Rocktober... my new idea!

People who drink have Febfast. People who can sprout awkward facial hair have Movember. There's Dry July, Steptember, Ocsober... the list goes on...

I'll be doing Rocktober. I Googled it and as far as I can see, it's a Rockabilly lindy hop dance festival, or a beer-drinking, mullet-wearing celebration of Rock music. Mine is not a Rockabilly festival, nor is it a tribute to Jimmy Barnes. It's a tribute to me. To me rocking my own world.

Sound a bit selfish? A bit up myself? I actually don't care. I deserve to treat myself well. To treat myself with kindness and respect. To stop kidding myself that the way I'm living and the way I'm looking is making me happy.

Sure, there are people with major problems in their lives. I'm not one of those people. I'm a person who cruises along. I'm in no real financial trouble, have a roof over my head and someone to love who loves me. I don't really love and respect myself enough though to treat myself well. This month will bring some changes in my life, so why not make a big deal of it?

And so Rocktober. I'm doing it.

-I signed up to a 'learn to run' program over at Operation Move that is starting quite soon. I have always wanted to run but need someone to kick me up the bum sometimes and tell me to just do it. Having a small group means that I'll be very accountable and will have the support of a lovely group of people. I also hope to motivate others and will be including myself in anything that comes along in the way of real life meet-ups, something I have avoided in the past when completing a program.

-We made the decision to move across town and have been accepted in a new rental, with access from the middle of the month. We'll be giving notice at our current rental to leave at the end of the month so I'll be busy for a couple of weeks packing and moving and cleaning.

-I'm sick of eating crap, but I can't stop doing it. Mindful eating is something I have tried to embrace, but with little success. In the last few weeks, however, I have found myself putting things down, stopping before I have finished something if I feel full, and really considering if I want to eat things I shouldn't. Perhaps there is an element of success after all.

There's no plan for Rocktober. No rules. No restrictions. I will weigh in and take some photos and body measurements and set my baseline for some running targets (1km trial) but apart from that I'm just going to Rock it and see what happens at the end.

I have no idea where my life is going career-wise, as there are a couple of courses I want to do and I can't decide which to do first or which will bring me the ultimate job satisfaction. I don't currently have a job at all but with the move being finalised I feel positive about the direction of that at the moment. Something will come up in my numerous job searches, I'm sure of it.

Will you Rocktober with me? Drop me a comment or an email to thenewimprovingmrsp@gmail.com  I'd love some friends! Your Rocktober doesn't have to be the same as mine... you can do whatever you like, as long as you tell me what it is. Get involved. You know you want to!

Again, it's been too long.

I'm sorry... I'm getting terrible at keeping up!

My last post began with a dream, settled on some insecurities, and ended with crushing defeat. And that's how my life has been this past month.

JOB STUFF
I quit my job. It was a highly emotional, thoroughly exhausted, slightly teary farewell. My body simply was not coping with the demands I was placing on it daily - my osteo even mentioned that my muscles felt fatigued and I needed to slow down. I was choosing all the wrong foods, barely making it through the day, collapsing onto the couch of a night-time. My intimate life with my husband suffered. I was cranky, and not wanting to take it out on him, became silent. One morning, I said that I didn't want to go... and he gave me permission to resign. I didn't need his permission, but just having him say 'We can't live like this, you don't need to keep going, you're not happy'... well, that was a breath of fresh air. It was hard to admit that I couldn't do it, but satisfying when my manager acknowledged the pressure he had placed on me, and admitted that they hadn't gone about it in the right way from the beginning.

I'm on the hunt for a new job.... and guess what?

LOCATION STUFF
We're moving to the other side of the city! My family and friends are all on the other side of town and I'm going over for cali once a week and usually am over once or twice a week for something else. It's at least an hour one way, sometimes up to 2 hours depending on traffic and I'm simply over it! My husband's family has had some trials lately and he decided he doesn't need to be near them as much as I need to be near my family. He's always asking when we're catching up with different groups of friends and it's a challenge when we live so far away. We're planning on expanding our family soon, and friends have commented that everyone is too far away to be of much help with a new baby and all that comes with it. And finally, with me resigning and my husband seriously looking for a new job as well, it's the perfect time to have a complete change. So we're house hunting at the moment (not fun as it'll be rentals for 12 months while we get ourselves organised with new jobs and finish saving our deposit for our own home)

FITNESS STUFF
I'm a huge ball of emotion right now, and the fitness stuff has truly gone on the backburner. Every muscle and joint has ached this week - a combination of stopping the insane work, and the whole 'letting go' of everything. I'm a sorry sore mess at the moment. I did manage a couple of walks this week, but it's nothing to rave about.

FOOD STUFF
Can you tell my food plan went out the window? It truly did. I haven't weighed in this week so I don't know what impact the whole thing has had on my weight, but I know it's not been pretty. I've been giving in to whims, but surprisingly have not binged as much as I have in the past. That niggling voice in the back of my head speaks up and makes me think about whether I need to finish the packet of *insert fatty, sugary, carb-laden treat here* and most times I do not. I'm eating way more than I should - but nowhere near as much as I used to. Maybe I am changing slowly...

BLOG STUFF
I'm determined to get some sort of order in this blog this month. I've got a few ideas for some focused posts and also want to have 3 regular posts each week. Stay tuned!