Linda's Sunflower

My sister Rhonda is doing much better. She had surgery on her toe today, and at least for now, they did not have to amputate it. They cleaned out the infection and shaved a bit of bone for a biopsy. We are praying the biopsy comes back negative for infection in the bone! She is finally in a regular room tonight! Brandon is home! YIPPEE! It was so nice to get a great big hug from him! He got home around 4:15, and then he and Kaleb left around 5pm for the Three Days Grace (and more) concert tonight at the Coliseum. I spent the afternoon at the hospital with Rhonda but got home just in time to see Brandon before they headed to the concert. It will be nice to have him home for a few days. He'll be back again in a few weeks for spring break. It falls at the same time Wichita schools are out, so the kids will enjoy spending some time together. His last day of classes is on his birthday - May 16th. He has 2 finals that day. Oh, and exciting news tonight. Kaitlin made the Madrigals for her...

My sister, Rhonda, is still in ICU at St. Francis. Her blood sugar has leveled off a bit, but she will be having surgery on her toe tomorrow morning. She has an infection in it, and they are going in to clean it out (OUCH!). Though there is a slight chance the infection has reached the bone, x-rays are leading them to believe it hasn't and that they won't have to amputate it. Still praying for you sis! And your kitty cats, Allie and Rascal are missing you! They want you to come home soon! When it rains it pours in our family. We got word late yesterday afternoon that Corby's uncle Chuck died of a massive heart attack in Oklahoma. Corby is not sure how old he was - late 50's we think. R.I.P. Chuck. We are hoping to make it down to Oklahoma in a few weeks to visit with Corby's brother and sister and their families. There are a lot of family birthdays in March! Besides we haven't seen them since Charles passed away in November. Today's quote is from Benjamin Di...

My older sister, Rhonda, is hospitalized in ICU at St. Francis tonight. We had to call EMS twice yesterday, and the second time, at around 11:30pm, we had them transport her to the hospital. Her blood sugar was dangerously low, and in fact, when first found around 3pm, she was basically comatose. They are running a bunch of tests on her, but so far, they believe the medication she had been taking was totally wrong for her. She hasn't been to the doctor in at least 3 or 4 years, but her doctor in Oklahoma was still prescribing the same meds for her. This guy is obviously a quack. My doctor will not continue to prescribe medication without a visit to see him at least every 6 months. Anyway, Rhonda has an infection in her toe, and they believe the infection is also part of the reason they are having trouble regulating her blood sugar. Rhonda, we are praying for you! And today's quote (Heather, the quotes are back!) is: "If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps...

I have to admit - the snow late this afternoon was beautiful, but enough already! I want SPRING! I saw today that Daylight Savings Time starts March 9. I hope we are enjoying some spring weather by then. Here's where I'd like to be sitting on a beautiful sunny spring day. Here's the water tower down the street from us. We did our usual errand-running today. Kaitlin and I did manage to get to the hair salon and there was some cuttin' and colorin' goin' on! Kaitlin wanted to go darker. I really like it. I'm going to have to sneak a picture of her though, as she wouldn't let me take one earlier. I'll sneak a picture soon, so you can see her new glasses and hair style & color! Corby's KU team lost earlier today. We're watching K-State now. I told him he is not allowed to root against them! If he starts to, he's headed upstairs to watch the rest of the game. Brandon is missing the game because he is working. He'll be headed home on Thu...

Corby is very sore from his tumble off the dock on the forklift yesterday. He is also suffering from flu symptoms. Hard to tell whether the aches and pains are from the accident or the flu. I am however urging him to go to the company's doctor tomorrow to get an x-ray of his shoulder. He's having trouble lifting his arm very high. I'm sure there's nothing broken, but I don't want him to have problems down the line somewhere and have the company refuse to pay medical bills because he didn't go to the doctor. However, for those of you who don't personally know my husband, HE IS VERY STUBBORN! I've threatened to show up at work tomorrow, ask his boss where their company doctor is, and haul him in there myself! I probably won't do that, but still..... oh yeah, he also has an interview tomorrow with the person who will be managing their new facility in Park City. He applied for the warehouse position there, and we would LOVE for him to be able to work 3 ...

Here's what's good right now: 1. Corby's OKAY after an accident at work today! He was on the forklift pulling onto a truck when the truck driver pulled away from the dock apparently to reallign himself (WHAT AN IDIOT DRIVER!!!) and he fell off the dock. Thank goodness there is a roll-bar on those forklifts. He has a headache and will probably be stiff tomorrow, but says he is okay. They sent him for a drug test. It's their policy if someone has an accident at work. 2. Feeling much better. I'm about 75% well now. Still have a cough and some sinus issues, but I think I'll survive. 3. Spending today with Kaleb & Kaitlin. 4. Having such good kids. Leeker's just called Kaitlin to see if she'd work longer hours today. They have a lot of employees out sick. She was supposed to work 4-8, but volunteered to work 2-9. Here's a pat on the back hon! 5. Enjoying some Josh Groban music. 6. Cleaning out my file cabinet and getting ready for 2008. I know, I...

