Photo: Getty Images

Lordy, Lordy Karla's turning 40. Damn. I don't know if you can say Lordy and damn so close together, but that's where I'm at with this impending 40th birthday. Doom usually comes after impending, and to some degree, that's how I'm feeling. Somehow, I had envisioned being in a different place by this landmark in my life. And if I can be quite honest, I'm feeling some type of way that this is where I've landed.

Don't get it twisted, my life is the stuff movies are made of. Broadway shows, celebrity friends, VIP access and all that. But so what. Who am I amid all of it? Other folks know who they are, but what about Karla? Was this all I had to offer the world? I've spent 20 years doing basically the same job that never quite manifested into a full-blown career. I spent 20 years between two men, and even though they asked, I never could love either enough to stand before God and say I do till death. Damn.

One thing I always offer is transparency and sincerity. I'm not one for pity parties, but I am one for the truth. And the truth is, I'm not one bit happy about turning 40. As my 30s got closer to 40, I began to hear things my tender ears never heard directed at them before, like mammograms and fibroids, increased risks of this and that but decreased chances of fertility. Perhaps 40 is reflective for everyone, and if not, I'm just fine being the only one.

Want to live to a ripe-old age? How about 130? Sakhan (Sarah) Dosova, from Kazakhstan, recently celebrated her 130th birthday. And some of her tips for longevity might surprise you.

CafeMom reports that Dosova recommends eating lots of cheese and yogurt and using herbal remedies instead of prescribed medications. With all due respect, I think I'll pass on those tips, and instead focus on some other pieces of Dosova's sage advice:

• Stay away from sweets. Bethany has some great tips for nipping your sugar habit in the bud.
  
• Have a good sense of humor. Dosova said, "We need to be happy in our life, only then we won't notice the years going by." Science supports Dosova's claim that happiness leads to health.
  

Source

Country singer Faith Hill is turning 41. And she's giving herself a special gift: She's posing in a bikini for the December issue of Shape magazine (on sale October 27).

Why such a gift? Because after years of waffling when it comes to working out, she's been transformed by a good diet and exercise. And she's proud to show the the world -- and herself -- what she's got.

Hill is passionate about food -- she has powerful memories of watching her mom cook Southern meals made from ingredients picked from the garden. She's got her own garden now, and fresh organic veggies and Mediterranean meals are abundant in her household. Greek yogurt with bluberries, whole-wheat toast, and Greek salads with cucumbers, tomatoes, and feta are favorites. No low-carb diets for this active girl.

Source

Welcome to the Good, the Fat and the Hungry. I'm Karla and I have been -- or am -- all those things. Here, I will share with you my lifelong struggle with my weight and I hope you'll follow along on with my determined attempt to lose nearly 40 pounds. I promise to tell you every win and setback along the way every Tuesday and Friday.

Happy birthday to me! That's right, I'm officially 30 none of your business. HA! What's significant about this birthday is that I am closer in age to 40 than 30. Thanks to weight loss, eating right and working out, I feel closer to 30 than 40. Losing 200 lbs. has turned the clock back. Even simple things are new.

I can never remember crossing my legs until three years ago. Being the girlie girl that I am, I do it all the time. It reminds me that I've come so far and that I will never again be unable to cross my legs. In my old life, I experienced what I grew to call, "turnstile terror." Ever been too fat to get through a turnstile? Over the course of time, I learned to wiggle through sideways but I even outgrew that method.

There's something to be said for not allowing your age to slow you down. After all, if you've been alive for 60 years, but still feel like a 30-year-old, you should act the way you feel. However, Madonna is taking things a step further -- for her 50th birthday celebration, her guests are under strict instructions to not mention the number 50 in any way, shape, or form, because the singer believes her "spiritual age" to be 36.

The high priests of Kabbalah have calculated Madge's spiritual age to be 14 years younger than her actual age by channeling her energy. And, truth be told, she certainly has the energy and, dare I say, the aura of someone much younger. So if she feels like she's 36, that's great. But, I have a problem this refusal to acknowledge 50.

