Amy Scott's Thoughts

What a whirlwind 24 hours! It seems like the autumn season and the Christmas season are merging and transitioning. Yesterday was Halloween. Every year we put on an event called Fall Fest at our church as a safe alternative to trick or treating. It was a fun night full of costumes, games, candy and conversation. We had about 400 kids walk through our doors, not too mention the parents and grandparents that followed. Our building was alive with activity and creativity! It’s always big event, but worth all the effort that goes into it.

Usually the morning after Fall Fest is a slow one. Sometimes Jeremy and I will stay home and sleep in so we can recover from the crazy night before. However, this year, I did the exact opposite. With the way things fell, Red Cup Day landed right after Halloween. For those who aren’t obsessed with Red Cup Day and have no idea what I’m talking about – let me explain. In early November, Starbucks debuts their seasonal red cups. It’s a holiday in my book and is the main kick off to the holiday season for me.

There was no way that my tiredness from Fall Fest would keep me from Starbucks this morning. I was up before the dawn and at Starbucks while it was still dark. I met my friend and mentor, Jeannie, there and we share in a fun holiday tradition – an early morning red cup. Sharing this holiday with her is always a treasured time. However, what is better than one red cup? TWO! I went back just before noon for my second red cup with a group of ladies from church. Oh the joy of Red Cup Day!

Red Cup Day means a lot to me. Like I mentioned, to me, it’s the beginning of the holiday season. It means that Fall Fest is over and our major autumn event is in the past. Commercials on TV will now change from Halloween to Christmas. Stores will begin stocking and decorating for Christmas. Now I meant what I said about loving this fall season and taking it all in. I’m guessing that reverse psychology set in, because right after saying I hadn’t listened to Christmas music, I started to crave it! So this week I popped in an old school Christmas CD from past. It felt right to be listening to Christmas music as I drove to my much awaited red cup.

Each day is a blessing and today’s gift is red cups! Happy Red Cup Day to one and all!

Something has changed over the last few years. I used to hate being home for a whole day. I had to go and do something. I have no idea if it was because I was young and restless or because of the small apartment I used to live in. Ever since my husband and I purchased our home a few years ago, I have discovered that I love days where I get to stay home ALL day.

Today was one of those days were I got the joy being home for the entire day. It’s been a busy week with prepping for one of our major annual events, Fall Fest. I knew that the rest of my month would be busy and full (the few days that are left of October). Today was that one day where I could stay in my comfy clothes all day and not worry about going out. It was truly a perfect day.

I started the day by sleeping in – a Friday morning favorite of mine. After I got up, I tidied up the house as my hubby started a fire in our wood stove. Once the fire was made, Jeremy took off to go fishing. This allowed me a few hours of quiet to read and spend time with Jesus. My home becomes a sanctuary when I enter into my daily reading of the Bible. I’m swept away for a few hours into someone else’s shoes when I read a good book. It’s even more sweet when my Toby dog curls up on my lap and snuggles in.

When Jeremy got home, he created an amazing acorn squash soup for dinner and I made homemade bread. My sister inspired me yesterday by sending me a picture of loaves she created and I knew I wanted to try the same thing. She emailed me the recipe and I made bread for the first time. There was something so homey about being inside while it rained outside. The house smelled of soup and bread. Both seemed very fitting on this wet and dark fall day.

Days like this are few and far between, but when they appear I love to savor them for all they are worth. A good book, a fun baking project, a warm fire… just a few of my favorite things!

Visiting in 2005

Jeremy and I spent most of our dating and engagement period of time in the Portland, OR area. I was going to school there and Jeremy would drive down one day a week and we would spend it together. One of our favorite places to go was the Columbia Gorge and the Scenic Waterfall Highway. It’s especially pretty there during the autumns months as the trees in the area are changing into bright colors of red, gold and orange.

