Weight, weight loss, the scale, food—all of these can be very tricky and touchy topics for some of us, especially women. Many of us want to maintain a healthy weight but don't know how to do so. Or, maybe you've tried for years and are tired of the battle. In today's podcast I share two simple tips to help you maintaintain a healthy weight. Yes, th…

Traveling is one of our family's favorite things to do. We love to get away, to experience something new, and to take a break from our day-to-day, but it can also be stressful! Today's podcast discusses 10 tips that can help you have a perfectly planned getaway! Consider your top priorities! What is most important, weather, accommodations, activiti…

Family life is exhausting, tricky, and at times very hard, but it is also very rewarding and full of joy. It has ups and downs all along the way—I feel like we're on a roller coaster ride many days! Some days we feel like we are successful and some days, we don't. In today's podcast, I interview guest Leah Davidson. She is a Nervous System Resilien…

Failing. That's a pretty big term that we use. We avoid the F on report cards as kids, avoid taking risks to avoid failure, and every single day, we experience failure. I can't tell ou the amount of times I hear: "I failed that one." "Epic Failure." "Mom Fail" But we forget, failure is just part of the journey. We think in our minds that it is the …

Success. This is something we all crave and are trying to attain. Success personally and professionally, but what is it exactly? Can any one person define what success means for everyone? The answer is no. Success is in the eye of the beholder. Og Mandino said: "What is success other than a state of mind? Which two, among a thousand wise men, will …

Have you ever been in a conversation with someone and just stopped with one word they said? It either stopped you in your tracks, caused you to pause or think a little, gave you a reason to ask more questions, or taught you something. One word can make all the difference in the trajectory of a conversation, decisions, and day. When one of our kids …

Happy New Year!!! 2025 is under way! If you took a minute to reflect on the past year, what do you see? Do you see a year of Gaps or a year of Gains? When we are in the gap, we see where we didn't measure up. Where we missed the mark and didn't reach the ideal or the perfect scenario. The problem is, is it ever "just right?" Did we ever see the ide…

As we have just celebrated Christmas, the decorations will come down, the carols change to regular music, and family will go home, but Christ will still be there. He is in each and every one of our stories. He's in the thick things and the thin things. Do we see Him? In this podcast, I tell you a story about how we saw Crhist in our story and how w…

New. This is the word I’d use to sum up 2024. We had a whole lot of new experiences, changes, surprises, challenges, and blessings come our way! When a package arrives on our doorstep we love to see what new thing the UPS man has delivered, but when it comes to life experiences, the Rydalch family loves to know what’s going on, loves to have a plan…

This time of year can get a bit overwhelming and stressful with activities, social gatherings, gifts, and parties. I have the best of intentions to enjoy the holidays, but sometimes it is difficult to manage it all! So in today's podcast, we are going to talk about 10 Holiday Hacks to help with the stress! Make meal times easy! Make a list of what'…

Whenever we travel, we love to come HOME. After a long day of school, work, and errands....HOME is the place we all want to be! At home is a place we can relax, let our gaurds down, feel safe, comfortable, and at peace. Maybe it's not necessarily your "home" that you feel this place, but if you have a "happy place" those feelings are the same. You …

Christmas is around the corner! This year Thanksgiving was a little late so Christmas will be here before we know it! As we set into motion our plans for holiday shopping and traditions, sometimes we can get lost in the shuffle and forget the reason for all of it.! Join in this episode as we discuss some gift-giving ideas and traditions, what they …

Sometimes the days can go by at our house when it didn't even feel like we connected as a family, we touched base, and got a chance to catch up! We just go through the motions moving from one commitment to the next! It requires some intentional effort to slow down and put aside what we are doing so that we can have these moments. One of the practic…

What would you say if you could write a letter to your family, loved ones, and friends right now, in whatever phase you are in? What advice would you give? On three different occasions this week, as I have been running around, listening, and studying, I have run into just that. One was titled “Insights from my Life" by Neal A Maxwell. One was in th…

In your lives who would you say is your wingman? A wingman can refer to a pilot in the Air Force or a friend or partner who helps and supports another person. They are there for help, support, backup. Sometimes we feel lost and alone, like we have no one there for support and help or backup. In those times it is good for us to have a list handy of …

Fear is upon us this time of year with all of the scary things in town! The Haunted Forests, Mills, and all other experiences that elicit fear! Fear is something we are all born with and is a very natural state of being for our mortal experience. It is there for protection, but we default to fear all too often! In the scriptures, we hear to "Fear N…

When you start planning for a wedding, a theme, style, and colors are at the top of the list. That is where we began when Dylan and Rachael decided they were ready to tie the knot, Rachael chose pink and saige as her wedding colors and the hunt was on for the dress. I looked everywhere from here to Timbuktu looking for a pink dress, and ordered sev…

