Amy Scott's Thoughts

Sharing the thoughts that bounce around in my brain!

Chocolate Peanut-Butter Ice Cream Pie July 10, 2012

Filed under: Cooking Experiments — Amy Scott @ 8:08 pm

I used to think I was the type of person who always colored inside the lines. I never strayed from the given directions. Always followed the rules. However, the more I bake, the more of a rebel I become. Why do a recipe exactly like it says? Why not put my own twist on things! Tuesday nights have become my regular night in the kitchen to get in touch with my creative side. Tonight was no exception!

Earlier this week I saw a recipe for an ice cream pizza that I just had take a closer look at. After careful examination, I decided that it could use some improvement. First off, I don’t have a pizza pan, but the picture really looked like a pie, so I went with the pie inspiration. Also, fudge, vanilla ice cream and peanuts are nice, but I think we could take this up a notch by going with a chocolate peanut-butter theme. I’m not a huge fan on peanuts on the top of ice cream, so I decided on mini-sized Reese’s Pieces. Instead of more fudge on top, I used Reese’s hard shell. Noticing a theme? So here is a layer by layer shot of my dessert.

Layer One – Chocolate Chip Cookie Crust

Layer Two – Hot Fudge

Layer Three – Chocolate Peanut-Butter Ice Cream

Layer Four – Whipped Cream

Layer Five – Reese’s Pieces

Layer Six – Reese’s Hard Shell Topping & more Reese’s Pieces

Final Frozen Result

 

Summer is here! July 8, 2012

Filed under: Family Time — Amy Scott @ 10:20 pm

My first attempt at homemade popsicles! Raspberry lemonade!

Summer officially arrived this week! It’s been amazing weather and I’ve been enjoying every second of it! Now I get made fun of a lot for being very “white”, pretty much void of color… even in the summer months. What can I say? I have a desk job, people! The last few days I’ve done my best to be out in the sun, soaking up as many rays as possible! It’s been great!

This weekend really felt like summer all the way around! Friday was Jeremy and I’s awesome day in the Portland, OR area celebrating us and spending time together! The laid back summer feeling flowed right into Saturday when I got to sleep in! Oh, how I love sleeping in! My hubby is always so nice to take the doggie out the room once Toby decides it’s time to get up (usually 2 hours before I’m ready). Jeremy went off fishing for the morning and I cleaned the house and then went outside to read in the sunshine. Like I mentioned earlier, gotta work on that tan! Jeremy came home with some fish to bury in the yard. Apparently, the fish will fertilize his plants and make them happy. I just tried to keep Toby from getting a hold of one! The afternoon was spent making shortcakes for our ever abundant strawberries, reading, making homemade popsicles (a first for me), and doing tons of laundry. It was the perfect mix of fun and productivity. I felt like I got a lot done and yet I got to do it at my own pace. No rush. Perfect!

Abundant Strawberries!

With today being Sunday, I headed off to church as I do every Sunday morning. Nothing too out of the norm. When I got into children’ church, Jeremy asked me to go his office to get a package. I assumed it was some craft or activity for the morning, but it turns out my hubby was surprising me with roses for our anniversary! So sweet and a very creative way to give them to me. It was fun to get something at church because it made being at work on our anniversary special. After church, we headed over to Jeremy’s parents house where they treated us to a yummy anniversary lunch! The weather was perfect to sit back in the shade and catch up!

A walk around the park at sunset!

Once we got home, Jeremy and I continued our day by hanging in the yard. We picked more strawberries and I pulled out my book while Jeremy took care of his plants. Overall, we were just enjoying the outside time. For dinner, we drove down to Longview, WA for meal out. Stuffed full of too much good food, we decided to take a walk around Lake Sacajawea Park at sunset. Very picturesque and fun. The drive home was spent listening to a random shuffle of music and singing at the top of our lungs. We’re silly and we know it!

