Changes are afoot....

As you all may have read in the last post, @TwiKiwi50 and I are currently on a health kick. She has told her part of the story and now I would like to tell mine.

As many of you lovelies that I tweet with know, I have two gorgeous boys -

Mini D - Jan 2011

A grumpy looking Minier D - Jan 2011

They are both splitting images of my wonderful husband and my pride and joy.  They have brought such joy and love into my life, and while sometimes I yearn for my DINK (double income, no kids) days I can't imagine my life without them in it.

My cousin, who is a few years younger than me, knew from the time we were in our late teens that due to congenital abnormality, she would never be able to have children.  In my job as as Neonatal Nurse, I see so many couples who struggle with multiple miscarriages or rounds of IVF and I thank a higher power every day that having our boys was relatively easy.

Not long after Minier D was born, our grandfather died. On the same day, I received an email from my friend J who was working in California at the time. Our mutual friend, C's little boy had suffered a terrible accident and earlier that day they had turned his life support off. I was devastated, I just kept wondering how I would I cope if that was one of my boys.

Seeing my cousin cuddle Minier D the next day at our grandfather's funeral, I realised that she would never have her own baby, and that C had just lost hers, I couldn't stand by and let that happen.  I had no control over C's loss, or the loss of our grandfather, but I did have control over my cousin having a baby.

To cut a long story short, six months, multiple counseling sessions, blood tests, injections and scans later, I was pregnant with my cousin and her husband's biological baby. Stan the Man was born on 22nd July 2011, three years and three days after Mini D.

Don't get me wrong this was not the start of my weight issues - but it has been the icing on the cake, so to speak. Like @TwiKiwi50 I have lost and gained around 30 kgs since my 20's. I started on a huge health kick before my wedding in 2007 and in preperation for having a baby. While I was not at my lightest I was healthier and this is what I am currently aiming for.

TwiKiwi and I at my wedding Feb 2007

In preparation for IVF, I had to lose 12kgs (that's 26 pounds for those playing at home)  in 6 months. I was working full time and still breastfeeding.  It was a struggle, only to put it all back on once I started the hormones and injections. Add that to the usual 15kgs I gained during my other pregnancies and you get a whole heap of extra weight.

I currently can't fit any of my non-pregnancy clothes and I don't have the baby to show for it. I also didn't breastfeed which with the Mini's helped me shed the weight. People tend to cut you a bit of slack when you have a newborn and the post-baby tummy to go with it. My 'baby' is 2, not quite the same.

While losing 40kgs is the ultimate goal, the short term one is to fit into my pre-baby clothes and have enough energy to run around with the Mini D's and not spend every afternoon on the couch.

So if you see me bitching on twitter about food or exercise, help a girl out. When you spot the #LoseKristen hashtag, throw me a bit of encouragement! Either that, or a photo of Rob to cheer me up!

Change, for Health's Sake

Hello my lovelies,

As many of my twitter friends know, last week I had a wee health scare. Without too many details, basically, I had some pain in my chest that I was freaking out about... there is heart disease in my family and I've seen enough cardiac problems in my nursing career to know that what I was feeling was not good. It all turned out OK - I have some digestion issues is all, and I'm fine now.

But....

There's nothing like a little Oh my fucking God I'm having a heart attack. I'm only 31. I'm too young to die! moment to make you think about your priorities in life. And my number one priority is staying on this planet for considerably more years yet, thank you very much.

So, I decided it was time to make some drastic changes to my lifestyle, stat.

First, some history. Back when I was 22, I weighed a little less than what I do now. I decided to make a change for the better and committed to a programme of exercise and controlled nutrition. It took me two years, but I reached my goal of losing more than 30kg (66lbs). At that point I was 24, headed off to the UK on my big adventure... and that's when I got lazy. I decided I could 'take a break' from my plan, ate shit, drank a LOT, and before I knew it, at 27 I was back to the weight I had been at 22. This is the single biggest regret in my life to date.

2002

2004 - this photo is my pride & joy

2006

Now, nearly five years after returning to New Zealand, it is ON. I saw a nutritionist this week, have signed up at a new gym, have a personal trainer appointment for next week, and I'm gonna do this. I'm gonna lose this excess FAT and make a healthy change to my life. No fad diets, no crazy shit, just simple maths - put less in, get more out, get healthier. Well, that makes it sound really easy, but you know what I mean.

August 2011

My all-round BFF, Twi-mate and general partner in crime, @SparklyJulNZ, is also embarking on a challenge of her own. While I won't describe her history without her permission, what I will say is that we are hitting the gym together and using each other as motivation. Accountability is a great motivator, and she's a hard task master... "I'll be there to pick you up at 6.30am and if you're not ready I'm going without you".... I love you, sister.

September 2011

We have been tweeting about this stuff in the last couple of weeks, and I feel the hashtag we have been using deserves some explanation. #LoseKristen came about because we both realised we needed to lose a shitload of weight... like, say, the weight of a small person. Such as KStew. I reckon my left leg probably weighs more than she does at the moment. So, #LoseKristen has NOTHING to do with Robsten. We loves a bit of KStew action and would never wish ill of her. It's all relative, mkay?

So, while I'm not going to turn this in to a diet blog *rolls eyes* I just wanted to let you all know what's happening in my life. This is going to be a pretty big focus for me for quite some time to come, and I welcome any questions, comments, tips etc.

And just think, when I hit that Hawaiian beach in 2013... I will be in great shape. BRING IT ON!

The Great Postcard Mystery of 2011

I got some mail today.

I know where it came from.

I know who it comes from... kinda.

So, I hear you ask.... what's the great mystery?