There's a scene that I love in the movie Hook: Robin Williams, Peter Pan, returns to Neverland, and the Lost Boys and Peter himself don't believe he is Peter Pan! Peter has been gone from Neverland for years! He has taken on the traditions of work, family life, stress, climbing the corporate ladder, and more. Tinkerbell drug him back to Neverland t…

Is there someone who inspires you? Who makes you want to do better, be better, or give you the courage to try something new? There have been many people in my life who have inspired me! I remember being in awe of Kelly Rippa's arms when she started weightlifting and I wanted to be ripped like Kelly Rippa! That led me on a journey full of exploratio…

Some of us have a morning routine that we stick close to. For me, I get up, brush my teeth, go to the bathroom, wash my face, put my contacts in, change my clothes, and exercise. After exercising I make myself some herbal tea, then sit at my desk and read, write, study, pray, play, and meditate. I don’t venture away too far from my routine, and whe…

When was the last time you said this is awesome! Struck with pure amazement When you were totally in awe Maybe it was this morning Maybe it was last week Maybe it’s been a while! Did you know that the feeling of being in awe is scientifically proven to increase happiness? Research on the experience of awe has found that it can have many positive ef…

What legacy are you leaving behind? Every day we interact with others, we work, play, love, serve, and so much more. What are we leaving trailing behind us as we go? In this week's podcast, we talk about the legacy of Love that Jarred's uncle Butch left behind, the legacy of freedom for our God, religion, and families Captain Moroni left behind, an…

When we make something to eat, we follow a recipe with all the key ingredients to make the meal successful! But what if one of those ingredients is missing?! Usually, that means a quick trip to the store, a call to a neighbor, or a substitution is made to make that ingredient part of the recipe. When it comes to our pursuits in life, and in family …

If you could design and build your very own cruise ship, The Jesser Ship” What would that look like? What activities would be on there, what shows, what would the design be, the different stops, if it was all you and you had to answer to no one what would your ship look like? My ship would be clean. Everything is in its place—a library FULL of book…

If you ask any of our kids where their happy place is, they'd say up in Island Park at the cabin. My happy place, well, it also happens to be the cabin. Island Park has had a special place in my heart since I was a little girl. We’d go up and stay at my grandma’s cabin and go boating in Island Park reservoir. It was here I learned to waterski, wake…

Every single day we wake up with an agenda and to-do list. In a sense, we go to war or to battle to conquer the day. Are we prepared? What are we doing to prepare? In this week's podcast we talk about preparing for our battles and talk about the armor we put on to do this. I liken our armor to football gear that my little grid kid player has. They …

What is the single best thing we can do for our health? What is it that makes the biggest difference? What has the biggest return on investment? Biggest bang for our buck? In a study, people with arthritis who used the "Magic Pill" for 1 hour 3 times per week decreased their pain and disability by 47%. Older patients who did this decreased their pr…

Who's in your circle? Your circle of people you can count on in good times and in bad. Female elephants are a fascinating group of animals. They live in a herd together with mostly just females, one being the herd's matriarch, and the others the daughters. When a pregnant female is about to give birth, the other females in the herd back in around t…

When we had babies, toddlers, and little kids, a routine saved my life. It was the saving grace for all of us to have good days. We had feeding routines, sleeping routines, bathing routines and rituals, nighttime routines, and more. You name it. When I was in the thick of little kids and these routines I would get frustrated and almost resent the f…

With the celebration of our independence on July 4th, we talk a lot about freedom, liberty, and independence. One of the other words that comes to mind when I think of independence is CHOICE. The ability to choose. We were given the gift of agency and freedom to choose from the very beginning. In the premortal existence, this was the basis of the p…

I always love a good recommendation and today I am giving one to you! Inside Out 2 is a must do! Inside Out, the first one, was about a girl named Riley and her brain and emotions. In this film we become acquainted with Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust as Riley experiences a move, making new friends, and the ups and downs that come with that.…

We just had the opportunity to celebrate Father's Day and the men in our lives! WAY back, I did an episode sharing a few things that Jarred and I have both learned from our dads. They are good men who have been a gift and a blessing to our lives! In today's episode, we go back and revisit this episode about our dad's and the influence they have in …

When we catch a common cold or the flu, our bodies respond and usually within a few days, we feel better and we are healed. Sometimes, healing doesn't come so fast. In this episode we talk about healing. Healing from a surgery takes at least 6 weeks of post op care, and then even sometimes requires some physical therapy and some TLC for a year! Eac…