I'm headed back to the land of the living. This flu bug sure does kick your butt! After being a total couch/recliner/bed potato yesterday, I've been a bit more active today. My fever finally broke in the middle of the night, and I am not achy all over. I'm still congested and have a bad cough, but I think I've turned the corner on this crap! We did our grocery shopping this morning and managed a quick run to the Dollar Store to pick up a few things for mom and some storage totes for us. The rest of the day I've been vegging in between doing laundry. I'm glad I planned a day of vacation for tomorrow, since I feel like I lost a day of the weekend yesterday! I had planned to do our taxes, but we got a notice at work late last week that our W-2's may be inaccurate. I am waiting to find out if mine is good to go. Oh yeah, along with watching 4 episodes of Miami Vice yesterday, Corby and I watched Snow Buddies. It was a cute, if rather childish, Disney movie abou...

I have such a sweet husband and kids. They've been taking good care of me since I've felt like crap since Thursday night. Corby and Kaleb even went and visited mom today. I didn't think I should drag myself there and give everybody the flu. They had a good visit. While they were gone Kaitlin babied me until she went to work at noon, and even put a Miami Vice DVD on for me to watch. It was from season 5, and Sonny Crockett had gone so far undercover he didn't remember he was a cop. It was 2 episodes, and man did it bring back the 80's. That music! That hair! Those sockless feet! That tanned face! The Miami beaches! Yep, I'm still hooked on Don J. Of course, then Corby got home and we had to switch to the KU game. That's okay. I couldn't sit in the recliner any longer. Now I'm off to bed for a while. Try to stay healthy, blogger buddies!

Flu - cold...flu - cold...flu-cold. Whatever it is sure sucks! There is a nasty bug going around. So many people at work have been or are sick. Add me to the list. I should have gotten a flu shot, but now they're saying they probably didn't help much this year. So, I'll just head back to bed...whinny, feverish and SICK!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

I admit it. I was a huge fan of MIAMI VICE - yes - the TV show staring Don Johnson, not the movie starring Colin Ferrell (sp?). I always thought Don was a hunk, and I have all 5 Miami Vice seasons on DVD. Who can forget Sonny Crockett? Now I must complain - why haven't they released Nash Bridges on DVD? My kids even loved this show. I keep waiting for it to come out, but so far, no go. Come on, give me my Don Johnson fix! (It doesn't hurt that he went to South High here in Wichita many eons ago!)

I've been reading Simple Scrapbooks magazine this afternoon. This is a good idea for a page, so I decided to blog it too! 1. Love the 2,000 square feet! 2. Hate the fact that our privacy fence is about ready to fall down and needs replaced! 3. Love the 2 full baths, a must with a teenage daughter 4. Love my purple bathroom. 5. Love the 2 car garage, even though we can only park one vehicle in it most of the time! 6. Love the location - Park City is just far enough from Wichita to enjoy less crime, less noise and mostly-friendly folks! 7. Hate the high water bills - averaging $85/mo. 8. Love the family room - half is the family area and half is my scrapbooking/office area. 9. Not happy with our small bathtubs. Our dream is to expand the master bathroom to include a jacuzzi tub. 10. Love the woodburning fireplace in the family room. 11. Love the big master bedroom. Not huge, but big enough for our king-size waterbed, several dressers and a chair. 12. Love having 2 big closets in the ...

I know I mentioned a few posts ago that I was collecting some of my Longaberger baskets and planning a sale. I spent the day today organizing my baskets, taking pictures of them, and making a listing of what I have and what I am selling them for. I'm going to post a few photos here. For those of you who are interested, I have photos of over 30 baskets. Let me know if you'd like me to e-mail you any of the photos, and the descriptive list. All of these baskets but one are retired, and I have a variety - from Christmas to Easter to May Series to Horizon of Hope. ENJOY! This is the 2000 Founder’s Market basket, protector & lid . I have never used this basket, it's been stored in a box for over 7 years! This basket was created to honor Dave Longaberger, the founder of Longaberger. Dave helped develop the unique stair-step weaving style, planning to save it for some special occasion in the future. Little did he know that it would be used to honor and commemorate his life....

