Trivia...

Dear Fellow Blog Followers,


The first person who emails me with the correct answer to this question wins a prize!!!  I am not telling what the prize is until it has been won.

• What TV Show was filmed here?

I will announce the "Blog Follower Winner" on the next posting.  Stay tuned...

Congratulations ???!!!

We Hit the Jackpot!!!

Dear Blog Followers,


Any one up for a poker game???

Must be our lucky number!!!

Yes, we looked at houses on Tuesday (Sept. 21), found a nice one, saw it again on Thursday (Sept. 23rd) and filled out our application for lease.  Friday (Sept. 24th), the realtor called and said the home was ours!!!  We finalized the lease paperwork on Wednesday (Sept. 29th).  How quick was that with a possession date of October 1, 2010!!!


We will not be able to move in that quickly, but at least we can stop looking as we can stay in the apartment for a month.  I think we will be out of here as soon as we can arrange for rental furniture to be delivered to the home and then the movers will be able to deliver our stuff from Calgary.  Ya Baby!!!


Our new address will be at:  Blackjack Oak Lane.  Plano, TX, USA, 75074-7790.  We won't have a phone number until after we move in and get settled.


Click on link below for Web Pics (may not be online much longer).


            Click Link ==>  Pictures of 3908-Blackjack-Oak-Lane

Poker Anyone???

The Rath Men Take on Phoenix!!!

Hello Blog Followers,


So, if you think it is bad enough to have a "Rath" around, feel sorry for Phoenix.  Kevin and his 5 brothers are there from Friday through Monday for some brotherly male bonding. I think they are just trying to get away from the "Rath" women!!!  In any case, Kevin could use the break away from the stress he's been going through for several months.

Phoenix at Night...  Pretty Sky!!!

I, on the other hand, will be in the small apartment all weekend with some plans to take a long walk through the neighborhood.  Maybe I'll find a quaint coffee shop.  Hmm...  Maybe I'll find some great shopping.  I must remember to take the plastic.

A Quiet Time for Me in Dallas...

It's a Small World

Good Evening on this Lovely TGIF,

Yesterday, Kevin went down to the main floor (we are on the third) to the apartment's Business Centre.  They have two computers, printer/scanner, and a few tables in case tenants need to use them.

Kevin met a guy who asked if he was from Canada.  Hello!!!  How could you not tell that Kevin was from Canada???  It was really quite obvious.  Kevin was proudly attired in one of his favorite wardrobe items - a "free" Canadian Beer Shirt (just one of many that he owns)!!!  How obvious is that!!!

After conversing with this guy, the guy said he had just met one of Kevin's colleagues from BG just the other day.  She was transferred here from the UK, but was a native Calgarian.  Kevin did not know her from the BG Calgary office, but will have the opportunity to meet her here soon.

You just never know.  Maybe Kevin knows her from the oil patch in Calgary?  It can be a very incestuous industry.

Nothing else new.

Enjoy the Weekend!!!

In the Dark!!!

Dear Devoted Readers,


Another long awaited event finally happened!!!  We ordered a new Jeep back in January to be picked up back in February and we were finally able to get it on Wednesday (Sep 22nd).  Yippee!!!


On our way to pick up the Jeep, we were on a major road just before we turned into the dealership.  McCallum Boulevard!!!  Yes, unbelievable!!!


However, by the time we were done with the car salesman, it was dark.  I have never driven in Dallas (with all the tollways and freeways), but we were on the road heading back to the apartment in the dark (I was driving the new Jeep, following Kevin in his rental vehicle).


Needless to say, it was a little nerve racking for me (not for Kevin) even though we did not take the freeway or tollway.  We made it home safe and sound without a scratch!!!


Kevin went out to the parkade to get the manual.  I wondered why he was taking so long and just thought he was sitting in the Jeep playing with all the bells and whistles.  Time passed and he returned to the door.  He had locked himself out (forgot to take his keys - hee, hee).

Sweet Ride!!!

Wanna go for a Ride?

Trying to Get up to Speed !!!

Hello Friendly Blog Followers,


This will hopefully bring everyone up to speed on where we are at now.


Kevin started his job on Monday, Sept. 20th while I stayed at the apartment doing some multi-tasking which I love.


