#almost40

[thelaughingdani-blog]

I showed up for myself last night and went to the gym. I’ve just gotta remind myself that consistency is better than perfection.

#weightloss #stronger #better #almost40 #gymtime #operationmilf #consistency

[artanissnow]

You guys, I just realized… I have been saying my age wrong. I have been saying I’m 37 for 2 years! I’m going to be 39 in June!!! Why did no one ever correct me?! 😑😩now I feel really depressed and dumb as shit. Didn’t even remember how old I am. I thought only happens when you are like Sophia patrillo old. Well….isn’t this fun….☹️ #imold #almost40 #whendidthishappen #cantremember #adhd #over30club #depressed https://www.instagram.com/p/Cp8icO4uRrk/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

#imold #almost40 #whendidthishappen #cantremember #adhd #over30club #depressed

[speakin-4-myself]

That was so ignorant of me cause I'm not even there yet and I'm feeling it 😂😂😂😂 #30AndOver #Almost40 https://www.instagram.com/p/CfKU8MJuPy2/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

#30andover #almost40

[allysondavis0127-blog]

So blondes do have lil more fun....so I went blonder 🤩 ❤️ Embracing the longer hair and the middle part!! #whothis . . . @jennywicker @hairbyjennywicker @theparloratnr . . #blonde #longhairdontcare #hidesthegrays #agingbackwards #almost40 #lovinglife (at Raleigh, North Carolina) https://www.instagram.com/p/CjEcUnvtMTjXaYA5jnhzOokgMPuklMH9PutAxw0/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

#whothis #blonde #longhairdontcare #hidesthegrays #agingbackwards #almost40 #lovinglife

[thatoneconfusedcitrus]

im also feeling clingy. so. happy 1:almost40 am everyone

[angelas-art-palatte]

Starting to model again after a 14 year long break. #almost40!

[sirinferus]

Got a little too excited during morning stretches...😈

#dadbod #bikini briefs #briefs #excited #almost40

[raeandrews]

What am I even doing?

So, this is all brand new to me. Let's unpack shall we?

At almost 40 years old I've definitely lived and learned a few things about life and what I want.

Let me give you a brief background so you can catch up with me...

My childhood was fucking weird, there were some horrible times and there are times that I will cherish forever. My teen years sucked. I fell in love/like with a couple of mediocre at best "men" and spent my twenties as a weekend alcoholic and dealing with the shitty life I was living. Actually, anytime I could get away to drink, I did. My thirties came along, and I decided I needed something different. Something screamed from my soul that there was so much more to life then the life I was currently living. I like to call it my double life years; we can touch on that another time. I got a divorce and quickly jumped into another relationship and here I am today. *Add the fucking face palm here*

There's a lot missing in that little "catch up", but I'm sure I'll touch on it all eventually.

I'm a very slow learner. Let's get that out in the open now.

I love to love humans that hurt me. Don't ask me why, I haven't yet figured it out. I have the ability to forgive some of the people who have done the most damage to me in my life; almost all of them were men that meant the most to me.

Like I said at the beginning, I'm almost 40. I've spent much of my life catering to everyone else's happiness, putting myself in situations that I absolutely hate, and currently living a life that makes me really unhappy for a number of reasons. I'll unpack this shitshow relationship at another time as well.

SO, I've decided that it's time to focus on what really matters and that is myself. Happiness starts within, right?

Fast forward to today, I'm trying to heal myself, focus on my happiness, and health. I got the brilliant idea to create a blog where I can post and share my life; maybe it'll help me or maybe it'll help someone, somewhere reading along. I have no clue what I'm even doing, but I'm just going to run with it. I hope you follow along.

#life lessons #livinghappy #grow #almost40 #the journey begins #self healing #self growth #life begins at 40 #followme

[carriejosparkles]

A classmate and friend of mine had died recently from an accidental overdose. That had put a lot of perspective on my life and what I want to change. We always ask what is wrong with our lives, what can we do different, are we too old to do this???

All kinds of questions run through your head when someone we know dies. The afterlife is a mystery but from what I have studied and what I have came to was that wherever we go after earth, is beautiful💕

#almost40 #almostoverthehill #moreaccomplishments!

