pump up the jam...

i want to write about how i have been blessed this past year or so...we are at a new church, called Bridgeway. it is not church of christ, there is a loud worship band and people worship how they want- its crazy(well, for us c of c'ers), and we love it. i have never experienced jesus and his grace like i have since weve been there. i can feel his presence as soon as we begin to worship and i literaly, get goosebumps every sunday. they ask people to come forward toward the end of services and people pray over you and it is a time of healing and intimacy. how come ive never experienced this before? ive always known jesus and have had a close relationship with him, but now its on a whole different level. i am often brought to tears during the worship time and it isnt tears brought out by the emotional experience, it is tears that i cant stop, brought out by being in the close, devine presence of jesus. tears that are brought out because i am speaking words of adoration to him- right to him, and i can feel him right there, soaking it up.
the wierd part is that ive never liked having loud instruments durring worship, i want to be able to hear myself, hear everyone else. but i have found that now i love the strings or horns or whatever else, i actualy like that is a bit louder than i used to prefer. as a girl who was always in choir, always enjoyed music, i have always been caught up in the melody, am i hitting the right notes, are my harmonies sounding ok? now, i can focus on the actual words im speaking and i could care less what i sound like, im just blending in to what is an amazing heavenly sound!
ive also found that i like to worship with my eyes closed, all the time. when my eyes are open, im watching the worship leaders, watching the little girls dancing in the isle, seeing which friends are here ect, but as soon as i close my eyes i am brought to a place where it is just me and god and there are no distractions.
now that i have experienced things like this and know how good it can be, how i long to go to church, how refreshing it is to leave the building and feel completley filled up, i want everyone to be able to find their "Bridgeway". i hope that all of you out there in bloglandia are going to a church that gives you goosebumps every sunday, and if youre not- find it! dont settle for any less than goosebumps.

pie hole...

ok. its dwitger, yeah yeah yeah, blah blah blah. im sending another recipe out there...but i must say, i am bored with my own posts. i only have so much time to write these little messages and i have to keep up with dwitger and i also try to write on saturday since its my day off, but crap, when i can only write once or twice a week...recipes get old! should i switch dwitger to every other thursday? i mean, believe me, ive still got tons of good food up my sleeve, but should i spread it out a little??
anyway, here is erics birthday mud pie: i think i will call it...erics butt pie, no...chocolatey delicious. no, erics chocolatey deilious butt pie. yep, thats it.
"erics chocolatey delicious butt pie"
ingredients:
oreo pie crust
jar of caramel ice cream topping
2 Tbsp vanilla extract
2 pints of you favorit ice cream (i use coffee or some sort of chocolate or both)
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup toffee chips (optional)

in a small saucepan, heat 1/2 c. caramel and the vanilla to a boil and then let simmer for about 6 minutes. (dont simmer too long, i did once and it turned into a hard cany shell that could not be broken, literaly) its better to undercook the caramel. pour mixture into oreo crust and put in freezer for about 15 minutes. scoop 1 pint of ice cream into pie shell and sprinkle half of both chips on top. repeat with next pint of ice cream and chips, then drizzle with remaining caramel from the jar. freeze for about 4 hours.

i really hope you enjoy erics butt, have a slice and take a big ol' bite! its a little piece of heaven, one of my faves. i shared erics butt with some friends the other day and they ate it right up- loved it. so i hope you and your family enjoy the smoothe flavors of erics butt.

yo ho yo ho a hot mans wife, thats me...

