This is a test of the MP3 player function on this blog.

Jill, I love you.

So I've got a nudist family living behind me.  I seemed to miss that on the brochure when I was looking at the house last year.

Well, so far, I've only seen the father and the nearly adult son traipsing around naked in their backyard.  And it's not like they're sunning, cleaning, doing yardwork, or playing rugby naked in their back yard, they're simply walking from the back door to their hot tub.  But still, naked is naked.  I'm just confused by the whole thing.

First, I've known some people with nudist inclinations.  Usually, it's all or nothing (quite literally).  If you're going to be naked, usually the whole family is naked.  The younger boys have all been spotted at one time or another as they make their way from the house to the tub, but the mother has not.  You'd think that if the boys and father are all comfortable enough being nude in front of their mom that their mom would be a nudist, too.  Maybe she is, and our purchase of the home behind them ruined the six-month "naked as a jaybird" free-for-all they must have enjoyed when the previous owner moved out.

All I know is, if I'm going to have to be witness to their nudistic ways, it only seems fair that we have a gender-neutral show.  "Bare" with me, as I'm trying not to sound like a lecherous old man (too much).

In all seriousness, the biggest issue I've got with them is the fact that my ten-year-old daughter could see it.  The views that have been witnessed (by my parents, my brother, my sister-in-law, myself and my wife) have been brief (or lack of briefs).  Still, I can see everything but your feet from my kitchen window, and the fence between us is almost seven feet tall.  If my daughter catches a glimpse of teenage boy parts, I think I'm going to have to say something.  Which would be an interesting conversation with the new neighbor.

Maybe I just need more trees in my yard.

And speaking of planting trees, we've taken a few steps to spruce up the place a bit.

There's a shed in the back yard, which had a dog fence and built-in dog house.  They referred to it as the "dog run."  From the look of the posts and holes they called a dog house, I think the dogs referred to it as "chew toy."

This picture shows the patio and cover, as well as the chainlink fence

This photo shows the side of the shed with the "dog house" built into it

The patio is almost perfectly arranged for the hot tub, which is currently sitting on it's edge in the carport.  The hole in the middle of the patio, which makes little sense, will come in handy to hide the wiring.

Jill and I have already removed the fence and stashed it on the side of the shed.  The fence is rather tall and definitely not cheap.

Later, I plan on removing the roof over the dog house and repositioning it so an average person can walk under it.  Then I'll plug up the two holes.  I've been thinking about what to do after that, but I'm not sure on it yet.  I'm thinking of cleaning up the shed, organizing it better, and then cutting a couple doors in the side to set up a small bar top where I can open the doors when guests are over.  Add a few bar stools and you've got a cool little hangout next to the hot tub.

As for the hot tub, I'm thinking of putting a semi-open structure over it, maybe a pergola.  There will be privacy lattice on the side and back to keep my nudist neighbors from spying (and wondering why we wear clothes in our hot tub), and so the older couple to the side of us don't get a glimpse of the going-ons at the tub.

I'm also going to install brackets on each of the 8x8 posts in the fence to hang lanterns.  They'll probably be candle-lit, but I thought it would look awesome if I could modify some low-voltage lighting to light up the entire backyard without running spot lights into the neighbor's windows.

Inside, just this weekend Jill and I redid our closet with wire shelving, just like we did a couple years ago at the old house.  This time, we changed the shelving a little to maximize size.  Unfortunately, we bought a house with a smaller closet.  It was a trade-off, of sorts, for having our own bathroom.  Hopefully, some new closet hardware, in addition to the new bedroom furniture, will make things better.

Slated for change this week is the bathroom cabinet in our master bathroom.  The old one will end up in the hallway bathroom, while the new one gets hung in the master bath.  It'll match the cabinets and tile color better than the icky white that's in there now.

There are a few ideas for improvements being bounced around right now.  I can't wait to get things started!

Maybe my naked neighbors will come over and lend me a hand.

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A year ago today, I was getting ready for a wedding.

Family members were in town.  Clothes were being prepared.  Pictures were being moved.  I was working to finalize the music that would be played at the procession as well as the reception.  I was nervous and excited.  I missed Jill.

Showing up is a bit of a blur.  There were so many details I had to keep in mind.  I wasn't sure who had the rings or how they were going to attach to the pillow my son was to carry down the aisle.  I didn't know where my photographer was.  I didn't recognize half the faces already seated.

The whole first part seemed like how you pay attention to a movie when you're drowsy and falling asleep: some parts are vivid, while others seem to slide by you unknown.

People were seated and music started.

And there she was.

Beautiful.  Elegant.  Nervous.  Ready.

And that moment started not only a new phase in the ceremony, but a new start in my life.

A lot has happened in the past year.  And I can't think of anyone else I'd rather have with me every step of the way.

Thank you for being my wife, Jill.  I love you.

And thanks to my parents, my brother, my best friend Christy, my cousin, my long-time friend (and cousin-in-law), my mother and father in law, my new sisters and brother, my coworker Miguel, and all the friends and family who supported us.

The creative mind behind this blog has moved, once again.  For those who read this blog religiously last year (thank you, by the way), you'll instantly recognize that I haven't blogged nearly as much as I did last year.  Granted, last year I posted something every day - 366 days, thanks to February 29th.  That's a lot to live up to, and frankly, I didn't come even come close to trying in 2009.

This was a busy year.  I got married in January.  I put the old house up for sale a couple months later, at which time I had to endure six months of home selling hell.  Then, we sold it, packed everything up, and found a rental house.  I then spent months stressed out over credit scores, watching avaialble house after house leave the market.  At the last moment, everything seemed to align, we found a house we liked, put in an offer, got the house, moved, and had Christmas in our new home.  In all that there was a lot of waiting.  Waiting for something to happen.  Waiting for someone to call me.  Waiting for some change.  Waiting for jerks with no sense whatsoever.  Waiting...

Now, the wait is over.

I'm now in a new house.  My computer is in a new room.  I have a new view out my window.  I have a renewed desire to put fingers to keyboard; mind to monitor.  Another "new eric" has just been launched.  Moved into new digs.  A mind renewed.

It's time to move forward.