[terimariedegree]

#almostthere 💜💧 I'm getting ready to hit the road (sidebar: I #always think of #ameliabedelia when I come across #hittheroad because she went & hit the street 😂) #ahem #anyway I'm heading for a #bdaytrip so likely won't post about the fundraiser again until after my #bday It's so close to goal! Thank yall! I'm very much looking forward to seeing the bump tomorrow on my actual birthday, I'm feeling good about this goal! #charitywater #cleanwaterforall #linktreeinbio #almost40 #happyfriday https://www.instagram.com/p/CPs0tGWF3egC5xWJW5mcGRN9n7baVmlmulsnAY0/?utm_medium=tumblr

#almostthere #always #ameliabedelia #hittheroad #ahem #anyway #bdaytrip #bday #charitywater #cleanwaterforall #linktreeinbio #almost40 #happyfriday

[and-now-here-we-are]

I left home 19 years ago to follow my heart. What a wild ride it has been. As I near my 40th birthday I find myself here...where has the time gone? I have loved and lost. I have been foolish and wise. I have made friends and enemies alike. I have surely made mistakes but never ones I thought were truly wrong. I always did what I thought was best. Sometimes that is all you can do. I suppose I will begin this thing and just tell bits and pieces along the way. I’m sure completely out of order as it would be entirely too difficult to tell my story in chronological order. Too many characters, places, and plot twists for all of that. I used to use #Xanga back in the day. That was literally a lifetime ago. I am excited to start back up online but a bit nervous. The world is different place these days. we shall see. 

#newbeginnings #hereweare #lifeasweknowit #bitsandpieces #almost40 #firstpost

[thelaughingdani-blog]

06/20/2023

Starting weight: 187 lbs. Note to self: You can do this! 

#notetoself #youcandothis #stronger #better #weightloss #almost40 #operationmilf

[myalmostmidlifecrisis]

Side Note: Am I 13 or Almost 40?

Well hello there! Welcome to the My Almost Midlife Crisis, I’m your host Jennifer Mathis. Today it’s all about what it’s like to get zits as an adult which at times can make you feel like you’re 13 going on 40.

If you haven’t listened to Episode 1 yet, To Botox or Not to Botox, I encourage you to do so as we talk about all sorts of fun changes to our face and hair as we get older like getting grey hair, all the way to Botox.

As an almost middle-aged woman, I find myself having to deal with zits and breakouts for the first time in my life. Last week I mentioned that I grew up using Noxema which must have done the trick because I never really had the issue of acne or zits when I was going through puberty.

Now before you get all like – oh, must be nice Jennifer, hear me out. While I may not have had to deal with zits, all teenagers have something they have to deal with amongst their cruel and heartless classmates that are so quick to point out things on your body that you have no control over and cannot change. For a lot of teens, that’s acne. But for me, it was that I had no boobs until pretty much college.

I didn’t hit puberty until I was heading into high school so I would definitely be what they call a “late bloomer”. I remember going in the locker room for gym class and getting changed. All the girls around me would have their bras, they’d be using their deodorant and they would have their satin underwear. I don’t know why the satin under, in particular, stuck in my head but boy did I want a pair of satin underwear. I just thought they looked so grown up. And they did look grown up vs. what I was wearing, my cotton bloomies. You know which ones I’m talking about. The white cotton ones with the days of the week written on them?  So I would beg my mom to get me satin underwear, but she was not having it.

She always told me that I couldn’t get it because I was too young. Which is a bad strategy because if you tell a child or a teenager that they are too young for something, they just want it more. She should have just told me, “listen, satin underwear is not all it’s cracked up to be. It looks nice but it’s not comfortable, it doesn’t breath, you’ll get a yeast infection and trust me, you’re better off with cotton.”

So may lack of development in those years pretty much made me invisible to any boys. Except for one.

Let’s just for sake of story call him Tom. Let me paint a picture of you. You get changed for gym class. You’re sitting in a circle with your friends, although I was kind of a dork so let’s just say I was sitting with a group of peers. You’re waiting for gym class to start. You’re doing your stretches, stretching those hamstrings, getting ready for whatever your gym teacher is going to throw at you that day. Tom calls everyone’s attention, turns to me, lifts up his shirt, points to his chest and asks me if I was jealous.

