The following in an excerpt from a children's book, "Captain Underpants and  the Perilous Plot of Professor Poopypants" by Dave Pilkey. The evil Professor forces everyone to assume new names...




We dare you to find your new name and use it to introduce yourself to at least one person today, or only respond to your family if they're calling you said name. Can you imagine the look on people's faces when we tell them the name of our movement isn't really See Beautiful, but Snotty Mouth? It makes us giggle..the kind of four-year-old giggle with our hands clasped over our mouths.


Secret names and giggling are a most perfect way to spend this Saturday seeing beautiful...if only our first name started with an "A" and our last name started with "X"!


Use the first letter of your first name to determine your new first name:
a = poopsie
b = lumpy
c = buttercup
d = gidget
e = crusty
f = greasy
g = fluffy
h = cheeseball
i = chim-chim
j = stinky
k = flunky
l = boobie
m = pinky
n = zippy
o = goober
p= doofus
q= slimy
r = loopy
s= snotty
t = tulefel
u = dorkey
v = squeezit
w = oprah
x = skipper
y = dinky
z = zsa-zsa

Use the first letter of your last name to determine your new last name:
a = head
b = mouth
c = face
d = nose
e = tush
f = breath
g = pants
h = shorts
i = lips
j = honker
k = butt
l = brain
m = tushie
n = chunks
o = hiney
p = biscuit
q = toes
r = buns
s = fanny
t = sniffer
u = sprinkles
v = kisser
w = squirt
x = humperdinck
y = brains
z = juice

The evil Professor is kinda funny if you ask us. 

If you live in the United States, you know today is Independence Day. If you live outside of the USA, think lots of hotdog and hamburger grilling, potato salad buying, beer drinking, and camaraderie. The "independence" part of Independent Day got us thinking about ways to see beautiful. How can you give yourself time for your self? That led us to our nifty "50 ways to celebrate your independence"...and see beautiful in each.


1. Take a leisurely stroll around your neighborhood.
2. Find, purchase, and read a book you've been hearing about and wishing you could read.
3. Enjoy a bath with the book you just purchased.
4. Drive your car with no radio to give your mind a chance to relax (obviously not relaxing to the extent you're not paying attention to the road).
5. Explore your front or back yard or surrounding environment for new things.
6. Volunteer anywhere...though we have a few ideas below.
7. Write in a journal.
8. Linger on See Beautiful's new website: www.seebeautiful.com (sorry, we couldn't help it).
9. Go to a movie you've been wanting to see all by yourself.
10. Indulge in snacks at the movie theater.
11. Do a crossword puzzle.
12. Go to a yoga class. Hot yoga is REALLY relaxing.
13. Lay on the floor in your bedroom to stretch your back.
14. Visit a local park.
15. Lay in the grass at the local park.
16. Feed the ducks at the local park.
17. Visit a National Park.
18. Go hiking.
19. Enjoy a picnic.
20. Stop at a neighborhood lemonade stand.
21. Take your camera with you and snap photos of beautiful things you see.
22. Take a dog on a walk at your local dog shelter.
22. Buy yourself flowers.
23. Give yourself a manicure and pedicure.
24. Leave flowers on a friend's doorstep.
25. Plant a garden.
26. Make a meal from scratch.
27. Follow a family recipe from scratch.
28. Go to breakfast, lunch, or dinner by yourself.
29. Treat yourself to a massage.
30. Ride a bike.
31. Get streamers, a horn, a basket and flag for your bike.
32. Partake in a local 5k.
33. Over tip and enjoy your servers reaction.
34. Drink a cold glass of homemade iced tea or lemonade.
35. Put cucumber in your water for a refreshing glass of water.
36. Volunteer at your local food bank.
37. Rearrange your furniture.
38. Eat the veggies from your garden.
39. Drink a cold, cold beer.
40. Visit your local library.
41. Eat fresh watermelon, blueberries, strawberries...really any fruit in season.
42. Visit a local Farmer's Market.
43. Wander around the Farmer's Market and enjoy the scene.
44. Buy something eco-friendly for yourself!
45. Re-read your favorite blog post on this blog. :)
46. Do a handstand.
47. Dance while no one or everyone is watching. Who cares?
48. Send us the reason you're beautiful @ [email protected]
49. Eat an icecream sundae.
50. Sleep in.