Even though Thursday was back in the office, the combination of Independence Day, my Dad’s birthday, celebrating our anniversary on multiple days and the overall summery, sunny days has made this week really feel like a mini-vacation. Or I guess they call it a “staycation” these days.  It’s been a lot of fun to hang out with my sweetie and family. The summer weather has decided to stay around for a while and I couldn’t be happier. We’ve got a busy week coming up as we prepare our first ever Family VBA. I’m hoping the sunshine will keep the vacation vibe going and help to me remain calm even under pressure. If I get overwhelmed this week, I really should head outside for a minute, close my eyes, take a deep breath, feel the warmth of the sun and remember it’s summer! It’s officially here!

 

Celebrating Six Years! July 7, 2012

Filed under: Simply Me — Amy Scott @ 2:46 pm

Lunch at Qdoba!

Yesterday was a great day! It’s not often that Jeremy and I get to spend the whole day just us! Our schedules are busy and our hobbies are different. We often end up in different directions. We have to be intentional about “us” time and yesterday was one of those days. Now, our anniversary isn’t till tomorrow, but we had some big plans and we wanted the whole day for them. Sunday is obviously a work day, so we decided to celebrate early and extended the joy over many days!

We got up early and drove down to the Woodburn Company Stores. We don’t hit this shopping area often, so it’s always a special treat. Jeremy scored some major deals and was pretty excited about his super savings. I had only three things on my own list and it seemed impossible to find what I was looking for. In fact, I only ended up getting 2/3 of my list. Sad story. Oh well, it’s no biggie. I had a lot of fun watching my hubby go on a shopping spree. Like I’ve mentioned before, the man only shops once a year, so it’s go big or go home!

There are very few special days were I let myself eat whatever I want. My anniversary is one of them. Partially because I don’t want to be a bummer to Jeremy by saying no to places based on calories. However, I look forward to these “free pass” days! I only do them about 3-4 times a year. For me, more than the shopping, the day was about the food! Breakfast at Starbucks, lunch at Qdoba, dinner at Macaroni Grill and a snack at Krispy Kreme! Good times!

An example of Jeremy’s creativity!

The best part of the day was just getting to spend it with my hubby. He makes me a laugh a lot!  The weather was warm and sunny. It was the perfect summer escape from routine. Jeremy surprised me by going to Barnes and Noble to buy a guide book for San Francisco. We have a collection of them now from our various travels. They are great on the trip and an awesome way to remember the sights after a trip. It was very sweet of him to think of getting one for San Francisco – even if we will only be there a couple of days. This lead to us talking about our trip and getting all excited to hit the road together (the official count down as begun and now we’re at 12 days away).

The last six years with Jeremy have been amazing. It’s been so much fun to walk through life together and grow closer. I love our home and the life that he has given me. He helps me to not take life too seriously and to slow down and enjoy the little things. His silly sense of humor keeps me laughing and my toes. He is a great listener and always tries his best to see the world through my eyes. He tries to understand me, even when I really don’t understand myself! I’m blessed to have such an awesome best friend to share my life with.

Thank you, Jeremy, for six wonderful years of marriage! Here’s to MANY more!

 

Forever Young July 6, 2012

Filed under: Simply Me — Amy Scott @ 7:45 am

I hear it often – “You look so young!” Most adults say that’s a good thing and I’ll appreciate it later in life. Most of my students are shocked when they learn I’m 26. They often guess I’m a teenager, but the number I most often hear is 12. Now, I know that I don’t look 12, but it can be a little annoying always being asked my age and seeing how shocked people are. I was thinking through this Ageless Amy phenomenon that people mention and I started to compare pictures of me through the ages. Apparently, I wasn’t photographed much at age 12, so I have a picture from my 13th birthday as the start (half of my current lifetime). The progression ends with a photo I took on the 4th of July. What do you think? I don’t look 12 in my opinion… I would stay that I’m probably forever stuck in my teens. How long will that last? Will I be 40 and look like a teenager? That thought creeps me out! Oh well… I guess I should be glad that people don’t think I’m older than I am. I guess I’m going to be forever young – hopefully at heart, even if the years take their toll!

Traveling through time!

