Nigeria Trip // Lagos, Jos, Langtang

I literally just got back from a twelve day trip to my homeland with my family to celebrate my grandmothers 90th birthday and it was absolutely amazing. There will be a series on this starting tomorrow but I thought I'd say we're back and I took almost 2000 photographs. There was a lot to see and experience, we did and saw so much in a short time that I can't possibly cover it in one post. Stay tuned!

8 Months Old

 At eight months old, you have a mind of your own. You are determined and daring, you get what you want somehow either by crawling very quickly to it or making sounds that let us know what you're thinking. You are very funny and enjoy laughing with your sister (and getting into everything she's doing). You eat most things now and are able to feed yourself little pieces of food. Since you already have two front teeth, you even chew croissants! You are desperate to walk, its actually very funny to see you stand and then let go and then look around to see if we are watching you..you really seem proud of yourself when you do that..although it scares us since its usually right next to living room table. You keep us on our toes at all times. You recognize who we are and when we come and go, you express such joy when daddy, Arielle or I return from a day at work or school.

You have adjusted nicely to the nanny, your no longer cry when I leave but I think its made you a bit more clingy at night, you are refusing to sleep in your crib so for the last few nights you have been sleeping in our bed..its a habit I'd rather not encourage but you're so cute..And I'm so tired.

I sometimes refer to you as my bussy bee but you really are kind of a little goat..you are really into chewing on paper..fuzz..plastic wrappers...anything thats supposed to be in the trash. Its kind of funny and I can't keep up with you.. (right now you are chewing on an unopened pack of baby mum-mum!).

My dear little girl, you can light up any room with those bright brown eyes, I love to see you wake up with your afro and you open your eyes so wide and smile so big when I say good morning. 

Although you are still in the in the 90th percentile, your growth has slowed a bit, you now weigh in at 19.2 lbs and are probably 27 inches tall by now. You are still bringing us much joys and surprise everyday. We love you.

What does Ann Arbor MI have to offer?

When I arrived, although optimistic, I couldn't see past how really cold and snowy it was in mid March. I had left New York at 7:20am ( I left for the airport at 4:30am and arrived in Detroit at 11:30am. Getting out of the airport was simple and there wasn't any waiting really. I emerged at baggage claim/ground transportation to a group of people holding signs and one of them said my name (on an iPad, no less). He grabbed my little bag and we walked briskly towards his car. Once we left the airport, I was very excited to see what all the talk was about Detroit but to my surprise, there was nothing..nothing..nothing at all to see. We drove about 30 minutes West and entered into Ann Arbor which was also a bit lack luster, it reminded me a bit of Buffalo, New York. The grey blustery weather, people walking really quickly bundled up. Because of this, by midday I had not really been able to look around so the view from my room was all I could see of the place. Room service from the Victor's at Dahlmann Campus Inn was normal (mediocre) except for these surprise superior Beer battered onion rings..so so far Ann Arbor has good onion rings! Hope this gets better soon.

Buttermilk Battered Onion Rings (excellent!)

Classic Caesar Salad (with a few onion rings on the side)

As the day went on my anxiety levels rose and my level of concentration reduced drastically, I was tired and nervous about the dense schedule I had upcoming, all the new people I had to meet in the next 48 hours or so and my ability to confidently present my work to a crowd of harsh critics (we all know how architects can be when in the presence of their peers). I decided to try to run through my presentation and outline what exactly how I wanted to frame the work. I took a moment to call home and speak to my kids which turned out to be a bad idea because it got me completely wound up so I just decided to just take a nap. On a side note, I remember I had CNN on and fell asleep to the sound of Anderson Cooper and Chris Cuomo trying to maintain a conversation while they uncomfortably waited for the smoke to reveal whether or not a Pope had been chosen. I ended up waking up to ringing bells both on TV and in Ann Arbor, I thought I was dreaming but sure enough the headline said "Habemus papam"..

I got up to take a shower and get my self together both physically and mentally for the dinner date I had with two members of the faculty. I was nervous and really wanted to get out and get some air but also got the feeling I often get, the feeling of flight! I felt compelled to flee, but not from there from my current life, its a larger commentary on my life and the way I have made some decisions in my adult life, the idea of leaving a place, the new clean slate...its a curious thought since we never really have a tabula rasa. But as I headed down to the lobby, I thought about how life could be truly different, moving to a town where I knew no one, starting anew, teaching at an enormous institution. I love collegiality, I miss that from Graduate school. I walked and breathed the cool air, it had stopped  snowing, people were out walking and I  looked down the street at the vast see of brick buildings. 
Dinner was great and I even got an evening tour of a very lively night scene in this little town. I would have snapped some shots but didn't want to seem like an uncool tourist type so I just made sure I was able to keep the conversation going and not make a strange joke that only me and my husband might find funny.  I arrived back at the hotel and thought I would procrastinate even further by sitting at the hotel bar and having a martini while I made some calls. The martini was great! 

