Goodbye 2004, Hello 2005

Well, it’s the last day of 2004. I can’t say it’s been a good year and I can’t say that it’s been a bad year. I have much to be thankful for and I have quite a few things I’m not so happy about.

Let’s start with the negative.

1: Bush is still the President. I don’t think he’s ever been elected legally, but that’s pretty much moot at this point.

2: Both my husband and I are currently unemployed. Sort of. Chris is now officially self-employed, but most of his current projects aren’t paying gigs.

3: The move, while wanted, was twice as difficult and twice as expensive as it should have been, leaving us less breathing room financially than we anticipated.

4: None of the family, dog included, have enough winter clothes.

5: The biggest natural disaster in my lifetime occurred in the past 60 days.

But now, let’s list the positive things that happened in 2004

1: We finally moved to Maine, which is something we’ve wanted since we met. (5 years ago)

2: Chris finally quit his job which was causing his health to deteriorate slowly but steadily.

3: We live in a house, not an apartment, with large spaces between our nearest neighbors.

4: We can now watch our movies and listen to our music as loud as we want.

5: We don’t have to listen to the neighbors play their music at setting ’11’ at all hours of the night.

6: We don’t have to hear the wanna-be-thugs drive by with their loud motors and thumping rap-playing radios.

7: We now live near family.

8: I have two job interviews next week.

9: Unless something REALLY bad happens and laws are changed, this is the last term Bush can steal.

10: I got to see snow this year and lots of it.

So, all in all, the positives out-weigh the negatives. There were actually more that I thought of, but I thought 10 was a nice round number to stop with.

I hope that everyone out there (that deserves it) has a great 2005 and that this new year is a prosperous and a happy one.

See ya next year!

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I’m dreaming of a White Christmas…

So of course, my mother, who lives in Arkansas, gets a white Christmas. I live in Maine, and I don’t. Two days ago, the ground was covered with about 3 inches of snow. It melted yesterday and today it’s all gone, except for some patches in the shade or up in the woods where the sun doesn’t hit.

Not fair, really, but the weather has been nice and sunny. It got real cold again and there’s chance of snow tomorrow, so maybe it’ll be a little white.

Merry Christmas to everyone and I hope this next year is better for everyone who deserves it.

‘Baby, you’ve got moxie!’

I’ve mentioned quite a few things that I looked forward to when we decided to move to Maine and most of those have come to fruition.

Some of those perks come in small packages and one of those perks up here in Maine is Moxie®.

Most people know Moxie as something someone has; ‘That girl sure has moxie!’ But it started out as one of the first popular soft drinks in the USA. At one time, it outsold Coca-Cola and Pepsi combined! Moxie was even sold as an ice cream flavor.

Moxie isn’t known far and wide as it once was, but it’s still available in many stores up here in Maine, including the two corner markets just down the street on either side of our new abode.

If you’ve never had Moxie I’ll just say that you either love it or you hate it. I love it. My husband hates it.

What does it taste like? It tastes like a mild root beer with a kick of ginger. Another description would be Dr. Pepper mixed with Root Beer.

If you ever get up to Maine, be sure to pick up a bottle of Moxie and try it. You might like it, and you can always tell people that you’ve tasted the first popular soft drink in America.

For more great info about Moxie, including historical information and it’s fan base today, visit this site: Maine Farmhouse Journal: Entry Dated July 6 – 10, 2000

The Original Moxie Man

Today’s Moxie Man

Maine’s a lot colder than Florida…duh!

Marxism of the day (contributed by Chris Benjamin): Your proposition may be good, but let’s have one thing understood, Whatever it is I’m against it! — Song from ‘Horsefeathers’

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Well, we’ve finally made it. We’ve been here a week yesterday and while I can’t say the move was anywhere near perfect (or even easy) I’m still glad we made the move.Here are a few tips for you that I have learned from this move:

1: When renting a truck, make sure the damn thing is big enough for all your stuff.

2: Never hire movers if at all possible. Only hire them if they have excellent personal references from people that you actually know and trust. They tend to not show when scheduled then call 2 hours later as if nothing were wrong.

3: Be sure that all of your stuff is packed at least two days before the move is scheduled. Never stay up all night the night before the move date packing the last room of your apartment/house.

4: (Related to number 3) Be sure to get a full night’s sleep the night before the move. Never try to drive for 8 hours on 2 hours sleep.

5: Move in the summer. You can’t control the weather, but it’s much easier to drive in rain when it’s light. In the summer you have light until almost 9:00 p.m. When it’s raining, a sunset time of 5:00 p.m. is a bitch

6: Move to Maine. It’s beautiful up here – and it snows!

See ya in Maine!

Last blog entry for a while…

We’re in the process of packing up the last boxes and hopefully getting a few hours sleep before the movers get here to pack up the truck.

Wish us all luck! The next time I post, it’ll be from the chilly north.