Have I mentioned before that I love it when Lindsay and I get new things done on the house? I do believe that I have.

This past weekend, as you can see, we worked on the yard. And my how the big chunk of dirt needed work. Lins had the idea that we should get some edgers and outline the giant dirt area (around the 150 year old Elm tree) and fill it with mulch. Then we would outline another area closer to the tree with retaining wall bricks, stacked 2 high and fill that with dirt, sand and mulch. 3 trips to Menards waaaay too much heavy lifting and 3 trips to the free mulch area later, followed by more lifting and lifting and lifting, the landscaping is pretty much done. Not quite, but really close.

Whew. No more heavy lifting for Eric for awhile.

That was a lot of work for a Sunday. Moving all the edgers and the retaining wall stones was a total pain in the ass. It looks so good now that it's done, though. I'm no longer as embarrased of the yard as I was before. No more giant dirt patch anymore! It's intentionally mulch-ariffic now.

...and just in time for the upcoming house appraisal! Home Equity loan, here we come! Wheeee!

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Another case where the 8th grade Eric would want to kick the crap out of Eric of the Present: Eric of the Present has not seen the new Star Wars movie yet.

Actually, not only 8th grade Eric, but the Eric from 3 Years Ago would also be foaming at the mouth right now -- absolutely furious -- and he's bigger than the Eric of the Present. I don't think stronger -- but bigger, for sure. I'd call him a tubby fatass and poke him in the belly until he couldn't stop laughing. That would teach that rat bastard to try to pick a fight with the older and more mature Eric of the Present. Bring it on, Erics of the past! I'll kick all your asses!

At any rate -- no Star Wars Episode II -- What the hell happened to my priorities, people?

I just don't care about the movie right now and I think I also want to send an "up yours!" to George Lucas to let him know that if he is going to keep cranking out poorly told and poorly acted stories, yours truly ain't gonna go, you know what I'm saying?

Or maybe I'll just go sometime this week, when yardwork is not my master.

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Other weekend goodnesses:

Saturday night K&K came over and we all got a little on the toasty side of life (Young's Double Chocolate Stout!) and watched SNL, which, in our respective states, was hilarious. Good times there. Lots of clapping. It was strange, but good strange. K&K are always fun to hang out with.

I hooped it up at Hiawatha Park again Friday night. This time it was less busy due to the slight chill in the air. I played in 2 games of 21 and 2 or 3 games of 3 on 3 (half court -- thank god!). Was I sore from it Saturday? Hell no, dude! I'm getting my wind and all that! How'd you play, dude? Eh. I shot like crap on a stick. I rebounded well and tried a million times harder. I pushed myself as hard as I can push. There's another level that I can take it to, still, but I got pretty damn close to that. My turnaround jumper is all there. Mostly always good. I have no left hand, though, for dribbling. Need to work on the left hand. Distinct lack of dunking, also, but that's a normal thing. Not that I tried -- I didn't. I'm wondering how close I can get, though. Maybe next time.

Now that was a good weekend. Hope you all are well,
Eric