It's official ... I have a Girl Crush!

Yep, that's right .... my first Girl Crush! Crazy Aunt Purl came to town last night and T2 and I headed over to Powell's for the book signing.

Y'all .... that woman is frickin' ADORABLE! Gorgeous as all get-out, funnier than my mama (sorry mom), and if she is ill at ease speaking in front of folks she certainly doesn't show it! I wanted to hate her for all that .... but I couldn't .... I loves her. It's official!

She read the first chapter of the book ("Drunk, Divorced, and Covered in Cat Hair", for those of you not InTheKnow) then proceeded to answer audience questions. That was my favorite part, because that woman can talk! And with the most adorable of southern accents.

Here's a brief bit I recorded while she was talking about how her coworkers (except for Work Jennifer) were in the dark about her book until one accidentally saw a copy on Work Jennifer's desk.



Yeah, she's frickin' adorable, right?!

And here's a picture with the leg warmers she is currently knitting! Hehe ... leg warmers! Too cute!

Oh, by the way, throwing Muggle T2 into a knitting environment was a hoot! To see so many folk knitting in public (gasp!) I believe was a shock to her system. She recovered well ...... although I noticed she didn't even take a second glance at the baskets of yarn laying around. (apparently I have more educating to do with her! ;))

So Crazy Aunt Purl (CAP) signed books afterwards and I managed to get mine signed without making TOO big of a babbling idiot of myself (or maybe I did, but let's just pretend otherwise, shall we!). I mean, I did throw out to her that I was her stalker down in LA that one time at The Stinking Rose. Which, to her credit, she managed to keep from dropping everything and calling for security backup! (perhaps her fine southern upbringing prevented her from doing so??).

But! BUT! I also had a copy of the book from T1 to get signed as well. (T1 now currently living in North Carolina and is HOPEFULLY MOVING BACK SOMEDAY, DAMNIT but sent her book out to me so I could get it signed for her since CAP isn't heading out that way.).

And T1 asked me to show CAP a picture of T1 and Baby Q while CAP was signing her book. (yeah, hello .... as if my idiot babbling wasn't bad enough! ;)). Anyway, CAP was awesome! She's all "oh, we all need to take a group photo with it then!". And so we did!

(Yeah, y'all didn't think I was going to let that one be easily full sized, did ya?!

I mean, first off, anyone standing next to CAP is going to look like a toad because of her gorgeousness. Dem's just the facts.

Secondly, the Rules Of Having Your Picture Taken just go right on out the window whenever anyone points a camera at me!

I generally can pull off Rule #1 (shoulders back, hence boobage out) and Rule #2 (stomach in).

Rule #3 (chin(s) up) is usually a bit more difficult for me, as proven here.

But Rule #4 (arm AWAY from the body) is always, always my downfall. I get so tensed up right before the camera clicks that my arm gets pressed tightly against my body. Which, as y'all know, forces the "bat wing" to spread out to its fullest glory! Sigh. And y'all thought I would learn, after I looked at every single China picture and saw the same thing! (*repeatedly taps forehead with fingers and repeats mantra, "Must remember to keep the arm awayyyyyy from the body! Must remember to keep the arm awayyyyy from the body!!!"*). Seriously, how difficult is that rule?! It's not, right?! But yeah, there's just no hope. I see a camera and I clench everything tighter than coal making a diamond! Damnit!)

But LOOK! Via the wonders of cropping, here's a great picture of CAP holding the picture of T1 and the ultra-adorable Baby Q!

Yay! That, at least, is very, very cute!

So anyway, all in all a fun time! I hope some of y'all get the chance to see her too! She's so adorable that I warned her T2 and I would be in Los Angeles stalking Springsteen on the 29th so she might have to be careful and beat her bushes to ensure that we weren't in there stalking her too. Luckily for her (and me -- I've managed to avoid a police record so far, I don't want to start now!), she said she's in Tennessee! Whew!

Though I forgot to warn her that I'm down there for Christmas too. Hmmmm. :)