I am so exhausted! It has been a busy day! I woke up at 7am this morning and my brother Scotty and I went to Starbucks for breakfast. For some reason they were offering Pumpkin Spice coffee today (Whoo Hoo!) so we got two of those. And we also got the new Bacon, Egg & Gouda Cheese sandwiches they have.

Then we came home and got everything ready to repaint my room. The color I picked up at Lowe's is called 'Minty'. I wanted a similar color to what was already on the walls to make it less complicated. Everything just needed to be refreshed. We were done painting around 11am.

After painting I transferred some money out of my savings and we headed off to a 2nd hand store, Big Lot's and Walmart. At the 2nd hand store I got 2 nice comforters, 2 big fleece blankets, and a few pillow cases. At Big Lot's I got two full bed sheet sets for $12.00 and 2 nice big towels for $4.50 each. At Walmart, I got new pillows on sale for $2.50, a rice cooker for $13.00. I also got F.B. a lot of toiletries for his arrival. I spent more than I have ever spent at Walmart, but I got everything I needed. Including a Hane's flannel pajama pants & t-shirt set for him.

All of F.B.'s toiletries.

And I may or may not have spent $21 on nail polish... why oh why does Walmart now sell Essie & OPI... I couldn't pass up these colors!

(Turquoise &  Caicos, Merino Cool, The Next CEO)

F.B. finished up his seminar that was required by the Philippines before he leaves for the USA. He still has to go get an international drivers permit before he leaves. So he can drive over here for a year. (He will need to take the test again for a PA drivers license.)

He also booked his plane ticket! He will be in Philadelphia on March 6th at 10:25am!!! Lucky boy doesn't even have to stopover in Hong Kong or Shanghai or even Tokyo, he gets to fly from Manila Philippines straight to Los Angeles, CA. Then to Dallas, TX and finally Philadelphia!

It's going to be a very busy 2 weeks. I spent all evening cleaning and organizing after the paint dried and I still have some more to do tomorrow. The new bed arrives next weekend. I was approved to take March 7th-11th off so I'll have a week off work to spend with F.B. and help him get settled in.

Also, on March 5th, I will be getting my 2 boys and 2 girls from Star's Rat Rescue in SD! They will be traveling 1,500 miles to Philadelphia! There are a few others adopting rats in Philly too we'll be meeting our Rat Train driver at a Petco in the area.

When I woke up this morning, I found my Basil boy had passed away probably a few hours before I woke up. He was sleeping on my bed because he's been growing frailer the past few weeks...

Basil was older than 1 year, I think he may have been 2 years or even 2 1/2. He was full grown when I bought him and his brother Sage last March. The pet store I got them from had them living alone and they were covered in mites. His brother Sage passed away 1 month later.

I tried letting Basil live with Fennel and Barley but he was too aggressive to live with other male rats so I ended up having him neutered. He lived the rest of his days with his girls who he got along with and loved. He was really my buddy and a bit of a spoiled mama's boy. He went from a scared skittish non social rat, to a spoiled big squish who liked to be held and petted in his old age. He's been slowly going down hilll, with osteoarthritis, a cataract in one eye, not eating or drinking as much anymore.... I will miss you Basil...




Basil enjoying Thanksgiving dinner 2010:

I can't believe it's only been a few days since we found out F.B.'s visa was approved!

We are still waiting on the US Embassy to mail his passport/visa and paperwork to him. (Hoping it only takes a week!) and then F.B. can book a plane ticket. I've talked with his Dad and I took off a few days around March 6th-12th so it's likely F.B. will be getting a ticket for around then.

There's still so much to do here to get things ready! I just ordered a new bed from Sear's yesterday, after looking at lot's of online reviews through Google & Yahoo Search.

It was only $610.00 for a new Sealy full mattress, box spring & frame. Sears is having a 50% off President's Day sale on mattresses and I also got free shipping and $20 off with a coupon code! (Free shipping is for purchases over $499 and coupon code is: SAVEBIG for purchases over $299- not sure when that expires.). I scheduled delivery for the last weekend in February! I'm so excited the bed even has a layer of memory foam! I love memory foam! I used some of our savings to buy the new bed.