Autumn is both Jeremy and I’s favorite season and this scenic drive offers many awesome fall views. Every year we make a traditional trip to the waterfalls to take in the beauty of Columbia Gorge. Yesterday was the day we had saved for our annual pilgrimage. Each year the weather is different and that means the trees are not always the same. We’ve gone early in October and things have just begun to change. We’ve gone toward the end of October and it’s vibrant with color. Yesterday was in the middle. Things are in the process of changing, but you tell the greater colors are still to come.

I love having traditions. It’s so sentimental to have something we do every year. I look forward to it immensely! Yesterday was no exception. I got this date on the calendar early and protected it. I’ve learned that somethings in life need to planned in advance and then kept from being over-crowed by life. This trip was one of them!

Visiting in 2011

Jeremy and I had an amazing time just being together and spending the morning looking at such beauty. It’s just right outside of the city, but you feel like you are in the country. Days like this are treasured and cherished. They are not to be rushed through. However, we did keep a bit of a pace because we were trying to stay in front of the rain that was coming. The weather held long enough for us to make all our planned stops and to get some great pictures!

There is no replacement for this trip and I was so blessed to spend the day with my hubby! It is fun to visit places that mean a lot to us and we return to often! On a side note, another great time of the year to visit the waterfalls is when there was been freezing weather. They look so awesome when they are partially frozen! The drive can be a bit tricky, but it is worth the wonderful, wintery sight! The Columbia Gorge is beautiful year around and a visit is always special!

I think I’ve made it pretty clear that autumn is my favorite season of the year. I’ve really enjoyed all these sunny days in September, but now that it’s the end of the month, I want things to cool down. I have a bunch of sweaters and fall clothes in my closet that are just waiting to be worn.

Apart from the fun wardrobe changes that came in the fall, I’m very excited by the smells of fall. Pumpkin and cinnamon are two of my favorite things and I love to make my house smell as autumn like as possible this time of year. I use my Scentsy products to create that smell in my home, but I also discovered something fun and new.

I know I shared a while ago about my favorite cleaning products. One of them is Arm and Hammer carpet powder. Normally I use the pet fresh scent because I have a pet (logical, right?). At my last shopping trip to Walmart, I discovered they have a limited edition scent called Autumn Spice. This made me happy on two levels – my cleaning side and my scent obsessed side. I’ve used it once now and I really enjoyed the apple cinnamon scent it left in my home. The boost of freshness mixed with the fragrance of autumn made me a happy camper. I just thought I would share with you my fall find!

I will make a confession – I do not view my seasons properly… They always seem to start in my find at the first of the month, not until the 21st… Fall for me is September through November, Winter for me is December through February, Spring for me is March through May and then Summer is June through August. None of this waiting until September 21st – today is my first day of Fall! I can’t help it!

Fall is my favorite season and I’ve been waiting with much anticipation for September to start. I’m beyond excited at the moment. This morning I woke up and it was cold and foggy outside. It has since cleared off to sunshine, but this what I love about September. Cool in the mornings, warm in the afternoons. I love the fact that it gets darker earlier (come December, I won’t be so happy about that, but for right now it’s a sign of fall and any sign of fall is welcome in my book)!

This is the time of year full of excitement for what’s to come. As a teacher at my church, I get to look forward to the kids moving up to new grades and new classes starting. This Wednesday will be my first class with my new 5th/6th graders and I am jazzed about getting another year underway. I’ve gone through all the classrooms and resupplied them. I’ve made sure they are tidy and ready for the new classes that are going to take place there. A lot of preparation goes into the fall transition at church and now it is the time where all the preparation becomes reality. There is a buzz and excitement that come with a new school year.

This September is also very special to me because I have a trip planned to spend a week in Chicago. This isn’t just any trip, for me it’s a family reunion. My parents, Jeremy and I, and April and Andrew (my sister and brother-in-law) will all be together again. We dropped April and Andrew off in Kansas at the end of May. Getting to be with my entire family again will be huge blessing and one that I’m looking forward to eagerly! It will be cool to explore a new city, but the time spent with family I’m sure will be the highlight of my trip and most likely the highlight of month!

