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| The Pioneer Woman |
I'm on the fence about the Pioneer Woman. There. I said it.
Years ago, I discovered the Pioneer Woman's website. I loved the step-by-step photos of recipes. I loved the dog stories. How could I not love the dog stories? I loved the cattle pictures and tried not to think about their ultimate fate. I loved that she was a ranch housewife who loved to blog in between soccer games and dog baths.
Then I printed out one of her recipes and gave it a whirl. It was a flop. Then I printed out another one of her recipes and gave it a whirl. It was ... how do I say this ... a flop. But maybe I just don't like Oklahoma cooking. Except for her restaurant style salsa. That recipe is totally brilliant.
I bookmarked her website and continued to visit it every morning. I just like the way she writes. She's funny. She's silly. She's a redhead.
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| Try to make me not smile. Just try. |
I started watching her TV show. I rolled my eyes at some of the recipes. How can dumping a can of corn into a bowl be called a recipe? I marveled at how enthusiastic and chipper her children seem and wondered how much she bribed them. I did like her sense of humor and the snapshots of ranch life. Mostly, I tried to ignore my husband who seems convinced the Pioneer Woman is some kind of a stepford wife. Mr. G. mimicking the Pioneer Woman: "I like to smile all of the time. Watch me smile while I prepare thoughtful casseroles for my husband's 20-year-old girlfriend."
Then I stumbled across the Pioneer Woman haters on the Internet. Surprise, surprise. The Pioneer Woman isn't just a little old housewife. She's a rich little old housewife. Her husband's a megawealthy cattle rancher. I'm not sure why this was a secret. Only the Pioneer Woman and Teresa Giudici can afford Viking appliances - and Teresa's are about to go up for auction.
The worst of the haters is the Marlboro Woman. Marlboro Woman loves to hate, and she hates everything about the Pioneer Woman. She hates Pioneer Woman's recipes, white teeth, relatives and billowy blouses. She posts recaps of the Pioneer Woman's TV shows and shreds them. At first I thought the recaps were kind of funny. Then it started bothering me how nasty they were. Then I thought, geez, can you find one thing to like about the Pioneer Woman? Just one thing? Didn't your mama teach you that?
Then Marlboro Woman blocked me. I never made a single comment on her website so I'm not sure how I offended, but offend I apparently did. Out of curiosity, I dropped her an email asking why I was blocked. I got a terse reply back that didn't really answer my question. I can only assume she caught onto the fact that I, like the Pioneer Woman, favor billowy blouses.
So I'm going back to the Pioneer Woman's blog with my tail tucked between my legs. It's friendlier over there. The people are always nice. Plus she gives away prizes.