Next week I have to stop at Lowe's and get some paint and paint supplies to redo my room. I'm getting a similar color (Mint.) I only have 3 walls to paint in my bedroom, the 3rd wall is real wood paneling. The paint in my room just needs to be touched up. It's stained and chipping away in areas so it needs a retouch. My Dad is also going to help rip out the built in desk that I never use. It will give us a lot more space for the new bed and the rat cages once it's removed. I'll take pictures when everything is finished. :) I'm planning on painting during my 3 day weekend. ( Feb 21st is President's Day).

I have to get new drapes for my room. Walmart had some nice affordable ones. The ones I have now have been chewed at the bottom by my ratties, when I used to have the girls cage near the window 3 years ago. Plus they are pink and faded and never really matched my bedroom.I want to get a nice deep chocolate brown since that might go better with my mint colored walls.

Going to get some new comforters and sheet sets either from Big Lot's or a 2nd hand store. With rats as pets I try to buy the cheapest blankets and sheets I can get. Because they WIlLL chew a hole in them at some point! Also getting new pillows from Walmart.

I want to put together a toiletry box for F.B. so he will have everything here ready for him when he arrives.

• Soap
• Shampoo
• Axe Solid Stick & Spray
• Toothbrush
• Toothpaste
• Floss
• Hairbrush
• Razor
• Q-tips
• Towel & Washcloth
• Robe

I might also get together a little snack box of some Philadelphia treats for him! Just about a month to get everything ready for his arrival! :-)

This is a very brief blog entry tonight! F.B. had his visa interview this morning around 6:30am Philippine time. He just got out of the embassy it took about 5 hours. He said there were lot's of people... but guess... what....

HIS VISA WAS APPROVED!!! WHOO HOO!!!!

He has to wait for the US Embassy in Manila to mail him back his passport with his visa and paperwork and then we can figure out when he's going to book a flight to the USA!!!

Edited to add: Lawyer emailed and said it's actually two years before we will have to file to remove the conditional status from his visa. So that's a lot nicer than having to file again in September already! Gives us more time to save for more immigration fees.

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. 

F.B.'s visa interview at the American Embassy in Manila is 1 week away! It feels like time is going really slow, yet really fast at the same time!

F.B. got his police clearance paper last week. (He needed an original for the visa interview.) And Thursday & Friday he went to get his medical exam. It took 2 days for them to do everything. ($213 USD!) He had to have a physical exam, xray, eye exam, blood tests and he also got 3 vaccines. They have forwarded his medical results to the Embassy so they will have them for his interview on Feb 4th.

If he is approved, there's a good chance F.B. will be able to fly to the USA sometime end of February or beginning of March! (Praying!) I'm sure he will be approved- because he is coming to the USA on a CR visa. (Conditional Resident.)

What does that mean? Well it means we're not nearly done with immigration. In 2 years we will have to submit paperwork and file to remove the conditional status off his visa. ($590!) We will have to submit evidence that we've been living together, affidavits from friends & family that state we have a relationship, etc. Our lawyer has already been preparing us to gather evidence together for that.

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. 

There's so much other stuff to do once F.B. is approved and comes to the USA. We'll need to visit the Social Security office near me and apply to get him an Social Security number so he can work legally.

I also contacted the PA department of motor vehicles, to find out how he can apply for a driver's license. They wrote me back and said:

An international permit, obtained from your home country prior to traveling, may be used in Pennsylvania (PA) for one year from the issue date. You must carry both your international permit and your valid foreign license with you when driving. You may review the documents necessary to apply for a permit by using this link, Non-U.S. Citizens. This will provide the list of documents to take to your local driver’s license center, depending on your immigration status.

They also said he will need to apply for a PA drivers permit and he will have to take the test again before he can get a PA drivers license. But if he's able to get the international permit then at least he will be able to drive legally here- while he's applying for a PA driver's license!

Going to also have to add him onto my checking & saving accounts so there's proof we are living together. And probably get him a cell phone in his name so he has a bill with his name & address on it. I think if I add him to my plan- the bill will still be in my name only?

I also have to demo my room, lol. We are going to be living at home with my parents for probably about a year & a half while we finish immigration, and F.B. gets a job so we can save money to get our own place. My room at home is not very large. It's got this built in desk that I never use that takes up a lot of room. My Dad is going to help me take it out. Then we will need to repaint the whole room. And I want to get a full bed. (I don't think anything larger than a full would fit in my room! And hubby & I are are not sharing a twin!)

So much to do! I can't wait until the visa interview is over and we know for sure what's going to happen next!