quick quick quick!

k, I just want to send a shout-out to all y'alls who have left me comments. they make me so happy so yay! thanks friends! :)

I want to post because I've had some great days lately but I really should hit the hay. Although my days have been great, I can't say the same for my nights. I've had really really bizarre dreams lately, moreso than the usual fare, and they've done something to my sleep. I'm looking forward to the first leg of my trip where I'll be staying in a hotel in Branson, MO, and my friend there has a job that will give me some time to myself so I'm looking forward to napping. :) ahh, quite different from our Hillsdale days, eh? sleep by 10:30pm! ;)

um, so I helped in the Stock Yards a bunch last week, and then spent time with friends in between. Saturday night I got to meet my friend Sarah's brother for the first time (he works and lives in Dallas) and we went to the Spaghetti Warehouse in the West End. For some reason, the West End is known as being a "hip" place in Dallas, but I have no idea why. I really don't like it that much; it feels trashy like the notsofun parts of NYC or DC with the occasional live-music-bar. It's near the Grassy Knoll (site of the Kennedy Assassination) and so you know at least one person's been shot there. :P Sarah's brother hadn't seen that yet so we checked it out after dinner. Needless to say, I was glad we had a guy with us.

Sunday was a fantastic day, and I was realizing how lucky/blessed I am and how much I loooove Fort Worth moreso than Dallas. My friend Janet's dad is in town so I got to show him (and Janet) basically everything I've learned this summer in the Stock Yards. Plus, I've kinda made it a point to make friends with the owners of the little shops in the area, since I'm usually around that part of town during the week's "off times". There's this one little shop that sells Starbucks coffee and ice cream (my kind of place!) and the manager Bill and I have struck up a neat friendship. The last few times I've gone in there he refuses to let me pay for anything! So I had to show Janet and her dad, and didn't want to assume that Bill would cover it this time, since he's so generous and I don't want to seem like I'm taking him for granted, but just as Janet's dad had his credit card ready Bill tells him to just put it away because he's with his best customer! so sweet! :)

Then Janet and I checked out the little wine shop they have in the Stock Yards' shopping center and I've also gotten to know Blake, the owner. So even though it was pretty busy there, Blake saw me and got us the hook-up with free samples of drinks and it was so nice! Love it! :)

Today I had a busy day because I had planned on getting to see my friends Kristen and Justin, who had twins in May about 8 weeks premature (I think I mentioned this earlier). I hadn't been there since the babies came home so I was looking forward to it. Well, this morning Justin calls me and sounds like he's at his wit's end because poor Kristen had gotten an infection and was sick so he had had to do all the night feedings (= no sleep) and then got up around 5:30 am by their one-year-old. He asked if I could possibly help out and maybe take Kristen to her doctor's appointment that afternoon, and I said I'd head up there as soon as I could to help out and it would be no trouble at all.

So I got up there and poor Kristen was trying to feed each baby one at a time, and the one-year-old was completely oblivious and wanting to play, so I played with him while Kristen and Justin dealt with the babies. At one point Justin just about zonked out holding one of the little boys while I had the older one occupied. Poor papa! Please keep them in your prayers.

Tomorrow it's back to the Stock Yards, and I may go back to help Kristen and Justin on Friday. Plus I've got things to do before my trip and pack up. The National Day of the American Cowboy is Saturday so I won't be able to do much the day before I leave. Busy busy! :)

Laterz