Work is love made visible

There are exactly 200 screws in my kitchen cabinets.

I know this because I removed and replaced Every. Single. One. of them by hand last week.

Loyal readers may recall that I don't really do New Year's Resolutions. I figure that if you're going to do something, just do it. Right this moment. And then the next moment. And then the next.

But, I also know that sometimes we walk around with a big list of "shoulds" and "wannas" and "somedays" in our heads and it can be hard to find the "right" time to get started on them. And it can be even hard to follow through and actually finish them. So, I get why some people grab onto the new year as a good transitional time to start that new project or set that new goal.

Quite a few of my "somedays" are centered around home improvement. We bought this house when I was 3 months pregnant with The Professor. For those keeping count, he's 8 now. We knew the new Casa de Zen would need a lot of updating and TLC and we've put in quite a few DIY hours on projects like painting rooms, adding pool fencing, remodeling the guest bathroom, moving from a septic system to the city sewer (oh yeah, that one was fun), keeping up with pest control, and even knocking down a wall, to name a few.

But one of the more public areas of the house that hasn't gotten a lot of attention so far has been the kitchen.

A full remodel is pretty high on the list of things I'd do with a sudden financial windfall. As I don't have any rich aging relatives and I don't play the lottery, I don't see that happening anytime soon. So, since ripping it all out and starting from scratch isn't really an option, I've had a lot of "shoulds" in my head about that room for a lot of years now.

Last week, I decided it was time to turn one of those "shoulds" into a "did" ...

BEFORE

AFTER 

Okay, so, the "before" is actually kinda early in the "during" and the "after" is really more like "not-quite-done-yet". but, you get the idea.

No, it's not the "new" kitchen I fantasize about. But, I think it's quite an improvement for a few dollars' worth of paint and supplies, about a week of my "spare" time, and a little (okay, it felt like a lot of) elbow grease. (And, looking at that before picture a little closer, at least one glass of wine. Apparently.)

I'm genuinely pleased with the results aesthetically and financially. Physically, I'm still recovering. ;)

But you know what the best part is? It's looking at my kitchen and thinking, "I did that. Me. With my own hands. All by my onsies." Kinda makes me want to thump my chest or maybe roar just a tiny bit.

There are a lot of ups and downs of home ownership. But, I gotta say, the completion of a home improvement project is a pretty damn satisfying up.

So, what kind of DIY projects are on YOUR to-do list for 2013?

 Zen

P.S. - Because it really wouldn't be a OneZenMom home improvement project without at least one moment like this:

"Work is love made visible." - Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet

EDITED:

Oh, did I mention I also painted my front door recently?

Allons-y!

Always be yourself. Unless you can be a ninja. Always be a ninja.

My son wants matching costumes to match for Halloween - Ninjas. Cuz ninjas are cool. His was pretty easy to find:

Then we asked the costume store clerk to help us find a "matching" women's ninja costume. She brought us to this:

The mom in me thought: Holy Hell, Lady, I'm going trick-or-treating with my 8-year-old, not to a bacchanal at Hefner's house.

The martial artist in me thought: Her boob would fall right out of that thing if she tried to do a good side kick.

Both me's were pretty disgusted that this was the only women's ninja costume we could find at FIVE STORES.

So, I spent a bit of time with my pal, Google ... and came away rather horrified at the differences in the men's and women's versions of the "same" costumes.

Of course, I had to share ... enjoy the photo gallery as I rant on.

I get it: Men and women are built differently - Vive la différence! 

And there's nothing wrong with fitted or feminine costumes. Personally, I'd much rather wear a costume that's cut for my curves, than some one-size-fits-none sack.

But a LOT of these costumes sprint right past "fitted" or "flattering" or even "sexy" and dive straight into the ridiculously skanky end of the pool.

I get that some costumes have a built-in sexy factor. But it bugs me that most of the female versions of what should be gender-neutral costumes are gratuitously over-sexualized.

There's an implication that a woman can't actually be these characters -  Instead, we're relegated to hyper-sexual parodies of them.

