It's Paula Deen Y'all!

Lyndi and I had a wonderful time tonight with Paula Deen! This event was a fundraiser for GraceWay. GraceWay is "a non-profit, faith- based, long-term substance abuse treatment community for women. GraceWay provides a spiritual home environment that empowers residents to become productive members of their families and society through intensive application of the Twelve-Step methodology."

The evening started with a silent auction. There were 145 things to bid on. Lyndi won a 4-D Ultrasound valued at $350 for $50!!! That is a steal! Anyway, we had a wonderful dinner consisting of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, collard greens, butter beans, mac n cheese, and flat cornbread. It was DELICIOUS! (There's a lot of goodness under the cornbread too!)

Paula was there in all her glory! She is such a hoot. She spoke for about 15 minutes about her battle with agoraphobia years ago, and the hope that her friends and family gave her to pursue a dream. She related that with the women that come to GraceWay for help and how they find hope there. They then auctioned off a goodie basket of all of Paula's books, spices, and things. The biggest auction was a trip to Savannah along with 4 tickets to Paula's Party. That went for $3000 and her brother, Bubba, matched it! Too bad we're broke because I would have bid!! :)

Afterwards Lyndi and I waited in line for autographs. Not only did we get them, but we also got a picture with her! She's the best y'all! :)