UPDATE! The Rats have been rescued!

5/25/10 Via Brittney from Star's Rat Rescue: So last night we got home around 12:30AM and where loaded to the roof in our car, the smell was SO bad that our eyes where watering, you could barely breath, the conditions where terrible and I can only imagine how all the rats felt. Staci from Capital City Rat Rescue who also assisted us in this very large rescue took 70 rats last night!

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I am re-posting this for one of my good friends; Brittney from Star's Rat Rescue. She runs and operates her rescue in Winner, South Dakota.

Below is a re-post from Brittney on the Rat Chatter Forums.

Breeder who is re-homing 300+ rats, Donation Link-Help Us Help Them!

Yesterday I had an email in my inbox from someone who had sent me a Craigs list ad about some rats needing help. Once I checked out the link I just couldn't believe my eyes "Large Rat Breeding Colony". (shakes head) I went onto read and this is what the ad said

I need to get rid of my rat breeding operation. So if you have a lot of snakes this is a must for you over 350 rats also have frozen rats all must go cages,water bottles,bedding,food everything is here you need.

This is not what I was expecting what so ever, I had thought that it was a couple of rats in need asap. Not the case at all here. I have been in contact with the people through text as that is what they stated on the ad. I have also talked this over with CCRR in NE about this and Staci and her rescue are willing to take in 10 females or 2-3 litters of babies. Which is a huge help and so sweet of her to do as about a year ago we also helped her out when she did a massive rescue of I believe 96+ rats and if anyone can imagine just how overwhelming that must have been for CCRR.

Now the problem is the private party does NOT want to give any of them away for free nor to a rescue. As sadly this is a business to them and they don't want to lose any money. The other problem being if we do decide to take in any of the rats it would almost just be helping the breeder as she would just keep having babies as no one is going to want that many rats. The breeder also stated she wanted $1000 for the live rats. Which is just insane.

Now the question is "What to do". The thing that kills me is no matter what even if we are able to save 30+ rats it would mean the world to those 30 rats. But on the other thought if the breeder still has females as I stated before, this will never end.

So we can use everyone's help right now rather it be suggestions, fostering, adopting or donations! As we do plan to also contact our local shelters, humane society etc. to see about getting more rats out of there.

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Update: We are not giving up on the 300+ rats. We have tried and tried and can not get them to go for free or cheaper. Which means we will have to pay to get them out of this situation. Right now we are working on getting all females and babies out of their so that there will not be any breeding going on. Then we can go back and get the males.

I have started a Chip-in link for anyone wanting to help by donating. Just $5 dollars will help save a rats life. Please Click here or below to donate!



Mrs. Rattitude from Rat Chatter is having a fundraiser to help out Star's Rat Rescue! She is donating all proceeds for her Rat Art Digital Pictures to Star's Rat Rescue. If you would like to help out, you will get a fantastic picture of your rat, other animals or even humans! Let's all help Star's Rat Rescue! Please click the link to help out!

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Update from Brittney on 5/17/10: Just want to update on our large rescue we are working on right now. As of now the lady has not be willing to work with us at all on selling the rats as they are wanting to sell it all in a whole or in pieces so that the breeding can continue. We are still in contact with them trying to get them to give the rats to us or as many as we can get for $350 and so far she only wants to give us maybe 34-40 rats for that price, which as we all know that is just crazy. Everyone keep your fingers crossed that they decide to work with us. We where also told the prices for the rats individually and for some reason they are playing games right now only wanting to sell the rats with cages and no other way. We even counter offered and still nothing.

I have been working with a friend of mine who also adopted from SRR and she has also tried calling and this breeder is just not willing to work with us. We are told we have til Thursday and then someone is coming to buy everything for $1500, which I know that is very untrue. So right now we are waiting to see if she calls us back and go from there.

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UPDATE 5-23-10: THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!! We are just overwhelmed with all the help we have been getting, you all rock!! We have talked to the breeder and have a set time to meet them at their house and pick up ALL rats tomorrow evening!! Which means we will be driving a 5 hour 1 way trip tomorrow and bringing back lots of rats!

Please feel free to re-post! Brittney's chip-in donation is until May 28th!

I was craving stir fry chicken this evening, so I decided to make some. I always use my own recipe when it comes to making the sauce. The sauce was just something I threw together when I was younger and I've called it 'Ginger Stir Fry' ever since. I can't wait until my husband is able to taste this someday once our immigration is finished! :)

Now, I don't really measure when I cook... I just guess a lot of the time, lol! But, I thought I'd take a stab at it and write down my recipe to share with you guys! And since I usually guess when measuring you can add/decrease to your taste any of the ingredients below.

