In this episode of The Midlife Shit Show, Lara and Karin dive headfirst into the whirlwind world of midlife, inspired by none other than the iconic Halle Berry. With humor and candor, they dissect Halle's empowering press conference on Capitol Hill, where she fearlessly advocated for menopause and mid-life women's health. From debunking stereotypes to shedding light on the impact of estrogen levels on the brain, Lara and Karin leave begin an expiration this often overlooked stage of life.

But it's not all serious talk! Join in the laughter as Lara and Karin share personal anecdotes, from sweating through mattresses to struggling with mindfulness practices. With their trademark wit and sparkling personalities, they navigate the highs and lows of midlife with relatable humor and insightful commentary. Tune in for a rollercoaster ride of laughs, wisdom, and maybe even a few hot flashes along the way!

Show resources:

• The Bill: https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/6749/text
• Next Act Architect
• The Ultimate (un)Journal on Amazon
• Alzheimer’s Association
• American Heart Association
• European Society of Cardiology

Who was the “It” girl you remember most from your teens or early twenties? For many of us, Bridget Fonda makes the list. Her unique mix of ingenue and cerebral sexy were ionic for the era.

Then there is her role as Janet in Singles. Oh man, that one hit a little too close to home for me. The girl who deludes herself into thinking the bad boy is into her, letting him walk all over her to keep the delusion intact… not me at all. Nope. When Karin asked me if I’d read the news about Bridget, I thought maybe she’d gone the Meg and Melanie route and got some work done.

Not the case. In fact some of the buzz was clearly laced with judgment about her having done nothing. Seriously?! How did we get here? How is it that there is such a narrow window that defines publicly acceptable aging for women?

In this episode we talk about The Bridget effect. What happens to our wellbeing under the pressure of aging. Plus we’ll laugh as I out one of Karin’s behind the scenes habits. And yeah, we’ll also ponder the impending holiday… Valentine’s Day. Or, as I call it; the annual commercialized celebration of the patron saint of Beekeepers and epilepsy. ← Fun Facts Freebie ;)

Ah, the holidays. Over the river and through the woods into exhaustion and anxiety we go! Whether you’re a November Firster - that tree is up 10 minutes after the last trick-or-treater leaves your doorstep - Or a Turkey Denier - wait, Thanksgiving is THIS week??? The holidays can be, um… complicated.

For our special Holiday pre-game episode, we’ve tapped into the font of awesome that is Gretchen Bertrand. Queen of Badassery, Gretchen ditched the corporate grind after working for some of the biggest names in the retail space to become an entrepreneur. A visionary with a penchant for pjs, she was ahead of the game creating a luxury loungewear line for the home-based work force years before the plague forced us all into endless (and pantless) Zoom meetings.

Lounge Beauties is so much more than a store though. It is its own ethos… Live. Laugh. Lounge. And whose holiday game couldn’t use more of that and less Pintrafaction?!

In order to help you stop, slow down, and enjoy the season we’ve put together a couple of surprises for you too. Check out our collection of Plant-Based Thanksgiving YUM. Created in conjunction with Functional Nutritionists, these 12 tasty treats not only taste good they make your FEEL good. And while you’re feeling all awesome and stuff, go shop Lounge Beauties with our 20% discount code SHITSHOW. Because you shouldn’t just work your a$$ off to make the holidays awesome for everyone without treating yourself (right) too!

A huge THANK YOU to Gretchen for joining us and for the discount too. Friends from the 3rd grade ROCK.

Do you ever feel like you’re a hamster in a wheel? Just running in circles at high speed until you drop from exhaustion. and somehow your butt’s still big? Us too!

We’ve come to the conclusion that the proverbial hamster wheel is just a part of life. The odds that you’ll get to spend the rest of your days holed up in fluffy bedding with easy access to eats and endless napping just aren’t all that great. So how do we manage to get the most out running in a circle and going nowhere? GET CURIOUS!

Curiosity may be a bit problematic for cats but it could be the key to getting more out of this shit show we call Midlife and even the years that will come after that. We aren’t just imagining things here either. Countless studies have linked positive cognitive health outcomes to continuing to try new things as we age.

This by no means convinces me that jumping out of a perfectly good airplane is still a good idea, but I may consider taking that stand-up comedy class after all. Plus, bonus points for making my adult children cringe at the mere mention of me taking to the stage with a mic!

In this episode Karin and I cover our adventures in curiosity. Like the time I nearly lost an appendage by pottery wheel or when Karin decided to jump on top of boxes despite the specter of hip replacement. We may or may not also have discussed applying hemorrhoid creams to our faces.

Now THAT got ya curious, didn’t it?!

My work here is done. Catch ya in the comments section.

~Lara

Ah, Mother's Day. The obligatory one day of the year (yes, just one ladies - you only get one, even if you were in labor for three freakin’ days!) that we as a society have agreed to dedicate to what may be one of the most essential roles played by women. How do we mark this momentous occasion?

To answer that question we’ve turned to our Midlife Shit Show community. We asked them to share their stories of the good, the weird, the touching, and wholly unfathomable ways in which they’ve been celebrated for months of carrying, hours of birthing, endless feeding, clothing, and pretty much ALL THE THINGING!

You’ll hear the story of a precious hand drawn card beautifully depicting mom’s c-section, bloody knife and all. That time a nursing mom was gifted toe socks with a cow-themed print… because clearly, toe socks alone aren’t bad enough.

We’ll celebrate those small, precious moments when you feel so seen, the earth-shattering time that teenager wanted to actually be with you. And, Lara’s personal favorite… brunch.

Happy day of the moms to ALL the moms out there… birth, adoptive, step, fur. You deserve so much more than one day!

Social media has been all a twitter about GenX responsibility to reign in cancel culture with the younger generations. Have you not met us? We’re the original slackers, fixing this sh*t isn't our thing.

You could say that GenX was the first to experience cancel culture, with the PMRC (Parents Music Resource Center) trying to cancel 80’s rock and all things fun, but we never let that stop us. If only we could cancel menopause and the foreseeable need for adult diapers…

Join us with our first guest Mari as we talk about GenX, cancel culture, 80s jeans, quicksand and the Fonz. Be there or be square... ya know, the 80s version of canceled or like, whatever.

Patchy eyebrows, disappearing lashes, thinning hair, and the unappreciated irony of random hair growing fast and furious just exactly where you don’t want it.

Ahh the Great Follicle Migration. Just more of nature’s not-so-funny little tricks to remind us that we are no longer needed for perpetuation of the species.

Join us as we talk about our midlife hair concerns, and throw down the gauntlet for some solutions that allow ourselves to age gracefully on our own terms.

If you’ve ever hand-pipped ‘fur’ frosting onto a gazillion Elmo cupcakes, setting yourself up for one hell of a repetitive motion injury, only to have your now-adult child completely forget you ever threw them that freakin’ EPIC Sesame Street birthday bash, this podcast is for you. Emotional Support Cupcakes may not be a recipe, but oh dear midlifers they are a thing. And we’ve got them.

What would it look like if you were present in more of the things you do? Could that be the key to really showing up for others? Take a listen to the episode and then come join us in the community for some commiseration, inspiration, and maybe even a themed cocktail recipe. Be warned, the first question we'll ask just might be... do you know of any good skydiving schools?