Making Strawberry Jam

I have been wanting to make strawberry jam for years now. My mom and sister kept telling me how simple it is. So, last night while I was at the store I spotted strawberries for a great price. I got 8 pounds of berries and planned to make the jam this morning. Hannah went down for her nap so easily this morning and Austin and Wyatt were playing outside with neighbors, so everything was perfect. I decided to do both batches at once since I had a huge pot and all of the containers ready. I followed the directions to a "T" (I know family- that is hard to believe), but I really did. I noticed that after I got the berries and pectin boiling that it was going to be a tight fit with all of the sugar. I poured in the sugar though and we still had room without everything going over. Then, it happened when the jam started to boil - it went right over the sides of my pan. I quickly removed the pan from the burner, but forgot to turn off the hot plate. Soon there were flames burning, but I thought to myself, it will burn itself out. Then the flames got bigger and started to spread. I quickly grabbed my trusty baking soda and doused the flames. As smoke filled the air I surveyed the damage. The jam was saved but my stove was a sticky black mess. To top it all off the smoke alarms in every room in our house started to sound. I stood there and laughed. Hannah who was up from her nap by now, started saying "uh-oh". Yeah she knows trouble when she sees it. I am just thankful that since I have a cold and allergies combined, I couldn't smell any of it. I never knew that making strawberry jam could be such an adventure. FYI: the only other time I have started a fire cooking was in my parents' microwave over 10 years ago :)