Yeah, I was pretty much humiliated. The fact that I’m going to be 40 soon and I can still vividly picture this scene in my brain, even down to the detail of what color shirt he was wearing should speak to speak to how humiliated I was. It forever stuck with me.

I would like to say this story didn’t necessarily end with that. I was able to turn it into a happy ending because one year when I was coming home from college and at the gym, guess who I ran into? Lil Mr. Tom, which by the way wasn’t aging that well. Saw me in the gym, asked me on a date and I was able to turn him down. After the humiliation I was caused, it felt really good!

Anyway I digress. Now as an adult I look back and think about – was it better to be a late bloomer because I skipped the whole teenage acne situation? Or would it have been better to have acne as a teenager? When you’re a late bloomer, sooner or later you bloom, and it’s fine. You move on and it’s no longer an issue. But acne is something you could get throughout your entire life. Wouldn’t you rather have an opportunity to figure out what system works for you when you’re younger so you have that in your back pocket, in your tool kit, for the rest of your life?

But I didn’t have that. So as an adult, when I started getting zits, whether it was from stress or maybe it was pre-period zits, I didn’t know how to handle it. I didn’t know what were the best products. I didn’t know what to do.  I would just be googling it.

It’s crazy because as you get older and our bodies continue to change, you would think we could catch a break sometime. You would think we could swap it out instead of it being additive. Like for example, when I was younger I could pretty much eat whatever I wanted. There was one summer when I pretty much lived off of Sprite, Doritos and cigarettes and I turned out just fine.

But now, it’s this constant attention to detail on what I am putting in my body because at any moment, I could have some dairy, beans or gluten that will disagree with me and then I’m immediately feeling bloated and like I’ve gained five pounds. It’s only fair that if for the rest of my life I have to pay close attention to detail on the food that goes into my mouth so I can feel good, I should at least be able to get rid of zits.

For the most part my skin regimen seems to be working but every once and I will I still get zits here or there. In my FitFabFun box, I have now gotten these stickers for zits in two of them. The first pack I got was a mixture of black and red circle stickers. It reminds me of that game Girl Talk. I don’t know if you will know what I’m talking about or if they still sell it but as you went through the game, I don’t remember the rules, but as you went through the game, the worse you did the more red circle stickers you had to put on your face to simulate zits. Therefore the person that won the game had the least amount of zits on their face. Gee, no wonder we grew up being embarrassed if we had zits! We straight up had a popular game that shamed us for it!

The first round of stickers reminded me of that game and reminded me of that. But they didn’t really work anyway so if you got them just throw them away. I will say the ones I got recently seem to work better, they’re shaped like stars. Little black stars. On my last period, or pre-period, I got a couple of zits that were starting to form. I had three. So I was like “Ok, let’s try these out.”

So I put them on my forehead and I’m going to bed, which I realize these stickers are made for single people because if you are in a relationship when you’re wearing these stickers you look like a damn fool. But thankfully we have a very open and honest relationship so I feel comfortable enough in my own skin where I can wear these. So I come into bed, and my fiancé turns to me and says “Babe, your forehead looks like the galaxy.” Ha! He’s totally right! It did look like a galaxy. I mean, how romantic. What a great way to end the night. Hey, you feeling spicy? I have a galaxy on my forehead.

I feel like if they had these when I was a kid, that would have made having zits fun. Maybe that’s what they should do. Instead of having a game that shames you for having zits, they should have stickers that are stars so it can be a fun game. And maybe if they would have had something like this for late bloomers like myself, it would have taken the attention away from the lack of cleavage for the kids to focus on.

Anyway, there’s no way around it. Having zits as an adult sucks. And while you have your skin regimen, you have your Retinol and you have these stickers, and they all seem to help to some degree, I don’t think it’s actually possible to completely eliminate adult zits. Zits come from two things, stress and hormones. So once a month, as a female, your hormones are out of wack. But also stress. Stress, as adults, comes with the territory. So it seems like something you just have to live with.

