http://www.digicc.com/fido/

I have no idea how they do this and it's creeping me out.

I would pay good money for garlic bread right now.  A big fat crunchy loaf of perfectly crispy garlic bread.  And maybe spaghetti.  With garlic.

But...we're going to the Scottish games today (kilts FTW!), so it's bangers (with no bun) for me! 

You know what's funny about wearing a kilt: people can get away with the most horrible things for fashion, but they will always do a double-take with a kilt.  Naturally, I don't wear kilts (because MEN WEAR KILTS..go men!), but I'm with Ben who almost always wears them.  He wears pants if he doesn't want to throw people off (e.g., church).  But here's an example:  we went to Stoneridge Mall the other week for something, and The Cheesecake Factory and P.F. Changs is outside.  It's a rather snooty area (it's not Santana Row, but it's not Newark Mall), and the funny thing for us is that everyone looked the same in our eyes.  All the women had the same tops and pants and hair cuts, all the guys look very manicured.  But when we were walking to the entrance, they were looking at Ben like he was about to invade their party!  It honestly takes me a few minutes to figure out what they're looking at (why would they be looking at a kilt?  it's so normal to me by now), and I get worried that maybe something's wrong.  But then I remember..it's just the kilt.  Whew. 

So, today is our day to join with our bretheren in kilts!  Thank you Utilikilts!!

Hello, Tamarah!

Get ready for a growth spurt. In the next few weeks, your baby will double his weight and add inches to his length . Right now, he's about the size of an avocado: 4 1/2 inches long (head to rump) and 3 1/2 ounces. His legs are much more developed, his head is more erect than it has been, and his eyes have moved closer to the front of his head. His ears are close to their final position, too.

I saw an ultrasound of him last week, and he is just moving all over the place.  I saw his little fingers and his kicking legs, and his spine is just perfect.  I'm getting another ultrasound on September 8th, and we'll get a better picture, and the gender  :)  But I'm feeling this growth spurt.  I woke up tired, and I'm still tired.

NO ONE
IS ACCEPTING

POETRY SUBMISSIONS!!!!!

I'm about to scrap it all and just self publish this thing.  Seriously.

Still getting rejection letters.  This is so much worse than childbirth.  It certainly lasts longer, and there are no drugs to get me through it.

DONALD MILLER IS SPEAKING IN THE BAY AREA IN SEPTEMBER...!!!  I'm just...aahhh.....DONALD...MILLER.  If I could name 5 authors whom I would swoon over, Bradbury being one, Donald Miller is there.  I just can't believe he's going to be HERE, and I can meet him.  I never meet authors.  Most of the time I enjoy their work, but I don't really have anything to say.  With Donald, I have TONS of things to say.  I don't even know how I'm going to compose myself for this.  And I'll be about 6 months pregnant by then, and my memory and ability to compose sentences will be dramatically impaired.  I have no idea what I'm going to do. 

But I will totally be there, that's for sure!

#1 Book, Blue Like Jazz
#2 Book, Searching for God Knows What

Sea Weed

I watched it rip itself from the bottom and float to the surface one marine-foggy day.  The amber bulbs floated as buoys for the stalk and leaves that followed the ascent.  It was a longish piece from the fringe of the bed of kelp, and it seemed to writhe and struggle against the waves until it could snap its base and untangle itself from the roots which had affixed it to the clump of mud that had been loitering next to an old watch and a bottle of something empty; but the label had come off, and I do not know what substance had lingered within until it had inebriated its possessor enough to let it escape beneath the waves, as well.

I let some breath release from my lungs and I followed the piece of kelp, a little sorry for
having to breathe at all, and leaving the reticent peace.  My yellow and green fins stirred up some sand on the way up, raising some detached seagrass so a few got tangled on my legs and came along for a free ride.  When I got to the surface my mask was a little foggy anyway, so I was able to take it off and spit in it again to keep the mist from collecting.  There was a little more foam floating around me than when I first went down, and I figured it was due to the winds picking up and churning the waters a little bit more.  I looked back to the shore looking for beach flags to see if I was right: which I was.  The lifeguards' pole had a hysterical fabric orange cone attached to the top, as if struggling to break free and warn us all of what it sees looming on the horizon,
that only it can see from that vantage point.

