tararehrig.com

i’ve never liked new year’s eve.  in theory, yes.  in practicality, not so much.

when i was a child, i always approached the day with a little fear and trepidation.  as the hours wore down and the night fell dark, the pit in my stomach would grow harder.  i couldn’t ever figure out why.

i tried to distract myself.

but my mind always went to dying.  the world ending.  darkness winning.  and more nights than not, i would be crying at the foot of my parent’s bed.  in fear.

morbid.  and depressing.  i know.  but that’s just the kind of child-like mind i had.  i guess i was that kid.

i’ve grown up.  and as an adult, the nights have mostly passed with friends, games, revelry, food.  fun.  but always a nagging thought in the back of my mind.  a hollow growl in my heart.

the unshakable knowledge that life was slipping away.  and what had i done with it?

time had been spent.  but what had i bought?

these aren’t happy-go-lucky thoughts.  but i never claimed to be an optimist.  and i don’t own rose-colored glasses.

i am, however, a realist.

and the reality is that life is short.  a vapor.  a blink.  a grain of sand.  a firefly flitting across the night sky.  here today.  gone tomorrow.  the end.

but wait.  that’s not the end.

when i was teaching, i had a benjamin franklin quote hanging above our classroom calendar:

“dost thou love life?  then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of.”

{you’re not really supposed to use the word “stuff” in writing.  but i guess if your name is benjamin franklin, you get a pass.  it also helps that he threw in the words “dost” and “squander” for good measure.}

the truth is, i love life.  and i don’t want to waste it.

i’m not filled with fear anymore.  my heart doesn’t seize up with questions of the unknown, like it did when i was a child.  and i’m not wrapped in a ball, crying my nights away.

but i am aware.  and the marking of a new year brings the thought to mind.  in a healthy way, i hope.  that this life i love is not forever.

and this stuff i fill it with?  well, it better be worthy.

“God hath given to man a short time here upon earth, and yet upon this short time eternity depends.” ~ jeremy taylor (theologian, 1660)

yesterday ethan sang me this birthday song.  in russian.  in a mexican restaurant.

here it is.  the big three – three.  practically knocking on death’s door.

or so i felt last night, when i sent myself to bed early.  suffering with severe attack of the allergies.

but this morning.  on the anniversary of my birth.  i woke up with a spring in my step…and a bruise on my the bottom of my heel….this growing old thing is for the dogs.

but i shook it off.  looked myself in the mirror.  and found this:

my sweet sis.  who is bunking with me during her summer vaca.  left birthday messages all over my house.

if that doesn’t get you gonna, i don’t know what will!

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at school, every hour was full of birthday wishes and fun!  of course, my students declared i couldn’t possibly “work” on my birthday, so we might as well just partay.  aren’t my students the best ever?!?  but since i’m an old, responsible thirty-three now, i did the mature thing and gave them notes.  the show must go on, folks.

however, my dear friend and fellow {spanish} teacher held surprise birthday parties {cloaked as cinco de mayo celebrations} for me in all her spanish classes.  i worked off the chips and salsa with frequent refill runs across the hallway from my classroom to hers.

to round out my mexican fix, i had two delivers of starbucks and sonic from the kelster.

i had to practically be rolled out the school doors by three.

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not to be outdone by the generosity of kel, ethan brought me this pretty bouquet of flowers:

of course my students were disappointed they were from my brother.  and not a real boy.  they live to hear of my love life.  only because it distracts me from teaching lessons.

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no cinco de mayo birthday is complete without a trip to the local mexically restaurante.  ole!  the rents sprung for the meal.  and the sibs provided the entertainment.

thanks mom and dad!  it was da bomb diggity!

finally, i posed for my “this is what thirty-three looks like” picture.

pretty, right?

so, you can see why, by the end of the day, i was fighting off the paparazzi.  all clamoring to get a piece of me.  on the day i turned thirty-three.

recently, my brother ethan did some research on our family names to find out our heritage.

now when i say research, i basically mean google.  so don’t be thinking we did anything extensive, like look at charts or family trees or genealogy.  or anything else that would have taken more than trivial effort.

he typed in our name into the search engine to see what would pop up.  and after that extensive digging, found out that we are irish.

i always knew i was irish.  i could just feel it in my bones.  that and the fact that i want to do a jig every time i see a pot of gold.  when i was in china, i tried to convince my team mate, mr. kilpatrick, that i was from the land of ire.  he never would believe me.

ha.  he feels stupid now.

but i digress.  let me take you back.  you’re probably thinking, how in the world is rehrig an irish name?  just by the fact it can’t be pronounced means it has to be german.  right?  well, you are correct.  but here’s a little fun fact you may not have known:  rehrig is an adopted name.  the surname of my father’s stepdad, who adopted him and his brother when they were young.

i’m a rehrig.  and i’ll always be a rehrig.  couldn’t be more proud of that name.  but it’s not original.  sorry to disappoint.

here’s the kicker.  my dad’s birth name:  pilgrim.  how awesome would that have been to be tara pilgrim.  yeah, not so awesome.  i’d have to find another job.  you’d know why, if you knew my school.

anyway, the history lesson in all this.  neither of those names are irish, as you can probably tell.

my mom, however.  bless her little heart.  she was an abbott.  and that’s how the luck runs through our veins.

but don’t tell my gramma.  apparently there’s some bad blood there.