But at least it’s something we can all laugh at together because unlike when you are a teenager, your fellow adults are not going to point out your zits in public so everyone laughs at you.

Tune in next week because we’re going to be closing out the conversation, we’ve been having the last couple weeks about the pressure women feel to keep looking young, by bringing in a new perspective. I’m going to be sitting down with one of my closest friends, Catherine, to understand her view on all these topics from Retinol and Botox and skin regimen and adult zits and all that great stuff we’ve been talking about and we’ll have some fun and laughs in the process.

Until next week!

#podcast #podcastshow #podcaster #zits #teen #almost40 #midlife crisis #skincare #skin #skincareregime

[sun-fyre]

Today it’s a toss up between me looking like a #Fraggle or Fry Kid 🤷🏾‍♀️and if you don’t know who they are you might be a baby 🤣 #fragglerock #redfraggle #frykid #frygirl #showingmyage #almost40 #locs #locselfie #locqueen #locvibes #kiwi #workflow https://www.instagram.com/p/CGXVfvLlbrNQDPj21q5X2njuqyGgQdwV6o4DSI0/?igshid=7wh3e0xzndrh

#fraggle #fragglerock #redfraggle #frykid #frygirl #showingmyage #almost40 #locs #locselfie #locqueen #locvibes #kiwi #workflow

[fatgirlsguidetodating]

Blog: Almost 40.

I’ve never been one for posting particularly introspective blog entries publicly. It’s not that I don’t contemplate things, or even write about them, but for the most part those meandering musings are confined only to my phone’s notes app- my most used app behind Facebook. And on those rare occasions that I *do* publicly blog about them I usually keep it on a relatively superficial level as I don’t necessarily like opening up my mind (and insecurities) to strangers.

But I’m turning 40 in less than a month and I think this is the catalyst that’s prompted a lot more thought about things than I’d ordinarily give them. I’d always considered 40 old but, as I approach it, I don’t *feel* old. And my family and friends would be rather quick to point out I don’t act it either. I always thought by 40 I would be much further along in life than I am. That I’d have a good job, a nice husband, a nice house, kids, that whole suburban dream. But... I haven’t.

And I started thinking if I’m a ball of mixed emotions about turning 40 maybe there’s other women- and men for that matter- who are feeling the exact same way so perhaps if I’m to break my self imposed cocoon of privacy around my innermost thoughts now might be the perfect time to give it a shot. So, with that being said, here goes nothing...

Here’s the thing: I remember my Mum’s 40th. I had just turned 10. I was sitting outside with my cousins, all of similar ages, and we were making fun of what we considered to be the appalling music taste our respective parents had. I even remember the leather pants Mum was wearing. She claims to have forgotten them but I think she’s faking that despite her bad memory. It didn’t even occur to me for a millisecond that my 40th wouldn’t be spent in a similar fashion. I just assumed life would follow the same path most women’s lives had followed for generations (with one caveat- I was planning to be the first one to go to uni): I’d find a job, I’d find a husband, we’d buy a house with a white picket fence, and we’d have 2.5 kids and a dog. And that all of that would be well and truly achieved by the time I turned 40. Just like it had been for my mum, and her mum before her, and hers before her. It was just the way things went, you know?

And then life happened. There’s a line in “Beautiful Boy” one of the John Lennon songs that I love that says “life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans” and it couldn’t be any truer in the 21st century than It was when it was written in 1980. (It’s a cruel twist of fate that it was written not long before he died and released after his death.)

For me “life” was all about my health, or lack thereof. I’ve mentioned the back issues before and the many hospital visits, and the 70 plus back ops. In essence this put things on hold: work, getting a home of my own, finding a guy (hard when you are always in and out of hospital and have problems losing weight) and having kids. So as I approach 40 without those things I’m not necessarily looking forward to it the way many do. (Plus if I get one “over the hill” card the person giving it to me shall be in a body bag.)

One thing I noticed when researching this blog post was Google searches about turning 40 seemed to concentrate on two things: what your health would be like post 40 and life as a Mum. Well what about those of us who are single and childless? Are we invisible? This didn’t particularly help with my mixed emotions about this supposed great milestone.

