Well today was yet another long day of yard work from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Here is the evidence of a long day spent at work. Not to mention some building projects that even a guy like me- with two left thumbs- can complete.
Entertainment: This was based on a circular I got at Home Depot. This is a pretty neat ring toss. You can make everything from the rings to the wood posts for less than $25 bucks.
The posts are just 4X4’s cut into 1 foot, 1.5 foot, and 2 foot lengths. Drill two holes in the bottom of each post and slide in a piece of 6 inch (or one foot) rebar. Hammer those suckers into the ground and presto.
The rings are even easier to make. Just by some clear plastic or vinyl tubing, fill the tubing with sand, and secure the ends together (forming a circle) with colored electrical tape. Home Depot sells multi-colored packs of electrical tape for about $2.50.
Total Time Invested: 1 Hour, 15 Minutes.
Beautification: Okay, I decided to try my hand at making a see through planter. I bought a bunch of scrap wood from Home Depot for about $12 bucks and some L-brackets and screws (about $4 bucks).
It is my first try. It still needs to be sanded down and treated for the outdoors. Otherwise, not bad for a first try with throw away wood scraps.
Total Time Invested: 2 Hours
Grunt Labor: Nothing pretty about this one. I hauled about 25 wheel barrels full of gravel from one side of the yard to the other. Boring, hard, and heavy work.
That section you see- the area covered by sand and dirt- was covered in gravel 4 to 6 inches deep. I moved ALL of that. My back and shoulders (not to mention core) are all well worked out from the twisting while shoveling and the wheel barrel hauling.
Total Time Invested: 3 hours
Beautification: We have given up on our water fountain. First of all it has a crack in it, and second it is ridiculously expensive to run. So we decided to just fill it up with top soil and grow some annual and bulbs in there.
And that isn’t tall grass in front of it, those are wild flowers.
Total Time Invested: 35 Minutes
Well, you might be asking what the big surprise is at this point. Wait no longer. After a full days work and plenty of hydration (not to mention ample meals and snacks) I stepped on the scale to discover that I weighed 169.8lbs. Sweet!
TotalTransformationTest 
TT,
Sounds like you worked a bunch on this Holiday. I don’t think I could do that, LOL. I spent most of afternoon,hunting down a grill with “extra meat”.. Oh yeah and by the way, that’s some serious poundage lost dude. Completely blew away goal.
And this morning I woke up at 171.5. I must have burned A LOT of calories yesterday.
Good Job! You are really kicking but on home improvement/working out!
Congrats on the weight loss! I think I gained… Potato salad and all, you know.
Awesome job! The place looks great and I’m sure you feel great too. Love to you and the family. ~L~
way to go on the continued weightloss. That planter is cool. I love productive days like that!
Awesome, and love the idea of flowers in the fountain. So when can I hire you to come over and redo my yard? hehehe Lady Rose
Well depends what you are paying Lady Rose. lol. I work for no less than $15/hour and one pound lost.
So much for a plateau! Congratulations!!! 🙂 You’re a machine.
Do you feel more energetic now than you did a few months ago? How does the clothes shopping go? Details!
I use to struggle to get out of bed by 6:45. Now I beat my alarm clock and wake up at 5:50 A.M. full of energy and ready to go.
These projects that you’ve been posting on are pretty cool man.
So what did you do with all the gravel and what are you going to do with the uncovered dirt now??
“So what did you do with all the gravel and what are you going to do with the uncovered dirt now??”
I am going to post that project when I finish it. 🙂 The uncovered dirt area is going to become a coy pond and two mini-golf holes holes/putting greens.