Dear Pioneer Woman...

Dear Mrs. Drummond,

Mrs. Drummond seems too formal to address someone as familiar as you are to me, but I’m the product of a good education and wonderful southern raising, so I know it is most appropriate. I’m sure you get a bazillion emails daily, but I write with the earnest hope that mine will stand out. You see, this blog world you’re in is a beautiful, magical thing. I know for many it connects them to people they would never have otherwise known. For me, it has reconnected me to girls I knew but had lost touch with. This is the story of our Blogger Gals group (from my point of view).

I initially connected with most of these ladies again through Facebook. From one Facebook (Sara’s), I found her blog. From her blog, I found the blogs of Katy, Jennifer, Alissa, Kristin and Danielle. From Katy’s blog, I found Lacy’s. From Lacy's, I found Kelli and from Alissa’s, I found Melissa. We all attended high school together and had classes and or friends in common. Some of us were very good friends and some were simply classmates. Some have known each other since pre-school and others were added into the mix in later years. We were all part of the Class of ’97.

Sara is a stay-at-home mom and the CEO of her own graphic design/web hosting business. She has two precious children and a husband she has been in a relationship with for 16 years (holy cow!). She’s a wonderful friend and has been the initiator of our get-togethers. She’s wiser than she realizes and beautiful inside and out.

Katy is a classically trained ballerina (something you two have in common) who has danced in some amazing venues. Everything about her exudes grace. She married a guy who also went to our high school, though I don’t believe they dated until well after we graduated. They have a handsome almost two year old son. She hosted our first gathering and was kind enough not to kick us all out – even when several of us were still there at 2:30 a.m.! Talk about a wonderful hostess!

Jennifer is our resident shoe girl. She is training for a 5k and incentivizes herself with shoes making her a girl after my own heart! Like you, she lives in the country (though I think it’s closer to her big town than to your big town). She is married with a gorgeous daughter and in the beginning stages of building their home.

Kristin is our style guru. She dresses to impress and I hope that some of that rubs off on me as we spend more time together! She is an avid hockey fan and the Oscars are her super bowl. She is married with a gorgeous 13 month old daughter.

Kelli is our military wife with a how-I-met-my-husband story that rivals yours for most romantic ever. She is an incredibly talented photographer and someone you can likely spend time discussing aperture and shutter speeds with and not encounter a blank stare.

Alissa is the daughter of a doctor like you. She graduated college and worked as a CPA, then was certified to teach (sixth grade science) and is now a stay at home mom to two little rascals (who are absolutely precious boys!).

Melissa works as an engineer and is the newest mom in our bunch. Her daughter has the sweetest disposition (evidenced in her too cute laugh) - likely the result of Melissa's kind heart and homemade baby food!

Danielle works in financial planning and is married with a beautiful daughter. She also participates in the local Junior League. Her engagement ring was misplaced in February and then found again by her husband. He surprised her by re-proposing on her birthday - sounds like a Marlboro Man moment to me!

Lacy is our California girl. She is currently in school learning about integrative nutrition. She is a wellness guru & yoga instructor (putting your holey yoga pants to good use!) as well as a massage therapist. She is a natural born creative and makes the most wonderful scrapbooks.

As for me, I'm the single one (Hello Cowboy Josh! just kidding...) - you know every group has one. I'm equal parts country and city girl too. I love to fish, ride 4-wheelers and growing up, my Daddy named one of our cows after me. It's a little disturbing now that I'm old enough to know what happened to her, but it was sweet then. I'm also a traveler and shopper and an avid hunter of bargains.

That's our group in a nutshell. I bet you're wondering what this has to do with you by now. You see, about a week and a half ago, Jennifer posted a link to your apple fritter recipe. When she did, we all discovered our mutual adoration for you and your site. During this same time, we were also planning our second gathering. We originally got together in January and vowed to make it a semi-annual event. So naturally, one of us (okay - I'll front out the guilty party - it was me) joked how great it would be to score an invite to the lodge with a cooking demonstration.

On a whim, I decided to write this letter. I have no expectation that you'll read it, but on the off chance you have a google alert set up and do - I wanted you to know you have fans in the Class of '97 Blog Gals.

Sincerely,

Summer