Over two years ago when I started this blog on WordPress, I wrote about things that crossed my mind and that’s what I do now. When I was fooling around with the layout and wondering if any of my family was actually stopping by, I learned about Google Statistics and would check in to see a count of the five or six random people who stumbled in. You had to go to a special site then to find out – Google Webmaster Tools or Stats or something – and soon I just stopped doing so.
However, in the beginning when The Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond, was hitting the news following the award of Best Kept Secret Blog or something to that effect, I wrote a short bit about her and because I was checking stats at that time, I saw people were stumbling by looking for her.
Just recently I scrolled all the way down the WordPress Site Admin page and discovered it now included statistics on visits in graph form. I noticed that folks were still typing in keywords about her and finding themselves here at the site of very little information. I also saw a big spike on Friday, March 19, and wondered what was going on. Well, that was the day the PW talked about Reese Witherspoon playing her in a movie based on the romance story she had included in her blog that was an account of her meeting and marrying Ladd Drummond.
So people are winding up at a two year old post that mentions her and has pretty much zippo information. I added an update to that post sort of saying sorry for the wild goose chase, but on the other hand, with the internet and blogging, you pays your time and takes your chances.
Well, The Pioneer Woman has gone way beyond the best secret blog thingie. She has a giant following, having started by writing about ranch life and sharing pictures of an Oklahoma Shangri-La. And she diversified with recipes, home-schooling, photography lessons and big time giveaways . . . into the Big Time of success. She has won the ‘big” blog awards and has a huge following. A dissenting opinion about her wonderfulness by a blogger who has actually spent time at her ranch can be found at My Sister’s Farmhouse.
As for me, I liked seeing pictures of the ranch and learning a little about the cattle-working process, but since I don’t cook, home school or do more than point and shoot my camera, it’s the same course and I’ve already taken it. It’s a Goldilocks place where everything is “just right”.
I have very mixed feelings with Ree Drummond. Having grown up on a ranch and lived the life she makes it out to be so perfect. It IS a great life, no doubt about it, I miss it sometimes but she doesn’t bring in a lot of the reality of a normal rancher’s life because…. they are rich ranchers. They are millionaires. They do NOT live the normal ranching life. I grew up in a very normal, debt ridden, money poor land rich ranching family and our reality was a whole lot different. There was no remodeling, no shopping, no trips. My dad didn’t have hired hands, he had children. I learned to do everything, I rode, I worked cows, I castrated bulls, I cut hay, I hauled hay. yes, her children do these things but they don’t quite live the life that most ranch kids do. Secondly we have family from that area of the world and their perspective of the family is VERY different than what is presented by the website. Let’s just say money talks, and not always in the best way.
I did homeschool my kids. Not much to say about that. I’m sure her homeschooling life is pretty typical actually.
What drives me crazy is that I find it to be a very narcissistic blog. Okay, let’s get beyond how great I am. I get tired of it. And I don’t lust after her husband’s butt. Seriously, does she want everyone to think he’s the hottest thing on earth? Get real, I’m not one to encourage lusting after my husband.
Okay, I’m not a fan. I do read it from time to time but let’s face it. It’s a money making venture and a pat myself on the back and tell everyone how perfect my life is blog in my book. I so much prefer your blog. It’s real. It’s thoughtful. It’s, it’s…. eclectic Amelia Jake who is become quite dear to me. 🙂
If you start posting pictures of Der Bingle’s butt I’m going to have to hurt you.
Yes, The Pioneer Woman is a business, geared overall, I think, to a readership that depends more on external input than self-generated ideas for personality definition. Her site is like escaping to one’s happy place, which is best described as a pancake – two-dimensional at best. I’m waiting for her to thank “all the little people” who helped make her success possible . . . I just wish she would quit telling those anonymous faces who read and comment how much she loves them.
Very interesting. I have to say that in the beginning, I think the PW was bored out of her skull. She’d had her kids, and life on the range wasn’t really her thing. As the blog grew, she kept adding to it, and with her education saw a money maker in the works, not to mention attention for herself. Now she revels in the attention, doesn’t quite tell ALL about her life but enough to keep her “probably” younger wanna-be’s intriqued. It’ll be interesting if a movie is actually made – for me, it woul be boring, but what do I know; I’m just an old lady. hahah
Well I confess that that’s exactly how I stumbled upon your blog — by searching about PW when I was making a post on my own blog about her. I have a personal connection, of sorts, to her and was interested to see if I was just emotional or perhaps getting a vibe from others.
I have visited several more times though, to your main page and enjoy your blog. 🙂
Love reading your blog. And I had to comment about Pioneer Woman too. Lots to like at her site, but I heartily agree about her narcissism: we get it you love your husband. We love our too. And yes, I think she is now “protesting too much” at how hot she thinks he is. There is a smugness that ultimately made me stop visiting her site. Her kids are lovely but look a little wistful and sad to me.