why is violet so pissed? i dont even know...
tuesday was erics birthday! he is now 25 years old, yes guys, i know, im old enough to be his mommy- im 26. (well, i will be in a few weeks) anyway, his family has a tradition that everyone decorates the birthday persons bedroom before they wake up on the big day, so of course he and i have carried on the tradition and he woke up to surrounded by yellow crepe paper dangling from the cieling fan and draped all over the bed. side note: eric and i recently decided that we wanted new hobbies. things that we could do instead of watching tv...i took up oil painting, in the footsteps of my daddy and he took up making wooden model ships. although, his little ships were mucho expensivo so he hadnt really done anything yet. (end of side note)
so, when eric woke up he was surrounded by presents of all shapes and sizes- one size amazingly representing a ship. sadly, i could not afford the boat, but luckily his mom and dad could. but i did make him my own ship- out of popcicle sticks, something i am quite handy with! this masterpiece was made only out of little popcicle sticks and the sails were fashioned from $20 bills. (so he could buy all the tools he needed to make his ship.) we both had to work on this day of erics birth, so that was kind of sad, but life. after work we went out for dinner with his fam and saw a movie. this too is a silvestri tradition, to go to dinner and a movie on anyones birthday, fathers day, mothers day, thanksgiving, christmas eve, st. patricks day, martin luther king day...any holiday really. it was a joyous occasion.
instead of cake i made eric an ice cream mudpie. with oreo and caramel crust filled with ice cream and chocolate and toffee chips...mmm...i will share the recipe next dwitger.
so, that was erics birthday experience, it was low key, but devine. i love that guy...he is my precious.

chickeny delicious...

oh dear. its thursday already and it is time for dwitger. i am fully prepared my friends, but considering i havent posted since last dwitger, this could get old, fast. this week has been crazy, so thats my excuse although i have high hopes of posting more regularly. (as most of us do)
the recipe of the dia. (translation=day)
i think i will call it "Chickeny Delicious". none of our recipes have names, so i guess i will make them up as i go and i hope that you all will bake them with gusto and pass them onto your children. one day years from now, your babies will say things like, "oooh mom it is my birthday and the one thing i want is for you to make me some of that "chickeny Delicious"! please mom, i beg of you, it is all i want this year!"

ingredients:
rolls (the best are fresh ones from the bakery)
chicken breasts
avocado
pineapple rings
tomatoes, sliced
onions, sliced

grill your chicken breasts however you like best. we like to make a lemon pepper seasoning, but you can use ANYTHING. grill the chicken and the pineapple ring on the bbq or in a skillet until it is a dark and juicy. saute the onions in a little butter until they are tender and browning. make the avocado into a simple guacamole, just mash it and add salt, pepper, and lemon juice. slice you rolls and toast if you want. then just put all of these topping on the roll to make an amazing sandwich!!
we use this recipe all the time when we take meals to friendsor when we have people over. it is quick and easy and fresh for a hot day. p.s. you can also add mayo or butter to your rolls.

dwit-ger!

i love to cook! i am no gormet chef by any means, but it makes me happy to make a really great meal for my husband. we have found that we love to cook together too. at least once a week we cook a big meal together and just take our time making it fun and delicious. i always make him defrost and season the chicken, because i think its kinda barfy, but its fun nonetheless. (i also make him grate the cheese, because i hate getting my fingers slimeyand cheesey). we have come up with dozens of recipes that are quick, delicious and contain ingredients that you already have around the house! so i want to share them with you all. at first i thought it might be dumb, but then i realized that lots of you have people to cook for and need something quick. i will be posting a new recipe every week on thursday and will call it, "Dont Worry, Tara's Got a Recipe!", or DWTGR! (pronounced, dwit-ger)
This is the first week of DWTGR! and i hope at least one person gives it a whirl! let me know what you think!
Calzones
ingredients:
1 can pilsbury pizza crust
1 can diced tomatoes
pepperoni
onions-chopped
green peppers- chopped
black olives
3 Tbsp italian seasoning (or if you dont have it, just use basil, thyme, oragano and whatever else)
mozzerella- shredded
paresan- shredded

unroll pizza dough and use a small/medium size bowl to cut large circles (i find that one pizza dough roll make 2 large calzones). in a small bowl mix diced tomatoes and italian seasoning. spread mixture on half of each circle and then just top with remaing pizza toppings. (i like to use lots of extra topping to make it stuffed!) fold over the dough to make a half moon shape and then use a fork to seal all the edges. heat oil in a large skillet and carefully slide calzone into the hot oil. cook until brown and then flip over to other side. top with shredded parmesan and melt it on top. (if you healthy people dont want to cook it in oil, im sure you could bake it)
This is one of our faves, enjoy! see you next thursday for the second annual DWTGR!

