Er....Makeover Take Two...and a story.

I'm sure you all have noticed that my blog looks different...AGAIN. Ever put something together, think, "Oh, this looks so great!" and then find yourself less and less satisfied each time you see it?

I think what bothered me the most is that I was just using a background that another person had made. As I'm tapping further into this part of me that's evidently creative, I'm holding myself to higher standards of originality. Plus, I have a husband who is great at helping out with stuff like this ;) All right, fine. He did it all while I watched.

I had a different background in mind, but while I was taking the pictures I hoped to use for it, Ryan was at my computer and had picked this photo out. He put it up as a placeholder, but I think I'll keep it. I like it because it perfectly matches the colors I picked out for the header, and also because of the story behind it. Wanna hear it?

Back in May, Ryan and I traveled to San Francisco for a friend's wedding. We were exploring the bay area with some college friends and decided to go to Muir Woods (I'M SO GLAD). You'll notice my outfit. Sue me for wanting to look pretty in the pictures. You'd better believe I hiked a mile-and-a-half in that Anthropologie dress and those girly flats, and then walked/skipped that distance back down. And it was so incredibly fun...

...until the (in hindsight) inevitable happened. We were walking along the path, nearing the top, when I saw a thin, light green shape wriggling around on the ground. Now, I can describe how I react around snakes all I want, but you'd have to see it to believe it. Let's just say I was a sobbing, hyperventilating, wheezing, panicking mess. The worst part was that I was absolutely trapped. My instinct around snakes is to RUN as far away as I can, but I was in unfamiliar territory - near the top of our path and 100% needing to go back down the same way. My husband and friends calmed me down and, thankfully, I made it the rest of the way without seeing another snake. But by the time we got up to the top, I was still upset and teary and wishing I could fully enjoy the breathtaking view around us.

My good friend David encouraged me to say out loud, "I'm not afraid." And, as silly as I felt, it worked. I admitted to him that when I saw the snake, for the first time, I could feel a part of myself saying, "Sarah, there's nothing to be afraid of." Of course, the ever-present "IT'S A SNAAAAAAAKE! SCREAM AND SOB AND RUUUUUN!" part took over, but I've had this paralyzing fear all my life and any tiny breakthrough is astounding to me.

So we started posing for photos on top of this little hill to celebrate our triumphant journey together. It is one of my favorite memories.

Oh, and on the way back down we saw a huge slug. It was gross.

The End.