Only a steel man...

This last summer I had the oppertunity to spend a month at my grandparents cleaning out their old hardware store. It was a great experience to see where my mom grew up and spend some time there. Yesterday Simmons Hardware, the store that has been in my moms family for about 112 years closed. It was where my mom learned to work, it is where my grandpa spent his life serving the community he loved so much. It was a bitter sweet closing but it was time.

I made these neckaces yesterday out of some ball bearings I got out of the basement of the store... they were in a pile of old bike parts. I am thrilled with how they turned out...

This black one has little bearings with little buttons and of course they both needed a little superglue for support.
These are my first successful necklace attempts... please excuse the close up picture of me but I wanted you to be able to see the necklace on...






Happy Trails... HAVE A GREAT WEEK!

Square Knot Does A Triathlon!

This morning Dad (Square Knot) did a triathlon! He has done some mini triathlons for the last few years but he decided to go hard core this time around and do a larger one. This triathlon consisted of a 650 yard swim, a 15 mile bike ride, a 5K run, and of course a bunch of exercise obsessed weirdo's (no offense I live with some at home... I love them too) He has been very excited about it for the last few weeks and said that he was a bit nervous but he did great! Dylan and I got up to went with him for support! He at least had the most excited support group! He did it all the right way.... last night he loaded up on carbs (and explained in detail why he did this...) I felt like it was a bit of a role reversal. I was on the sidelines cheering on dad, i felt like a proud parent... Oh well, we always knew we were weird. I will be the proud daughter on the sidelines! Someone has to be there at the end to tell the people there was still one person left to come across the finish line... I really should be more motivated by my parents efforts to stay healthy... but I think that only a miracle is going to motivate me to exercise, or Christian Bale... that would do it!

Square Knot did great today... I was and am very very proud! He is now off to work saving lives... Square Knot never rests! He has only one thing to add "I, like David Dunn, the hero in Unbreakable, must be weakened by water, but I find my strength on land!"

The 52 on his leg represents how many hairs he has left... or some would say how old he is...

Me and Dylan at 6:00 in the morning... Doesnt he look like a little kid? Dad just done with his swim...
Beginning the bike...

ALMOST THERE...
A BIG finish!
Happy Trails...

Synergy...

I first have to give a shout out to the movie In Good Company for providing me with a great title for my post today. Now I want to give a big shout out to Dylan and Pat for their amazing creative minds and their willingness to fuse their ideas with mine to create greatness. I am a collaborator... I do better when I bounce ideas off of others so i greatly appreciate it when others are willing to keep the ball bouncing and throw them back. Synergy means combined action, so this post is about everyone who helps me out with my creative endeavors!

Dylan is a brilliant drawer, I am not... so... I asked him to help me with a painting of mine that required some detail so he willingly and brilliantly did so. He did a wonderful job and I am almost finished! Thanks Dylan, you are amazing!

Pat is... well, Pat. He is creatively inclined although now that I think about it I have never seen any of his work before. Anyway, he had the idea to make some necklaces because he has been wanting some and homemade things are slews better than bought things. So we went and got some supplies and it turns out that he is really good at this. He is hopeing that the necklaces will help with his chickless situation... I told him not to worry... he can be assured that it will not make it worse in the least. It was fun, I enjoy creating with others...

The round things are old bike parts... BRILLIANT!

Speaking of Synergy... A BIG shout out to my family who are my biggest fans even when I am not my own fan. Dad and Mom are so supportive with helping me out with supplies or giving me ideas, and being positive even when "it is the weirdest thing they have ever seen" (thanks dad...) Dad has also named himself my "project manager" I am not sure what that job entails but I appreciate it anyway. My siblings Stacy, Preston, and Shannon for your constant feedback and compliments. I am pretty sure that you have seen every piece of art I have ever done but you still act excited... I know it is not always easy... THANK YOU.

My last shoutout is to all of you and your support! I love all your positive comments about my art and often it is what keeps me going. Thank you for your synergism...

Happy Trails...

Time To Pretend

Lately I have been seeing very creative lovely hair stuff and I keep thinking to myself "I can make cute hair things"... and... I finally have! Here are some hair things I have created lately...

These are some ADORABLE buttons I found that I promptly made into hair things. I love them...


This is a headband I made that you cannot see very well but it is very cute and it loves to reside on my head (my head likes it at least) I love headbands and plan on makeing many more!


I just want everyone to know that the creative juices are still flowing, just not with a paint brush right now... will post about some more projects tomorrow!

