Relationship Qs My Husband and I Have Never Asked Each Other—Until Now (PT. 1)

Today on the Liz Moody Podcast, my husband Zach and I are answering relationship questions that we have never asked each other in our 18 years of being together. These are all based on real research on what actually makes couples closer. So after you use them to get to know us better, send a link to this episode to your partner or to a friend so you can do all the questions together. These are science back to actually bring you closer and it will spark such good conversations. Welcome to the Liz Moody podcast, where we skip past the BS and get you actual solutions to your real problems so you can feel as good as possible every single day. What's something that we argue about that you think is actually about something else? So I think like we will argue about like chores, doing dishes or something else like that. What do you think that's really about? I think it's about us feeling spacious with time and like feeling like we have the bandwidth to like do things ourselves. I don't think like none of us are like really care about doing the thing, but like feeling like you're behind on something that like lets somebody else down. We argue about money. And I think that's really about safety. If we argue about money, I do think you're right. Money feels like it is it is potentially the difference between safety and not safety. Especially as noted, I tend towards anxiety. And so I think I want a little bit more safety. You tend towards wanting to feel more safe. Yes. We rocked that. we navigated that difficult terrain with a plum. What's easy for us that might be hard for other couples? We have done professional work together a good bit over the years. And I think we probably have more infrastructure for how to like work with each other professionally. Like if we wanted to like work on a project, I think you and I have now worked on enough like business related things. You hate my design feedback. Some of your design feedback could use work. And there's like a little bit of scar tissue there too, right? Like, I've like done your websites in the past, not for years, but like when we were back in the day, like, yeah, I would like do a website for you and you'd be like, ooh, it's like a little floofy. And I'd be like, that's not a word that we use to describe feedback, right? Like, is it too this? Is it too that? You're like, it's too floofy. And you're like, oh gosh. I want it to be shinier. Shinier. Yeah, exactly right. Just make it a mirror. I think because we've navigated like a professional and productivity based stuff together, I think we have more infrastructure of that than like maybe your average couple. I think we might have a little bit of an easier time navigating weekends and free time than a lot of the couples that I know. I know for a lot of them, they have really different interests. So maybe one partner wants to spend a day golfing or watching sports. And the other partner would rather have quality time doing a walk together or brunch or something like that. I think in general, barring like adventures. But I like a low-key adventure. I like some novelty rule in my life. I just don't need to do it at the top of a mountain. But barring that, I do think we mostly like to do the same things with our time. And I personally feel quite blessed that you're not like a golf guy where you go golf all weekend. You like watching tennis, but you're not like we're not losing whole chunks of our lives to things that we don't really share as interests. That's true. But it'd be weird to see if we had like if I like picked up a deep love of some sort of incredibly like time consuming activity or you did. Yeah, what could I do? Just be a big like football fan or something like that. Yeah, I've tried a few times. Go sports. Go sports. Yeah, I don't know what it'd be, but I do think that that makes navigating time together a little bit easier. Okay, and this is sort of a part two. What's hard for us that might be easy for other couples? I guess that's the question. What's hard for us? Deciding whether or not to have kids. Yeah, I think some people like were. Almost everybody I know has had an easier time with that choice than I feel like I have. I don't know if you feel that way. I think that tracks. Nothing else to say about that. We'll just tidily walk away from that one. Okay, cool. Other than that, we're perfect. Yeah. In what ways do you think we're the most similar? And in what ways do you think we're the most different? Ooh, most different. Most different is you have a work ethic that is bananas to me. Like you can sit at a computer and just work, work, work. You have an ability to do things you don't want to do that I feel like I really lack, including dishes, cleaning stuff, house repair stuff, and also like sitting at the computer and like work, work, working until something's done. It's so interesting you say that because like I see you do the exact same thing. But I think it's sometimes really hard to like when you see somebody else who they have like a very good skill set in something or like that's like their zone of genius. like you can watch me sit down and do something that's like very like foreign to you conceptually and