne)
• Apricot
• Cherry
• Pear-Cardamom

I make a variety of sizes of jam, but each flavor has a very limited amount of sizes available. 

It is really first come, first serve.

I only make jams at the peak of freshness, so that limits the supply greatly. 

If there is something that you would like,

don't hesitate to have me hold them for you. 

I'm happy to do that. :)

4 ounce = $2.00 (extremely limited!)

8 ounce = $4.00 (most popular size)

12 ounce = $6.00 (limited)

16 ounce = $8.00 (limited)

Bruce Degen - Jamberry Poem & Berry Jam Recipe

Amazon link

"One berry, two berry, pick me a Blueberry !"
"Hatberry, Shoeberry in my Canoeberry;"
"Under the bridge and over the dam,"
"Looking for Berries - Berries for Jam !"

"Three berry, four berry, Hayberry, Strawberry -"
"Finger and Pawberry, My Berry, Your Berry;"
'Strawberry Ponies and Strawberry Lambs,"
'Dancing in meadows of Strawberry Jam !"

"Quickberry ! Quackberry ! Pick me a Blackberry !"
"Trainberry, Trackberry, Clickety-Clackberry;"
"Rumble and Ramble in Blackberry Bramble,"
"Billions of Berries for Blackberry Jamble !"

"Raspberry, Jazzberry, Razza-matazz-berry !"
"Berryband, Merryband, Jamming in Berryland..."
"Raspberry Rabbits and Brassberry Band,"
"Elephants skating on Raspberry Jam !"

"Moonberry, Starberry, Cloudberry Sky - "
"Boomberry, Zoomberry, Rockets shoot by !'
"Mountains and Fountains rain down on me,"
"Buried in Berries, what a Jam Jamboree !"
Bruce Degan, 1983

Happy Jam Berry enjoyment to YOU!

Escape Artist Contained

Two dogs,

with two very different personalities...

Logan is a homebody.
He just stays close to his humans,
never wandering







Striker is a social guy.
He loves adventure and seeks it often.
Unfortunately, adventure isn't always a safe thing for him to do.
A busy road, new neighbors, and new sights made it dangerous for Striker.
Since he would dig or squeeze his way out of enclosures,
his family had no choice but to chain him outside.

Thankfully, this family learned about Fences For Fido and reached out for help.
This is exactly what we're here for!
So a group of us went out and made a safe places for these two guys to be safe outside.
I had a fun job working with their daughter to decorate dog houses for Logan and Striker.

 How cute are these?! Seriously cute!

Enjoy a look at this day for Logan and Striker-

Logan and Striker

This is my favorite part about FFF...

We not only help the dogs, but we help families too.

Is that what community is all about?

I sure think so.

Want to volunteer or donate?

www.fencesforfido.org

International Sparkle

 This sparkly girl is heading international.  

I'll be posting my travel adventures on my short-term blog,

Nerdy Chicks Travel

My first stop is Paris, France.

Then....

 Cairo, Egypt

Then...Luxor, Egypt.

EEK!!!

Serious excitement here.

See you on my adventures!

A Big Gala Thank You!

There are two times during the year 

that my world is crazy busy...

September

and 

May/June.

It's nuts...

working in a middle school is 

always a little nutty,

but with teenagers excited for summer,

the nuttiness gets more intense.

Through all of the crazy-busy teaching world,

I carved a chunk of time to make a video.

This video is dedicated to all of the amazing,

local bakeries that donated to the 

Fences For Fido Gala.

We wouldn't have been as successful without YOU!!

And, it's never too late to say a big,

"THANK YOU!'

ENJOY!

THANK YOU!

THE DESSERT TRAY: Chocolate w/Raspberry

HUNGRY HEART:"Dirt Cake"

MELINDA MILLER: Cardamom Pear Cake

NEW CASCADIA: Black and White Cake

WHITE RABBIT BAKERY: Banana Cupcakes w/ vanilla buttercream

BACK TO EDEN: Lemon Lavender Poppyseed Cake

VEGAN NAN: Chocolate Cake w/coconut 

GLUTEN-FREE GEM: Chocolate Carmel Coconut

BIPARTISAN: Lemon Buttercream Cake

BIPARTISAN:Variety of pies

MY GOOD LILY:Chocolate & Peanut Butter Brownies, Lemon Cheesecake

KIM CONLEY: Petunia's Lemon Cake

MINDY PETTERSON:Mint Chocolate Chip, Chocolate Caramel, Vanilla Cupcakes

To Protect Them All

At dinner the other night,

my brother asked if there are any charities that focus on getting armor for Police Dogs.

Though I didn't know what it was called,

I knew that there must be one.

Not surprising, there are a few,

but some of them focus on many different aspects of protecting K-9's.

After a little searching.

I found just what I was looking for.

"Vested Interest in K9's, Inc."

It's not an Oregon Charity,

but they do exactly what my brother was asking about.

