Ree & Me!!

Wow.

Wow. Wow. Wow.

How much fun did I have last night? I don't think a word has been invented that can describe how much fun it was to meet The Pioneer Woman.

Because I assumed there would be a massive line I went to the bookstore as early as possible. For me that meant picking up the girls from school at 3 and getting to the store by 3:40. I was the first one! The very first. The, no one in the world was going to have their book signed before me. Yes, that one.

I was there for 45 minutes before my friend Phyllis came to join me. A bit after she got there a new friend (whose name I never found out. So sorry!) joined us and we had a wonderful time talking all things Ree and Facebook and blogs.

Soon enough the line was growing and we couldn't see the end anymore. But I was at the front so who cared?!

The camera crews and photographers started talking and getting their lenses pointed at the door and in came Ree, Marlboro Man, their four children, Betsy, Elliot, and I think Gaga. What a family reunion!

I had a hard time getting non-blurry pictures of them as they walked in but I did get this.

Hello cute boots! For someone that lives on a ranch in the middle of nowhere, she has style!

My friend Debbie took my camera and I stepped up. I handed her a little gift I'd made her and started talking. She apologized to me for the long wait! I told her three hours was nothing since I got to meet her!Question? Who looks like the country bumpkin in this picture? Um, yea, the one on the left does. It's okay, I can take it. But still...I had my picture taken with The Pioneer Woman!As she was signing her boys asked when they'd get to sign one. Marlboro Man said that this was for their mom, not them. I told them I'd love to have them sign mine if they wanted to. Yes, I feel special:c)Since Marlboro Man was standing right there I asked if I could have a picture with him. He said sure and I got in place. I will kill the friend who said something funny and made me laugh just as the camera snapped. I need to figure out how to Photoshop a better face on there and make this a better picture. Until now, please look at the man, not the goofball.The boys didn't last long and soon were at the little cafe having drinks. Wish I could have joined them.Her beautiful (and very tall) daughters made me want to have her genes. And jeans for that matter.Isn't Betsy beautiful? How about those genes?And as I left I couldn't help but notice who was parked next to me. Hello white Suburban! Of course I had to touch it. I do believe that I have officially achieved stalked status. But I'm done. They have left the town and I am done. But what wonderful memories I have of the day.A local restaurant had planned a Pioneer Woman meal that was supposed to start at 8 with her getting there soon after. Four of my friends and I headed down there to wait.

We could choose one of two appetizers-Black Bean Soup or Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing.

One of three main dishes-Linguine with Chicken Thighs, Grilled Ribeye Steak with Blue Cheese Sauce, or a shrimp thingy. No, that was not the exact name. I think it might have been this one.

For dessert there was only one choice. And one was all they needed. It was Pastor Ryan's Monkey Bread. Warm from the kitchen. Hello delicious.

We all ate to our stomachs content and chatted all things Ree. We all agreed that there was no way that she'd be there by 8. We had seen the line. Did someone actually think that she would tell the people in line, "Sorry, it's time for me to go." We all knew that she'd stay there until the very last person was gone.

I drove two of my friends back to their car at the bookstore but instead of getting in it they started walking back into the store. I yelled at them to wait for me and parked way too fast. Can you believe 3 hours later the line was still as long as when she started. Marlboro Man was walking down the line signing books for people! Such a nice husband. I could have run out to the car and gotten mine but I told myself it wasn't necessary. I had a picture with him. A bad picture of me of course, but still a picture.

So at the end of the night I was so happy that I'd braved my crowd fears and spend a wonderful evening with new and old friends.

And thanks to Ree for just being her. Real, genuine, and gracious. And a true beauty inside and out.

And just because....http://newsok.com/multimedia/photos/gallery/501778 .....here are the pictures of me from the newspaper. Number 14 is my personal favorite:c)