The Pioneer Woman

Ever since Terra posted a recipe that she made from The Pioneer Woman's website months ago I've been hooked. Addicted some might say. Some being Russ. I'm not sure what it is exactly. It might be the love story behind her and her husband's marriage. It might be her wittiness that cracks me up all the time. It might be the awesome giveaways that I can only dream about winning. Or it might be the recipes I hope to make when I feel like I can actually get in the kitchen again and cook. Whatever it is I love her. She recently came out with a new cookbook. I was so excited when I heard she was doing one because first of all I love her and second of all I have an addiction for collecting cookbooks. (You can see the trend with addictions. Don't get me started on Diet Coke.)

Along with her cookbook coming out she was going to be doing a Book Trip to promote it. And since she's from the Midwest I was lucky enough to be living in the fine City of Kansas where she was going to be making a stop. At first she was only going to be here on a Monday in the middle of the day. Although, that really wasn't going to deter me from seeing her. Luckily she added an evening event that same day. I talked Deb into coming with me and we headed to the Plaza this past Monday for her book signing. It wasn't just a book signing. They had a little question and answer session with her so you got to actually see her personality a little bit. Not just read it. It was really cool. Deb and I got there right when the doors opened (which was an hour and a half before she was getting there) so we got a good seat in the second row. It was fun to just hang out for a little while and chat without any kids. We're observers too so we did a lot of people watching and made fun of the crazy blogger fans. (I won't mention that I could arguable be a part of the group. Russ would tell you that I am.) Before she came out her husband, Marlboro Man, hauled some stuff onto the stage followed by their two boys and you would have thought Brad Pitt just walked in the way some people reacted.

When she came out she was everything she portrays on her website. Very down to earth, funny, pretty and even a little nervous. After the question and answer part everyone lined up according to ticket numbers to have her sign their cookbook and get a picture with her if you wanted. We had ticket numbers 264 and 265 and they went in groups of 50 so it took a while for us to get through. But I can't complain because I think there were at least 500 people there. I was a little nervous when I had to actually go to go meet her. I didn't know what to say and small talk really isn't my forte. Russ told me to just tell her that I'm one of her blog stalkers and that I live my life through her website. Ha Ha. Very funny. I didn't say that. I said something stupid like, "Are you sick of signing books yet?". She said no, that this was the fun part for her. She really does seem like a cool person. Overall, it was a great night. (Minus Deb and I almost getting hijacked in the parking lot afterwards. Okay so maybe it wasn't that serious but the situation Deb and I made up in our heads was. But that's another story.)

Here is my picture to prove that I really did get to meet the infamous Pioneer Woman.

Fat Guy in a Little Coat

Okay. So this adorable little girl isn't a fat guy. And she's not trying to fit into a little coat. But you get the idea. (And it helps to be a Chris Farley fan.) And I just thought these pictures were cute.

Happy Halloween

Halloween was fun this year. The weather was great too. Not to cold but brisk like you would expect in October. Rhett was really at a good age to enjoy it this year. He wasn't originally to keen on the whole costume thing but last year was sort of a break through year. This year he loved every minute of it. Although I'll admit that we only made it a couple blocks and he was ready to go home. He even passed houses on the way home with people sitting out in their driveway and just walked by. It was pretty funny.

Our Blue Power Ranger. Rhett's not too creative with what he wants to be. He was a White Power Ranger last year.


This was Piper's first "real" Halloween. She wasn't sure what to think at first. She's not a big fan of the masks and makeup and all that stuff. She was hesitant with the trick or treating at first too but quickly realized what was happening. After a couple houses she gladly put her bag out to accept the candy. Her favorite is suckers. She's addicted to them. She's definitely our sweet tooth. We really have to keep our eye on her.



A little Cheerleader. This was a good costume for her since she didn't have to put anything on her head or face.


Deb and Brian's kids always come over to trick or treat with us. The kids all really enjoying going together.

