Could you tell by the title of this post that Arty is not the author? What gave it away? Was it the sassiness or the fact that Arty has “been around the block”…if you know what I mean? Well, friends, until last month I was a CookieCon virgin, but guess what? I lost my virginity…and it was EVEN BETTER than I expected! (I’d make an inappropriate comment here, but I’ll let you insert your own…’cause I’m a giver like that.) And since you only lose your CookieCon virginity once, I thought I should document it. You know, so I don’t forget how magical it was…and so other people can learn from my experience.
I was thrilled when Arty & Mr. John said they were taking me along to Salt Lake. The last time CookieCon was held, I wanted to attend, but I was a brand new cookier and my husband thought that flying to Utah, staying in a hotel & going to a conference for my new HOBBY was a little much. But this time, since I was going for work, my main squeeze didn’t bat an eyelash! Yay for having a rad cookie job! It’s true that CookieCon didn’t officially start until Thursday, but Arty was teaching pre-CookieCon classes, and we had a 12 hour drive, so we left home on Monday. We dropped off our kids at their respective schools, BARELY crammed everything into the car, and hit the road. A 12 hour drive may sound boring, but for the 3 of us it really isn’t. We find ourselves pretty entertaining. Plus, we’re pretty much brilliant when we’re on a road trip, so let’s just say we have some great stuff coming up at McGoo U that is a direct result of those 12 hours.
On Tuesday we did CookieCon prep all day. I won’t bore you with the details about shopping at Wal-Mart and the Deseret Industries thrift store and unloading the car. I’m pretty sure can imagine how that went. Let’s skip to the good stuff…Tuesday night! There was a prep party for all of the pre-CC teachers. It was awesome. I FINALLY met Lilaloa…in person…in her house…and she fed me dinner! I also met Stephanie (The Hungry Hippopotamus), the very delightful Patrice from Springerle Joy, Monica (Cookie Cowgirl), Leslie (4 Peas and a Dog) and Anne (Flourbox Bakery). The other Pre-CC teachers were also there, but I didn’t get a chance to chat with them. But let me just say this: You know how you sit at your house and watch McGoo U on your laptop/TV/iPad/phone? And you feel like you know those cookie people, and you’re sure you’d like them if you met them in person? Well, IT’S TRUE! YOU WOULD! They are all “As seen on TV”, and I liked every single one of them…for real.
Wednesday was crazy fun. Arty had 2 pre-CookieCon classes, and the first (Steampunk) started at 8 AM. Even though CookieCon hadn’t officially started, the energy level was through the roof! Everyone was so excited to be there, and to meet people. I was VERY much looking forward to meeting Chris Taylor (Flour Sugar Butter). I think he’s a sugar genius, and I knew I liked him based on his online presence. But his appearance on McGoo U sealed the deal for me (you’ve seen him in the “Hungry Games” skit, right?), and I was dying to meet him in the flesh. Well, it happened, and I was pretty much giddy.
The afternoon class (Fabulous 50’s) was also full of great cookiers, many of whom are McGoo U subscribers, I knew who Ann Murad (Suburban Madmom) was because we had had a few interactions online. Truth be told, if I saw Ann in Target, I’d be intimidated. She has tattoos and piercings, and blue hair! She also happens to be one of the nicest humans I’ve met. I don’t even know how many times I hugged her during CookieCon, but it was a lot.
That day was a dream come true. I met a lot of other “friends” that I had never seen in real life. I want to talk about every single one of them, but there simply isn’t room here. (They know who they are. I’m pretty sure they are going to have to be the subject of another post.) Needless to say, I loved Wednesday, and CookieCon hadn’t even started!
Coming soon: Vol 2 – CookieCon Begins!
