Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Wordful Wednesday-Lula Style

*Wordful Wednesday is for those of us that like to showcase a photo(s) but that just can't seem keep our mouths shut about it(them). If you'd like to play along, post a photo on your blog, and let the words roll. Feel free to "capture" my 7 Clown Circus button on the left to link back to me, and be sure to add yourself to Mr. Linky. Thanks for playing along!

So...a while back my dear Angie (whom I just want to hug and kiss and squeeze!) asks if I will guest post on Wordful Wednesday. Now...I am not in Angie's league...so I panicked. And fretted. And basically had a meltdown. What can I write about that's worthy of Seven Clown Circus? Seriously?!?

Then Angie suggested a specific post of mine from last year. And I said, "Oh, girl...that is so long and boring!" And she's all, "Hello--it's Wordful Wednesday!" I then gave in. For Angie. Because I adore her. And I did warn y'all...it is long. But it's good. It's about my close, personal, best friend. Read on...
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In August of 2007, my husband, Scott, and I were in the Atlanta airport waiting on a connecting flight to Austin, where we go each year for a boring medical convention. We always make a stop at the airport's Budweiser Brew Pub because they have really cheap appetizers. (Not to get drunk before catching a plane--please.) We fill up before boarding the flight and receiving the obligatory bottle of room temperature Dasani and Eagle Brand Pretzels. YUM--flight fuel!

There we are, noshing away on whatever grease was being fried up at that time, and in walks Paula Deen and her husband, Michael. They sit RIGHT NEXT to us. Here's the play-by-play recap of what followed:


Lula: SCOTTY! That's PAULA DEEN. PAULA DEEN! OHMYHEAD, should we say something? OHMYHEAD they are RIGHT THERE. Get her attention...I HAVE GOT TO CALL MAMA, LIBBEY, ROBBIE, AND THAT GIRL I ROOMED WITH AT 4-H CAMP IN 6th GRADE! (Yes, I was squealing...but in a whisper.)

Scotty: Stop. Kicking. Me.

Lula: What should we do? OHMYHEAD. I'VE GOT TO CALL MAMA.

Scotty: Stop. Hitting. Me.



Because he loves me so, or because he was fearful of being all black and blue for his big speech at the boring medical convention, Scotty leans over and asks, "Mrs. Paula? I'm sorry to bother you, but my wife and little girl are big fans of yours."

And then our world is rocked because she and her husband reply, "Visit with us, why don't y'all?"

Um, OK. And can we fawn and stutter and babble and dissolve into a huge gooey mess because we worship and adore all that is holy within you?

First things first: Since I'm introducing my close, personal friend to you fabulous readers, I'll share the pertinents. Yes, her eyes are really that blue in person, yes, she had some serious rocks on her fingers, yes, her accent is really that thick and yes, she smokes like a freight train. I so love her realness. And I so love her for telling me that I "still sound like Georgia." Praise be!

Paula asks me about Libbey, because that's what close, personal friends do when they visit, ya know? I tell her every time we're in Walmart, Libbey points her out on those overhead TV monitors. Mrs. Paula goes, "You know, you are the second person this week to mention I'm on in Walmart. Michael--did you hear this? I'm in Walmart, baby!" She asks our names and where we're from. Of course Scotty is all polite and professional and replies, "We're Scott & Leigh Anne Litton, from southwest Virginia." Faster than a speeding bullet I interject, "BUT I'M ORIGINALLY FROM GEORGIA!" Because, you know...common ground...she's my kinsman and all. Or kinswoman. Whatever. It was important to me that she knew I was a Georgia gal, born and bred. Like herself, of course!

We had stopped our eating and drinking by this point because really, who wants to eat airport food in front of THE Paula Deen? But the waitress brings Mrs. Paula and Captain Michael plates full of chili cheese dogs, mozzarella sticks and cheddar fries. I tell her, "The world would love to know that Paula Deen eats like this." Her reply was tremendous: "Honey, I crave this grease and get it every time we're at this airport! This is the highlight of my trip, darlin'." She is a soul sister. Thank You, Jesus. Amen.

