Taking my laptop to the Philippines...
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...
Photography & Other News.
I got some really pretty flower pictures again today!
In other news, only 5 more months until I am off to the Philippines! F & I have been talking. Since our birthdays are only about a month apart (Me: September. Him: October.) we decided this year we'll celebrate our birthday's together by going to Saisaki Buffet with his family and exchanging gifts. Yay!
Our Pets!
Popcorn: Popcorn is my cat. She will be 15 years old in July. We got her when I was 10 years old from the Philadelphia PSPCA. She sleeps on the end of my bed every night. We named her Popcorn because when she was kitten, she would eat popcorn. hehe. I think she is a color point or calico cat.
Coco: F.B.'s family got Coco (Coconut) about a year ago. I got to meet him in January this year. He's very friendly and doesn't bark too much. He's a silly dog! He's still a bit of a puppy. When Ate Malou would put him in the garage in the evening, she would pick him up like a big baby. She said he was a spoiled puppy, hehe! I think he is a mix between purebred dog & a mutt. He is more F.B.'s sisters dog. Pusa: (Cat in Tagalog.) Pusa is a stray cat. He is also a dirty cat. But he is very friendly and loveable. He always hangs around F.B.'s house. I got to meet Pusa in January. He loves to pet and scratched on his head. He also LOVES food. He would meow the silliest meow when we were eating lunch. We would feed him the leftover scraps. Pusa really loves F.B. The one night we were putting Coco in the back yard and Coco started barking, Pusa walked all the way out back, looked around the corner of the house at F.B., Coco & I and went "MEOW?" As if saying, "What is going on out here?!" One time he managed to get into F.B.'s house and his sister found Pusa curled up on her bed! Haha! There are alot of stray animals in the Philippines, where ever we went we usually saw stray cats and dogs. I remember being in Manila and coming out of Starbucks with F.B. and seeing a cat curled up on the sidewalk. I would always point out all the cats and dogs we saw while driving or walking around. I can't help it, I like animals, hehe. There was another stray orange cat that would come around to visit at F.B.'s house also. Sugar:
My Rats: I got my first two rats Sugar & Spice back in October 2007. I got my newest rat Cinnamon in February 2008. I've always loved rats and mice but never owned any until last year. I had a Ferret for 4 years and after she passed I didn't want to get another Ferret so I decided to get rats. While reading & researching I also discovered you can litter train rats! Rats are very intelligent creatures and some say they are as smart as a 2 year old. They are very curious and affectionate animals. They will make you laugh at their antics! Rats love affection just like any other animal. They are very social animals. They will let you pet them, kiss them, scratch their heads. My girls have even learned their names and will come when called! 
Variety: Pink Eyed White (PEW) Variety: Himalayan Variety: Berkshire
Genetics: Most commonly two copies of the albino gene (cc), but can be caused by having multiple dilution genes, for example blue, mink, and pink eye dilute (ddmmpp), or pink/red eye dilute Siamese/Himalayan
Description: To be as white as possible, devoid of creamy tinge or staining. Eyes pink.
Sugar is my cautious girl. She gets scared easily sometimes. She likes to weave her head back & forth to see better. She has the loudest sniffer you ever heard, hehe! You can hear her sniffing from across the room! She's also my chunky girl, she's bigger than Spice & has the cutest little belly! She also doesn't mind kisses. When she eats she will sneak out of the bed look around, run and steal a piece of food from the bowl look around then run and go hide to eat. She'll repeat the same process for every bite of food! She likes to hoard treats in her bed. She also loves to spend a great deal of time fixing her blankets just right, pulling and pushing them with her teeth and paws. Sugar never sits still long enough for you to pet her.
Spice:
Genetics: One copy of the Himalayan gene and one copy of the albino gene (cch), or two copies of the Himalayan gene selected for pale body colour (chch)
Description: Body color to be white, free from stains and even throughout, with points a rich dark sepia. Eyes red. Note - Colour areas: 1. face - not to extend upwards from eyes. 2. ears - not to extend downwards from the base. 3. forelegs - not to extend upwards beyond the elbows. 4. hind legs - not to extend upwards beyond the ankle. 5. tail - not to extend beyond the tail root. 6. feet - to be solid colour throughout, devoid of any white.
