Sunday, November 15, 2009

Happy Aniversary at OneTrueMedia.com

Three Wonderful Years

Peter and I celebrated our three year anniversary this weekend. I can not believe it has been so long. We spent the weekend just relaxing and enjoying each other. Peter took the day off Friday to surprise me with a clean house and roses!


Saturday, October 3, 2009

8 pounds and counting

Hurray for me!! We have been doing the biggest loser at school for three weeks now. I weighed in yesterday and found out that I have lost eight pounds so far! That is just amazing to me! I must say that for the first two weeks, I really worked hard. I was going to a fitness bootcamp for two days a week and then I was at the gym for most other days. This past week, I did nothing. I ate poorly, did not work out, and yet I still managed to lose about a pound. That really makes me think of what I could have lost if I had worked hard...that is a crappy feeling. The good news is, I am back to work this week. I spent an hour at the gym today and will do the same tomorrow! I will be going back to bootcamp for two days this week, which I must say, as of right now, I am not looking forward to. That lady really kicks my butt! My goal for this week...5 pounds!! You think I can do it? Wish me luck and keep rooting me on!

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Back on the Wagon

Well...needless to say, the summer was not good for me in the weight loss department. I had way too much fun with friends and family, and did not do much to think about losing weight. Let's be honest, I didn't even do much to think about not gaining weight. I am truly embarrassed to say that I gained all the weight back that I lost in the spring and even put on a few extra pounds just for good measure. When I say embarrassed, I mean it. My friends were all pretty shocked that I would post my weight on a blog where the whole world could see and I would always say, "well...what is there for me to do? I am losing the weight, and I know that it is bad, so who cares who sees that I am trying to make a change." I am now so embarrassed that I do not want to post my weight. If you remember what I weighed in the beginning, you should be able to figure out the number pretty close. Just keep in mind that I am once again doing something about it and THIS TIME I MEAN IT!!! I guess I really didn't realize how easy the whole yo-yo thing is to do. I always thought, once you have lost a bunch of weight, why on earth would you put the weight back on. How stupid do you have to be? Pretty stupid I guess, but it is just so easy to do!!!
The biggest loser started back up at school, so some of my motivation is back. The first week, I lost 4.4 lbs. That is preety darn good I'd say!!!! A friend also invited me to start going to a bootcamp with her. I have gone twice now, and I LOVE IT!!! It truly kicks my butt and makes me work so much harder than I would on my own. By five minutes into the class, I want to die...literally. By the end, I feel as though I have truly accomplished something. My good friend and work out partner moved schools. She is now an assistant principal, so I can't really blame her for the move. I am, however, without my partner at school. We kept eachother on track and in line. Now it is just up to me...either that or I will be emailing her A LOT!! She is still my workout partner though, so that is the good news. We will still be meeting at the gym on a regular basis.
Here we go again...
Keep rooting me on!

Monday, June 29, 2009

Oh the Thinks You can Think

I walked in the door after a long day at summer school and what did I find...Peter had made me a reading tub for my classroom. When I was a kid one of my teachers had a claw foot bath tub in our classroom that we would read in. It seemed magical to me at the time. Ever since I have known I was going to be a teacher, I have wanted to have a reading tub in my classroom. Peter made it a reality by taking an old tub for an outdoor pond that was left in our yard when we moved into our house and painted it to make a special place for my kidos to read. He decorated it with hand drawn pictures of some of our favorite children's book characters and some cute quotes from Dr. Suess. As you can see, he really outdid himself. It took him a really long time and I wanted to show off his work! Plus the fact that I went to a lot of trouble getting that thing to school (thanks again Belinda) and I think it is amazing. My summer school kids LOVED it and all they want to do now is read. I can't complain about that!


In the bottom of the tub are some "book buddies". These are stuffed characters from some children's books. I have had these for awhile and my kids love to read to them! So cute!

Elmer!!


Monday, June 8, 2009

Summer Has Arrived!