 

A Week of Celebration! July 5, 2012

Filed under: Children's Ministry,Family Time — Amy Scott @ 1:15 pm

Getting Ready for Sky!

This is a super fun week! It seems like there is something to party about each day! What’s not to like about that? The partying started this Sunday and Monday with VBA decorating parties (Vacation Bible Adventure). We’ve been transforming our building to gain momentum of our week of Sky VBA! It’s hard to believe that it will be here in a week and a half. Decorating in advance, especially before the registration deadline, is a  great way to get VBA in front of people and get them excited for it. However, these parties involved work and happened at work. While they were good, they were certainly not the highlight of the party themed week!

Celebrating our freedom!

Yesterday was Independence Day and it was great to celebrate in a very laid back way. I slept in. I read outside while Jeremy played in the yard (really his berry patch and garden). I came in and made a ton of waffles that didn’t turn out so well. I used a different kind of batter and it just wasn’t the same results. After my mid-morning meal, Jeremy, Toby and I took off into nature to go check on Jeremy’s trail camera. It wasn’t a long walk, but it was nice to walk off some of the waffle I ate. Later that afternoon, we went over my parent’s house to lounge around outside in the sun and barbeque! Very good day! Jeremy and I decided not buy fireworks this year so we could save for our upcoming trip to San Francisco and the Redwood Forest. We happily watched our neighbors show while roasting s’mores over our own fire. Nice! The only downside to the day was the fact that our Toby dog is scared of fireworks.  I eventually joined him in our closet for the last of the noise. He just needed a buddy to calm and protect him. Poor pup!

The partying just keeps on going! Today is my dad’s birthday, so Jeremy and I will join him later this afternoon to go see The Amazing Spiderman. We’ll have dinner at Chipotle and frozen yogurt for dessert! This is a classic Vitzthum family dinner! I can’t wait! It’s so beautiful outside and I’m looking forward to spending the rest of my day with family. It will be a good time celebrating another year of my awesome Dad!

Celebrating 6 Years! 7.8.06

Tomorrow, Jeremy and I are heading down to the Portland area to celebrate our anniversary. It’s a couple days early, but we figured it worked best for our schedule and why not celebrate “us” on multiple days! We love the Woodburn Factory Stores so we plan on doing some shopping and eating some yummy food. Jeremy is a shop for clothes once a year kind of guy, so the last time we did this was our anniversary last year! It’s always fun to get away with him and spend the whole day together.

As of now, Saturday holds no party plans, but that’s okay. I really need to clean my bathrooms… maybe I can make some kind of game in my head about how cleaning bathrooms can be like a party… I’m just not sure I can spin it that far… Oh well! Sunday is Jeremy and I’s actually anniversary. We have no current plans, but I’m sure it will be another amazing

day spent together getting to celebrate 6 years of marriage! It’s crazy how fast time flies… and yet, it feels like we’ve been together forever. Does that make sense?

So here’s to a week of celebrating! I plan on having a good time with those I love, eating a lot of good food and enjoying the sunshine! It doesn’t get better than this!

 

 

Recent Reading: When God Writes Your Love Story July 3, 2012

Filed under: Amy's Bookshelf,Women in Ministry — Amy Scott @ 8:00 am

In high school, if you asked me about my favorite authors or books, you probably would have heard about When God Writes Your Love Story and the names Eric & Leslie Ludy.  Maybe I watched too many romantic comedies and chick flicks growing up. I don’t know. I was obsessed with books about love and purity. I wanted a God written love story and I was going to do my best to prepare for it! That meant lots of books and high, high standards. This girl was holding out for a hero. Which, by the way, I got one!

Now that I’m mentoring teenagers, this book has made a reappearance in my life. I’m going through the book this summer with one of my girls from church. At this age, the idea of dating seems to be on the forefront of every teens minds. I know it was when I was their age. As boy crazy as I was, I wanted to funnel all that energy into becoming a Godly women who would be worthy of a Godly husband. After the influence of many mentors, books and my parents, I decided not to date in high school. My parents pretty told me I couldn’t date until I was out their house (which meant in high school, they didn’t seem to stop me in college even though I lived there on random weekends and over the summer).  When I was 13 the “no dating” rule seemed irrational and torturous! What were they thinking? Did they want me to become a social outcast? However, once I made the decision for myself in high school, the no dating rule became a very easy way for to develop lots of friendship with guys without worrying about it going down that road. I was very vocal about the rule and it seemed to be a great buffer for me. I have no regrets when it comes to not dating in high school. It was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made (or was helped to make).

