Welcome back to another edition of Weekend Update. Starting a blog is confusing. I accidentally set it up so that my subscribers (all three of them – my mom, dad, and Lauren) would receive my post in their email rather than going to my actual blog. So, according to my stats, I had 0 readers last week. Now that I’ve figured out the settings, I am excited to see that 0 go to a 3 this week! Enjoy!

Pilates Review

If we’re counting the class I took last Sunday (which the Club Pilates app does), I took five classes this week. The most I’ve taken in a week so far! My goal right now is to go every other day, but going three days in a row this week has me considering maybe bumping those numbers up. This week was a mix of great classes and “meh” classes. Let’s get into it:

Tuesday: Reformer Flow 1 with Renee

On Tuesday, I showed up bright and early (9:30am) for my reformer class with Renee. The vibe was off from the start. By the time class started, only three people were at their reformers and the rest trickled in over the next 15 minutes which was distracting and annoying.

The whole class felt very thrown together – we did maybe three moves on the reformer, then moved to the springboard, then put the box on the mat, then put the box long way on the reformer, then put the box short way on the reformer, then were in front of the reformer, then behind the reformer, then back to the springboard, etc., etc. Just a lot of moving around and setting things up. So much so that out of my one-hour class, I felt like I only worked out for maybe 20 minutes.

At least I don’t have to wash my leggings since I didn’t lose a drop of sweat.

Wednesday: Reformer Flow 1.5 with Maesy

This was a last-minute addition to my schedule. After my disappointing class on Tuesday, I decided to really go for it and try a 1.5 class. I loved it! It was definitely more advanced than a level 1 class but not to the point where I was confused and flailing the entire time. I did a little bit of confused flailing when we were doing a little combo of prance right, prance left, calf raise, calf lower, repeat, all while doing hammer curls with weights in our hands. The problem was probably rooted in the fact that I don’t know what hammer curls are. But that was the only time I could characterize myself as flailing.

We also worked on our teasers which, if you’ve been a day one reader, you’ll know is the bane of my existence. I simply cannot do the damn crunch. However, today, we started the teaser with our legs in tabletop and our arms up, then brought our chests up as we lowered our arms and straightened our legs. And by golly I did it! I wish I had a recording of my face when I found myself actually sitting up. I tried another one later on just to make sure it wasn’t a fluke and I did it again! Good job, Megan.

Thursday: Reformer Flow 1 with Maesy

Two classes in a row with Maesy! This was the first time I’ve done three classes in three days and I was and still am feeling very proud of myself. At the start of class, Maesy asked the whole class if we wanted a real workout or an easier day. I wanted to say that I wanted a real workout, but was afraid of the class viewing me as a suck-up, teacher’s pet so I kept my mouth shut. Someone braver than I spoke up and said they wanted easier. I think Maesy may have taken offense to that because she said we could do that but it was one of the harder classes I’ve been in.

None of the moves were particularly difficult but she had us focusing on having the correct form and matching our breathing to the movements. I think the mind-body connection may be what made it seem harder than normal because I was very focused on doing it right. I’m also waiting for the day for an instructor to crown me ready for a level 2, so I was trying really hard. (At Club Pilates, there’s level 1 classes and level 1.5 classes but the level 2 classes, you need instructor approval to sign up for. Now that I think about it, I don’t exactly know how you get instructor approval and I’ve been too scared to ask, so I’ve just been hoping that I get discovered by an instructor.)

Also. I did the teaser. AGAIN. Multiple times. You may all henceforth address me as Queen Pilates.

Saturday: Reformer Flow 1 with Naaja

This was the first class I’ve taken at the Hybla Valley location and it was probably the worst class I’ve taken at Club Pilates so far. It was kind of doomed from the start when I put the address of the studio into my GPS and it brought me to an IHOP. I am an Apple Maps loyalist even though it has a tendency to deliver me in the general area of where I’m trying to go. I figured this was another one of Apple Maps’ hilarious jokes, so I popped the address into Waze which also told me that the Club Pilates was inside the IHOP. Google Maps said the same. Luckily, I arrived early enough that I could drive around the area until I found it, shockingly not in the IHOP.