It is now officially summer time for the Scalias! The school year for our students ended last Tuesday and for us poor teachers, our year ended Thursday. It was a long and difficult year, but I must say it was NO WHERE NEAR as tough as last year. 07-08 will forever be the class that I compare all others to. 08-09 had some real sweeties. I will surely miss them!
Pete's first year of teaching went well. He had all of the ups and downs that come along with year one of being a teacher. He will be back at JHop next year!
Just as one adventure came to and end, we begin new ones. I will be teaching summer school for the month of June. We started today and I am miraculously excited about it. I will truly enjoy only having 5-10 students all at the same level and no behavior problems! How pathetic am I that I actually am happy about working over the summer?!? Peter will be taking some trainings that will fill his June. Then starting in July, we have some visitors coming to enjoy sunny Florida with us!
Will you just look at that picture! I am really starting to notice a difference in the way I look and how I fit into my clothes! It's fantastic. I wore a shirt the other night on a fancy date with my husband that has not really fit in...well...ever. It has always been super tight on my arms and now it just slips right on! Are you ready for the official scale number? I now weigh............184.6!! That's right! Can you believe it? That's about 13 pounds since I started! WooHoo! I'm just disappearing! ;) I wish I had more of you around to celebrate with! Just wait until after this summer! I will keep you all posted on a more regular basis so keep checking in on me. That's what keeps me honest!

Sunday, May 10, 2009

It's about time

We had a great time at Disney this weekend with Pete's Parents. We went to celebrate Mother's Day at the greatest place on Earth. This trip just happened to be filled with a lot of Disney firsts for me. I didn't think that there were many of these left, but it seems that every time we go, we end up doing the same things over and over.
I had never ridden the carousel. Don't Pete's parents look adorable! Pete's dad look so funny riding on the smallest horse! ;)




I had never tried to pull the sword from the stone.
As it turns out, Pete is not going to become king, but that's okay, he is my prince charming! ;)










We went on Buzz Lightyear twice without waiting in any line. The second time through, the ride broke down. We were stuck in the same spot for about 10 minutes. It was great...I finally got to become a Galactic Hero!!









I had never been to Magic Kingdom early enough to see them open the park. It was soooo cool! I actually cried...I know, it is ridiculous! I just love Disney that much! It was so magical. I felt like a little kid who had never been to Disney World before.








This was on out way to Magic Kingdom on the Monorail. I sat down and one of the balloon decals on the window just happened to be in the perfect spot. Pete snapped this cute picture. Look closely!

We had a great time as we always do at Disney!
























Last weekend, we went to the Rays game. They were playing the Red Sox and they just happened to win that day. We had a really good time hanging out with Pete's parents. I had been a long time since we had seen them. My favorite part was the peanuts...is that a problem for the whole weight loss thing?!?








I have been avoiding posting recently. My weight loss journey has not been going all that well. The first week of the newest Biggest Loser competition went well. I lost 5 pounds. Before you congratulate me, that brought me back to the weight I ended on the last time...around 186 lbs. That is pretty much where I have stayed for the last few weeks. Up and down a little based on the day. I have had some small successes , but for the most part, it is about time that I get back to work. I say that as I have a pizza on the way to my house right now...Oh goodness, I guess I will be back on track starting tomorrow.

These pants are ones that I have not been able to fit in since I moved to Florida. I was so excited when I put them on and they actually buttoned up. They even had a little room. This picture kinda makes my upper body look fat, but oh well.

This was me on my way to my friend Jen's baby shower. I may not have looked all that skinny, but I felt skinny that day!
Okay, so I won't wait so long to post next time. I guess I need the support and potential for judgment more than I thought. Sharing with all of you kept me honest and on track! Thanks for your support!!

Saturday, April 18, 2009

My loves

I have been feeling very reflective in the past few days. I was thinking about all the wonderful people I have in my life and how blessed I am to have them. My life is filled with people who care about me and who I adore. My mom and brother who live so far away, but are still so close, all of my in laws, my nieces, my amazing husband, my closest friend Alyssa who I could not live without, my dear Becca who is going to give me another little surrogate niece of nephew, and even the people I work with. What would I do without you all? Thank you for loving me and supporting me!