you're like whoa what's crazy and like but even like the dishes you're like the dishes need to be done so i'll do the dishes we need to pack for this trip so i'll pack and i will eventually pack or eventually do the dishes but first i'll be like oh like i don't want to and blah blah and i feel like you're really good at just being like no this thing needs to be done drag my feet for stuff yeah i drag my feet for a category of stuff that i think you don't drag your feet for Like I'll drag my feet, sit on an email or something like that for like a couple of days and just be like, man, this is eventually this problem will become stale in somebody else's. And like, I'll just like not have to deal with it. Right. You're much more be like, oh, I'll keep the conversation going. Like we're going to get to the resolution. You don't like things like sitting in your head in a way that I think maybe I'm more comfortable just like letting them like marinate there until I forget about them. I think socially we're a little bit different, too. I like to be the life of the party while I'm at the party. And then the second I don't want to be at the party anymore, I really don't want to be at the party. Yeah, you hit a wall. I hit a strong wall. And I think you don't maybe want or need to be the life of the party as much, but you can last longer within the party. I'm happy just being a good part of the party. Yeah. Right. Me too. I'm a— Oh, I don't get my favorite thing. You said sinner. Sinner was your word. No, I just—I'm spending a lot more energy at the party making sure everybody's having a good time. I know. Yeah. I know. It's important to you. We're both ambitious. we both love nature you love adventure nature yeah i think you love a more a more calm pastoral nature than i do beautiful nature with no danger and i think you like you definitely like danger more than i like danger i mean no one loves danger do you not think you get a little like when you're like i want to hike to the top of a mountain i think our definition of danger is different. I don't think it's dangerous to hike to the top of a mountain for most parts. Well, you're like, but lightning could come and kill us all. Yeah. Remember in Bend when you you were like, I'm going to go do this like crazy hike one day. And I just it wasn't that crazy. I've never woken up and been like, I want to do that. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But none of that was dangerous. It's probably like more dangerous to bike in traffic than it is to like walk to the top of. I don't like to do that. Yeah. But like people people commute on a bike all the time. Right. You know, like your actual risk factors are not the same. Like what? The sprain and ankle? There's more like dangerous stuff that I do do. Like I'll go backcountry skiing or something you have to consider like avalanches. There's some risk there. But the risk isn't why you're doing it? No. Why are you doing it? Fresh powder. A little pow pow. Okay. You like skiing and I don't like skiing. That's true. I think skiing is insane. Yeah. I like to go fast. And I. Yeah. That would be a very, very big difference. What perception of me did you have when we met that you ended up being completely wrong about? Interesting. I thought she was tall. Wasn't concerned about that. Did you think I was more of a party girl? Yeah, I was. Because when we met, like, I don't know if people know this, like, you were smoking cigarettes. I think your Facebook photo at the time, which is a dated comment, was like you holding a handle of vodka. In a bra. In a bra at a party. Like only a bra. The turntables have turned because I don't wear bras anymore, but I do wear shirts. Sure. I think when we met, I was like a crazy and wild type of girl. And I think you still are. I want to find me in like a little more. Exactly right. I miss that. Lean in. Yeah, I'm like, how does one bring that into their lives without bringing cancer into their lives? But also I'm like, would a wild person say that? It's funny because like, yeah, we're signaling things that are bad for you, but like the drinking or the smoking or anything else like that I don think that is what I trying to capture I think it more of like a free flowing not giving the proverbial fucks being a little bit more crazy and wild I was sort of modeling my life in college when we met off of the Penny Lane character in Almost Famous. So I had her coat and I love the idea of picking, I'd pick up and like go to a different country at a drop of a hat and I didn't have any money. So I'd just be like roaming around that country and having these adventures and meeting new people. And I do think that I could stand for a little bit more of that energy in my adult life. You guys ask me constantly if the hype around red light is real. And the answer is yes, but with one huge caveat. Most of the devices on the market aren't actually powerful enough to make a difference. But if you get one that is, it can transform your skin, your pain, your energy, your hair, even your mood. I know it sounds too good to be true. So here's the science in the nuttiest of nutshells. Red light targets your mitochondria, the powerhouses of your cells, giving them more energy to repair, regenerate, and function