Books like When God Writes Your Love Story really inspired me and helped to shape me into the person I am now. I became a bit of a Ludy junkie in high school. I read their book about their personal love story called When Dream Come True. I read Leslie’s book Authentic Beauty. They wrote a book my senior year called When God Writes Your Life Story and when I got married I read their book The First 90 Days of Marriage. They use wisdom, common sense, personal stories, and a Biblical perspective in all their books.  In fact, I’ve already purchased two copies of Authentic Beauty to give away this summer.

Every family and teenager is different when it comes to dating. I didn’t do things just like the Eric & Leslie Ludy and I don’t expect those I mentor to do things just like me. I just felt like this was a good book for pondering what it means to have a God written love story. What does it mean to trust God with this area of our lives? And ultimately, our whole lives. God cares about every detail and he isn’t going to mess up our loves stories! He is the author of romance and if we trust him with the pen then I think we’ll be pleased with the story he scripts. I’m know that I haven’t been disappointed! If God is the center our relationships, good things are going to happen!

It’s been exciting to share something that meant so much to me when I was a teenager with this young lady. It feels a bit like passing on a legacy to the next generation. As one who is farther along in this faith journey, it’s important to guide those who are younger into making positive, God-honoring choices. We’ve got wisdom to share and our experiences matter not only to us, but they can be the catalyst for change in the next generation. God written love stories are not be kept quiet. They should be used as examples for those who are following in our footsteps. They should be shared to give hope and help those younger than us to dream big dreams. Just like we did!

 

Double Take Pie Cake – Take Two! July 2, 2012

Filed under: Cooking Experiments — Amy Scott @ 8:00 am

My first pie cake really was a flop. Yes, it tasted good, but it didn’t firm up right. I’m honestly surprised my class of 5th/6th grade girls ate it without questioning or objecting! They are super nice. However, after the first attempt, I just couldn’t get improvements out of my head. I kept thinking about all the things I could do different. After much brainstorming, I settled on a red, white and blue theme for the upcoming 4th of July holiday. Instead of just strawberries, I added blueberries to the filling mix. I also used white cake mix instead of yellow for a more pure white color. My original plan was going to be strawberries with lemon cake. My sister than suggested blueberries with lemon cake. I found a way to do it all. I didn’t want the color of lemon cake, but I wanted the flavor. I added lemon extract to the white cake mix so I could get the flavor without the color. The cake turned out super tasty (I made a little cake with the leftover batter). After letting the pie firm up a bit, I plan on diving into it! I learned a lot from my mistakes and I’m glad that I tried it again! If at first you don’t succeed, try try again!

Or should I say pie pie again!

Double Take Pie Cake #2

 

The Downside of Facebook July 1, 2012

Filed under: Simply Me — Amy Scott @ 8:00 am

I apologize if this comes off as a rant, but I’ll admit that I’m irritated and fired up. I’m upset. Sometimes I wonder if I really should be on Facebook. People openly post about their lives and for the most part, my curious side loves to see what everyone is up to. This is especially true for friends and family that don’t live locally, I really love seeing their photos and getting their updates.

However, Facebook has a very real down side. As a teacher and a mentor, of course, I’m tuned into what my former students and now Facebook friends are saying. I wonder why they friend me and then openly post garbage on their pages. Is there no social conscience anymore? Don’t they feel the tiniest nudge of the Holy Spirit? I just don’t get it.

