The Circus, Chadra's, and Church, etc.

The Circus. This weekend I went to the Ringling Brothers & Barnum and Bailey Circus. I hadn't been to the circus since I was a kid and my ticket was free, so that was nice. I think I might be morally opposed to the circus though. The performing animals didn't seem natural or humane and it wasn't enteraining, it just made me kind of sad. The performing elephants and dogs don't bother me for some reason, but the horses, zebras, and tigers do. The zebras wanted out of that ring they were running around in so bad and the tigers looked absolutely miserable. Zebras aren't meant to be in a circus. And I don't know what you have to do to teach a tiger to do tricks, but it can' t be fun for the tiger. The other thing I decided I was morally opposed to at the circus was the price of cotton candy: $12!!!! Everything there was overpriced and geared towards children. I felt sorry for the parents - of course you want your kid to have a good time at the circus - and then you end up buying them $12 cotton candy and a $40 stuffed animals - together probably worth way less than $20.

Chadra's. After the circus we went to one of my new favorite restaurants in Fort Worth: Cafe Chadra. Cafe Chadra serves Italian and Lebanese food which is absolutely brilliant because if you have a friend or family member who doesn't like Lebanese/Middle Eastern/Mediterranean food, you can say"well they have Italian too". Most people like Italian. I, for one, LOVE Middle Eastern/Mediterranean food. Everytime I have ever had Greek food I was in heaven. At Chadra's they have these things called "Garlic Knots" which are little rolls covered in garlic-y butter. They are so, so, so good. I could make a meal out of just those and some feta cheese. We also tried the hummus, I got a Greek wrap, and I got to try schwarma, and their vodka pasta - it was all great. There are several other things on the menu that I want to try and I can't wait to go back!

Church. On Sunday I went to church at Beautiful Feet Ministries. Beautiful Feet is a ministry, that was started by a former SWBTS student, to the homeless in Fort Worth. They serve meals and offer Christian devotional and worship services. AJ works with a local middle school ministry and this week they went on a mission trip to Beautiful Feet. I had heard about the ministry not long after moving to Fort Worth, but this was my first time to go there. It was a very interesting experience, as being around homeless people often is. I think it was a great experience for the middle school kids - to show them that there are other ways of life besides middle class, suburban. :)

Etc. Tonight I am going out to dinner at Piola - this fancy little Italian place that I discovered one day when I had to run an errand for my boss. It's tucked away in this neighborhood in Fort Worth and reminds me of a place you'd find in Portland, Oregon (which makes me feel happy inside). It's a little pricey though, so I've been waiting for a good occassion to go, and the end of my counseling internship and the beginning of my last semester in seminary is a good time to celebrate. I'm trying to eat as little as possible today so that I can eat whatever I want tonight and not feel guilty. For breakfast I had a weight watchers smoothie (blech) and for lunch I'm having a Healthy Choice microwaveable soup and some grapes. So hungry...

I found the greatest blog: it's called Homesick Texan - it's about Texas and food - 2 of my very most favorite subjects :)