​Oh Em Gee! You guys, I can’t possibly describe to you the sense of elation I currently feel! I did it!
For months, I have been trying to get the newest version of my insulin pump. It’s a closed loop system, meaning that it will communicate with my continuous glucose monitor (CGM) and will self-regulate. I’ll still take insulin for food I’m about to eat like I normally would, but it would prevent me from dropping while sleeping and catch and address any unusual high blood sugars that I might miss. I can’t tell you how excited I am for this. I have pretty decent control, but it could always be better, and this is the answer. It only took about 20 years for me to take this stuff seriously and I want to do the best I can.
I have had to walk over coals to get here! My insurance company doesn’t like to approve anything. A prime example of that is when I first enrolled with them, I was told my insulin pump and CGM were “medically unnecessary” but that’s a whole story of frustration in itself.
To get anything approved, it requires an insane amount of extra hoops and all I can do is call people relentlessly to keep things moving and make sure they’re doing what they’re supposed to be doing...squeaky wheel and all that. Combine that with my doctor’s office moving slower than cold molasses and I was approaching my wits end. I won’t bore you with all the details, but I made at least 20 phone calls trying to get everything figured out.
My doctor’s office had finally called me to say everything was in order and all I needed to do was call this one company and after I spoke to those people, I’d be able to get my items directly from my pharmacy, rather than in the mail as I have since going on a pump several years ago. It felt like I was at the finish line! It didn’t really make sense because I knew the supply company I have been using carried the upgraded version, but I was just following the instructions I was given. Should have know that people who seem to not care about doing their job don’t always know what they’re talking about, even if they think they do. I wish I had asked questions, but I was so happy to get this call that my mind was racing.
Getting in touch with this company was a joke! The first time I called, I waited for someone to answer for half an hour before I decided to call back the next day, but earlier. I’ve been successful by using this technique in the past, so it was worth a shot. No idea why, but it seems most people don’t like to make these calls in the morning, so thank you procrastinators! Second time I was on hold for an hour! AN HOUR! Listening to the same damn message repeat every 30 seconds about someone taking my call shortly. They didn’t even have good hold music. After exactly 60 minutes, it goes BEE DOO BEEP (you know the sound) this number is not in service and disconnects me! I had a breakdown. How can I be so close to something yet so very, very far from it too!? I cried, excuse me, sobbed for a few minutes. I am a stress/frustration crier. I hate it. And when I feel defeated, I need to let it out before I can regroup and think clearly again. I thought it was sweet that the dog was coming to comfort me, but in reality, he shot me with a side eye as he went upstairs where it was quieter. He might have rolled his eyes too.
I took the rest of the day to assess my options. And for like the hundredth time, called my insurance company to verify if they had or had not received the information from my doctor for this stupid prior authorization and they confirmed they had not. Which was confounding since my doctor’s office indicated everything was all set. I called my doctor and left another impatient message. I hate to be rude, but this was borderline ridiculous, and I had a timeframe in which this needed to be completed, and it was nearing the end. I always give them a few days to respond, I understand I’m not their only patient, but also, there is a department dedicated to prior authorizations so it should not have been taking this long.
The next day when I got the mail there was a letter from my insurance company! Dated a week prior! Stating that they have approved everything and here’s the authorization number. I didn’t know what to think! Maybe incredulous is a good word to describe it. How could the person I spoke with just yesterday have zero clue as to what was going on?! All they do is look up my information!
Immediately I call my supply company and ask if this is what I’ve been waiting for. Indeed it is! This helpful person said he’d call my insurance company and get it all worked out and call me back. And he actually did! I couldn’t believe it! Someone did their job!! The sense of relief that swept over me was immense. I could have cried! But didn’t. I fought so hard for this, and to finally have success was amazing! Sweet relief! And as I currently type, I’m wearing the new system! Still learning some things about it, but I was too excited to wait!
Side note: my doctor’s office never called me back 😊

​Having lived in three vastly different parts of the country, one thing I have noticed is the difference of the proximity to your neighbors in each state! In Connecticut we had a lot of space between houses, lots of privacy and thick trees to separate you from your neighbors. Winter was a little dicey because the trees had shed their leaves. Suddenly you could be making eye contact with a neighbor in a position you’d rather not be seen in! In Florida, houses are closer together but there is a lot of greenery for privacy, and everyone has a lanai. For those who don’t know, a lanai is kind of like a screened in porch and usually includes the pool. The houses are fairly close together, but it doesn’t always feel like it. Arizona is a whole different story! They wasted no land here to build on! You have a yard, but you really need to get lucky with a corner lot to have a spacious backyard. Or be wealthy. Properties are defined by a cinderblock wall and the neighborhood Mike and I live in, one wall of the house is right on the property line. So, when we got the house painted recently, the painters need permission to enter our neighbor’s yard to get to that side of the house.
Being so on top of your neighbors sucks! If you have a smoker next door, better get used to it!  As far as the neighbor lottery goes, we could be worse off, but I absolutely can not stand our neighbor’s dog and the fact they don’t maintain their property.
As many yards in Phoenix tend to be, they have rocks as opposed to grass, but it’s still wildly overgrown with weeds. Last summer we got a notice meant for them about the front yard being a fire hazard and to take immediate action. It was slightly funny because it took two morons, the first being the person who reported the disreputable yard with our address, and the second to come out and confirm that there was indeed a hazard that needed to be addressed. Neither of them realized it’s not our yard, despite it obviously belonging to their house.
They also have this huge bougainvillea that’s so overgrown, it’s now fully intertwined with the tree it was planted too close to, I honestly don’t even know what they’d do about it at this point. If you’ve ever experienced a bougainvillea, you know that they are quite beautiful when they bloom but then you spend the next few months with bright pink petals literally everywhere. The placement of it and the lack of maintenance means that twice a year we are constantly sweeping them off our little patio…a fool’s errand if I ever saw one!
Confined to this yard is an obnoxious dog! This poor pupper never leaves the yard for some actual exercise. At least he’s inside the house more than outside. But if we go out into our yard and he too is out, he repeatedly jumps up so he can see what we’re doing over the cinderblock wall, and it gets our dog, Ricky, agitated. After I started spraying him with water as a deterrent, I guess they figured out he was bothering us and will make him stop if they’re around. I hope they had a period of confusion as to how their dog kept getting wet outside! When I walk Ricky in the morning, he’ll also jump at the metal gate that goes into their backyard from the driveway. This is super annoying and also kind of scary. I don’t know if this dog is aggressive, bored or both. I’m leaning more towards bored, but I definitely don’t want to know what would happen should that gate ever be latched improperly and he came face to face with Ricky, who already has an intense dislike for him. Since this dog is forced to do all his business in a tiny area, I can also smell the pungent odor of animal urine wafting from their yard. Picture this: summer in Phoenix…the relentless desert sun baking everything it shines upon… essentially cooking the excrement strewn all about their yard. As someone who wants a pool, I hate that they have a beautiful one I’ve never once seen them use. Though I’m guessing it would be difficult to relax if it smells like you’re inside a litter box!

