Breaking the Ice

Alaina Cross, wife of Tommy Cross, who plays for the Charlotte Checkers in the AHL, joins me on the podcast today!

Alaina and her sisters own Balanced Beyars Health and their mission as health coaches is to help women live life in alignment to their cycles. In this episode, we talk about how most of us grow up misinformed about our bodies due to the lack of education and all studies being done on men. She talks about cycle syncing, the four phases of our cycle and how we should eat & exercise during each phase. We talk about hormone imbalances, birth control and SO much more.

Alaina breaks down so much information used analogies that actually made sense for me to remember this info! This is such an interesting episode and I truly learned more about how our cycles work in the hour that we talked than I have throughout my life!

P.S. The best time to go to a hockey game is during the first half of your cycle in The Follicular and Ovulatory Phases. Your energy is going to be high here and you'll feel more outgoing & upbeat, which is perfect for enjoying the game with other girls.

Check out Alaina's business here https://www.balancedbeyars.com/ and use the code: breakingtheice for 10% off their POP (Power of Periodization) program. 

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https://www.balancedbeyars.com/offers/tzr7zphv?coupon_code=BREAKINGTHEICE

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You can also find them on Instagram www.instagram.com/balancedbeyars

Shelby Versteeg, wife of Mitch Versteeg, joins me on the podcast today! Mitch finished last season in HK Nitra in Slovakia and when COVID hit, their plans for this season changed. They have had a bit of a longer summer and have felt the stress of waiting for a contract but making the best of the extra time as a family!

Shelby told me some stories that literally had me in tears. She shares about her experience having her son, Sem, in Slovakia and getting their goldendoodle, Henry, in Japan. We also talk a lot about the different cultures in the cities they have played in. If you want to feel like we are all sitting in a coffee shop together swapping expat stories, you'll want to tune in for this one! :) 

Today Meg Graham, wife of Neil Graham, who coach's the Texas Stars in the AHL and Kayla Sheen, wife of Everett Sheen, who coach's the Idaho Steelheads in the ECHL join me on the podcast today!

Throughout me and my husband's time in Idaho (off & on for 5 years) and all three of us living there for the off season, I am grateful to have been able to form relationships with these amazing ladies. It was so fun to catch up and has been a blast for us to see each other go through new life changes over the years; marriage, babies, more babies and seeing where this crazy hockey life takes us.

In this episode, we talk about the differences between being a player's wife vs. a coach's wife, how their husbands got in to coaching, what their day to day looks like, as well as this past season with covid and more! 

Ashley Buck, wife of Brandon Buck, who finished last season in Nürnberg, Germany, joins me on the podcast today! Ashley has been in this hockey world for 11 years now and throughout it all has experienced several moves, languages, marriage, babies, injuries, no payments (to name a few!) They have also met some of their best friends in this lifestyle.

Ashley is the owner of Ashley Buck Photography and the hockey apparel line, Beau and Bex. She was an open book and I love her perspective of this hockey life! 

https://www.beauandbex.com/

Some of the two most hated words from hockey spouses: Long Distance.

Karlee, married to Parker Bowles, who finished last season in Znojmo, Czech Republic in the EBEL, joins me on the podcast today for our conversation about long distance! Karlee and Parker did long distance off and on for TEN years but are finally together again!

They met at a really young age and throughout their time together had clear communication and really understood each other’s needs and wants. They made it work and came out the other side! That’s not to say they didn’t have their bad days (and they definitely wouldn’t do long distance again!) but overall, feel like it made their relationship stronger.

In this episode, we chat about love languages, time differences and all things long distance. I love how Karlee talks about not putting so much pressure on your relationship when you are apart, and I’m not gonna lie guys...I DEFINITELY did this! I felt this pressure to have these deep meaningful conversations for an hour every night and let’s face it….YOU DON’T ALWAYS HAVE SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT and if your conversations get stale and boring THAT’S NORMAL!!!!

Hope you enjoy this epi!

Katie Joslin, wife of Derek Joslin, who plays for Redbull Salzburg in Austria, joins me on the pod today to talk about being pregnant in the pandemic! After being diagnosed with a herniated disk in her back, she needed to lean on family and get some extra help with their little girl Elizabeth. Katie and her husband made the tough decision to separate for the birth of their second child and she headed back home to Canada, while he stays in Austria. 

