...be compliant (no hoochie mama)!

I snapped this shot with my phone while we were out shopping yesterday. Wait 'till you see these faces, Janette! Apparently, compliant people are happy. There are no smiley faces on the non-compliant folks. I like this sign better than the other because it points out all the non-compliance in balloons.



The non-compliant chick reminded me of dress standards from past social gatherings. My hubby has been told to pass on to me certain things about how to dress when we are going to a work related outing. If I dress inappropriately after he's been told to tell me what's appropriate...well, it reflects badly on him. I'm not talking about wearing white gloves to a tea party. (The times have changed a little.) Usually, it is the "bending over" advice: "If you have cracks when you bend over (cleavage or plumber's crack), then put something else on to cover."

If someone "goes there," she gets gossiped about. Gossip is huge in the military! Marines even have a special word for it: scuttlebutt. So, I try not to be the one who gets all the looks and scuttlebutt over my outfit. It can get interesting though. I think the most gossip over a dress code issue was when the officers in charge made a colorful comment on the dress code. They instructed the men to specifically use the words "no hoochie mama" outfits when informing the wives about the event protocol. Oh, boy! (Yea. That one has a military reference too. Click on the link if you are interested in where the word comes from.)

So, if you ever find yourself on a base, remember to leave the hoochie mama outfits at home! ;)

...reflect on base life.

A sure sign that you are on a military base is...when the poster for the car wash fundraiser is tacked to a post with a KA-BAR. By the way, there always seems to be a car wash fundraiser on base these days. Fall is right around the corner, and so is the Marine Corps birthday ball. It's the social event of the year. Seriously! Where else can you eat cake that's been sliced with a sword?!

I was driving around on base today thinking about some of the things that are unique to base life. Sure. You see cars running around with "student driver" posted on them in the civilian world. It always makes me a bit nervous. On base, you can see the "student driver" posted on a passing 7-Ton! I stay clear of those guys. I also have no problem yielding to an AAV making its way to the beach. That said, I think my most interesting military driving experience has been following a howitzer up the hill on to base. I was really glad the hitch held!

Here are some more base life moments:

• You show your military ID before paying for groceries.
• 15 MPH speed limits are common and enforced by military police. By the way, 15 MPH is also the top speed of "the world's fastest lawnmower."
  
• You take a number and wait to get called up to the pharmacy window only to be given a new number.
• The closest parking spots at the exchange (department store) are labeled and reserved for high ranking personnel.
• There is a civilian dress code for shoppers or patrons of services like the veterinarian clinic that covers way more than "no shirts, no shoes, no service."
• Make sure that you read all the signs posted at base recreational sights--especially the ones about what to do when you find an unexploded ordnance.
  

There is much, much more, but that's enough for now. 'Just another day in the military wife life!

...throw.

My last pottery class was like Christmas morning. Our shinny pots were fresh out of the kiln. The glazing gives life to the pots we have thrown, trimmed, and fired to a bisque. You can never be sure what the "kiln gods" will do. I like the way most of my pots came out.

It was a fun class. I'm glad that we have a base hobby shop where I can craft. 'Hope I can continue the hobby.

...eat a breakfast of champion! (a MTG origin story)

This is a longer post than my usual because it is an origin story. I hope you enjoy it. If it is not your thing, don't worry. I'll post more of the usual later.

I've been debating about sharing this side of me out here on the web. I fear that is will label me or edge away from the usual fluffy nature of my blog. But in the end I figure that "it's all fun and games."


My breakfast looked so yummy this morning that I had to share it with the world. Maybe I should eat more often. Maybe the muffins baked up picture perfect. Maybe it's just a lame excuse to brag about being a champion.

Many of you may not know that I am a champion. However, most anyone that knows me at all knows that I am a nerd. I am also a gamer. I'm not into video games--although I've tried many things from Pong to MMO's. I just couldn't get into RPG's. My game genre of choice is the Trading Card Game (TCG). TCG-ing is like baseball cards you collect and play with in a format way more complicated than most chess matches.

I started out playing one of these TCG's called Magic: The Gathering (MTG or Magic). My husband was into it. I wanted to spend time with him. So, I learned how to play. It was a lot to learn. For example, there are five phases in one turn (Untap, Upkeep, 1st Main Phase, Combat Phase, 2nd Main Phase, and End steps)! I won't go into it more than that. Let's just say that Magic was a bit much for me. At the time, I had my priorities set on finishing college. I didn't have time to study for classes and study to be an effective gamer.