I was looking forward to a class that would make the harrowing journey there worth it, but I left disappointed. The studio was very small so there wasn’t room for the box to go at the end of the reformers like the other studios. Instead the box lives at the top of the mat area which makes the mat area pretty tight. At one point we were to do leg lifts while laying down on our sides on the mat and in order for all 5′ 6″ of me to fit, I was basically doing leg lifts in the fetal position.

The class was way too easy. Usually I can leave even an easy class feeling like I’ve worked out because we focus on good form and the mind-body connection or because they will offer progressions to make it a little harder. Not this class. The instructor did not correct anyone’s form or give any progressions. People were flailing all around me, form be damned, and the instructor just walked on by. I tried to focus on my own form but even attempting to block out the others by closing my eyes couldn’t keep me from getting thrown off. Boooooooo.

Making This House a Home

During my brief and unsuccessful jaunt into the world of drinking, I became fixated on adding a bar area next to our pantry cabinet that would also serve as storage for random kitchen appliances that don’t have a space. I once again lost my ability to drink, but I did not lose my bar area fixation. Sobriety pivoted this kitchen addition from an alcohol bar into a coffee bar.

Boyfriend Alex and I headed to IKEA to get the cabinet and to stroll around, planning our future home. We found the cabinet that we needed, however, we were slightly discouraged by the $229 price tag. But wait! The helpful computer catalogue told us there just so happened to be one cabinet in the color that we needed in the as-is section. We scurried down there and snagged the barely-noticeably-scratched cabinet for $81! An IKEA miracle!

We brought it home and built it without incident (read as: I did not snap at him or kick anything). We added a silicone mat to the top to keep any liquid from damaging the fake IKEA wood and set up our little drink station: moving the Keurig, espresso machine, and Soda Stream which cleared up valuable space on the counter. Boyfriend Alex also got me the variety pack of Bubbly Soda Stream flavors and color-coded dropper lids which makes me feel like a chemist. The inside holds all our containers of canned soda, Keurig cups, and extra protein powder. (We are drink goblins).

Entertainment Weekly

Boyfriend Alex and I are both AMC Stubs A-List members (brag, brag, brag). If you’re not in the know about A-List, allow me to preach the AMC gospel to you. When you are an AMC Stubs A-List member, you get not one, not two, not three, but now four movies per week in any format, free online reservations, free drink and popcorn size upgrades, and rewards points. All for a measly $25 a month. ONE movie ticket is $20! If you are going to the movies at all and aren’t an A-Lister you’re doing it so wrong.

This week we decided to get a little more bang for our buck and go to two movies in the theater. Monday, President’s Day, we both had off so we went to a 4:30 showing of Captain America: Brave New World. I have an interesting relationship with Marvel movies. I never particularly want to see them but I always enjoy them nonetheless. I personally prefer a Chris Evans Captain America but this was fine too. I did have to ask Boyfriend Alex who some people were and why the audience gasped when they saw them, but I got the gist and it was a fine movie.

The second movie we saw in theaters was The Monkey, based on Stephen King’s short story. I haven’t read the book, so I don’t know how true it was to the story, but it was set in Maine, so it adds up. I talked last week about how the gore levels of scary movies have seemed to skyrocket lately and this one was no different. However, this movie seemed to be making fun of the gore rather than trying to scare you with it. It was more of a horror-comedy. Although I don’t know if I was laughing more at the ridiculous way people met their end in the movie or the woman who was seated behind us who was cackling with joy when the Aunt accidentally set her own head on fire.