Sarah Lynn's Ginger Stir Fry Chicken

Stir Fry

2 Packages: Perdue Short Cuts Chicken (Grilled or Original Roasted)

1 can- Water Chestnuts

1 can- Bean Sprouts

1 can- Mushrooms

1 bag- Oriental Frozen Veggies (Broccoli, Carrots, Snow Peas, Etc)

*You can mix or match any vegetables you want in this stir fry*

Sauce

Soy Sauce- 1/4 Cup (More if needed)

Olive Oil- (or other cooking oil) 1/4 Cup

Worcestershire Sauce- 2 Tablespoons

Brown Sugar- 1/2 Cup

Crushed Dried Red Peppers- (Give it a few shakes).

Ginger- (Powdered kind) 1/4 Teaspoon

Goya All Purpose Adobe Seasoning- 1/4 Teaspoon or give it a few shakes. (I get the red bottle)

Cooking Instructions

1. Mix Sauce Together

2. Cut up Chicken throw into a wok or frying pan on medium heat.

3. Pour a little of the sauce over the chicken- stir while cooking.

4. Add veggies and pour rest of sauce over everything.

5. Mix and cook on high until chicken & vegetables are heated thoroughly.

6. Don't forget to make some white or brown rice to go with your stir fry!

(You can always add in a little extra soy sauce while cooking if it looks like it needs it. You want enough of the oil & soy sauce to coat everything.)

Makes enough for a family of 4, with a little left over.

Enjoy!

My Mom & I usually go out for Mother's Day the day before so there are less crowds. This year we took the train downtown Saturday to 30th Street Station in Philadelphia to visit the Mutter Museum. I've been there before but my Mom had never been. It is a medical oddity museum.

30th Street Station:

Mutter Museum: (Sorry no pictures allowed inside!)

The train was actually pretty crowded because there must have been a Phillie's Game that day, (dozens of people on the train were wearing Phillie's Jerseys.) it was "train day" at 30th Street Station and there was some regatta on the Schuylkill River.

After the the museum and the train ride back we went to 'On The Border' for Mexican Food. I had beef empanadas and a soft chicken taco. Picture of our yummy sampler appetizer:

We also picked up a box of Cinnabon to take home after 'On The Border'. Mom had never tried a Cinnabon!

Friday afternoon Basil had a trip to the vet. I took him to find out about getting neutered. Basil has been really aggressive with Barley & Fennel. He always wants to attack them, even when I introduce them in a neutral area. A few weeks ago when I had them on the bed trying to introduce them Basil went after Barley and I mistakenly put my hand in the middle. Basil ended up biting me rather badly by accident. (You can click here to read about it.) I won't post a picture on my blog, (there is a picture in that link) but I now have a 1 inch scar on my left palm. Also if you don't wash your hands after handling the little boys, Basil will try to bite you. Basil has never bitten anyone otherwise.

Buttt... since my accident and because he doesn't seem to want to get along with his brothers I took him to find out about getting neutered. If he can't live with his brothers, at least he will be able to live with the girls. I'm hoping he will be able to live with my girls since he will be less territorial and every time I've held Basil in my lap all the girls have come up and sniffed at him and given him love bites. (Never let him play with them though! Not until he's neutered! ). He's my ladies man. He loves to watch the girls run around in the cage! Basil will be getting neutered on May 20th. I took off work for a few vacation days that Thurs, Fri and Monday so I'll be able to be with him after his surgery on the 20th.

Unfortunately.... it's $300.00. I called just about every small animal vet in the area and most did not neuter rats. Only my vet and another more expensive vet did them. But I'm hoping it will help his aggressiveness and that he will be able to live with other rats once it's done and over with! (Though he can't live with the girls until 4 weeks after he's neutered!)

Basil says this to being neutered, lol!

Oh... and I picked up a cute light up Philadelphia key chain while at 30th Street Station on Saturday! Stay tuned to my blog because I'm planning on having another giveaway either in May or June and I'll be giving away the key chain with some other prizes!

Not too much going on lately. Here are some spring pictures I got of the girls/boys this weekend. (Ginger with her tumors isn't well enough to take pictures outside in the trees.)