Her due date is about a month before mine and we spend this episode swapping stories and discussing what it has been like being pregnant during COVID. We share some of our struggles, yet have a lot of laughs and funny moments throughout this crazy new adventure!

Claire Stewart, girlfriend of Lawson Crouse, who plays for the Arizona Coyotes in the NHL, joins me today on the podcast. We talk about her experience in this hockey world and some of the challenges she has endured in her personal life. Before her and her boyfriend met, she had decided to cut ties with the modeling industry, and was cleaning up her life mentally and physically. She was letting go of toxic relationships and focusing on self love, and a positive healthy happy life for herself, by herself. But when the right person comes along, you just know!

Through her life experiences, Claire has really learned to roll with the hockey life punches and make the most of every single experience that this crazy life throws our way! 

Katie Anderson, girlfriend to William Rapuzzi, who plays in Dornbirn, Austria in the ICE Hockey League, joins me on the podcast today to talk about all things career. We cover topics such as, getting a working visa as a girlfriend, finding jobs in your summer or season city to imposter syndrome, not knowing how or where to start and ideas to take that first step.

We have to remember to not compare our year one to someone else’s year ten and realize that our individual personalities are what make us unique and make a business unique. Katie talks about how this hockey life has really allowed her to step into her power, in terms of starting her own business and finding something that she is passionate about! I felt like I was sitting down with an old friend for this conversation! She was so easy to talk to and offered a lot of advice.

Here are a few additional resources that Katie provided below:

Finding work as an expat in your respective country (in order to obtain a visa as a girlfriend since not all countries will allow you to be attached to your sig o's):

https://www.inlingua.com/centers/

Facebook Search Prompts

• “Expat Jobs in [your city/town]”

Google Search Prompts

• “Jobs in [your country/city/town] for expats”

Look up Hotels & Restaurants in your area, don’t be afraid to reach out and see if they’re interested in part-time/seasonal help. You may have to do some of the leg work but oftentimes they will help you with obtaining your visa! 

Finding seasonal work at home:

Is there anything in your town that is seasonal or peaks when you are home (i.e. the tourism season in Alaska runs ~April-September), look into what jobs are available seasonally in your hometown. 

Have a nursing or other medical license? Oftentimes, private practices will happily take on extra help seasonally. 

Bars & Restaurants are also happy to take on seasonal help usually.

Finding online work/building an online career that fits the expat lifestyle:

Facebook & Pinterest are my favorites for finding useful and valuable content/groups. 

Pinterest Prompts

• “build an online business”

Facebook Groups (these are VA specific but you can search so many other types of groups)

• https://www.facebook.com/groups/howshedidthat/

AND lastly, I forgot to mention on the pod that I know so many amazing women in the hockey community also have online product-based businesses! You don’t have to just offer a service if doing your own thing is your thing! 

Stefanie Heid, wife of Chris Heid, who had a career ending injury that immediately led him to retirement, joins me on the podcast today. Retirement from hockey is something that we may be going through now, have either already gone through or will go through at some point in our hockey lives. For most families, this is a rough transition and we want to know the best ways to support our partner.

Stefanie has such a positive outlook on retirement and life after hockey. Her and Chris both believe that hockey was the start to their lives but not the focus and feel it catapulted them into what they were really meant to do. I can’t wait for you guys to hear this episode and I hope it helps someone who may be needing to hear this today!

Stefanie’s husband is now a mental strength coach and helps coach players boost their mental performance so they can become better athletes and people. Check out his website here: 

https://underthebucket.com/

Mimi Franco, engaged to Scott Tanski, who finished last season in Glasgow in the EIHL, joins me today on the podcast to talk about mental health. Mimi and Scott have both lost loved ones to mental illness and are really dedicated to mental health advocacy and ending the stigma against mental illness and anxiety.

Mimi's first season overseas was also the first time her and Scott had lived together. It was a complete lifestyle change having to depend on someone and have the identity as "Scott's girlfriend" instead of just, Mimi.

In this episode, she shares her story, including some of her struggles and the way she overcame them. We talk about the importance of reaching out when you are struggling and she shares some of the tips that help her stay grounded.

I loved talking to Mimi and I hope conversation about mental health is something that we can continue to normalize as a community!