As you can tell, I’m glad that September is here. I’m ready for another season. I’m ready to see what God has in store for the next few months of my life. I have a feeling it’s going to be good. I’m now at 200+ gifts in my one thousand gift challenge. I’m about to reread the book and make sure that the themes of it are cemented in my heart. I know that God has heart change in store for me. I’m sure that pushing through some of the barriers will be difficult, but I’m really hoping and praying for my life to be changed as I open my eyes and see my life with a different perspective.

In closing, I would just like to say that tomorrow I plan on pulling out my fall decorations. I love having the orange, yellow and brown hues all around me this time of year. Jeremy is hopeful our pumpkins will be ready soon – especially my jack-be-littles and the baby boos. I love mini-pumpkins! They will go all over my house and office! I changed all the Scentsy warmers in my house to smell like cider and I’ve had apple spice pancakes with apple butter twice in the last week! The sights and smells of fall are here and I say welcome!

Today I participated in a community wide event called One Day. It was a Lewis County based community service project with the tagline, “One Church, One Mission, One Voice.” Bethel Church dismissed our services early today to send our people out in the community to do various projects. The cool thing is we gave everyone t-shirts, so you could literally see them all over Lewis County. Driving to the project I was helping with, I saw many groups along the sides of the road. They were cleaning up parks and cleaning up the street. Some of the faces I recognized from my own church, some of them were from different churches in Lewis County. Today instead of being a bunch of denominations and organizations, we were one – one church!

I got the pleasure of painting a hallway at our local dance center. The dance center is an experiencing great growth and they just recently acquired the next floor in the building they are currently renting. The 3rd floor had been used by a tae-kwon-do gym and the last tenants had just left… leaving behind a bunch of their stuff and the floor in sad condition. I arrived at the dance center and really didn’t know what to expect. I was given a roller and I started to transform a hallway from a dull creamish/gray to a bright white.

Now I’m not really handy… I don’t often desire to work with my hands, unless you include typing! I love my job teaching students about the Bible, but it was so nice to do something different. It was nice to do something! It’s been awhile since I’ve really done a service project. Yes, I keep things tidy around the church and around my own home, but this was doing something for someone else. No real benefit to me other than the joy of serving and knowing that I was blessing someone else. It was a great feeling and I surprisingly had a great time, even though I got very warm and my hand started to blister from holding my paint cup and brush. It’s a good ache that my arms now feel.

I’m currently reading a book about what it looks like to be missional church and I feel like this day was right on with the true heart of being a church on a mission – God’s mission. It’s not about denominations and it’s not about meeting in a building once a week, it’s about blessing the world. It’s about living out the promise God gave to Abraham. He said he would bless all nations through him (Genesis 12). We’re a part of that promise because we’ve been brought into God’s family. Now that we are apart of this great promise, we need to keep extending it to the world. It’s not about doing church, its about being the church. It was exciting to be a part of special day like that today.

It’s no surprise to anyone – I LOVE to clean. I absolutely love cleaning my home and keeping it fresh. I sometimes wonder if the ministry thing doesn’t pan out long term, I could become a maid or go into some kind of housekeeping business. For most, that doesn’t sound like a glamorous way to make a living, but I love cleaning that much – I might consider it!

Over the years, I have developed a habit for which products I use most and like best. I thought I would share the 10 products I use around the house on somewhat a daily basis, if not weekly or monthly. They are not listed in any particular order. I find it too hard to choose favorites. It’s like picking between friends and that doesn’t seem right. Okay, you probably think I’m crazy… and maybe I am. The purpose of this blog to share my thoughts and give insight into my life, so this is a key part of Amy Scott! Might as well share it with the blogging world (or the 5 of you who actually read this – *personal plug* feel free to subscribe to my blog or share it with others, more readers are always welcome).