Anyway, keep doing your thing. It’s real and I dig it.
You all seem rather jealous of her success… and maybe a teeeeeensy bit judgmental.
Because really: Who cares? It’s her blog. She posts what she’s passionate about and has become incredibly successful for it. I think anyone who has any insight would see how hard they work for that success. I rather doubt they would be in this place if she didn’t pound out the umpteen posts every week.
Also. I think you may be confusing narcissism with self confidence… She’s incredibly self effacing and in public has Very little self confidence. It’s actually kind of hilarious that you would dub her Narcissistic.
“Narcissism is the personality trait of egotism, often used as a pejorative, denoting vanity, conceit, egotism or simple selfishness”.
Who cares if her farm/blog earns them millions. She thanks her “Little people” all the time with that money. It’s how she is able to give away thousands of dollars in camera equipment, kitchen gadgets, educational materials, amazon.com gift cards, not to mention the thousands she donated to several Haiti relief funds among other things. Heck, she invites Complete Strangers into her lodge for overnight cooking events! She highlights other lesser known bloggers and collaborates with them – I would never have known about the wonderful smittenkitchen.com if not for her profile on the PW a few years ago.
It think your posts above speak more to your ability to enjoy in the success of others than it does to anything else. We all have our flaws people. I think we would all be a lot happier if we spent a little more time looking inward and less time pointing out other people’s character flaws from the remote corners of the interweb.
I think the above poster is missing the point.
I ran across your post when I began casually searching for more information on the PW. I actually didn’t know anything about “Pioneer Woman” until our local library added a copy of the cookbook. I hadn’t even heard of her. I liked the non-recipe parts of the book as it reminded me of our farm and our area, and so began reading her blog. And have enjoyed it up until now…
UNTIL, I noticed on her recent trip to the Universal park in Florida that the family was wearing lanyards indicating that they were on a VIP tour. What??? I thought she was some doing-well-but-not-rich sort of person (much like some farming families around here) who had good Photoshop skills – boy, did that blog lead me astray! I used to work at Universal, in an internship – and I know how much those VIP tours cost and who takes them. I’m guessing this was a free trip with the total plugging on her blog, but still…all of sudden, I had the uncomfortable feeling that I was following another Jon and Kate story (hiding the reality in order to gain money, although in a different way). From the start I had already wondered how she could blog and tweet and photograph so often with all the “resp0nsibilities”, knowing how much time and effort it takes for the average family to farm/ranch (ALL of your time, in our world). And all of the further information I found as well as the privileges the Drummond clan as a whole seems to expect ruined it for me.
I will not be reading the blog again. Rich? Fine. I have no problem with that at all. Misrepresentation? That is the problem. And considering yourself above the law, even with speeding tickets – sorry, lost my respect.
Actually, I will miss her blog. But the lack of the truth of daily life within the total story has ruined it for me and I can never enjoy it in the same way. Too bad.
I’m not a rider on that PW bandwagon either. Her degree is in marketing and she’s done a fine job of turning Pioneer Woman into a brand and not a person – kudos to her. But it’s the droning aren’t I funny, aren’t I cute, don’t you want to dress, act, cook, look, and take pictures like me posts that had me barfing. I had to laugh about the poster here who mentioned the Universal Studios trip – that’s the same trip where she suddenly realized that she hadn’t packed anything but $400 boots for her book signing and needed some sandals for going to the park…then posted a picture of the $225 sandals she’d bought…to wear for a couple of days. I don’t begrudge anyone a good living, and the Drummonds have millions, no doubt about it. I just read somewhere that they have a contract with BLM worth a couple million for letting wild horses run on their land. Again,more power to ’em. But don’t pretend that you’re a simple lil’ ol’ ranch wife and claim that you’re “keepin’ it real” when in fact you’re not. I *MUCH* prefer to read April’s Coal Creek Farm blog – now THERE is a loving, happy, well adjusted family. And hilarious!
Thank you for your post. I thought I was the only one who felt P-Dub was a bit over the top.
I’ve been reading some articles about how “Ree Drummond is fake”, etc. but I don’t understand why there’s so much bashing. I read her blogs from time to time and I’ve tried some of her recipes and I’ve never had any issues with her. There’s a lot of speculation about how she’s wealthy and that she MARRIED someone wealthy. I guess my question is, “So what?” Criticizing her because her parents are well off and then she married someone who is also well off..? That’s ridiculous, in my opinion. So she blogs about her guest house. Yes, it’s huge and she probably spends a lot of money on it, but hey, it’s not my money so why would I care what someone else does with theirs??
If she were to start her blog with, “Hi, my name is Ree Drummond and my family and husband are rich” then she’ll get ridiculed for that as well! The sole purpose for someone blogging, is well, to blog about THEIR life. If people aren’t a fan of her, then just click on the X at the top and move along. If you’re upset that she’s projecting herself as a “country girl” when you feel she’s not, then I can understand how you feel, but that’s not going to change. That’s how she feels and that’s how she relates to herself, so there’s really no reason to get all wound up about it.