 

I'm very curious. I would love to know who Edward's accomplice was. 

Because we all know his handwriting doesn't look like that.

It was posted October 3rd. The same weekend loads of my friends were in Forks. It's a small town. Someone must know something.

So.... who can give me a clue? Spill the deets in the comments.... please. 

Kthxbye x

Reminders of Awesomeness

Who even knows if awesomeness is a word... it is in my world!

It's been over a month since I returned to reality with a bump. More like a slap around the face, to be honest, in some ways it seems I never went away. At times, when work is stressful and everything else kicks my arse, I just need a reminder of five of the most incredible weeks of my life. Hence.... the reminders of awesomeness!

Hopefully, all of the photos in this post are links. Click them for bigger images if you want to read the fine print or check out the detail.

My firm favourite - my new hoodie! I pretty much haven't taken it off Friday nights thru Sundays since I got back:

Love it!

Then, I have my scrapbook / photo album. I made an album like this after I travelled through Africa a few years ago and I decided before I went to North America that I would do the same thing for this trip. Here are a few examples of pages - I sorted it by venue and included photos, tickets, postcards etc:

Front page

San Diego and Las Vegas

San Francisco

Napa Valley

Seattle

Forks

(some of the shots came out a little odd because of reflections on the plastic covers)

I love this album and have displayed all things 'twi' proudly, for all the world to see. In saying that, I did tone down the number of Kiwi Ed pics included!

I had loads of leftover photos from the album, and added many of these to my magnetic photo board in my bedroom. It's quite difficult to photograph because of reflections from the window opposite, but here's a couple. See which familiar faces you can spot!

The mirror ball is from the Twilight Tours van!

Great memories

I also have a few pieces of merch dotted around the house:

True! Smexy magnet

Beside my bed :)

Worn regularly!

Lets not forget Kiwi Ed. He has his own souvenirs. The less said, the better I think.

Beaver jokes, anyone?

During my travels I wanted to collect autographs and messages from everyone I met along the way. The question was, what do I use to record these? I toyed with the idea of taking a Twilight book, until I realised I had something far more approriate for the Twitards I know and love:

The holy grail

Here are a few shots of the inside pages.These comments make me cry, every time I read them.

And, last but not least... I was in Foooorrrrkkkssss... just not with everyone else. But that hasn't stopped me getting my own Twitarded t-shirt!

So, what's your favourite piece of twi-merch, or reminder of some awesomeness of your own? Hit me in the comments.

Kiwis in Forks!

Happy #Forks2011 weekend! If you're there, or just home from there, I hope you had an awesome time and that your hangover recovery is short.

*passes you greasy takeaways and a large coffee*

It's now five weeks since I was in Forks. If you missed my post about it, check it out here.

All weekend I've been living vicariously through Twitter, pretending I'm in Forks. A little bit of that was true yesterday! The gorgeous Erin (@MusingBella) hosted a Skype chat in her room at the Forks Motel, at which my fellow kiwi Julena (@SparklyJul) and I were able to chat with several twitards. Gus even came in during the chat and filmed us for a bit! Ooh! Unfortunately the call quality wasn't too awesome, so this was what we saw:

Tasha (@TigerKitten36), Erin, Corinne (@LivingwEdward) and Gus.

It was so cool to see all of you ladies, if anyone wants to Skype with me, just DM me and I'll send you my Skype ID. *glares at @17ForeverLisa* hehehe....

Before I went to America, I wrote a post inviting people to sign up to get a little gift from me this weekend. Then, I gave the gifts to the wonderful Jamie (@Jaymes805) who volunteered to hand out the gifts on my behalf. Big thanks, Jamie!

All of those people received a little kiwi keyring (Kiwi as in the small bird, not the fruit) that doubles as a bottle opener, and also a NZ pen. I did keep one keyring for myself, but then I ended up giving it to Jackson Rathbone! So we're all one degree separated from JBone now. Here he is spinning it around his finger at our meet and greet:

All weekend I have been receiving tweets with pictures of Twitards and their pressies. If you've sent me a pic and I haven't included it, I do apologise! Leave me a comment and I will rectify asap.

British Beauty, Neets (@ChloeCougar)

The gorgeous Charla (@AllTwiedUp)

Chris (@RottyMama) w her Vitamin R

The delightful ChyLynn (@Twi_Lin) and her mini

Heather (@hmm_birch) takes her kiwi out and about

I think these are Jamie's (@Jaymes805) boobs. But I'm not sure.

Jenny K (@TrixieandTess) and her lil' red kiwi

Queens of the Castle Stacy (@LatchkeyWife) & Deb (@SnarkierThanYou)

Lori (@LoriAnnTwiFan) with her alcoholic kiwi

Rikki (@Rikki_DD) smooches with her kiwi

I've also had some pics of kiwis getting up so all sorts of mischief without their humans...
 

Heather's kiwi likes a drink. Be careful he leaves some for you!

And when he's not drinking, he's hiking in the Hoh.

And then there are mischevious monkeys, up to no good... For those of you who don't know Travelling Mocha, he accompanies Sharon (@dangrdafne) on her adventures and has a cheeky personality!

Excellent! Amy sent me gifts!

I like this. I think I'll keep it.

I haven't seen a keyring. Don't know what you're implying!

Excellent! A new pen for me!

I wonder if there's anything else in here.

Nope! It's empty!

I really hope you've all had an awesome time. Thanks for making me part of it with the tweets and photos!

For those of you now in a post-Forks funk, let's start thinking about the next adventure! Who's up for a trip to Hawaii? You've got two years to save up... and most of you won't need passports! Come follow the blog I just set up, and we can talk more...

www.twitardsinhawaii2013.blogspot.com