My sister in law just had her second child, which means I am an aunt again. I am absolutely in love with these precious girls. Cara is now about a year and a half and Kiley is about two weeks.


Cara said "Hi Choley!" yesterday on the phone. Cassy (my sister in law) calls me Nicholey (pronouncing the ch). I about died. She has said "Hi Pete!" to Peter on the phone a couple of times and I have been so incredibly jealous.

Cara is such a good big sister! She kisses Kiley and rubs her gently. She likes to tell us about her baby when we talk on the phone!

What would I do without this man? He is the silliest, funniest, most caring and loving person in the entire world. He tells me everyday that he loves me and shows me how much he cares. He is my best friend and the love of my life....Okay, enough of the sappy stuff.


And while he is not a person, I truly do love this fluff. Goose...yes Goose...don't judge...is so precious. Peter says I am turning into the crazy cat lady. I can't help it. You would too if you met this guy. Goose decided to make our tray into his own personal lounging spot. He so runs this house!

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Down 10!!!

Well...The Biggest Loser Fairmount Park Edition (round 1) has come to an end. Tuesday was the final weigh in. Needless to say, I did not win, nor did I place in the top five. Oh, well, it was never about the money for me anyhow. Here are my final stats: On Tuesday I weighed 186.8 lbs. That is a total of 10.4 pounds lost!!!! That is not as much as I would have liked to lose, but it is not bad. I feel so much better and I have so much more energy. When school resumes after spring break, we will be starting a new Biggest Loser. I am really excited about this one because I am sure that I stand a chance. The people who did really well this time may not participate and if they do, they have already lost a lot of their weight. This is at least what I tell myself. Yesterday was my first day in the gym for the past three weeks or so. That is really pathetic. My goal is to work out in some form every single day without fail. I still have about 40 lbs that I would like to lose. That would be ideal!
My brother and his girlfriend Kara were in town last week. It was great to have them here! They got to enjoy some of the Florida sun. We went in search for "rubbish" at some very "upscale" garage sales around the area. Pete bought an inflatable canoe fully equipped with ores and life jackets. It was a bit pricey at 10 bucks, but we enjoyed the experience. When I say experience, I mean blowing it up in our living room, only to find out that it leaks and we have no idea where from. So, we are up a creek with a leaky canoe! I will post some pictures when I get them! We also enjoyed some time at the beach. It was absolutely wonderful to sit an enjoy some sun. I enjoyed a bit too much sun. I got extremely burnt on my shoulders and legs. It was incredibly painful to walk for about three days. Now I am peeling and itching like crazy! That's what I get for being stupid enough to sit outside for 4 hours with no sunscreen.
Today, I am enjoying my time off and anxiously awaiting the birth of my second niece Kiley! We love you Cass! Good luck!

Monday, March 16, 2009

Back on track

Last week was one filled with tissues, Nyquil, doctors visits, chills, and a cough that very well could have blown my lungs right out of the rib cage. Needless to say, this is the reason for the lack of post last week. I did, however weigh in and I am sad to report that last Monday I was up another .2 lbs. If I can say that .2 lbs is an actual loss, I too must report it as a gain. However, without any real exercise to speak of, I am back down this week. I am down a total of 3 lbs. since last week. That makes me 188.2!!! That is officially the lowest I have been since starting this adventure. I am hoping that with some trips to the gym, I can lose even more this week. I must say, however, that even though I have been doing well, there is absolutely NO WAY that I am going to win the competition at school. One of the P.E. coaches just seems to lose more and more each week. I say that as if I am even a close second which really couldn't be further from the truth. But, I keep telling myself that it is not about the money.
On a side note, Peter and I went our for a night on the town on Friday. I finally felt comfortable enough to wear my leggins. Sexy I know! ;) I thought that this was a more interesting picture to post rather than the same old one of me in my workout clothes after my Monday workout (which I did do this week, by the way!)
Glad to be back on track!