I have a hard time not wanting to respond when I see some of the things they say about boys, friends, movies, music… How should I respond when they treat men like meat openly on social networking for the whole world to see?  I can seat across from them at church or out to lunch and they tell me how much they love Jesus. Normally, I’ll ask how their quiet time is going and what part of the Bible their reading. This leads to an explanation of how spotty their time with Jesus really is. They love Jesus at church, but do they really love Jesus with their whole heart? Does their love for Jesus lead to obedience? Does their love for Jesus lead to a set a part life? I’m not seeing it!

The worst part is I don’t want them to think I’m judging them. I don’t want them to think that I’m a hater who is out to get them. I want to keep the doors of communication open with them so they don’t push me away. How do I call them to higher standard without alienating them?

I honestly don’t think a mentor is doing their job if they just sit by and say nothing. However, I think there is something to be said about wanting to be mentored. I can’t make them listen to my voice. If they don’t want to hear what I have to say then they won’t listen. I’ll be tuned out.  All I can do is share the truth in the most loving way I possibly can. The rest is up to them.

They have to want it for themselves. As much as I hope to impart Godly wisdom and character into their lives, I can’t think for them. I can’t be their conscience. I can only pray that they will listen when the Holy Spirit speaks. I pray that his voice become louder than the other influences and that they don’t tune him out.  Only until they want it, will there be change in their lifestyle.

It’s so frustrating to me. I’ve poured a lot of time, energy and prayer into these ladies. I have taught them in my classroom and seen their love for the Lord at a young age. It hurts my heart to see them disconnect from faith and so blatantly settle for the trash that is out there.  There is a disconnect for them when it comes to loving Jesus and actually living for him.  When I was a teenager, I certainly wasn’t perfect, but I had standards! I had standards for the movies I watched, the music I listened to, the clothes that I wore, and the words that I said. I had standards for my purity and how I wanted to treat young men. I so desperately want these ladies to see the benefit of high standards, of living with a Godly purpose. But I am not in control. I also feel really old after ranting about “when I was a teenager”… Ugh, just give me a cane and call me outdated!

I pray that God gives me wisdom as I balance my own pain and hurt over the choices. I pray that I would have opportunities to encourage their faith and point them towards Jesus. I pray that I can accept that sometimes prayer is all I can do.  It’s just hard. It really upset me and makes me mad.

 

June Ends In Gray June 30, 2012

Filed under: Simply Me — Amy Scott @ 10:41 am

The View from My Window

June started gray and it looks like it’s going to end gray. I know it seems strange, but I’m okay with that. Especially this morning, the gray seems calming and comforting. It has created a stillness. The clouds are almost like a blanket that reminds me to slow down and enjoy the quiet moments. Gray days can be good days.

This morning started off with my hubby heading out to wander the woods. He and his brother, Nathan, have trail cameras set up in their favorite hunting grounds. Jeremy loves checking his camera to find out if anything has walked in front of it. I know that he really enjoys this time with family and nature, so I’m happy he can be out and about doing something he loves.

This leaves the puppy and myself here at the house. It really has been the perfect morning for the two of us. Toby has enjoyed looking out the window as I tidy the house. I love mornings where there is nothing that has to get done. I do what I do because I want to not because I feel like I have to. I quietly cleaned the floors, unloaded the dishwasher, folded some laundry. I have the windows open so I can hear the birds chirping and soft drizzle from time to time. Toby, of course, barks at anyone who might walk down our road.

Toby’s Treat

I decided that Toby and I both deserved a special treat on this quiet, gray morning. We purchased a four pack of dog toys from Costco ages ago and we’ve slowly been giving Toby a toy out of the pack. The problem about these toys is that they have stuffing. Toby loves to kill his toys and rip out the stuffing. Which means my floor becomes covered in toy fluff. However, I was feeling generous and I decided that I could handle the mess. So Toby was awarded a new toy to spend the morning killing. At this time, he has opted for looking at the sliding glass door just a few feet away from me. Maybe he is comforted by the gray, just as I am.

