Pioneer Purchase

When I was prego with Carter, I spent a lot of time surfing the net at odd hours of the night while nursing (thank you wireless internet) or at other random times during my leave. It was like my sleep-deprived brain could not handle a whole book (which says something since I am a big reader). So, I found my way to odd nooks and crannies of the internet. Some of my lasting faves? Gossip sites - Perez or Pink is the New Blog, parenting - AskMoxie, home/crafts - Apartment Therapy & Not Martha, or "famous" bloggers like Dooce, Matt Logelin, & The Pioneer Woman.

Ree/PW is a former citygirl married to a rancher who writes about photography tips, kitchen stuff, and homeschooling her 4 kiddos in rural OK. Doesn't sound entertaining to you? Feel free to stop reading. Her cookbook recently debuted on the NY Times bestseller list, with PW embarking on a self-proclaimed Griswold style book tour. When I saw that Dallas was on the list, I booked 12/1 on my calendar. After reading her blogs about the crowds (and readers sharing frustrations at previous signings), I called Borders in advance to get the scoop - get a color coded wrist band starting at 9am for the 7pm event. Luckily, I got the first group when I stopped by at 10am.

I arrived about 5:45pm and was 15th in line in the gold/first group...out of a total of ~800. At 7pm, PW spoke for 128 seconds before Borders made her start signing, which she did until 3am. In case you live under a rock and missed it, I am not the chef/cook/baker in our family. Me buying a cookbook is laughable and unprecedented. While waiting in line (starving), I actually read recipes and decided that one looked easy and yummy enough for me to TRY to make it.

Will this pioneer purchase turn into an actual cooked meal? That is the blog Bill is waiting for...bon appetit! Erin

PS - You can als0 read about PW's account of the Dallas visit.