meeting ree

My big Christmas surprise for Greg this year was meeting Ree Drummond, the Pioneer Woman. He's been a follower of her's since Davinie introduced him, and ever since, he's been bugging me to take photos like she does, and cook like she does, and I strongly believe the reason we now own 80 acres and 19 cows is in large part due to Ree.

Basically, if something were to ever happen to Marlboro Man, he would be able to step up to the plate...literally and figuratively.

Anyway, back to the story.

A few weeks ago it struck me to check her blog to see her upcoming book signings, never dreaming there would be one as close as Nashville. When I saw that it was on Dec 8, I asked Greg to take off work so we could travel the hour to Nashville to Christmas shop. Luckily, the signing was at a bookstore at the mall we most often frequent, so it was a plausible excuse. That and the fact that Greg is as easy to fool as a 3 year old....

We get to the mall and I ask him if he wants to go to the bookstore to look for a gift for his dad, and he agrees....the compliant shopper that he is. I thought for sure there would be a huge sign giving away my plan and I could catch the look of surprise on his face.

Nope....nothing.

So, even more obvious, I tell him to head over to the cookbooks and look for his dad.

Still nothing, so I went to the counter and asked if I had the right day.

The lady said, "No, it's not today....(pause)....it's tonight."

to-MAY-toes
to-MAH-toes

whatever.

About that time, I motioned Greg to the counter and asked if he'd like to get his dad the Pioneer Woman Cooks. He was excited at that notion.

Then, I asked if he'd like her to sign it tonight and this is the look I got along with a "NO WAY!!!!"


(I should mention that look was reenacted because had I brought my camera in initially, there was no way I could have kept this a secret.)

Then, I said, "I KNOW!!!! What are the chances we'd be here the same day????"

He fell for that for about 30 seconds. Thirty glorious seconds.

Then, he went on to tell me what a wonderful wife I am.


Later that evening, he told Ree about his farm and cows, and not a mention about me being a good wife. Oh well.....



(I really should pay attention to my mom when she tells me not to slump.)


You only get one chance at a shot like this, and I'm glad this was a good one.



Too bad this one wasn't for all parties involved. (Hyacinth & Betsy)

They were giving out Ree's tees, very nice ones by the way from alternative apparel. And, if you know anything about them, they run VERY small. As in, I normally wear a size XS or S and I definitely need the M in these. So, I ask if both Greg and I can have one (Greg to give to a friend), and Betsy said, "Yeah, I'd love to see you wear that!"

Which caused Hyacinth to erupt in laughter....followed by Betsy when she realized what she had inferred. Too bad, Betsy, Greg's heart is with Ree. :)

But it did make his night. The whole way home he talked about how he "still has it."

Fun night and definitely worth the wait.



Met a new friend from Murray, KY, who teaches high school English and is a digi-scrapper while waiting in line.


Also ran into some old friends from Shelbyville, TN, when I lived there from 1988-1993.

Some tips for the day, if you're planning to attend one of Ree's last book signings:

• Wear comfortable shoes because you're going to be standing on a hard floor for a long time
• Plan on waiting between 1-4 hours
  
• If the signing is at a Davis-Kidd Booksellers, they give out Group numbers, 25 per group a week in advance. (wish someone would have given me the heads up on that)
• Chances are the location has no idea that Ree will draw such a huge crowd....they'll be underprepared.....but the good news is that the crowd is nice, friendly, and you'll have a great time!
• You're going to see way more redheads per capita than at any location....EVER, but don't feel left out. Ree didn't show partiality as far as I could tell