I've got a lot of rat/mouse items! I thought it would be fun to share my collection with everyone. (You can click on the pictures to make them larger.)

Most of these came from F.B., F.B.'s aunts & 1 from my Rat Chatter friend.

Stuffed Ratties! 3 from the Philippines & the Xmas one is from my Mom.

2 top left from F.B., 2 I bought from Drusilla & others I got myself.

I got these myself, the coin purse is from Bath & Bodyworks!

These are hanging from the rear view mirror in my car. Got them in the Phil!

F.B. sent me this little guy!

My Dad got me this- he spins around in the cup, lol.

Tita Nel, F.B.'s aunt gave me this purse in the Philippines	!

These were made my by Rat Chatter friend Phyllis! They hang on my wall!

I bought this drawing from Rat Pirate a Rat Chatter friend who is an artist.

Gotta have some rattie books!

My gorgeous very expensive bracelet from Esquivel & Fees.

My cute little charm from Ebay.

My sister in law gave me this- the little Chinese rat spins around.

And let's not forget a very permanent part of my rattie collection!

As you can see I have quite a collection! Some I've bought myself, but a lot of the items were given to me as gifts. And... I'm still adding to it! Do you have any collections?

Today it's been 6 months since F.B. & I were married. Wow... half a year already. We only got to spend 1 month after the wedding together though... hurry up immigration!

My regular black & white Converse were getting ratty. The rubber was cracking. So I needed a new pair. I've wanted to try the slip on kind. For $12 more you can customize a pair of converse on their website! So check out my custom Converse sneakers! I got 'Love8279' embroidered on them. (I was born in '82. F.B. was born in '79.) I love them!

Tonight I went with my cousin Jessica to The Inkwell Tattoo to get my rat tattoo! It only took a half hour to have it done. And it didn't hurt very much at all. Jess and I pretty much talked the whole time when I was having it done. I did have to stop talking when he was shading it in a few times, it hurt a little then. But really you would think getting a tattoo would hurt much worse and they don't at all! Just feels like little scratches.

Here is my new tattoo. I just LOVE the little toes! My tattoo artist retraced the clip art design for me to make it clearer. It looks so good in person. Now I just have to wait for it to heal and peel... lol. The design always looks 10x's better after it peels. Very happy with how it turned out! (The picture makes it look bigger than it actually is though. It's smaller in person!)

I've had the same layout for 2 years, so it was time for a change! I used the picture of our wedding rings for my new banner.

Also, this week our immigration lawyer emailed me. The NVC got our paperwork from USCIS and they emailed our lawyer with our case number and the fees we had to pay. We had to pay a $70 fee for our affidavit of support. And $400 for our immigrant visa fee. The money was deducted from our savings account the other day. Now we are just waiting for the NVC to contact us again. Then we can prepare our financial paperwork and I-864!

NOTE: Our lawyers Peter J. Gonzales & Shanna Stanton have changed firms. They are no longer with Kahiga Tiagha. They are now with Green and Spiegel LLC, but still located in Philadelphia. 

Next Saturday, I'm also getting a new tattoo. I went out today to a tattoo place my cousin recommended. The artist that did my other 2 tattoos two years ago at another shop doesn't work there anymore. I scheduled an appointment for next Saturday at the new tattoo shop.

There are actually 2 tattoo's I want to get. I want to get the "love" verse on the back of my neck. (The location of the love verse to be exact.) But I'm waiting until F.B. is in the USA before I get it. That's our relationship verse and it was used a lot on our wedding day. I want to get it when our immigration is completed and F.B. is in the USA, because then it's like the final chapter in our long distance love story.

Next Saturday night, I'm getting a simple silhouette of a rat underneath on my right wrist. In a way it represents all of the rats I have owned. And also in China a rat symbolizes good luck.

Today F.B. & I went to Market Market so I could check out the Converse store there. I liked a pair of sneakers at the Converse store near his house but they didn’t have my size so we went to the other Converse store at Market Market in Bonifacio Global City. I got pink and black Converse sneakers for P2600… about $54 USD. Pretty much what I’d pay in the U.S. They match my tattoo! Think I will change the laces to black when I get home though!






























Saw this place at Market Market… the name just seems unusual to me… haha! (Get a high and your munchies fix at the same time? Hmm...)











F.B. and I went to church later that evening and afterwards headed to the new SM Marikina mall to have dinner at Gerry’s Grill, one of our favorite places. I thought the spaghetti meals on the menu were interesting. Spring rolls and spaghetti? Barbecue pork and spaghetti? I see spaghetti on a lot of menus here. You can go to KFC, Wendy’s, Burger King and get spaghetti. Heehee! You can’t do that in the U.S. so much. I guess Americans don’t like spaghetti quite as much.















After dinner we went to Starbucks; (we’re addicted!) I usually get my white chocolate mocha, (hot, iced or frapp.) and F.B. likes to get caramel mocha frappucinos. I did a lot of shopping today. Besides the Converse sneakers, I got a cute Victoria’s Secret t-shirt at a surplus store in SM Marikina and I got a Pepsi t-shirt at Market Market.