My Treat

My special treat was a breakfast of Strawberry Shortcake – one of my favorite desserts! Jeremy’s strawberry patch has been doing excellent this year and we are reaping the rewards! Last week, Jeremy made a ton of sweet strawberry jam. I’ve discovered how wonderful it is put on top of desserts since it’s really more like strawberry syrup in flavor and texture. I started to create my masterpiece from the ground up. Base layer – shortcake. Next layer, jam. Around the shortcake, strawberries from the garden in a circle. End with whipped cream on top! Yum! It was a great treat after a morning of cleaning.

Now I must pull my thoughts a different direction and get them focused on some work. My quiet time alone in the house is only for so long and I have some work related tasks I want to get done before Jeremy emerges from the forest. This is the perfect environment to focus and get stuff done. If I can stop daydreaming about the weather! If not, oh well! God has made this delightfully gray day and I will rejoice and be glad in it!

 

Draw Bridges, Oregon Zoo, Flat Tire, Chinese Food June 29, 2012

Filed under: Children's Ministry,Family Time — Amy Scott @ 11:54 am

Okay, that title pretty much sums up my day yesterday! It certainly was a whirlwind of fun activities and strange experiences!

The Whole Zoo Group!

We left “almost” on time for the Oregon Zoo. My van only had 4 people in it… which has a funny story behind it! I kept saying we’re the Fab Five and the one student in the vehicle felt the need to keep her mouth shut. She didn’t have the heart to tell me we had only 4 people in our van. Upon further reflection, I was saying this in light of the fact that Jesus is always with us. So yes, counting Jesus, were the Fab Five! On the ride down we played the alphabet game as a group (trying to find a word that starts with each letter of the alphabet on signs and cars). Once we got to the Vancouver area, we noticed signs saying the draw bridge was up. As a result the freeway turned into a parking lot. The craziest part, was the leaders from our church vehicles started to get out and talk… ON THE FREEWAY! I was freaking out in the front seat of a church van. There was no way I was getting out onto the freeway, even if it was a parking lot. The guys were examining something that was going wrong with our shuttle’s muffler. So I guess that makes it okay. The kids in the shuttle thought for sure that they were parked next to Justin Bieber. One of the leaders got and asked to take picture with the person (who turned out to be a lady) just so the kids who think it was really him. After they all figured out it was a women, they called her Justine Bieber for the rest of the day. Too weird! Even more strange, she ended up at the Zoo just like us! So we saw a lot of “Justine”.

After a quick bathroom stop, we made it to the zoo. Just a little bit later than we had expected. From there it was make a plan and meet up in an hour for lunch. My sister and I led a group of 5 girls and we had a blast. There were moments where I was laughing so hard! For example, after lunch we headed to Africa. The girls asked us how we would get there and I said by plane.  That is the only way to get to Africa. As we started to walk, I made a comment that April was the pilot and on the girls was her co-pilot since they were up front. The next girl said she was in first class, me and two other girls behind her claimed we were in coach and the one girl behind us said that she must be in the bathroom because she was it the back of the plane! I also died! It was so funny!

Changing a flat tire!

The sunny hours at the zoo turned into a cloudy late afternoon as we left and headed home. A little sunburned and a little tired, we arrived back at Bethel Church. My brothter-in-law, Andrew, met us there so the four of us could go to dinner. But first, we had an issue of a flat tire from the day before that needed to be dealt with. I walked April and Andrew back to the car to show them the tire and before long the three of us were changing the tire. I should mention that none of us had ever removed a tire or placed a spare tire on a car before. We found the equipment in the trunk, which I was happy to learn that all stuff was located back there! Once we had the tools, we need to the know how. Being tech savvy, I pulled up YouTube on my phone and started to watch videos about changing tires. The video helped a little, but we decided we needed the owner’s manual. Once the manual was out, we got down to business! We had the tire changed by the time Jeremy got done seeing all the kids off from the zoo trip!

We left the church in a caravan to take the car to our local tire place.  The car was left in the care of trusty professionals and we headed of to Peking House for dinner. Taking kids around the zoo sure builds an appetite and we were starving! I think this might be our third time of getting Chinese food after the zoo trip, so it’s starting to become a tradition. It was a very tasty way to end a crazy, weird, educational, busy day!