better. That's why you get the local benefits wherever you're using the red light, so you get like less knee pain or cramps or better skin or thicker hair. But also because you are helping your mitochondria, you get general benefits like more energy and less anxiety. There are literally thousands of studies spanning everything from faster recovery and healthier thyroid function to reduce depression and anxiety, reduce joint pain, skin and hair health, all because the light works on the mitochondria wherever you place it and on your body as a whole. The huge problem is that the vast majority of red lights on the market are nowhere near the right dose level or what's called a radiance to actually have those benefits. That is why I love Loombox. It was founded by a doctor who could not find a device that actually met the studied standards to have real results. So she made her own. It is a lightweight portable panel. You can hold it in your hand. So you can use it for your face. You can use it for your scalp. You can use it anywhere that you need it. It's really easy to travel with, which is so nice. I love putting it on my head for headaches and it is a godsend for cramps. And of course, I use it every single day on my skin. Each bulb emits both red and near infrared light. Wavelengths and irradiance are third party verified. It's FDA registered, which is so rare. It's really less of a beauty gadget and more of a medical device that also happens to be great for beauty. So if you have been curious about trying red light therapy, Loombox is the one that I would recommend. And right now you can get 40% off, 40% off when you go to theloombox.com slash Liz. One more thing, if you have an HSA or FSA, Loombox may qualify as a medical expense through TruMed and qualified customers save about 30% on average. You can head to trumed.com slash Loombox to check your eligibility before you buy. True Med is for qualified customers. HSA, FSA, tax savings vary. Again, though, go to theloombox.com slash Liz for that 40% off. I've been drinking Element every single day for literally years. I usually use one packet a day, but I break it up and I kind of spike my water throughout the day. So it makes my water taste amazing and it helps me stay consistently hydrated, which for me means more energy, fewer headaches, and way clearer thinking. That's like probably the biggest difference I noticed is my brain just works so much better. Research actually shows that you hydrate better when you sip throughout the day instead of chugging all at once. And Element makes that so much easier because plain water is honestly so boring and I just will not drink enough of it otherwise. I even use a glass straw because research also shows that you will drink more water if you drink it through a straw. Right now I'm obsessed with the lemonade salt flavor. It's my favorite hands down. And Zach and I fight over who gets the last packets that we have left. Although I also love watermelon, but like lemonade, it's so good. I also love muddling a few raspberries in a glass and then I'll add the lemonade Element and then I'll sip it all afternoon or I'll use it as like a fun little mocktail. Element is a zero sugar electrolyte drink mix with no fillers, no dodgy ingredients, and it delivers a powerful dose of sodium, potassium, and magnesium to support real hydration. Electrolyte imbalance can cause headaches, fatigue, cramps, and brain fog, things that so many of us deal with daily. You can get a free eight count sample pack with any order at drinkelement.com slash Liz. It is totally risk-free. If you do not love it, they offer no questions asked refunds. You truly have nothing to lose. Go to drinkelement.com slash Liz. Also at the same time, like we do get to evolve from our 20s when I think people are a lot more like that. Your arc of becoming somebody who isn't just like, like makes sense as like a human, like a human arc. I don't want to be like, but I want to be like, you know? Sorry, how's that again? Like a little bit more. I keep listening to the Ella Lightly song, and she's like a dandelion, like, you know, in the breeze. I wouldn't mind being a little bit more like that. Perfect. Mine for you, I think, has a little bit less to do with you and a little bit more to do with my age when we met. You were 22. You had just turned 22. I was 21. And it was still that phase of life where I was like, men are a completely different entity than women. So I think my perception of you was that you were this like cool, sporty guy. You had been in crew. You had all these, I don't know, like athlete friends. You didn't seem like the type of guy to me who would be very in touch with his emotions or feelings or be open to vulnerable conversations. And I think that was based on a lot of stereotypes that I had about what it meant to almost be like a cool guy, which is what I certainly perceived you as when I hit on you. And I think the pleasant surprise has been like, oh, Zach is a human being with the full spectrum of humanness. And that's been a very pleasant thing to discover over the years. That's nice. I appreciate that. Yeah. Not being a caricature of a person, I think, is one of the great things about, you know, getting to know somebody over like all