Escapee!

I've owned my Ferret Nation cage for 2 years now. I've owned 12 rats total (4 have passed on.) And though a few have stuck their head out of the bars occasionally, I never had one escape... until last night!

You see; on each end of the cage doors there is a bar spacing that is wider than the rest of the cage. (Which equals up to 8 spots on the doors the bar spacing is wider.) You can fit two fingers comfortably in those spots, while the rest of the bars you can barely get 1 and a half fingers through. Some of my other ratties have been able to stick their heads out of those spots. Poppy recently has been sticking her head and body out almost up to her hips! And last night she discovered if she wiggled just the right way she could get her entire body out! I caught her climbing up the outside of the cage and I almost had a heart attack!

I had to temporarily use cardboard and duct tape last night on the spots she was able to stick her head out of. I went and posted on the Rat Chatter Forums where I am a moderator and we were able to find a solution to the problem!

I ordered 36in x 10ft of Hardware Cloth, Nylon Zip Ties, and Cutting Pliers from Lowe's. All together about ($35). I ordered everything last night and chose store pick up. I just had to print out my receipt and take it to Lowe's this afternoon to get my items.

This was definitely not a one person project! My brother helped me with this. The hardware cloth likes to roll itself back up and you need someone to hold it down while you cut with the cutting pliers. I didn't really measure at all. I just took the cage door (Ferret Nation cage doors come off completely.) held it to the wire and then marked with a permanent marker the spot I was going to cut. Once I cut out my first piece, I used that as a guide for the 3 other doors.

Then while one person holds the wire flat against the cage door, another zip ties the wire to the door. I actually ran out of zip ties... I should have gotten another pack, thank goodness my Dad had some extras! All in all it took about an hour and a half to complete the 4 doors. And now my little escapee can't escape anymore!

The cage doors completed:

Brattie Ratties!

Some Organization!

My bookshelves from Walmart arrived this week and tonight with the help of one of my brothers we got them put together. The boys cage fits perfectly on the smaller bookshelf. I didn't put anything on the shelves yet, so no pictures of that. I did get my books organized on the 5 tier bookshelf though. Surprised I could fit my enormous library on it! I do still have a lot of books on the back of my bed too, so this isn't all of them!

Here are some pictures of the 5 tier bookshelf:

And I finally got my Philippine rattie collection out of my suitcase!

Yes... I still have two suitcases I need to unpack. I've just been taking stuff out as I need it since I came home the end of January! I will finish unpacking and put away the suitcases when I tackle my closet organization! I still want to pick up 2 under the bed plastic containers and some smaller shoebox size ones to help with organizing my closet. I also want to get a new night table. So... slowly I am getting my room organized. Some of the bigger projects will be ripping out the crappy built in desk that is falling apart (a must to fit a bigger bed in the room!), painting my room, getting a new bed, new curtains, etc, later this year!

Rattie Love!

Some pictures of the girls & boys!

Ginger with a yogurt treat:

There are 6 ratties in this box! (Ginger, Saffy, Pepper, Poppy, Holly & Ivy! Ginger's butt is wayyy in the back!)

Basil & Sage:

Sage:

3 Months

Today F.B. & I have been married 3 months! ♥♥♥

I wanted to share my favorite wedding video. After we were married when we arrived back to F.B.'s house. His family showered us with rice and rose petals!


I have more wedding videos on Facebook. But you have to add me as a friend to view them.

And if you've been reading my blog long enough. "Tunay Na Mahal" means "True Love" in Tagalog. ♥♥♥

Walmart you rock!

I have a little bedroom....and A LOT of clutter. Stuff, Books, Clothing. I can't fit everything into my room. My bookshelf is overflowing. When I open my closet things fall out at me. I'm just tired of the clutter. Even more so because if our immigration goes faster F.B. might be here by the holidays and I need to start getting my room in order so my husband has some space too! We want to get an apartment at least a year after F.B. moves here if not sooner- but for the meantime we'll be staying with my parents. I still need to get us a new bed and a TV and DVD player later this year. (I don't own a TV). But for now I wanted to clear up my clutter and organize. And especially make room for my book collection. I have a very large library.

