The Pioneer Woman

I got to meet Ree Drummond last night.  What a wonderfully exhausting day it was!  I started out with the intention of leaving my house at 2pm for a 60mile drive north for her cook book signing.  It should have taken me just over an hour or so to get there.  I left later than I wanted to, because I had to get things together for my son to attend a sleepover.  But finally on my way, nearly halfway there, I hit a wall of traffic.  There was an accident on the freeway and it took me over 30 minutes to go just over a mile to pass the accident and finally pick up speed again. 


I got to the book store around 4:45 and got my ticket for my signing group.  I was in group "I".  They were calling us in groups to avoid one huge horrendous line.. very smart in my opinion.  I've never been to a book signing so I wasnt sure how it would work.  This was lovely.   So I set up camp and found a clearing in the shelves where I could see her signing table and waited for her arrival. 

Here she is with her oldest daughter, a beauty just like her mother, right after they arrived, around 5pm.  She apologized for being late but it was less than 5 minutes.. that's not late in my book.  =D  (sorry for the grainy pic, I was zoomed and accidentally used my flash).

For the rest of the evening I passed the time by reading a book, going over to the grocery store to buy lotion for my very dry hands, sitting in my car, browsing books in the store, reading some cook books in the food section and stalking Ree between the shelves while she signed for the earlier groups:

Finally, at 9:30pm, they called my group to line up. I was really excited to be meeting someone I admire, who, although now an 'uber celeb', seems and IS so down to earth and 'normal'.   Surprisingly, I wasnt nervous.  All day I'd been thinking of something to say to her when I got up there.  I knew I had to keep it short but some of the things I toyed with were: telling her how wonderful the book is; gushing about how wonderful she is; saying how her book has made me a much better cook - just ask my husband!; Asking her how she liked Seattle so far and if she was going to be able to do much sight seeing before she had to leave, etc etc etc...

I finally made it to the front.  Here she is signing for the girl before me.

I'm next! Here we are at 10:15pm:

Which witty or poignant statement in my arsenal did I end up going with, you ask??

Nothing.   That's right, nothing.

I still didnt 'feel' nervous but I got up there and she smiled very sweetly and said Hi!  So I said Hi!  She started to sign the book and I knelt down next to her for a photo.  She said 'Thank you for being so patient' and I replied.  "Sure!"  I'd been reduced to single syllable answers.  Thank God I had enough in me to look her in the eyes and reply with enthusiasm 'Thank you SO much!'  And then I was on my way out.  This is 100% me.  I've never been one to initiate conversation with someone I don't know, despite reading her blog daily and feeling like I know her and could easily call her a friend.  That's just me.

So, by this time, 10:20pm, the store was closed and the only people left were the last 2 groups in line and a handful of employees.  I made my way to my car and drove the 60 miles home, exhausted, contemplative and totally without regret.  Sure, I wish I'd said one of the many things that came to mind, but I know who I am and I'm ok with that.

So Excited for Tonight!

Tonight is the beginning of the end.  It's bittersweet, but I've been waiting a long time for this.  I can't wait to see what happens to my favorite characters and get the answers to the most important questions.  But I hate to see it go away completely.  However, I am really looking forward to rewatching the entire 6 seasons at least one more time after having all the answers.  Then, I can mourn appropriately.  =D

Tonight is also my youngest son's first violin concert.  He was NOT excited about this at all.  We've been able to calm his nerves some and now he's a little better about it.  He's only been playing about 3 months and sounds pretty darn good to me.  I'm probably biased, though.   I'll post pictures later.

Happy New Year!

Only a month late, right?   So, here's some catching up:

We have a new dog named Lucy.  We got her on October 5th.  She's just over a year old and the most wonderful dog anyone could ever ask for.  She trains easily and amazes me with her loyalty and devotion every day. There is a lot to be said for 'Pound Puppies'.  They seem to know that you rescued them.  I swear to you, she smiles!   In less than 4 months now (and it was actually after less than a week) I can't imagine not having her in my life.  I tell her that almost every day. =D

 I've been doing more cooking than I usually do.  Well to clarify, more new cooking.  I cook every day, mundane, 'same old-same old' kind of cooking but now I'm looking up more recipes, trying new things and using new techniques.  Nothing fancy, mind you. I'm not that adventurous!

For Christmas I got a cast iron enameled dutch oven and a new cook book: The Pioneer Woman cooks!  Excellent source for good food, tips and tricks.  I also love her website and the Tasty Kitchen website.  That book and those websites are my staples in the kitchen now.  I usually have the book open or the laptop on the counter when I'm making dinner.    I'm one of those people who usually needs a recipe and I tend to follow it pretty near to the letter, at least the very first time I attempt it.  (Is that typeA?) 

Another thing I've been obsessed with is baking and or 'caking'.  I havent actually done anything fancy except my daughters fondant hippo cake.

But I really want to take a Wilton decorating class.  I've made cake pops (see bakerella.com) and those are a blast and I've bought a lot of cake decorating gadgets to make cakes someday.  I mostly use the tips to decorate Christmas cookies.  I have 4 kids, I really need to put those gadgets to good use and make birthday cakes, darn it!  =D    I love the look of fondant, but not everyone is a fan of the taste.  I really like buttercream and would love to learn how to work with it, even if I use fondant for accent pieces. 