the time. Yeah, I'm curious how much you feel like you were taught growing up that like men don't have emotions and they can't talk about this stuff. But I kind of was taught like, don't go to the guys for that. Go to the women. And I've been only pleasantly surprised over my life as I have created the space for men to want to talk about these things. If that makes sense. It makes sense. I feel like I got really lucky to grow up with a group of guys that were relatively in touch with their emotions as much as any like non Gen Z high schooler could be. if you could trade places with me for one week what would you do differently oh gosh like what I do differently for you in your life probably have you rest more I think you don't let yourself like really take time off and you know what I also think that when you do it's often like scrolling and I think this happens to all of us right like we get tired at the end of the day we want to reach for something kind of just like cathartic and easy and have you maybe take your breaks a little bit earlier, split it up, maybe, you know, go to the gym, read, do some stuff. Like before I've wilted like a flower? Yeah, before you've kind of like, yeah, wilted under the hot lamps of the working day. Okay. Yeah. And what would you have me do with that rest time? Go to the gym? I do go to the gym every day. You're okay with the gym. I think like, you know, I don't necessarily- I guess that's not rest. It's so funny that that doesn't matter. Yeah. Yeah, you're like, you're like, what's the most productive rest that you would have to do? How do I make my productive, my rest into productive? I personally think scrolling is depleting in its own way. So I would just kind of like, pull back, play some games, hang out with your great husband, see friends. Okay, so that was going to be mine for you. If I could get in your body for a day and tinker around. First, I have a list. Did you make these questions from what you wanted to tell me to do? This is all a ploy. Okay, so the first thing I would do is I would have you do some sort of relaxation practice. Like meditation or something like that? Like meditation, breath work. You've gone in and out of periods where you've done it. And I think that you have such a high stress job. I think that's really good for you to have some sort of foundational practice. And I can see a difference when you do something like that. So I'd have you meditate every day, do breath work every day. And then the second thing I would do is I'd make more plans with friends. I would, you know. I feel like I hang out with friends. I feel like you could do more. Yeah. All right. I feel like you get a lot of mileage out of my friends loving you so much. A lot of men maybe rely on their wives a lot for social plans You are a great social planner Acknowledged Thanks What something that you don think I give you enough credit for Oh, everything. Name a thing. No, we've done enough couples therapy that I feel like we give each other a lot of credit. Okay, what don't you give me enough credit for? There's nothing that I don't give you enough credit for because when you feel you are not getting credit for something, you demand it. You're like, excuse me, I just, I just want you to know this is my idea that I had. Or Liz, you remember when I told you to do this thing like five years ago? Just want you to remember that five years ago I gave you good advice. Uh-huh. Yeah. Okay. So would you say that maybe I don't give you enough good credit for your advice? Oh, no, no. You know, if you don't take my advice and things blow up, what am I going to do? I know. Sometimes I forget that you know all. Thank you. Honestly, now I feel like I get enough credit. Joking aside, like that. is a bad habit I have of pointing out when credit maybe was historically due. I love that. It's a bad habit of pointing out when credit truly is due. Well, because you can't do anything about it at that point. I like credit when I, you know, do like fun stuff, like hung a bunch of art recently. That was great. Yeah. I was going to say for me too, it's like the little ways I contribute to our lives. like I wouldn't mind if every week you were like man Liz these are great meal prep recipes this week because I'm the person who runs point on all of that so basically all of the food that we eat I'm not cooking it I'm coordinating with our meal prep person but I'm doing I'm taking that on a hundred percent it actually is like a really amazing zone of genius for you because your background in developing recipes is like so good and it sounds like yours is the same thing where you're like these little things you're doing like you just got us a new shower curtain and you hung a bunch of art in our house. And the other things that like slip into the background that like keep life comfortable and moving. And they're the things that I think we take out of what we consider our normal obligations to each other and the world, right? How often do you need to like replace a shower curtain? It's not like it actually sits outside of like your day to day obligations. And I think those things take a additional thought. They'd be like, oh, well, I have to go do this. And then you have to finish it. And then you're like, now