Funderful Experiences

Thirty years.

That's how long it's been since I walked into a group fitness class.

Back in the day, I actually taught step aerobics (yes... think leg warmers, Reebok high tops, and big hair 😄). I loved it.

Then life happened.

Recently, I watched Physical on Apple TV, a show about the rise of aerobics in the '80s, and it stirred something in me. It reminded me how much joy I used to find in moving to music.

I started looking for step aerobics, but apparently it's become extinct. 😂

Then I discovered a Jazzercise studio just a few minutes from home and decided to give it a try, even though I'd never taken a Jazzercise class before.

I absolutely love it.

For someone who doesn't really enjoy exercising just to exercise, it's perfect. Great music, fun choreography, and before I know it, I've gotten a workout without even realizing it.

One thing I've learned over the past few years is that some of the best experiences come from being willing to try something new... or rediscover something you once loved.

You never know what might bring a little more joy into your life.

Have you rediscovered an old passion lately? I'd love to hear what it was.

Most women come to their first Connected Hearts gathering a little nervous. They're not sure what to expect. They don't know anyone. They wonder if they'll fit in, if it will be awkward, if they'll be glad they came or relieved when it's over.

And then something happens. The conversation goes somewhere real, faster than anyone expected. Someone says the actual thing instead of the safe thing. And everything shifts.

That doesn't happen by accident. Every gathering is intentionally designed so that genuine connection is felt. The questions, the format, the environment, all of it exists so that women who didn't know each other an hour ago leave feeling like something meaningful just happened between them. That's the moment I built Connected Hearts for.

If you've been curious, this is your sign. Our next gathering is July 7. A few guest spots are still available. Ready to experience it for yourself? https://www.funderfulexperiences.com/connected-hearts/

Try this once this week. The next time you have an hour - dinner with a friend, a walk, even just a cup of coffee - leave your phone home.

Not silenced. Not face down. Home. Notice what comes up. You might feel restless at first. That's normal. Notice what happens after the restlessness passes.

Most women are surprised by what's waiting for them on the other side of it. A quieter mind. A friend who suddenly feels closer. And a self you haven't heard from in a while.

Presence is a practice, not a personality trait. And it's one worth starting today.

I built Connected Hearts because I was the woman I've been describing. Full life. Good life. And still missing something I couldn't quite name.

What I was missing was a room full of women where realness was the whole point. Where nobody was performing. Where I could say the actual thing instead of the safe thing and feel met rather than managed.

I looked for that and couldn't find it. So I built it.

Every woman who comes to a gathering tells me some version of the same thing afterward: I didn't realize how much I needed this until I was in it.
If that resonates, even a little, I'd love for you to experience it for yourself.

Most social spaces are designed around bodies in chairs and pleasant conversation. Show up, sit down, make small talk, go home.

Nobody thinks about what actually needs to be true in a room for people to leave it feeling like something real just happened. We leave that to chance.

And chance isn't reliable.

The spaces where real connection happens aren't accidental. They're intentional. Where the realness is the whole point. Where someone asks how you're actually doing and actually wants to know. Where you don't have to perform the capable, dependable, keeps-everything-running version of yourself.

What would it mean to stop leaving connection to chance?

One year ago I hit send on my very first 𝘜𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘵. I had no idea where it would lead. I only knew I felt called to write honestly about midlife, connection, courage, and all the messy, beautiful growth that happens in between.

What I didn't expect was how much writing it would change me. I've learned that growth rarely looks the way you think it will. It doesn't arrive as confidence or certainty. It arrives as a willingness to do the scary thing. To show up before you feel ready. To let yourself be seen.

One year in, I'm more at home in my own skin than I was when I started. Not because I have it all figured out. Because I kept going anyway.

If any of that resonates, 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘜𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘵 lands in your inbox every week. You can subscribe here: https://www.funderfulexperiences.com/get-the-uplift/

There's a version of self-care that doesn't look like a spa day or a bubble bath. It looks like finally doing the thing you've been putting off for two years. The thing that felt indulgent, or unnecessary, or like you should probably spend that time on something more important.

It looks like deciding that you are worth tending to.

I did something like that recently. And what surprised me wasn't the thing itself, it was what I saw when I looked in the mirror afterward. Not just on the outside. Something had also shifted on the inside.

I've always believed that how you feel on the outside affects how you feel on the inside. And it works the other way around, too. The inner work eventually shows up on your face, in your posture, in the way you hold yourself in a room.

Is there something you've been putting off that's just for you? Not for anyone else. Just for YOU.

One year ago, someone asked me to look in a mirror and find something I genuinely loved about my appearance. Then write it down. I looked away almost immediately. I had nothing to write.

She asked me to do it again recently. This time I looked. And I stayed. And I found things, real things, not consolation prizes, that I genuinely love.

I don't think that's about the makeup lesson I had. I think that's about the year. A year of doing things that scared me. A year of trusting myself before I fully believed in myself. A year of becoming a little kinder to myself. The mirror just showed me the evidence.

This week's 𝘜𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘵 is a special one. It's our one year anniversary, and I'm sharing more of that story, including what I've learned, what still scares me, and what I hope for the year ahead. Subscribe here if you're not already on the list: https://www.funderfulexperiences.com/get-the-uplift/

What has changed in you this past year that you haven't yet given yourself credit for?

Are you an empty nester figuring out who you are now that the kids are grown? Are you new to the area and still waiting to feel like you truly belong? Has life taken an unexpected turn — a divorce, a loss, a chapter that closed before you were ready — and you're still finding your footing?

Whatever brought you to this moment, something in you is ready for more. More connection. More depth. More of the joy, the growth, and the friendship that make this chapter feel like the one you've been waiting for.

Connected Hearts is a community for women in midlife who are ready for something real. Real friendship. Real conversation. The kind of women who push each other to grow, cheer each other on, and show up for each other — month after month — because they've found something worth showing up for.

We have a few guest spots open for our July 7th gathering. Come experience it for yourself.

Use code FREEDOM50 for 50% off registration if you sign up before July 5th.

https://www.funderfulexperiences.com/connected-hearts/

CH Midlife Community - Funderful Experiences You're not sitting at home. You're out there - at book clubs, coffees, beach walks - and you're around people. And yet somehow, you still haven't found your people. And when you do meet good women, it can be hard to go beyond the surface - to experience the