The Cousins

Pure Joy

What else can I say?

Almost a goner

So today Piper and I were doing our evening routine of trying to get dinner going when Russ and Rhett came home with distress filling the air. Russ walked in and said from downstairs, "Well, we have a problem". He then continued an ongoing conversation with Rhett saying something along the lines of "You did a really good thing today". Those two statements don't really go hand in hand so you can understand my confusion. I asked him what was going on and he said Rhett gave away his blanket today. "What!", I said with obvious shock. A little background...Rhett has a blue blanket that he's had since he was a baby. It's one of those blankets that goes everywhere with him. The minute he touches it he reverts back to his younger years and immediately sticks his thumb in his month. So you can understand my concern when Russ said Rhett gave it away. This would not be an easy transition. Rhett proceeded to get more hysterical about the fact that he no longer hand his "blankie". Further background...That day at school they were having a pet drive and a pet "blessing". The kids were suppose to bring in a stuffed animal to be blessed (Catholic school...I'm not really sure what that's all about) and they were also supposed to bring in items to donate to an animal shelter. Rhett brought his stuffed bull, Dr. Proctor, and a few items we had around the house to give to the shelter. Apparently, in all the excitement of putting the donations in a pile on the floor, Rhett somehow got confused and added his blankie to the mix. I'm not sure if he knew what he was doing at the time or not but he apparently made it through the day without losing it. When Russ picked him up at school he asked about an incident that his teacher emailed us about earlier that day. (To add insult to injury, they had a fire drill at school today that totally freaked Rhett out. But that's another story.) With the rising tension of talking about the fire drill he remembered his blankie was no longer a part of our family. He told Russ what happened. Apparently Russ's response was much the same as mine. Russ's first thought was the blanket was long gone lining the cage of some poor pooch already. He tried to convince Rhett that he did a really good thing by letting an animal have his blanket. Rhett almost bought into it. Almost. By the time they got home Rhett had reached his breaking point and started to mourn the loss of his dear friend. Through out all of this it never occurred to Russ to just turn around, go back in the school and try to get it back. He simply didn't see that as an option. Luckily there was a women in the house. I called the school right away. The secretary was still there and begged us to come back and get the blanket. The donations hadn't left the school yet and apparently she knew what a blanket meant to a little kid. To make a short story really long, we went back as a family and retrieved the blanket. Easy peasy. It's a good thing we have moms in this world.

(On a side note...Rhett is up way past his bedtime right now watching cartoons on the couch because he's having a hard time falling asleep. He's wondering if there will be another fire drill tomorrow at school.)

Northerners

Russ and I went to Michigan this weekend for a wedding. We had a great time. The kids stayed home with family so we got to enjoy some time alone. We drove. It was a long drive for a weekend but we both enjoy road trips. Russ especially. I can get a little bored but generally I like it. The wedding was perfect despite it being cold and rainy the whole weekend. It was an outdoor wedding but the rain stopped and the sun came out for the wedding. We don't get to see Russ's friends from Michigan too often so it was good to spend some time with them. Russ really has the greatest friends. When we were in Michigan we both confirmed something we know but always takes me by surprise to find out how strong it is. Russ and I are truly northerners. We are both in our element when we are up north somewhere. For me, it's sorta hard to explain. I don't particularly like the cold weather but I love the seasons. I also love dressing in cold weather rather than warm weather. Weird I know. Like I said it just feels like I'm in my element. Another thing I like about the north is the attitude. Whether I'm in the west, middle or east part of the north I tend to like the attitude of everyone. The general attitude you get is different in Montana compared to Michigan compared to New York but it's all north. I don't really know how else to explain it. It's really a wonder we don't live in the north somewhere. I think we probably will eventually but I guess for now the Midwest is comfortable.

Itsy Bitsy Spider

This isn't the best rendition that Piper has in her but it's still cute. And Rhett was surprisingly into it.