Monday, November 12, 2012

Candy Cigarettes and a Famous Encounter

Do you guys remember candy cigarettes?  I remember two different kinds from my childhood.

The first and favorite ones I remember were actually pink, bubble gum sticks wrapped in white paper.  On the end of each "cigarette" was a white, powdery substance.  If you blew on the cigarette, the white powder (which was some form of powdered sugar) would flow into the air.  Once you were done "puffing" your cigarette, you would unwrap the thing and chew it just till it was old enough to grab another.

The second kind I remember were just the white, thin sugar sticks.  These you had to be a little more creative with while you pretended to smoke.  The poor design just led to not pretending at all and just gobbling up the sticks.

Sorry, I grew up in the south.  I rode my bike to the country store and bought a lot of candy.  I am not ashamed.

Anyway, tonight, as I rummaged through Jesse's Halloween candy, I found a little cardboard candy box that was unfamiliar.  The box had an Avengers theme.  I opened the little box, and low and behold, inside were the white, second rated candy cigarettes!  Except, they were not labeled cigarettes....no, no...they were just called "candy sticks."  They tasted just like they used to though.

Boy, that really took me back.  All of the sudden, I'm riding down the road on my bike, one hand on the wheel and my candy cigarette in the other.  I was a model kid, that's for sure.

I am so behind on this blog, and I choose to talk about candy cigarettes.  I do not plan these things.  I am sorry.  I am just so thankful that I never felt the need to smoke the real ones, and more so that my daughter doesn't even know what a cigarette is.

Anyway....

We met someone!  We met someone on a Monday night in the city!  I drove Jesse all the way into town to meet my friend Heather and her darling son, Miles (Jesse's buddy), and we met her!  We were so excited.



Guess who?

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Guess who was at the Little Shop of Stories signing her new Christmas themed Charlie book?



You got it!  It was the one and only Pioneer Woman!  She was so fabulous in person.  She is just like she is on her cooking show and exactly how she is on her blog.  She's the real deal, and she looked beautiful.



Jesse was thrilled to meet her.  She watches her on the Food Network with me and has always loved her first Charlie book.  She couldn't wait to get the new Charlie Christmas book and meet her in person.

Jesse wrote her a letter while we were waiting in traffic to see her.  She was so thrilled to give it to her.



We waited a long time for this opportunity.  I believe we got home around 11:00 that night.  It was so worth it.



But I have to say, being there with Heather and Miles topped it all.

Thank you Heather for hanging in there with us after our long day of work, and for reading stories to our sweet, patient kids while I nervously awaited seeing Ree in person.

I had so much to say to The Pioneer Woman.  Like, "I love your photography!"  "I dream about your mashed potatoes."  "I think your blog is fabulous, funny, and incredibly entertaining."  Or even, "Can I please visit the Ranch some day?"  But, all I said walking up to her with Jesse was, "She loves Charlie."

That's all I said.  That's it.  After all that time, that's all I said.  I'm such a goober.

If I could talk to her tonight, I would ask her if she remembers those candy cigarettes.  She would say "Yes!" We would talk about it for hours, and she and Heather and I would be best friends forever.

It's a fun thought anyway.