where's my cookie? Like, where's my little like bit of credit for that? And that's always what I think most of us want. What's something that you keep score on in our relationship, even though you know you shouldn't? One of my absolute favorite feelings in life is right after a really good spa treatment when you feel so calm and relaxed and just like ooey gooey in your body. Obviously, I cannot go to the spa every single week, but what I can do is recreate that feeling at home. and honestly, Osea is the biggest reason that I'm able to do that. It is the brand that I keep coming back to when I want a moment in my home that actually feels luxurious and relaxing and not just like part of a routine. My two favorite Osea products are the Undaria Algae Body Oil and the Undaria Algae Body Butter. They are both incredibly hydrating, but even more than that, they have the yummiest smell that I have ever smelled. I cannot overstate how good this smell is. I give these out as gifts because everybody is obsessed with how good they smell. It's grapefruit, lime, cypress, mango, and mandarin. And it smells like a five-star hotel on a Greek island. I've not actually been to a five-star hotel on a Greek island, but this is exactly what I would picture their spa would smell like. It's like warm and summery and sexy, and it's not cloying at all. And I am so sensitive to scents. And it's made with 100% natural essential oils as fragrance, which is really hard to find. And it does not give me headaches like a lot of fragrances do. The secret to the body oil is to apply it while your skin is still really wet from the shower. I actually keep my bottle in the shower so then I turn the shower off and I apply the oil and then I kind of like wait to dry a little bit. Both of them absorb completely with no greasiness and what they actually leave behind is this gorgeous dewy glow. It genuinely looks like you just stepped out of a facial but it's your entire body and you smell so, so good. And the results are not just a feeling. a third-party clinical study found that 100% of women showed significant improvement in moisturization and elasticity, and 100% agreed that their skin looked firmer and less crepey. So it is delivering real visible change. It just happens to feel like you're giving yourself a little spa treatment while you're doing it. Get a spring-worthy glow with clean, clinically tested skincare from Osea. And right now we have a special discount just for our listeners. Get 10% off your first order site-wide with code Liz Moody at oseamalibu.com. That is 10% off site-wide with code Liz Moody at oseamalibu.com. I keep score on doing the litter box for about 16 years. And so having done exclusively a cat litter box for 16 years and having gotten new cats on the condition that I'm not the only one to do it, you're looking at this bank and you're like, wow, I have 16 years of credits in this bad boy. Let's see how, that's nice. It's nice. I shouldn't, but I do. I do. So Zach has not scooped the litter box. Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no. I do the occasional, I do the occasional glamour scoop. I scooped it earlier today when we were moving it to a different location. That was yesterday. Uh-huh. It was, and it was like, you know, the first time in a couple of weeks. You're welcome. A little finger gun there for the people who are not watching. What do I keep score on? I think maybe I keep score on mental load. Like if I had to guess, I think if we sat down and we did Erodsky's like fair play cards, which sorts out all of the different opportunities for mental load and like lets people own tasks. I think we were to do those. They'd probably be pretty similar. But I think often because of the people that I'm talking to and kind of the soup that I'm marinating in, being so aware of how uneven this is in most relationships. I'm always kind of thinking about like, oh, I've taken ownership of that whole thing in my head, or maybe I've asked Zach to do this thing and that's not him taking full ownership, et cetera. And I think if we were actually to do the cards, it'd probably be fairly equal. There is, I think, something smart there, because I feel like I'm keeping track of that to a certain degree, especially having- Which more men need to. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's like one of those things that you, once you have it pointed out, it's like a little bit of like a glass breaking moment. You're like, oh gosh. Well, because society just conditions women to take so much more mental load. For sure. Every part of society from the time we're very, very small till we're dead. So I think it's important to be aware of it, but maybe I'm a little hyper aware of it, especially given that we're in a pretty equal relationship. Sure. What do you need from me that you've never directly asked for? You want to go first on this one? I wouldn't mind more... compliments okay all right i think random like wow you look really beautiful or that was so smart just like direct i feel like sometimes we do more indirect compliments of like great job getting a book deal i don't know like stuff like that not like that yeah good job good job yeah i don't know But like more just like out of the blue words of