#claireified

[itsbeenclaireified]

I’m back on the dating apps and it’s wild what a disregulating experience it can be. Like I matched with a 24 year old (I’m 33) and proceeded to spiral and cry in therapy about it.

[itsbeenclaireified]

I last minute bought some flood lights to try to make my street not PITCH BLACK, and convince kids to come down to get treats (Caprisuns and kinder eggs). I followed my tradition of watching muppets haunted mansion and young Frankenstein, and had a delightful little time.

This October snuck up on me and Halloween as well. Was it because I was busy with work? With life? Sad? I’m not entirely sure. But I didn’t really decorate because I was like well it’s happening in 3 days and you then what? I still have some of the Christmas stuff on the landing (I’m a mess). But then I was like no it’s for me, and put out some stuff and grabbed my Halloween box and put out my favorite shelf guys

And tonight I’m going to a party where I’ll be a Louvre robber, here’s when I wore it to work this week

And since we’re on it, last weekend I did run a Halloween 10k and it’s the furthest I’ve ever run and I ran the whole way (who am I???). And it rain and I nearly cried twice because I saw an eagle fly over me and for the last tenth of a mile before the end a woman dressed as a black cat was in front of me and it made me think of Trixie.

[itsbeenclaireified]

So, Trixie unexpectedly passed away last night.

I was cooking dinner and I heard a thump, and she was limp and unresponsive. I rushed her to the emergency vet but I think it had happened instantly. The vet guessed that because it was so sudden and she didn’t have any other symptoms it was maybe her heart? Maine coons can have heart issues. I assume it was just a freak thing.

I’m still in shock over the whole thing.

[itsbeenclaireified]

There is a peony planted in my backyard that is actually hard to see because it’s tucked back there, and so I have to remember like WAIT! It’s early summer!! Where is my peony??

Also maybe next year I’ll individually stake the blooms because why are they so heavy!

But they are pretty.

But also it occurred to me I could move it??? I think you can also split them at certain points, so I’m gonna investigate that.

Also TikTok served me a million “how to level your yard” tiktoks and I was like I have a deep hole in my front yard! I’ll practice there! And just as expected it looks worse before it gets better. Gotta wait for the grass to grow and fill in, and also the extra seed to germinate.

Also I’m in a battle of creeping Charlie and it’s dying!! Yes I used an herbicide because I hate the earth (I don’t but obv some people feel that way about herbicide, and honestly I also sort of feel conflicted about herbicide) but it’s my yard and it’s taking it over!!

These and more suburban dad posts coming to you soon.

[itsbeenclaireified]

Listen I’m quite suburban, and I love my garden.

Also I spend quite a lot of mental energy also googling how to fix my grass

lol it’s probably winter damage and I gotta add some seed or something

[itsbeenclaireified]

Life has been full on. My family went to the wedding in Texas and it was beautiful and wonderful to see my extended family.

But then my entire family and at least a couple cousins came down with food poisoning from the food. So the day I had to fly to Chicago I was sucking down pepto bismol and liquid iv hoping that I wouldn’t poop my pants on the flight. Luckily I did not.

So then I get to Chicago and this study is stressful AF because we have to watch our users USE the device and sometimes they don’t remember how to use it so you just have to watch the car crash in slow motion. And then we’ve had problems making sure all the participants show up and there’s just absolutely no wiggle room for any to drop out. So like last night I didnt get to relax before dinner because a nurse called me to see if they could get scheduled.

But one fun thing is my hotel is very interesting because it used to be a McDonald’s headquarters? And the grounds are really nice.

But the last thing is that last night my sister came back to my house and the oven said it was off but it was still running at 425 F according to the oven thermometer. And my sister sent a series of Snapchats to me explaining, but she was stressed and not doing a good job of explaining. And then she also kept turning the power off and she’d loose internet and then I’d get an alert my house lost power and I’d try to call her and she wouldn’t answer so then I thought the house exploded.

So there I am screaming crying throwing up trying to tell her to get one of my parents over. And she did have my dad over but he left his phone at his house so it looked like he hadn’t come over. And they weren’t answering my calls so I was sure they had died and my house was on fire.

It obviously wasn’t and got the oven turned off and according to the internet it’s probably the motherboard going bad. So when I’m back I can probably have someone come look at that.

So yeah I’m ready for the weekend, even though I do have to work tomorrow morning. But then I might get a pedicure and try to relax.

[itsbeenclaireified]

Last weekend I was on a business trip to San Antonio and while it was 90% humidity the whole weekend, I can also say I highly recommend.

The Riverwalk neighborhood was super fun to mosey around on and the vibes were just excellent.

I had really amazing food at a place called Tokyo Cowboy and a bakery called Panadería. Under recommendation from the waiter I ordered a burger and it’s easily top 5 burgers I’ve ever had. Maybe even top place but it was just so good I forget all the other burgers I’ve had in my life lol.

And I’m already forgetting the pizza place I went to: Dough. And yeah their dough lived up to the hype.

My cousin is getting married near San Antonio this fall and I’m already like…excited to go back??? Like what a plot twist.

[itsbeenclaireified]

We did it Joe!

I finished my closet install, and even did it the “right” way. Meaning I even painted the interior.

When I was in the throws of my Covid vaccine and desperately trying to recapture my weekend productivity I thought “I’ll just hang it without paint”.

And like yeah that would have been fine, but I’m glad I painted and also waited until my brain wasn’t melted because getting everything drilled in properly took longer than I thought and I would have melted into a puddle if I did it while ill.

Technically this happened last weekend but I’ve been so busy getting everything ready for my big study at the end of the month. But my craft room closet is done! And my craft room has never been so empty in the room itself? Because now there’s actually room to store things in the closet!