By this time other people (hangers on--sigh--so annoying) in the Brew Pub are starting to figure out that Someone Special is gracing their presence. Autograph requests commence and Scotty and I continue talking with Capt. Michael. He had an iPhone (still the new, hot commodity at that time) and when Scotty (my techno-gadget-geek husband...did I mention the boring medical convention we were heading to was for electronic medical records? I rest my case.) inquired about it, Capt. Michael proceeds to not only show Scotty how it works, but also gave him a peek at his very long list of contacts. I attempted a surreptitious glance, but didn't see Emeril or Giada DeLaurentis' names.

Toward the end of our visit with our new best friends forever, I ask Mrs. Paula if they are returning home to Savannah. She tells us yes, and that they'd been in D.C. to be interviewed by Larry King. She asks us if we've ever been to our nation's capital and we confirm. Then she shocks us by asking, "But do y'all like it there? I was really underwhelmed. Weren't you, Michael?" We all laugh and Scotty mentions that we have to get ready to head to our departure gate. Capt. Michael asks where we're heading and Scotty tells him, "A boring medical convention in Austin." And this is where Scotty falls in love with Mrs. Paula:

"Please tell me you are a plastic surgeon! I am in need of help, don't you think?"

Yes. Paula Deen says this to my husband. Kid you not!

Scotty picks himself up off the floor (with no help from me because I'm involved in my own conversation with Capt. Michael about how he's lusting for an eye lift) and tells her, "First of all, I'm a family physician, and second of all, you do not need any work done, Mrs. Paula." She gets all gushy over this and I begin to wonder if the Queen of Southern Cooking is going to run off with the Hottest Nerdy Doctor in the World. OK, Paula...I love you, but no making eyes at my man, please.

Scotty asks her if she'd mind signing an autograph for Libbey, and she graciously complies...and I turn to her adorable husband and say, "Libbey would love to have yours, too!" And this is where Capt. Michael falls in love with me, 'cause he's all, "Awwww, yeah--it ain't just the wife getting the fame lovin' here." She signs, "Libbey--Best Dishes! Love, Paula!" He draws a little picture of a face with a hat and "Captain Michael." Adorable.

Finally, Scotty asks if he can take a picture with his cell phone and Mrs. Paula says, "Come over here, Leigh Anne...(sigh... she said my name...). You get between me and Michael. You can be the cheese in the sandwich!" I obliged, quite happily. And because I love my readers, I will now share this bit of wondrous love with y'all, previously unseen by anyone not in the Roth or Litton lineage:

Check it out. You know Capt. Michael is seriously about to give me some sugar. I'm just sayin'.


And what's with that flat, lifeless hair o' mine? Oh yeah...Atlanta+humidity=the reason my hair is now short. Even though I don't live in Atlanta.


There y'all have it. My brush with fame. The story of my close, personal friend, Paula Deen, as I've now referred to her ever since our intimate encounter. BFFs forever. As far as I'm concerned, at least. The next time you see her on a magazine cover, or in the movie Elizabethtown (I love you, Cameron Crowe, but Mrs. Paula outshone even Orlando and Kirsten in this mess of a flick!), or whipping up a casserole or pie on one of her shows, you can think to yourselves, "There's Lula's BFF." And you know, six degrees of separation makes y'all her close, personal friend now, too!


Please hold the applause. But do not for one second hold the mayo, butter or cream cheese. That's just sacrilege, y'all.

*If you've made it this far...well, y'all seriously deserve a big hug. From me. And Paula. I'll get right on that!

**Since you've made it this far, then you are already in love with Lula, too. You can find her here.

98 comments:

Live.Love.Eat said...

OMG!!! IT'S YOU LULA. Yay!!!!! Ok, I am going to bed now so that's why I linked up really quick and then tomorrow morning I am going to get a nice hot cup of joe and sit down to read this fabulous story because I did ask this of you 2 weeks ago. Night night.

Danyele Easterhaus said...

that is awesome...i love the story...and you have the real pic to prove you are BFF's with paula! you should totally be on her show! ha!

