Under the Sea

May and June (thus far) have been CrAzY fun.

There are a bazillion pictures to share of the latest and greatest adventures, but it all starts with COZUMEL.

After a ten year hiatus, I finally made it back. Some things are completely different and some things are exactly the same. Steve was stuck in Ohio gearing up for finals week so he couldn't be my dive buddy, but I made a slideshow for him that I want to share with the rest of our family and friends. I hope you like my underwater message, Steve!

Speaking of family and friends - it has come to our attention that a few of our VIP's (as in, the people who make this blog necessary) can no longer access our blog since they are not gmail groupies. Hoping that we won't get too many random, strange visitors who leave random, strange comments, we've decided to make it public once again. A big thanks to those of you that followed us through what we'll call the Team Adams Underground.

Now, a couple things about the slideshow:

1) I compressed the images to upload it onto youtube, so you have to watch it at 240p instead of 360p - the quality isn't great at this setting, but you'll still see pure awesome-ness. Just wait until you see the turtles.

2) All of the skewered lionfish that were documented? Result of dive masters being instructed to kill all lionfish they find along the reefs in Cozumel - an endangered species in reverse. They are taking over and don't have any predators (spiky, poisonous little creatures). Our dive guide, Alberto, killed a good number of lionfish with his skewer/rubberband contraption, promptly cut off the poisonous projections, and then fed the carcasses to other fish happy to find lunch with little or no effort. Yours truly captured it on camera.

3) I really hope you appreciate the pictures of the squid - I sucked air to chase after that thing once my dad got my attention. It was totally worth it. Verne and Melville would be proud.

4) I also hope you enjoy the jackknife/drumfish photos. It's an ongoing debate in the Irvine household whether we were looking at a jackknife or a drumfish. I said jackknife. Lindsay said jackknife. Dad said drumfish. Alberto (dive master knows best!) said jackknife. So....

5) All but four dives were documented - all the weird names you see (if not referring to a sea creature) are the names of the reefs. The bright turquoise things on the night dive - octopi! Didn't get around to labeling those, but that's what you're looking at.

I think that's everything.

Hope you like the slideshow.

Oh, and the music is brought to you by Florence and the Machine, and Eva Cassidy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjbOAvGA9bk

BiRtHdaY MaDNesS!

Oh yes, it was birthday madness!

I am a big fan of turning 27.

Anyone who knows me knows how much I love, love, LOVE surprises - especially planning them for others. It's rather ironic then that when it comes to being the recipient of surprises, I'm totally oblivious.

Steve loves to exploit this fact.

Read on to see how the birthday festivities went down.

We finished our shift at the temple early on Saturday evening (few patrons means an early night) and Steve offhandedly asked if I wanted to go out to dinner for my birthday since I would be working the following Monday (my actual birthday).

Complete spontaneity, right?

Nope!

Turns out, Steve planned a surprise party for me at Thai Orchid with some of our very favorite people here in Columbus! My reaction to the surprise did not disappoint - huge smile, lots of laughter, and even some bouncing up an down when I finally put two and two together inside the restaurant when I rounded the corner and saw the faces of dear friends. Quality time with quality people - best birthday gift ever.

And yet, the fun had only just begun...

Then came Monday, May 23, 2011 - my official day of birth.

I got home from class at 8:00 p.m. and Steve once again surprised me with a spontaneous desire to go out for dessert at a place we've been meaning to try for months now:

The Chocolate Cafe.

If any of you come to visit us here in Columbus, you can pretty much count on doing three things.

1) Visit Kirtland

2) Attend an OSU football game -OR- a bike ride along the Olentangy River trail

3) Dinner & dessert at the Chocolate Cafe

These three things capture the essence of Ohio.

We were intending on getting only dessert, but the lobster bisque was too irresistible to pass up.

So that you understand how crazy it is to live in the Midwest, picture this.

We drove to the cafe, walked inside, perused the menu, and finally decided what we wanted in about the space of 25 minutes. Weather was just fine.

As soon as we were placing our order - which takes what, 30 seconds? - Steve looked outside to see a torrential downpour and freaked everyone out by saying, "Whoa! Check it out!"

We literally thought the wind and rain was going to cause our car to flip over in the parking lot.

Not too many things freak me out, but Mother Nature is not to be taken lightly.

Tornado warnings kept us company for the remainder of the evening.

We were a little hesitant to stick around for too long, especially considering that 3/4 of the cafe was glass...

So we ordered dessert to go.

Godiva chocolate cheesecake...

The Mr. says: Got milk?

The Mrs. says: Got insulin?

Best part was when we got home, walked in our back door and into our living room, only to find our front door WIDE OPEN! YIKES! I'm not sure what it is with that door and birthdays, but the two do not seem to be getting along.

Steve didn't lock the deadbolt when we left, and the winds were so strong that they blew our front door open.

May 23rd will not be easily forgotten.

We finished off birthday week yesterday at Franklin Park Conservatory to hit up the Asian Festival and see the butterfly release at the conservatory.

What you see above is about to become the best Thai food you've ever had - aka - chicken satay.

Wandering through the butterfly house at the conservatory - to our right is a pond filled with huge coy fish that swim amongst some amazing glass orb creations by Dale Chihuly.

Reminds me of Abravanel Hall - plus a tropical forest.

Does anyone else suffer from butterfly envy? They have impeccable taste in decor.

Our favorite butterfly.

Nice shot, Steve!

We might have to take the glass-blowing classes at the Conservatory...

This place was awesome.

Thanks for the fantastic birthday wishes from near and far - it made my day hearing from so many of you!

Q&A

Question: How does one become the happiest woman alive?

Answer: By saying yes when your best friend asks if you will spend the rest of eternity with him.