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if you want to read the real story of st. patty’s day.  go here.

what up, homies!  did you enjoy the super bowl game last night?

me?  i just watched for the half time show.  and mocked.  mocked loudly.  poor black eyed peas and their inability to sing without voice enhancements.

usually i at least pay attention to the commercial.  but even those were a disappointment this year.  i was at my parent’s house and every time the game broke, my dad would holler from the living room, “commercial!”  and my family would come running.  none of us, except him, were really into the actual sport.  poor dad.

besides i was highly distracted with making these puppies.  because what’s a super bowl (even one you don’t watch) without hot wings, i ask you.

let us begin.

start with a packet of chicken wings.  they come frozen.  unless you have just butchered your own chicken.  i recommend thawing them.  unless you want to have freezer burn and arthritic hands.  not that i know about that.

cut the wings in half and trim off the tip.  like so.

mmm… nothing more beautiful than raw chicken meat.  i jest.

next, you dredge (meaning: to cover before cooking) your dried wings in a mixture of flour, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper.  unless you don’t have any cayenne pepper.  in that case, substitute paprika.  again, not that i know about that.

put your flour mixture and chicken in a big baggy.  and shake.  cause it’s shake ‘en bake.  and i helped.

anyway…

refrigerate for about an hour.

after an hour has passed.  or you’ve watched a couple good football passes.  release your wings from the cold.  and fry ‘em up in some oil.  mmm mmm good.

nothin’ says health like a vat of bubbling cooking oil.

after 15 minutes in that baby, they are good and done.

rescue them.  and coat ‘em in your hot sauce.  traditionally, it’s a 1/2 cup of butter and a 1/2 cup louisiana hot sauce, ya’ll.  but feel free to get crazy.  smother ‘em in bbq.  or honey mustard.  or chinese plum sauce.  or polynesian sauce.   or tomato sauce, for all i care.  i just want you to be happy.

serve with a side of blue cheese.  sour cream.  or my personal favorite: french onion dip.

and then the next time christina aguilera messes up the words to the national anthem.  or usher comes on stage and doesn’t sing a word.  at least you’ll have these wings to bring meaning back to your life.

from buffalo, with love.

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it’s the year of the… rabbit.  ok.  it doesn’t have quite the same ring as the badly drawn boys’ song,  Year Of The Rat.  but you get the idea.

it’s chinese new years, yo.  well, tomorrow is.  technically.  but tomorrow is already today.  or today is already tomorrow.  in china.  so here we go.

first, a history lesson:

the origin of the chinese new year is itself centuries old – in fact, too old to actually be traced.

days before the new year, a huge clean-up gets underway and chinese houses are cleaned from top to bottom, sweeping away any traces of bad luck.  door and windows are given a coat of paint, usually red, and decorated with paper cuts and couplets with themes of happiness, wealth, and longevity.

the eve is perhaps the most exciting, as anticipation creeps in.  traditions and rituals are carefully observed.  dinner is usually a feast of seafood and dumplings, signifying good wishes.

at midnight, the sky is lit up by fireworks.

on the day itself, an ancient custom called hong bao, meaning red packet, takes place.  this involves married couples giving children and unmarried adults money in red envelopes.

then the family begins to greet from door to door, first to their relatives and then their neighbors.

the underlying message is one of peace and happiness for family and friends.

thank you, internets.

and now on to something more exciting.  in honor of the holiday, i bring you a collection of my chinar moments.  lessons i learned along the way.  in snap shot form.

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chinese babies are the cutest.  with their 20 layers of mismatched clothes, their spiky black hair,and their split pants.

who can resist?

the locals know the best food joints.  this is syd, bady, and cathy.  and some yummy, yummy grub.

when foreigners try the point and order technique, they sometimes end up with bugs for lunch.

the forbidden city really isn’t forbidden anymore…

… to us, or the rest of china’s population.

students are students….

… and friends are friends.  no matter what country you come from.

sometimes you’re asked to do really embarrassing things for the sake of those relationships.

but it’s those things that build trust.  and give you an opportunity to speak Truth into their lives.

happy chinese new year to you all!

新年快樂!

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missed me?  after a little hiatus from the blogging world, i’m finally getting around to telling you about the rehrig family christmas.  what better time to that, than new year’s eve?  i figure i better get it in before all the resolutions and goals and whatnots start flying around.  you know how those whatnots get.

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this year, my family did something a little… well, nontraditional.  in the past, we’ve always drawn names for gifts among the siblings.  this time, instead of a $20 gift, we gave something much more valuable.

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we gave a letter.

