I will be turning 40 on Sunday(UGH!!). A day I am not looking forward to. To top it off, I just found out that I will be losing my job on Oct 1st due to company downsizing.Needless to say, I'm a little depressed right now. I want to do something for just me, without spending a lot of money. Any suggestions?

Lets see, for a temporary pick-me-up, you could do a little in-home pampering.


Get some candles set up around the bathroom, some low soothing music, a deep hot bubble bath of a favorite soothing scent (lavender is well known to promote relaxation). Shave your legs (or whatever you do), get a box of chocolates (Godiva or something similar you enjoy) and hot chocolate or if you prefer a nice glass of wine or Brandy and simply relax and enjoy yourself for a while, locking the door to the bathroom and diverting the kids at the sitters for a few hours.

OR

Get a hair cut or a nice style and
then get out, look for a job and KICK ASS!!!!!!

OR

Before the weather turns, make a picnic lunch (making whatever arrangements necessary for kids, etc) and "kidnap" hubby or your S.O. (Significant Other) for a nice quiet afternoon enjoying the remaining summer/fall.

OR

Determine how much you can afford, and, if you are able, get a make-over complete with hair and make-up (I am not talking a couple hundred, but whatever you can afford)... look around, get prices and breakdowns. This will make you feel like a million bucks (and look like it too).

I hope this helps... it is all about attitude. Your in the PRIME of your life, now go out and Conquer the World!

This isn't the end, it is the start of a New Adventure!

Scale the New Heights and Re-discover Yourself

Is there something to the turning 40 thing? I just turned 39 this month. I was horribly depressed. I started reflecting on my life. I compared what I thought it would be and my goals when I was younger to what it actually is. I found myself very disillusioned at what I saw. I got an education and a good job at my chosen profession only to find that it isn't at all what I thought it would be. The family I wanted is split up. My kids are impossible teenagers. Now what am I going to do? I think that I got a bad case of the glass is half empty syndrome.

Don't do what I did. I decided I didn't want to hear "Happy birthday!". I didn't want presents. I didn't want anyone around me. I was only pried out by my daughters disappointment that I was ruining plans that she thought would make me happy. I went out and was glad I did.

Get together with friends, family, or both even if you don't think you want to. You will feel so much better.

I believe 40 is a watershed year, when we first start facing the reality of our own mortality. Many people are frightened by the realization that if lucky, they may have only 40 more years, and what have they done so far? Yikes! If I don't get moving, I'm going to miss out! People sometimes freak out - men may start an affair, believing they've missed something with their wife. Wives may decide to go back to school or to have another child (as though that would fix anything). Be careful! Assess your life carefully before doing anything drastic. Have you been successful in the past? What do you really want to do with your remaining years? Put down those fears and make a plan. It may never come true, but you will feel better about it.

Catty (who believes in plans, despite the old saying "If you want to hear God laugh, tell Him what you plan do next week")

Well, it's official, I am now 40. I dreaded this for months. It was really no big deal, my kids made it a special day for me, even though I asked them not to. I was glad they did, it made them happy and I appreciated their effort.I even escaped to the bathroom for an hour and pampered myself with the lavender bath products my daughter gave me. Now, I am ready to find a new job. Thanks so much, for your advice. I think I will be okay for about another 10 years!!!!

I'm 44 and when I turned 40 it was no big deal. Of course, I wasn't about to loose my job either.
See if your employer is giving you a servance pay and if there are any ideas for another job.
Can you draw unemployment?
Use this week to get busy on a resume and search out another job!
It's a mind set! Don't let yourself be depressed. You can do it!

YOU KNOW WHAT ?? In just a few years ( about 20 or so) you will look back , remember yourself at forty, FORTY, F-O-R-T-Y, and think, my god, what a kid I was....Why, at forty I could have totally changed my life around, I was young enought to do it---now, why didn't I ???
Do you think you are turning OLD ???
KIDDO, YOU'RE JUST BEGINNING TO LIVE....SOOOOOOO, ENJOY IT.;
AT 5:30 THIS EVENING, I WILL RAISE MY GLASS TO YOU...SALUTE"