Grounded by a volcano in Iceland

Who would have believed that my trip to London would be postponed by a volcano in Iceland???

On April 15, I woke up EARLY to finalize my packing for my trip to London. I was soooooo excited!! I sat down to check my email & facebook and discovered my friend/cousin had posted a comment saying that only I (not literally) could be grounded by a volcano in Iceland. I had no clue what she was talking about - so I quickly googled it and discovered that sure enough - my flight had been cancelled. BUMMER! I spent several hours on the phone - either on hold or talking to Delta or my London friends or work - to try to rearrange my schedule. They booked me on a flight the following Monday (4/19) and my wonderful friend, Lesa, told me to come over anyway and she styled my hair - just to make me feel better. Just being with Lesa always makes me feel better but it didn't hurt to look good - even if I didn't have anywhere to go! :) I spent the next few days working and hoping that the air would clear. It was looking good for Monday but when I woke up Monday morning, my flight had been cancelled again! AGH! I went back to bed. Delta didn't have a flight available until April 25 - my birthday. I guess that would be appropriate. Luckily, I was able to extend it on the other end, as well, so no London time lost. The hardest part was making sure that the dog & cat that I was transporting to London for my friends were still able to go. Unfortunately, they wouldn't accept a health certificate that was over 10 days old which it would be by the time we flew. Shaunda (my friend in London) made an appointment with the vet on Friday at 2pm to redo their health check and medications which are required to travel. I picked up the dog (German Shepherd) in my little Honda Civic and then headed to Lesa's to trade cars and pick up the cat. On the way there, my car overheated and by driving it to the next exit on the highway, I completely melted the engine. Why don't we teach Automotive 101 to ALL STUDENTS??? Oh well - can't worry about the car right now. AAA came and took it away and Christelle and the cat came to get us. We quickly loaded into Lesa's car and I took off like a bat out of you-know-what. I arrived at our appointment in Leavenworth at 2:03. Whew!! The doctor asked when we were flying and I said "Sunday." He said, "No, you're not. These certificates have to be signed in Topeka and they only do that between 11 and 2." Oh hell no!! I asked him to call Topeka and beg or bribe (slip $100 under the table) them to sign them today! He came back and said if I can be there by 3:30, they will sign them. It was 2:25, I was driving on fumes and the vet wasn't finished. Did I mention Topeka was an hour away? He worked as quickly as he could and I tore out of there again! Praying I would not pass a cop, I drove as fast as I ever have to get to Topeka in under an hour. I arrived at 3:31 and they were still there!! Paperwork signed - and we are all ready to fly!