And it seems I’m not alone. Dr. Nancy Oreilly wrote about women’s aging anxiety that regardless of how you feel towards turning 40 you’ll still do what everyone does at this juncture and take stock of your life thus far. Things like “what have you done with your life? Are you the person you intended to be and are you living the life you want?” (1.)

In Lisa Bono’s interview with author Glynnis MacNicol about her book “No one tells you this” for the Sydney Morning Herald about life as a single 40 year old woman MacNicol admits she approached her 40th with “so much dread and shame" because she didn't have what she was "supposed" to have - a husband and a kid or two.... (because) we don't understand how to talk about women's lives as fulfilling unless we incorporate babies or weddings.” (2.)

Meredith Goldberg, in her article about age being just a number posed the question that if indeed age was just a number why was she feeling so apprehensive? Was it because she felt “like (she) had not accomplished enough in (her) 40 years on earth?” (3.) After all she hadn’t gotten married, hadn’t had kids, didn’t have another advanced degree.

Interestingly studies over the last decade or so have shown that the start of middle age (which, much to my chagrin given my belief I’m still like a much younger woman, is considered to be 40) often correlates with the time when people are the least happy, have the lowest levels of life satisfaction and highest levels of anxiety. A study at the University of Warwick and Dartmouth College attributed this to the facts that at this stage “adults are often faced with the pressures of raising children and looking after aging parents while simultaneously dealing with mounting financial and career pressures.“ (4)

Is it all too late for me- and other women turning 40 without a child- though? This is one of the most common thoughts going round and round in my head as I approach 40. I mean we all know about the whole ticking biological clock right? Even when I was doing my first postrgrad degree at 24, working part time, still single, still living at home, I still thought well there’s plenty of time. At 28 when I was finishing with postgrad, working full time but still single I *still* thought well there’s still a fair bit of time. At 33 it changed to well I guess there’s still time if I get a bit of a hurry on now. And now, at 39, single and childless, I think well maybe it’s too late now.

In her article about turning 40 whilst single and childless Bethany Jenkins wrote that it’s not only common but practically universal for a woman to expect and long for children, “to bring new life into the world; to put her hand on her belly as her baby grows; to wonder whether the newborn will have her or her beloved’s eyes; to hear “mom” not as a word uttered by her own voice to her own mother but as a call from her child’s voice for her.” (5) MacNicol in her book echoes that saying “as women, we’re taught to expect our stories to turn to marriage and children at a certain point in time (namely, before 40.)” (6)

Robin Deutsch, a psychologist and associate professor at William James College in Newton also points out that women reaching 40 tend to be more confident, have more wisdom and make better choices. (4) (Does she even know me?) But when you really think about it the whole “life begins at 40” theory has some merit. Julia Child didn’t publish her first cookbook until she was almost 50. Vera Wang didn’t start her fashion career until 40.

The fact that these women have the same feelings surrounding turning 40 whilst single and childless gives me some comfort. There’s a quote from Jung that I remember from philosophy at uni. He said that life begins at 40 and until then you’re just doing research. And maybe I’ve got to look at the positives in my current circumstances? One big upside I see is freedom. I plan to travel and return to uni to study something I’m passionate about and it’s doubtful I could do this had my life taken that path I was so sure it would.

So does this mean that the formula that my mum and all my ancestors followed, that unsaid life plan of when to get married, buy a home and have kids, is a thing of the past? We know women have children later these days. In fact the median age for a first kid these days is 30.6 as per the ABS reports

From the 1950s to mid 1970s, the fertility rates of women aged 20–24 and 25–29 were patently higher than that of all other age groups. Since then, the fertility rates for women in their 20s have been steadily declining whilst rates of those aged in their 30s have mostly increased since the early 1980s. Since 2000, the fertility rate of women in their early 30s has been higher than all other groups. It’s not just that women are having babies later but also the birth rate has declined. In 1950 the birth rate was 23.124. Its predicted 2020 will be at 12.561. (ABS yearly reports.)

