Pioneer Woman Weekend

I feel like a kid who's just had the greatest Christmas EVER! This weekend I drove to Minneapolis with a couple of girlfriends to meet Ree Drummond, or Pioneer Woman (PW), my favorite blogger. I wish I could tell you I went there just for a girls' weekend, but I am that lame that I went with the sole purpose of meeting Ree and having her sign my PW cookbook (but I didn't tell her that). My girlfriends agreeing to come with me was an added bonus. Can you say stalker-ish? Sorry PW! I just think you're hilarious and entertaining and I know we could be BFFs if I lived closer. No? A little over the top? Yeah, maybe. ;)

So the girls and I jetted from work a pinch early and drove the five hours to Minneapolis. We rolled into town around 9:30pm and had just enough time to freshen up and head out to dinner at 10pm. Late? Yes. But we were in the city, by golly, and we were going to live it up with a night on the town. We drank wine and ate a scrumptious meal at the 112 Eatery. You MUST order the scallops if you go there. Melt in your mouth delicious! We headed back to the hotel around 1am and crawled into bed. I needed beauty sleep. I was going to meet PW in the morning and I couldn't show up with bags under my eyes!

I woke up Saturday with the anticipation of Christmas morning. I couldn't wait to open my present...meeting PW. Even my girlfriends were excited for me! Fortunately, they have been to Minneapolis so many times they could drive around the city in their sleep. They chauffered me right to the Nordstrom's atrium in the Mall of America where my PW journey began. It was 10am and I was number 19 in line for a 1pm book signing. Not to worry, I brought a book to read to pass the time.

Here's the funny thing though. I read only two pages the whole morning. The women I met standing in line were awesome. Though I cried a river when we learned we were moving to ND (which is a whole 'nother story for another time), I will say it's a great area to live in because the people are so friendly! I felt like these women were long time friends. We had all traveled pretty great distances to meet Ree. We came from Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota, and all over Minnesota. We talked about our favorite blog posts and recipes of Ree's. We talked about our families and our jobs. We joked about the mall cops that were being followed by a TLC camera crew (did you know the Mall of America cops have their own reality TV show?).

We joked about how awkward it feels as an adult to have a "crush" on a celebrity like Ree. I don't know if Ree would consider herself a celebrity, but as one of my girlfriends was so quick to point out to anyone who didn't know her, "She's Ree Drummond, the Pioneer Woman, and she's a blogging sensation!" Debbi quickly turned to me as she snapped photos and wispered, "How could you not know who Pioneer Woman is?" Hello, people! What rock have you been hiding under? Do you not see the media that came out for her?

So at 1pm Mr. Barnes and Noble guy introduces Ree to a crowd of screaming fans. The atmosphere was literally buzzing with excitement. All of a sudden I started to panic. What would I say to her? Would I sound like a blubbering idiot? Would she think I was crazy? Or a total nerd (let's face it, I am)? I barely caught the questions she entertained for a few minutes because I immediately started practicing what I would say in my head. However, I did hear her say she is having more Lodge retreats after the new year and she is working on publishing another book. I assume it's public knowledge since she announced it to the Mall of America, but I won't totally spill the beans. If you read her blog you'll know instantly what she plans to publish! I can't wait!

Once the Q and A session was over the book signing began and the screaming resumed. Guess who was the recipient of all the love this time?

Marlboro Man oozes quiet strength. More on him later. Back to Ree....

I can barely remember what I said. I was trying not to stare. I was trying not to think about my gray roots showing. Too bad premature gray doesn't look as good on me as it does on Marlboro Man! I was trying to exude a cool confidence. I don't think it worked!

I thanked her for coming up north to meet her fans and told her it made my day. I handed her a goodie bag of chocolates from our small town candy shop and told her to enjoy the chocolate covered potato chips and chocolate covered coffee beans. I hope she liked them! I pointed out my friend Debbi on the balcony snapping pictures and told her that was the person who introduced me to her blog, but she can't handle waiting in lines so I brought her book to be signed. She waved to Debbi. The little school girl in Debbi was dying to scream, I just know it! Ree was the epitomy of class. Not only did she personalize three books for me, but she held an actual conversation with me too. Not just asking questions to pass the time, but really listening and engaging in conversation with me. She is a beautiful person, inside and out. Yes, I can tell that after spending 62.9 seconds with her! Heh!

I thanked Ree once more for her time and went on my merry way. It was time to shop with my girlfriends. But wait a minute! Look who was signing books nearby?

There was no line, so how could I pass up the opportunity to meet Marlboro Man, Ree's husband?  He was so humble and so generous to be willing to sign our books.  He thanked us for coming out to see Ree.  I told him what a fan I was of his wife's blog and how entertaining I found her to be.  He joked that he'll keep her around a while longer! ;)  He and the boys were such great sports.  Salt of the earth!  And yes, I can tell that after just 16.38 seconds of interaction with them.  Heh!

I hope I didn't come off as a creepy blog stalker, but I was so thankful for the opportunity to meet Ree and her family.  Her blog was a huge inspiration for me in starting my own blog, though it took me two years to finally do it.  And I have no followers.  Except my mom.  And my mother-in-law.  I'm a nerd!

The girls and I ended the day with shopping and a movie.  We are huge fans of the Twilight Saga.  We treated ourselves to some vampire romance by watching New Moon in a theater that served beer and wine.  There's no better way to see a movie, and no better way to wind down after PW excitement!

And finally, because my step dad's bucket list includes seeing the Mall of America...

Anyone up for a ride on the roller coaster?  There's so much going on in this picture you can barely see it.  That's what this mall does to me.  Sensory overload!  Especially when PW is there!