Girls Best Friend

Schools out, the Christmas rush has past, the apartment is clean and all the laundry has been done. Ahhh, what I like to do best. Hang out on the couch with my best bud, Scooter, and our favorite blanket :)

9 Degrees Of Fun This Weekend

If you are ever in the DFW area during the Christmas season, you have to stop in Grapevine and see the "Ice" exhibit at the Gaylord Texan Resort. 40 artisans from China sculpt various things in ice. The exhibit, that we saw this past Friday, was well worth it. To keep the sculptures from melting they have to keep the room at a constant nine degrees. You are given a winter parka to wear (and you need it). The fun part was getting to slide down a slide made of ice.

On Saturday Scooter had a spa day where she got a grooming and a bath. It is funny that every time she comes home from the groomers, she gets spots. She also got her picture taken with Santa. Scooter would like to wish a Merry Christmas to all her friends out there.

On Saturday evening we went back to the Galleria for the official lighting of the Christmas Tree. Go figure the official lighting coming less than a week before Christmas. I guess that is kind of like a store opening before the official Grand Opening. After we left the Galleria we went to another mall about two miles away. We went to the JC Penney's store because Tina had a coupon. Let's just say this JC Penney looked like we were at Greenspoint Mall in Houston for those of you that have been there.

Tina left today to go back to Houston with Scooter. This is the first time I have been here without anybody. It will only be for a few days. I will see them on Christmas Eve when I fly down to Houston. Poor Scooter is probably confused with this transition.

This Past Weekend & Mass Transit

After not having seen Tina since the Monday after Thanksgiving, she was able to drive up to Dallas for my Company Christmas Party. I was so excited to see her. I had missed her deeply.

Tina won a door prize at my company party by drawing her own ticket (they let the spouses draw the tickets). We had an interactive murder mystery company perform for us at a local movie theater.

Friday, Tina and I went to the Dallas Galleria. I finally walked into a Nordstrom Department Store. The store was real nice, but of course the prices were through the roof. Either way we had a good time.

Saturday morning we got an early start to make the drive down to Houston for our Small Group Christmas Party. It was nice to see the friends I haven't seen in about a month. We had a good time exchanging gift cards.

Sunday I left to head back to Dallas. Man did the weather change by the time I got there. The temperature went from about 70 to 40 in an hour. The cold weather, with winter precipitation, led me to utilize the DART mass transit. There is a bus station/park & ride about 5 miles from the apartment. Within that 5 miles I saw one accident happen in front of me. The bus ride to the train station was smooth. Then the train ride from Richardson to my office went fast. I am fortunate to have a train station right next to my office which allowed me to utilize the mass transit. Overall I enjoyed the ride and will more than likely utilize the DART more often because we get a discount through my company.

I'm Jealous

I know that you are not suppose to be jealous of anything, but I am. Downtown Dallas received snow last night. I didn't get any because I am 14 miles northwest of town. I kept looking out the window like a little kid. All I got was light sleet. Then to top it off, I hear Houston got snow today and it is now sticking.

Since my birth in 1979, it has only snowed in 1989, 1994, 2004, and now 2008. 1989 was a few days before Christmas. I was in 9th grade when it snowed on February 1, 1994 which was a GREAT birthday gift for me. Tina and I moved to Magnolia in 2002 thinking we would have a better chance for sleet and snow. When it snowed in Christmas Eve 2004, it never went north of Houston (That was when it snowed in Galveston). Now I am in Dallas and I didn't get to experience the snow that happened in Houston today.

I don't know what I have to do to get on Mother Nature's good side, but I want some snow. The winter season is still in the early stage. Maybe I will get my wish. My only concern is that I will be at work when the roads ice over and I can't get home.

Until then I have pictures to remember when it snowed in Houston and I wasn't there.

Lady Of Love

I heard a song this morning that reminded me of someone special.

She was orphaned at such a young age. She never finished school, but that was common for women of those days. She married her true love with little to nothing to their names. She was ready to be the matriarch of the family just like any lady would want. This lady bore two girls and one boy (At home I should add). She loved her kids with all of her heart. That is the only way she could. She made their clothes because they barely made ends meet with one income. Even without an education, she made sure her kids graduated from high school. Then her kids carried on the love she gave them and married their true loves. She loved her two son-in-laws and one daughter-in-law as if they were her own kids.