Happy Trails...

What Do Stars Do Best?

England is a wonderful country, it is the land of Churchill, Harry Potter, and David Beckhams right foot... anyway yesterday we inexplicably and spontaneously had a British movie marathon. It began I suppose with Bridget Jones on TV and then we were all in the mood for British humor so we watched Love Actually.
Then we started catching on to a theme so we gathered all the movies english in nature up and off we went, the english accents arrived around this time as well. We ended up then watching Stardust and finally Fellowship of the Ring! While all this was going on I worked on my seven unfinished paintings I have lying around. I absolutely loved just lying around painting and watching movies. Shannon came down for part of the day and it was lovely to have her here.

Throughout the night I got several phone calls from Preston who was at a music festival in San Diego. He would hold the phone up to the music and for a few minutes I would get to listen to my favorite bands. Some of it was a little hard to make out but I do know that I got to listen to Cold War Kids, and the National. I appreciate the thought Preston and I am insanely jealous! Basically it was a wonderful day and unfortunate my reality doesn't deal with watching British comedies all the time and painting but some days I like to pretend.

Happy Trails Everyone...

Blistering...

This is the newest creation out of Zelbies mind of madness (my brain)... It is the sun, or rather a sun because it doesnt necessarily have to be ours. I have a bit of a problem, however, I was wondering if any of you would like to help remedy this problem... I am wondering if any of you have any ideas with what else I should add to it. I feel like it needs something else, but I am not sure what. So feel free to spew out thoughts at me, even if your comments are that it should stay just the same, or that it is a rather aweful sun all together, or that you do not care what I put on that scrap of material I call a canvas... all comments are good comments in my eyes. I am a collaborator, meaning that my mind is stimulated my bouncing ideas off of others... so now this very bouncy ball of a thought is headed your way and you get to decide what to do with it. Thank you all...

Happy Trails...

Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so.

I have to begin by admitting that I first introduced to Douglas Adams and the Hitchikers guide to the galaxy by watching the movie. It is perplexing to think that I stumbled onto this stunningly brilliant man and his works through the tainted skewed eyes of Hollywood... but I did and it is a very important fact in explaining my relationship with these books. I saw the movie on May 4, 2005 just a little over 3 years ago. I remember the date because it was exactly 2 days after one of the most memorable, horrible, and life changing days of my life.

Since a young age I have come to associate important times and experiences of my life with books, and this was just the same. One of my best friends Karen was killed in a car accident and two days later I saw this movie. I can see now that never has a movie effected me in such a way, and oddly ever so fittingly it was this one. It didn't make me receive a revelation and I didn't even receive peace or comfort but I laughed, I laughed so much that for a little while I forgot about how much I missed her and how hard the next few months were going to be. I laughed just like Karen would have wanted me to. After this experience with the movie I immediately grabbed onto the books and and held on for dear life. I still am amazed at the ability this man has to make me laugh even if I have read the same line 20 times before. He has an amazing ability to show you the way he sees the world in a fantastical bizarre way that is highly entertaining. I have now read all the hitchiker books and done quite a bit of research on Douglas Adams himself. I respect him as an author the more I learn about him, he was a good slightly bizarre guy who one day was hitchiking in the hills of England and drunkenly looked up at the stars and had an idea. I am not writing this to suggest you read it although i do think that would be a good idea, I am merely nostalgic today.

This morning when I got up and tried to decide which book to start reading my fingers couldn't help from wrapping around these lovely volumes that have become my friend in troubled times and my ally in happy ones. I am embarking on this journey again for about the 5th time and am happy not just to travel around the universe with Ford Perfect, Aurthur Dent, and Marvin the depressed robot but also to travel through my memories and experiences that these book provoke me to re-live. And so it is with good books... they don't just tell a story but they provoke you to experience your own...

And remember the answer to life the universe and everything is 42...

Happy Trails...

Shop Loveliness!

I have started my very own online shop on Etsy! If you look to the side over there---> you will see a link to it! I don't have much up yet but I will put more on. Just take a looksy for fun! I may not sell a single thing but that is okay it is fun anyway. It is a goal I have had for a long time and it feels good to be doing it! I have my original one of a kind paintings on it! Thanks everyone for being so supportive of my bizaare humble beginner art! I love it and I suppose in the end that is all that matters!
...Happy Trails!

Children In Bloom...

