Pioneer Woman

On Friday night, I got the chance to meet one of my idols-- Ree Drummond, Pioneer Woman.  For those of you who aren't familiar with Ree, she is a blogger.  Her site is:   http://www.thepioneerwoman.com/   On her site, she chronicles her life as a ranch wife in Oklahoma.  She has four children and a bassett hound named Charlie.  She not only posts about her day-to-day life, but she also has a photography section, cooking section, homeschooling section, and a site called Tasty Kitchen where followers can post their own recipes. 

She published a cookbook last year:  "The Pioneer Woman Cooks".  Absolute must make recipes:  cinnamon rolls and Rib Eye Steak with Whiskey Cream Sauce.  In February her autobiographical "romance novel" came out.  It's called "Black Heels to Tractor Wheels"  She tells her story of being the ultimate city girl, going to school in Los Angeles and deciding to move to Chicago when she makes a temporary stop in her hometown in Oklahoma where she meets her "Marlboro Man", soon to be her husband.  She discusses falling in love with a cowboy and learning the ways of country ranch life.  After her book came out, she set up a book tour around the country, which is what brought her to Montana.  This occasion coincided with the annual CM Russell Art Sale. 

Before the book signing, she gave an hour long slide show presentation about her life and blogging.  I had seen her on TV before when she appeared on The View and The Today show.  She was so energetic funny.  At the end of her presentation she showed pictures of her bassett Charlie while singing "My Endless Love".  Very entertaining! 

After that had concluded we quickly lined up for the book signing.  Mom and I had bought VIP tickets which enabled us to get in the front section of the line.  Even so, we stood in line for an hour before reaching Ree.  It was such a blur talking to her.  I can hardly remember what was said to eachother.  There were a couple hundred people in line and it all goes by so fast.  She asked me when I was due and said I was "obviously very pregnant" whatever that meant!!  And asked where I was from and thanked me for coming in my "delicate state"  I know I thanked her for coming to Montana.  And I have no idea what else I said.  I think I was one of those gushing, idiot fans who never stops talking and makes a fool of themselves, but I don't remember!  I do remember how really nice she was.  It was obvious she was going to be there for hours signing books.

At the end of April she is coming out with a children's book about Charlie.  I will of course be getting that for baby!  And mom said she saw in the Tribune that they will be making a movie based on her novel.  I"m pretty sure I'm going to be one of "those people" who line up days before it opens in theaters, just like Harry Potter and Twilight fans!!  It was such a great opportunity to meet her and it's something I'll never forget!

35 weeks 6 days....

About 29 days to go!  Things have been going really well.  Baby has been very active.  She likes to stick her little butt out all the time which makes me look a little "lumpy" at times.  It's pretty fun watching her move around.  Still feeling great, a little tired here and there, but that's to be expected.  Thought I would  share a picture.

Birthday Weekend

The big "30" bash started off on Thursday with a trip to my parents' for a yummy dinner followed by a delicious cake made by Tim.  He made a very delectable Coffee Cake with a coffee batter and coffee icing.  We played a rousing game of Camping Trivia where I think we all learned a lot!  We spent the night because we were headed to Missoula the next the day.

We were actually planning on going to Vegas with some friends for a birthday celebration, but that didn't quite work out!  So I guess Missoula was the next best place!  Actually Tim had made some new countertops for my cousins and we needed to get over there and install them, so we thought we would make a whole weekend of it.  We left early Friday morning with about -25 degree weather.  We stopped in Helena at Tim's sister's for lunch and a quick visit then headed on to Missoula where it was a balmy 15 above!  We did some quick shopping then went to the Pearl for a wonderful meal.  We completely stuffed ourselves on Scallops and Shiitake mushrooms in a ginger cream sauce, roasted cauliflower curry soup, Bison Tenderloin with a Huckleberry & Wine Sauce and a Beef Tenderloin with a Peppercorn Gravy.  One of the best meals we've had!

Saturday morning we headed for Lolo.  We were planning a little Ostertag Cousin Reunion, so Debbie had arrived from Conrad the night before.  Sue cooked us breakfast and then Tom and Tim quickly got to work dismantling the old countertops while we girls chatted and got in the way! 

We spent the day visiting and shared many laughs as usually happens when there is more than one Ostertag present!  Of course we had to pose for a family photo since we don't all get together that often.  All cousins were in attendance!