Jennifer said...

Fantastic story and brilliant photograph.

Allison said...

How cool is that! I could just hear her voice as I read your post! My mom and I hope to meet her someday!

Unknown said...

What a great story - and a wonderful picture. Do you have it framed at your house? I would! : )

And there really is nothing else quite like Southern hospitality, is there?

Keri said...

This was so worthy! It made me laugh. Funny thing is, I totally put Paula's voice to 'her words'. If that makes any sense. Maybe I'm just goofy like that, but, well, that's just me, goofy. Awesome story! Love the pic too!

Caitlin said...

Awesome! I love Paula!! What a wonderful storyteller you are..

Honey Mommy said...

That picture turned out great for a cell phone pic! How fun to have met Paula!

Unknown said...

That is a great story! Love the photo with Paula and you certainly lived up to the Wordful! LOL

T Rex Mom said...

Great story! And great photo recapping the moment.

Tena said...

that is a great story, and a wonderful picture

Tim said...

WOW! How fun must that have been.

Love and Prayers,

Tim

Muthering Heights said...

That's such a fun story! I would have been freaking out!

debi9kids said...

OH.MY.GOSH! That is too awesome! I would LOVE to be the cheese with Paula!!!
How fun!

Thanks for hosting today while Angie is away :)
Happy WW!

Swirl Girl said...

LULA's in da houze!

love you more than I love Paula's triple cream pound of butter cake!

Momisodes said...

Wow! What a great story :) I adore Paula.
LOL at the, "do not for one second hold the mayo, butter or cream cheese." :)

Rhonda said...

I love the story! But, umm, I find it a little awkward to tell you that I don't have a clue who Paula Deen is....

Does that get me removed from Blogland?

Oh, Wait! I have a saving grace, though, I think.

I'm Canadian.

lol

Kacey said...

Nice to meet you Lula! I'm SO GLAD you mentioned the 6 degrees thing because I was SO thinking the same thing! Thanks for making us friends with your BFF. SO gracious of you.

And BTW, I'm SO JEALOUS! LOL

•´.¸¸.•¨¯`♥.Erin.♥´¯¨•.¸¸.´• said...

Oh I'm so envious! Paula Deen is one of my favorites!! I love her love her !

Just Lisa said...

Lula, I adore you. And I adore Paula Deen. Let's go stalk her and adore her together!

Simply Sara said...

You are HILARIOUS!

I loved your story, and wished that I was there with you. Paula Deen is awesome, and I'm so glad to here she is the same in person as she is on TV. What a sweetheart!

Thanks for sharing, you are a fabulous story-teller :)

Jill @ Sneaky Momma said...

What an awesome story! I'm so glad to hear that she's as sweet in real life as she seems to be on tv. You never know... :)

Tiffany said...

You know how much I LOVE this story.

LOVE IT.

And You.

T

Heather said...

I watched Paula today make shrimp po boys and lobster rolls and chocolate chip cookie pie.

Elyse said...

Oh my goodness...I am so JEALOUS! I can't believe ya'll met them...that is just cool :)
~Elyse~

Sera said...

How lucky are YOU? I love the way she posed for that picture, and the plastic surgery comment is just hilarious!

Carissa(GoodnCrazy) said...

Leigh ANN! Miss Lula herself.. NOT in a league with Miss Angie.. I DISAGREE!!!

You and Paula sitting in a tree...!

I love it. You are hilarious.

Putting the FUN in DysFUNctional said...

I've read this before - loved it! =) Happy WW.

Simply AnonyMom said...

How fun! And what a nice pic.

Sarah said...

So cool! And she was so sweet in person, thanks for sharing your fun experience! I felt like I was there with you, the way your wrote everything out. Good job!

Michelle said...

I think Paula mentioned your encounter on her show today. ;-)

cat said...

Off course, here in South Africa I have no clue who you are talking about, but I had tea with Nelson Mandela and met the Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

Unknown said...

Absolutely hilarious! I've never ben here on a Wednesday (I'm still new to the 7 clown) but what a funny story.