Ooooh I almost forgot! I LOVE the supermarket at Market Market! I think I ranted before about not being able to find pretzels in the Philippines and only seeing Rold Gold pretzels… well I found my most favorite pretzels at Market Market! Whoo Hoo! Snyder’s peanut butter & cheese sandwich pretzels! Got one of each! Yay! We also got some other snack foods… looks like we’re having a party, huh? F.B. loves his ruffles and we like these new chips called Tempura. Yummy! Tastes like shrimp tempura. And I got regular peanut butter because I want F.B. to try bananas with peanut butter. Heehee.













We always drive past this goat place when we are around F.B.’s neighborhood. I have a thing for goats… I like them. I’d like to buy one live though… not as meat. I tasted goat before though here in the Philippines. It tastes like beef. Poor Goat…




























Here are some pictures of us with Miss Daga. (“Rat” in Tagalog.) F.B. gave her to me the night I arrived.











































I injured F.B. the other night. I was having one of my weird nightmares where I’m half asleep and half awake. I remember dreaming I didn’t know where I was and F.B. said I was saying, “Where am I?” I accidentally elbowed him really hard above his right eyebrow during my “nightmare”. He has the bruise to prove it… oops… sorry…. I’m dangerous when I’m sleeping.

My Mom & I had our tattoo appointment on Tuesday at 5pm. My Mom got a heart tattoo, it was her Mother's Day gift. I got the pink stars on my right ankle retouched for free, because the color was a bit uneven the first time. And then I got my name on my left ankle! It looks so pretty, I love it! I sent F.B. pictures and he thought it was pretty too. It turned out really nice! No more tattoo's for me! Haha!

I've decided I'm going to take my laptop to the Philippines with me this year, since I'll be over there 2 months. I've already taken other electronics with me, F.B. has adapter boxes in his house that plug into the outlets there and decrease the voltage for US electronics. So this way I don't blow out my ipod, cell phone, etc when I plug them in to charge. The voltage is higher over there. I think it is 220v. When F.B. was younger his US relatives were visiting and plugged his Super Nintendo directly into the wall- since it was the US version it blew it out, he's still upset about that!

So today I was able to get a cute little carry on suitcase with wheels. This way I can take my laptop on the plane with me and store it in the overhead. And I'm going to put a small bag inside my carry on bag to take out on the plane and store under my seat, with my books, snacks, sleep mask & sleeping pills, pillow, etc. You don't want to be on a 15 hour flight to Hong Kong without those things underneath the seat in front of you! Then I don't have to keep climbing over people (since I'll be a window seat!) to get access to my stuff. Haha.

I took my Mom out for an early Mother's Day today. We went out to lunch at 'Red Lobster' and then to 'Bath & Bodyworks'. My Mom was going to get her tattoo today and I was going to get my stars retouched since they are healed and get my name on my other ankle, but they were booked solid so we made an appointment for Tuesday at 5pm.

F.B. and I are meeting online for a date tomorrow. It's been a few stressful weeks for me at work and we haven't really been emailing or meeting for dates on weekends. This coming Saturday I have to work 10 hours of overtime, so we'll have to meet on Sunday as well. It's going to be a busy week for me...

EDIT: I decided I liked # 2 best. That was also F.B.'s choice. So I think I will be getting that one on my left ankle some time soon!

Which font is prettier? I want to get my name tattooed on my left inner ankle some time soon to match my stars on my right ankle. Just something small and slightly discreet. Which font looks prettier? I think I like #1 and #3 best. But I can't decide between them. Let me hear your thoughts?

Yeah, sorry for the picture of my foot! Haha! But it's the only way I can show you what crazy thing I did last night... I got a tattoo! My first tattoo!

I went out with my cousins for Jessica's 20th birthday. She wanted to get a butterfly tattoo on her back near her left shoulder. It was her first tattoo. I've always wanted something small, like stars or hearts on my ankle. I'm not so fond of my ankles, haha. So now I have a reason to be fond of them. I got 3 stars trickling down from big to small, outlined in black & filled in with hot pink. Surprisingly it didn't hurt so much! Only the first star near my lower ankle hurt a bit but after that I didn't feel much. Now I've got to wash it lightly with Dial soap and put Cocoa Butter lotion on it for a few weeks until it heals. I want to put sparkle lotion on the stars when it's all healed up!

I sent a text message to my Fiance F.B. and told him about the tattoo. He is looking forward to seeing pictures later when we have our "date" online. We were finally able to talk to each other on the phone Friday night! We talked 45 minutes. It was really nice hearing his voice! (I haven't since our anniversary!) And it was so nice chatting and reminiscing over all the memories and silly stories we have of when we were together. I really miss him... 6 more months until we get to be together again!

Anyhow there is a picture below of my new tattoo. The crazy things I do when I am with my cousins... and it was a totally sober decision! Though I did have a peach sangria with dinner at the Olive Garden later that evening! Heehee!

My Tattoo: Pictures Here!

Here is the place that did my tattoo & my cousins: http://www.electricrembrandt.net/

EDIT: My mom has wanted a tattoo for a long time and we found out my aunt wants one too. (They are sisters.) So I am going to get my mom a tattoo for mothers day. She wants something small on her ankle or wrist, she hasn't decided yet. I also want to get one more tattoo some time this summer of my name 'Sarah' in black script or pretty cursive writing on my left inner ankle. F.B. thought the stars were sexy, hehe.