Sweet Find on Black Friday

For the first time ever, I ventured out of my house on the morning of Black Friday. Unshowered and dressed mostly in what I wore to bed the night before, I loaded up my little brood and headed for Tulsa's mid-priced retail mecca: 71st St. and Memorial Drive.

Our first stop was Toys R Us, where the checkout line wrapped around the inside perimeter of the store. Though we managed to find a few things we liked enough to buy there, we didn't feel especially excited about them. We sure weren't looking forward to buying enough batteries to keep them flashing and sounding off until little man moves on to bigger and better things in, oh, three months.

Holly told me about Lundeby's Eco Baby a few months ago, and I have always wanted to have a look. I am so glad I finally did. My only regret is I didn't go there before I spent $70 on plastic toys at a non-local retail big-box.

I'll tell you what we bought. Just don't spill the beans to our baby and spoil the surprise, okay? We're pretty good at doing that ourselves without your help. We couldn't help but give this to the little guy right away:Little guy loves to chase this thing. I'm sure he'll really love it when, once he begins to walk, he realizes he can pull it behind him. We love it because it's not plastic and because it's a simple, classic toy. It's a pleasure to behold, and it makes this great clacking sound when it's pulled along.

Know how to tell if a toy will be a five-star hit? If your husband can't stop playing with or talking about it. Heck, I can hardly get Aaron to even look away from the darn thing. I can't talk trash, though, since I've taken it for a few spins down the hallway during naptime myself.

We also scored these:We could hardly get our baby to stop playing with these long enough for us to buy them. He loves to beat on things, and with these toys, his efforts are rewarded with "music." Mom and Dad are happy, too, since we don't have to hear the ever-loving ABC song every time he barely touches it, unlike some of the other toys he has. Plus, neither requires batteries.

Lundeby's is situated in a smart, easy-to-access little space at 3638 S. Peoria Ave. Park along the street in front or in the lot behind the store. Lundeby's owner Tiffany will chat you up as you browse organic cotton baby clothes, eco-friendly diapering, breastfeeding support goodies, and her extensive stock of toys. I noticed she called nearly each customer by name, and by the time we headed out the door, she pretty much knew our life story. She's likable, to say the least.

Though I wouldn't dub us as a green family, we do try to limit our consumption of everything from gasoline to food packaging to water. Even from that perspective, it's easy to appreciate a shop like Lundeby's. For me, it's about the thought and consideration behind green products, which generally produces a better design on the other end. Though I'm willing to pay for good design, I can't normally spring for everything I'm nutty about. Lundeby's delivered again: I was surprised I could get out of a Brookside boutique with an arm-full of stuff for less than $60.

If you have a baby on your Christmas list - especially if it's our baby - make sure to stop by Lundeby's. I dare you not to go there and accidentally spend an hour playing and chatting and cleansing your soul of the big-box shopping experience.

Turkey Day Light Trolling

Thanksgiving is here! As I sit here waiting for my country crust bread to rise and my herbed spaghetti squash to roast, I'd like you to help me rustle up some places to see some Christmas lights.

The first that comes to mind is the flurry of white lights at Utica Square, which comes on tonight at 6:30. The second is Rhema's larger-than-life light display, which went live yesterday.

We can't wait to swing our baby boy by both. The kid totally zones out when he sees lights, and though his current favorite are the track lights at Loops, I have a feeling Christmas lights will open an entirely new corner of his eager little mind.

Where do you go to gawk at Christmas lights?

A Frustrating Night at BOK Center

I received an interesting note from a reader yesterday about the Tuesday night Metallica concert at the BOK Center:

We arrived at 7 walking from McNellies ([we wanted to take the shuttle over to the BOK Center from there, but] we never saw a clear shuttle stop in front of the restaurant.) The show started at 7 with the opening act and we figured we’d miss a bit of them.

We get there and there is a line a mile long. TO GET IN. People with tickets got extra screwed because the line was even longer to get in. They were metal detecting everyone and you had to empty your pockets and get wanded. That’s fine but it was so slow and inefficient. They had teenagers running it. It wasn’t professional. They banned several items ( cameras, spiked jewelry) but they don’t tell you until you get to the front. They could have saved a bunch of time if they had people going through the line telling people the rulz. Fortunately, we didn’t have anything.

Anyway, it was FREEZING outside and we were in line to get in the door with tickets for over an hour with frequent harassment from drunk guys ( to be expected) but the police were just standing there doing hardly nothing ( well, they did arrest a drunk kid.)

Okay, so we are almost to the doors and the SPRINKLERS come on on us! We had to move fast!

Then, we get in and needed to pee. The men’s bathroom line was forever long…took my husband about 30 more minutes. Took me about 10 minutes to get through but they only had the front bathrooms open, ½ the stalls wouldn’t flush, no toilet paper or towels, no attendants or workers to be found. The bathrooms have two openings to it was all confusing as to who was next in line which really didn’t speed up the process, either.