And the BEST PART, 

is that there is a Groupon right now,

where $10 can make a huge difference in the lives of Canine Officers.

Donate Today!

Groupon is exactly what got me interested in Fences For Fido a couple years ago.

Who knows, maybe this Grassroots Groupon with help others get involved too.

It's difficult to imagine, 

that dogs are put into life threatening situations without any protection...

but it happens every day.

Canine Officiers do amazing work,

and just like their human partners,

they deserve to have their vital life systems protected.

 According to their website, Vested Interest in K9s, Inc.

"Vested Interest in K9s, Inc. is a 501c(3) non-profit whose mission is to provide bullet and stab 

protective vests and other assistance to dogs of Law Enforcement and related agencies 

throughout the country. We exclusively offer a state of the art bullet and stab protective 

vest made in the United States that offers ultimate protection for K9s at an exclusive rate of $1050.   

Each vest has a value between $1795 – $2234 and a warranty of 5 years."

Wow! For only $10 we can make a difference in protecting these amazing dogs.

No matter what you think about different police situations,

all officiers deserve protection.

I've donated.

Will you?!

 Groupon for Vested Interest in K-9's 

Tomorrow is Ladies Day!

 That's right,

it's usually called Mother's Day,

but I like to think that it is a day to celebrate woman.

Instead of it just being about Mom's,

it should be just be about being an amazing girl!

We could have a Ladies Day and a Man Day!

Oh wait, Men already have their day/s...

it's any major sporting event.

Ha! Okay, that's not really true,

but the commercials seem to think that dudes 

are the only ones who watch those.

Anyway...

back to Ladies Day!!

Whether a woman is a mom or not

doesn't really matter.

Women influence all around them, 

and together we can raise an army of strong young women.

Women are just awesome,

and should be celebrated for being the nurturing people they are.

I'm not a mom,

but I feel like a play one everyday at work.

Okay, maybe not the mom,

but definitely the feisty aunt.

Who loves fiercely,

pushes you to do better and be better,

but also cares deeply too.

There's a beauty in the balance of those things that women 

bring to situations.

So, let's celebrate it!

Women are amazing!

So make sure that the fabulous ladies in your world 

are celebrated tomorrow.

It really doesn't take much to make someone feel special.

Just a kind word,

or a helpful hand can speak volumes.

And from me to all of the wonderful, beautiful women,

thank you for being strong,

gentle,

thoughtful,

and simply YOU!

You are perfect!

And believe me, I know what this looks like,

I was raised by this type of woman.

She's called Mom

and she's all of this and more.

I work with these women,

my time volunteering is surrounded by these women,

and I'm lucky be friends with strong, brave, gentle, 

thoughtful, and simply amazing women.

And how lucky to learn from them, am I.

Happy Ladies Day!
Especially to my Mom!

Take 5

I needed a little help today.
Some days are just like that.
Walking into a middle school in late April is a crap-shoot.

Is it going to come up good?
Or is it going to shatter?
I never know.

Today I had to work really hard to keep my sparkle
from darkening too much.
I had to force myself to focus on the good.
I made up my mind to look at only the good in my day.

This didn't happen all at once.
Nope.
I had a big gloomy Eeyore cloud over my head for most of the day.
I really don't like being gloomy.
It's not at my core nature.
But sometimes the gloomy, negativity of a couple teenagers
occasionally latches on to me and like a fungus,
it gets under my skin.

And then at lunch,
I had had enough.
I vented to my friends (Thank you!)
and ate homemade Macaroni and Cheese.
(I'm sooo glad that I made that last night!)

Slowly, I felt the gloom lift.
Just a little.
Then a little more.
During 5th period, I had most of it gone,
but at the end of class
I still needed a little extra boost to free myself completely.

And then...
I saw it.
Two of my goofy students were dancing,
and in that moment, I knew what I needed.
A dance party!
Whoop! Whoop!

I turned on some Disco music
and we had a 5 minute dance party.
Those two boys had a dance off...
squaring off with their "moves."
Other students joined in.
Instantly the giggles rose in my throat,
and the next thing I knew,
I was laughing really hard.

Yes,
it was completely goofy.
No, it isn't a part of the curriculum.
But when most of their (and my) day
is consumed by standards, targets, and state testing,
sometimes we just need to take 5.
5 minutes to be goofy.
5 minutes to laugh, smile, and most importantly boogie down.



So in your stressful moments,

remember that it's just a moment.
Just a little spot of time.
It may be stressful
and the gloom may overwhelm you,
but don't let it totally consume you.
Ultimately it will pass,
but you can help it along by finding your own 5 minutes.
Maybe it will be a silly dance party like mine.
Maybe it will be a quick walk outside.
Or maybe it will being greeted at home by someone you love.

Life is so much more than the things that bring us gloom.

Whatever it is,

own it.

Breathe it in.

And if you're like me,

just DANCE!