Arachnophobia

Arachnophobia is something from which I have suffered since I was a kid. Sure, my friends and I enjoyed squirming through the early 90's movie glorifying these horrid creatures. But, I really can't stand them. Since living on my own, i.e. out of my dad's house, I have taken to enjoy killing them as I find them in my domicile. I yell at them and really give it to them good just to make sure they are dead. However, tonight I encountered something that I could not muster the courage to kill, especially barefoot in my pj's. I yelled for my fearless husband to please come to my rescue. I can't say that Steve was more than willing to come to my aid, but he had the cajones to take care of the problem. Seriously, this was the biggest spider either of us had encountered in a home in this country. The body alone was 1 inch long and almost 1/2 inch thick. The total width was close to 3 inches. Our number 1 question is, Where did it come from? How does something that large just appear in an upstairs bathroom not close to any doors or windows? Absolutely crazy and now I am totally squeamish and skiddish as I move throughout the house. Any idea what kind of a spider it could be? I decided that this was definitely blog-worhty. Well, I hope the rest of you can sleep soundly. I am going to try not to think about the studies that estimate how many spiders we swallow each year.