Tom, Debbie, Kristi and "Mike"

Tom and Sue treated us to a wonderful dinner at Lolo Creek Steakhouse, where we once again stuffed ourselves!  Thanks for all the entertainment Ostertag Family!  Wished we cold see eachother more.  Tom and Sue's girl, Brenna and Amy are growing up fast!

Sunday Tim and I had breakfast at Finn and Porter where I got to visit with some of my old co-workers that are still there!  After our usual stop at the Good Food Store, it was time to hit the road again.  We surprising had mostly bare roads the whole way.  It's still a long trip when we have to haul our big tool trailer behind, but we didn't have any problems.  We stopped in Great Falls to have lunch with Sarah, Jimmy and the boys.  So glad we live so close now!  Had a very nice, relaxing weekend and it was hard to leave the "tropics" of western Montana!  I had a most enjoyable birthday thanks to Tim and my parents!  So far, 30 ain't bad!

More Additions!

Tim has been busy out in his "woodshop" again.  We decided we needed a bookcase for the nursery.  We were just going to buy a little simple one, but then thought a matching one would be nice.  Plus Tim is very into woodworking now and wants to build anything and everything!  So now our Knotty Alder nursery set is complete!  We went through Tim's chidhood books and added them to the shelves.  I know I have quite a collection at home yet to go through!

We also just received this awesome Travel System.  It was a gift from my family.  We started this tradition about 4 years ago when Joni was pregnant with Landon.  The cousins, aunts and grandma all pitch in together to buy a stroller system.  It's so nice for everyone to do that.  It's a big help since there's so much you need!  We've both been test driving it around the house!  So a big, big thank you to Joni, Jessica, Aunt Dauna, Aunt Corinne and Grandma Jo!  We really, really appreciate your generosity!

Happy Birthday Tim!

We sort of celebrated Tim's birthday in a 4 day stretch.  Saturday we went to Great Falls so he could pick out his birthday present-- new skis!!  It was time to upgrade.  His old pair were getting pretty used and they definitely needed to be replaced.   After doing some shopping and running errands, we met Jimmy and Sarah at the movies to watch Little Fockers.  Then we all went out to dinner at Jakers.  Sarah's parents were in town visiting too.  It was great to see everyone.  The boys are getting so big!

Sunday, Tim and Jeff spent the day at Showdown trying out the new skis.  I have a feeling he's going to get some good use out of them!

On Monday we went over to mom and dads.  We had to pick up some cupboards that dad is making for a kitchen remodel job.  His shop was getting quite packed!  Mom made a great pre-birthday dinner of fried chicken, gravy and mashed potatoes.  Dessert was a yummy homemade peach pie!

On Tuesday, (his actual birthday), I met Tim and Terry at Eddies Corner for a little birthday lunch.  For dinner I made Chicken Piccata over angel hair pasta and some caramelized onion rolls.  For dessert we dined on Banana Split Ice Cream Cake!  7 layers of deliciousness!  Glad there is lots left!! 

Happy Birthday Tim!  Hope you had a great few days to celebrate!!

The Big Reveal

The crib is finished!!  Tim worked so hard on it.  As soon as he would get home from work he would head straight to the garage to work on it.  He is really enjoying building furniture.  He had enough scraps leftover to build a little side table.  Anyway now for the finished product....

It's made from knotty alder and colored with a cherry stain to match the changing table.  It turned out so beautiful.  Tim should be pretty proud for his first furniture job!  The matress and sheets should be here this week so it'll be fun to see it all together.

I also got the curtains done.  I just made some simple valances.  I'm hoping to make a matching bed skirt but need to get a little more material first.

So those are the latest installments to the nursery.  More to come soon!

Nursery Progress

Last week we really started tackling the nursery.  It's really coming along and has been a lot of fun to put together. 

The first step was hauling out the old, icky carpet and putting some fresh paint on the walls.  Good-bye blue, hello peach!

Top Layer of Creamy Orange

Bottom Layer of Delicious Melon

Next we had to put down new carpet pad and new carpeting!

TA-DAAA!

We were really excited to move in the dresser finally!  I was getting a nice little collection of clothes that needed a home!

I picked out some cute little bug knobs for the dresser.

The next item to be added is the crib!!  Tim has been very busy applying polyurethane.  Then a coat of wax and it'll be about ready for assembly!  It's looking so pretty right now.  Can't wait to see it all together!  I just ordered the mattress and sheets for it.

 These are the slats.  Count -em!  48!!



We're going to Billings on Thursday for another appointment so I'll finally be able to get some fabric to sew some curtains.  Can't wait to see the finished product!