laissé les bons temps roule!

It's Fat Tuesday!!

Monday night was great. I .. ME.. Randi .. YES .. Me.. I cooked dinner. Not only was it dinner -- but it was red beans & rice and boudain. Oh yes.. that's right .. boudain. Uh huh.. and for those of you who don't know what boudain is - I won't tell you what it is other than it's really good eatin. And then you have to try it . . . THEN I'll tell you what it is. ;o)

Anyways. Kat and I had some people over for Fat Monday simply because I wouldn't be able to have people over tonight because I'll be in Harker Heights for soccer games. It was good! We had, as aforementioned, red beans & rice, boudain, cornbread, banana pudding and king cake. Oh yes, and Ryan brought over some kick butt cafe au lait. He said it was "king cake" flavored. It was good whatever flavor you wanna call it.

Other than having a good time and laughing and having everything feel like it used to, the best part of the night was when Ryan complimented me on dinner. From a guy who cooks and throws around words like creme and marinade and all these culinary terms, that was like the highlight.



I wish I could send you some Tony Chachere's red beans & rice and some HEB bought boudain and king cake. . . But I'll just pray that you "laissé les bons temps roule!"

As I was reading Ginger's blog today, in her comments, someone left a link to a speech that Bono recently gave at the National Prayer Day breakfast in Washington, DC. It is pretty flippin awesome.

And finally, it’s not about charity after all, is it? It’s about justice. Let me repeat that: It’s not about charity, it’s about justice. And that’s too bad. Because you’re good at charity. Americans, like the Irish, are good at it. We like to give, and we give a lot, even those who can’t afford it. But justice is a higher standard. Africa makes a fool of our idea of justice; it makes a farce of our idea of equality. It mocks our pieties, it doubts our concern, it questions our commitment.

He said, stop asking God to bless what you’re doing. Get involved in what God is doing—because it’s already blessed.

What Bono says is just amazing and convicting all at the same time. Makes ya think . . . and then really, really respect those who give all of their time, money, and effort to those who really need.

oh so funny

Marcus finds THE funniest stuff on the internet... have a sample of his latest discovery:

In order to survive a nuclear attack, you must remember to stop, drop, and be Chuck Norris.

Chuck Norris' tears cure cancer. Too bad Chuck Norris has never cried.

I am pretty sure these are derived from this website. If you want a laugh, and then cry . . . this is the place to go.

I don't have anything else to really say. . . Julie is really funny too. Here are some samples of her insanity from Tuesday night (procrastination can do this to you.. don't let it happen to you).

sometimes when i drink coke i like to put some in my mouth and violently shake my head left and right to get rid of the carbonation. it's like shaking a coke... in your mouth

sometimes when i eat chocolate i go into a dream-like state and see everying made out of chocolate. then i frolic around in place and start eating everything around me. it's heaven

sometimes when i'm hot i put as much of my body in laine's freezer at a time and then switch positions so the other parts can cool off

one time i had a dream that i was walking outside and i slipped on a cloud. and so i got up and i yelled at it. so then it started pushing me. so i got out my numchucks and started fighting with it. and then i conquered it so it let me ride on it. so i rode around campus on a cloud and pushed people down. and then while they were on the ground the cloud rained on them, and then i kept doing that until everyone was on the ground. and then the cloud turned into a pot of gold and bam, i was rich

one time at band camp, we reinacted that american pie scene. you know, the one where the people at camp are playing songs on a stage ... it was such a rush

sometimes i put on all my clothes and time myself so that way if the fire alarm goes off i can put on all my clothes and run out of the buliding and if it burns, i'll still have clothes

She's a special girl. Gotta love that Julie . . . (and now for the grand finale.. drum roll please!)

sometimes when i'm doing i don't even know what i make weird faces in the mirror. and one time i opened my mouth because i wanted to see that hanging ball thangy. well so i did and then it was really gaross because there was a ball of phlegm hanging from the hanging ball thang. so then i sang some christmas songs and took some drugs and went to bed. that's partially true.

Yeah.. so special... :o)

I hope you have enjoyed this fun filled post!! I love you and I miss you!

by sam brown www.explodingdog.com

I swear I haven't fallen off the face of the earth... I'm still here!!! :o)

I have discovered that I haven't been a very good friend. Let me explain ...

I've been mentally preoccupied lately with work, soccer and the future. As much as I need to focus on where I will be (or not be) next year, I need to remember what I have now. And what I did have. I have a few friends who have moved back to College Station over the past year and I have not spent time with them at all. I don't know why - and I don't have any acceptable reason to explain my actions.

I saw them tonight. I went to an event that I haven't attended in a long time and they were there too. (sounds like I used to attend AA huh.. haha) One of them seemed particularly hurt that I hadn't kept in touch with her and now I just hope that I haven't lost that friendship.

Sorry that this seems so dreary. It's not how I feel all the time - just something I was thinking about.

news to you ...

So, for whatever reason, I never told you guys about the Mormons who came to my door one night. Mormons came to my door one night. Haha.. I invited them and we talked for a long time and they brought up one verse that has stuck in my head. It was Ezekiel 37:15-23 essentially. Here's what it says:

The word of the LORD came to me: "Son of man, take a stick of wood and write on it, Belonging to Judah and the Israelites associated with him.' Then take another stick of wood, and write on it, 'Ephraim's stick, belonging to Joseph and all the house of Israel associated with him.' Join them together into one stick so that they will become one in your hand. When your countrymen ask you, 'Won't you tell us what you mean by this?' say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am going to take the stick of Joseph—which is in Ephraim's hand—and of the Israelite tribes associated with him, and join it to Judah's stick, making them a single stick of wood, and they will become one in my hand.' Hold before their eyes the sticks you have written on and say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them back into their own land. I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. There will be one king over all of them and they will never again be two nations or be divided into two kingdoms. They will no longer defile themselves with their idols and vile images or with any of their offenses, for I will save them from all their sinful backsliding, and I will cleanse them. They will be my people, and I will be their God.

I had never studied nor read this scripture, so when they asked me what I thought it meant, I really didn't have much to say, which really really frustrated me.

This has stuck in my head for all this time. Last night when we were driving home from Temple, I was thinking as the other two coaches were talking about some political things involving Israel and Palestine, etc. And as I listened to their conversation (it wasn't eavesdropping), I totally got it!

This week, our bible study was about the mystery that was made known to Paul (as in Ephesians 3:6).

This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.

One stick was the nation of Israel, and the other, the Gentiles. Not the Israelites of the Middle East and the "Israelites of the Americas."

It was a mystery to me - the prophecy of Ezekiel - but the mystery was solved a long time ago through Christ!!

Sorry if it doesn't make sense.. It's just been a good day :o)

Today has been mucho fun !

Went to church, went to lunch at Schlotsky's. Then went home and chilled for awhile. Got ready for the youth football game. I wasn't planning on actually playing but I went out anyway. When I got there, I was having a good time just watching and taking pictures and talking and all that. The adults played dirty and the refs were too strict ! We have them out there to keep things "fair" but really, when you have 11 grown men against 6 highschoolers and 5 jr high kids is that really all that fair? Not so much. Soo... I got frustrated after the first half because of all this. It seemed like more time was taken figuring out how many people were on the field than actual playing of football. And everyone was arguing because Jay is really really good at heckling and getting people's frustration level up. About half way through the 2nd half, I got fed up with the way things were going so I grabbed a belt and got on the field. It was awesome - I ended up recovering a kick off, completed a 8yd catch with a 7 yd run, and totally "tackled" Jerry House. As Rachel B put it, "Randi was a hoss and juked like 5 guys." Hehehe.. I'm down with that :o)

After the game, I went out to the church and watched the big game with the youth and counselors. It was a good time - just some good football overall.

Now I'm gonna go watch a kick butt Grey's Anatomy w/ Kat and then hit the hay so I can start a brand new week! By the way, I am feeling a ton better than 2 days ago. My nose is getting clearer and feeling a lot better. Thanks for all of you who stuck up for me or just asked how I was. :o) I appreciate it!

If you live far away from me, I miss you and I love you so much!! Email me and let me know how you're doing!!

“ For the word of the LORD is right and true; he is faithful in all he does. The LORD loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love. ”- Psalm 33:4-5

It's been a few days since I've been here. Basically because I have felt like poo-poo for the past three days. I've pretty much figured out why...
Monday: At afterschool practice, I played with the girls because there was an odd number and I also worked out a little with them in the weight room. And then, later that night, I went up to the church and played some hardcore basketball with a whole mess of people. It was fun, but it sure wore me out.
Tuesday: A storm front came through, bringing all my friends; mold and all the other cool airborne allergens

So basically, Tuesday I was very tired - a mixture of the uber workout from the night before and the change in weather. Wednesday was worse. Not only was I tired, my sinuses and nose were killing me. I was majorly congested and it was just.. messy. So I skipped bible study :o( and tried to just relax with my sinus headache. Today I woke up and was feeling pretty good. I didn't have a headache but my stuffiness was still there. Throughout the day I haven't felt horrible because I was able to get some medicine to help me out. And I also had a Dr Pepper which makes almost anyone feel better. I'm pretty wiped out still but I'm surviving.

Tomorrow we have our first district home game of the season against Harker Heights. We'll see how it goes... We're not expecting to be wiped out but it will be a game!

Keep me in your prayers - I am starting a job hunt annndddd... So yeah, I'm enjoying my job but I need to move on! Haha..

Love you all!!

Oh I love this verse.. It's one of my favorites!! It was today's "Verse of the day"

"However, as it is written: 'No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him'— "
- 1 Corinthians 2:9