Fruits BasketToday officially kicks off the Chinese New Year! So Happy New Year to everyone! (Not that I'm Chinese or anything...) And this year is the bestest of all since it is the Year of the Rat! And yes, I am a Rat! And proud of it!

According to our friends at the Wikipedia: "The Rat (Chinese: 鼠) was welcomed in ancient times as a protector and bringer of material prosperity. It is the first of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. Rat is associated with aggression, wealth, charm, and order, yet also associated with death, war, the occult, pestilence, and atrocities. The Year of the Rat is associated with the earthly branch symbol 子."

Well I do like the wealth and charm part. I don't think I'm very aggresive though and I certainly don't like the death, war, pestilence and atrocities part! Hoo boy. Anyways, you're a part of Team Rat if you were born in the following years: 1900, 1912, 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972 (woo!), 1984, 1996.

I'd like to take this opportunity to start a Blogging Rat Club and invite any of my readers (or any bloggers out there) who are Rats to join in! Just copy this list, add your name to the bottom and post it on your own blog. (Or just leave a comment on this post and I'll add you to my list!). Let's see how many rats we've got out there!

Blogging Rats:

Andrew of Everybody Loves Coupons
Christy of Christy's Coffee Break
Tish of The Kat House
Catherine of Wisebread

COUPON TIME:

Rats can actually make good pets. No, really. My one of my roommates in college actually had one that he called Templeton. Cute li'l bugger. Well, not so little actually... Anyways, here are a bunch of spiffy pet-related coupons to help break in the Year of the Rat!

15% off a purchase of $60 or more at PETsMART.com
Use this link to activate the coupon. Discount will appear in your shopping cart. If necessary enter coupon code SAVEFEB.
Valid through: February 29, 2008 11:59pm ET
Minimum purchase must include at least $60 of pet supplies. Discount does not apply to gift cards or backordered items. These items may not be used to meet minimum purchase requirement. Cannot be combined with other offers or discounts. Limit one per customer.

10% off any size order at Petco.com
Use this link to activate the coupon or use promotion code PETCOEA.
Valid through: February 13, 2008
Valid online only. Excludes dog food, cat food, cat litter, live aquatics, purchases of out-of-stock items, donations, gift certificates and gift cards; merchandise purchases through Bottomless Bowl & More subscriptions; shipping and applicable taxes. Additional exclusions may apply and will be noted on the product detail page. One use per customer only.
$5 off a purchase of $35 or more at PetFoodDirect.com
Use discount code PER38.
Valid through: Unknown

$10 off a purchase of $75 or more at PetFoodDirect.com
Use discount code PER37 or PER32.
Valid through: Unknown

Up to 25% off at Drs Foster and Smith
25th Anniversary Sale!
Valid through: December 31, 2008