This weekend we’ve celebrated Memorial Day! Memorial Day for us means a 3 day weekend. Sometimes we have baseball games, that we get rained out of, and sometimes we can sneak in a little camping, a little barbeque in the backyard, some yardwork, and some fun, and it means the end of school and the start of summer!!! Memorial Day was a day that star…

Ignaz Semmelweis was a Hungarian physician who discovered the cause of childbed fever and introduced the "germ theory" to the medical world. Unfortunately, it was through his experience of contaminating his patients that he learned that he was the problem. He was the carrier of the disease that led to many deaths in Vienna General Hospital. Like Se…

The school year is quickly wrapping up! With field trips, field days, finals, crazy schedules, and more, the month of May will be over before you know it and summer vacation will be underway! These past few weeks I have loved getting my mail to see graduation announcements from the class of 2024. Friends and families all over are celebrating their …

It's always a pleasure to interview one of my children for the podcast! This week I chat with my son Elder Cody Rydalch! Cody has been serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Costa Rica for the last 18 months. About a month ago, he came home for health reasons and we have had the joy of having him home while we work…

Our bodies go through a lot in a day. They are the vehicles we use to work, play, serve, teach, nurture, and so much more! They require a little TLC! Last week we talked about the Five Pillars to Living well. Sleep Nutrition Movement Sunlight Connection When one of these is ours, we naturally work to compensate by other means. Sometimes we eat more…

Dying Well. What does that look like? When we think of dying well, it means probably with loved ones, home, comfortable, safe, enjoying life, free of pain and suffering. Does living well look the same? I have wondered if in our efforts to die well, we acutually live well. This podcast discusses Five Pillars to Living (and Dying) Well! They are Slee…

Everywhere we go we can find rules and regulations. When we travel to a baseball tournament on the weekends, there are regulations for the number of innings, runs, and pitch counts. The purpose of these regulations is to maintain safety and provide proper rest for the players. Just like a pitcher needs regulations and rest, so do we. We need nervou…

Every single one of us has a problem or challenge that can feel like we are walking around with a 50 pound weight on our shoulders. They can be heavy, burdensom, and tiring. And sometimes it feels like we are completely alone when packing that challenge. I know that I have a tendency to keep my worries and burdens to myself, to not ask for help fro…

There are many times when things go just as we thought they would. When we have planned and prepared and everything goes perfectly, and then there are times when they don't. In fact. As I think about most things, they often look different than I thought they would have in my mind, but it's OK. This week we had a surprise text that followed with hav…

Easter is coming! I love this holiday and the opportunity to reflect on Jesus Christ. A few years ago I was asked to write an essay to enter into a compiled essay book. While the book is still in the works, I am sharing this essay with you today in celebration of the Easter holiday! Mother's Who Know, Julie B. Beck Will You Engage in the Wrestle? S…

As promised, this week we are going to talk about Easter and some Traditions to incorporate with your families. Some of you may do easter egg hunts, baskets, and bunnies, and some may not, and choose to just focus on the Savior, his life, and his resurrection. And some may do both. We try hard to find a balance between both. So I am going to give y…

We all have things we’re pretty good at. I would say I’m a pretty good cook. I’m a pretty good housekeeper. I’m good at exercising. I’m good at taking care of my family. I’m good at something else. Worrying. I have heard myself say “I’m a worrier” I spend a lot of time thinking, and overthinking, about things. Over and over and over. I spend time w…

Every single one of us has stress. We have so much on our plates as we juggle family life, kids, jobs, and the list goes on. We all do our best to manage and deal and cope, but do we understand stress? In this podcast, we are going to discuss the stress response to help us better understand it, and by understanding it, we can help manage it. Stress…

Whenever we travel, one of the biggest stressors is getting through the airport. There are so many security checks and measures. There are machines, security guards, and dogs all scanning for danger or threats. We have an internal scanning system called our Nervous System. Our nervous system is meant to scan for safety, danger, or life-threatening …

This week on the podcast we get to hear from my oldest son Dylan on the Power of Relationships. Dylan and I always had a pretty good relationship, but during his mission our relationship grew and developed. As a missionary Dylan had the opportunity to interact with many different people and companions, and he developed some very valuable skills to …

Rulon D. Pope said, "We live in an age and society where hope becomes expectation, and expectation turns quickly into entitlement." This made me wonder how often some of our hopes may have become expectations. In our relationships with others, we can hope for things, but when expectations arise and those expectations are not met, we have disappoint…

What does love look like? Have you ever asked this question? What does it look like for you!? And what would Love look like in every situation? These are a few places I saw love this week: Love is the random sugar cookie on the counter with a note that said: For Mom, love Meg because she knows I love drink shop sugar cookies. Love is walking away f…