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Know what I did Friday?Ìý I went to the book signing for !

It was fantastic, and I Tweeted the whole thing at #DevotedLA, so it was a blast to hang out with everyone there.

I got to the Grove an hour before the signing, and was amazed by the crowd.Ìý They handle it well there â€� the place is so huge there was still plenty of room for non-signing customers to hang and mingleâ€� but huge swaths of space were swarmed with bodies.Ìý I took a couple pictures, but they don't do it justice.

I of course took a few minutes to sign Barnes and Noble's stock of �

…then hung out until Hilary arrived.

I'd been in contact with her assistant (which is so not even remotely the right title to cover how much he handles and how ridiculously awesome he is, but I'm going with it for want of a better term.Ìý Oh wait â€� how about Consigliere!Ìý Like in the Godfather.Ìý You know, except without all the illegal stuff.Ìý I'm going with that â€� I like it.Ìý Consigliere it is!), but my phone was on WiFi instead of 3G and service was super-spotty.Ìý I knew she was in the building when several people started to squeal, and a small child ran over to her mom and screamed, "I saw her!Ìý She's by the Nooks!Ìý She WAVED to me!!!!"

Off to the Nooks I went.Ìý Hilary had already passed through, but I saw her Consigliere, who rocks.Ìý He was with the Barnes and Noble Bodyguard â€� the guy must have been seven feet tall, solid muscleâ€� with the most hysterically dry sense of humor it has been my pleasure to witness.Ìý I tagged along as Witty Muscle Man (WMM for short) showed Consigliere the signing area, and I was surprised that a couple people in the crowd knew both Consigliere and I by sight, and gave us a shout-out by name.Ìý Clearly, these were fans who knew their cast of characters.

Once Consigliere gave the place a once-over, we vamoosed to the Green Room.Ìý It might be an employee break room when it's not celebrity signing time at Barnes and Noble, but today it was the Green Room.

That's where I met up with Hilary.

Okay, I know â€� she's always beautiful.Ìý But seriously?Ìý Gorgeous.Ìý Off-the-charts.Ìý Pregnancy agrees with her big-time.Ìý Not that she looks pregnant at all; if you didn't know, you wouldn't know.

This, you might imagine, would be a great place to put some kind of fabulous candid green room picture.

You're right� but I didn't take one.

I couldn't.Ìý I was too busy talking her ear off because I hadn't seen her since the baby news, and like everyone who has ever been pregnant, I'm all over pregnancy talk.Ìý I had an OMG-you're-pregnant gift to give her, I wanted to know how she was feeling, if she was excited or nervous, if she was exhausted all the timeâ€� there was a lot to discuss, PLUS she was signing a giant stack of books for Barnes and Noble to have in the store, PLUS it was already about a half hour after the signing was scheduled to start.

Now while I didn't find the time to snap a picture, I did ask her to sign a copy of Devoted for the blog, which she graciously did.Ìý I'm currently at 973 Twitter tweeps, which is amazing, and I thank you.Ìý I want to do a big giveaway when I get to 1000, and the signed Devoted will be a part of it.Ìý I'm thinking a prize pack that includes signed copies of Devoted and Populazziâ€� as well as some other fun stuff I have yet to figure out.Ìý Just a little something to keep in mind.

But back to our story!

By this time, Hilary had to get to her fans.Ìý They'd been waiting a long time; she didn't want to keep them waiting any longer.Ìý Now last year, at the signing, she came out, the photographers went wild, then they were ushered away so they no longer swarmed between her and her fans.

This time they did things a little differently â€� the photographers were completely separate from the actual event.Ìý Hilary was ushered into a photo studio (a.k.a. the stock room with a Barnes and Noble backdrop in place for the occasion), and in two waves the camerapeople came in.

Ever see those movies that take place in the 20′s or 30′s, where the press swarms around a gangster or D.A. as he leaves the courtroom, and they're all clamoring over one another as their flashbulbs pop?Ìý That's what this was like, only in full color, not black and white.

