nerd fest!

this saturday, we headed downtown to the national book festival. it's something i'd always wanted to go to, but never got around to actually attending. this year, when i found out who was going to be there, i decided we *had* to be there. curious to see who was the driving force behind this decision? read on!

we got to the festival and it was packed!

that's me and my sister in the lower left corner. (ugh, i hate pictures from the back!)

the festival was held right on the national mall just in front of the capitol.


we got there early because one of the people i HAD to see was speaking at 10:30. i was so, so, SO excited to hear her.

want to know who it was?

is the suspense killing you yet?

i know, i'm cruel.

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people, i met the pioneer woman.



she was hilarious and warm and just as amazing as she is on her blog and in her cookbook. if you're not familiar with her, you *need* to start reading her site. her posts are awesome and recipes are amazing.

i even asked her a question.

i asked about her memoir, black heels to tractor wheels, that is in the works to be made into a movie. so cool. imagine, starting a blog one day, growing a readership that results in 18 million hits a month, publishing a best-selling cookbook based on the blog, being asked to write another book based on a series of blog posts and then having that book made into a movie! crazy.

i actually did meet her, but you'll have to keep reading to find out how that happened. ;)

after ree spoke, we went to stand in line for mem fox's book signing. she was the other reason i went. judith viorst, rosemary wells, and katherine paterson were some authors whom i love and respect and were also present, but i just adore mem fox. there is just something magical about her storytelling. her books are always favorites in my classroom.

i bought new copies of these books to add to choi boy's library and brought them to have mem sign them.


we waited in line for a good 30 minutes. and it was hot. the kind of gross, humid, nasty hot that you only get in dc. it was 95 degrees. hi, it's fall...apparently, the weather in dc didn't get the message.

we waited and waited and waited some more. all to be turned away! boo! i was so sad. seriously, crushed. so crushed that we had to go eat lunch to make me feel better.

amazing pizza and chopped salad did make me feel better.

i even managed a smile.

(sidenote: isn't my sister gorgeous? we don't really look alike -- i look like dad, she looks like mom, but you can tell we're sisters because we both have those weird cheekbones that make us look like we're hiding an egg under each cheek when we smile. really, look closely. you'll see what i mean.)

we headed back to the festival so i could at least hear mem speak.


she was wonderful. she told us about growing up in africa and being the only white child in her school. a school that met under a tree and where she learned to write using her finger and tracing letters in the earth. amazing!

she read my favorite book of hers, whoever you are, and told us that she would read this everyday to her prematurely-born grandson while he was in the incubator.

i totally cried.

while i was listening to mem, peter very kindly waited in line for me at ree drummond's book signing. isn't he nice?

this time, i was able to get my book signed. yay!

now, i've met/encountered a fair number of famous people in my day: shaq, carson daly (i went to TRL when i was interning at noggin in college), a good number of the mtv veejays back when there were veejays (noggin folks ate at the same cafeteria as the mtv, vh1, nickelodian folks), john mayer, steven curtis chapman, guilana depandi, paige davis, bob costas, the today show hosts, and others that i can't remember right now. but for some reason, i totally geek out the most when i meet authors.

i think it's because i feel connected to them like they're my people. and i just love them for what they do. i've met ann m. martin and jane yolen (they're alums of my college) and one day in college, i ran in to eric carle while buying lip balm. my college town was home to lots and lots of authors, and mr. carle could regularly be seen walking around town. i almost fainted when i met him. he is SO cute!

because of this, when i met ree and had her sign my cookbook, i was so excited and nervous. look how ridiculous i look talking to her.



i'm like a child at disney world.

here's the cool part. volunteers from the junior league were running the book signings and they were taking pictures for their newsletter. out of all the people in line, they asked me and peter if we wouldn't mind taking a picture with ree for the newsletter. peter said no, thinking they were asking if we wanted to subscribe to the newsletter, but i cut him off and emphatically answered, "yes! we'll do it! yes!" which is funny, because the girl said she asked us because she needed pictures featuring men, not just women, so, as peter reminded me last night, *he* was the reason we got chosen. thanks, honey!

so, yes, we had a special photo taken with ree. she was asked to come to the front of the table (which she didn't do for anyone else!) AND she told me that she loved my necklace. twice. :) (confession: i bought that necklace for $4.17 at old n*vy.)

unfortunately, the photo i have of that moment is really unflattering, for me at least. i'll show you because i love ree and i love you but, you can see what bad posture i have, how the summer of eating has really taken a turn for the worse, and how gross and sweaty we were.


see?

but, definitely a cool moment, unflattering and all!

we didn't get to see all that the festival had to offer because it was absurdly hot and we were pooped from walking around in the heat. we do hope to be back next year, though, with choi boy in tow! if you haven't been to the book festival you should put it on your list - so worth it!

nerds rule!