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.

Ryan at the Museum of Transportation

Sorry sorry sorry! It's been FOREVER since I've posted. (I actually hope that I still have followers to whom to apologize...helloooo?)

Last weekend, Ryan and I went up to St. Louis to be with my family. My mom turned the big 5-0 on August 30th - more on that later!

I took Ryan to the Museum of Transportation. I hadn't been there since I was a kid, and he WAS like a kid around all of the trains - it was cute. :) Our time there somehow turned into a photoshoot, which was a blast for us both!

Here are some of my favorites of my rockin' hot husband.
I hope this has been a worthy comeback! Leave me some love!

Graveyards, Grasshoppers, Greyscale

Okay, so I cheated. The bug in this picture is 99% likely to NOT be a grasshopper. But it started with a 'g' so I went with it.

I discovered him right outside my front door last Friday. I like finding interesting bugs around my house (as long as they stay on the OUTside).

On Friday evening, we went to a graveyard to get some pick-up shots for the movie. I love graveyards. I think they're so peaceful and beautiful. The golden light that the sun was casting on everything didn't hurt, either.
So I've gotten into this weird habit of taking pictures of only the edges/tops of things against the sky. They are weird and kind of quirky. They are probably pointless, but I like them anyway.
Graveyard friends!
And that's all, folks!

Filming This Past Weekend

Last weekend, the pick-ups, reshoots and additional scenes for Greyscale began. On Saturday, after I slept off working my LAST night (!!!), I joined the crew at this really cool, creepy place where they were shooting a new scene that Ryan wrote.


Okay, I have no idea why this is so disgusting and upsetting to me, but it just...is. It's a bunch of airsoft pellets stuck in a cardboard box. I just think it looks sick!
The building was filled with all sorts of weirdness.
Uh...all right, then.
On the way back from the set was an incredibly YELLOW building. I got a blind shot out the window. I MUST do a photo shoot here. Anyone game?
Later that evening, we went to the Wesley building on TU's campus. That always brings back fond memories. Since it was golden hour, we took some fun pictures.
Okay, so while we were at the Wesley I had to film something very briefly. It required me to wear a long, wool coat. If you live around Tulsa or anywhere that it has been over 100 degrees every day lately, you will understand why, while I waited to be filmed, I was holding my jacket out from my body and doing a little dance. (Well, maybe you won't understand the little dance part unless you know me personally.) Anyway, someone pointed out that it looked "really terrible from behind." We all got a good laugh out of it and decided to take this hilarious picture. (Yes, you had BETTER BELIEVE I am actually clothed under the coat!)
Hahaha. Oh, man. Maybe you had to be there. Moving on...

On Sunday, we got a few random shots that we needed and enjoyed hanging out together all day.
(Ryan was not angry. He was just hot. Ohhh, yeah.)
While they were filming, my dehydrated self sat in the shade and took some random pictures. This is a turquoise bracelet that I bought from a guy that I used to work with (he makes awesome jewelry).
This is the beautiful ring that my father-in-law generously gave to me. It had been his mother's.
The lovely sun shone through the trees.
I tried out a blue tint. I think it looks kind of cool.
Now that I am soooo finished working weekends, I am looking forward to joining the Greyscale crew on the weekends to come!