"Look over here, Hilary!"

"Over here now!"

"With the book this time!"

"How are you feeling?Ìý Show us how you're feeling!"

"Big smile this way, Hilary!"

Hilary is a pro.Ìý She was lovely and gracious, posing and smiling, completely accommodating.

I was in awe.Ìý Honestly, if I were four months pregnant, exhausted (Hilary wasn't â€� she's amazing â€� I, however, was always exhausted when I was pregnant), wearing high heels, and had a never-ending strobe of flashbulbs popping in my eyes, I'd have freaked out.Ìý She handled it effortlessly.

Post-press, it was off to the signing!Ìý Hilary took her place behind a desk, I settled myself in quite possibly the comfiest chair in the world, Consigliere shot pictures, WMM stood to the side and looked menacingâ€� we were set!

I am always blown away by the dedication of Hilary's fans.Ìý Many people in line had been there all day; those further back in line would wait for several hours even after the event started.Ìý No one complained; they were all just thrilled to be there.

For her part, Hilary again impressed me with her eagerness to make a real, personal connection with everyone there.Ìý She genuinely loves and appreciates her fans, and always took time to listen to their stories, have a conversation, and as much as she could in the limited time, really get to know each person.

I loved hearing people's stories: the girl who came with a Little Lizzie doll from and had been a fan since she was ten years old; the friends who met at a Hilary Duff concert ages ago, and had been getting together for Hilary events ever since; the young girl who squealed, "I wanna be just like you when I grow up!", then added as she was about to run off with her signed book, "And you're SO pretty!"

It was incredible.Ìý And I was honored to get my own face time with some of the fans.

It started when the people I was sitting with (friends of Hilary's â€� loved them!) and I noticed a girl showing something to Hilary.Ìý Something on her wrist.Ìý It seemed to get lots of attention â€� Hilary exclaimed, Consigliere snapped picturesâ€� the curiosity was killing us.Ìý So when the girl finished with Hilary and was about to leave the signing area, we flagged her over to ask â€� what was on her wrist?

It was a tattoo.Ìý "HD."Ìý Hilary herself had apparently signed her initials there, and the girl (Tristan â€� she Tweeted me and left a comment here so I now know her name) had them tattooed permanently in place.Ìý It gave her strength, Tristan said, when things got hard â€� she could just touch the tattoo and feel better about things.

That's some serious dedication.Ìý There are many artists out there I respect; I can't think of any whose initials I'd carve onto my body.

Soon after she left, Cedric stopped by.Ìý He had come fully prepared with both Elixir and ¶Ù±ð±¹´Ç³Ù±ð»å.Ìý Once Hilary signed them, he popped over to ask if I'd add my name on the books as well.Ìý We chatted about the series and about Populazzi, then he took the picture below, for which I was convinced the neck of my shirt was hanging open in some kind of terrible wardrobe-malfunctioning way.Ìý Thankfully, Cedric was kind enough to send the picture along on Twitter.Ìý As you can see, all is in its proper place.Ìý Big sigh of relief.Ìý Thanks, Cedric â€� great talking to you!

I also chatted with Blaise, who had been told by to come over and say hello, so of course she listened â€� clearly you don't mess with Dallas.Ìý Then there were the two girls who want to be writers, one of whom was totally motivated and wanted advice on the best ways to move forward with her stories.

It was all stupendous� but after three hours I was starting to see double, and I knew it wouldn't be long before I curled up in my very comfy chair and fell fast asleep.

I looked over at Hilary, bright-eyed and energized, eager to meet a still-quite-long line of her fans.

I wished I had a hat so I could tip it to her.

I'd intended to stay until the end, I really hadâ€� but if I wanted to stay awake on the drive home, I knew I had to go.Ìý I punched in my last #DevotedLA Tweet, hopped over to the desk to give Hilary a hug goodbye, and took off, thrilled to have witnessed another incredible signing.

