People Let Me Tell You 'Bout My Best Friend

Last night was a fantastic night!!!!  Me and two of my amazing friends hopped in the car and drive to LA to meet the one and only Mrs. Ree Drummond, aka The Pioneer Woman.  We left our children in the care of their other parental unit and headed out.  We may or may not have gone the wrong way and ended up at the beach with 2 out of 3 people needing to pee and one about to throw up.  It was gorgeous though, rounding the corner in the road that heads into a small tunnel and coming out the other side is blue water on one side and a steep cliff on the other, so pretty!!!!  We eventually found our way and throwing up on rodeo Drive may have been a topic of conversation for one sick person but we all made it in one piece.

On a side note, do you see the boots?  Those suckers are amazing and I love them but they also took me a good 20 minutes and endless laughing and loss of breath to put on.  And they were perfect on my feet while we were sitting and waiting in line.

And waiting?  Yes, we waited, we waited a good 4 hours in order to meet this woman who I feel like I know because I get to read about her each and every day.  This was only a tiny portion of the waiting, these people were on the other side of the room waiting in front of us.

We found our spot and copped a squat between a lady with her two kids and a gentlemen who seemed to be quiet but I could tell he was obsessed with our girl from Oklahoma, he had that look about him.

 The kids who belonged to the lady in front of us were ridiculously cute and the little girl eventually warmed up to us, especially when she was able to use my camera and take a picture.

Oh, and did I mention that one of my friends is also pregnant and due in 2 weeks?  Waiting in line for 4 hours was not fun, especially for her.  I complained about being hungry and wanting to sit and I am sure at some point she wanted to slap me and remind me that she was also in the same situation only carrying a human being in her mid section, needless to say, she was a trooper!!!!!  And after 4 hours, our waiting was put behind us and we saw her, the skies opened up and angels were heard singing overhead.......or maybe it was a mix between Cher and Christina Aguliera playing over the load speaker and the bright lights of the book store, never the less, there she was........

She was so sweet, she would talk to each and every person who was there and indulge us in picture taking.  I am sure she loves it but I am also sure that after 4 hours, she is not as excited to see us and we are to see her.  Let me tell you quickly how book signings work.  Since she is willing to personalize your book for you, the people at the store have you write your name on a post it note and attach ti to the page that will be signed.  They tell you not to put any phrases because she will not be doing that.  I pretended not to listen and drew pretty pictures on my post it and in parenthesis, I reminded her of our friendship and that I was indeed her best friend.  Yes, you may be laughing right now and find me to be nothing less then lame but I tell ya, I love this woman and wouldn't mind an invitation to her ranch and possibly and invitation to stay there the rest of my life.  A girl can dream right?  The only thing standing in my way?  Barnes and Noble workers checking post it notes and yes, we did see them re-write a couple.  I cluthced my book and didn't want them to take mine, surely they would scoff and re-write my name.  But the book signing Gods shined down and they left it in there the way it was......ok, maybe that was a little over dramatic but I was super stoked I tell ya!!!!  The it was out turn.  We stepped up to meet Miss Ree and I got my hug.  She said she was a hugger and didn't mind and I was not against it either.  We chatted a bit and took our picture.

Aaaaggggghhhhhhh, so exciting.  Then she opened my book and saw my note and started signing.  I think my response was something along the lines of "I wouldn't mind you writing that in my book, hehe".....yes, I do realize how lame and childlike I was but who gives a flip, when will I ever be standing next to her talking again?  She indulged me and said of course we are besties and now I have this in my book.....

I die!!!!!!!!  Yes, I know she has no clue who I am and is not thinking of me today and she leaves our city but I swear one day, I will use this as a free ticket to Oklahoma to live on her ranch with her and her family, after all, you call me your BFF Ree!!!  Ok, creepy moment done, in all honesty, it was so much fun and she was as sweet as you would expect.  she indulged each and every one of us and greeted us all with a smile and a thank you.  I love reading her blog each and every day and have so much more love and respect for her now after meeting her.  Not only was she amazing but so were my two friends who I got to enjoy this experience with.  We laughed and groaned and talked about how hungry we were and it was all worth it.  Being out of the house minus kids having "grown up girl bonding time" (I love the movie Enchanted) is aways fabulous and even more so with amazing woman!!!!  So, to my friends, thank you for giving me a great night........when do we do our next signing? :)