Also mad that we were one of the first ones to order our tickets and got the furthest back seats. We were told they were best available but people were buying groups of tickets and getting better seats than us. In fact, where we sat, it was all sparse. I don’t understand how that happened. The seats weren’t bad though…I don’t think there is a bad seat but still the worst of the good seats.

Fortunately, Metallica didn’t come out until 9 so we didn’t miss a minute of them. Got there just in time. The no smoking rule really cut back on the smoke…. I could actually breathe! Last Metallica concert I went to, I got second hand high and coughed up some nasty crap for a week.

McNellies was great. They gave us a reservation and were very quick with everything. We could stay parked there all night, too.

Sounds to me like McNellies was the best part of this evening. Anyone else have these types of experiences with shows at the BOK?

Overheard at the 31st Tulsa Run

Starting line: "Dude, it's, like, cold." The temperature hovered at about 40 degrees for the duration of the race, forcing many to don less-than-flattering exercise wear. Sparkly leg warmers, acrylic (a.k.a. plastic) mittens and a variety of unfortunate head gear were in wide use.

1K: "Count the number of people you pass and subtract the number of people who pass you, and we'll compare scores at the finish line." I don't see how this could have been doable, given that the race was probably two dozen racers deep from curb to curb. I guess it could have been a fun mechanism to employ to forget the chill, but then you would have missed the scenery.

The course began at 3rd and Boulder, stretched south to 15th, turned west to Denver, south again to Riverside Drive, east to the 23d Street Bridge, west back to Denver, up what I heard someone call "Murder Mountain" toward the BOK Center. Who would want to miss a chance to see all the parking lots - I mean, historic buildings - along the way?

Perhaps the more challenging game would have been to see who could count the most empty parking spaces on the south part of the course.

2K: "I wouldn't exactly call that motivational music." A band of kilted men playing bag pipes cheered us on about half way through the race. While it quickened my Irish blood, lots of folks were jonesin' for some rock and roll.

Two years ago, the last time I ran Tulsa Run, speakers blaring the Rocky theme were set up a little before the half-way mark. I was laughing so hard I could barely keep up with my friend Sarah, who picked up and moved away earlier this year and left me to run this year's race by myself. Alone. And cold. And sleepy.

I don't think she would have wanted to join me this year, anyway. I ditched her last year because I was too busy rounding out my second trimester, and she's doing just about the same thing this year. We don't think a fetus takes well to jostling - at least, not the first fetus. Maybe by the time we're pregnant with our third children, we'll be good and over all of that.

3K: I don't remember hearing anyone say anything interesting during this part of the race, but Tulsa county commission District 2 candidate Karen Keith gave me a cup of water. Thanks, Karen.

4K: "Oh, crap." *puff puff* "Maybe if this hill had been at the beginning of the race, I could have done it." *wheeze wheeze* "Without this hill, maybe this would actually be a run."

Wimps. If I made it up the hill on Denver between Riverside Drive and 15th Street, anyone can. Seriously. I had a baby earlier this year, an event for which I gained a cool 50 pounds, and though it's all off now, I'm by no means a lean, mean, running machine. Still, I can definitely see why the racers heading up the hill were gasping, "Good luck on the hill!" at the slower among us gliding down toward the turnaround at the bridge.

Yeah, so I saw spots and leprechauns in the parking lot at QT, but I made it up the hill, dang it.
Finish: "Natasha Ball!" "waaaahhh!" When the announcer said my name, Aaron cheered for me from the sideline. It was all too much for our baby boy, who screamed his head off with fear rather than excitement.

That's fine. His punishment is that he has to run with me next year, and I'd better not hear any nonsense about shorter legs, smaller lungs, just having learned to walk earlier in the year, blah blah blah.

This year's race was great. Lots of fun, lots of excitement. It's definitely a great way to show off downtown.

I'll post my results later. I was too busy grabbing bottles of water and a half-dozen candy bars, all free to the runners, after the race to check my official race time.

Hey, at least we can say I never made my motivation a mystery.

7 Ways to NOT Find a Real Pumpkin Patch

1. Feel an intense urge to find a "real" pumpkin patch at 5:00 p.m. on a Saturday afternoon.

2. Don't use the Internet or other resource to look up stories on or directories of pumpkin patches or farms in the Tulsa area.

3. Drive "strategically" through the rural areas of the metro, flipping a coin to decide whether to turn right or left at intersections.

4. After one hour of hunting, interrupt friends' and family's evening plans with phone inquiries as to the location of their "favorite pumpkin patch - you know, the kind where you can pick your own?"

5. Stumble upon a real pumpkin patch! Discover the operation closed 15 minutes before your arrival. Peer through the windows of the retail area, looking in vain for straggling staff people, chiming, "We've got a baby out here lookin' to pick his first pumpkin!," hoping to guilt someone into opening up.