Oh â€� one thing I forgot to mention.Ìý When we were all back in the green room, Consigliere gave me something very cool: an official Hilary Duff Sharpie.Ìý You can sort of see it in the picture â€� her signature is on it.

I used it to sign books for those people who stopped by my comfy chair, and when I showed it to one fan, she asked, "Can I have it?"Ìý While I was impressed by how forthright she was about it, my reaction at the time was, "Sorry, I only have the one!"

Then I realized� sure, I might only have one, but why does that mean I can't give it away?

So here goes.Ìý Everyone who leaves a comment on this post will be entered in a random drawing (via random.org) to win the Sharpie.Ìý I'll choose a winner on Friday.Ìý I'm cool with international entries, too.

And if you can, please spread the word about following on Twitter � 27 more Tweeps and I'll run the giveaway for the signed-by-Hilary copy of Devoted, a signed copy of Populazzi, and as-yet-to-be-decided additional funnery!

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Hilary and I at last year's Elixir signing at the Grove

Since launched on Tuesday, I've received many incredible Tweets from fans of the series.Ìý I love reading the Tweets, and I'm constantly blown away by how dedicated people are to the books, and to .Ìý She has touched so many lives in such a profound way, which is something I only realized a year ago, when I attended her book signing for Elixir here in L.A.Ìý At the time, I wrote a guest post about it for , and I'd like to re-run it below.Ìý So without further adoâ€�

So Tuesday October 19th {2010} I got to do something very fun: I went to the Grove to see Hilary Duff do an Elixir book signing.

I have to tell you, the experience was amazing.

I had the pleasure of helping Hilary with Elixir, and we spent most of our time together hunkered over our laptops, working and reworking the manuscript.Ìý I didn't really think about her as a celebrity.

Then I got to the signing.Ìý I had a prime seat â€� Hilary would be at a table on a slightly raised stage, and there was a nook of incredibly comfortable chairs off to her right.Ìý I settled in, along with a few of her other co-workers.

The room went crazy when Hilary took the stage.Ìý Rows of photographers started screaming her name, asking her to turn this way and that, hold the book this way, now look over here…Ì� it was like the red carpet on Oscars night, in the middle of Barnes and Noble.

Once the photographers cleared out, the signing started in earnest.Ìý Hilary took a seat at the table, and one by one people approached with their books.Ìý Not only their booksâ€� they approached with their stories.Ìý It seemed like everyone had their own story about how Hilary had touched their lives.Ìý Two best friends told the story of how they'd met years ago in line for a Hilary Duff meet-and-greet.Ìý "You single-handedly changed my life," a guy in a striped shirt told her.ÌýÌý Another guy found Hilary's music so inspirational, he had two lines of her lyrics tattooed on his arm.Ìý "Thank you for being such a wonderful role model," a mother said as she ushered her near-tears daughter towards the table.

Hilary was wonderful with each of these people â€� with every person who came by.Ìý She was visibly moved by their stories, and it seemed to me she wanted to take the time and connect with each person the way they so clearly connected with her.Ìý I was so impressed because this is a woman who really grew up in the limelight, and yet she doesn't take a single one of her fans for granted.Ìý Quite the opposite â€� she was incredibly gracious and appreciative and genuine.

Over and over I saw things that moved me.Ìý There was the group who drove down from San Francisco to make sure they got an autographed book for their friend's birthday.Ìý There were the fans who were so overwhelmed that they trembled approaching Hilary, then walked away blinking back elated tears.Ìý I have a six-year-old daughter, and the sight of little girls barely a year or two older than her, holding their mothers' hands and waiting patiently for hours to say hello to a person they admiredâ€� it was so beautiful it almost broke my heart.