The next morning, I was met by an extremely punctual gentle man from the faculty for breakfast, it was a good start to the day because he was extremely kind and forthcoming, quirky and smart. He was easy to talk to and very helpful. We talked about about his work and his seven sons, I told him a bit about my life and what I hoped to do. He helped me to his extremely small car to put my suitcase down and we took a walk. A campus tour. It was brisk but sunny and we walked across campus to the "Diag" which is a diagonal path the traverses the entire central campus and the location of the brass "M". As we stood over it, he told me about the tradition which says that anyone who steps there will be destined to stay. I stepped on it and we laughed, I would now tell the folks I had an interview with in a hour or so that I had stepped on it..case closed!  We ended the tour by walking the outside edge of campus and back to the car and off to the North campus.

The North campus was smaller, quaint from what I could tell, located about 2 miles maybe from the central campus. We entered the Architecture building and it looked a bit morbid but Architecture schools often do for some reason. Anyway, we looked around and then walked back out to see the rest of the campus which really was nice. There were a few notable buildings, nice in between spaces (outdoors) and this great bell tower at the middle. The library was really nice as well, I also notices the have numerous cafes in each building which is great because access to good coffee is important.

By the end of the walk, I stopped looking at this like a visitor and began imagining myself here everyday, this would be my place, where would I sit and have coffee? I was also able to enjoy the day a bit without feeling completely overwhelmed by the meetings coming up. Suddenly, time seemed to speed up and the next few hours were really intense going from one activity to the next, I gave my presentation, answered questions, met a lot of people had lunch, met with the Chair of the department and even having some downtime which wasn't so great because I began to meltdown, I was unoccupied and getting eager to go home. I found my way back to one of the cafes I had seen, grabbed a coffee and back to the faculty lounge (which was really cool too). I sat and just relaxed.

I think if I were single, I would be already packing to go, I don't mind change and have never allowed myself to become attached to places. And unexpectedly, Ann Arbor seems to have the thing I was looking for but which I couldn't seem to explain, its small, quaint and active with good schools and a short commute to work. It would provide the income and flexibility I desire, so why am I trying to sabotage opportunity, I thought? I didn't want to admit it but I knew in my heart that I was doing this to avoid disappointment, not from being denied the position but for having to once again turn down an opportunity because I don't want to be responsible for my husband having to look for a new job in a new place. It been a real bone of contention in the past. I understand the anxiety he may feel over having to find something new, he doesn't want to take that risk and I don't want to be responsible for anything that may go wrong. I now am feeling like its inevitable that we will have to live like I did growing up, which was the kids with mom in a place (which changed every so often until college) and the dad flying in every few months to see them. I grew up only seeing my father a few times a year for varying periods of time from a few weeks at a time to several months. The semesters are 16 weeks long and 4 months off in the summer, we'd move to New York in the summer..suddenly, I realize its time to be a guest critic so I spring up and head to the gallery space. The students were unprepared but we ended up having a good conversation and after a quick bathroom break, I was whisked out the backdoor to my metrocar and within twenty minutes I was  back at DTW airport.  

My flight was at 8:30pm so I had to wait 2 hours ( I was too early..which never happens to me) then flew to Philadelphia, waited another hours to fly to Newark. We landed at 11:55pm and by the time I found my car and headed off I was relieved. I got home at 1:30am and couldn't resist waking up the family..complained about how messy the kitchen was and how the husband hadn't made lunch for my daughter for the next day and all was back to normal...

Herbed Quinoa and Red Rice with Kale and Cranberries

As I continue to try to cook new and healthy meals for my kids, I have found that they like quinoa which is a grain ( really a seed) which is high in protein and can be used in place of rice in most dishes. Since Arielle will select plain white rice on almost every given chance, I was desperate to find something she will eat that has a higher nutritional value. I have only served it this way twice and although she will eat it, the vegetable seem to drive her way. Maybe I'll serve it plain and see what she thinks because of all the grains, its one that actually tastes great on its own.

Ingredients:

2 cups quinoa

2 cups red rice (I used Texmati rice)

1 packet dried cranberries

1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted

1 large yellow onion, diced

2 celery stalks, diced

1 bunch kale (about 8 oz., stems removed and leaves thinly sliced)

1 Tbs. chopped fresh oregano

1 cup chicken stock, warmed (I used vegetable stock instead)

3 1/4 cups water

Kosher salt, to taste

Pepper

Unsalted butter for baking dish, plus 3 Tbs.

Spices to taste..I used a bit of garlic, oregano..

Zest of 1 lemon

Shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese for serving (optional)

Directions:

In a saucepan, combine the quinoa and red rice with the water and salt lightly. Set over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer until most of the water is absorbed and the grains are tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Set aside. Preheat an oven to 375°F. Butter a 13-by-9-inch baking dish. In a large sauté pan over medium heat, melt the 3 Tbs. butter. Add the onion and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 6 to 8 minutes, adding the kale during the last 2 minutes of cooking. Add the oregano and spices and season with salt. Cook, stirring, until the mixture is fragrant, about 1 minute. Transfer the onion mixture to a large bowl. Add the quinoa and red rice, cranberries, pine nuts, lemon zest and stock and stir until well combined. Transfer mix to the prepared baking dish and bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes, then garnish with cheese and serve. Serves 8 to10.

and if you bake it..it looks like this. Enjoy

adapted from William Sonoma recipe.