• Arm & Hammer Order Eliminator – This is a powder that I sprinkle around my home before I vacuum. I only use it about once a week to freshen the carpets. I use the pet fresh scent and it works to help pull up more pet hair and dirt while vacuuming. I love this product and it goes a long way to leaving a nice clean scent around the house while helping to vacuum more effectively.
• Clorox Disinfecting Wipes – This is probably the most used product in my home! I used these wipes multiple times a day in my kitchen to clean up messes and sanitize. I also use them in my bathroom. I buy these at Costco in bulk and it’s a product I never run low on.
• Windex – Windows, mirrors, bathroom sinks are all cleaned with Windex in my house. Toby loves to slime the sliding glass door and Jeremy is notorious for toothpaste splatter on the bathroom mirror. Windex comes in handy when the boys in my life make messes!
• Bar Keeper’s Friend – Interesting title, right? I didn’t actually know about this product until I moved into my home and my mom shared it with me. I used it to clean my kitchen sink. I have a white sink which was horribly stained when I first moved into my home. This product worked so well to make my sink white again. I also noticed that my sink can get marked up by pots and pans and this product removes the marks.
• Lysol Disinfecting Spray – This is another product I buy in bulk at Costco! You can’t beat it! Jeremy actually hates it… something about the cloud of spray I leave around the house… I use this product about once a week to hit all major hard surfaces (i.e. light switches, door knobs and bathroom and kitchen surfaces). This is mainly for my psychological relief in knowing that I’m killing germs where ever they lie.
• Febreze Fabric Spray – I will use Febreze after I vacuum if I didn’t use the carpet powder that day. I also love it on floor mats, couches, curtains and throw pillows. Febreze makes things that I don’t wash on a daily basis still smell fresh and clean. I purchase the refill jug and keep filling the same spray bottle. I find it is more cost effective to buy the refill instead of buying a new spray bottle each time.
• Scotch Brite Stove Top Cleaner – I have a flat surface stove top (I think it is glass, but I’m not really handy with appliance jargon). I use this stove top cleaner to remove the burnt on gunk and splatter. I scrub the stove top and then use a paper to polish it to a shine. I love how clean and shiny my stove top looks afterwards!
• Swiffer Duster – My preference is the ones with Febreze scent added to them. This duster collects dust and much more. I’ve used it to pick up bugs and clean the lint of my laundry room floor. The duster is fun and fluffy. It’s like the modern version of the feather duster.
• Swiffer Sweeper Wet Mopping Cloths – I use my Swiffer Sweeper at least once a week if not more. It’s so rewarding to use a wet cloth and see the color it is when I am finished. I love the feeling of knowing that I have removed dirt from my floor. I love the fresh clean scents that are available.
• Lysol Max Coverage Toilet Bowl Cleaner – This is the best toilet bowl cleaner and requires the least amount of scrubbing. The cleaner goes on thick inside the toilet bowl and if allowed to sit over time will do all the work for you. I leave this in the toilet bowl for hours at a time (some people I know leave it overnight). It works on removing the colored rims and grim without the need for endless scrubbing.

If you thought ranking these would be hard for me, try keeping me to just 10 products! Below are my honorable mentions:

• Scrubbing Bubbles Shower Cleaner – it’s fun, it’s easy to see where you have cleaned, and it does the work for you. Enough said!
• Downy Wrinkle Release – not a cleaning product, but I use it all the time on bedding after I wash it to smooth out the wrinkles. It also replaces ironing for shirts and skirts. It’s easy to pack away on trips to keep clothes wrinkle-free.
• Clorox Toilet Bowl Wand – I use this along with the Lysol cleaner from time to time. I use this product instead of a toilet bowl wand. I find it works just as well and using a new brush head each time makes me feel better about germs.
• Scentsy Flameless Candles – Now Scentsy products might not clean my home, but they sure do leave it smelling good! Through a line of warmers and waxes, I can mix and match the smells in my house to create an inviting atmosphere. It covers up any smells that might be coming from the kitchen or the bathrooms. I love walking into my bathroom and having it smell fresh even through it’s been days since I cleaned it. I got rid of all my Glade and Febreze plug-in air fresheners and switched to Scentsy products. This is a change I never have regret. Plus my sister-in-law is a consultant with Scentsy, so I love knowing I’m supporting a family business (https://andreascott.scentsy.us/).