Monday, March 2, 2009

I don't want to talk about it...

Booo....This was a BAD week. It started off with stress and lots of it. I headed a committee that put on a family literacy night. All the hard work culminated on Tuesday with over 100 pizzas and 20 or so packages of cookies. What a night that was. It was very chaotic, but seemed to go well. There were over 600 people RSVP'd for the event. However, only about half that showed up. We had planned for the 600 and therefore we had way to many pizzas and cookies. That meant plenty of both for me to eat for days to come. Also Tuesday just happened to be the birthday table at school for all those with February birthdays. That means cake in the lounge to tempt teachers during lunch. Needless to say that I did not resist the temptation. Things only went downhill from there. Because of Literacy Night, I did not go to the gym on Tuesday, which lead right into being lazy for the remainder of the week. Finally Belinda and I had enough. We decided to get our butts into high gear. We worked out harder than ever before on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Yes, all three days we were in that gym. However, that was just not enough to reverse my prior slip-ups. As I stepped on the scale this morning, I knew it would not be good. I am up 2 pounds. I am back over 190...yuck!!! I will not post a picture out of protest. I am NOT going backwards. I will be skinny!
Moving on...
On Saturday I had a wonderful girly day. Belinda and I went to the gym as per our usual Saturday routine. We worked so hard and pushed ourselves beyond what we even thought possible. We had these two ladies on either side of us that put their machines on a higher resistance than us, so being the competative chicks that we are, we uped our resistance and kept going at the same speed. We nearly died! After some weight lifting...grrrrrr...we got our teas at Starbucks. We then went and got our nails done. Followed by some shopping. What a wonderful day! It was exactly what I needed to relax and get back on track!
Okay...here goes another week! wish me luck!

Monday, February 23, 2009

Under 190


Hurray!!! I did it! I am finally under 190 lbs. I weighed in at 189 exactly. That is another 2.4 lbs and 1.25% of weight loss for the week. I thought I was doomed after the "kid shower" at work. Luckily, one day of crap did not ruin the entire week. So tell me what you think...do I look thinner? ;-) Maybe one day people other than me will be able to notice the difference. Here's to hopin'!

Monday, February 16, 2009

I'm A Loser!

After many long hours in the gym and starving myself half to death, I have finally lost some weight!!! Ok, in all seriousness...no starvation and only a few hours in the gym. I was so discouraged by the tiny losses the past two weeks, I decided to really put my mind to dropping some weight. I was working out as much as possible and eating as well as I could. I think I may have neglected my husband with as much time as I was at the gym. Is it a problem to come home at 8:45 after a 6:00 workout??? I did fall off the healthy eating wagon once this week. Thursday meetings are terrible. We have a wonderful teacher on our team who loves to bring in goodies for us each Thursday for our team meetings. I used to look forward to the meetings for that very reason. However, now I dread them. I have such a hard time resisting the temptation if it is sitting right in front of me staring me down. Yes...the food was staring at me...begging...pleading...eat me!!! How could I refuse? Five or six bite size candy bars and two handfuls of chips later, I finally stopped! Whew!! It could have been worse I guess.
Ok...here we go...
I am now 191.4 lbs. I lost 2.4 lbs this week for a total percentage of weight loss of 1.24%. Not as much as what I was going for, but good progress. I feel much better. I am even starting to fit some clothes that were a bit tight before. EXCITING!!

Here is me after the Monday workout. Like my new workout pants?


I am wearing a skirt that was very tight before. I can finally breathe in it! Hurray! Skinny clothes, here I come!



For Valentine's Day, the family went up to Disney! This would have normally been a time to splurge and eat everything that I could because it was there and I wanted it. I had a huge breakthrough. I went to Disney and did not stop at every snack stand to get myself "just a little something." I ate a very small lunch (which I split with Peter) and NOTHING else! Yay me! Enjoy some pictures of us "goofing" around.
Me in Paris. Bonjor!


Ummm...is it a problem that I am literally dancing my way through the streets of France?


Happy Valentine's Day!!