death by neck snappping...

today i decided to do a little work on the yard. i busted out the ol' weed eater and was trying to get it to work but couldnt seem to make it happen, so i watered the front yard instead. while watering under the tree i found a dead bird. it is a blue jay and it is headless. i was wondering for quite some time who would steal a blue jay head, but eventualy just went to get the camera so i could blog about my poor little feathered friend. alas, when i tried to get the camera i found that i had somehow locked myself out of the house. frick. i tried every door in the house. locked. i tried every window in the house. locked. garage. locked. i tried to bust down the back door and all i did was bruise my hips. i tried to kick it in (seriously), but my little indian sequined slippers werent doing the trick. eric is at work by the way until 10:00 tonight and it doesnt matter anyway because i have his house key- in the house. i eventualy went to a neighbors house and called a locksmith and had to pay 50.00 for him to spray some wd-40 and drill the hole. im so pissed. were poor and have a mere 23.00 in our account...good luck cashing that check you filthy locksmith! ( i saw your butt crack, by the way. maybe you should put on some underwear before you go to work tomorrow)
oh. p.s.
i found out that the headless bird does have a head its just bent backwards-an unfortunate death by neck snapping.

ive got a news flash for you walter kronkite....

I found this thingy and i will do my best to answer...its kinda fun, i highly suggest it.

I am a cuddler: not so much. im more of a "wham bam thank you mam" kinda girl.
I am a morning person: i dont like actualy waking up, but i would much rather be up early getting things done. and i go to bed at like 10:00 so i guess im not a night owl.
I am a perfectionist: no, but i am anal when it comes to certain things. my house isnt always clean, by any means, but when i do clean it is redisculously clean and spotless.
I am an only child: jen and ryan died??!!?!
I am currently in my pajamas: nope. it is noon on saturday and im wearing a new black and white striped tank top and cut off capris.
I am addicted to my blogger: i am addicted to reading it and reading what everyone has to say but as you know i only actualy blog about once a week.
I am shy around people at first: yes. but once im comfortable, not shy much at all.
I bite my nails: sadly i do. i go through phases, but if im wearing polish i dont!
I can be paranoid at times: iim always afraid people dont like me. i think people often dont like me, but i dont know why...makes me sad.
I currently regret something that I have said: i recently said, "what the crap?!" to a 3 year old. oops.
I like someone: i like eric, i like nikki, i like jenn and jen, i like arwen, i like ryan, i like jessa, i like anrea, i like andrew unless hes being a butt, i like lisa, i like dustin and amy, i like my mom and dad....
I enjoy country music: not so much. but im not opposed to it.
I enjoy jazz music: i went to a jazz bar in seattle with a few friends once, that was fun, but otherwize, not really.
I enjoy smoothies: love them! but they make me sick. lots of food makes me sick.
I enjoy talking on the phone: yes, to people that i dont see much. but not just to chit chat.
I have a lot to learn: nope, pretty sure i know it all.
I have a pet: violet the dog and marci the hampster and eric the husband.
I have a secret that I am ashamed to reveal: yes, but its not like im going to reveal it!
I have all my grandparents: no...just one left. thanks for bringing it up. 2 have died and one is dead to me.
I have been told that I am smart: never. actualy, eric thinks im smart, but im not sure where he came up with that.
I have broken a bone: nope. never. got a bloody nose once.
I have Caller ID on my phone: we only have cell phones, so yes.
I have bathed or showered with someone: just with my husband! oh, and jess.
I have changed a diaper: who hasnt??
I have changed alot over the past year: yes, we go to a new church and it has been an awsome growth experience! ive never seen jesus like i have in the past year. such a blessing.
I have done something illegal: like jaywalking? i think the worst thing ive done is snuck into a hotel pool in portugal and snuck in the rest of eric s family. im pretty wild, i know. they call me crazy tara.
I have friends that have never seen my natural hair color: no, i am all-natural right now. kinda sick of having stripes in my hair.
I have had surgery: i had my appendix out.
I have killed another person: no, but my grandpa did.
I have had my hair cut in the last week: just my leg hair.
I have kissed someone I knew I shouldn't: unfortunatly. but i most of you know him so im not telling.
Now, wasnt that fun?!

