See this? I heart it to infinity and beyond.

And there’s lots more where that came from.

Coming up Monday….

I’ve received several questions about the Big Festive Deal, and since my greatest goal in life is to make the blog a model of efficiency (ahem. sorry. I seem to have something caught in my throat.), I thought I’d answer the questions in a post as opposed to answering a bunch of individual emails and comments.

And I’m just going to paraphrase the questions, by the way. Because I’m far too lazy to do all that copying and pasting.

However, I do have some exciting news: I’m really not tired anymore. And I think that is remarkable, especially considering that yesterday I wondered if I would ever have energy again or if I would simply spend the rest of my life sitting on the couch under a down coverlet while Alex watched Noggin.

But today I’m all better. Of course, this large cup of caffeine from Panera doesn’t hurt one bit.

Which reminds me: one time sweet Holly emailed me to ask why I like to work on blog stuff at Panera, and the answer is because I don’t get as distracted in a coffee shop as I do at home. There are no unmade beds or laundry here, so I don’t feel like I should be doing a hundred other things besides “writing.”

Not to mention that the coffee is spectacular.

(However, today Panera is really loud. I believe that at least a quarter of our town’s population has chosen to have lunch here and simultaneously scream into their cell phones.)

(But I really don’t have any room to talk since I am in fact WEARING FULL-SIZED HEADPHONES.)

All righty. Big Festive Deal questions. Coming right up.

1. How did you get to go to the Big Festive Deal? And how did you end up backstage?

I have to be a little bit vague with this answer, though certainly y’all should be used to that since this is, as I like to say, the blog where specific details go to die.

But: Sister is the reason I got to go. Because she plans some things for some people. For a living.

And a couple of weeks ago she asked me if I could help her with some backstage stuff, and I said yes, and there you have it.

What’s so interesting to me is that Sister has worked in the same office for over twenty years, but I have never really seen the behind-the-scenes of what she does until this past Monday night. We talk about it all the time, of course, but to see it all in action was something to behold.

2. How did you get your hair so big and flippy?

Y’all, you have no idea how happy the questions about my hair made me. After all, I’m Southern, and big hair is my heritage.

The biggest help was, of course, the cut. But the second biggest help was this stuff:

And this stuff:

And some big velcro rollers.

And a lot of hair spray.

If you want more detailed instructions, I will be happy to provide them. But I’m telling y’all, that bain de terre stuff cures a world of hair hurts. It’s the best hair product I’ve ever used, and that, my friends, is saying more than you will ever know.

3. What roots?

THESE ROOTS:

I have an appointment for color at the end of the month because some sweet friends are coming to visit the first weekend of November, and I am hoping to have my hair JUST LIKE I LIKE IT.

4. Did you tell any of the famous people you saw about your blog?

Um, I still haven’t told people AT MY CHURCH about my blog, so no, no, I didn’t really, um, think to mention it to, you know, KENNY CHESNEY.

5. Why? Why didn’t you talk to the famous people? Or have your picture made with them? Why?

You know, I know this is going to sound strange, but I didn’t want to overstep any boundaries. Because the Big Festive Deal focused on songwriting, it was very relaxed and casual backstage – it almost seemed like a reunion – and I didn’t want to interfere with that. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves so much, and it just wasn’t the right time to pose for pictures and stuff.

Unless Christy Nockels had been there. In which case I would have grabbed her arm and held on for dear life while I talked incessantly until she finally agreed to have lunch with me.

Or until the authorities removed me from her immediate vicinity.

Which is probably the more likely scenario.

5. What are the dead-to-me shoes?

OH.

THESE.

OH.

My feet hurt just looking at them.

6. Tell us more about this chocolate fountain.

It would be my pleasure.

The chocolate was a rich milk chocolate – none of that bittersweet dark chocolate business – and it was surrounded by the following items, NOT THAT I PAID CLOSE ATTENTION OR ANYTHING: coconut macaroons, angel food cake, pretzel sticks, strawberries, apricots, dates, pineapple, marshmallows and bananas.

I stood there and alternated between the apricots and the pretzel sticks for more minutes than I’m comfortable admitting.

Initially I was putting the little chocolate-y treats on a plate and sitting down at the table to eat them. But by the end of the night I just stood in front of the table and grazed. I didn’t quite get to the point where I strapped on a bib and lapped up the chocolate like water from a trough, but it was close.

And if there had been any potato chips available for chocolate dunking, I probably would’ve sent Sister to the hotel for my pajamas and promptly camped out for the night.

I guess there’s always next year.