The third episode of season 3 of Yellowjackets dropped on Thursday. I was hoping beyond hope that we would get two episodes weekly rather than one, since the premiere gave us two, but alas, here I am reviewing a single episode. This season is continuing to not disappoint. I am literally on the edge of my seat, counting down to Thursday. We get some crazy poisonous-cave-gas-induced hallucinations which finally delivered a Jackie cameo, we get present-day Lottie, Misty, and Shauna continuing to crash out, and of course, we get past Natalie’s horrible dye job. (Yes, it’s an accurate portrayal as she’s been in the Wilderness for months at this point, but her dark roots make her look like she’s wearing a hat). It’s also interesting to me that Van and Tai seem to be in their own little world. They haven’t been with or even talked to any other character since the first episode and most of their scenes are in Tai’s living room. Tai also seems to be closer to the edge of sanity every time we see her, which makes me wonder if what we’re seeing is actually happening or if this is all an asleep/dark Tai dream. And my final takeaway is everyone seems to be just a little gay in this episode – including Callie. We’ll see where that takes us.

I have done it. I have finished the second to last book in the Throne of Glass series. Once I started reading Tower of Dawn I remembered why I had put off reading it. Tower of Dawn and the previous book, Empire of Storms, take place at the same time. There is an option to read both books together, going back and forth between chapters which I did not do. Empire of Storms ends in a major cliffhanger for Aelin. So, I was frustrated by going back in time to hang out with Chaol rather than knowing what’s next for Aelin. I was only resentful of the timeline for a little bit and this proved to be one of my favorite books in the series so far. I really enjoyed all the new characters and how it all ties into the previous books. Sarah J. Maas, you are a mastermind schemer. And although I was initially peeved to be spending so much time with Chaol, now that I’ve started the next and final book, Kingdom of Ash, I’m finding myself annoyed that Chaol doesn’t come back into it until page 65!

I am a little worried that Kingdom of Ash is going to throw off my pace of reading one book a week as it is a whopping 980 pages. But, the goal remains to have this beast conquered by next Sunday. And if I don’t finish it, it’s fine. No one has a gun to my head (right?!).

Rant of The Week

I had a lot of rants to choose from this week – it seemed that the world was intent on pissing me off over the last seven days.

The inconvenience that threatened my sanity/life the most, however, was *healthcare*. As a mentally ill diabetic with an immune system that barely exists, I am dealing with the healthcare system constantly. I was utterly shocked to learn that normal people see a doctor maybe once a year. I’ve got a whole team comprised of endocrinologists, primary care doctors, psychiatrist, therapist, and the newest addition: orthopedic surgeon.

This week just so happened to be a week where I was in contact with all of my doctors: I met with my psychiatrist to assure her that my Prozac wasn’t telling me to jump off a building and I met with my therapist to talk about what to do if my Prozac does tell me to jump off a building.

I THOUGHT that I was going to meet with my primary care doctor so that he could give me a referral to see an orthopedic surgeon so insurance will cover it and also to beg to get my hormones tested to see if my night sweats are caused by my medications or if I’m secretly dying of an unknown cause. However, after driving 30 minutes to the office, I attempted to check-in only to find out that my appointment was for March 19th and NOT February 19th. Whoopsie.

I was also in contact with my endocrinologist because my Dexcom continuous glucose monitor (CGM) malfunctioned and five sensors did not work, which means I am out of sensors five weeks early. My CGM sensor is what tells my insulin pump what my blood sugar is and my insulin pump uses that information to determine how much insulin to give me. So in order for my pump to keep doing it’s job automatically, I need to have a sensor on at all times.

My endocrinologist put in an early refill for the sensors but insurance said “Not so fast, you need to wait five weeks or that will be $500 out of pocket.” So then I had to go to Dexcom support to ask them to send me replacements. They said, “We need the serial numbers off of the sensors.” I said, “I threw them away.” They said, what’s your email address? I told them. They said “Wrong”. I said, “That’s my email address on my account, it says so right here on my app.” They said, “Please hold.” 20 minutes later they said, “Have you ever lived in Iowa?” I said “Yes.” After two hours of that, I am getting my replacement sensors.

All’s this to say – I’m tired. And I’m thinking of hiring a personal assistant just to deal with medical issues for me. My mom used to be my medical PA but was shamed into not making my appointments for me anymore once I got to college.

In’s and Out’s

In:

GoodNotes

Apple straw chips from Aldi

Federal tax returns

Out:

Potholes

Diabetes

Virginia State tax returns (Only $61? Really?)

Ta ta for now,