Marlboro Man, Pioneer Woman, and the Outakes

(For the first part of the story...check out the post from last night, the one right below this one...it's good too.)
So here it is...the photo with Marlboro Man. We then switched out a member to get the photographer in the photo and the strain of appearing normal became too much for me. Her picture has me making a strange face.

I think it was probably more like my normal expression.
A better picture of Pioneer Woman admiring the aprons...and looking very star-like.

And because I am an equal opportunity blog poster...a shot of me that made me nearly shoot Diet Coke through my nose this morning.

Mary and Ree are all business, happy just signing away.
Susan looks a little doubtful.
And me, I can't do anything but shuffle camera, books, purse and phone.
Sheesh.
Still, I did get a book for a very, very good friend who is unlucky enough to live far away, nowhere near Little Rock, Ree, Ladd, or the crazy LA gang. It all worked out. And this is a dang funny picture. I don't currently have in my possession the Marlboro Man shot that I messed up. Sorry. I probably wouldn't post it anyway. I don't really want to see that face again.

I want to be PW when I grow up

I'd like to be PW when I grow up, without the cows and early mornings, but with the throngs waiting for my arrival to sign things. We had a very good time, waiting in line there in front of the McDonald's and the Little Debbie endcap at the Walmarts.

The Line, approximately 5:00 p.m.
We are the end. The beginning is roughly the girl in green.

We are pretty happy with our position.

The LA gang.
They look happy at approximately 5:17.

They have the official Post-Its ready. Susan and I went rogue and used our Leisure Arts business cards.

Pioneer Woman arrives. One minute she isn't there and then the next, like a magic Wal-Mart shopper, she appears from the 10 items or less lane.

Pioneer Woman is then forced to dart across buggy traffic like Frogger did the highway. She manages to make it to the safety of the book signing table without being buggy-swiped.

Don't these people know they're dodging a celebrity?
Doesn't PW absolutely look the part of the celebrity?
Don't those hands get very, very white when you're shooting indoors with the flash on? Sorry. I had to move fast.

Oh, wait, who is this? Could it be...Marlboro Man? The man, himself? And...wait, he's signing books? Oh, and wait...he's taking photos? And even more important...posing for photos. (I have been promised most sincerely a copy of the one we took together with MM. Yes! We have a photo with MM. Little Rock rocks!)

I asked if he ever thought he'd be signing autographs. His answer: if he had, he'd have learned to write better. I sort of felt proud of myself to ask a somewhat coherent question.Good job, Cheryl. Why, thank you, Cheryl.

This is Lisa talking to Ree about how many recipes she has flagged.

We didn't have that conversation.

I don't really plan to cook.

But I was totally prepared to talk dogs.

We didn't. Also, I missed my chance to ask Regina's question. Sorry, Regina. I lost track of the conversation for a bit.

I don't know what Mary and Ree talked about. I was too busy juggling books, making sure my stupid sweater was buttoned, and wishing I had stopped eating 10 years ago.

And here is Susan giving PW the aprons we had wrapped up specially for her...after we had a little "Leisure Arts" conversation. It was good.

And here is the unimproved photo of the group together with PW. It's a good looking group. Happy.

The line as we were leaving, approximately 6:45.

The books. See there are two of them?
And Pioneer Woman's signature...

And Marlboro Man's signature. I very politely thanked Ree for bringing him to Little Rock. Denver, Salt Lake City, and Phoenix are all so sad now. I'm just sure of it.

Little Rock rocks!

When blog stars (like PW) come to town

Somehow Little Rock has made it on The Pioneer Woman's Griswold-style book tour to promote her new cookbook. And not just anywhere in Little Rock, but a hop, skip, and jump a mile down the road to the nearest Wal-Marts (that's how you might say it around here).

There are good reasons for me not to go.
1. I don't cook. I don't want to cook. I don't need a cookbook, even if it is a funny cookbook with cute dog pictures in it (that's probably enough to convince me that I do need just about anything...the dog pictures).
2. I secretly wonder if someday I might be living in a place where the cows are in the yard and the nearest Wal-Marts is many, many miles away. There's a place like that in my family. I might actually sort of have a piece of a part of a little bit of land like that. It has cows on it. And a dirt road. And no trash pick-up (and we all know how I feel about that). But it would hold a lot of dogs, and if people don't stop sending me picture of their precious puppies, I'm totally going to cave and get one and then Darcy will run away from home and I'll have to move to a place with more land and room for another queen size pillow top bed to accomodate her and it'll be a brand new version of Green Acres. But I digress.

So I wasn't really planning on going, thinking the crowds would be too much for (we all know how I feel about crowds too). But then I checked the price of the book on Amazon (and really, it isn't a bad price...$14 and change) and then I thought of all the unfortunate souls who live in places that might not be stops on the tour. And I read her blog so it would be nice to see the real person.

And then I thought it might be post on the blog, say Tuesday-ish. So I think I'll go.

And because I'm still nursing this giveaway along, I want to know what you'd ask Pioneer Woman if you had the chance. I'm not saying I'll ask her or anything. But I might. Or I might find a braver friend who will ask and I'll report the answer. That's sorta how I work. I'll be tongue-tied and such.