Man Cave, Relationships

Last Minute Ladies, I’m Your Man

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OK last minute ladies, after today, you only have two days left on the calendar to buy the perfect Christmas gift for the men in your lives. Don’t worry though, M&M is here for you just in the Saint Nick of time. Think of me as your very own procrastination destroying Elf on the Shelf.

For those of you deliberate last-minute shoppers who already know what you’re buying but for some reason get a rush out of braving the mall madness the last few days before Christmas, this post is not for you. In fact, I feel you on the last-minute shopping bidness. While I merely dabble in it personally, I do enjoy myself some serious people watching each year at the mall come December 23rd and 24th. It’s like the State Fair, only they don’t charge admission. The only thing that would make it better would be if I could chow down on a corn dog, a funnel cake, and maybe some fresh squeezed lemonade while watching the freak show that is last-minute shopping madness. And though that’s not the point of this post, a guy can dream can’t he?

So it’s December 22nd and you’re at a loss for what to buy that special dude. Maybe he’s your boyfriend, maybe your husband or brother, or maybe he’s your dad. Don’t worry, I’ve been all four at one point or another in my life and I’ve got you covered on all fronts. However, if you’re looking for a specific list of concrete suggestions, this post might not help you. If, on the other hand, you’re looking for general advice to get your own gift-giving juices flowing, then read on my deadline defying friend.

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Cents and Sensibility, Relationships

The Truth about Santa (Spoiler alert)

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Kyle at age 2 and "some strange old dude"

Editor’s Note – Because this is a holiday week, our Relationships post has been written by our Sense and Centsibility author, Jenn Wallis.  It’s a Christmas parenting story. About Santa.

For years, we went to great lengths to make sure my oldest son Kyle kept believing that Santa is real. After he would go to sleep on Christmas Eve, my husband Justin would get out one of his Doc Marten’s boots from the 90’s (that he still wears – but that’s fodder for another blog) and imprint the sole into the fireplace ash and on the hearth, as proof that Santa had come down the chimney.  Justin would even go out into the driveway and make a few muddy reindeer hoof prints.  We’d take bites out of the cookies and pour out a little of the milk to look like Santa had sipped it (it had been sitting out for hours, after all).

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Homestead and Garden

Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch: Some People Just Don’t Get It

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In the ‘80’s, I saw millions of lights transform Ski Island in Oklahoma City into what I thought was the most spectacular light show I had ever seen.   I remember waiting in line behind hundreds of cars while people snapped photos of the lights reflecting off the water.

In 1993 I saw first hand how my childhood park, Shannon Springs Park in Chickasha, Oklahoma, was transformed into the Festival of Light.  I had to walk through that park to catch the school bus when I was a kid.  I remember city workers with guns shooting water moccasins after a major rain and kids fishing off the white bridge.  To see it enhanced with millions of lights was truly spectacular.

These two communities clearly get it.

The year I moved to the country I was amazed at how many people along the 30 miles of highway decorated their homes with outside lights.  It was nothing like the light displays I had seen in the past, but somehow the simple lights that outlined a barn or front door against a completely black night void of street lights or business neon signs made me smile.

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Oklahoma culture, Photography, Travel

Silent Sunday: 12/19/10 ~ Tulsa Town, by Vlad Railian

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This morning our Silent Sunday post is completely focused on Tulsa.  Because quite a few of our contributors live in central Oklahoma, we want to make sure and let Tulsa know they are in our hearts as well.  All images have been provided by Vlad Railian, an amateur photographer from the Tulsa area.  We’re certainly glad you’re living in Tulsa Town, Vlad…and for showing us some of what your city has to offer.  One final note, the LED photos aren’t necessarily “Tulsa,” per se – I just liked them and thought they might be appreciated as Christmas lights with a twist. ~ RDK

Rhema Building

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Homestead and Garden, Oklahoma culture

Introducing Tonks

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Tonks Roberts - Our new Malamute Puppy

My husband and I got our first puppy approximately six months after we were married.  It wasn’t until years later that I learned getting a puppy at that particular point in a married life was a typical thing.

Get married, get settled, then…get puppy.  “Futz” Roberts (so named by Mick after a tame wolf who used to hang out at a bar in Stillwater) was half Australian Shepherd and half Samoyed.  He was the first dog of our hearts, and we loved him dearly.  There are stories I could tell. Oh, there are definitely stories.  But even now, I’m not ready to write them.  I still miss him and he’s been gone for over ten years.

Our second dog was adopted a few months after Futzie died.  I named him Bojangles because that week I happened to be in a Nitty Gritty Dirt Band mood.  He was billed as “half Husky and Half shepherd” by the shelter, but he looked a little like a golden retriever. Except that he was brown. And, he had a spotted tongue like a Chow.  Bojangles was a really sweet soul and he died too young.  The urban legend we’ve created in our family is that Bo saved us from a poisonous snake he battled in our back yard at night that might otherwise have hurt us.  It’s true that he was a great guard dog. And he would take on whatever animal happened to venture beyond the borders of our fence into his territory.  And it’s true that we’ve discovered more than our share of poisonous snakes since we’ve lived here.  However, we’re just not sure what really happened to our dog.  One day Mick walked out into the back yard and thought Bo had been sleeping a little too long.  He had.  That was another sad, sad day.

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Showcasing Red Dirt culture ~ authored and managed by contributors with connections to the great state of Oklahoma.