The kelp I had followed was floating next to me, some of it draping down the wave it trembled on.  It had trapped some of the mocha foam in circulets of stem it had looped in the water, creating little hills of salty fluff.  I didn't feel like I was moving, except for the motion of the ocean breathing, raising and lowering me in a gentle lull; yet, when I looked back to see if the orange cone had finally gotten its wish, I saw the towel I had laid down on a mound of sand was much smaller than a few minutes previous.  I kissed an amber bulb and wished the kelp the best of fates as it drifted away from us, and decided my own fate would not fare as well if I drifted towards the horizon, so I paddled my fins and headed back to the shore.  There was still a few long,
dark green strands of seagrass wrapped around me for good luck.  I let them come along: who was I to interrupt the destiny of seagrass?

The wind had indeed picked up and it roared in my cold ears.  In my trek back, I could only relish with the memory of watching that piece of kelp furiously snap itself and drift away, by itself.  It didn't mind the hills of foam that it collected, nor the slight wilting some of its leaves succumbed to by surfacing.

 I swam on my back and watched it
float in the direction of the sun.

Getting your work published is such a headache.  Publishers won't take unsolicited work, agents won't take you unless you've already been published.  I have one manuscript floating in the void, and one publisher sent the entire thing back.  Even the money.

This is just so frustrating.

Okay, I know this is silly...but I want to spend a week in Disneyland.  We spent two days there in February, and they were just wonderful days.  I watched the Main Street parade with Nova and (I'll be completely honest) I almost broke in tears because it was so beautiful.  I love parades.  I don't know why.  But Disneyland does such a beautiful job with it.  The choreography is flawless, the actors are completely in character, and I just love all of it.  I could watch the parade every day for a year.  It just makes me so happy for a little while.  Since I love to read the news of the world, I get bombarded with reality and what life is really like for peoples all over.  But for this one special moment at the end of the day when I am watching the parade, I am watching people work artistically together to make the world just a little happier.  I love the parade.

And I like the size of everything.  The roofs are a little lower, the windows are a little smaller.  Nothing feels entirely "real," and usually I'm not too keen on this happening, but in Disneyland you're safe.  The people who work there are pleasant and helpful.  There was one time we were trying to figure out when a restaurant was open, and we asked a maintenance worker as he was passing; and this guy was one of the nicest guys I've talked to, and he whipped out a schedule from his back pocket and let us know the times.  Now, try to find someone that pleasant at Lowe's.  Try to find anyone at Lowe's.  Disneyland just does it right, and I really appreciate that.

If I wanted to dress up in full princess regalia with Nova, it would be perfectly normal.  I can't really get away with that in the Bay Area (well, maybe some parts).

Anyway, I could go on and on.  Disneyland is just a great place.  I want to go back.

http://www.hsc.org/home.html

Homeschoolers Win!


On August 8, the California Court of Appeal for the Second Appellate  
District ruled that homeschooling is indeed a legal option in  
California. This was a reversal of a ruling in February of this year  
that parents must hold a teaching credential to homeschool their  
children, and confirms HSC’s long held interpretation of private  
school laws.

California’s three largest homeschool organizations, Homeschool  
Association of California, California Homeschool Network, and  
Christian Home Education Association, joined together in filing an  
amicus brief with the court to support our homeschooling rights.  
According to HSC’s legal co-chair, Debbie Schwarzer, "They did the  
right thing. They did their job. They carefully read everything (they  
don't cite the HSC/CHN/CHEA brief, but believe me, much of what they  
write is based on our arguments), and reached the legally correct  
conclusions."

This outcome is truly a victory for all homeschoolers in the state.  
HSC wants to extend it’s appreciation not only to our wonderful legal  
team, but also to the law firm of Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati  
who donated their expertise, and to each and every one of our members.  
Your membership dollars go to help in situations just like this. Many  
of you also sent additional fund, wrote, called, and visited your  
lawmakers. Each and every one of those actions helped us to reach this  
wonderful outcome. Thank you so much for your support during this  
difficult time.

Ben has come home with lunch for us a few times in the past week with the words, "what are they teaching kids these days" coming out of his mouth.  With my gluten intolerance, we are on high alert with any food we didn't prepare ourselves.  We tried going to a BBQ place in town after church one day, and after looking through the book of ingredients, nearly everything had wheat in it.  We had to leave (but only after Nova had a glass of mystery juice that turned her tongue bright red, like you just dumped a packet of KoolAid on it and left it there.  It took all day for the sugar to wear off). 

A few experiences I have had with people having no idea what wheat is, follows:

A baker at Whole Foods: we asked if they made any gluten free bread.  I mean, it's Whole Foods...why not.  He said, "of course!"  To which we responded, "really??"  The baker, "Sure!  I mean, we're only using flour."  Apparently flour doesn't contain wheat.  *smacks baker upside the head*

Another BBQ place: Ben mentioned that no bread could be in an order, to which the woman said, "Okay.  What about white bread?"  White bread has flour in it as well, amazingly.