By doing this, Madonna is sending a message to women everywhere that it's not acceptable to turn 50, when we know that's far from the truth, especially these days. Instead of being a fitness inspiration to women hitting the big 5-0, Madonna is running away from it, yet still marking it with a big celebration.

What about you? Do you think Madonna should embrace 50 as fabulous, or would you follow her lead and go with the youngest age you can get away with?

Source

There is more in the world than sugary treats. If you're one of those folks who has no interest in indulging in the traditional not-so-good-for-you birthday celebration ... 1-800-FLOWERS has come up with an adorable alternative. They've made beautiful cakes and cocktails out of flowers! The arrangements are beautiful, fun and absolutely guilt free!

Now, I'm not a girl who brings cake into my home or even orders it at a restaurant. I am, however, someone who enjoys a piece on my birthday. If true cake is a special component of your big day, than by all means ... have some! But if it's not, I think these cakes made of flowers make a wonderful celebratory substitute.

The other thing that struck me is that they'd make an incredibly thoughtful gift as well. We've all had the standard bouquet brought to our door, but these little masterpieces are the kind of flowers that would make me squeal! As a fitness trainer, I hold myself to a very high standard. I want to be a role model and I'd never want to contribute in an unhealthy way to a friend. I personally could never just grab a basket of chocolate and give it to someone I love. How contrary that would be!

Source

One of the biggest stress inducers for me lately has been finding enough activities to keep my young daughter occupied. Structure and focus seem to be requirements to prevent afternoons filled with whining and crying. Park and pool trips, walks, craft projects, Play Doh and coloring books, and when all else fails, TV. Usually Dora the Explorer.

And then there's her birthday party coming up. She'll be 3. And about 10 other 3-year-olds will be joining her to celebrate. An afternoon of whining, crying 3-year-olds would take more bottles of wine without the "h" than I can afford. So I've come up with the following ideas to get me through the afternoon sober:

• Strategy No. 1: A goal contest with a soccer ball and a Diego doll strategically placed as goalie. They can kick to their heart's content and everyone will get a handmade ribbon for their efforts.
• Strategy No. 2: Craft project. Ten foam sun visors in the same color to prevent fights for favorites. Foam stickers to decorate as well as foam letters to spell out names. Cost for supplies: $28. Value of a few minutes of peace at the party: priceless. Added bonus: the kids have a favor to take home.
• Strategy No. 3: Cupcakes. No ice cream. Save yourself from cutting and serving and scooping. Enough said.

More good news: The first two can be used any old time. And you can find more ideas here. So good luck. And hang in there until September!

Source

I gave my husband fudge for his 40th birthday on Saturday, as promised. Don't worry. It was a treat. It's not a way of life. John loved it -- both the milk chocolate and peanut butter varieties -- and our boys loved it too. All three of them gobbled down the thick, rich indulgence. I just watched. Sugar is not my thing.

I also gave John a swim suit for his birthday. The one he's been wearing for oh, seven years or longer, just drips off his year-old lean body. So I replaced his Large with a Medium and presented it to him at his mini-party on Saturday. He loved it. Nothing like a new suit after nearly a decade, I guess. One small problem though. It was too big. With one easy tug, he pulled those trunks completely off his hips and down to the ground. He's down 40 pounds lately, and apparently, that's more than a one-size change.

So off I go in search of a smaller suit. And maybe another hunk of fudge.

Children in one New Zealand school can celebrate their birthdays at school but they can't bring cakes to share with their classmates.

Oteha Valley primary school, north of Auckland, has banned birthday cakes as part of a larger fat crack-down by the area's Ministry of Education.

Here's why cakes are a problem: Oteha Valley has a large number of pupils born in September and October. As a result, there's the potential for up to four cakes to arrive per week in some classes. Parents were starting to believe they were required to provide a cake for their child's birthday. Since this was both untrue and unhealthy, the school has advised parents in a newsletter to stop sending cakes to school.

