A view from dinner the other night. It was one of those quintessential Hawaiian shots that I couldn't pass up, as cliche and touristy as it may be...

The other day, I received a package in the mail with the following book! I had forgotten that a while ago I was asked to edit this children's book about Octopuses.  Lo and behold, open the book and there is a lovely acknowledgement with my name.  It is a good book filled with educational information about the wonderful and exciting octopus.

Now that I have finally decided to take the plunge and move off of Coconut (AHHH!!!) I am feeling nostalgic for all of the wonderful things about it.  Obviously, I will still be working out there since I am not finished with my PhD, but working out there and living there are two very different things. In fact, I am depending on that since it turns out living on Coconut did not do much with regards to my productivity.  The other day I finally decided to join the Ukulele practice that happens on Coconut on Wednesday evenings.  They are all so good! I still have no idea what I am doing and my finger tips are numb from only one practice, but I'm sure I'll get there someday... Right now I'm just happy I finally decided to go.  Of course it's only after I decide to move off.

I only have one octopus in the tank at the moment. I actually went out to catch some the other night because I went the the Family Aquarium Night where I was an octopus "expert."  I hate to say it, but it has been so nice not having a bunch of octopuses to keep alive... I knew they took time out of my day and money out of my paycheck, but I thought I would miss them more. I suppose five years with octopuses is enough for a while though.  While I was cleaning the tank the other day, I found a bubble algae in the shape of a heart. They had taken over the tank while I was in the Azores.  They are pretty spectacular looking. I remember when I first saw them I thought they were beautiful green marbles that had fallen in the tank, but really they are just single celled swollen algae.

Here I am at the Family Aquarium night with one of the rock tako.  I'd say it was a successful evening, but definitely exhausting. All of the kids had great questions.

New shoes from Steven--octopuses, mermaids and space. What more could you ask for?

Christie Wilcox is one of the researchers on Coconut Island and she also happens to be an awesome Science Blogger! Here is her latest about Mark Royer, one of my house mates on Coconut. So many Coconutters in the news :) Yay Science!

Back in Hawaii

As of Saturday evening, I am back in Hawaii. After the Azores, I was lucky enough to go home to DC for a week and spend some much needed relaxation time with my family.  It was lovely, as usual, with the added bonus of seeing my sister four months pregnant!

But now it is back to work! Coconut is still overwhelmed with construction, but up amongst it is a gorgeous orchid growing in our "yard."

Last night I was treated to a spectacular sunset outside of Steven's window. The colors kept changing... just breathtaking. Here is my phone's sad attempt to capture the moment.

Also, check out this awesome stomatopod (mantis shrimp) we saw at the National Zoo! What the heck is in its mouth?! We thought maybe eggs, but I thought they would brood their eggs like lobsters, back behind their legs. OK, guess what? I forgot about the internet... I just looked it up and, YES, it appears these are definitely stomatopod eggs. WHOA! I feel so lucky we got to see them!

New bonus at the National Zoo, they added an OCTOPUS to their Carousel animals! Alright, that is probably enough exclamation points for this blog post.