Brains verses Beauty

I'm extremely tired today. This was running through my head last night and hopefully it will make some sense as an exhausted ramble.

I know, as a country, we put a lot of value on how someone looks. I do not think it is healthy nor fair. In an effort to fix this, it seems we are now pushing the value of being smart, especially to girls. I wonder if we are creating a similar monster. Just as people come in all sizes and shapes, people come with varying IQs. Replacing someone's value based on one thing they have little control over with another doesn't seem right to me.

I want to be clear that I'm not suggesting that people shouldn't be educated. I think everyone benefits from more education. I just have a problem sending a message that someone's value is dependent on how naturally smart (or smarter than others) they are. I don't think anyone's self esteem should be based on how smart they are any more than it should be based on how good-looking they are. And I think being pretty is just as much as an accomplishment as being smart, and vice-verse. Why can't we just accept that people come with different genes and talents. Some people are pretty, some are smart, some are athletic, some are naturally social. A pretty person who works hard and becomes a super model has succeeded just as much as a smart person who becomes a physicist or an athletic person who plays in the NBA. The admiration should come from what people have done with what they have, rather than what they were born with.

Call me crazy, but what if we actually valued someone's character. What if, as a society, we taught that being a good person is more important than being pretty, smart, athletic or successful. Instead of seeing success as being a super model, scientist, or athlete, we see successful people as being  kind, honest and hard working. In reality, this is where we all start on the most equal playing field, so success in this area is actually based on what you do not something out of your control.

No matter what skills or circumstances you were born with, everyone is equally capable of making choices that will build strong character and lead them to be kind and generous. Honestly, I think this would solve the self-esteem issues more than any thing else. How great would a society be that doesn't say one person is better than another based on smarts or looks or natural abilities, rather our collective character is such that we value each person for what they contribute or their hard work in any area regardless of natural ability. Let's stop comparing ourselves with arbitrary criteria and instead, build and support each other in our differences.

Weekend Report-Fathers Day

Happy Father's Day to the best man I know.

The weekend started out with a fencing competition.

Both boys did well and had fun.

Sunday we celebrated Rick. Homemade cards from the boys.

We gave him a 3 month subscription to Birchbox Man. This was one item included. Foldable sun glasses.


Rick sporting the glasses and the box.


Rick also got a new chair for the home office. This has been needed for a long time.

And now you no longer have to wonder about the colors we are contemplating to paint the living room.

Just throwing in a crappy pic of my big brother and me on Friday afternoon. We had a great mountain bike ride.

Kitchen Remodel

Hooray, the kitchen remodel is finally finished. Here are some pics

Overview:

We LOVE the custom wood bar.



Extra large composite granite sink and touch sensor faucet. Love them both, except now I habitually touch all faucets thinking it will turn them on. It sometimes takes a few tries before I realize I have to turn a handle.



Back splash. Can you tell those top vertical pieces are copper? We did some copper accents with the back splash, cabinet pulls and faucet.


We love the granite, even though it caused the most trouble. Actually, it was the installers that were the problem. They cut it too short, took pieces we needed to hook up our disposal, and broke a drawer in the kitchen. Now that everything is fixed, we love it.


We opted for a creamy yellow paint. (Flowers courtesy of my back yard!)


And a finishing touch of these cool outlets that you can plug a USB directly into.

Here are a few before pictures. 

So much better now!

Weekend Report

My baby sister ran her first marathon over the weekend. We took some time out from painting the kitchen to cheer for her at the finish line.

Here's part of the cheering section

Cute Bree and Maya

Heidi - about a block left. Smiling and going strong!

 

Here is Heidi with the friend she trained and ran with. Cute girls.

This doesn't qualify for weekend, but I had to add Isaac's 8th grade award ceremony we attended last week. He received an award for Excellence in Music. High school next year! Yeehaw.

What's for Lunch

In an effort to save money and eat healthy, I try to make my lunch and eat at the office. Lately I've been stuck on this fabulous sandwich.

Sunflower seed bread, cheese (either Swiss, Havarti or chive and onion cream cheese), some light Balsamic dressing, roasted red peppers (this is the secret ingredient), dill pickles, and some organic red lettuce.

I buy the small chip packs in bulk. It's economical and limits the amount of chips I eat.

Doesn't it look delicious!