I was busy trying to set up my laptop experiencing difficulties in email and limited access.  I dealt with a couple of maintenance guys who dropped by to fix the threshold at the apartment door.  I was in contact with the property management as well as our realtor to get things moving.


One main concern for Kevin was to try to find the sports stations on TV.  I also did some channel browsing to find some favorites.  The cable here is not great at all... bare bones.  However, this is temporary - right?


On Tuesday, we looked at some lease homes.  One nice one that we liked, but the rest were axed.  Our realtor suggests to "name" the houses after seeing them.  Here are the names of the axed homes:

• House #1 - "The Dog Pee House" - Gross!!!  Also full of clutter (not staged very well).  Axed!!!
• House #2 - Quite nice.
• House #3 - "The Puke House / Stinky" - Even more Gross!!!  There was all kinds of gross pukey looking stuff spewing out of the bathroom sink, splashed all over the counter/mirror, and on the floor.  Also found the same stuff in another bathroom (sewage problems???)  Double Axed!!!
• House #4 - "Stinky" - Not too bad, but had a funny smell.  Triple Axed!!!

...  And the Search Continues...

Arrival Day in Dallas

Hello again!


Well, we really had no problems with our flight here, picked up a rental car, and drove to our temporary housing (a 661 sq. ft. apartment).


When we got to the apartment at around noon, we found the lock box that had our key fob to open the front gate/door and the key to our apartment.


Only one small problem, the key fob did'nt work and so we could'nt get in to even try the key to the apartment.

After several phone calls, we sat and waited (in the shade) on the front step of the apartment building for some help to arrive.  It was only 96 degrees F. and we were getting quite hot - jeans sticking to our knees, sweat rolling down, and the "hair do" a muck (Kevin's too - he was really having trouble with his "bangs").


After 2 hours of waiting, a tenant let us in the building!!!  Luckily the key to the apartment worked!!!  Inside the apartment were more key fobs that worked to get us in the gate/door, parkade, etc.  All was well.


PS - We later found out that our mail box keys did not work either which have since been replaced.  Hoish!!!

Thank goodness Day 1 was almost over!!!

My First Attempt at Blogging

Hello Everyone!!!

This is my first attempt at blogging so bare with me...

I am creating this blog to share our experiences in Dallas, TX as we just moved here from Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Brief History: Pre-Dallas Arrival

Hello Everyone,

Calgary at Night

Dallas at Night

Here is a brief history on our long wait to finally arrive in Dallas.

• November 2009 - Kevin was approached by his company regarding a transfer to Dallas for a 2-3 year work term.  Hmm... very interesting...  So, we gave it some thought and Kevin accepted the deal.  The US visa paper work was started and then the fun began!!!
• February 2010 - We were supposed to move to Dallas as Kevin had accepted a 2-3 year work term.  We encountered many complications and decided not to move to Dallas.
• June 2010 - As Dallas was off the table, Kevin's company had a position in Australia which we were seriously considering.
• July 2010 -  Just as we started the Australia Visa paperwork, Kevin's US Visa paperwork showed up in the mail.  His preference was always Dallas and his company really wanted him to take up the Dallas position as it was still available.  So, we were declining Australia and back on track to move to Dallas!!!  (Holy roller-coaster!!!)
• September 9, 2010 - After many stumbling blocks, arrangements were finalized and we had 9 days to plan our move here.
• September 18, 2010 - Our wonderful sons, Aaron & Brandon, drove us to the Calgary airport for an afternoon flight.  (Maybe they were excited to get rid of us... party, party, party...)
• We waited in the Customs and Immigration office for review/approval of the work visa for 3 long hours which made us miss our flights.
• All of our luggage (4 suit cases and our carry-ons) were piled back in the Jeep after we called Brandon to come back to the airport to pick us up.
• We spent a few hours at home making further arrangements to catch another flight to Dallas and managed to get on a flight.
• September 19, 2010 - Of course, we were up at 3:00 a.m., out the door by 4:15 a.m., arrived at the Calgary airport at 5:00 a.m. to catch a flight leaving at 7:00 a.m.  We still can't believe we were actually on the plane and ready for take-off!!!

As we were flying, we were still in disbelief that we were actually moving to Dallas!!!

Look out Dallas,

the "Rath's" are about to arrive!!!