So that's life here for now.  Got a busy week coming up with music concerts, sports practices, Season 6 of LOST starting (Yay!) and of course Super Bowl.  Hopefully I'll have another update before the next decade starts.  Till then.....

First Beach

We went to First Beach in La Push, WA. It's absolutely beautiful there. We took an end of summer Twilight tour of Forks and La Push, just me and the kids and my daughter's friend. We had a lot of fun!

I will post highlights of the trip at a later date. For now, I'll leave you with this beautiful shot of the beach.

Wow

Has it seriously been since before our trip to California that I last wrote anything here? I have no excuse. Summer is in full swing here. My oldest will be 20 years old next week! When did THAT happen?? Next month is also my 20 year HS reunion.. yes you can do the math there. =) We also have Alex and Jake's birthdays on Aug. 4th and 5th. They will be 15 and 12. Come January, I wont have anymore children in single digits. Wow.

A lot has gone on or is going to happen in the near future.

We have a wedding to attend in 2 weeks and the next day we have a big post wedding reception for another couple. They had a small ceremony before he got sent to Iraq. Now that he's home they are having the celebration. It's also the dedication for their new baby girl!

We put a cover over our back deck last month. What a difference. Our back yard is northern exposure but the sun is on the back yard all day long and the setting sun in the west is pretty gruelling until it hits the tree line. This cover lets us use our deck so much more now. We also built a fire pit in the yard for a fun summer twist. We've only used it a few times so far, but it's been nice and looks good out there. Who doesnt love a good weenie roast and S'more-a-thon?

This next school year is bringing lots of changes for the kids. Alex will be up at the HS, and she's really excited about it. She's taking French this year, that should be fun! Jake will be at the Jr. High, taking lots of hard classes. Sam will be at the newly built Elementary school. We're excited to see it at the open house, it sounds like it will be a really nice school!

Till next time; whenever that may be......

Weekend and Vacation Ramblings...

I'm so excited! Only 9 days until our Disney trip. I want to have a clean house when we leave so I dont come back from vacation and have to do a bunch of work. I expect to have laundry but the rest I'd rather ease into.

We had a pretty good time this past weekend. Saturday was a very busy day. Alex had a choir ensemble contest. It was 3 girls singing a beautiful song in another language. I need to ask her what language it was, it was very beautiful. They got a 1- for their score. A 1 is perfect and lets you qualify for State. I'm not sure they'll get there with the minus but it's still a great score and I guess I cant say it enough, they sang beautifully!

From there we headed over to a fundraiser for a coworker of Tony's. It was at a Glow mini-golf center. We had a good time, it was really neat in there. It was pretty weird seeing the fuzz on your shirt, that you didnt even know was there in regular light, show up like you just washed your sweater with a Kleenex! LOL.
There are three 18 hole courses inside. We had the time and sanity to do 2 of them. Tony and I bet each other for Holes in One. I got the first one.... and the second one..... oh yeah, and he didnt get ANY. So guess what? That's right, he's making dinner tonight! Woohoo. He even offered me a double or nothing bet after my first one but I was too scared I'd lose! I'm soooo not a gambler. =)

So from there, we had to get Jake to a swim/birthday party. All of these places were pretty far apart and not near home. We dropped Jake off and the 4 of us (Me, Tony, Alex and Sam) went to Red Robin for dinner. We still had time to kill before the party was over, so we walked around Borders for a while and picked up some new Calvin and Hobbes books.
So we finally made it home around 7:30. A very long Saturday for us. And thankfully Sunday was a stay-in-your-pajamas-and-dont-shower-until-2 kinda day.

Now, I'm trying to fight a cold. I'm actually doing ok keeping it on the mild side with Airborne and Zicam (probably just jinxed it now...). And I'm sort of glad I got it now, getting it over with before our trip. The kids all had colds last week and the week before. I'm really hoping this is from them and not something new that they will now get from me (just in time for the trip...).

Today I need start making my neurotic 'To Do' lists for this week and our trip. Plus my coffee grinder quit on me, so now I have to go out and find one of those, too. I had JUST enough ground coffee in my tub for half a pot. I have plenty of beans. Oh, and just so you know, a Kitchenaide food processor doesnt grind coffee beans.......

Spring Things

Wow, March 1st already?? Tony just got back from a 6 day trip to Phoenix for work. The kids were excellent for me while he was gone. I had such a hard time sleeping while he was away, though. I slept in until 9 his first day back! We all missed him SO much!

As much as I love winter, at least the snow part of winter (which we dont get much of here, usually), I'm really excited for Spring! We've gotten teased (like we do every February) with a few, very pretty sunny days, making me want to throw open the windows and spring clean.
My tulips are starting to emerge. I'm kind of excited about that, since they are my favorite flower and I just planted them this year. I hope they bloom. My last attempt a few years ago were duds. I think I got 2 blooms out of all of them, the rest were just the leaves.

We are soooo excited, we are taking the kids to Disneyland for spring break! We'll be there for 8 days. It's been 4 years since our last trip. It was a great trip but with the kids all being that much older now, I think it will be even more fun. Plus, before, it was their first trip there ever. They have memories of things they liked now, so it's nostalgic for them, like it is for Tony and me. Emilee isnt able to come with us because of her work and college schedule. I feel bad leaving her but she seemed to be ok with it.

I really need to get my iPod up and running. I got Emilee's hand-me-down when she replaced hers with a better version. It will replace my 'old school' Shuffle. I think that will be my goal today. Off to find the cord.....