The signing started around 7:30.Ìý By 9:30 I was beyond exhausted, and I wasn't doing anything but watching.Ìý I couldn't even fathom how tired Hilary had to be.Ìý She'd been traveling since the book's release, she was probably behind on sleep, she'd been signing books and actively engaging with every person who approached for two full hoursâ€� she had to be wiped out.

If she was, she didn't show it.Ìý Four hundred people had come out to the Grove to see her.Ìý She knew it, she appreciated it, and she wasn't going to let any of them down.Ìý "You are amazing," I told her as I popped up to give her a quick hug goodbye, and I meant it.Ìý After so many months working together, I had already liked and respected Hilary for a million different reasons, but the signing gave me a whole new perspective.Ìý I'm really glad I got to experience it.

There it is!Ìý What I didn't realize back then was the length of time those fans had to wait before getting into the signing.Ìý I received a Tweet yesterday from someone who said he read the book while waiting in line.Ìý The book isn't short, so I was surprised -- how long had he been waiting?

9am to 6pm.

That kind of dedication (devotion!) is mind-blowing, and just like last year, I'm so honored to be involved with Hilary, with this book series, and with all of you.

And if anyone out there is coming to Hilary's , look for me -- I plan to be back in my same comfy chair, marveling all over again... only this time I might do some live Tweeting!Ìý

Oh, hey -- how about a hashtag for the signing?Ìý #DevotedLA?Ìý What do you think?

So we established yesterday that ; today I add that I'm no kind of cook.Ìý Somewhere I have the video audition I did for a cooking show back in the days when I fancied myself an actress.Ìý The premise was Cooking For Idiots, and in it I manhandle raw chicken breasts in a way that's practically pornographic.

The sad part is I wasn't trying to be risque, I just had no frickin' clue what to do with a raw piece of chicken.Ìý I treated it like a Muppet.

That said, I have a recipe that's foolproof, and that my family and I suck down like it's spiked with crack.Ìý I'm generally gluten-free, so I eat it over spinach; my husband and daughter like it over rice or pasta.Ìý (None of us put it on a bun like in the picture, but I guess you could.)Ìý It's Crock Pot BBQ Pulled Chicken, and if you're a health freak like me, you'll be happy to know it's pretty darn good for you.Ìý My friend Liz gave me the link to this recipe years ago; I just made it last night for the umpteenth time; and I have to share.Ìý I'll put the full recipe below, or you can also go the where Liz found it, which has other crock pot recipes as well.Ìý I've yet to try them â€� if I'm getting out the crock pot, I have a hard time NOT making the chicken.

If you make it, let me know what you think!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lb. raw boneless skinless lean chicken breasts, halved

1 cup canned tomato sauce

1/2 cup ketchup

2 tbsp. plus 2 tsp. brown sugar (not packed)

2 tbsp. plus 2 tsp. cider vinegar

2 tsp. garlic powder

Optional: red pepper flakes, to taste

Directions:

Place all ingredients except the chicken in the crock pot. Stir until mixed. Add chicken and coat well with the sauce.

Cover and cook on high for 3 â€� 4 hoursÌýOR on low for 7 â€� 8 hours, until chicken is fully cooked.

Remove all the chicken and place it in a bowl. Shred each piece using two forks � one to hold the chicken in place and the other to scrape across the meat and shred it. Return the shredded chicken to the crock pot, and mix well with the sauce.

Note from me:Ìý As I said above, I like serving this over spinach â€� frozen spinach that I nuke up for just this purpose.Ìý Then I add some kick with â€� super yummy.Ìý Oh, also â€� yesterday we were out of garlic powder, so I put in onion powder and white ground pepper â€� just as tasty as always.

Are you a crock pot junkie?Ìý Any favorite recipes?Ìý If you've got 'em, I'd love to hear 'em!

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From the Files Of It's Amazing I'm Still Married:

I am an Oscar.Ìý My husband?Ìý A Felix.