affirmation are my love language. You feel like you do it. I feel like I do it. But no, it's fascinating. It's fascinating to see like what. OK, well, I have a part two then. All right. No, I have a part two. I think if it feels out of the blue, it like stands out. You know what I mean? So I need to surprise like surprise. Blindside you. When you come in in like a new outfit, you're like, what do you think about this? And I'm like, oh, my God, you look so stunning. You're like not out of the blue. I prompted you. I want it to be like you roll over in bed and say, I can't believe I get to wake up next to somebody so amazing. Sure. And you're like, I'm ass gone, like drooling. That kind of thing. Thank you. Yeah. Compliments that make me feel seen. And then my other one is I really want to be like making out and have you push my hands up against a wall. Noted. Great. Those two. What's yours? I think I'm pretty clear with like what I need. Do you feel like they're met? Yeah. Yeah. Great. Yeah. Great. Okay. Now that we've like stirred up some shit. Yeah. We're going to get into a sweet one. What's a dream or a goal that you've kept mostly to yourself and how could I help you achieve it? I mean very simply we haven like gone on a vacation that been like fully separated from work or family family or like a holiday for the sake of vacation I feel like I'm really in need of like a good quality, like holiday level reset. And I think that would be like a fun. We haven't like done one of those for we had plans like last year and we like the things happened. We couldn't do it. It's just like, yeah, something, something like that. What would be the vibe? Like, are we beaching? Are we mountaining? Are we European? European's a verb, right? Yeah. European. European work. European. Are you trying to relax? Are you trying to be inspired? Oh, I'm trying to relax. I'm trying to relax, but I get relaxation from doing active things. So I want to leave space for active things to also relax me. Okay. It's a little beach mountain combo. My mom just went to Japan and I want to go to Japan. She went without me. she and my sister. Rude. I know, I feel a little abandoned. I honestly hung out with a guy from Mongolia a couple nights ago who said like, there's some really exciting- I've heard it's so beautiful. Yeah, really exciting stuff there. Okay, so Japan or Mongolia? I'm gonna do a little bit more research. I'll get back to you. You'll get back to me. Yeah. Okay, so the second part of the question is, how can I help facilitate this? Oh, just plan the trip. Great. You're such a good trip planner. Speaking of mental load. You love planning trips. I really don't. I'm good at it. It's a honed skill, but I hate it. I've actually gotten very into travel agents at this point in my life because the trip ideally is not more expensive than if you've booked it yourself because the travel agents are getting deals on all the places and that's where they're getting their fee or they're getting paid. But I don't know. I'm not quite deep into it. I'm not 100% sure that it is. But I don't think it's supposed to cost more for us. And then they have the expertise and stuff. I believe that is the plan, but I don't think... I'd be super curious to know that. So how can I help facilitate it? Find a travel agent and ask if they're more expensive. You know what? Probably just like finding time that we can both like help me find time that we can both like carve out of our sketches. Okay. Love a dream I have is. To line dance? No. I thought you wanted to go line dancing. I do, but it's not a dream. Honestly, this is of the same varietal, but we have been talking about having our BBA this year which is our birthday birthday anniversary it's your 40th birthday it's my 40th birthday and it's our 10-year wedding anniversary and so we talked about renting out a place and having a bunch of our friends come and having one day be zach's birthday theme so like adventures and food and like zach food and you know zach food zach food and stuff like that and then the second day would be liz birthday theme so it'd be like liz food like fruity pebbles and donuts and lots of structured conversation and karaoke and massages and stuff like that. And then we'd have an anniversary themed day, which is more about us as a couple. And people can give toasts and advice and stuff like that. And we've kind of like start stopped the planning on it. And I really want to make it happen. And I feel like it only comes up when I bring it up. Like, I feel like I would love your help in pushing it forward. You feel that way and making it happen. I'm glad you said that because we were just talking about it this morning. But I guess you brought it up. I hear you. Okay, let's make it work. Done. Easy. We'll be back next week with a part two with even more questions designed to make couples closer that we have never, ever asked each other before. So make sure that you're following the podcast because we have some very, very juicy ones coming up. This was a bit of a different type of episode for me. So please let me know in the comments if you liked it. And also if you try it with your partner, let me know how that goes. I'm so curious. I'm so excited for you. Okay, I love you. and I will see you