Her three kids extended the family by a total of seven more. She expressed the love she had to the new addition by babysitting most of them. If you ask those kids today they would say that it was the best years growing up. As those kids grew, she made sure there were cokes and Popsicles ready when the kids would ask. She made the best tamales and flour tortillas from scratch.

Ovarian Cancer almost took her and her love from her family, but her love and determination kept her going for many more years. Five of those seven kids extended the family with thirteen more. With all these additions, she still had a lot of love to go around to EVERYBODY. Her love also came with prayers for all her family.

After living a good long life, she told her family she loved them. Her family returned the love by saying thanks for everything. Then she physically left her family. Her family says they can still feel her love even though she is no longer here physically.

The song was "Silent Night". The lady of love was my grandmother. "Silent Night" was her favorite Christmas Carol. "Silent Night" didn't mean much to me until my grandmother left us January 2007. Now when I hear it, I can't help but tear up no matter where I am. She was a very special lady to all of us.

As we are currently in the Christmas season, please spend some time with your family. Family is precious and important to have in our lives. If you have things you need to mend with your family, don't let another Christmas go by without telling them Merry Christmas and that you were thinking of them.

It's Official!

No we aren't pregnant (Unlike most of the couples in our small group in Houston & Qatar). I am officially settled in. Our couch that we had ordered came yesterday. I have arranged the furniture accordingly to see the TV from wherever you sit or stand in the kitchen.

The only thing that is missing with this celebration of being settled in is my lovely wife. She had to stay back in Houston for a school test. This was the first weekend since we have been married (if I am not mistaken) that we have not been together. This weekend felt weird to me. You don't realize how important your spouse is until you aren't together.

There are things that I am noticing that Dallas does that Houston didn't. One thing was to have a Children's Christmas Parade. I was watching this yesterday on TV while waiting for the couch. There were various characters like the Care Bears, the Looney Tune characters, Berenstain Bears, Cabbage Patch Kids,etc. It's nice to see the city offering things for families.

Another thing I have noticed is that people here love to shop. I have been in a few malls here and have driven by many others. There are Neiman Marcus' stores and Nordstroms at many malls here. One day I will walk in those stores and actually see what they have (That's if security doesn't throw me out).

If you have noticed by now, I always talk some sports in each post. The Texans pulled off a CLOSE game against the Packers. The Titans, Broncos, & Cardinals won (I keep up with the teams my friends cheer for).

Hope nobody is stressing too much with the Christmas shopping. This will be a very busy Christmas for me. I am flying to Houston Christmas Eve evening, spending time with family, and drive back to Dallas with Tina Christmas Evening so I can be at work December 26th.

Getting Familiar With Dallas

Hope everybody had a Happy Thanksgiving. We got to go down to Houston to celebrate with both families. Then it was back to Dallas for the weekend.

Things are going good up here in The Big D. The weather has been Fall-like. I didn't realize that Dallas pretty much gets every cool front that makes it into Texas. The wind lets you know that one is coming if you don't get to keep up with the news. The winds start at about 25 mph with gusts up to 40. I am not complaining because I like cool weather.

An update on the apartment. Tina and I went to finish getting what we needed. We have a couch on order and we found a small table and chairs set from Target so that we could actually have a meal and be able to look at each other. We also found a tv stand from Ikea.

We are trying out more stores and restaurants. We are unfortunate that there is not a Lupe Tortillas here like there is back in Houston. It is hard to find good Mexican food up here. We tried On The Border (used to be in Houston back in the days). Tina and I came to the conclusion that Taco Cabana was better and cheaper.

Work is going good. Been busy this week. The commute hasn't been bad at all with everybody back at work. Maybe I am leaving at the right time.

Scooter (our dog) is also adjusting pretty good. She was confused when we first moved up here. The only problem now is that she barks at people getting out of their cars or coming up the stairs. I know dogs are supposed to bark, but there is a time and place for that. She calmed down when we took her to the local Petsmart to pick our her bed and kennel.