The following video was featured on viewchange.org, a non-profit that highlights stories of hope and progress. In this video, Bharati Phaked Date, a 14-year-old girl, explains how a bike is her gateway to making change in the world.


To watch the short Pedal=Sight Video click here.


For many people around the world, a bicycle is a toy or vehicle to take you from one place to another. For the ultimate protagonist of her own world-changing story, Bharati's bike represents her ability to change the world. Those two wheels represent hope, empowerment, and change and they carry the mind and heart of a girl committed to seeing beautiful.


Even if you don't have time to watch the video, the message sent is loud and clear. Next time you peel out of your home on your trusty bicycle perhaps you'll think about change and hope and empower and smile because you're balancing on an object that is bringing change into our world.

The organization, We Give Books, is changing the way we think about reading children's literature. If you read books with children (or know someone who reads to children), you're in a position to donate a book to the charity of your choice for every book you read. Here's what you do:

1. Visit www.wegivebooks.org/
2. Choose a book from their FREE digital library of children's books OR choose a campaign to support.
3. Read the book online!
4. Read it over and over again, or pick a new one, enjoying the comfort of knowing that every time you read that book or a new book, one will be donated to the charity you designate.
5. See beautiful in the fact that you'll be part of the movement to donate hundreds of thousands of children's books to non-profit organizations around the world!

If you teach, you can use this site everyday in your classroom. If you're a parent of a child under 10 years of age and reading this blog, you have the opportunity to read a book on your computer, smartphone, or iPad with your child. If you need to deviate from the world of adult reading and want something to read with less than 20 pages, you can read knowing you're donating a tangible book to a non-profit organization.
There is research that supports the more books in a child's home, regardless of his/her parents' education, occupation, and class, influences his/her academic success (Evans, Keley, Sikora, & Treiman, 2010; Light & Pillemer, 1984). Children with more than 300 books in their home receive an average of three years more schooling than children from bookless homes. Further, this finding holds equal across nations (Evans et al., 2010). Thus, We Give Books can bring hundreds of books into a household, school, or childcare center at the click of a button.
Feel free to share this opportunity to see beautiful with any children's book reader or lover you know!

References:
Evans, M.D.R., Keley, J., Sikora, J., & Treiman, D. (2010). Family scholarly culture and
educational success: Books and schooling in 27 nations. Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, 28(2), 171-197.
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Light, R. J., & Pillemer, D. B. (1984). Summing up: The science of reviewing research. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

In response to the survey question, "What sorts of things do you collect?," one beautiful woman wrote, "I collect dust." She was referring to the busyness of life impeding her ability to keep up with dusting that top shelf in her living room. We get it. Life is busy. Life is also beautiful.

Is it possible that a thin layer of dust every now and then might be reminding us that we have better things to do with our lives than dust?

Thought: Perhaps those dust bunnies peeking at you from behind the television aren't mocking you, but celebrating the fact that you're busy enjoying life. So, the next time you see dust collecting in crevasses of your home, you might just smile as you retrieve your trusty ole' feather duster. It means you're a dust collector.
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And being a dust collector means you see beautiful.

Thank you to our See Beautiful™ contributing author, Lindsay Criss McCollum, who provided the See Beautiful Post for today.

"One of our Canadian friends is decorating her newborn baby's room with postcards from loved ones living around the world. It's a terrific idea to surround a child with images of people and places from foreign lands. Even better is the idea to surround a child with loving notes from friends on the back of such images. Surely the collection of postcards the baby receives will be special to her when she gets older. It's a wonder how the images and messages will influence her as she grows and learns about the world herself.

After choosing a card of Vienna to send to the baby, the daily routine of passing hundreds of postcards on the streets of Vienna is different now somehow. While no longer annoying obstacles to dodge, they have become thinking posts. Each card is now something to consider. One wonders, who will buy the card? What will be written on it? Who will receive it? And what influence will it have? Sure, there is the chance that it might not have much of an influence at all. But, considering the power that a postcard does have is quite beautiful isn't it?"
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This is a postcard received  from the See Beautiful™ contributor herself: