leavin' for boot camp party

a good friend of ours is leaving for boot camp on tuesday after the 4th. we decided to send her off with a surprise party.




we had all sorts of decorations, streamers, posters, etc.


we had food, drink and dessert (below)...chocolate jello. it made a great backdrop for our little army guys and it tasted wonderful.




here's the recipe...

• 1 1/2 cups water
• 2 1/2 teaspoons gelatin
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder

1. pour 1/2 cup of water into a bowl and sprinkle gelatin on top.
2. in a saucepan, whisk together the remaining water, heavy cream, sugar, and cocoa.
3. bring just to a boil, stirring gently. (mixture will thicken as it boils)
4. remove from heat and pour into gelatin mixture.
5. stir gently until combined.
6. pour into desired containers.
7. chill for at least 3 hours. (recommended to cover with plastic wrap, but i did not and there was a slight "skim" over the top, much like homemade pudding)

the recipe i found came with an espresso sauce recipe which i intend to make next time. here's the recipe if you're interested.

• 1 large egg yolk
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder (i will be 1 oz. using real espresso and subtracting from the milk)

1. whisk the egg yolk and 1 tablespoon of sugar until well combined.
2. bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
3. pour 1/3 of the milk mixture into the yolk mixture, whisking constantly.
4. return this new yolk mixture to the pan and cook over moderate heat stirring constantly until thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon.
5. in a saucepan, mix together the milk, remaining sugar and espresso.
6. pour through mesh strainer and cool to room temperature.
7. cover and chill.
8. after gelatin and sauce are both well chilled, spoon sauce over gelatin and serve.

if i die...

If I Die...

Back home now I know you're probably sleepin'
Over here it's the middle of the day
I finally found the time to write a letter
Sittin' here a half a world away

I heard about all them folks protestin'
As if I really want this war
But that don't stop me from believin'
There's just some things worth fightin' for

CHORUS
And if I die before you wake, I pray the world will take
A good look at what God's given us
That we could only understand, everything is in his hands
All we need is a little faith and trust
I want you to know it ain't too high a price to pay
If I die before you wake

Tell everybody that I miss them
And I can't wait to get back home
But until then I'll serve my country
And be proud to wear this uniform

CHORUS
No it ain't too high a price to pay
If I die before you wake

~ Written by Dustin Evans, Dave Brainard and Rick Tiger
~ Performed by Dustin Evans

Marc Fencil: Student, Marine, Sharp Tongued Writer

Marc Fencil is a senior at The Ohio University. He is majoring in Political Science, Criminology, and Spanish. He won't be graduating this spring because his side job is currently keeping him very busy. Which side job is this?

Marc Fencil is also a Lance Corporal in the United States Marines and is one of the few & proud currently serving in Iraq.

Upon learning his fellow students in Athens, Ohio decided to stage a "Die-In" at College Gate, Marc decided to join them in spirit by writing a letter to the editor of the The Post Online.

---

"It's a shame that I'm here in Iraq with the Marines right now and not back at Ohio University completing my senior year and joining in blissful ignorance with the enlightened, war-seasoned protesters who participated in the recent "die-in" at College Gate. It would appear that all the action is back home, but why don't we make sure? That's right, this is an open invitation for you to cut your hair, take a shower, get in shape and come on over! If Michael Moore can shave and lose enough weight to fit into a pair of camouflage utilities, then he can come too!

Make sure you all say your goodbyes to your loved ones though, because you won't be seeing them for at least the next nine months. You need to get here quick because I don't want you to miss a thing. You missed last month's discovery of a basement full of suicide vests from the former regime (I'm sure Saddam's henchmen just wore them because they were trendy though). You weren't here for the opening of a brand new school we built either. You might also notice women exercising their new freedom of walking to the market unaccompanied by their husbands.

There is a man here, we just call him al-Zarqawi, but we think he'd be delighted to sit down and give you some advice on how you can further disrespect the victims of Sept. 11 and the 1,600 of America's bravest who have laid down their lives for a safer world. Of course he'll still call you "infidel" but since you already agree that there is no real evil in the world, I see no reason for you to be afraid. Besides, didn't you say that radical Islam is a religion of peace and tolerance?

I'm warning you though -it's not going to be all fun and games over here. You might have bad dreams for the next several nights after you zip up the body bag over a friend's disfigured face. I know you think that nothing, even a world free of terror for one's children, is worth dying for, but bear with me here. We're going to live in conditions you've never dreamt about. You should get here soon though, because the temperatures are going to be over 130 degrees very soon and we will be carrying full combat loads (we're still going to work though). When it's all over, I promise you can go back to your coffee houses and preach about social justice and peace while you continue to live outside of reality.

If you decide to decline my offer, then at least you should sleep well tonight knowing that men wearing black facemasks and carrying AK-47s yelling "Allahu Akbar" over here are proud of you and are forever indebted to you for advancing their cause of terror. While you ponder this, I'll get back to the real "die-in" over here. I don't mind."

Xanga Archives 11/17/2006

A Different Christmas Poem

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.
Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.
The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.
My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.

The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know, Then the
sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.
My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.
Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.

A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.
"What are you doing?" I asked without fear,
"Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"

For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts..
To the window that danced with a warm fire's light
Then he sighed and he said "Its really all right,
I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night." "It's my duty to stand at the
front of the line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.
No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.
My Gramps died at 'Pearl on a day in December,"
Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers."
My dad stood his watch in the jungles of 'Nam',
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.
I've not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile.

Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red, white, and blue... an American flag.
I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home.
I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.
I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life with my sister and brother..
Who stand at the front against any and all,
To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall."

"So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright,
Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."
"But isn't there something I can do, at the least,
"Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that you've done,
For being away from your wife and your son."
Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
"Just tell us you love us, and never forget.
To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone,
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled.
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us."