blankety blank...

it rained like crazy last night. there was thunder and lightning up to wazu. i slept in on this lovely, damp saturday morning until 10:00 and then decided to take violet (or, ivy as arwen calls her) for a walk to the park. we live a block away from a great big park with a rose garden and tennis courts and trails and a big swimming pool with slides and fountains! its nice. so me and ivy walked and i talked to her under my breath- you know, everyday things that you say to your dog when youre alone, like, "dude, stop yanking the leash", "what the frick is that smell? did you fart?!", "stop pulling! stop, violet! i said stop! fine, then youre going to sit here....sit. sit. no. i said sit. we will sit here until you stop pulling me around. no, sit.siiiit.sit. good.no, sit."
this is what most of the walk was like.
then we arrived at the very back darkest corner of the park, the creepy area. you know the one, the area that is under the shade of the trees, kind of smells like a butt. we were in that place, just passing through, and i look over and see a group of 3 men sitting at a picnic table all hunched over. i strain my neck to see whats going on and of course theyve got an actual mirror and razor and are doing drug type things! i kept walking and was trying to look natural, like i was cool with it, no problem here guys. i got the urge to call the police or something of that nature, but was a little nervous. i mean, seriously, what if they did something drastic like blew some of that crap in my eyes or worse! my nose! id be one of them.

daisytara schmilvestri...

i got the job! i got a newer better job! im so excited! my one true joy in life (besides all my other one true joys in life) is working with children. so, i was just hired to be a full time nanny. ive done it before and its a blast. it will be a little baby (who isnt born yet) named charles, it pays more than i make now, get lots of paid vacation, in a beautiful house and its only 4 days a week! good times. and it is something that i love to do! honestly, it makes me excited to do something i actualy want to do. how many people do we all know that are in a wretched job that they hate( i think that would be most of us)- im glad that i can say that im past that, for now. god is faithful. yay god.

to blog or not to blog...

i only write on my blog every week or so...sometimes every 2 weeks. i know i should do it more often, but i feel as though i am supposed to write something funny or witty- how am i ever supposed to compare to arwen??! i will never be at that level, i mean, lets get serious guys. so i have recently decided to blog about my life- even if it is not funny. no strings attatched- i just write about whats happening or what im thinking and it might even be boring! im sorry, but it is better to write and be boring than to not write at all....right?.....

why lord, why?!

i work at a screen printing shop. i am the production manager, i run the front office and deal with the customers. i kinda do everything. but really, i just tell myself that so i dont have to think about working at a random meaningless job. i often order garments from a company called american apparel, theyve got fun, cool clothes and the kids seem to dig their hip duds. but the picture you see above is just one of the many unfortunate shots in their catalog and i have yet to figure out why they think that this is going to help sell items! it is always an ackward moment with the customer, when we open the catalog together, only to find oursleves staring into the zoomed in crotch of a extremely hairy man. im finding it hard to upsell when i myself, dont enjoy looking at wieners. but i have found that i can instead use the pics to break the ice with new employees, "hey wesley, i know youre only 17 and still a little ackward, and i dont really know you but i want to show you something...ha ha! its a wiener! welcome aboard."

daisytara schmilvestri...

eric recently told me that his enormous amount of thick hair is like wearing a coonskin cap so i allowed him to shave it. (thats right i allowed him to) as soon as he did, he bagan to wrestle with violet and she gave him 3 large slashes on his bald head. it made me laugh. the lord giveth and he taketh away. i bet he wished he had that coonskin cap now. sucka.

daisytara schmilvestri...

