Meeting Pioneer Woman – A dream come true

WOW!  What a night!  A dream come true for sure… I REALLY do love The Pioneer Woman’s blogs and cookbook! I made her “Best Ever Chocolate Sheet Cake” recipe for Sean’s birthday (except I made his with dark chocolate cocoa).

There were over 350 people.  I got there around 4:45pm.  It was supposed to start at 6:00pm.  Powells (bookstore) was handing out tickets starting at 4:30 (didn’t know this in advance). My ticket was #256 (they started at #20).

We all patiently waited for Ree (aka Pioneer Woman, we’re such good friends now I feel comfortable calling her by her given name) to arrive. The place was packed.

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Ree spoke and sang her Ethel Merman impersonation for us. Then she started signing autographs.
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I found a comfy chair and waited among the stacks of books.​ I met a few ladies who come from near and far. Mrs. Baker (or was it Backer?  Update:  It was “Bake”.  She found my blog.  You can read her blog post from the night ) came from a couple minutes away. Sorry! I can’t remember… I didn’t catch her first name either. Then there was Abigail came 2 hours away (update: Abigail found my blog through Pioneer Woman’s Facebook page.  Here’s her blog entry for the night). She drove up from college – even with a mid-term the next day.
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I waited over five hours to meet her – almost exactly.  It was SOOOOO worth the wait!!!  She is SOOOOOOOOO AWESOME and FUNNY!!!!!!!  Her daughter and mother-in-law were also so very nice.

Anybody know how to remove a double chin from a photo????  MAN the first one isn’t flattering at all!!!   When I knelt down next to her I said, “I’m going to get down here and hide cuz I don’t have Spanx on like you.”  We both cracked up (duh, you can tell that).  Just so you don’t think I’m rude for saying she wears Spanx… she mentioned it earlier when she started her talk.

I am soooo excited!! It was SOOOOO AMAZING meeting her!!!!

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She LOVES my pink hair!!!  See the envelope sitting on her little stack of stuff to her right?  That’s from me.  🙂  She had several gifts from people.  I gave her a thank you card with one of my “Henry Fonda” rose pictures to thank her for coming to the Rose City.  She asked if there was one rose for the city.  I said that I didn’t think so and that we have an International Rose Test Garden here.  Roses are her favorite flower. 🙂   She even answered my question (Sean told me to ask her).  “What is the best size for a Dutch/French Oven?”  Her reply, “I can never keep the quarts straight.  Just get a big one.”  “Round or oval?” I asked.  “Round, they fit better on the burner.”

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Smile!
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Her daughter is sooo quiet, but very nice and polite.  She signed my book, too.  She HAS A NAME!  It’s Alex.  Not “Oldest Girl” or “Oldest Punk”.  She’s TWELVE!  Look how tall she is!  I look awful, but Alex sure looks pretty.  We (a lady I met at the signing) talked with Pioneer Woman’s mother-in-law.  Hope we didn’t over-extend our visit.
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Thank you, Ree and Alex! Also, thanks, Becky for taking my pictures!!