Ronda's Rants said...

They are cute!

Anonymous said...

What an awesome story and now to click the link to your blog~Lula.

scrappysue said...

cool story. i used to live in atlanta. who's paula deen?

Anonymous said...

Neat story. I love Paula Deen. I wish I was in that photo :o)

Happy WW!

April said...

I would have given the shirt off my back (well, almost!) to sit and chat with Paula! How fun! Is she REALLY a smoker? I had no idea! Great picture! BFF's...that is too funny!

Susan Holt Simpson said...

I was reading this story early morning, as my husband was getting ready to leave. He came over to hug me, and I said, "This lady ate with Paula Deen in the airport!" He said, "Who's Paula Deen???"

I smacked him!

Great story and photo, too!

Susan

Deb said...

this is an awesome story!

Unknown said...

Oh my gosh! This story is SO good! So amazing. I practically screamed and woke the whole house up because it was so exciting. Totally. Made. My. DAY!

Sheri said...

Lula . . . I loved this story the first go round, but even more this time! I'm so jealous.

Aunt Julie said...

Oh. My. Stars. Paula Deen? In the all together? At the airport? You go, gal!

Hootin Anni said...

I LOVE Paula!!!!

My Wordful this week is all about the birds and bees...errrr, um....maybe birds and cats. Is it Superman in the sky? Come find out.

Courtney said...

I love love love it! We are going to Savannah next month for a family reunion and will be dinning at her restaurant! Here is to hoping she is there!

Kathleen W. said...

Such a great post Lula! How lucky to have met the hospitable Paula Deen. I'm glad to hear that she's just as nice in person as on TV.

PS Your blog is adorable!

ParentingPink said...

What a funny & great story! Now I have "OHMYHEAD" stuck "in my head." I LOVE Lula - we've been blogging friends for a while now and she totally cracks me up. I can actually envision this entire situation unfolding! Happy WW!

Unknown said...

I absolutely love Paula Deen- she is just one dynamo of a chef! :d

Live.Love.Eat said...

Ok, is it weird that I was tearing up just a wee bit at this story. Because I do love Paula Deen. And I can imagine how amazing that would have been because she is a cool chick. I met Emeril once but I would have rather met Paula. Too cool Lula!!!!!

MOMMY-MOMO said...

no way!!! SOOO COOL!

Ash said...

I always feel less homesick for the South every time I read your stories.

Girl, I love you more than a Varsity hot dog.

You done good.

Melissa ♥ Spoiled Mommy said...

WooHooo, lucky you!!
I love Paula Dean!!

And the picture is great!!
Happy WW!

Ms. Candice said...

LOL how hilarious are you! I wish you were my fan. I love your enthusiasm.

Jenners said...

This was sooooooo awesome and great! I loved it. It was so fun to read and hilarious. And now I just love Paula Deen even more....too bad I'm trying to lose weight though. She isn't so good for that. This was an awesome guest post. Loved it!

Unknown said...

Wow!!! What a great story! I love Paula and I've heard that she is so approachable and real with her fans. Awesome!

Thanks for sharing!

Amy said...

Hello Lula,
You did a wonderful job today. Thanks for the story and great pictures.
Have a great day.

Susie said...

Congratulations on your kiss with fame--that is AWESOME!!!!!
You have to be the cutest piece of cheese I've ever seen--and not one part was flat or lifeless.
This story rocked!

Unknown said...

That is SO cool, Lula! Love the picture, and I don't think your hair is flat. Either that, or mine is, too.

Anonymous said...

That was a great story and I am luvin Lula! :) Going over to her page. Bye!

Lisa @ Boondock Ramblings said...

This story is hilarious! What a great story of brushing with a celebrity! Loved it! I couldn't stop reading! Fun photo too!

Lisa @ Crazy Adventures in Parenting said...

I love this story! So cute :)

Shelley K. said...

OMG!! What an awesome story!! Did you EAT anything!! LOL! I would be so nervous--or maybe not!! She just seems like the nicest person. (and so do you, BTW!!)

MyLinda said...