Waiting outside the Turkey Leg stand at 10:45 am. They do not open until 11:00 and one member of the family needed to be the first in line. No, it was not me or Peter! ;-)

Monday, February 9, 2009

Last week I thought that I had hit the bare minimum of weight loss that a person could hit in one week and still say that they did in fact lose weight. Well...so much for that thought. My goal of 5 pounds last week went right out the window. Drum roll please...I lost .2 pounds. That is absolutely ridiculous. I am now 193.8 lbs. I was really hoping that the number would be better. I tried to do all the right things. Belinda and I joined a gym. We are now official and no longer have to sneak in to take a class. We went Saturday for our, now traditional, workout and tea at Starbucks. Belinda was a fabulous trainer and I am still sore from that work out. We really pushed ourselves! Yeah us!!
I think that what did me in this week, was not watching closely enough what I ate. That is the goal for this week. I have a good workout routine going so now I will focus on eating better. The hard part is that I didn't think I was eating all that terrible in the first place. Oh well...This week, once again, is a new week.
New goal 4 lbs. I still really am working on being less than 190.
Wish me luck!


Ok, be honest. Does it look like I am losing any weight? I have had mixed reviews on that. I feel better so I guess that is something.

Monday, February 2, 2009

Slowly But Surely

Well...I did lose weight this week. Not nearly as much as I would have liked, but I guess I can't complain. I really thought that it was possible that I would have gained, so all in all .8 lbs. is not that bad. Yes...you read that correctly... .8 ...like not even one whole pound. I know that it is week 2, but seriously. This week my goal is to break the 190 barrier. As of today it is exactly 194. Cheer me on!
Here is this week's photo. This was taken post afternoon workout, which by the way, was absolutely terrible. Taebo is worse than I ever imagined. I have to say that I am already feeling it though, so I guess it is not all bad!
Happy Monday!


Sunday, February 1, 2009

Oh my I was fat!

Here are some pictures of me looking very fat. I really hate posting these so be nice. I'm working on it!!


This was the 4th of July of 2008. Do I look huge or what?


This is me at the spot we got married on our first anniversary (11/16/07). I definitely gained some weight in one year.


This was also on our first anniversary trip. We were out to dinner or something. Geeze!!


This is on the first day of school this year (August 2008)

Enjoy these pictures now, as they will be the last of the fat ones. You will no longer be seeing pictures of me looking so engorged.

I can't believe I am starting a blog!

I started this blog for a couple of reasons. First, my husband is sick of me spending hours of my day looking at other peoples blogs. Second, I thought that it would be a good way to keep in touch with all the people back home. And third, I wanted to show you all what I am working on...losing weight.
Since I moved to Florida in 2006, I have been attempting to lose some weight. When I got here I was at my heaviest (around 200 lbs) and I was determined to get skinny again. I lost some before our wedding in November of 2006, but nothing really notable. I just simply have not had the motivation or true desire to change my lifestyle. I just loved chocolate and Coke too much. I usually blamed the eating and lack of exercise on the stress at work and my extremely long drive home. Just excuses!!
Now, I am ready and I am doing it for myself. No one is pushing me into it or trying to guilt me into getting healthy. Some friends at work started "The Biggest Loser". There are over 20 participants and every week we weigh and calculate our percentage of weight loss. I absolutely love the support! It makes it soooo much easier when there are others around you working for the same goal. Each week we have our wonderful social worker (who is also a fitness instructor) lead a workout after school. We also workout on a couple other days a week in the media center. It makes working out so easy and convenient!! A freind and I also go to a step class every Saturday. Belinda, you rock!!!
I started The Biggest Loser at 197.2 lbs. WOW!!! I never thought that I would admit that to anyone, let alone to the whole world on a blog. So liberating! Last Monday we weighed in and I was 194 lbs. That was a 1.22 percentage of weight loss. Not great, but certainly not terrible. Tomorrow we have our second weigh in. I will update each week with numbers and a picture to show you my progess!
Wish me luck!!!

Nichole