If you have any questions about a product I use or how often I clean what, just ask! I love talking about household cleaning and organizing. Also, if you have a household product you love, feel free to comment and share it! I’m always interested in what works well for others and trying new things! Especially when it comes to making my home a cleaner and safer place.

Like most people, I set goals and resolutions at the end of 2010 in hopes that I would see changes in 2011. I’m sure the most common New Year’s resolution would revolve around weight loss and healthy living. I was one of the many people that set a goal about achieving a healthier lifestyle in 2011. While I’m not the picture of health (I had Oreos with my lunch today), I have made some changes that have paid off and I have discovered some fun tools that helped me along the way.

My last day of eating whatever I wanted was January 14^th. Since that is my birthday, it seemed appropriate to go out with a bang on that special day before I started to become the disciplined eater that I had once been. Instead of setting my calorie goal as low as possible from the beginning, I decided to take my calorie intake to 1,500. I knew that I was eating quite a bit above that number. Scaling back was all I needed to do at first.

I’m the type of person who needs to be disciplined in my calorie counting. I know that this form of dieting is dreaded by most people. Logging your food and counting up the calories really can be a chore. My sister introduced me to an app on my phone called My Fitness Pal and it has made the calorie counting process so much easier. The app has a database full of foods. If you can’t find exactly what you are looking for you can add it to the database or chose an equivalent food. You just tell it what you ate and it knows the calories and totals them for you. This app also helps you to track weight loss and set proper calorie intake goals. Another great feature of My Fitness Pal is you can add in your daily exercise to keep track of how many calories you are burning. The ones I use most often are related to walking and cleaning. Because I can add cleaning as an exercise, it has made house cleaning part of my weekly exercise routine. Spending the day shopping can be very rewarding when you see the calories you’ve burnt just by walking around for a couple of hours.

My Wii Fit has also come in handy turning this process of getting healthier. I love the features of being able to track your weight and set new goals for yourself. Throughout this process I’ve weighed myself about every 2-3 weeks. I know most people in hard core diet mode, like to weigh in every day, but I have decided not to make that the point. I want to see that over time I am getting better. I don’t want to get hung up on how many ounces different I am today verses yesterday. As long as I was losing weight in the time between my weigh-ins, that is all that mattered. The Wii Fit also offers many fun exercises. My personal favorite is the step aerobics and yoga. I randomly like to throw some hula hooping into the mix or boxing.

Now those of you who know me, you know that I love sugar and all things junk food related. The hardest thing for me is cutting these elements down in my life. Notice I didn’t say out… I do believe that food can be comforting and rewarding. If I decided to eat like a rabbit, I would probably enjoy my life a lot less because food makes me happy and I would miss my goodies. Portion control and allowing myself just one goodie has been a great decision. I also have tried to use the moderation rule when it comes to soda. In fact, soda has been one of the hardest things for me to limit. I’m hopelessly addicted to Diet Pepsi. I do believe it is psychological because Diet Pepsi really doesn’t have a lot of caffeine in it, but for some reason, I feel like I need to have a soda to get my caffeine jolt. On a bad day, I’ll have three to four sodas. Not only is that not good for me health wise, but it’s also a lot of money. My goal has been to cut myself down to two sodas a day – one with lunch and one with dinner. At any other time, I drink water, which is always a healthier option.

I’m happy to say that I was able to reach my weight goals before June. Even though the process spanned months of time, doing it slowly was okay with me and actually better for my body. Now I’m learning how to maintain my goal weight. I’m finding that it is easier to lose weight than maintain it. While I’m still learning the tricks of maintenance, I can see that healthy living is always going to be a choice. It’s not going to just happen on its own. I wish I could reach my desired goals and just stay there with no more effort, but that is not the case. Effort is always going to be necessary or I will once again be resetting my health goals at the beginning of another new year. My hope is to avoid this now that I have fallen into a good routine. I’m obviously not a professional, but I have learned a lot over the last six months and it has helped me to make wiser choices. I just wanted to share with you what has worked for me and inspire you to come up with a plan and routine that works well for you!