Good Things Come To Those Who Wait

Yes, friends it's THAT time.

It's basketball time in the Bluegrass.

 

And oh, how we've waited. 

 

So after watching Big Blue Madness (though as a die hard UK fan, it will always be known as Midnight Madness to me), here are my questions that need to be answered:

 

• What will be our overall record?
• Will we beat Tennessee?
• Will we beat Florida?
• Will Brandon Knight replace John Wall as the all around go to guy?  He looked pretty good last night.
• Now that Cousins is gone, who will our biggest showboat be?

Stay tuned for more updates.

 

 

This Birdie's Wings

were in danger of being clipped.

Okay, not really.

But I felt like if I had opened my mouth just one more time in the Ft. Myers airport, I might have wound up on the "No Fly" list.  How come?  Glad you asked.

So here I am, returning from my vacation where of course I have to have something unusual happen.  Because I don't do boring very often.  As I am sauntering through the airport, what do my eyes spy?  A Starbucks.  And since I don't often pass one without partaking, of course I simply must stop. 

Then I continue my sauntering on down to security.  As a precursor to the rest of this post, let's just talk about the fact it's been a long while since I've flown.  So long I'd forgotten how strict security is nowadays. 

Was I about to get schooled.

So with my newly tanned skin, hot pink backpack and winning personality that is growing sadder by the moment because I will depart, I approach the security gate. 

With my boarding passes and license in one hand and coffee in the other, I approach the first checkpoint and willingly hand over the paperwork.  The gentleman carefully examines everything and waves me on through. 

I walk on to the second part, where I  obligingly unload three gray tubs worth of stuff and remove my shoes.  I merrily walk toward checkpoint number two when one of the security guards stops me and says, "Hold.  You can't pass through."

  Having been nothing but a picture of compliance, I could not fathom what I had done.  Especially as I was hearing, "That's a security threat."

"Pardon?"

"Your coffee.  It's a security hazard."

And this is where my big southern mouth about got me in trouble.  Because I will readily confess I don't watch the news as often as I should (when you leave at 5:30 a.m. and don't return until 7:00 or 8:00 p.m., it just doesn't happen).  But for the life of me, I couldn't recollect the last time this country had been terrorized by coffee.  And then, after that thought exited my head, this one came: I'm more of a security hazard without my coffee than with it. 

The portrait of utter confusion was I.  So much so that the security guard looks at me and says, "Okay, if you want to, you can finish your drink over there."  Pointing to a row of chairs which is adjacent to the clear cube where you go if you fail the metal dectector (or whatever it is nowadays, as you see I am painfully behind on this stuff). 

As I had taken two sips of my coffee and was not about to throw away a full drink, I jauntily strolled over there and took a seat in my socks.  Smiling big and waving at the people who were walking by me, I just explained my predicament.  In fact, I did so much talking that the security lady finally looked at me and asked, "Aren't you worried you're going to miss your flight?"

"No, I'm good.  My flight doesn't leave for another hour.  Thanks for checking though."

So as I'm sitting there, the thought occurs to me...If my coffee's a security threat, then so is..."Ma'am, I guess now is the time to tell you I have a bottle of water in my backpack," I confessed.  Sip, sip, sip. 

"This bottle?"  Holding up an unopened, half frozen bottle of water I was really looking forward to on the flight. 

"Yes ma'am.  But I haven't even opened it.  You can have it if you want."

"So you're surrendering your bottle of water?"  A sad nod yes.

By this time, I realized that the security thing was a bigger deal than I orginally imagined.  So much so that I had already tried to (unknowingly) sneak contraband coffee and water aboard a flight.  And I began to seriously get nervous about a snack pack of Pringles inside my backpack.  I wondered if I 'fessed up if I would wind up on the "no fly" list.  This was one thing I didn't want to find out. 

So I finished my coffee and tossed the container in the trash.  As I'm walking through the checkpoint, I did thank them for letting me finish my drink.  And I did utter these words:
"Y'all have to realize I teach elementary school.  It is my goal every day of my life not to end up on the six'o'clock news.  So I am definitely not going to do anything that can ever be misconstrued."

And because my life is never dull, one lady says, "Oh, we can make sure you wind up there." 

And I smiled and replied, "I know.  That's why I want to stay on your good side." 

And we all had good laugh.  And I went on my merry way to the other side of the security gates, where there were plenty of overpriced snacks and water. 