We know women have children later these days, preferring to be settled and to have done the things they thought they’d not be able to do after before becoming a parent. Compared to our mothers, our grandmothers and so on we have more choices and not every woman’s first goal in life is having a child. (8)

The differences between say baby boomers and millennials are striking. It’s not just the fact that they settle down later but there are also other factors that mean by the time we turn 40 we may not have all the things our ancestors have but there are other priorities we have. For instance more women go to university now than they did when my Mum was turning 40. And after spending the time, work and money to get a degree it’s only natural that it follows that they want to get more out of their careers. Whilst baby boomers are more driven by loyalty, often staying at the same company for years, millennials are more interested in achieving more, whether that’s at the same company or not. (9) My father, for example, worked for the same company his entire life. He could have gone to many others with the knowledge he’d accumulated but he liked his job and he was happy there so it didn’t even really occur to him in more than a passing thought.

Then you look at things like buying a home. It’s ironic given that pay has increased that millennials are putting home ownership off longer than previous generations. Whilst people of my parents generation were content with a “starter home” these days more and more first home buyers want a bigger home, with bigger and better appliances, closer to the city than the suburbs etc. Research has found that rather than jump straight into a mortgage millennials look at travel, and spending their pay on things like Ubers and Lyfts, coffee, gadgets, clothes, and live entertainment and sports. (9)

Marriage is also something we do later. Consider the fact that whilst almost “50% of baby boomers were married between the ages of 18 to 32... a mere 26% of millennials are married in the same age range.” (9)

The fact that so many other women have the same feelings surrounding turning 40 whilst single and childless gives me some comfort. There’s a quote from Jung that I remember from philosophy at uni. He said that life begins at 40 and until then you’re just doing research. And maybe I’ve got to look at the positives in my current circumstances? One big upside I see is freedom. In the next 12 months I plan to travel and return to uni to study something I’m passionate about and it’s doubtful I could do this had my life taken that path I was so sure it would.

In an article published on mindbodygreen.com the writer spoke about how well-meaning friends had been asking her did she not want to have kids, did she not want to get married, etc, and she was quick to say that this can actually be the “most celebrated time of your life (and to) consider yourself blessed and enjoy the freedom.” (10) She listed some of the things to celebrate about turning 40 whilst single and childless. Like me travel was up there on her list as was the time to Perdue your passions. She also mentioned “(the) opportunity to nurture your friendships and relationships with family...(and that) the dating pool is large in your 40’s (given) a large majority of our population is divorced... there are so many

social media dating sites and social events in every major city... (and) you know what you're looking for.” (10)

So maybe instead of worrying about why I’m not where I wanted to be turning 40, worrying that it’s too late, worrying that my friends are further along than I am, I should be embracing it. The future is mine. I’ve just got to find a way to embrace it.

Fatgirl.

Sources:

1.) https://www.drnancyoreilly.com/40-2/

2.) https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/life-and-relationships/no-one-tells-you-life-as-a-40-year-old-single-woman-can-be-like-this-20180717-p4zs16.html

3.) https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.sheknows.com/health-and-wellness/articles/1140197/anxious-about-turning-40/amp/

4.) https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bostonglobe.com/magazine/2017/06/01/seriously-now-what-traumatic-about-turning/UVnbdmxVvLSzwoB8Yo4wGP/story.html%3foutputType=amp

5.) https://ifstudies.org/blog/reflections-on-turning-40-while-single-and-childless

6.) https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.wellandgood.com/good-advice/single-at-40-glynnis-macnicol-interview/amp/

7.) https://aifs.gov.au/facts-and-figures/births-in-australia

8.) https://www.mamamia.com.au/average-age-to-have-kids/

9.) https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.businessinsider.com/difference-millennials-baby-boomers-2019-4%3famp

10.) https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.mindbodygreen.com/articles/so-im-single-40-and-childless-now-what--10631

#dating #40 #almost40 #emotions #babyboomers #generationx #generationy #millenials #single #childless #worry #freedom #travel #university #howtocope #generationaldifferences #aging #anxiety #aginganxiety

[daniellehuyett]

#bekindalways #forgiveoften #lockdown #almost40 #mothersdayweekend https://www.instagram.com/p/B_-QvuSA161/?igshid=rd883g9j1ct7

#bekindalways #forgiveoften #lockdown #almost40 #mothersdayweekend