(I'm referring of course to The Odd Couple, the Neil Simon play made extra-famous in the movie starring Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon, but which will to me always be the sitcom with Tony Randall and Jack Klugman.)

As a general rule, our place is a disaster; and as an even more general rule, it's my fault.Ìý Okay, to be fair Miss M helps me wreck the place, but I'm supposed to be all grown-up and mature and responsible about these things, so the fault belongs to me.Ìý Even on those rare occasions when I think the house is in fairly decent shape, "Felix" will walk in and let me know otherwise.Ìý He doesn't hold my Oscar-osity against me; he knew it from the start.Ìý The night we met I invited him back into my apartmentâ€� which looked a million times worse than Rebecca Romijn's place in that episode of Friends.

I swear to you, my apartment made this place look pristine.

Saturday was Yom Kippur.Ìý Yom is our holiday, which means the family comes to our place for Break-the-Fast.

This required serious cleaning.Ìý A full day of it.Ìý Traditionally you're supposed to spend all Yom Kippur day in prayer, but if cleanliness is really next to godliness, we achieved the same effect.

It's been three days, and the place is still looking good.Ìý Shockingly so, really (at least to me â€� Felix would probably say I'm gilding the lily).Ìý Here â€� see for yourself:

Note what's on TV -- Miss M is watching The Penguins of Madacascar, despite the fact that they trounced Dinosaur Train at the Emmys. Traiitor!

Nice, right?Ìý Not perfect, but nice.

Here's the problem� while the main rooms of the house are lovely, my office� well�

Oddly enough, this is neater than it was last week, when I still had two full suitcases in there from trips I'd taken one and six months ago.

So clearly I have my work cut out for me.Ìý My plan is to attempt to maintain the basic cleanliness of the bulk of the house â€� which I quite like â€� while little by little excavating my office and Miss M's room (which looks quite similar to my officeâ€� except coated in Silly String).

I'll keep you posted.Ìý It's out there now, so you can hold me accountable.

In the meantime, I'd love to know â€� are you a Felix or an Oscar?Ìý Is your significant other the same, or the opposite?Ìý If the opposite, have you remained so, or has one of you gravitated toward the other's habits?

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I can't believe it� Devoted, the sequel to , comes out tomorrow!!!

As with Elixir, I co-wrote with Hilary, and I'm so excited to see it out there in the world.Ìý Her ideas for this sequel had me hooked from minute one, and as always, it was a complete joy working with her to get them to the page.

If you want to catch Hilary on her book tour, you can find her on today (Oct 10), or catch up with her in person at one of her .Ìý One Twitter friend told me he planned to get to the Tribeca signing five hours early to get a wristband!Ìý That's some seriously impressive dedication, but I have to say, I get it.Ìý I was lucky enough to hang with Hilary at last year's L.A. Elixir signing, and I so impressed by the love she shares with her fans.Ìý I plan to go to the Devoted signing here in L.A. as well â€� same place, the Barnes and Noble at The Grove, Friday, October 14th.Ìý I'm really looking forward to it, and I'll of course pick up some extra copies of the book to give away on the site!

Are you going to a signing?Ìý Did you go to one for Elixir?Ìý Have you ever gone to a celebrity book signing?Ìý Elixir was my firstâ€� unless you count the time I went to see Moose signing .Ìý I'm pretty certain it's the only celeb encounter I've had where I desperately wanted the celeb in question to lick my face.

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This image is totally irrelevant to the post; I just like it.

Ever since Populazzi was , the first question people ask me about the deal is, "Are you going to write the screenplay?"Ìý I in fact had the following Twitter conversation with my pal Dallas Strawn, who I met during last year's contest for , and who is now a correspondent over at

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Ìý thats so amazing! Congrats!! So happy for you! I truly hope you're contracted to write the screenplay so story stays same!!

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Thanks, Dallas!!! I'm good either way -- would love to write it; would love to see someone else's take on it.