Today at Quiznos: Ben got me a salad, but dressings are sketchy and I've had really bad experiences with a few, so I usually don't use them.  But Ben asked them not to put tortillas, croutons or any bread on the salad, to which the man asked, "What about flatbread?"  I know this is hard to fathom.....but flatbread is still bread.

Flour comes from ground wheat.  Wheat has gluten.  When you have gluten intolerance/Celiac, you can't have anything with flour.  That includes noodles, most soups, salad dressings, breads (even white bread), cookies, cake, twinkies, corn dogs, corn bread, fried anything, fried chicken, biscuits, doughnuts, even fast food french fries are dipped in a flour batter to make them crunchier so no french fries, no hamburger buns, hot dog buns, pizza, etc, etc, etc.

It's just weird that people don't know that wheat is in flour.  Wheat is in EVERYTHING.  Check the labels. 

I was just talking with Ben and we were thinking how ironic it is that wheat/flour is in almost everything, and so many people don't know how flour is created.  We were thinking that it is probably because we use so many pre-packaged things in our lives, we never really see flour on its own anymore.  We make pancakes with Bisquick, cakes with Duncan Hines, fried chicken is either bought pre breaded or a shake n bake style...there just isn't any flour on its own anywhere, so it almost makes sense that people wouldn't recognize what flour even is (e.g., it doesn't grow on a flour tree).  Just thinkin.

YAY!!!


----- Original Message ----
From: Alta Elstad
To: tamrockwood@yahoo.com
Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2008 3:51:05 PM
Subject: OpenSolaris Community Innovation Awards Winner

Dear Tamarah,

Congratulations! Your entry, 'Art Installation: "Defero Inuctus: community
united",' has been judged a winner in the OpenSolaris Community Innovation
Awards contest.

You will be receiving an email from a company named xxx, which Sun has
contracted to manage the monetary awards. Please make sure you are able to
receive email from xxx at this address, and it does not get overlooked,
caught by your spam filter, or sent to the trash.

You and other winners will be announced on the OpenSolaris.org site some time
after xxx has contacted you.

Congratulations!

- OpenSolaris Community Innovation Awards team

I heard about the sketchy events at the Chinese opening ceremony, but this last one ...well, it pissed me off:

"The girl in the red dress with the pigtails, called Lin Miaoke, 9, and from a Beijing primary school, has become a national sensation since Friday night, giving interviews to all the most popular newspapers.

But the show's musical designer felt forced to set the record straight. He gave an interview to Beijing radio saying the real singer was a seven-year-old girl who had won a gruelling competition to perform the anthem, a patriotic song called "Hymn to the Motherland".

At the last moment a member of the Chinese politburo who was watching a rehearsal pronounced that the winner, a girl called Yang Peiyi, might have a perfect voice but was unsuited to the lead role because of her buck teeth."

Oh come on!! 

"Mr Chen's interview gave an extraordinary insight into the control exercised over the ceremony by the Games' political overseers, all to ensure the country was seen at its best.

Officials have already admitted that the pictures of giant firework footprints which marched across Beijing towards the stadium on Friday night were prerecorded, digitally enhanced and inserted into footage beamed across the world.

Mr Chen said the initial hopefuls to sing the anthem had been reduced to ten, and one, a ten-year-old, had originally been chosen for the quality of her voice. But she, too, had fallen by the wayside because she was not "cute" enough.

"We used her to sing in all the rehearsals," Mr Chen said. "But in the end the director thought her image was not the most appropriate, because she was a little too old. Regrettably, we had to let her go."

At that point Yang Peiyi stepped up to the plate.

"The main consideration was the national interest," he said. "The child on the screen should be flawless in image, in her internal feelings, and in her expression. In the matter of her voice, Yang Peiyi was flawless, in the unanimous opinion of all the members of the team."

Well that's just fantastic.  I'm so happy to see that women aren't seen as objects in the 21st century.  Yippee.  Way to go China.

"This illustrates an important aspect of these Olympic Games," said Xiao Qiang, the director of the China Internet project at the University of California at Berkeley and former dissident.

"It is all about projecting the right image of China with no respect for honesty or for the audience.

"I do not think the Chinese state realises how unethical this is, they don't understand what kind of values they are reflecting."

Earlier this year Olympic organisers preoccupied with the right image for the country were criticised for insisting that only tall, slim, young and attractive women could serve as medal award ceremony hostesses."

I'm glad I'm not alone on this one.  I hate being lied to.