Steve popped the question two years ago today. My answer was the best and easiest decision I've ever made.

Love you, Mister.

Easter

This has been a wonderful Easter weekend.

We're far from family, yet we spent time with loved ones who have become like family.

As we sat with friends tonight and spoke of the significance of the Easter season, I couldn't help but think of Jerusalem.

On one of our last nights at the Jerusalem Center, the program directors arranged a mock "Last Supper" event to walk us through the traditional Passover feast and the particular events of Christ's last supper with the apostles. It was unforgettable to read passages from the New Testament and then look out the window and see Jerusalem at my fingertips, and realize that there I was, sitting on the Mount of Olives...

We know that He lives, loves, and leads us today.

I first saw this slideshow in 2008 at a time when I really needed some perspective. Many of you may have seen the book it is based on, and maybe even this slideshow, but it has remained one of my favorites. I hope you enjoy it.

Click here

Happy Easter

Dispatch

About those museum posts I promised...

Not going to happen.

While I've thoroughly enjoyed the presentations in all my classes, there is no way I'm going to get everything onto the blog the way I would like. My sincerest apologies.

In other news, Team Adams took one more step towards adulthood this week...

We are now subscribers to the Columbus Dispatch - that makes us magazine and newspaper people. Never thought I'd see the day.

Museum Project - Instructor Adams style

Recently, I had an epiphany. Since I can't concentrate on the lesson plans that I should be preparing right now, I decided to pay a visit to Team Adams and share the result of said epiphany.

What is that?

The Museum Project

Instead of assigning a research paper that will be written and then promptly forgotten for my Art History courses this quarter, each student has to give a presentation on a specific museum. They have to tell us about its history, design, architect, etc. Most importantly, they need to share information about ten famous artworks from the permanent collection, all in a concise, yet creative way (stay tuned and you'll see what I mean). Students will keep a journal/notebook of the presentations and by the end of the quarter, they'll have their very own catalog of the world's best art - in one location - that can be tossed in a purse or man-bag the next time they travel. Oh how I wish I'd had that on so many occasions!

I don't know how many of you enjoy museums, or even art for that matter, but I figured I'd share the wealth from this project with any interested party. I'll base my posts around the presentations given by my students, with a few extra tidbits thrown in from my own experience.

Here's what you have to look forward to in the next 10-11 weeks:

Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, Cairo, EGYPT*

National Archeological Museum, Athens, GREECE*

British Museum, London, UNITED KINGDOM*

J Paul Getty Center, Los Angeles, USA**

National Palace Museum, Taipei TAIWAN R.O.C.***

Vatican Museums, Vatican City, Rome, ITALY*

Uffizi Gallery, Florence, ITALY*

Musee du Louvre, Paris, FRANCE*

Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, THE NETHERLANDS*

Borghese Gallery, Rome, ITALY*

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA*

Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, AUSTRIA*

Albertina Museum, Vienna, AUSTRIA*

Alte Pinakothek, Munich, GERMANY*

The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, RUSSIA**

National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh, UNITED KINGDOM*

Museo del Prado, Madrid, SPAIN**

Musee d'Orsay, Paris, FRANCE*

Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, THE NETHERLANDS*

Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, USA**

The Frick Collection, New York, USA*

National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., USA*

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, USA

National Gallery of London, London, UNITED KINGDOM*

Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, USA

Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, USA*

Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, FRANCE*

Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao, SPAIN (pictured above)**

Museum of Modern Art (MOMA), New York, USA*

Tate Modern, London, UNITED KINGDOM

*Been there, loved it, highly recommend it.

**Never been, can't wait to see it.

***Came close, missed it, means I'll have to go back.

Although there are many more museums to choose from, keep in mind that I have only eleven weeks to work with each quarter, so these are the top 30 museums that made the cut.

Cherry Blossoms

Steve and I head back into the educational vortex tomorrow, so I figured I'd give a quick update on our lives. Turns out, Team Adams is taking a minimalist approach to blogging in 2011...

First exciting event:

Our new piano.

Thank you, Craigslist.

Next exciting event:

Witnessing Miss Marshall become Mrs. Odom at the Salt Lake temple on 8 March 2011. Fastest trip of my life (16 hours on Utah soil...or snow), but absolutely worth it. Thank heavens for the EST and MDT time zone difference that worked in my favor, otherwise, I would have missed it.

The wedding was a wonderful reunion of dear friends from high school and we could finally see if our marriage predictions that we started in high school were correct - as in, who got married in what order. Here's how it actually turned out:

Savannah (2006)

Holly (2007)

Kristen (2009)

Penny (2010)

Ann (2011)

Pretty sure all of our projections were wrong, but it's pretty cool to realize that we've all found incredible spouses regardless of the timing.

Exciting event #3:

ST. PATRICK'S DAY!

Lots of green. Lots of orange. Lots of fun.

Waiting for the parade to start by exploring an old cemetery.

Even though the bagpipes are associated with Scotland, the pipers were the coolest participants in the parade. We miss Scotland like crazy, but seeing a few pipe bands brought it all back for a few moments.

Final exciting event this month:

Spring Break in D.C.

We both had the week off between quarters and the Glenn School at OSU arranged a networking week for all MPA students that wanted to attend. We figured we'd spend time with family and start networking in the DC area at the same time.

The National Cherry Blossom Festival started this weekend in D.C. and I must say, D.C. during the cherry blossom season (late March to mid-April) is stunning. I took this picture while meandering in the Dupont Circle area en-route to the Textile museum. It is now second in the "From picture to painting" queue.

The Tidal Basin.

3,750 Cherry Trees.

Started out as a gift of friendship from Japan in 1912.

Don't they provide a beautiful backdrop for the Jefferson Memorial?

Happy Spring.