Last night I found myself home while Juan was at a work event. I didn’t have to run the boys back and forth to baseball practice, nobody had scout meetings or church youth group, drama rehearsal and no last minute flash card review for art history exams. In essence, I had the night off! That is how I found myself at my local bookstore, standing on line, waiting to meet one of my favorite bloggers, Ree Drummond, aka The Pioneer Woman.
When I began blogging I really didn’t know anything about it. I didn’t even read very many blogs, but the one that I did read was Ree’s. In case you don’t follow her blog, she is pretty much the original blogger. She has managed to create a huge following with her funny, and clever blog. She writes about her life on a cattle ranch in Oklahoma, home-schooling her four kids, and cooking up some wonderful recipes, while photographing her food, her kids and her life on the ranch. She also has a cooking show on Food Network and a new cookbook. You can see, why I would find her so inspiring. I knew she was coming to my hometown to promote her new cookbook, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to brave the crowd, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to find myself in line lumped in with the Pioneer Woman groupies. The last time I found myself on line to meet a celebrity was two years ago in Las Vegas when I met my teenage Dodger crush, Steve Garvey. I started blushing like a schoolgirl and could barely talk. Juan has not stopped teasing me about it. Even though I don’t consider Ree Drummond in the same category as Steve Garvey, I hoped I wouldn’t get star-struck when I met her.
I arrived two hours after the book signing event started, so I thought I would have missed most of the crowd. I was wrong. The line was still wrapped around the building. I found myself standing behind a woman who became a Pioneer Woman fan after baking cinnamon rolls from her cookbook. The couple standing behind me made the hour and a half drive from Bakersfield and brought their beautiful 5 month-old baby. I knew that Ree would love them since she loves babies. I thought to myself that I should have brought Diego, because he could have charmed Ree too.
As I approached the front of the line I could see Ree sitting at the table with her sister Betsy. Ree had been signing books for over 4 hours but she was still cheerful and spending a lot of time chatting with each person. One girl approached Ree and gave Ree her favorite scone mix and some original recipes. The girl had her photo taken with Ree and then they chatted like they were longtime friends. I wondered what I could give Ree? I rifled through my purse. Altoid Mints? Chewing gum? I had nothing to give Ree except my blog business card with my address on it. Ree was so gracious she read it, thanked me and handed it to Betsy, telling her to save it. Maybe after Ree finishes her book tour she will go through her gifts, make some scones, pull out my card, find my blog and read it…Hi Ree! Oh, and thanks for signing my book.
My new friend Ree Drummond.
So glad you got to meet one of your blogger heroes!
Hi Jennifer. Yes, it was fun meeting her and being part of the “scene.”