This is the puzzle we put together Labor Day weekend. About halfway through we got the video framed better and it looks pretty cool I think.

When I put together a puzzle I have a system. First I find all the edge pieces. Then I assemble all the edge pieces so I have a nice frame to work around.

I also separate any pieces that were already together when I dumped the box out. Because it’s cheating. Obviously

Joel is totally different. He just starts putting pieces together willy nilly. Who needs a frame? And if pieces are already assembled? Bonus!

That kind of drove me crazy. After we had almost finished the frame there was one piece missing. Joel wanted to just start on the rest of the puzzle but I could not wrap my head around it. We I searched for several minutes, until I found that stupid last piece and then I felt okay about starting the center of the puzzle.

The funny part is, once we started on the center we totally reversed roles.

Joel likes to focus on one small section at a time, not stopping until that part is complete.

I, on the other hand, may try to focus on one section but pieces tend to jump out at me randomly as I scan them and I assemble about 12 sections at once.

That drove Joel a little crazy. Mostly because I kept reaching in front of him because I saw a piece on his half of the table.

Joel is quiet and thoughtful, concentrating on finishing whatever section he’s working on at the moment.

I’m chatty and vocal. I also had the world’s most random show tune medley going on basically the entire time. Come on though, don’t put me in front of puzzle of Times Square and not expect me to sing songs from whatever show is on the piece that I’m holding. That’s just mean.

We couldn’t be more different, Joel and I.

And I love it.

That’s not to say that we didn’t have a wonderful time. We made sure to stop along the way for some photo ops.

Owl Rock. Bet you can’t guess why it’s called that.

Tiny little double bridge. I wouldn’t recommend driving through it with anything much taller than our little Accent.

Who can tell me what movie this is in?

The highlight of the day was definitely the Petrified Forest National Park.

Unbelievably gorgeous!

The only downside was it was unbelievably windy.

It was too hard to keep my eyes open long enough to get a picture.

Phoebe was not impressed either. I’m pretty sure if I had let go she would have blown away completely. I’m not really even exaggerating.

Despite almost getting blown over by the gusts of wind I braved going out on a ledge for some pictures.

I didn’t realize Joel was taking my picture but I’m so glad he did. This may be one of my favorite pictures of me ever.

Almost getting blown off a cliff to my death for a photo? Worth it.

The only bummer of the day was trying to visit the meteor crater only to find out it’s completely fenced in. You have to go through a visitor center to see it and no dogs are allowed. Obviously leaving Phoebe wasn’t an option so this was about all we saw of it.

That mound in the distance? That’s it.

In the long run it’s not that big of a deal. Having Phoebe with us has been so fun. I wouldn’t trade this time with her for my own personal meteor crater.

Not that I’d know what to do with a meteor crater if I had one.

Probably charge admission.

But allow dogs of course.

Tomorrow we get to see the Grand Canyon, which is the site I’m probably most excited to see on this whole trip. I just hope the wind calms down so I can get some decent pictures.

You know, looking at the camera with my eyes open.

And maybe not getting blown off the edge. That’d be good too.

We got up early and started the day with fresh made waffles courtesy of our motel. Nom.

Our first stop was the Bug Farm. We almost missed it but we turned around and I’m really glad we did.

It’s the VW Bug version of Cadillac Ranch. I love me some VW Beetles. Obviously it was extremely windy again. However this time no whales, humans or half buried cars were flashed.

Then it was on to Cadillac Ranch for more buried car fun.

We should have thought to bring some spray paint. Not something we keep in the trunk of the car. I know, you’re shocked.

Love him so.

Phoebe was decidedly not impressed. Her face here cracks. me. up.

We passed the midpoint!

As we entered New Mexico Route 66 turned into a dirt road. We debated taking the interstate for all of two minutes but where’s the adventure in that?

Best part of dirt roads? Being able to stop whenever you want to pose for a mini photo shoot.

By far the highlight of the day though was when we reached Santa Rosa. I was looking through our little guide and noticed something called Blue Hole that was a little off Route 66. It was described as a large well that’s 81 feet deep with crystal blue waters. It sounded neat so we decided to detour a little.

When we got there we realized that not only does it look neat but it’s actually a popular free place on a hot summer day. Anyone can just jump in. Now the water is seriously 64 degrees so it’s not exactly a swimming hole but there was a steady stream of jumpers.

(That old dude about to jump? Not Joel. Or me. In case you were wondering)

Joel and I wandered around with Phoebe and took a few pictures. I must have had a look on my face because Joel turned to me and said, “You want to jump in, don’t you?”

