If you do not know the Pioneer Woman you must leave my sight IMMEDIATELY! Do not finish reading this until you visit http://thepioneerwoman.com and spend at least an hour drooling over her amazing website. Then you can come back and read all about my adventure meeting Ree (aka., Pioneer Woman) and Ladd (aka., Marlboro Man/Captain Forearms).
Monday night, P-dub came to the Chenal Wal-mart in Little Rock to do a book signing. I REALLY wanted to go. Richie really didn’t. But, being the sweet sweet husband that he is he agreed to go. After work got out we gathered up the book I was gonna get signed for myself and the one I was having signed for my sister for christmas and got in the car to make the hour and a half trip to Little Rock.
We were faced with a slight dilemma. Having not had dinner yet we werent sure whether to eat first and risk being further back in line or wait to eat and maybe get a little closer to the front. Well I had a sneaking suspicion that we would be waiting in line for some time regardless so we opted to eat first. (mmm… Blue Coast Burrito!) With full bellies we finally made it to the Wal-marts at 6:10. The parking lot was FULL! We had to park all the way over in Siberia and walk to the front of the store. When we got in, the lady at the door said the book signing was in the middle of the front near the books.
I could actually see the Pioneer Woman sitting there! I could also see a LOOOOOOOONNNNNNNGGGGGG line of people. I walked and walked and walked and walked and I think just about when we made it all the way around the world and back to Siberia we found the end of the line way in the back near electronics. There were literally HUNDREDS of mostly women in line in front of me. I even saw one lady with an entire CASE of books for Ree to sign!!! (should that be allowed??? 
)
Well I settled in to my place in line. Shortly thereafter some “fans” decided they’d had too much and dropped out. Just like that I moved up four places in line! After what seemed like an hour the line FINALLY started to move. I chatted with the ladies around me. We discussed the book, the website and which recipes we had tried. I even found out that the girl two back from me had gone to summer camp with me in the 90’s, in MAINE!!! How cool is that!?
Where was Richie during all this? He had made friends with another husband that was further back in the line and the two of them watched the entire Transformers 2 movie while we waited. Richie asked the guy working in electronics if they could set out some chairs while they watched but he was told that would be considered loitering. Richie was like, “Umm…did you see the 500 ladies standing around over there?” He still didnt get his chair.
When I had about an hour and a half left in line Richie finally came up and joined me. We were starting to get close to where Marlboro Man was greeting everyone and signing books himself. All the women in line of course were getting excited. You could tell when he met someone new because there would be this girlish giggle that would rise above the crowd.
The marketing director was walking around making sure everyone had a post-it note on which to write their name so it would be easier for Ree to sign our books. Richie asked the lady if he could have 10 post-its. She looked at him funny so Richie said “my wife is wordy!” She still looked at him funny but gave him the 10 post-its. In effort to help pass the last hour we were in line Richie decided to write messages on the post-its and post them on the clothing racks for the people behind us. He wrote confucious-style things like “Life is short; this line is long” as well as simple things like “Photographic moment ahead”, “Rotisserie Chicken on sale for $2.00 in the Deli” and “Is it Tuesday yet?”. We would laugh as we would hear people behind them spotting them and laughing about them. Some people even took pictures of them. I laughed and told Richie he would probably make it onto someones blog!
Finally, I made it to the front of the line! I had my sister in Illinois on speakerphone on my cell because she was wanting to at least hear Ree’s voice. As we walked up I said hi and told her she was signing my sister’s book and that my sister was on the phone. She laughed and grabbed the phone and TALKED to my sister! How cool is that! My sister was so excited! Richie and I talked with her a few moments and then she took a picture with me. Richie told her all about his plan to start a website called THE FRONTIER MAN and he was planning to call me “the Copenhagen Woman.” Gee thanks Richie. Ree said, “Uhoh, I can already feel the heat.”
You wait in line so long and then so quickly the moment is over. But it was still SOOOOO cool!
Here are some pictures to chronicle the event. Please keep in mind that NO MATTER what type of camera my husband uses EVERY picture he ever takes of me is blurry! But I love him anyway!
IMPORTANT UPDATE!!!!!
I am now known as the Wife of the Post-it Guy!!!! Richie is “famous” and is just beside himself. He now thinks he is ALL that and more not that he didnt think that already!
Richie’s Post-it notes actually made the Pioneer Woman’s Blog today! Here is a direct link. http://thepioneerwoman.com/confessions/
He has also been mentioned on these blogs!!! (Oh goodness!)
Watch out Marlboro Man cause it looks like there is a new man in town…
The Frontier Man!
This post kindly brought to you from Julie, aka. Willowtreecreek, aka. The Wife of the Post-it Guy, aka. The Copenhagen Woman
