Found in Fishers

First Snow of the Year

Happy belated Thanksgiving! We decided to miss the big traffic rush out of the Chicagoland area and head home to Fishers on Saturday. Good thing because we woke up to snow! I know they predicted it, but it just seemed too warm on Saturday for snow to fall already. Saturday afternoon I put the lights on the railings and bushes outside, cut down the remaining mums, and cleaned up the porch. Good thing because I would not have wanted to do that today.

It was much better today to start putting up some inside Christmas decorations with the fireplace keeping the room warm. I put up my Christmas tree collection for now. I even added 2 more trees this year. They are placed on top of the fireplace. Have to wait until the carpets are cleaned on Wed to put up the tree.

I am glad to be home in my own bed. I love to visit up north but nothing beats your own bed. And, with all the holiday eating, I had some wicked dreams. One dream was that we moved back up north and bought our old house back. It sure was weird. I have been having some weird dreams this last week. One night I dreamed that all my black clothes were really navy blue and I was upset throwing things out of my closet. Yikes I need better dreams. I like the romantic ones not the ones about weird clothing colors.
As we start another new month, here's to sweet dreams!

The big reveal

Sarah created this atmosphere that there was going to be some BIG secret to reveal. She was the one who made it sound like it was going to be a big deal. She should have known that anything really big would not have been done in a game format but it was still fun. So what is the big secret? Well... It has to do with Mark. He got a hair cut. It is rather shocking. Mom and Dad were both totally shocked when he came in the room last weekend and removed his hoodie. They would not stop staring. John was speechless, you know that is amazing in itself.

Mark has been growing his hair for the past 4 years. As it grew out of his traditional short buzz-cut from middle school it got darker and curlier. It actually looked kinda cute until last year when he honestly started looking like a homeless man. It is not that I don't like long hair. And, band kids tend to wear their hair longer. It is just that he looked like a puppy or a mop. He would get his bangs trimmed from time to time but really just let it grow. Since this is his senior year and he is now working, I thought it was important for him to always make a good first impression. The first step was getting rid of that mop on his head. It took several weeks of discussion. Not necessarily because Mark did not want his hair cut. Rather it was more about change. Those who know Mark know that he does not like any kind of change. That is one reason why he owns multiple pairs of the exact same pair of shorts and pants. It is why he has the same t-shirts in multiple colors. Even has the same work polos, just different colors. He claimed he would and did get it cut after band season. The first step was pulling his hair into a pony tail. The gal, a licensed professional with a special tool, cut the first pony tail about 5 inches long. I saved a lock. You should have seen the floor. Then little by little the hair fell to the floor. It really was shocking. On the first day back to school, one of his teachers did not recognize him. His friends at lunch applauded him when he came in the cafeteria. All of our band friends continue to tell us they have to take a second look because it is such a huge change. Fortunately he does like it! Now his says he has to keep it like this.

You should have been in the room when Mark entered in his tux and new hair cut. After all, Sarah was the one that demanded Mark deliver the secret and wear a tux. She and Liam pulled a blanket over their head and then the big reveal occurred. She was shocked but then said, "This is it?" She felt let down, the wind out of her sails. Well, that is what happens when you have an active imagination. Sorry Sarah but it was a fun week. Blog readership increased tremendously both because of the clues and your goofy guesses. We will have to come up with another great game!

It's time for some comments

I feel it is time for me to comment on the guesses that have been made by Sarah. So here I go:

It is not a jacuzzi. I don't go naked in cold weather.
It has nothing to do with home improvement, well then again it is an improvement.
Ferrets and squirrels smell.
Black high heel shoes hurt my feet.
Political parties aside, the Obamas do make a good looking couple.
House is a great show but still not my favorite.
John is not allowed to call staff members until he learns to live with less sleep.
I don't participate in illegal behavior.
I don't like the way cigars smell.

And now for some clues..

A particular tool is needed to create this secret.

This secret is reversible but not immediate.

The secret can be revealed in any location so it is not dependent upon being at my home.

I just got off the phone with Sarah. She will be arriving in Fishers on Saturday morning and has demanded that Mark deliver the secret while dressed in his tux with the secret in an envelope and confetti and balloons. I will be ready with my camera to capture the moment. She wants it to be a "Oscar-like" moment. And the secret is....

Not even 3 hours

Sarah had a great secret but wasn't able to keep it longer than 3 hours. The O'Brien's have a new dog: Deagan. He's a German Shepard puppy.  Eight weeks old. His name is Irish for black-haired. I don't know what he looks like yet but she says he's a cutie. Now I have 3 dogs to watch over the holidays in addition to my own two.

Sarah and Pat name their pets by the letters of the alphabet. Charlie was the last name so it was time for a "d" name. The ferrets had names that began with the letters X, Y, and Z. I know, weird. I will post a picture as soon as I get one.

Deagan's picture is on Sarah's website www.lostinlansing.com.

Today is the big day!

Today is the day for me to...give another clue of course. It's too soon to give up the secret. But I do have something new to tell you: John started a new blog for his business that you can view at relivethemoment.wordpress.com. Check it out and put it in your favorites. That would have been a let down if that was the secret, huh?