When I was growing up I would always get annoyed with my siblings when they would make mad dashes to L.A. or Las Vegas to go to Counting Crows Concerts on days when I would have preferred they be at home. Wednesday September 10th marked the date of my second Counting Crows Concert and let me tell you I now understand. The first time I saw them live was pure magic and this time was just the same. I love Counting Crows and they are much better live than I could have ever imagined! I got to take my wonderful friend Allison with me for her first live counting crows experience and I loved getting to share something like this with her. This was also my moms first CC Concert and that was special as well. Allison, Mom, Shannon, Zach, Preston, Mindi, and I all went! This was Daisy's (my car) first trip out of the valley with me and she did wonderful! It was a fun very fast road trip! I got up and drove home at 4:30 so I could make it to my 8:00 biology lab (no one can call me a slacker!) It was a fabulous day and will keep my restless soul content for a while...

Cornish Pasties... mmmmm very nearly heaven!

Allison and I at the show...

Adam and the band playing A Long December...

This is Preston with the shirt that I desperately wanted but unfortunately the female anatomy was not thought of when this shirt was made... oh well I get to see it when Preston wears it!



This is part of Rain King with an intro by Augustana! There is a girl with a terrible voice screaming the song in it... I dont know her and have nothing to do with her... really...

This is the end of Rain King with some Mr. Jones elements...

Here She Is...

This is my friend Ashby. She is all done... I just mod podged her a few minutes ago! Ashby loved the forest she lived next to so much when she was young that when she grew up she decided to join the trees she loved so much. This is about the idea that often I do not want to be part of this world, I would rather go to Hogwarts, go help Frodo on his journey in middle earth, or go discover new worlds with Ender... but I can't. I love books because they give me the power to become a part of them...even if it is just for a little while and so it was with Ashby what she loves is a literal part of her!

Enjoy everyone! Have a great weekend! Happy Trails...

Ashby

Today was a big day for me. I started a new job which is tutoring English at the college. I started my swimming training (more on that later) and I painted a new painting that I have never painted anything of the like before. I am very excited about this one. It is not completely done but I had to share my progress!

It is called Ashby which means tree... The background is The Fellowship of the Ring and the streaks are watered down acrylic paint. I am still very bad at people but just bare with me I will improve. I have some elements to add and will post again when it is all done but enjoy for the time being!

Happy Trails Everyone...

Skunkboy Creatures... I Love You!

I stumbled across this blog the other day and immediately fell in love with these little creatures. I love the owls the best but I love them all! Someday when I get rich and famous I will buy some but now in my current poor college student state I will just have to wait and dream! They are so cute and are a very adorable idea! Check them out! Her blog is Here. Her Etsy shop is here.


Take a looksie you will at least be very entertained. I cannot stop looking at them!

Happy Trails...

Life After Death and Taxes... but not Fry Mesa!

This weekend was a typical Smith Family weekend. There were lots of games, plenty of movie watching, tuns of food, and of course the typical near death experiences. Preston and Mindi came down this weekend to chill and go on a little adventure.

We were trying to decide whether to go on the Gila River that we always love or go to Fry Mesa which most of us had never been. I went a few weeks ago and it was a lot of fun so I told everyone that we should go to Fry Mesa I did not factor in the fact that it has been raining a tun lately. We got up there eventually after passing the treacherous road that almost bucked us off multiple times.

We quickly discovered that the path that I had used previously to get to the waterfalls was impassible and that the water in the falls was at least twice and high as it had been when I had been there before. So off we go battling the rocks and the terrain trying to find an alternate route to the waterfalls.

After much backtracking and scratches and bruises we finally get there and may I say that it definitely very beautiful up there but there was too much water to go down the falls (at least for me the boys did do a couple runs of some of them but there reactions were not very convincing for me) we then had to battle our way back down. I had lost my shoes so had to hike barefoot and Jordon (One Shoe) had lost one of his shoes. We were all very beat up when we finally reached the car but Dad (Square Knot) got to use his mountain climbing and 4 wheel drive skills so it was a good day in all. We all enjoyed ourselves we are just all exhausted!



Basically we have all vowed to never go to Fry Mesa again but after we were all home and showered and had already surveyed the damage done to ourselves we decided that it was fun... just really painful!
















This is me after I finally got down from the falls. I had lost my shoes and am obviously a little dirty and tired.

This is Jordon going down the slide head first...

Square Knot is very excited to be there... Cammo Doo-Rag and all!

Look at how beautiful it was!

This is Preston going down the slide!

It was a good weekend... I need the week to recover from it!

Happy Trails...