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well your one of the only Authors I know who actually would like to see someone else's take on there baby! Lol

It's true, Populazzi's my baby.Ìý And I like writing screenplays; I've done it before.Ìý And I certainly know the story better than anyone.

So sure, if given the chance, I'd love to write the screenplay.Ìý And yet...

Populazzi's my baby... and I know the story better than anyone... which means I'm so close to the material that it would be a unique challenge to cull it down the nearly 400 pages of novel to a brilliantly taut 120 pages of screenplay.

Plus there's the reality of the business -- the whole point of the option period is for the production company (in this case the wonderful ) to make Populazzi as enticing as possible for a studio.Ìý If a screenwriter with better feature credits than mine can do that, I'm all for it.Ìý And what I told Dallas is 100% the case -- it would be really cool to see someone else's take on the material.Ìý Someone coming to Populazzi with fresh eyes might have a really exciting vision that I wouldn't have even considered.

I had dinner recently with a ridiculously successful YA author whose book is now being produced as a feature.Ìý I asked her the same go-to question -- is she writing the screenplay?Ìý She said no, nor would she want to.Ìý To her, she continued, the entire feature film is like an insanely high-budget piece of fan fiction, completely separate from the book.

I love that attitude, and my feeling is similar.Ìý Unlike that author, I very much want to be involved in the movie process.Ìý I love movies; I love Populazzi -- two great tastes that taste great together, of course I want a bite!Ìý Yet whether I'm involved creatively or mainly as a spectator, I'm happy.Ìý My hope for the book is that makes the entire journey from optioned project to a theater near you.Ìý However that unfolds along the way is spectacular.Ìý I can't wait to see it happen, and I'll share every step of the way with all of you.

Which leads me to ask... how do you think you would feel if your book (or other artistic venture) were optioned as a film?Ìý How involved would you want to be in the process?

As I think I've mentioned, I'm training for the Ìý Saturday I was scheduled for a 19-miler.Ìý Even 15 miles in, my legs felt strong.Ìý I even considered not stopping at Panera for my Official Long Run Potty Break and Water Bottle Refill.

But I wanted to have enough water for the rest of the run.

And there's nothing wrong with a good potty break.

So I stopped.

Are you guessing where I'm going with this?

Post stop, my body flat-out refused to start up again.Ìý Oh, my legs still felt strong, but my back, side, shoulder, and even my stomach were all suddenly in agony.Ìý Bouncing was torture.Ìý I had to walk in the last four miles, and halfway through I was so woozy I considered calling a cab.

That was Saturday.Ìý Sunday after the I did the elliptical trainer, and Monday I took my regular class.Ìý Thirty prisoner squats into a set of fifty, I felt my lower back pop out of whack, leaving me in agonized pain I was still moaning about in .

I went to the chiropractor today, and while I'm not 100%, I'm much much better.

I've never claimed to be an athlete, but I've been very happy that my body has generally stepped up to the challenges I present it.Ìý Knock wood, this is the worst injury I've had in 11 years of marathoning and three years of crossfit-esque high intensity boot camps.Ìý I don't want it to derail me, but I also don't want to be stupid, make things worse, and mess myself up to the point where a doctor is telling me I can't run anymore â€� an outcome that just happened to a close friend of mine.

My plan is to plow forward: boot camp tomorrow, speed session on the treadmill Thursday, boot camp Friday, runs this weekend� but I'll be vigilant about watching out for pain and taking breaks if I need them.

How about you?Ìý Have you been injured during a workout?Ìý Have you been injured while striving for a fitness goal?Ìý Did you have to stop?Ìý Adjust your goals?Ìý Or were you able to push forward and keep going without causing further injury?Ìý If you did have to stop, were you disappointed, or did you simply give yourself time to heal, then jump right into the next goal?

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Today is the deadline for Miss M's school magazine drive.

Don't worry � I'm not going to try to sell you anything.

