Funderful Experiences

06/17/2026

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.

06/16/2026

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?

06/13/2026

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/ch-midlife-community/

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

06/12/2026

This week, try something small. The next time you're with someone, ask them one question you genuinely don't know the answer to. Not "How's work?" or "How are the kids?" Something that requires them to actually think. Then stop talking.

Listen to the whole answer before you respond. Don't compose your reply while they're still speaking. Just listen.

That's it.

It sounds simple. It isn't.

Most of us are so busy thinking about what we want to say next that we miss what's actually being said. But when you do this, the other person feels it. The conversation goes somewhere real.

Try it once. Then tell me what happened.

06/09/2026

This one changed how I show up in every conversation I have. Connection doesn't happen in the presence of your body. It happens in the presence of your attention. And attention - real, full, unhurried attention - is one of the rarest things one person can give another.

Rarer than time. Rarer than kindness. Rarer than showing up. The friend across the table from you can feel whether you're actually there. Not consciously. But in the quality of the conversation. In whether it goes anywhere real. In how she feels when she drives home.

One small practice: put your phone out of reach before the conversation starts. Not in your pocket. Out of reach. Then ask one question you genuinely don't know the answer to, and listen to the whole answer before you respond.

That's the whole thing. And it will make you one of the most memorable people she's talked to all week.

06/06/2026

Here's a question worth sitting with this week. Think about everyone you spent time with last month. The book club. The walking group. The standing dinner. The group texts. All of it.

Of those people, how many of them actually know you? Not your schedule. Not your kids. Not your job. You.

How does that number feel?

If it's smaller than you'd like, that's not something to be ashamed of. It's something to pay attention to. Because paying attention is always where it starts.

06/04/2026

She goes to book club. She walks with the neighborhood group. She plays pickleball twice a week. She has a standing dinner with women from work. By any measure, she has a social life.

So why does Sunday night feel so heavy?

Because company and connection are not the same thing.

Company is being in the same room. Connection is feeling known. And you can be surrounded by company and starving for connection - and that hunger hides behind a full calendar that makes everyone, including you, think you should be fine.

The question worth sitting with: How many of the people you spend time with actually know you?

05/29/2026

For a long time, I settled for friendships that almost happened. Conversations that never quite turned my way. Plans that kept getting cancelled. Connections that felt like work with very little return.

So I got honest about what I actually valued. Presence. Reciprocity. Conversations that go somewhere real.

And I stopped investing in connections that didn't meet that bar - even when it was scary. Even when my honest fear was that I was asking for too much. That I'd end up alone.
But here's what I didn't expect: when I stopped filling the space with the wrong connections, the right ones found me.

These women are some of them. And I'm grateful for them every single day.
If you've been settling for friendships that almost happen, you don't have to keep waiting for it to work itself out. You can choose it.

05/21/2026

You cannot build a real friendship with someone who isn't paying attention to you.

I learned that the hard way, on what was supposed to be a warm, unhurried Saturday with someone I'd been showing up for over the course of a year. She made plans on top of our plans and asked us to shrink our afternoon so she could make it in time. And she said it like it was the most reasonable thing in the world.

That was the afternoon I finally let myself see it clearly.

Is there a friendship in your life where you've been doing most of the caring? Drop a heart below if this one landed.

05/18/2026

Proof that brunch tastes even better when shared with great company. ☀️

Saturday's Taste of Carlsbad Village Brunch was such a fun reminder of what Connected Hearts is all about - shared experiences, genuine conversation, lots of laughter, and friendships that continue growing beyond our gatherings.

And of course… discovering a few delicious new favorite spots along the way didn’t hurt either. 💛

Amazing photo courtesy of https://tanyaperezphoto.com/