pop nourish

Hello! Wow... It's been a while since I last blogged! Ironically, one of my last blog posts was all about how I was going to do better at being consistent and giving my readers more content. I clearly didn't follow through with that, but I am back now and ready to roll! Let me fill you in on what has been happening in my personal life lately, and how I want to move forward with pop nourish!

I think we can all agree that 2020 has been a real doozy to say the least. Since my last blog post (which was February 4th!!!) a few major things have happened and my mind has been wrapped up in everything but blogging unfortunately.

First things first, I found out I was pregnant with our first baby in the beginning of February!! This has been the greatest blessing of 2020 by far. Since becoming pregnant I have dealt with crazy morning sickness, food aversions, and wanting to eat things I normally wouldn't eat. I felt unmotivated to blog (and cook) for quite some time because I was really struggling finding foods and recipes that didn't make me feel sick. Thankfully things went back to normal for the most part after the first trimester, and I was able to turn my focus back to fueling my body with healthy foods (with a few exceptions 😏) so that I can nourish myself, and my growing baby girl! I am not a pregnancy expert by any means, but if you are interested in what things helped my nausea, and what recipes have become staples during this pregnancy then please let me know, and I would love to do a separate blog post dedicated to food and pregnancy!

Secondly, another positive thing that has happened over these last several months was that I finally completed my Holistic Nutritionist certification AND my Health and Wellness Coach certification through AFPA, American Fitness Professional and Associates. I am so proud of myself for following my heart and signing up for this program. I have learned so much about nutrition, health, and wellness and I can't wait to share my knowledge and passion with as many people as possible! I have a ton of ideas of how I want to use, and build pop nourish, but of course I want to hear from YOU! I would love nothing more than if you would leave a comment below or send me an email at popnourish@gmail.com letting me know how I can best serve you in regards to healthy eating and overall health and wellness.

Next on the list has been dealing with a worldwide pandemic, which I am not alone in! As most of you know, I am an expat currently living in Europe with my husband. When everything first started falling apart in March, Markus and I were living in Jönköping, Sweden where he was playing at the time. We were in a strange predicament of being stuck in Sweden once his season was cut short because we were unable to go to our summer house in Denmark due to Denmark closing their borders. Markus obviously could have gone, since he is Danish but at the time they were not allowing ANY non Danish citizen to cross, even if you were married, a family, or owned property there. We were extremely stressed over this, because we knew we wouldn't be returning to Jönköping the following season, and the team needed us to move out of our apartment. I'll spare you the crazy details, but in mid April we were finally able to cross over and settle into our house for the summer. Although I was happy to make it to Denmark, I was feeling extremely homesick (for Colorado) and I wanted nothing more than to be with my family. I usually go home to the States after Markus' hockey season ends because he joins the Danish National team for the International Ice Hockey World Championship every May, so it felt strange not knowing when or if we would make it to Colorado at all due to the pandemic. I am not kidding when I say I became 100% consumed with following the news, researching rules and regulations for different countries, how we could successfully travel to the United States and back to Europe since we are citizens of different countries, and checking airlines to see when and where they were flying. It was A LOT and I think I cried every day due to all the unknowns.. I know this pandemic has brought struggles and hardships for EVERYONE, and in the grand scheme of things I am very very blessed- but I am just sharing my personal story and how it affected me and my husband.

Finally in mid June we took a leap of faith and booked flights from Copenhagen to Denver. Thankfully all my research and "patience" paid off and we were able to spend three amazing weeks in Colorado. I feel like a brand new woman now that we are safely back in Europe, and I realize how important making that trip was for my mental health and well-being.

The final thing that has been going on in my life lately was planning for, and completing another move! As I have mentioned, Markus (my husband) is a pro hockey player and therefore we move multiple times a year 🙈so in March/April we packed up and moved from Jönköping, Sweden to our summer house in Denmark, and now (August) we moved again from Denmark to Malmö, Sweden, where we will be living for the next two hockey seasons! It is a crazy lifestyle, but at the same time it all seems so normal to me now- but that definitely doesn't make it any less stressful! Now we are all settled in in Malmö, Markus is back to work, and I am back in my "hockey season" routine and man does it feel good!

If you made it through this longgg blog post, thank you!! I am excited to be back! Now that I have finished my certifications, I feel even more inspired and qualified to get pop nourish rolling again. As I stated before, I would love if you gave me feedback on how I can best help and encourage you! Stay tuned for a giveaway, more blog posts, and information on growing pop nourish.

Please feel free to share this, or any of my older blog posts with your friends, families, co-workers, etc. 😊

Stay healthy and happy!

Katie