Bout of Books Create a Cover & Blog Every Day in May #2

Linking up with I Talk Books for Bout of Books 7.0

Today's challenge involves creating a new book cover for an already existing book.  Last week's link-up with Nicole from Three31 challenged us to not judge a book by its cover...but we know we all do it.  I thought this was a fun exercise and chose The Great Gatsby.  If you remember from the link-up, I'm not a huge fan of the original cover but its become so iconic that it just brings back memories of my favorite book.  However, I thought I would take a stab at it and create a new cover.

The center focus is a man and a woman, Gatsby and Daisy since the book focuses on their relationship and character development.  However, they are definitely not the only two characters in the book and so the hands represent not just the other characters but how influential they are on Daisy and Gatsby.  The hands also represent society's demands, our fears, and selfish desires.  Finally I chose a glitter overlay on the font to symbolize the lavish lifestyle and parties that surrounded these characters.

Now I'm a little behind on my blog every day in May plan, so I will quickly turn this into a double post.  Two-for-one folks...BOGO!

The challenge for the second day was to 

"educate us on something you know alot about or are good at"

At first I wasn't sure what people would even be interested in, but I was reminded of my friend Hannah and what it's like to be a new military wife on a base.  There are a lot of things you may not necessarily know or understand.  Or if you have never been on a base, I figured some of these tips and lingo might be good things to know.

We have grocery stores on bases called commissaries.  These are tax-free organizations that function very similarly to that of the grocery stores anyone shops at, however, you do need to have a valid active, dependent, or retiree ID to shop there.  They have a lot of sales and deals, so for us with a limited budget, it tends to be our go-to place for getting groceries.  Another tip about the commissary: the baggers work solely from tips so make sure you have a few dollars on hand when you go to the commissary.  That was definitely something that I didn't know.

At a certain point in the late afternoon, we have retreat.  You'll start to hear music over a loud intercom system.  If you are outdoors, you will stop and face the direction of the music and/or flag and place your hand over your heart.  You'll see military members stop and salute.  If you're driving, you need to pull over and stop until its completion.

We also have shopping centers called an Exchange.  Like the commissary, these are tax-free but you must have that I.D. to shop there.  They're like mini-malls that feature an electronics, homegoods, cookware, clothings, etc. sections throughout the store.  Often you'll find a gas station and sometimes even mechanics.  You'll usually find discounted things as well, like we usually have Bath and Body Works products on sale there.  It's nice and convenient, especially when your base is in a more remote location.  They often have make-up counters as well, which is awesome if you use products like Clinique.  Each one is different.  When we were stationed at Camp Pendleton, we had an amazing one but throughout different military visits I've noticed that some are better than others.

There are officers and enlisted members.  Officers usually have some type of shinier rank on their covers (hats) or blouses and enlisted members usually have theirs on their upper arms.  You always salute to the higher rank, so you'll often see Master Sergeants saluting young lieutenants like myself because I'm technically a higher rank.  Nevertheless, I always respect each and every one of service members.

When it comes to deployments, they can be anywhere for any length of time.  One very important issue that will be discussed with you is OPSEC.  It stands for operational security and that means while your spouse, significant other, or family member is deployed its important that you share very little information with anyone else.  By being conservative with what you share, you provide a safer environment for you loved one.  For those who don't have a connection with the military, that's often why military families don't share homecoming dates or where they are, etc.

Hopefully this has provided some insight on what it's like on a base or if you have friends that are in the military.  Thanks for reading :)