Saffy:

Ivy:

Holly:

Fennel:

Barley:

Basil:
Pepper:

Poppy:

And Ginger says: " I don't know about these flowers Mom...."

Pictures I took Friday afternoon. We have a lot of flowers blooming around the yard right now.

And Basil in a tree. He looks like he's holding on for dear life from the angle, hehe.

I have A LOT of people say to me, "You must be heart broken. I don't know how you bear being away from your husband now that you're married." My cousin & I were talking about this on Saturday....

F.B. & I have been in this long distance relationship for 6 years now. We had never seen a picture of each other when we started talking. We've settled into a pattern, a way of handling the long distance. We meet online every weekend. And every day on my lunch break he signs onto Yahoo Messenger so we can talk for a little while. Of course some days he may want to sleep in or I may want to, but we make it work. (12 hour time difference!)

When we are together we try not think about when we'll be apart. I think that is the worst... especially when we are together every day for 2 months. It's hard for the first week or so after I come back to the USA, but then we settle into our routine. Chatting online, phone calls, emails, letters...

We've been doing this so long now, that we are used to the long distance. We do miss each other and miss spending time with each other every day, (he is my best friend!) but we don't fall apart, sink into a depression, etc. It is a bit weird being married now and still living apart, but we make it work. Just like we have every day for the past 6 years. This is what we've known for so long, what we are familiar with. It is tough, but it's like 2nd nature to us. We've mastered this long distance relationship stuff!

I think what will be weirder is when F.B. is in the USA, when we're finally together. Getting used to living with each other every day, 365 days a year. It will be so nice to finally be together, but it will definitely be a big adjustment for both of us. Especially for F.B. moving to a new country and culture.


P.S. ♥♥♥ We've been married 4 months today! ♥♥♥

It's been a tough weekend so far. Sage getting ill around 11pm on Friday and passing away 5:30am Saturday. :( I didn't get much sleep that morning after Sage passed. Only about 4 hours. Basil was very quiet all day and was laying next to the towel I had wrapped Sage in when he was ill.

Basil resting near Sage's towel:

My cousin Jessica's 22nd birthday was on Wednesday. We had planned on getting together on Saturday and wanted to spend the day at Peddler's Village, but it was way too windy and cold. Our back up plan was to head to the King of Prussia Mall which is the biggest mall near Philadelphia. I've only been there about 4 times. It's so huge we never really get to see the whole mall.

But first, Jessica came along to help me pick out a new companion for Basil. Basil was very sad and quiet yesterday after Sage passed. I know it's soon but I don't want him to live alone. We went to Petsmart to look at boy rats. They had a wide variety of hooded boys, a white dumbo boy that was so lazy all he did was lay on his back. He was super cute, but way too lazy! They also had hairless rats! Or nakkies as we pet rat people call them! I've always wanted a nakkie!

I believe Basil might be older than I first thought- (he may already be a year old.) So I decided it might be a better idea to get two boys around the same age. I picked a brown hooded boy and I also got one of the nakkie rats. Oh my... nakkie rats are sooo soft, they are like velvet. They are also very very warm blooded! Both boys seem very mellow and friendly and haven't fought with each other.

Please meet Fennel & Barley! Fennel is my brown hooded boy. He is super curious and rambunctious. Barley is my hairless boy. He is very laid back and likes to cuddle and lay on your lap.

Ideally, I would like to be down to 4 girl rats and 2 boy rats. That seems like a good number. Currently I have 6 girls. Ginger is ill and her tumors are getting quite large. I won't be getting anymore girl rats until I am down to at least 3.

Right now Fennel & Barley are separated from Basil. I split the levels of their cage. But Basil was sniffing and climbing the walls of the cage trying to see the boys on the upstairs level!

After the pet store Jessica & I dropped the new boys off at my house. Then we headed to the King of Prussia Mall. We got there around 7pm, so we only had 2 hours before closing. I really wanted to check out the L'Occitane store, it's the only one near me! I was so excited to visit the store and smell some of their other products. I ended up getting a verbena hand lotion and the soap with verbena leaves. I also got a honey & lemon lip gloss.



After shopping, Jessica & I stopped at Starbucks. I finally gave in and tried the dark cherry mocha coffee. I actually loved it. It tastes like a chocolate covered cherry! We also tried their chocolate bloom cupcakes and they are heaven!

