An early Christmas present...

I have a little story to tell today. Once upon a time, a girl fell in love with a blog. (Technically, after the birth of 5 children, I guess I could be considered a woman...but it makes me feel old, so I'm going with "girl".) The blog is The Pioneer Woman and Ree Drummond is her name. She doesn't know it, but she's my BFF. I love to read about her conversion from city girl to country girl and all the things that go on with a working cattle ranch. And, her ranch is in the same area as my grandparent's home, so I know exactly where she is and where the towns are that she discusses on her blog. It makes me feel like I know her better than all the other readers because I've been to her town and could probably stalk her if I wanted to...which I don't... well, maybe I do want to, but I won't.

Anyway, a few months ago she wrote a cookbook. Now, I don't usually buy cookbooks, unless they have something to do with slow cooking. But let me tell you dear friends, I love her recipes. I've tried several and each one has been fantastic. So, when she posted her "Griswold Book Tour", I noticed that her very first stop would be Tulsa, my old stompin' ground. So, I thought it would be fun to go over for the evening, do a little shopping at Utica Square, eat somewhere fun, and then go to her signing. I figured I'd get a book there and then have her sign it. Sounds good...right.

The signing started at 7:00 p.m. and I figured I'd get there 10 minutes early to get a spot... Well, I knew something was wrong when I got to the driveway of the location and the line to get in the parking lot was all the way in to the street....hhhmmmmm.... Looks like a lot of people. When I finally got into the parking lot, there were simply no places to park. I drove around for about 25 minutes and finally found one about a block away. Of course, I now realize that the entire city of Tulsa has decided to attend and it's going to be a long night. I don't really care because I'll get to meet my hero...The Pioneer Woman! And, get her lovely signature in her beautiful cook book that I'm even willing to pay full price for!

I get to the door of the location and honestly, I can't get in. Women are stuffed into the building and I truly cannot get in the door. Some people are coming out and one of them told me that all the books sold out in about 10 minutes....there aren't any more books. What!! Because some people are leaving, I'm finally able to get in the door, but I can't go anywhere. I was pressed against the wall with about 500 women. I can't even see PW. I can hear her, and she sounds lovely....but there is no way I'm going to be able to see her with all these women. I stood there, against the wall, for about 40 minutes. By now it's almost 8:00, and I've got a 1 1/2 hour drive home...there's no books, so there's no reason to even stand in line to see her. So, I left. A little disappointing, but I'm positive that the organizers had no idea there would be such a turnout.

I posted about my experience on her blog...encouraging others to bring their own books and to get there early.

Guess what!!

She saw my post and emailed me personally!! I got an email from PW...she felt badly that I hadn't gotten to see her after my long drive, so she said she'd mail me a couple of signed copies. I emailed her back and told her that I thought it would be so wonderful if she'd send me some books...one for me and one for my friend, Adelia. Well, I waited, and waited, and waited... She was on her tour and really busy, so I just figured she'd get around to it eventually. Then, one day, she posted on her blog that if anyone wasn't able to come to her signing, she'd be happy to sign their books if we'd send them to her. Ohhhhh.... I'm pretty sure she meant for me to SEND her some books to sign...

Well, I noticed that she had tacked on one more stop on her tour...in Tulsa... And, it wasn't really publicized much... So, I thought I'd try again... I went over on Saturday. Here's where I went...

The signing started at 1:00, so I got there around 12 noon... I wasn't taking any chances this time... I got my number and hung around for an hour in a bookstore. At 1:00, she arrived.

I was number 30, so at 1:30, here's what happened... I met my BFF for the first time...

We had a really deep one minute conversation!

She was lovely and she signed my books...one for me and one for my friend...

Adelia...give me a call... I have your book. Merry Christmas friend...

December Drama...

It's been an eventful 2 weeks. You probably don't remember, but last year I went to an auction at a restaurant that was closing. I was able to win a new freezer. Not just any freezer, but my DREAM freezer. It has 3 doors and 75 cubic square feet. It's beautiful!! It was only 1 1/2 years old when I got it. It's so tall that it wouldn't fit through the garage door. Not a regular door, but the door you raise up and down to drive your car it... it's tall. Anyway, it's such a blessing and I use it a lot. I mean it. A LOT. It is packed to the brim. Ten days ago I went in to the garage to put something in the freezer and when I opened the door the light didn't come one. I looked at the thermostat and saw that the temp in the freezer was 38 degrees. It's usually -3. So, I knew it had been off for a while. My ice cream was already squishy! Roger came home and looked at it and couldn't find anything wrong with it. I called a heat/air guy and he said he'd come look at it the next day, which was a Saturday. I waited for him all day. I called him 4 times! He never showed and never picked up and never called. I was so frustrated because my food was defrosting! I called another heat/air guy and he came out the following Monday and said it looked like the compressor was out. So, I spent the next 2 days farming out all my stuff. We had 1/2 a cow, 5 turkeys, all my veggies/fruit from my garden, about 20 lbs. of chicken breasts...the list goes on. Thanks to the generosity and empty freezers of good friends, all our food is taken care of. The compressor should come in this week and I'm hoping it will be fixed before the weekend. It's going to cost a lot... Merry Christmas.

Then, to top it all off... Our neighbor's dog, of of the 2 that run loose, got into our chicken yard and killed 3 of our chickens. Thankfully, my Reds were in the coop and were safe. But the young chicks we were raising to try to get another female were in the yard and he got 3 of the 4. Naturally, the one that survived was the rooster! Ugh!! My Handy Man was able to go ahead and butcher 2 of the chickens, so I guess it's not a total loss. One of my friends has a rooster that she needed to get rid of, so she brought it over this weekend. He is gorgeous and crows every morning and evening. Handy Man likes to hear the crowing...he says it reminds him of his time growing up in Africa. I don't think the neighbors will appreciate it though, so he has to go...

But, not everything has been so full of drama. I had a few ladies over last week for a cookie party and it went really well. Of course, I didn't slow down enough to take pictures, so you'll just have to believe me that it was fun. I was chosen to host a Betty Crocker Cookie Party. They sent me a package in the mail that had several cookie mixes, treats for goody bags, recipes, and a $15 visa card for supplies. Fun.
I've just been chosen to do a Fun and Fit party in January. They are sending me a package with a special game for the Wii and also some healthy treats. If you're interested, let me know.

We're winding down our school and beginning to get excited about Christmas break. The kids have their piano recital this week and I have a get-together on Wed. evening. I think that's about it for us. Not a lot of things schedule after that... I like it that way :-) Handy Man has been working on his windmill and he's hoping it will be up in January. I keep telling him there's no rush, but he is excited to get it done.

I pray that anyone reading this is able to enjoy the holidays and celebrate the birth of Jesus. Much joy to you....

Christmas...It's begun...

I'm feeling a little more bloggy lately. There's a lot going on right now and I'm reminded again and again how blessed I am. Friends that I love are struggling and I don't know how to help. So, I pray. And, I try to spend time with those I love most. So, here's what we did this evening.
Typically, we put up our tree on Thanksgiving night. This year we were in Dallas with our extended family and didn't get home until Sunday evening. The kids were all for putting up the tree, but after 6 hours in the car with heavy rain the whole way home...well, the tree would have to wait. Tonight was the night and they were very excited. I had gotten a Lego set about a month ago during a sale and I brought it out tonight for an extra surprise. It's the Lego Christmas Village... For one blessed hour, the punks worked together and helped each other get their village put together. Now THAT'S a gift!