I struck gold on Walmart.com tonight! (Gold, lol! It's St. Patrick's Day!) Here is what I got:

Wildon Home Sherwood Five Tier Bookcase in Black $75.00

More than enough space for all my books!

Mainstays 3-Shelf Bookcase, Black $15.00

I'm going to put my boys cage on top of this and then books & odds and ends on the shelves.

Sterilite 35-Gallon Latch Tote, Set of 4 $12.74 for 4 containers.

I ordered 8 of these! Enough to organize my closet with.

Including taxes and shipping my total was $126.29. Wow! Walmart Rocks! When my items arrive and I finally get my room organized I'll have to take some pictures!

EDIT: Just a note- Those 35 gallon plastic storage containers I got on Walmart.com yesterday jumped to $50.00 for FOUR! I paid $12 something for FOUR yesterday and bought 8 of them! Which means I saved $76!!! Wonder if it was a misprint and they had to sell them to me at the $12 price! :-o

Blog Anniversary!

Today besides St. Patricks Day...

It is my 2nd Blogging Anniversary!

I can't believe it's been 2 years already! So many things have happened since I started this blog. Now F.B. & I are married and finally working on our immigration process! I look forward to writing the rest of our story!

Asian Aisle Feature

Last August I won the 1st Asian Aisle blog giveaway! I wasn't expecting such a big prize package! Because I wanted to thank Cindy for the great prizes, I picked out a few treats for her while I was in the Philippines. Today she featured one of the products. Head over to Asian Aisle to check it out!

Philippine Snack Foods

My first blog post with my new laptop!

When I was in the Philippines for 2 months my husband and I got our favorite snack foods and I also got to try a few new ones. I wanted to share the snack foods we tried! I think you can see a theme with most of these snacks- most are seafood or fish flavored, which is something the hubby & I enjoy. I love trying foods from other countries! And the Philippines has a lot of different snacks foods!

1. Choc-o-star









Choc-o-star is a lot like Choc-nut. They are both chocolate peanut butter powder flavored candy. The little bars crumble easily into powder. I can't remember, but you usually get 20 in a pack. I like Choc-o-star better because it's got a better chocolate flavor to it.

2. Tempura Chips














I like these best of all of Regent's snacks. Tempura chips are supposed to taste like shrimp tempura. While they don't taste exactly like shrimp tempura. they have a nice spicy shrimp taste to the chips.

3. Sashimi Chips














Sashimi chips are also made by Regent Foods. My husband likes these better than the tempura chips. They are a little bit spicer though. They are supposed to taste tuna sashimi. I find they have a strong garlic aftrer taste to them.

4. Fried Pusit (Squid)














I can't seem to find the Chivalry Brand company online. I didn't think I would like Fried Pusit. (Pusit is Squid in Tagalog). But it actually reminded me of beef jerky. It has a very sweet and spicy flavor to it. (chili powder is one of the ingredients.) I actually brought home a couple bags of this!

5. Jack & Jill Salmon Sushi Potato Chips














My sister in law works for URC the company that makes these potato chips. These were really good. They have a tangy salmon sushi flavor with little seaweed flakes all over the chips. (Looked like chives).

6. Kalamares Pacific Squid Rings














These didn't taste too much like calamares to me. They actually reminded me of Herr's Onion Rings in the USA. They had a nice spicy seasoning on them.
7. Pacific Fishballs














I took one bite of these and handed the bag to my husband. These were not good at all. I can't explain the flavor. They had a very tangy sour taste to them. My husband finished them.

You can buy Filipino snacks & foods online from the following places:

Pilipino Mart

Phil-Am Food

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