This is the picture that will go in with the select few hand-made cards I’m sending this year.

Reggie and I are leaving shortly. We’re off to PA for almost a week. Our flight gets in Monday afternoon. The thing is… my parents have no idea we’re coming. I’ve been saying for months that I wouldn’t be able to make it because I’d have to work. My mom has not been pleased about this and has been giving me a hard time about it. Well, my work plans changed, and we’re going home to surprise her.

My big concern is flying with Reggie. I really have no idea what to expect with him.

Money is a little tight at the moment. If you look at my bank balance, you’ll see $892.98. Not bad, right? Well, that doesn’t take into account that my $850 rent check hasn’t cleared yet. It arrived on the 5th of the November, so it could clear at any moment. That leaves me with $42.98 to last me until Wednesday. I have no food in the house at the moment, so $40 isn’t a whole lot of money at the moment.

Before I moved some money around between my checking an savings accounts, that amount seemed much bleaker. And when you consider my mountain of quarters, I probably have closer to $60 available. But still, I hate to let my checking account drop THAT low.  So I’m going to make a trip tp Trader Joes and pick up some essentials to last me until I get paid on Wednesday. But my expenses for the Nashville trip should be included in that paycheck, and my car insurance is already paid. I’m feeling like money is going to be a little less tight for a while. Oh, and by the end of the month, my car will be paid in full.

I’m going to surprise my mom. I’ve been saying that I couldn’t take the time off work to go home for Thanksgiving, plus we’re doing doing an upgrade to our project management system. Well, I probably won’t have much to do with that upgrade, so I’m going to surprise her and show up for Thanksgiving. My sister is going to pick us up at the airport Wednesday afternoon. Right now, US Airways has tickets for $138. I just hope the price stays that low until I have money on Wednesday to pay for it. Right before the trip, I’ll have to cough up another $100 to take Reggie along with me, and I’ll have to buy a Sherpa bag for him to travel in.  My niece (and mom) would be pissed if I went home without Reggie for Thanksgiving.

It’s no secret that I have a soft spot in my heart for dogs. Today, I saw something heart-wrenching, a womeless woman walking two dogs. The dogs looked well cared for, although a tad thin. She makes her living collecting cans and recycling them.

One of her dogs was a pom of some type. The other was a chiuaua. He was an older little guy, but I think he had a trace of pug in him because he had a curly tail. And he was beautiful.

Due to the probems on the T, she was unable to get to the recycling center before it closed, and she wasn’t going to be able to buy her dogs their supper. Oh, my heart broke. I would have gladly given her a whole bag of Reggie’s kibble for her boys if I’d have had it on me. Instead, I reached into my wallet and gave her the only thing I had on me, $5. I told her to make sure her boys ate, but that she did too.  It wasn’t much, but it was all I could give her.

Maybe she was scamming me. I don’t think so. Even if she was, my hope is that her boys won’t starve tonight, especially that chiuaua with a bit of Pug in him.

Part of me wanted to take that beautiful little guy off her hands, but I think she’s too attached to him.

I came home and gave Reggie a few extra treats and hugs. I hope he never has to worry about where his next meal is going to come from.

Reggie and I went to PetSmart tonight to get his nails clipped. He was not impressed. We had to do it tonight because I have a lot going on this weekend.

Tomorrow, my friend Chris and I are going to see a production of Jesus Christ Superstar. I know nothing about the show nor the music other than it’s an Andrew Lloyd Webber show.  Tomorrow night, I have a few things I have to do before my trip.

Sunday, I’m meeting up with Sam and Murphy at Beth and Paul’s house. We’re going to have dinner and finally met Sam’s new man. Beth is making lamb, I hear. Sunday night, Sam will be taking Reggie with her back to Hartfort while I’m away. Oh, I’m going to miss the little shit. But he’s going to have a great time playing with Murphy. If you’re a regular reader of Reggie’s blog, rest assured that Sam will be updating with stories and pictures.  It’s mostly for my benefit.

It’s getting cold here. My furnace is set at 64 and it kicked on a little earlier. AMaybe it’ll snow soon.

While I was having a miserable night, Reggie was having a great time. More on Pauls’ blog.

I’m so used to Reggie being at my feet at night. Every time I’d roll over, I’d panic because he wasn’t at my feet. I’ve learned to roll delicately as to not kick Reggie out of bed. So when he wasn’t there, it was a very strange feeling.

I went shopping today with Beth. She drove us around in her new Scion xB. It’s not a bad ride. Reggie stayed at her house and played with Buddy and Brutus.

While at the grocery store, we ran into our friend Liz. I hadn’t seen her in almost a year. It was good to catch up a bit.

After shopping, Paul’s parents came back from their Canadian excursion, and then Paul came home from work. We grilled a few steaks out on the grill, and they were fabulous.

Now Reggie and I are home, and I have all kinds of yummy foods in the fridge.

Tomorrow, my goals are 1) laundry 2) cleaning out the fridge 3) taking Reggie to get his nails clipped and perhaps a bath 4) doing some work work and 5) cooking meals for next week, including the salmon I bought today from the very hot guy behind the fish counter.

Anyway, it’s time for bed.

My next door neighbors moved out. Harold, the super, was cleaning and doing some repairs. I asked if I could see it. The place is huge and has an enclosed back yard and deck. The place is really nice and my landlord wants $400 more than what I’m paying for my place. It’s not that nice.  It would be great to have a back yard for Reggie to pee in.

Speaking of… the little shit just peed on my bathroom floor. He hates going out in the rain and wouldn’t go when we went out.

This isn’t the first time we’ve had a pug birthday party just to have an excuse for the adults to get together. Sam and Murphy came up from Connecticut. Beth made a fabulous lunch and then we took the boys to the beach. This was the first time Murphy had been to the beach. Reggie had been to the beach, but never quite like this…

At first, Murphy approached the water a little gingerly…

But he wasn’t afraid to get his paws wet.

Reggie, on the other hand, wasn’t quite so happy about the beach.

Brutus always seems to enjoy trips to the beach.

We tried doing a group picture and ended up with an interloper.

Yeah, it was a fun day.  Now Reggie is sleeping on my legs, snoring away.

Who knew that having dinner with a member of your family could be that enjoyable? My cousin Marilou is here for a conference, and it was great seeing her.  I haven’t enjoyed a dinner that much in a very long time.

Marilou has always been like an older sister to me. It’s good to see her when there isn’t some family emergency or at Christmas. We talked for hours about everything. Life is treating both of us really well. Considering that we both grew up in Bruin, PA, just west of the middle of nowhere, I think we’re both proud of what we’ve accomplished in our lives.

In other news, I went to see a doctor today about my back. She ordered an MRI and wants my primary care doctor to review it and decide whether or not I should see a neurosurgeon. It’s going to take a week or so to get the MRI setup anyway.

Today, I applied to a Pug rescue group to get another rescue. I think Reggie needs a brother.