This is so sad... I only owned Sage for about a month. He was fine yesterday afternoon, he ate dinner with his brother had a yogie. By 11pm he wasn't doing so well. He was cold to the touch we tried warming him up with a heating pad, giving him Ensure. I kept him wrapped in a baby blanket with me all night. Around 5am I woke up to check on him, his breathing was very labored. I tried putting him back in the cage with his brother Basil, but he would just lay in one spot and wouldn't or couldn't climb the ramp in the cage to the 2nd level. I brought him back on the bed with me and was going to call the vet around 9am to bring him over but he passed away around 5:30-6am... I'm not sure why. I don't know how old Sage was maybe around 7 months- maybe older. He also had a small abcess on him, and maybe that contributed... but I'm really upset and sad... I only had my boy a month, I didn't get so many pictures of him, he didn't get to go to the park with me. Basil lost his brother, he did say goodbye to Sage after he passed. He sniffed and licked at his face... this is just heartbreaking though.... so sudden...

Goodbye Sage....

Edited to add: It always amazes me how other rats grieve, how they know their buddy has passed. Basil is a crazy man he never sits still wants to constantly try to get on the floor. After Sage passed and Basil said his goodbye's this morning. Basil just lay quietly next to me, he was laying on the towel I had wrapped Sage in earlier. Ugh... I didn't expect to say goodbye to one of my 1st boy rats so very soon...

I haven't posted about our immigration process in a few months, because right now it is a waiting game. We did receive our I-130 receipt back in February.

But... it is going to be 3-5 months before are able to move to the next step. We are waiting for the USCIS to make a determination on our I-130. From there they will forward our application to the National Visa Center in New Hampshire and then the NVC will send a packet with instructions to complete our I-864. Hopefully by May or July we will hear from them.


---Our Immigration Steps & Process---
What is this mess? It is all the documentation of our relationship. Copies of all the letters I've sent to F.B. & all the letter's he has sent to me from 2004-current. Copies of plane ticket stubs, receipts, income tax returns, photos with F.B.'s family. Pretty much everything we will need when we prepare the rest of our paperwork with our immigration lawyer.

I'm almost done making copies. All that's left now is the trip journals F.B. gave me from the past 4 trips I've been to the Philippines. I've gotten 2 of those copied. So, that is the updated news for now! Until we hear from the NVC, our immigration process right now is a waiting game...

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. 

I devour books. It started when I was about 3-4 years old and couldn't sleep at night. My parents would give me a stack of Golden Books and tell me to read until I felt sleepy. I still read every night and I read even more on the weekend. I own a lot of books as evidenced by my brand new bookshelf. (You can view some of my library collection on Librarything.com).

I mostly tend to read historical fiction or non fiction. Anything about the Tudor Dynasty, I probably own. Fiction & Non Fiction! But I also like regular fiction. I'm always looking for a new book to read. I've been taking out around 5-7 books from the library every 3 weeks or so. I actually have to pick up some books on Thursday from the library!

Last summer when I was looking for some new authors to read, my cousins told me about Jennifer Weiner, I've taken every one of her books out that my library has. They are just really well written, funny and not too tacky or sappy for chick-lit. Plus most of her books take place in Philadelphia. And I'm a Philly girl! :-D

I thought I'd share with you all my favorites of her books!

Good in Bed

This was the first book of Jennifer Weiner's I read and I really loved it. Plus since Cannie is actually a real girl struggling with her weight, body image, etc it makes it more relatable. You really want to root her on in the book throughout her struggles and trumphs!

Certain Girls

This is the sequel to Good in Bed. I really like this one, because the story is told from the perspective of Cannie and also of her 12 year old daughter Joy. The ending though... I won't ruin- but it definitely shocked me and wasn't what I expected.

3. Best Friends Forever

I bought this when I was in the Philippines this past year. I really like the descriptions/details in the story. And how different Addie & Valerie are.

4. In Her Shoes

I really want to buy this one. I'm taking it out of the library again this week. I also heard it was made into a movie- but the movie wasn't anything like the book and wasn't so good. The book is really good. The two sisters couldn't be more different from each other, but they really do need each other.

I definitely recommend Jennifer Weiner's books if you're looking for a new book to read! Or if you have read some of her books, which is your favorite?

This year World Rat Day falls on Easter!

Here are the boys & girls celebrating Easter and sharing a Peep!

Happy Easter Everyone!

P.S. The Rat Chatter Forums is holding a themed photo contest with 3 prize packages! Deadline is April 23rd! Click here for details!