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after holly’s birthday and our traditional christmas breakfast of egg casserole and breakfast cake, we gathered in my living room.  covering every surface of that small space.  under my tree, instead of piles of pretty wrapped presents, were envelopes marking each person’s letter.

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after they were passed out, we went around the room reading them out loud.

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of course, with our family, you’d have to expect a few exceptions to the common letter format.  ethan and levi, true to form, combined their talents and wrote and performed three songs to dad and holly.

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and kelley, who wrote to lauren (an avid justin beiber fan) reworded his popular song lyrics “oh baby, baby. oh…” to “oh lauren, lauren. oh…”  such talent.  the lot of them.

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at the end of both performances, we had tears rolling down our cheeks.  from the sheer humor of the thing.

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i wrote to steve.  it’s a gem.  perhaps i’ll share it with you some day.  perhaps.

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and my letter came from my dad.

i’ll leave you with his words.  they still make me cry.

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dear tara,

you have led the way in offering help to your mother and me these past several days, trying hard to get us in our house by Christmas.  tirelessly and selflessly you have worked and worked to make our new house a home.  please know how much i appreciate you and all that you do; simple things like proving ice and pop, bringing donuts, and running to get lunch.  and then there are the not-so-simple things like removing sheet rock and paneling in our bedroom to expose the unseen window, doing detail paint work on our trip (although i did have to come behind you several times to touch up), and providing a pot of excellent tasting chili for us to enjoy.  and today, hosting all of the family to keep our Christmas morning traditions alive.

tara, i’m so proud of you and especially grateful to God that you love Christ Jesus.  knowing this makes your father full of joy.  as we celebrate Christ’s birth today, i’m glad that we can also celebrate His anticipated return.  look at this exciting scripture…

“and i saw a new heaven and new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.  and i john saw the holy city, new jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.  and i heard a great voice out of heaven saying, behold, the tabernacle of God is with men and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.  and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow or crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.  and he that sat upon the throne said, behold, i make all things new.  and he said unto me, write; for these words are true and faithful.  and he said unto me, it is done.  i am alpha and omega, the beginning and the end.  i will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.  he that overcometh shall inherit all things; and i will be his God, and he shall be my son.” revelation 21:1-7

this christmas day is obviously different than others we’ve enjoyed in the past.  with our repairs and remodels at the new house, it has caused all of us to lack the time and energy to “shop” for one another.  but that’s okay because this christmas day is very, very special.  primarily because of you.

i love you!  dad

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thanks dad.  i love you too.

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happy new year’s eve, friends.

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merry christmas every day!  to you.  and you.  and you.  and yours.

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in celebration of the eve of christmas.  and because i’ve been cooking.  and cleaning.  and wrapping.  all.  day.  and because my postage stamp house is full of siblings who are spending the night.

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and because i used to be famous.  (i promise)

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i bring you this.  may your night be filled with jingle bell times.  and swell times.  as you rock the night away.

oh, one more thing.  christmas came early for my dear friend debbie.  who, all the way from ukraine, has won these hair accessories.  with her comment, “Your beautiful bright flowers would be perfect to add some color and cheer to a drab, grey, snow and slush-covered Ukrainian winter. You did say you’ll ship this time?”

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yes, debbie!  message me your addy and they’ll be shipped your way!  i hope they DO brighten up your drab colored winter!

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and to all a good night to the rest of you!

remember the 90′s?  when i was in high school (sigh).  and big bows were all the rage?  oh man.  the bigger.  the better.  they had to rival our bangs, after all.

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well, the 90′s bow are out.  but happily.  hair accessories are (back) in.

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in celebration of that.  and because it’s christmas.  and we all need a little sprucing up these days.

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and because i love you.  i’m giving these away.

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and i’m showing you how to make them yourself.  you’re welcome.

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it’s super easy.  paper flowers.  bobby pins.  hot glue.  creativity.  and a little patience.

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don’t have those but still want the style?  leave a comment below and the three pictured above could be yours!

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contest open through thursday noon.  and this time, anyone (near or far.  even chinar) can join.  i’ll ship.  i promise.

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merry christmas.  and happy accessorizing.

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remember that house around the corner from me?  the one with the signs in their front yard?

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well, they’re at it again.

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this time, with a christmas flare:

dear santa, del city doesn’t have the money to spend on drains

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can you help us?  cookies and milk will be under the tree.  merry christmas.

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oh man.  seriously.

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on another note.  we have a winner!  winner, winner!  turkey dinner!  (i’ve been hankerin’ to say that lately. thank you for indulging me.)

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on my monday post, this tara rehrig original was up for grabs.

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randomly selected with a very scientific formula.

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haley!  with her comment: what a gorgeous painting. “JOY” is truly my favorite word ever, ask anyone!

I wish I had a good procrastination story, but I can’t think of one right now… maybe it will come to me.

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congrats girl!  i hope you enjoy it!  contact me for details if you don’t hear from me first.

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over and out, yo.

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