I am very tired...had a long day so far, but I don't want to fall asleep.  We have gymnastics in half an hour, so I'm just killing time.  On the plus side: I have successfully determined that Trix is gluten free!  Trix is one of those cereals I can never buy, because your Mom always went nuts when you asked for sugar cereals when you were a kid, and those lectures on being fat and having rotten teeth fly back at you when you're 30 and trying to buy Trix.  But it was wonderful, nevertheless  :)

1. What time did you get up this morning? 7:30

2. Favorite cheese: Provolone

3. Favorite condiment: Dijonaise and organic ketchup (no high fructose corn syrup.  We're trying to weed that out)

4. What was the last movie you watched in the theater?  Wargames.  Before that it was Wall-E.

5. What did you have for breakfast? Blueberry yogurt and salami (not at the same time)

6. What is your middle name? Ann

7. What is your favorite cuisine? Italian.  French is close.

8. What foods do you dislike? Peas.

9. Your favorite potato chip? Lays Sour Cream and Onion

10. What is your favorite CD at the moment? I don't listen to music much.  It's a little unusual

11. What kind of car do you drive? Ben's Volvo.  He drives my S-10

12. Favorite sandwich? I like big huge gigantic Dagwood sandwiches.  But with no bread (corn tortillas work fine)

13. What characteristics do you despise? Whining, lying, betrayal

14. Favorite item of clothing? I have a black satin ballgown with handstiched beads.  It is absolutely beautiful.

15. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? Scotland

16. What color is your bathroom? I haven't decided yet, but I got a purple rug..so that's a start

17. Favorite brand of clothing? I like making my own clothes (when I have time)

18. Where would you want to retire to? A ranch

19. Favorite time of day? The part of the day when I am not grounded with fatigue (I'm pretty sure that counts.  This baby is huge)

20. Where were you born? Southern California

21. Favorite sport to watch? Dodgers

22. What laundry detergent do you use? Whatever is on sale.  They all work the same.

23. Coke or Pepsi? Coffee (unless you're a cardiologist, in which case "decaf")

24. Are you a morning person or night owl? If I ever become a morning person, horsemen will fly from the skies

25. Do you have any pets? One very cute dog who is marking the house.

26. Any new and exciting news you’d like to share with everyone? Nothing that everyone doesn't already know

27. What did you want to be when you were little? A truck driver.  I figured I'd be a teacher though, but I've always loved truck driving

28. Favorite candy bar? Caramello

29. What is your best childhood memory? Camping in Leo Carillo, finding newts

30. What are the different jobs you have had in your life? Real estate agent, art gallery co-curator, ISP help desk, substitute teacher, and other odds and ends

31. What color underwear are you wearing?

32.Nicknames: Tammy

33. Piercings? Twain in the ears

34.Eye color? brown (but Ben knows they're hazel)

35. Ever been to Africa? No, and not planning on it

36. Ever been toilet papering? No.  I am a huge chicken.

37.Love someone so much it made you cry? Yep

38. Been in a car accident? Yes

39. Croutons or bacon bits? Neither, I don't like bacon in my salad.  It throws off the texture.  But Cranberry raisins?  Freaking love those things.

40. Favorite day of the week? Thursday

41. Favorite restaurant? House of Prime Rib.  It is the happiest place on earth.

42. Favorite flower? Carnation

43. Favorite ice cream? Vanilla-y Fudge-y Caramel-y swirls

44. Disney or Warner Brothers? Disney

45. Favorite fast food restaurant? Jack in the Box (they give me my bunless burgers in a nice container with a fork and knife!  It is so nice of them!)

46. What color is your bedroom carpet? creamish

47. How many times did you fail your driver’s test? Once

48. What store would you choose to max out your credit Card? Home Depot.  Or Ikea.  Possibly JoAnns

49. What do you do most often when you are bored? Read

50. Bedtime? 10 - midnight, depending when I pass out

51. Last person you went to dinner with? Ben and the kids

52. What are you listening to right now? the breeze, and Ben on a conference call

53. What is your favorite color? Purple

54. Lake, Ocean or river? Ocean.  I would never make it in South Dakota.

55. How many tattoos do you have? None

I need some help.  Pete Stark keeps sending me emails, and I've unsubscribed from his stupid mailing list (that I don't ever remember signing up for) at least 3 times, and I just got another email from him.

http://www.house.gov/stark/contact/

I am going out of my mind, because he uses such shark tactics.  Does anyone know if I have any legal recourse with this?

I didn't think I would see any change from the current ban on TransFat, but I was wrong!

Today.  At Chili's.  They do not serve Awesome Blossoms.  I can't eat them anyway (covered in wheatness), but Ben was highly disappointed.

So, that was the reason we were given for why it was off the menu: because of the ban on TransFat.  Weird.

