meeting Pioneer Woman

So there's this blog. And pretty much if you have a blog, you know about this blog and you read it on a regular basis. Most likely your mom, your sister, your math teacher and your second cousin three times removed read it too.

Its author (Ree Drummond) goes by Pioneer Woman. She lives on a cattle ranch and writes about her life in the country. She's a fabulous photographer and recently she wrote a cookbook that landed on the New York Times Best Seller list. Friday night she paid our town a little visit and Whitney, Chica and I were there to welcome her. Along with half the city. :)

It was my first time attending a book signing so I wasn't sure what to expect. Dan was out of town for the night which meant he couldn't tease me too much about being a crazy groupie. I told him earlier that afternoon I was going to meet someone I had met on the Internet. (One of my favorite things to do is to say something outrageous just to try and get a rise out of him. Aren't you so glad you're not to be married to me? It's become a bigger and bigger challenge to get the kind of shocked response I hope for. After four and a half years of marriage I think he's caught on to my ornery, tormenting ways.)

Here's my Internet friend. And she was right on time!

She answered a few questions from the audience.
She brought her husband. He's a real life cowboy. I wanted to ask him if horses really can sense human fear but I chickened out. Google before you speak and all.
I am so grateful the bookstore people didn't make us wait in one long line. Instead they called us up by groups according to the letter on our ticket. Whit, Chica and I were in group "M" so we had some time to kill. Thank goodness for the fabulous children's section of the store. It kept us busy for (literally) hours. Chica found this Duck & Goose sign and wanted me to take her picture. They are two of her favorite storybook characters.
Three hours later it was our group's turn!
This picture makes me giggle. Ree was completely warm and talkative but having stayed up way past bedtime, Chica gave her a slight stink eye.
Times it's worth waiting for three hours:

1. Riding Splash Mountain

2. Getting front row seats at a women's conference.

3. Giving birth

4. Meeting Pioneer Woman
Can this count as Baby Hinton's Week 16 belly picture?
I asked Chica how she felt about being done with the bookstore and this is what she did. (Again, waaaayyy past bedtime.)
She wanted to take a picture of me too. (Ten years from now it'll be easy to recognize which pictures she took because they're all of me with my giant face taking up most of the shot.)

Thanks Pioneer Woman for visiting our neck of the woods! We loved meeting you! (And also, sorry about the stink eye thing.)