I’m Cuban/American and people automatically assume I’m Mexican she’s because I speak Spanish. It’s the world we live in nowadays.
I’m not writing because I’m a “Ree Drummond advocate”, but rather as a person who reads these types of articles and always finishes with “Who Cares?!?”
It’s their life, not mine.
Bottom line..it started out great…but there’s dishonesty in her blog…and WHY? i noticed today, she’s cutting back on her blogging…interesting.
Oh ! My! show me the love here. I cannot believe how everyone is mouthing off against someone who just started out blogging and is making a success out of it. Great job Ree . What we do unto others will be done unto us.
Nancy, the reason that people are upset is because she lies about her income and pretends to be an “aw shucks good ol’ rancher gal” to anyone and everyone who will listen. In reality, she is the wife of a millionaire rancher who gets 1 million from taxpayer money EVERY YEAR out of the BLM pocketbook. She is dishonest about posts that are sponsered by companies, and basically is a coniving selfish woman who is only concerned with money. She doesn’t write her blog, she has a publishing company who does it for her and she just approves the posts.
It would be fine if she said “hey, my husband is a millionaire” but she never did. Instead she posted about expensive upgrades to her second house while people in the country were LOSING THIER HOMES. Her completely lack of empathy for others is absolutely astounding. You can find examples in the archives, like when she rudely asked a woman if she was pregnant, and then tries to act like we should be on her side when the woman was offended. She made fun of her brother and called him “retarded”, and she posts endless photos of her husbands ass. If that were a man posting photos of his wifes ass or boobs, can you imagine the uproar?
Her whole blog persona is just ridiculous and fake, and that’s what is irritating.
Also, Rosie, she is by no means a “new blogger”. She’s been blogging for at least 4 or 5 years now, and she doesn’t need the blog for “success”, she just wants it so she can be “famous.” She already has millions of dollars from marrying a rich man, but apparently that’s not enough. She doesn’t help out around the ranch, that’s clear from the fact that she’s always taking photos. So I have no idea why she says she’s a cattle rancher when she can’t even ride a horse. She’s just a huge phony who branded herself early on.
I agree about the dishonesty especially when she couched her brand spanking new television studio as a “guest house remodel.” Outfitting a guest-house kitchen with restaurant grade appliances didn’t add up. Who has weekend guests that want to prepare their own meals in a gourmet kitchen? Weekend guests appreciate being waited on by their hosts or they go out to eat.
Ree Drummond has had her sites set on a television show for quite some time. After she had 4 kids in seven years, post-partum depression likely set in. She started a blog as an escape from her depression and boredom, MM hired tutors and household help and in all her newly found spare time, Ree taught herself photography, PhotoShop and writing.
When success came more rapidly than she expected, she started posting recipes she basically plagiarized from Bartlesville’s community cookbooks and Martha Stewart. She rarely credited her sources.
Now she’s nothing but a bona fide fake behind the biggest Internet hoax in years. Partnered with a high-priced agressive P.R. firm who’s got her back, Drummond is riding a media wave frenzy in the months before the premiere of yet another dumbed-down cooking show for the masses.
I just had to comment on this from walkercain:
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I’ve noticed her putting herself down on her blog/public appearances too. But do you know what happens when she does that? Her public leaps to attention and tells her, “Oh, you’re not xxx…you’re wonderful, we love you…etc. etc.”
Talk about feeding a narcissicist’s soul! I know someone who does this in real life and what an unattractive personality trait. Being self-deprecating occasionally is cool…as a regular part of your persona…it just gets OLD.
OMG! someone can only get rich from internet, tv and books as long as people keep buying the product….. if you people don’t don’t like the women then stop buying the product…. no public = no attention = no income
Millions of people don’t care if “The Pioneer Woman” is wealthy, and they get a kick out of her self deprecating humor. I have been amazed to see how judgemental so many people are. This woman is no Kate Gosselin or Kris Kardashian, she is just a normal woman who married a rancher & settled down, loves her life. Get over it all of you…I am no great fan of her’s but she has done a good job of keeping herself busy, and succeeding in life, while raising a happy family…and unbelievably evvied. GET OVER IT!
Sounds like some jealous people out there. Why would you bother watching if you feel like that. I thoroughly enjoy her cooking programs. She come across as down to earth but maybe she isn’t. She like photography, blogging, she is the mother of 4, she doesn’t have to work on the ranch. Probably just likes going out and being around people. Why is everyone so down on her and why would you watch. A lot of the chefs have quite a bit of money. Ina Garten doesn’t seem to be poor and her husband makes a lot of money as I am sure she does. I still like her. Good luck to her. If Ree married into money and is happy. Good luck to her.
In virtually every episode those kids are working out on the ranch from dawn until dark. When does the supposed homeschooling happen?
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