I so did.

However, I didn’t feel like being the only soaking wet one so I made Joel agree to jump in too.  Joel didn’t really want to because he was nervous about his swimming skills. Since there were two lifeguards on duty though I told him that was no excuse. Plus, I knew he’d really love it once he did it.

I think deep down he knew it too because it didn’t take much convincing before we were back at our car pulling on our bathing suits.

Unfortunately we couldn’t go at the same time because we didn’t have anywhere safe to leave Phoebe. I made him jump first because I was a little afraid he’d back out if I had already jumped. Once it was my turn I was surprised that my legs shook a little as I got out onto the ledge. From up there it looks way scarier than it does on the ground. The scariness was nothing though compared to the icy shock of the water. I’m pretty sure I’ve never felt water that cold in my life. It took my breath away.

Totally worth it though.

And just like that we were on our way again. I can’t believe I even considered not jumping for a minute because it was a little inconvenient to change into my swim suit in the car. Or that I didn’t want to get my hair wet. Good grief.

We jumped off a high rock into ice-cold water. Why? Because why not?

And that’s exactly what this trip is about. Why freaking not.

Just kidding.

About me screaming that is. He actually intended to drive on a very old portion of Route 66 that’s known as the sidewalk highway. Had we not had to make a few detours due to some poor navigating ::cough:: I’m blaming the map ::cough:: we would have arrived at this portion a little sooner which would have been ideal. We made it at the last possible moments of daylight though and it was neat to see.

That being said, this song touches me in a way I can’t really explain. The lyrics are incredible and the actual music video is moving as well. If you’re so inclined, listen to this song. Really listen. Maybe it will speak to you too.

Be warned, this is not the radio edit of the song. But, as my friend Kris says, explicit words are sometimes required.

Anyway, last year we bought her a little outdoor outfit when she decided to go on a potty outside strike. She wouldn’t go outside and would pee the minute she got back into the house. Not. Ok.

She had been doing ok this year until today. It’s just too freaking cold. When she refused to go for me Joel and I were afraid she was going to try and go on a potty strike again. Instead of dealing with messes we brought out the outfit.

She was clearly not impressed with wearing those ridiculous little boots again.

Clearly I am a horrible person because I could not stop giggling about her waddle.

Nothing is happier than baby giggles. So instead of whining about how bad I feel I’ll leave you with a smile with this video.

I may or may not be easily amused.

It was just so fun motioning to exits, doing the fasten/unfasten of the seat belt and putting on the oxygen mask just like I’d seen other flight attendants do so many times. Now I was one of them. It was when I really started to feel like a flight attendant.

On that note, there are all kinds of safety videos out there. This one is by far the most adorable one I’ve ever seen. Don’t you just want to take her home and put her on a shelf? ::squee::

I’m going to continue making mistakes. Some of them will have consequences I could have never foreseen. That’s life I guess. I’m always learning and improving as I go.

Really you should check out the official video on YouTube. It’s a beautiful music video. Unfortunately they’re totally lame and disabled embedding so if you’d like to just listen to the song you can do so below.

New Soul Yael Naim

Lyrics:

I’m a new soul
I came to this strange world
Hoping I could learn a bit bout how to give and take.
But since I came here,
Felt the joy and the fear
Finding myself making every possible mistake

la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la…

I’m a young soul
In this very strange world
Hoping I could learn a bit bout what is true and fake
But why all this hate?
Try to communicate
Finding trust and love is not always easy to make

la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la…

This is a happy end
‘Cause you don’t understand
Everything you have done
Why’s everything so wrong?
This is a happy end
Come and give me your hand
I’ll take you far away

I’m a new soul
I came to this strange world
Hoping I could learn a bit bout how to give and take.
But since I came here,
Felt the joy and the fear
Finding myself making every possible mistake

I’m a new soul… (la, la, la, la,…)
In this very strange world…
Every possible mistake
Possible mistake
Every possible mistake
Mistakes, mistakes, mistakes…
Take take take take take… take a mistake
Take, take a mistake
Take, take a mistake
(oh oh oh oh…)
[fade out]
(oh oh oh oh…)

I want to be thought of as pretty, I’m not going to lie. I know I have a lot of image issues (but who wants to hear me complain about stuff like that?). What I want more than anything is to feel comfortable in my own skin and focus on the things about me that really matter. I have those moments occasionally. They’re too few and far between though.

But someday I hope to have a daughter and for her I will work on it so I don’t continue the cycle of striving for pretty.