So, how am I a champion if I wasn't willing to study to be an effective gamer? It all started with the "pretty cards." I learned fast that it was either join the ranks of the gaming widows who didn't see their husband come tournament season or join in. As a semi-supportive wife, I would occasionally attend a MTG release tournament here and there. I would give my husband the cards I got at an event except for the ones I thought had pretty card art. I would collect mostly angel creature cards that I packed into an ineffective but annoying angel deck for casual play.

My husband noticed my attraction to the "pretty cards." When a new TCG came out with "pretty" card art, he got me interested. It was also a more simpler play. The game I am referring to is the now dead but once vibrant (at our local gaming store, anyway), Neopets TCG. Neopets was just fun. It was easy and fast to play. The learning curve was just about my speed. So, we became avid players. We started taking home trophies right off the bat. Then, we began driving to larger stores that hosted bigger events. We won there too. After a while, we saved up our money to go to Gen Con Indianapolis. That's where I won the Gen Con Indianapolis Championship. I even went undefeated! Yes. I was a super nerd.

After a while, the game died off. Things were picking up at my work, and James was nearing his degree completion. We left the TCG world for a while. However, we have recently returned. We came back to MTG. This time, we are playing online. I still like the "pretty cards," but I know that decks filled with pretty art don't make a champion deck. I'm no where near champion level in MTGO (Magic: The Gathering Online). I'm not even at a competitive level. Did you know that Magic has a pro tour? Yep. Players compete in tournament were the cash payout is in the thousands and the stars of the game have sponsors.

I'm what most call a casual player. I give my opponents some competition at the Thursday Night Magic Online tournaments, but I don't finish near the top. Last night, I played in a three round, swiss tournament. I won my first match, 2-0. That put me at 41 of 180 players. My second round, 1-2 loss put me down to 55. I won the last round 2-0, but didn't wait around to see where I ended up in the final rankings. It probably wasn't too much higher than before. It was fun, and I won some cards. Yea, me!

This morning I felt like I deserved a nice breakfast. I am a champion, after all. So, this is my "breakfast of champion!" It's singular because I don't know if other champions eat like I do. What did you eat for breakfast?

...be annoyed.

I'm annoyed. This comment showed up on my blog. Yes. I don't currently have strict restrictions on who comments on my blog. I like it that way. I can still delete comments I don't like. That's why I am only annoyed. It just bothers me that folks will drop advertisement into anything now. A blog comment? Really?
Has this happened to anyone else? Did it make you want to change your comment settings? I am not going to chance my settings for now. However, I will change the settings if this "comment spam" begins to be an issue.

BTW, don't type in the web address from the comment into your browser--even if you are curious. Let's not give them the satisfaction or the idea that comment spam works!

...compare and contrast.

I have two random pictures to share today. This is what happens when I dump pictures off my camera phone. Long time readers may remember a similar post called "...be random." I had to be a little creative to link these together. The common link between these two pictures is how the subjects react to the sun.

California lizards do well in the sun. Here's one sunning outside our front door this morning. I caught him as I was going out for a walk.


Cheesecake does not do so well in the sun. Here's a shot of a chocolate cheesecake James made for a work outing. It still looks good even though it is melting. It tasted good too!



Okay, I can compare lizards and cheesecake all I like, but the contrast is too vast. This post is still RANDOM!

...be glad I'm not a caterpillar.

I found a lovely yellow cloudless sulphur caterpillar on my walk this afternoon. It was eating all the yellow flowers in sight! That's why it is yellow. Apparently, if it eats the leaves instead, it will be green. I guess Mom was right, "you are what you eat!"

Imagine if this was true for us. There would be some wild colored people out there. I had guacamole with my chips for lunch. That's not such a pretty thought. 'Good thing I'm not a caterpillar.

...fold.

I'm the girl that had 1,000 paper cranes at her wedding. People remember the tulle canopy that hung the birds below in a wave pattern. They were folded with care by dear friends and family. I folded several myself before coming down with mono a month before the big day. If it weren't for my gracious folders, the very memorable origami installation would not have been. It meant a lot to me personally, and left an impression on several that stood under it. I even saved a few of the cranes as keepsakes. Ten years later, I took one out and photographed it for this post.

If you think that is something, then read on!

My 1,000 paper cranes have nothing on the origami in "Between the Folds," a PBS, Independent Lens documentary. It blew my mind! From amazing sculpture to advanced mathematics and all the way to protein folding; this far beyond any journey you can take in a paper boat. I had no idea that that people gather at origami conventions. I marvel at the the patience and devotion these paper artists display. Maybe it's time for me to learn to fold more than a paper crane.

There's a whole paper world out there!

...be bushed!

I realize that the last few posts have been about the dog(s), but I just couldn't let this shot go without a post.

When James and I came home from church, we let Lucy out. She chased a small animal and got bushed!