I'm really enjoying this whole secret thing. It's created lots of funny comments and record numbers of people checking the blog numerous times a day. Shoot, I should keep this going until the new year. I know this is driving Sarah crazy because it would me. And Kelli, shame on you for getting the secret out of loose-lips Juan. Now for today's clues:

• John found out about this secret about the decision was already made. You should have seen his face! I wish I had thought of bringing my camera along when I told him.
• John did know that this would happen one day. He just didn't know when or how.
• The secret wasn't as painful as one would have thought.

That's it, keep the guessing going.

Wednesday's Clues

I don't know what's more fun: Creating clues or hearing Sarah suffer. She's beside herself trying to figure out the big change. She is begging my parents to tell her the secret. Let me give you an example of how this is eating at her. First, my brothers will say, "Tell-a-Sarah, Tell-a-gram!" And until Liam was born, she and Pat exchanged Christmas gifts long before Christmas day. Therefore, the fact that I have a secret, she knows I have a secret, she is just dying to know the secret. So, here are today's clues:

• This little secret affects one member of our family much more than the others.
• In order for this secret to "occur" we needed the assistance of a licensed professional.
• The impact of the secret is just not as good if we told you over the phone or in an e-mail. You need to see it to believe it.

Okay, start your guessing again. And sorry, but there will be no clues about how close people have guessed or if people actually did guess. Too bad. I made the game so I get to make the rules.

Today's clue

Wow, Katie. what a great clue! If you didn't already see it check the previous post for her comment. That clue about the bus works well with this little secret. But then again, just in case here are two more clues:

• There was a lot of conversation before this change was made, but I was surprised that I didn't have to give up anything or negotiate for it. That of course makes me happy.
• The people we know from the high school and marching band were stunned when they found out about the secret. So, I guess a few more people do know about the secret, sorry.

The real test will be if my mom can keep the secret and if Sarah can refrain from begging my mother to give up the secret. I have heard a couple of really good guesses.

On another note, I can't believe it's almost Thanksgiving. I worked late last night and was surprised to find a bit of snow on my car. I guess I'm still shocked since we had unseasonably warm weather earlier this month. I am looking forward to some time off and of course eating all of the delicious food that comes with Thanksgiving.

Another secret clue

You cannot imagine how it is for me to keep a secret. I just can't stand it sometimes. And, I am no good at lying so I am glad that I can't slip up and tell some of you. Here are some more clues:

It is shocking to those of you know about how little some of my family members tolerate change.
Those who know about the secret are amazed.
Mom and Dad have seen this secret, Katie only knows about it.
I am not pregnant.

Ok, that is all for now. Keep checking!

We've got a little secret

I have not had a chance to blog because I was trying to figure out how to tell my friends a little secret. So, I decided to wait and think some more. Only 3 people know about this secret, Katie and my mom and dad. So you three be quiet. Now for some clues.

This secret has to do with a pretty big change.
It is a secret I can take a picture of to show you.
The secret has been growing for 4 years and it is now time to reveal it, but not until the end of the week.
Keep checking for clues this week.

Until then, we are busy getting ready for the upcoming holidays! I just cannot believe it is time to start thinking about Thanksgiving dinner. And, with Thanksgiving so late in the month, Christmas will be right around the corner. This year I was pretty busy with the band season and NO fall decorations came out in the house. Therefore, I want to be sure to get my Christmas stuff up over Thanksgiving weekend. I know the Remley's have their lights on the house, ok up but not lit yet. And, I saw neighbors decorating their tree already inside. That is just way too early for me.

Stay warm and enjoy the week.

Here chick, chick, chick

I did not quite finish my stories from fall break so I thought this was a great opportunity. While I was up north visiting with family, Sarah took me on a night tour of work lab, Alpharma. She actually wanted us to ride with her because it was late and she had to check on a test that was running and she did not want to go alone. My first impression, stinky! The smell outside the plant was horrible. It was some kind of fermenting process. It was gross to say the least. Once inside I was excited to see the infamous giant chicken that Sarah bragged about. Alpharma makes antiobiotics for farm animals and Sarah checks the consistency of the antibiotics. First. BIG disappointment. There was no giant chicken. A life size one but she talked like it was 9 feet tall I have a bigger chicken in my kitchen for heaven's sake.

Once inside we followed all of the safety precautions and were told under no uncertain terms to keep our hands to ourselves. Ok,Bossy! We did as told. But I did have a couple Lucille Ball-like moment daydreams. She asked what we thought it smelled like inside the lab. I was thinking something sweet. She said that Pat says it smells like chocolate cake, no it did not. Turns out she was using some kind of vanilla potion she created to make sure the antibiotic was equal throughout the food or something like that. I have no clue what she was really doing. I looked on her desk. No, I did not touch. But from what I saw, I have no idea what she was doing. I must have been sleeping during that part of chemistry class. Oh yah, don't think I took chemistry. A couple things I did notice and was not afraid to share. First, the office is boring. There are no personal affects. No pictures, no decor. How boring. It was not a visually pleasing place.  I think they need for me to come in and help decorate. Second, I don't dig wearing safety goggles. They are not very attractive and make my eyes sweaty. Third, hardly anyone goes through the lab, by that I mean visitors. How boring would that be to talk only to the same small group of people. I could never work in a lab, just not for me. At one point she did ask me to help her with an excel spreadsheet. That lasted about 1 minute as I had absolutely no idea how to run some kind of formula. Glad I only need to know curriculum through 6th grade!