6. Take photos of off-limits pumpkin patch. Consider making off with one measly little pumpkin. Remember rural area+stealing=shot gun.

Take more photos instead.

Just in case you needed help spottin' the suckers.

7. After two hours and no freshly harvested pumpkin, drive home listening to the musical stylings of the famished infant in the back seat.

Assuage bad-mommy guilt by making three batches of chocolate chip pumpkin muffins, made from scratch using pumpkins purchased from good ol' Reasor's.

Mmm. Boy, do I feel better now.

Photos taken at Sanders Nursery & Distribution Center Inc., in Broken Arrow at 20705 E. 161st St.

Running Rules.

Guess what I've been doing for the past six months.

That's right. Running my hiney off.

Literally! Since I started (re)training after my my baby's six-week birthday, I've lost nearly 25 pounds. I'm back into the jeans I wore last spring, and my calves are lookin' amazing, y'all. Almost as good as they did back when I was in marching band.

Don't ask.

I knew since I missed the race last year that I definitely wanted to make this year's Tulsa Run. I wasn't sure if I could train up quickly enough to run the 15K - in the end, that was too much to ask of my body, which has been through oh-so-much during the past year - but I have been able to get ready for the 5K.

Plus, I hit a milestone yesterday: I ran for 33 straight minutes. Though I've been an on again, off again runner for the past four years, I don't think I've ever run more than 20-25 consecutive minutes (because - and I'll admit it - I am a wimp. W-i-m-p.). They may not be the fastest minutes a girl has ever run, but kids, I'm gonna give myself serious credit for that little accomplishment. It may be in the form of Kupcakz, but I can't think about that right now. If I do, I'll go crazy. I'll think about that tomorrow.

The clock on the TR site says there are 17 days, 13 hours, 17 minutes and counting until race time. You have until the 21st to register without paying the late fee. If you're ready to commit, go to the TR registration site now.

Go on. Make your mother proud. Or, at least, this mother. Because I look extra runner-esque when I'm proud of you.

Quintessential Tulsa

I got this great e-mail from a reader, Chris, awhile back: 

One crazy question for you: for a tourist with one day (really more of a half-day) to see something distinctly Tulsa and/or Oklahoma, what would you recommend? 

I am trying to visit all 50 states before I turn 40, and am rapidly running out of time! Oklahoma is one of the 4 states I have left to visit before December...the opportunities [for daytrips] do not present themselves very often as I am mother to 3 kiddos under the age of 6...Any advice/suggestions are welcomed and much appreciated!  

First, I must say: People who have more than one child amaze me, but folks who have multiple kids under 12 defy logic as I know it. I have a seven-month-old son, and it's all I can do to hold down part-time work, get a few meals on the table and maybe bathe once per day. If you're someone who has more than one small child running around the house, please send me your minute-by-minute daily schedule so I can send it to scientists. You and your ability to bend the limits of patience and love should be studied.

Okay. I considered Chris's question for several days before I decided how to advise her. I was surprised by how difficult I found it to narrow a place like Tulsa down to an attraction or two for an out-of-towner looking to glean the essence of this city in a single, short visit. 

Always the brickhugger (to borrow a phrase from the SoChey kids), I told her she'd have plenty of options to "get Tulsa" if she planned to spend an afternoon downtown. I'm not so sure I gave her the right advice. Unless she scheduled one of those art deco or tunnels tours or had a specific event to attend, downtown may not be such a great destination for someone in town for just a few hours. Maybe better destinations would be Brookside or Cherry Street, Gilcrease of Philbrook, Tulsa Zoo or Oklahoma Aquarium. 

I didn't get very far along this line of thought before I started to feel, well, kinda stupid. I thought, I have a blog on things to do in Tulsa, and I can't come up with a quintessential Tulsa experience?

Then I realized that Tulsa just isn't a one-destination kind of town. 

Go ahead and try to think of just one, single thing that would provide a visitor with the Cliff's Notes version of Tulsa. Take your time; I'll wait. I bet that you could come up with several lists of things to do in Tulsa - something like ready-made Do Tulsa handbooks or something. One for food, one for history, one for architecture, one for art - you could fill any of those lists with dozens of things to see and do in the Tulsa area. 

Not ever sane enough to think about something for five minutes and then move on to something else, I thought of a few cities that immediately bring to mind a certain tourist destination, or vice versa: Seattle (Space Needle), St. Louis (the arch), San Francisco (Golden Gate Bridge), Paris (Eiffel Tower), New Orleans (the French Quarter), Orlando (Disney World)...

Tulsa: HA! No. 

It's easier to get a feel for Tulsa via a set of experiences rather than by visiting one attraction or one area of town. Plus, I don't think you and I would come up with the same set. I'm sure everyone has his or her own opinion about what a visitor should take the time to see here.  

If you could write a Do Tulsa handbook that details, say, five things to do in T-Town, what would they be? Chris, I hope you're reading...