Spice is my troublemaker. She likes adventure. She's more active than Sugar. She's also smaller. She loves to pile everything & anything she can find in the cage in front of their bed. She'll also get exasperated with you when you straighten things up. She likes things a certain way. If you try to put a ball or a wood chew in the tissue box or bed with her she will throw it right back out at you! If you keep it up, she'll sit there- give you this "look" (Left eye open, Right eye squinted) & give a great big *huff*. If you try to kiss her, she'll use her paw to push you away. Spice also loves to chase Sugar around the cage and annoy her. She's an antagonist. Spice will let you pet her & scratch her head until she falls asleep on you. Then she will grind her teeth & make her happy noises. Spice also loves to explore she will tunnel through my blankets on my bed. And she's loves to jump and climb. She can jump several feet sometimes! She is very quick and you have to keep your eye on her or she will escape.
Cinnamon:
Genetics: Split on the H locus for the wild type gene and a more recessive h-locus allele (eg H/h)
Description: To be symmetrically marked, with as much white on the chest and belly as possible. The white shall not extend up the sides of the body, the edges shall be clear cut and devoid of brindling. Back feet to be white to the ankle, forelegs to be white to half the leg. Tail to be white to half its length. The body color shall conform to a recognized color variety. The white area shall be pure and devoid of any color or staining. A white spot on the forehead is desirable.
Cinnamon is my hyper active baby! She is constantly on the move, jumping, running, sniffing. She never sits still (until she's asleep! Or chewing on something!) She is the most affectionate of all my girls. She will climb up on my neck and sniff in my hair or cuddle on my arm. She's is my antagonist. Cinnamon is my youngest rat but she is now the alpha rat. It took her a little while to establish that role, because Spice used to be the alpha rat. Cinnamon loves to chase Sugar & Spice all around the cage. She just loves annoying them! She is very curious & also an adventurer like Spice! Sometimes When she's sniffing really hard it sounds like a duck! And she's turning into a little butterball! Cinnamon is not shy about eating or where she eats. She will walk right up to your bowl or plate and if she likes something she will steal it off your plate. She once tried to walk off with a whole piece of fried chicken! She's my troublemaker. So far she has chewed a hole in my laptop wire, camera wire, my new sony camera wire & a PS3 control. That's her bad habit. You really have to keep an eye on her!
Please come and check out the Rat Chatter Forums if you own rats or are interested in getting some. This is a great community!
I feed my girls a mix diet that I make myself. It is healthier and cheaper than buying a pet store brand. This also works, because I eat alot of plain cereals so I can feed myself & my rats with 1 box of cereal.
My Mix Includes:
Cheerios
Shredded Wheat
Rice & Corn Chex
Total Cereal
Bran Flakes
Granola Mix
Almond Slices or Slivers
Sunflower Seeds (in shell or without).
Banana Chips
Raisins
Tri-colored spiral pasta, (Spinach & Tomato flavor)
For extra nutrition I also feed my rats:
My girls go crazy over these treats:
Yogurt Drops
Yogies
Ultra Bites- Veggie Puffs
Yogurt covered raisins
Yogurt covered peanuts
I also give my girls veggies and fruits as treats sometimes. Some of their favorite foods are: Apples (without seeds) Strawberries, Applesauce, Fruit Yogurt, Peas, Spinach, Tuna, Salmon. They also love the whipped cream on Starbucks Frappucinos & Rice Crispy Treats occasionally.
Another favorite treat of my girls is dried chicken leg bones. I let them dry overnight before giving them to the girls to chew on. It helps their teeth. They Love them! They go through them pretty fast!
More Gorgeous Spring Pictures.
F.B. doesn't get to experience Spring, Fall or Winter. Since it's tropical in the Philippines, it's pretty much summer all the time and then there's also a rainy season.
I got some pictures of my girls in the tree out front. They were all pretty patient, except Spice who started to get a bit pissy after a few pictures!
Sugar:
Spice:
Cinnamon:
You can view all of todays pictures here!
I use a Sony Cyber Shot DSC-W55 for my pictures.
Which One?
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?
Tattoo!
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.
Spring!
Dreams & Venting...
Funny story... When I was in the Philippines in January F.B. & I were in bed falling asleep. Sometimes my dreams are so realistic I might talk out loud (sometimes I also see bugs on the walls & wake up startled.) Well, in my dream F.B. was taking me down a dark tunnel (I'm very claustrophobic!) I wake F.B. up saying, "I see stuff on the wall!" ??? F.B. says to me (I must have been half asleep by then because I don't remember this part.) "Are you having a bad dream?" I say, "No." and go back to sleep. Haha! In the morning I told him to stop taking me down dark tunnels in my dreams and I wouldn't wake him up anymore, hehe!