​Last week, Mike got a second car ‘for funsies’ and is listing his main car on Turo on occasion to help offset the cost of owning a shiny Porsche convertible. Over the weekend we were playing musical cars. The Porsche went in his spot in the garage, the Mazda into mine, and mine outside because it was going to rain Friday night and we wanted the Mazda to be clean for the guy who was coming early Saturday morning to rent it for the long weekend. I was going to get mine washed over the weekend anyway, so I didn’t mind it being outside. We know how to compromise in this house 😊 And living in the desert makes this a weekly errand so it was on my To Do List.
During the process of moving my car from one side of the driveway to the other, I cut the wheel too hard and ran over one of the three decorative lights that are along the driveway. In my defense…I forgot they were there! It didn’t seem like a big deal, they’re plastic, at least one of them doesn’t even work so we were going to throw them away anyway. I looked at the tire and all seemed ok, so I kind of forgot about it.
Wednesday morning, as I arrived at the gym, the light went on my dashboard indicating that a tire had low pressure. When I returned to the car about an hour later, I looked at all my tires and none seemed at all low, so I made a mental note to get it to swing by Discount Tires to get them filled soon but wasn’t really worried about it. It’s not uncommon that as the weather changes, the pressure in my tires needs adjusting and it’s not enough to be urgent.
On Thursday, everything seemed normal. I picked the kids up from school, went to my brother’s house and hung out until it was time to take Paige to synchronized swim practice. As we’re on our way, I hit a small bump and then felt the awful and unmistakable sensation of driving on a flat tire. I was fortunately approaching a less busy street that I could turn into and pull over to assess the situation.
I haven’t had a flat tire in probably 15 years or more, but the process of changing one is not something you forget. I pulled out all the tools and spare form the back of my car and said to Paige: “You’re about to learn how to change a tire!” Interestingly, we had recently seen two ladies obstructing traffic while a nice police officer changed the tire for them, and I told her that when she gets her license, I would teach her how to change a tire so that she would never be helpless on the side of the road, so I was kind of excited to have this teaching opportunity occur.
I failed! The lug nuts were on so tight they just weren’t budging! Instead, I accepted my fate and called Roadside Assistance and Paige called her dad to get her to practice. ☹ To say I was disappointed is an understatement.
She got picked up and was on her way and I’m now just sitting in my car waiting. The ETA was anywhere between 30 and 90 minutes, you know, sort of like waiting for the cable guy. so I said, screw it, I can do this! I got back to the wrestling match of my muscles and the tire iron versus the lug nuts and the heat. HUZZAH! I got it to move! And then I got the next one! And the next one! I was so relieved! And out of breath and hot, my goodness! Have I mentioned recently how hot Phoenix is right now?? This is where my brother showed up and took over though. Not because I couldn’t! Changing a tire is really a one-person job, and obviously he wasn’t going to stand there and watch his little sister change a tire. HA! I am happy I was able to prove to myself that I could have done this. I’ve always enjoyed being able to do tasks that some men think women are not capable of. Would I have been cursing at the hundred-degree heat and growling the whole time? You betcha. But it would have been a personal accomplishment of which to be proud!
All things considered, this could have ended much, much worse, so I consider it lucky events unfolded the way they did. Small miracles!

​I have a hard time coming up with topics to write my articles about. I enjoy writing from experience, and I’ve already covered internet dating and diabetes, so I’m working on gathering data for something to write about. I started researching the effects of doing yoga daily for 30 days and I am loving it! I love having incentive to actually do it, too! Obviously, the main goal is to work on some self-improvement, but history has proven that’s not quite enough of a motivator for me. It’s easy to say, ‘not today’ on a day you’re just not feeling it, but I need to do it every day or the article wouldn’t be accurate. A working title of I Did Yoga for the Majority of 30 Days doesn’t have the same ring to it. It’s kept me accountable and even motivated me to get back to the gym. I’m already wearing most of my workout clothes and carved out some ‘me’ time, so it makes it harder to find an excuse. Actively making myself do things to benefit my physical health puts me in such a positive head space. I plan on continuing the yoga after I finish the research portion. Seriously, it’s only 10 minutes a day and quite pleasant and self-love is vital to one’s overall happiness! I found a woman who has a ton of videos on YouTube. She has a nice cadence when she speaks, doesn’t talk too much and I like her background music. My favorite though was when her dog walked in, kissed her and left. Yoga With Bird, if anyone is inspired by my post to do something for themselves! Namaste, friends.