an ocean and a rock away

[anoceanandarockaway]

I just got back to England after four weeks of hanging out with this little munchkin. Not long enough!

[anoceanandarockaway]

Have I mentioned I live in the Shire?

[mediaite-blog]

CNN’s Wolf Blitzer Asks Atheist Tornado Survivor If She ‘Thanked The Lord’

[miguu-deactivated20140320]

immigrant

you broke the ocean in half to be here only to meet nothing that wants you.

[anoceanandarockaway]

GPOY - The "I got rather a lot of hair cut and you can't even really tell" edition.

[anoceanandarockaway]

My first lady boss once told me that some men – ie. our coworker at the time – are like custard powder mix – the more you stir them the more they resist, so keep a light touch.

Annabel Vita » Lace window treatment with cornflour

My friend Annabel is sincere and wonderful, not to mention super crafty. Recently, she relayed this excellent advice in her blog and I've been nodding in agreement ever since. 

[wilwheaton]

And just like that, a little bit of my faith in humanity was restored.

Мир не без добрых людей… / Good people (by ArkadiYM93)

[eyefood-blog]

And now we wait on Flickr.

[anoceanandarockaway]

Sushi and Sasha are sisters and they are opposite in everything. Sushi always wants to be the tallest thing in the room - on the wardrobe, on the bracket that holds the television to the wall, on top of the shed, the neighbour's rooftop, or on the top of the upstairs windowpane. She brings us dead birds.

Sasha likes to hang out on the ground. She isn't a fan of being picked up, likes to chase her ball under the sofa. She hides in cardboard boxes or any other confined space, and brings us dead mice.

Both of them love to be outside, though, and are very much enjoying the return of spring and all the chase-able bugs that come along with it. Today, they tried to follow my husband up the road to the polling place, as if they were going to cast a vote, too. (I suspect they'd vote against the construction across the road that's tearing up their favourite field for running around in.)

[anoceanandarockaway]

This year is the first year that the US Department of Health and Human Services has recognized May as Preeclampsia Awareness Month. If you have been following my blog, you will know that I lost my little sister Megan to preeclampsia and HELLP syndrome a year ago this month. This awareness campaign is very close to my heart, so please indulge me for a moment. 

If you're pregnant, please click the link and read the list of symptoms to watch for. Preeclampsia is pretty silent for a lot of people, my sister included, and many of the symptoms mimic the (totally normal) aches and pains of a healthy pregnancy. Please make yourself a promise that if something seems weird, even if it's something little, that you'll call your doctor or midwife and ask about it. I realize nobody likes to cause a fuss, but you are better being safe than sorry.

[anoceanandarockaway]

[anoceanandarockaway]

check my faq for updated downloads of the skype ringtone

Ahhh, sweet, thank you! I am kind of flying through Tumblr in a rush this afternoon and hadn't had a chance to dig. I will now. Thanks!

[pagemusic]

Visit Original Link

What if Skype for Game Boy. (DOWNLOAD)

HEY BONUS FACT YOU CAN ACTUALLY USE THIS AS YOUR SKYPE RINGTONE

Download HERE

[anoceanandarockaway]

This is so amazing. I need this. Someone please put it on a more robust host so that I can actually download it. Google Docs says it's hit the limit.

[exgp-orgia-blog]

I just made an online payment of $9.50 to cover a bill for painkillers, which represents the total out of pocket cost I incurred as a public health patient for a 36 hour hospital stay this week.

A stay which included x-rays, CT scans of my brain and spine, dressing of my...

[anoceanandarockaway]

When I was sick in the UK, it cost me $12.15(USD) every sixty days to refill my medication. I was (and always am) allowed to make as many appointments as I wanted to see my family doctor (for free), and was also referred to a specialist for assessment and treatment (also free). All of my lab work and follow ups were also free.

I have really strong feelings about this. My entire outlook on health is different since living in a place where my bank account balance doesn't even figure into the equation. If I feel I need medical attention, I just go get it. It's that simple. I don't hem and haw and debate whether I'm sick enough to warrant the $40 co-pay and predictable lab fees that will show up later on. THAT is the benefit to having a socialized health-care system. You actually deal with the things that might actually kill you, immediately, instead of waiting until they almost do.

Similarly, you stop letting your crappy job and crappy boss dictate your wellness. If you work somewhere that is doing wrong by you, you can make your decision to leave without including, "... but my insurance," in the process. They are, and should be, separate issues. When I explain to british people how an american will stay in the most horrible job conditions for way too long just so they can keep their network or keep their entire health benefit in general, they look horrified, and no wonder.

[anoceanandarockaway]

It's kind of amazing how many times a week someone tries to talk down my (really reasonable, industry standard, not significantly higher than minimum wage in my country) rate by saying something like, "I'm on a budget here," or "I can get this work done for 1/3 the price if I send it to [third world country]."

My reply is usually, "I, too, have a budget," or, "Be my guest."

Honestly, I think sometimes that the hardest thing to learn about freelancing is that you don't have to suffer so someone else can gain. Do what I do - smile and then happily send THOSE clients to your competition.

[catversushuman]

[thefrogman]

Cat Versus Human by Yasmine Surovec [website | tumblr | twitter]

[anoceanandarockaway]

My husband and I had an agreement that we could get kittens, but only on the condition that when they bring dead things home, they are HIS cats... which is how he came to be taking a gutted mouse to the outside trash at 5am, much to the chagrin of our previously very chuffed Sasha.

I think my fear always is that whatever they brought me will be not dead, but HALF-dead. That'd be the worst thing ever. I don't even want to think about it.

[thelandofmaps]

2010 Chicago Racial/Ethnic Self-Identification map CLICK HERE FOR MORE MAPS! thelandofmaps.tumblr.com

[anoceanandarockaway]

Even though I grew up there and this map doesn’t shock me at all, it’s still pretty amazing to look at how segregated Chicago is today.

[anoceanandarockaway]

And when New Zealand legalized gay marriage, the good people in the room stood up and sang Pokarekare Ana, a Maori love song.