But there was not a mugshot on the news. 

It's the little things in life for which I give thanks.

Disclaimer:
I am in no way minimizing or mocking security personnel.  It is not their fault they have to be so stringent.  I am sad they need to be so strict.  I have the utmost respect for security personnel and am thankful they keep us safe.

H2Oh My Goodness!

Okay, so when you go on vacation, it's probably a relaxing, rejuvenating time.

Me?

Trouble just hops on the next plane and follows me to my destination. 

For real, y'all.

So I seriously had two days off between May and August.  When you take into account that between those months my father had a stroke,escorted him to the emergency room twice, took him to various doctor appointments and therapy sessions, took two summer classes, trained one hundred teachers in a program for the school district, and changed grade levels, it made for a very busy summer.  And just the teensiest bit stressful.

Which is why I decided for my 30th birthday, I was going to the beach.  It had been six years since I'd gone to a beach.  And after that summer, I just wanted to be by myself.  I have the best family and friends, but I really wanted some time to myself.

And where does one go to be by yourself after a long, hard summer?  You go to Captiva Island, Florida.  It is one of the most beautiful places in the world, and the next island over (Sanibel) is one of the best islands for shelling. 

So needless to say, I was pretty psyched about my trip.  And the first 20 hours was unbelievable.  Just what I'd signed up for:

So after a very nice day of traveling and outlet shopping (Miramar, here's your shout out!), I retire to my room.  Since this was a Tuesday, TNT was doing a girl a serious favor and showing several hours of "Law & Order" reruns.  (Can we just have a moment of silence because it was canceled?  Big, sad sigh.)  Anyway, I put the tv on sleep at 9:45 and was fast asleep before the show went off.

Only to be awakened around 4:00 a.m. needing to use the restroom.  So after returning to the bed, something just wasn't right.  I laid there for a moment, trying to figure out what it was.  Finally, I pinpointed it down to the sound of water.  Thinking, "Silly, it's Florida, it rains everyday here," I tried to roll over and go back to sleep. 

Only to listen to the sound and think, "That sounds like it's inside the room."  Which was when I got out of bed, put on my glasses, and looked outside the window.  Not a drop of water was falling, yet I was definitely hearing something.  Which was when I turned on the light and completely freaked out.

In the sitting area of my room was a nine foot waterfall.  Falling directly on my laptop, which I just bought in June.  And my four day old Blackberry. 

(Not to mention it was saturating the carpet, the coffee table, the end table, and the couch.  But I was a little more concerned about my stuff 'cause I'm selfish like that.)

To my credit, I didn't scream or cry.  But I sure did wake up.  And grab everything and move it to the bed. 

Then, being a responsible patron, I called the front desk.  And that's when I about lost my temper.  Here's why:  

"Front desk."

"I'm in room 1832 and my ceiling is leaking.  BADLY." (Please note the proper grammar, even in the wee hours of the morn.) 

Bored voice: "So...?"

"I THOUGHT you'd like to know about it.  It's a really bad leak.  It got ALL OVER my computer and my Blackberry."

Bored voice: "Are you saying you want to move rooms?"

Irate voice: "Yes, I'd like to move rooms!"

Bored voice: "Alright.  I'll send security to move you." 

Let's take into account several things.  One, I have never called anyone in my life at 4:05 in the morning.  Two, I did not appreciate my call being responded to in a boring tone.  Three, I felt SO vindicated the security man showed up and told me he'd seen leaks at the hotel before, but never anything that bad.  (I mean, I'm talking about 9' waterfall.  No joke.)

So yours truly got the pleasure of moving rooms at 4:30 a.m.  Trouble was, the second room they put me in was not as nice as the first. 

So I figured with all the trouble I'd been through, I deserved (and there's not a lot I deserve in life, but this I did) a room as the first one.  Which after some discussion (that's another blog post) I got. 

So in 24 hours, I had three different rooms.  And once I finally got my third room (the one I lobbied for), I went to take a shower. 

Guess what?

No water.  Because it was directly under my old room.  And they'd turned off the water to it. 

Another call to the front desk. 

But two hours later I had water.  And clean hair. 

And life was good.

And friends, that was just the first day.  There's still more to come!  Stay tuned! :)

Dear Trouble

Dear Trouble,
Stop following me.  I mean it!
Sincerely,
Robin

What God's Saying To Me Right Now...

"Come away with me to a quiet place and rest." Mark 6:31