LOVED your story, how exciting!!

sassy stephanie said...

Cheese in the sandwich. OMgosh too funny.

K said...

Oh my goodness!!! LOVE this story!! Love it! Reading it, I was there. :-)
You make Angie and SevenClownCircus proud. :-)
Blessings!

Rachel said...

What a lovely story!

Amy said...

Loved the story. Love Lula!

Joyce said...

Leigh Anne, that was FUN! I really like Paula Deen even more after reading your story. So friendly! <3

Nicole said...

I LOVE Paula and her show. She is so much fun to watch!

Poetry Sue said...

HOLY MOLEY!!! I love Paula Dean... oh man... She has the best recipe for a french toast dish that is sooooooo rich and creamy and delish!!

Betty said...

Great story.
I love watching Paula

Jen said...

Lula,
this post is what made me love you. *sigh*

Megan said...

Wow! SO awesome that you got to meet Paula Dean! I love her!! =D

koopermom said...

Paula Deen! I love her! and the cheese in the sandwich part - classic Paula!!

Kimmie said...

Great story! lol

http://thepacifistmom.blogspot.com/2009/03/wordful-wednesday-uh-oh.html

Becca said...

Great photo and wonderful story! have a fantastic day!

Anonymous said...

What a great story, I just love Paula Deen!

Kathy B! said...

Oh my gosh! That's incredible. What a fantastic story, and a great photo to boot!

CDB said...

I just popped over here from blueviolet's, my first time here.. I love Wordful Wed.! I might try to do that next week.

Great guest post, great story!

The Blonde Duck said...

You described her voice perfectly!

CaraBee said...

I love Paula. LOVE. HER. I watch all her shows. I have a secret crush on her sons. Both of them. I love her accent and her laugh. And her food is flipping awesome.

As I was telling Neil, her recipes are real. Pretty much every other cookbook I have, the recipes are HARD and take forever. Her stuff is easy and so tasty. Just made something out of my Lula-Paula Cookbook the other night. (Thanks again!)

Great story!!

Grace said...

What a fun story! I'm glad me little toddler gave me the time to read it!

Stephanie said...

Love, Love, love this story....and Ms. Paula of course! I think I'll head to the fridge, take out a lb of butter, the heavy whipping cream and see what I can whip up for dinner!

brunger bunch said...

That was a fabulous story..I love that woman too!

Casey's trio said...

What a fun celebrity to run into! And I love that she is totally herself on t.v. Love her Georgia accent:)

jo@blog-diggidy said...

oh.my.cow...you met paula??? you rock!! that's awesome!! cool story!!

Carebear said...

Great story Lula! I'm a huge fan of Paula myself, so I'm so jealous you got to break bread with her! Lucky you! I'm just posting my link now at 8:50 pm Pacific. I came over last night, saw the linky was up, took the button, added it to my post and published, then totally forgot to come back and link up!!! So sad. I was wondering why I had so few comments today!! Oh well, better luck next week!

Kimberly said...

I remember this post! I love it! I just can't believe you are BFFs with Paula Deen! I wish I were so lucky! :)

Jennifer P. said...

THis story still gets me -- and the picture at the end--woo-hoo!!!

Jingle said...

This is just an adorable story! How exciting! I love Paula!

Julie H said...

I don't think I've ever watched the Paula Dean show (food shows put me to sleep) but that is really cool that they were so friendly!

girlytwins said...

Fabulous!! great guest Angie.

Kaylan said...

Lula! That's so awesome your close, personal friend is Ms. Paula!!! I'm such a foodie, I probably would have never got my words straight enough to say "Hi!" if I were you! She signed a cookbook for me and I'm so proud of it! hehe

Awesome Story! Great guest, Angie!

Rachael Schirano \\ Rachael Schirano Photography said...

so...jealous...that is crazy cool!

said...

What a cute story and photo!

Shannon said...

I love this story.

Almost as much as I love Lula herself...

Mark and Kiss said...

Very funny and entertaining read.

tiarastantrums said...

LOVE THIS story - LOVE her!!!