I still am not on the Cowboys wagon. It is tempting to buy some type of shirt to support the team. Tina and I were at a Walgreens the other night and she noticed a Cowboys handbag next to the register. She pointed it out to me and I told her I wasn't jumping on the wagon. When the cashier heard me say that, she was stunned that I wasn't a Cowboys fan (Maybe because she was a fan and had the star tattooed on her neck).

I am glad to see that the Texans won their Monday night debut. Glad to see the Broncos are more than likely going to the playoffs (Man do the NFC & AFC West Divisions suck compared to the rest).

Anyway, hope all is good.

Happy Thanksgiving Continued

As we enjoy this day of spending time with family and friends, lets not forget that we have a lot to be thankful for.

I would like to share what I am thankful for:

Have God In My Life
I Am Healthy
My Wonderful, Loving Wife
My Family
My Friends
My Job (Big Thanks)

Hope all of you have a great Thanksgiving weekend. Hope your football teams win whether it be NCAA or NFL.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Sorry it has been a long time since I have posted anything. It was a busy weekend getting settled. The cable got connected, the mattress showed up, and then the delivery guys from Best Buy showed up to attempt to deliver the washer and dryer. The BB guys were nice enough to come in and make sure everything was going to fit since it is an apartment. Luckily they did because what we had ordered wasn't going to work. So we refused delivery and had to go find another set that would fit. We were fortunate to find one and have it delivered the next day. All we need now is some type of couch because we are sitting in camping chairs to eat and watch TV and it isn't working (That is our task for this weekend).

We are getting familiar with what is around us (i.e. Wal-Mart, Target, Kohls, Chick-Fil-A). We have even found Redboxes to rent cheap movies (as we sit in the uncomfortable camping chairs).

Work is going good for me. I have met a lot of people and I am learning new things daily. The commute is nice but that will probably change next week when everybody goes back to work and school from the Thanksgiving holiday.

Speaking of the Thanksgiving Holiday, Tina and I wanted to wish all of you and your families a Happy Thanksgiving. Whether you watch football, the Macy's Parade or just hang out with family, just have fun and think about the many things you are thankful for.

A New Favorite Treat

With our traveling back and forth from Houston to Dallas to prepare for this transition, we have located a new stopping point along the way. There is a bakery called Collin Street Bakery that is located in Corsicana. They are known for their World Famous Fruitcakes. The original location of this bakery is in Downtown Corsicana, but this location is right off of I-45. We have stopped there each way for some cookies to get us through our travels. We were brave enough to sample some fruitcake during this last trip but have come to the realization that the fruitcake is not our thing.

A reply to the comment about not becoming a Cowboy fan. That will be kind of hard not to because I like watching football on Sundays and that is obviously the team they will be showing. Maybe I will be lucky and catch some Denver Broncos games in place of the Houston Texans games. Speaking of the NFL, I have come up with some questions for all of you football fans out there:

Will Gary Kubiak be the Houston Texans coach next year?

Will the Tennessee Titans remain undefeated throughout the whole season?

Will Wade Phillips be the Cowboys coach next year if they don't make the playoffs this year?

Will Kurt Warner and the Arizona Cardinals go to the Super Bowl?

Will the Detroit Lions win a game this year?

Will Brett Favre retire after this year?

Dallas, Here We Come!!

Well after being laid off for two and a half months, I have accepted a job in Dallas. My first day is Monday November 24th. This will be a little different for Tina and I because we are both from Houston and all of our family and friends are here in Houston. This is why we have jumped on the "Blog" wagon and want to keep in touch with everybody. Family and friends are very important to both of us.

This was a hard decision for both of us, but we feel that God has provided this job and we must answer. We ask that you continue to pray for us and we will do the same for you. It is prayer that gets us through the many storms of life that we go through. I would like to ask that when you also pray, pray for all that are unemployed. While I was attending a job support group weekly, I got to hear stories much worse than what I was going through. It is hard being unemployed for any length. I was bitter after I got laid off. Through former co-workers, the members of our small group, and my loving wife I was able to change my attitude and feelings.

One verse that got me through this period of unemployment was Jeremiah 29:11.

For I know the plans I have for you declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

If anybody has any suggestions for things to do or restaurants to eat at in Dallas, we would greatly appreciate it.

We will do our best to keep this as current as we can. The next few weeks are going to be busy for us as we get situated in Dallas. Please be patient as we are new to this whole blogging concept.