In fact, Miss M's not happy that I didn't go crazy helping her sell to everyone within a hundred mile radius.Ìý When the magazine drive started, the school had an assembly.Ìý I don't know what exactly happened at that assembly, but given the rabid selling frenzy of Miss M afterwards, I imagine it played out a lot like Glengarry Glen Ross.

I love Miss M's school; it's incredible, it offers a lot, and I understand it takes quite a bit of money to do all that it does.

But I couldn't get on this bandwagon.Ìý Even in good economic times, it's obnoxious to spring the adorable cherub with the big pleading eyes and have her ask people to spend money on something they don't really need.Ìý In bad economic times, it just feels wrong.

(Unless the cherub is selling Girl Scout Cookies {which Miss M doesn't}; those are delicious wonders of processed goodness that can and should be peddled everywhere, guilt-free.)

Of course, while I was trying to take the moral high ground, Miss M came home with her head hung in shame because she didn't have any sales by the early bird deadline, and didn't win any of the prizes.

°¿²ââ€�

I relented a little and let her go into full pusher mode at Rosh Hashana dinner.Ìý She hit up a couple relatives, and I promised to reciprocate when my niece and nephew's annual wrapping paper sale reared its ugly head.Ìý She landed just enough sales to win a prize: an electronic noisemaker that makes fart and burp sounds.Ìý Oh yeahâ€� that's totally worth it.

Parents out there â€� have you had to deal with the annual fundraiser?Ìý How do you handle it?Ìý Those without kids â€� do you run for the hills when the order forms roll out at work or family events?Ìý Do you feel like you have to throw the kid a bone and participate, even if you don't really want to?

Gotta lie down â€� completely threw my back out during boot camp today (not the boot camp's fault, I blame the bad 19-miler I ran on Sat. â€� more on that tomorrow) and in some serious pain.Ìý Yeeshâ€�

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Know who's super talented?Ìý I'll tell you who's super talented.

Mackenzie Anderson, Jacqueline Tsang, Helen Yip, and Erik Vogt-Nilsen!!!

Those are the high school actors who � with no rehearsal time to speak of � performed a live trailer at the West Hollywood Book Fair yesterday.

There's nothing like seeing it in person � especially when your other option is to have me as a cinematographer (I'm no , that's for sure) � but this will give you a sense of it.

Totally fun, right?Ìý They rock, big-time.Ìý So much that I'm not even dwelling on the horror that was the collapse against the 49ers.

Big thanks to everyone who came out to the West Hollywood Book Fair and gave their support.Ìý I had a great time, and hope to do it again next year!

Clearly, this isn't the giant one you see on TV -- apparently, each player on the winning team gets a mini Lombardi trophy with his name on it.

Uh-huh.Ìý That's me.

WITH THE LOMBARDI TROPHY!!!!

Yup, I'm hanging out a new friend's house, I'm checking out all the pictures on the piano when� I'm sorry, is that the Lombardi trophy???

"Oh yes," she says, "it's my husband's.Ìý He got it when he won the Super Bowl with the Bears."

Ho.Ìý Ly.Ìý Crap.

I was in house, and I had no idea.

I'm a huge football fan, and while the are and always have been my team, I kinda loved me some Super Bowl Shuffle.

Not only was that Willie Gault's team; that was his song.

The rest of my visit was all about me geeking out.Ìý Willie himself wasn't there, so he was spared my slavish fawning.Ìý His Super Bowl ring, however, wasn't so lucky.

You think it was easy to hold my hand up? Those things are heavy!

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The ring has a TON of detail -- this is the final score of the game

I guess each ring has the player's name on it. So cool...

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Here it is in all its blingy head-on finery. If only it was the Eagles logo... sigh...

Are you a fan of any professional sports?Ìý Have you had any geek-out encounters with sports heroes (or their let's-play-with-it-when-they're-not-around swag)?Ìý I wanna hear all about them!

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