My sister and I were talking about our personality traits from this test, and I told her the funny thing is Ben and I have the same one: INTJ  It makes a LOT of sense, if you know us.

The Scientist

As an INTJ, your primary mode of living is focused internally, where you take things in primarily via your intuition. Your secondary mode is external, where you deal with things rationally and logically.

INTJs live in the world of ideas and strategic planning. They value intelligence, knowledge, and competence, and typically have high standards in these regards, which they continuously strive to fulfill. To a somewhat lesser extent, they have similar expectations of others.

With Introverted Intuition dominating their personality, INTJs focus their energy on observing the world, and generating ideas and possibilities. Their mind constantly gathers information and makes associations about it. They are tremendously insightful and usually are very quick to understand new ideas. However, their primary interest is not understanding a concept, but rather applying that concept in a useful way. Unlike the INTP, they do not follow an idea as far as they possibly can, seeking only to understand it fully. INTJs are driven to come to conclusions about ideas. Their need for closure and organization usually requires that they take some action.

INTJ's tremendous value and need for systems and organization, combined with their natural insightfulness, makes them excellent scientists. An INTJ scientist gives a gift to society by putting their ideas into a useful form for others to follow. It is not easy for the INTJ to express their internal images, insights, and abstractions. The internal form of the INTJ's thoughts and concepts is highly individualized, and is not readily translatable into a form that others will understand. However, the INTJ is driven to translate their ideas into a plan or system that is usually readily explainable, rather than to do a direct translation of their thoughts. They usually don't see the value of a direct transaction, and will also have difficulty expressing their ideas, which are non-linear. However, their extreme respect of knowledge and intelligence will motivate them to explain themselves to another person who they feel is deserving of the effort.

INTJs are natural leaders, although they usually choose to remain in the background until they see a real need to take over the lead. When they are in leadership roles, they are quite effective, because they are able to objectively see the reality of a situation, and are adaptable enough to change things which aren't working well. They are the supreme strategists - always scanning available ideas and concepts and weighing them against their current strategy, to plan for every conceivable contingency.

INTJs spend a lot of time inside their own minds, and may have little interest in the other people's thoughts or feelings. Unless their Feeling side is developed, they may have problems giving other people the level of intimacy that is needed. Unless their Sensing side is developed, they may have a tendency to ignore details which are necessary for implementing their ideas.

The INTJ's interest in dealing with the world is to make decisions, express judgments, and put everything that they encounter into an understandable and rational system. Consequently, they are quick to express judgments. Often they have very evolved intuitions, and are convinced that they are right about things. Unless they complement their intuitive understanding with a well-developed ability to express their insights, they may find themselves frequently misunderstood. In these cases, INTJs tend to blame misunderstandings on the limitations of the other party, rather than on their own difficulty in expressing themselves. This tendency may cause the INTJ to dismiss others input too quickly, and to become generally arrogant and elitist.

INTJs are ambitious, self-confident, deliberate, long-range thinkers. Many INTJs end up in engineering or scientific pursuits, although some find enough challenge within the business world in areas which involve organizing and strategic planning. They dislike messiness and inefficiency, and anything that is muddled or unclear. They value clarity and efficiency, and will put enormous amounts of energy and time into consolidating their insights into structured patterns.

Other people may have a difficult time understanding an INTJ. They may see them as aloof and reserved. Indeed, the INTJ is not overly demonstrative of their affections, and is likely to not give as much praise or positive support as others may need or desire. That doesn't mean that he or she doesn't truly have affection or regard for others, they simply do not typically feel the need to express it. Others may falsely perceive the INTJ as being rigid and set in their ways. Nothing could be further from the truth, because the INTJ is committed to always finding the objective best strategy to implement their ideas. The INTJ is usually quite open to hearing an alternative way of doing something.

When under a great deal of stress, the INTJ may become obsessed with mindless repetitive, Sensate activities, such as over-drinking. They may also tend to become absorbed with minutia and details that they would not normally consider important to their overall goal.

INTJs need to remember to express themselves sufficiently, so as to avoid difficulties with people misunderstandings. In the absence of properly developing their communication abilities, they may become abrupt and short with people, and isolationists.

INTJs have a tremendous amount of ability to accomplish great things. They have insight into the Big Picture, and are driven to synthesize their concepts into solid plans of action. Their reasoning skills gives them the means to accomplish that. INTJs are most always highly competent people, and will not have a problem meeting their career or education goals. They have the capability to make great strides in these arenas. On a personal level, the INTJ who practices tolerances and puts effort into effectively communicating their insights to others has everything in his or her power to lead a rich and rewarding life.