Amazing, Awesome, Stupendous, Crazy, Magnificient!

Yesterday was the day I had been waiting for...."Janet Day" and the signing of Fearless Fourteen! We had our plan all mapped out:

1. Drive down to Plano in the early afternoon
2. Buy Fearless Fourteen
3. Get in line by 4:00ish
4. Bill arrive and take girl duty
5. Call Bill when I am a few people away from Janet
6. Bill take video of me charming Janet with my sparkling wit & personality
7. Bill take my picture with Janet
8. Janet sign my new book
9. Leave the store by 8:00

As with all best laid plans......

I wake up yesterday morning so excited and very nervous. I get online around 10am to try and scope out some tips on what time to actually arrive at the bookstore. I stumble upon this website that lists author visits around town and discover they started handing out tickets to see Janet at 9 that morning! I immediately email Bill and beg and plead for him to go pick up my ticket, since he is closer to the store than I am....well, that, and the fact that the girls and I were still in pjs...oops! Actually, I didn't have to beg much, he was happy to do it....Thank you, Dear!!! He calls me after he got our tickets and says, "The tickets have a time for when we get to meet Janet.....8:10pm. Oh, and I already bought the book."! Here's me: "WHAAAAAATTTTT, but all my plans......oh, you got the book. Okay.".

Side note: Also, while browsing the net, I discover that I have been mispronouncing Janet's last name. This is going to show my southern roots, but here goes. I have always thought her name was pronounced E-van-o-vich. Actually it is E-von-o-vich....where the "van" in her name sounds like "von" or "vaughn". Crazy!!! LOL!!! Okay, back on track........

So, it was time to regroup, and actually the new time was better anyway. The new plan:

1. Leave the house around 6pm
2. Eat dinner near the bookstore
3. Arrive at the bookstore just before 8pm
4. Me get in line while Bill and the girls browse
5. Call Bill when I am a few people away from Janet
6. Bill take video of me charming Janet with my sparkling wit & personality
7. Bill take my picture with Janet
8. Janet sign my new book
9. Leave the store by 9:00

And actually that plan almost worked out! We did accomplish numbers 1-3! LOL!!

The signing was actually a much bigger deal than I had realized. Silly me, I thought I was the only Plum fun out there. LOL! People showed up in droves! There was even a group of about 20 "Bat Babes" with matching shirts and a baby with a batman mask. It was nuts!

The tickets they handed out were actually like airline boarding passes....everyone had a Group that was printed on their ticket. We were in Group 4, so our signing took place between 8:10 and 9:00. Just before 8, they announced for Group 4 to get in line, so we all did. It was just easier to stick together at that point. And we had pretty much worn out the children's section. Hayley had found a book called Coke or Pepsi that had fun questions that you would ask your friends. So we all took turns answering questions, and that helped pass the time. The line wound through the fiction section, so I took some time to browse new titles. I didn't find anything nearly as exciting as Janet's books, but I did find Christy by Catherine Marshall, which I had read many years ago. I showed it to Sydney, and she was immediately hooked!

So, we are standing in line and guess who I see out of the corner of my eye......Alex!!! For those who don't know, she is Janet's daughter. She takes care of the website, store, answers reader's questions and was recently married at Disney World! She was going through the line talking to the guests and handing out stickers. So, she gets to us and says, "Morelli or Ranger?". I blushingly answer, "Ranger" (Bill is standing right there...come on!), and she hands me a "I heart Ranger" sticker! I was so excited!!! LOL! Then, she sees the girls and asks if they want balloons. Of course I do, I mean they, do! So, off she goes and comes back with a handful of balloons. We got one of each color, and we were really getting excited now!! ;o)

Then we turn the corner and see Janet! YAY! Okay, so she was still about 40 people away....the "Bat Babes" were ahead of us, but we could still see her. It was around this point that Hayley starting getting just a tad tired and cranky. But, along came a Barnes & Noble employee with free Starbucks chocolate cake, and she perked right back up....until it fell in the floor. Oh, well only a few more people to go......

After watching a few people meet Janet, it was suddenly clear that:

1. If Bill was to get video of me talking with Janet, there was no way that you would be able to hear us!
and
2. Her Publicist took pictures for everyone....."because I am really good at it!".

And our plan was altered (again) at that point, which was fine. Her publicist took our camera, Bill showed him what button to push and then we were off.....all of us! LOL!! I greeted her and asked how she was. She greeted me and asked how I was. She signed my book and a couple of surprises. We got arranged for our picture, smiled, and verified that the picture was good. Bill shook her hand. She thanked us for coming and I thanked her for coming down to Texas.

And we were done. No sparkling wit or personality, no high five (sorry, Danielle).....just about 1 or 2 minutes with Janet. But, let me tell you......I was on cloud nine for the rest of the night!!!!! I was sooooo excited, I even asked if we could go to Wal-Mart on our way home to get some groceries (9:30 at night)!! LOL!!! Anyone who knows me, knows that is a big deal! LOL!!!

All-in-all, I loved every minute of it! We ALL got to meet Janet, the girls were great the whole night and I have her new book signed! Can't beat that!