*Edited To Add*
Last night I text messaged F.B. and asked if I could call him. It was about 2am. (2pm Philippine time.) So he texts me back and said: He didn't think it would be a good idea because he was waiting for the mechanic to bring the car back to the house and he needed to be available to check it out and stuff. I was kind of upset by his answer so I just went to sleep. Around 3am he texts and says the car was dropped off & I could call now if I wanted to.... an HOUR later... when I could have called him and talked to him earlier when I first asked. By 3am I was half asleep and too upset with him to call. The thing is... I hardly ever get to call him. We don't talk on the phone that much because it's very expensive! But once in awhile I need to hear his voice and actually talk with him. We don't get to do that every day!
The reason we usually text before we call is because of the 12 hour time difference. It's helps to text beforehand to make sure we're both available. I was just upset and frustrated because I don't understand why I couldn't call when I first text messaged him. His reason was: 'He didn't want our call interrupted.' But we probably would have finished our conversation before the mechanic even showed up. When we talk on the phone it's usually 15-20 minutes at the most. It's very rare if we get to talk an hour, because of the cost. I don't know... is this a petty thing to be upset about? Long distance relationships are so frustrating sometimes... sigh.
Foreign Food Cravings!
1. Gerry's Grill
2. Chow King
Chow King is fast food Asian food. Whenever we go here we usually order the same meal: Sweet & Sour Pork, Rice, Pansit, Dumplings, Prawn Crackers & this little dessert thing with sesame seeds and cinnamon inside.
3. Yellow Cab Pizza Co.
This became one of our new favorite places to eat on my last visit in January. The picture below is the New York Special- with everything. And the Charlie Chan Pasta with Chicken & Peanuts. We've also tried their Veggie Pizza & Hawaiian Pizza. And we also got chicken & shrimp in the pasta once which was so good! I'm not a pizza person, but I LOVE Yellow Cab Pizza!
4. Tokyo Tokyo
This is where F.B. & I went on our first date together. That was the first time I tried Sushi. Tokyo Tokyo is fast food Japanese. We usually order California Maki (Roll) Sushi. And I'll get the Shrimp Tempura meal which also comes with rice & vegetable misono. (Kinda like coleslaw without mayo?) F.B. usually eats the veggie stuff, I don't like it much.
5. Jolliebee
Phil-Am Foods
Philippine Snack Foods
Taste Testing (Asian Aisle)
Dude! My Tampons are in the Philippines!
I was thinking tonight about relationships and how if you're serious you might leave some of your belongings at your boyfriend or girlfriend's house. Well... my fiance lives on the other side of the world! It's a 12 hour difference from Philadelphia to the Philippines... but I have belongings... stuff of mine... in the Philippines! In another country! In his house! Like my awesome purple Nine West carry-on bag that I sadly had to leave behind because I couldn't stuff it into my suitcase. Or my purple stuffed kabayo (horse). My fluffy white xmas blanket, my purple embroidered 'Sarah' towel. Several t-shirts I sleep in. My Dove body wash, St. Ive's clay mask, Sunsilk Conditioner, Vanilla Secret deodorant. My shower pouf, my toothbrush! And... tampons! I have a box of tampons waiting for me in the Philippines! HAHA! That's so crazy to me!
BTW... on my first trip to the Philippines back in 2006 I had a girly "emergency" and we went to the drugstore. They had shelves & shelves of pads... but no tampons! I almost cried. The next day when F.B. woke me up he says, "I have a present for you..." It was tampons! I said, "Thank you soooo much!" He said, "I had to ask my aunt and she knew where to find some."
It is EXTREMELY difficult to find tampons in the Philippines... in fact the only kind we could find were in Watson's drugstore in the city. They were O.B. tampons, 8 in a box with no applicator! So yeah... if you're ever in the Philippines bring LOTS of tampons! My cousins said if I ever move there when F.B. & I get married they will ship tampons to me for holidays!!!
Another thing... when visiting the Philippines. 90% of the public restrooms will not have toilet paper! I didn't know this the first time F.B & I went out on a date to the mall. I used the rest room ("CR" or "Comfort Room" in the Philippines) and there was no toilet paper! Luckily I had some Kleenex with me! I said to F.B. "You didn't tell me they don't have toilet paper in public restrooms!" His answer: "I'm sorry... I didn't know. I've never been in the girls bathroom." HAHA! So remember! Have tissues with you at all times when you're in the Philippines!
Just some silly things I was thinking about tonight!