I guess I was meant to pee at 4am this morning. When I got up, I heard a beeping noise coming from the kitchen. It was my cell phone. Someone had sent me a text in the middle of the night! I quickly checked, and it was from Brandon, sent at 3:49am. He had been up coughing all night and wondered if I thought he should call in sick to work. I don't know why he thought I would get this middle-of-the-night text message, as I usually do not take my cell phone to bed with me. But like I said, I guess I was meant to get it. Anyway, I texted him back and asked him if he had a fever. If so, I thought he should stay home from work. After a couple more texts, he told me he called in sick, and I told him I would call him late this morning. I didn't sleep well after those messages. I know he's 18, almost 19, but you still worry about your kids, you know? Anyway, when I called him back he said Dillons had called him back and said he would need a doctor's note to come back to work. C...

This is one of those questionnaire thingies...don't know why I like these, but I do... Four jobs I have had in my life: 1. Assistant Manager, Hardee's 2. Classified Ad Taker, Eagle 3. Ad Service Lead Typist, Eagle 4. Layout Manager, Eagle (I started at the Eagle 31 years ago, when I was but a toddler) Four places I have lived All in Wichita 1. born in South Wichita 2. moved to West Wichita when I was 12 3. moved back to South Wichita when I bought my first house w/my sister 4. moved to Park City w/my husband and kids in 2000 Four Places I have been on vacation: 1. Athens, Greece (when my brother was in the Air Force) 2. Sacramento, San Francisco, Los Angeles, California (again when my brother was stationed in Sacramento) 3. Alaskan Cruise - AWESOME! 4. Miami, Florida - LOVED it, but wouldn't want to live there Four of my favorite foods: 1. Fettucini Alfredo 2. SWEETS, especially Corby's chocolate chip cookies 3. Grilled chicken 4. Grilled steak Four places I would rath...

Corby and I watched a couple of shows tonight that we've never seen. Of course, I've heard about ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A 5TH GRADER, but I'd never seen it. My gosh, I'm ALMOST as smart as a 5th grader, but I had to go to the internet to answer the $1 million question. The woman who was playing made it that far, had $500,000 in her hands, and went for the big one and lost. The million dollar question - who was the first pilot to break the speed of sound - would have done me in too. Up until that point I knew every answer. Do you know who the pilot was? Chuck Yeager! She guessed Howard Hughes. So, she went from $500,000 to $25,000. Nothing to sneeze at, but still - SHE LOST $475,000! And she said she wasn't a gambler! Then we watched DON'T FORGET THE LYRICS! Okay - kind of cheesy. But man, I was rockin' those lyrics tonight. I KNEW ALL OF THE ANSWERS - until - Bad Case of Loving You by Robert Palmer. It was at this same point that the contestant lost. But hey,...

I am not a fan of either the Giants or the Patriots, but I think the Patriots have won enough. SO WAY TO GO GIANTS!

I know I've mentioned this website before, but you've got to check it out. They put silly captions on the pictures - it's mostly kittens and cats, but there is a variety of other animals too. Check it out. icanhascheezburger.com

It's BACK, People. Puppy Bowl IV is SUPER BOWL SUNDAY, Feb 3 at 3PM e/p on Animal Planet with even MORE MAYHEM than ever before. There is also a waterbowl cam! I love to watch the Puppy Bowl. Aren't these guys cute?

I had so much fun at Reba on Thursday night that I did it! I bought tickets just now for the Keith Urban concert in March. Our seats are UP IN THE BOONIES, but I don't care. I just read a review on CMT.com of the first concert in this tour, and it sounded AWESOME! Corby said he would go with me, and he's not big on concerts. I bought 2 tickets, but it remains to be seen whether he goes or one of the kids goes with me. Kaleb wants to go, but didn't want to pay $62.50 for a ticket! I know I'm too old to say this, but THIS GUY IS HOT !

I went to the Reba / Kelly Clarkson concert Thursday night with my sister-in-law Diana and some friends. Had a wonderful time! EXCELLENT CONCERT! I've enjoyed Reba's music over the years, but never been a huge fan. I do however love her TV show. What a surprise when the opening act ended up being Melissa Peterman - the stand-up comedian who played Barbara Jean on the REBA show. Oh my gosh, she was so funny! I think some people thought that Kelly Clarkson would open the show; but instead it was Reba and Kelly on stage the whole 1 3/4 hours. I only knew a few of Kelly's songs (I don't watch American Idol); but was impressed with her vocal talent. I wasn't too impressed with her overlong jeans - and I mean 12 inches or more overlong; but that didn't hamper her moving around the stage. I saw in the Eagle's review the next day that she was also barefoot. Ouch! I think my favorite songs were "Because of You" the duet they recorded for Reba's Duets C...