on the next episode of the Liz Moody podcast. Oh, just one more thing. It's the legal language. This podcast is presented solely for educational and entertainment purposes. It is not intended as a substitute for the advice of a physician, a psychotherapist, or any other qualified professional. The mattress that you sleep on is one of the highest exposures that you have. Like if it's off-gassing, you're breathing that in for basically a third of your life and most conventional mattresses are loaded with synthetic foams, flame retardants, microplastics, and more. Plus, if it's not comfy, you're going to be tossing and turning. You're going to be really hot. And sleep is the foundation of health. It is so important. Because of all of this, if I were not going to invest in any other part of my house, no other things in my house, I would invest in my mattress. And in fact, I have for years, well before I had much money to spend on any of these things because it is such a big needle mover. The Birch mattress is incredible. It is made with organic cotton, natural latex, and ethically sourced wool. So it has literally no off-gassing. You can not smell anything right when you unbox it. It has no microplastics, no synthetic foams or flame retardants. And the wool makes it so breathable, which if you've listened to this podcast for more than five minutes, you know that I run very, very hot. Like I am a furnace. Zach has basically accepted that sleeping next to me is like sleeping next to like a little fire. And the Birch mattress has been a game changer for that. It's made me sleep so much better. Like I can see my sleep score going up because I'm not hot all night long. It's also hypoallergenic, which is really worth paying attention to if you find yourself waking up stuffy or congested. Dust mites in a conventional mattress can actually impact your breathing and your sleep quality without you even realizing it. And again, we need to be able to breathe to get good sleep and getting good sleep is the foundation of our health. And then comfort wise, Zach sleeps on his back and then I sleep on my side and my stomach. So we have two completely different sleep styles and we both wake up feeling really good, no aches and pains. CNN actually named the Birch mattress, the best mattress for side sleepers and Wired named it the best organic mattress period. So there you go. Birch has options for every kind of sleeper in your household. They have three firmness layers. I like the Luxe Natural, which is the medium one. And then parents, they even have a Birch Kids natural mattress. Birch ships right to your door. It sets up in minutes and it comes with 120 night risk-free trial. So if it is not for you, they will pick it up for free. You have nothing to lose here. I want all of you to enjoy a deep, restful night's sleep with a new mattress from Birch. Go to birchliving.com slash Liz Moody for 20% off. That is birchliving.com slash Liz Moody. and you're going to get 20% off birchliving.com slash Liz Moody. If you have headaches, allergies, brain fog, skin irritation, or you've been dealing with hormone issues, you are especially going to want to listen to this ad. Every single thing that I just listed has been linked to chemicals and household cleaners. One study found that regular use of cleaning sprays was associated with a lung function decline comparable to smoking 10 to 20 cigarettes per day. Synthetic fragrances are a well-documented migraine trigger, and a number of studies have linked ingredients in common household cleaners to fertility issues, thyroid dysfunction, mood changes, and more because of their impact on our endocrine systems. Luckily, you can just make one simple swap and you can eliminate all of those risk factors that you get from common household cleaners. Branch Basics makes cleaning products that are plant and mineral-based, completely fragrance-free, and made safe certified, meaning they are screened against thousands of known and suspected harmful chemicals. And best of all, you literally use one product, but you mix it with different amounts of water to make your kitchen spray, your bathroom cleaner, your laundry detergent, your produce wash, your glass cleaner, literally everything. It does not smell. It does not give me headaches. It does not give me rashes or itchiness from clothes because you are, remember, we're using this for laundry. We're using this for literally everything. And it works so well. Everything gets so clean. And I know that I'm protecting myself from all of those long-term issues too. And I'm protecting my kittens who are much tinier than me. So anything they're exposed to has a much greater impact on their little tiny systems. And they're running around on their little paws and then they're licking them. So I'm protecting them too. Branch Basics is now available at Target, Target.com, Amazon, and BranchBasics.com. So it's easier than ever to make the switch. And if you wanna grab their premium starter kit, you can use code LizMoody for 15% off at branchbasics.com. That's code Liz Moody for 15% off the premium starter kit at branchbasics.com. And when they ask you where you heard about us, please make sure to mention the show. That is branchbasics.com and use code Liz Moody.