Beyond the connections I made with old bloggy and Twitter friends at Blogher, I got the chance to rub shoulders with some pretty big names! I wasn’t one of the lucky ones who got the chance to hang out with Tim Gunn or Carson Kressley, but the celebrity experiences I had were amazing and meaningful.
In particular, having the chance to meet and briefly speak with Paula Deen was the best moment of my weekend. And yeah, I actually cried on the poor woman. No, I’m not psycho, really. There’s a story here…
My mom and I have been huge Paula Deen fans since I discovered her on the Food Network several years ago. We made a point to watch her specials, often together, and would call each other to discuss the recipes she made on her show each day. She makes food that we like and that makes sense. While I love unusual and exotic ingredients, I can always count on Paula to make things that I can actually find all the components for. She’s perfect for the foodie on a budget – come on, the woman has a recipe that includes Ramen noodles. I. Heart. Paula.
Those of you who have been reading here for awhile know that I lost my mom last July. I’ve taken it hard, but had tried to hide it as much as I can, for the sake of the rest of the family. One of the last conversations I had with mom, probably the day before she passed away, suddenly and unexpectedly, was about how much I wanted to attend BlogHer 09. She promised to do anything she could to get me there. And then she was gone.
Mom still made good on her promise, I feel. Everything just fell into place with sponsorship and before I knew it, I was packing my bags to head to Chicago. I spent the days preparing just wishing I could share my excitement with my mom. Then it happened. I saw a tweet that Paula Deen was coming to Blogher. It was like mom was telling me she was there and she knew – and here’s a little extra something, just for you.
Thanks to some awesome friends (Tara and Adrienne) I had a great spot to see Paula speak and got the opportunity to meet her. I choked out a 10 second version of the story to Paula when my turn came to meet her. She looked up at me, with a misty look in her eyes and said “Honey, whenever you see me, think about all the special memories you have with your mama.”
That did it, she gave me a huge hug as I lost it on her shoulder. I’m sure she has no idea just how much those few seconds meant to me, but for a brief moment, I was hugging my mom again. Thank you, Paula, for giving me a very special moment.
Here’s me and Paula, before I had my breakdown:
And after I lost it:
Thanks to Amy, for letting me use her camera, since mine was having issues all weekend. If I had lost these, I’d have been heartbroken.
While that was the real kicker, as far as brushes with celebrity went, I met a few other cool people. Somewhere, floating around, is a picture of me with Chris Mann, that I have yet to see.
I also met:
Brooke White, from Americal Idol
Nina from PBS Sprout’s Goodnight Show
And , Frankie, The Jumpstart Dog
I took pics of me and Mrs Potato Head, plus had some of Mrs P and Paula, but I think my camera ate them. Someone remind me to get a new camera before I head out for the TypeAMom Conference in September!!
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