And before someone starts accusing me of slut-shaming all those sweet college girls and hot MILFs who just want to have a little fun on Halloween: I'm not saying there's anything wrong with sexy outfits per se - on Halloween or any other day. (Well, it's probably not a good idea to wear your "naughty nurse" outfit to your kid's fall pageant; but, hey, that's up to you.)

(Caveat: there's nothing inherently wrong with an ADULT dressing in a sexy costume. You DO NOT want to get me started about the trickle down trend of "sexy" tween and kids costumes. Anybody who thinks a "sexy" kids costume is a good idea can just go stand over there in your wrongness and be wrong.)

I'm not even saying that I wouldn't ever wear a "sexy" costume - I would and I have.

But there's a line here somewhere, and I'm afraid we've trampled across it in our fishnets and stilettos.

It's getting to the point where it's becoming difficult to even find women's costumes that are NOT all bustiers and mini-skirts.

Seriously: Google "women's police costume". Let me know how many pages it takes you to find one that is not "sexy".

Take a look around a Halloween store (IRL or online, take your pick). I estimate a 10:1 ratio of "sexy" costumes to "normal" costumes for women  - as opposed to something more like 1:50 for men.

And yet there are many women who rush to defend the continued skankification (technical term) of women's costumes as "empowering" because we're "embracing our sexuality".

Bullshit.

Turning Halloween costumes into glorified masturbatory aides is not how you "own your sexuality".

Is it really too much to ask for some middle ground between "men's" costumes and "sexy" costumes? Is it really so hard to make a woman's costume that acknowledges my gender without objectifying it? Are there really so few women who would prefer that?

What does that say about us? What does it say to our kids?


Just wanna be a ninja,
Zen

Wanna see something really scary? 

More comparisons of "men's" and "women's" versions of "the same" costumes:

It's like they were separated at birth.

Accio robe. 

Hers has about a 10th of the fabric and you KNOW it still costs more.

Yeah, this seems historically accurate to me.

You don't even want to see the Red Riding Hood costumes.

These two live in the same climate, right?

"Hey, you know who could be sexier? The cowgirl doll from that kids movie." 

He's covered neck to toe in inflammable protective gear.

She apparently repels flames with the power of her cleavage.

What? That's totally standard issue women's prison uniform.
Except during the nightly pillow fights, then they go naked.

Oh, look a sailor. And, um, ... a Rockette?

Insert "booty" pun here.

Those heels are going to destroy the turf.

Well, the hat and the magnifying glass are the same. 

They both have a whip, but somehow only hers implies bondage. I blame the tiny hat.

Holy Skank, Batman!

They actually managed to make a comics costume even MORE slutty than the comics usually do.

Ho Ho Ho meets 'Ho 'ho 'ho.

Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair

I took a a couple of lovely walks in a couple of lovely places this weekend ... with my camera.

If that didn't bore you to death, you can check out
more photos on my Flickr Photostream.

 Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet
and the winds long to play with your hair. 

~Kahlil Gibran
 

Zen

You know the music. Time to dance.

If I go missing for a few days ...

... no need to send in the troops. I'm probably, um, working really hard. Yeah. That's it.

Ready to respawn,
Zen

What I did on my Summer Vacation

Didja miss me?

I took a couple weeks off of work this month and we borrowed a friend's condo near the beach on the Central Coast.

The weather alone was worth the trip: Lovely 60 degree mornings and evenings and beautiful cool breezes all day long. Coming home to 100+ degrees was such a shock to the system as to make one weep. I so need to move there. I wore a jacket, people. You just don't do that in July 'round these parts!

We played on the beach, went on fun outings, did the whole sight-seeing thing and just chilled out. It was totally relaxing and exactly what I needed before heading back into a soon-to-be-super-busy time at work.

Oh yeah ... and the Spartans enjoyed their Summer Vacation, too ...

So, are you doing (or did you do) anything special this summer? What's your favorite vacation spot: City, country, wilderness? Beach, mountains, plains?

R&R'd,
Zen