Not such a bad idea, I'd say. What do you say?

12 "healthy" foods that really aren't:

Why? Click to find out!

Source

It's strange to have made the transition from birthday lover to birthday dreader. As a kid, I couldn't wait to blow out the candles and open gifts from my friends and family. Some of my fondest memories are from childhood birthdays, including the fourth grade party where my friend Albert threw up all over the all-you-can-eat sundae stand. Not so fun for Albert, but what a memory it made for.

But, as I find myself getting further and further away from even my college years, I look forward less and less to that once special day in March. Well, based on what I recently read, I'd do well to chill out a little bit about the whole getting older thing. The stress alone may be enough to lead to sudden cardiac arrest.

My sister visited her daughter's preschool class just recently for her little one's third birthday celebration. It's customary at this school for parents to bring in a birthday snack for classmates to share. My sister was all too happy to participate in this ritual, and she went armed with her camera, a bunch of Halloween-inspired sugar cookies, and a healthy helping of grapes.

You'd think the kids would gobble up those cookies, right? That's what I thought. Until my sister told me they scarfed down the grapes instead. They couldn't get enough of them, in fact, and some children passed on the sugary treat altogether. How great is that?

Sometimes, I don't think we give kids enough credit. We label them picky eaters and believe they'll only consume dry cheerios, goldfish crackers, and other packaged snacks. But when it comes down to it, I suspect kids might choose what's good for them if given a chance. So why not give them the chance? Go ahead. Try. Call it an experiment. Place some fruit or crunchy veggies in front of your kiddos at snack time and see what they do. Make it exciting and smear some peanut butter on an apple -- tastes a bit like a caramel apple -- or spread some low-fat cottage cheese on a cucumber slice. You might be surprised at what passes as a legitimate snack in your household. And if you work in a preschool, I urge you to introduce whole foods into your program. Ditch the Oreo cookies, the Skittles you use to reward your students, the loaded-with-sugar fruit juice. It's simple really. Healthy stuff is better. Even three-year-olds know it.

For an extra kick in the right direction, pop in here at Meals Matter for some smart snacking tips.

Source

Ever wonder if it's possible to keep your personal life as on track as things are in the business world? I know I do. Although my friends and family might believe otherwise, I am an extremely organized individual--at the office. My home life, however, would probably make Martha Stewart cringe. I seem to have so much going on outside of the office I barely have time to entertain my weekly call to my parents, whom, if I recall, brought me in to this world and at the very least deserve a call to let them know I am still alive.

As the new year gets into full swing this week, I thought of all the different resolutions I could make, many of which are old stand bys we all hope to achieve: getting in shape, eating right, saving money. Rarely do resolutions seem to include the other kind of fitness--that of the mind, the heart.

I used to laugh at my mother for being so overly-organized with her personal life until I became an adult myself and felt the real weight of responsibility--glorious as it is--settle onto my shoulders. I'd always thought the heart should rule one's personal life and that file-o-faxes and lists were for offices only. I remember how my mom used to give me a calendar each holiday, having previously taken the time to go through and mark the birthday of each of my immediate family members on the appropriate date so I'd remember to send a card or make a phone call. I thought she was wasting her time, but realize now that spending twenty minutes tracking down and recording important dates not only saved her from scrambling at the last minute to get a card but also made those important to her feel special enough to be remembered for a full day. That's a time bargain if ever I heard of one.

As an adult I see what she was trying to do, and to say: If it's important to you, write it down, make it happen. If I have an important meeting I have it written and recorded in several places. I prepare myself for the meeting well in advance so I can contribute effectively. Why should this not be so with friends and family, the most important people in the world to me?

So, as soon as I finish this writing I'll be heading out to my local bookstore for a 2007 calendar, which I plan to mark up with the birthdays, anniversary and other important dates I should remember for all my loved ones. Receiving a card from me, on time for once, will be meaningful to those who are meaningful in my life. Now if only I could find that master list of birthdays...

Source