(this is evidently when eric realized how gross i looked)
as of the may 26th, eric and i have been married 4 years! we decided to celebrate the joyous occasion with a little weekend camping trip. both of us love to camp and we always seem to go at least a few times each summer, it has always been with friends or family but since this was our anni. we dscided to trek it on our own. it was wonderful! we went to a KOA campground, which for those of you who have never been- theyve got a pool, litle dinky mini golf courses, a snack bar, ect. it is not for the faint of heart, we were really "roughin' it". (note the sarcasm) it is a little different camping by yourself, than with
your parents. we quickly realized that we had to make our own fire. ugh. it wasnt already warm and glowing when we awoke in the morning. there are alot of things that you (or we) forget to bring that evidently mom always brought- the can opener, oil for the pancakes, and many other minor yet useful things.
now, i will share with you the good points of the trip...
1. we relaxed together, reading riding bikes and just lounging around.
2. there was a beautiful swimming pool and we soaked up the rays all afternoon.
3. violet experienced her first camping trip!
4. we had beautiful sunny weather.
5. we remembered some of our happiest times and stories from the past 4 years.

now, here are the not quite so good points...
1. we were evidently so relaxed that we forgot to shower. i never even got dressed all weekend- just a tee shirt and erics boxers and a nasty head of hair.
2.we lounged by the pool for a squench too long and i fried my poor pale body. and now i live in pain.
3. violet drove us absolutely crazy, waking us up every hour durring the night, so she could wander around the camp site like a psycho animal.
4. it was about 100 degrees all weekend- which in oklahoma feels like about 175 degrees. it was so hot in the tent that we slept in our birthday suits and opened all the windows- much to the dismay of our neighboors.
anyway, even in misserable conditions eric and i loved being together and had such a blast! he is my best friend in the whole world. i hope all of you have, or find love like ours! what do you love about your sweetie?!

i'm a'goin' baby makin...

so, weve been trying to have a baby for about a year and a half now. it sucks. everyone i know is pregnant or having babies and it makes me want one more and more everyday. were trying to get as many people praying for us as we can, so all you blog world, PRAY FOR US. but, jenn and filipe (erics sister and her husband) have been trying for even longer (more like 4 years) and the great thing is that they recently decided to adopt a baby! im so excited for them, this has been such a long hard road and to see them so excited to know that they will have baby soon, is exciting! they will probably get a little girl from guatamala, around 5 months or so. theyre still in the process of paperwork and all that crap, but it makes my heart happy to know that there is a light at the end of their tunnel. ive just started going to the doctor to find out if there is anything wrong with me or if weve just got slow swimmers and im waiting to hear back from the first little round of tests. im not too worried about it, but all prayers are gladly excepted. do you, my friend, have any advice? any probable positions? any nuggets of wisdom? know any witchdoctors that make people pregnant? no, i dont really go for the witchdoctor type...

where is the love?

i am currently very aware of the fact that people that i thought had the same standards as i, evidently changed their minds. things like, the sanctity of marriage. i am suddenly surrounded by probably close to a dozen friends, who are good, godly men and women, but decided that it was ok to forget their vows and pack up. im my book, that is simply not an option. i cant even fathom the idea of ever leaving eric, so i have to admit its hard to relate...but still. it makes me mad that just because it gets hard and isnt the storybook that we all dreamed of, we give up. i dont say all of this to make it sound like ive got it all figured out or am better than anyone else, just that things need to change. were blending in with the "world" and need to be set apart- examples. lately, my prayers are for my friends going through these types of things. i hope they will look to jesus.

to cheat or not to cheat...

so, ive got a moral delema. the other day my boss gave me a little coupon for a free sonic burger at a local burger joint called, sonic. maybe youve heard of it. i dont really like sonic much, i think it is kinda flavorless and boring and dont really find it too thrilling. but nonetheless, this girl always loves a free item and especialy when this girl is particularly poor. so naturaly, i went to sonic and got my free burger. the beauty of this experience was that the girl who rolled out on her roller skates, to bring my food to my car- didnt take the coupon! i was so excited! again, the burger was kinda nasty, but i relished it, because of the free-ness of it all. (relished, not in the condiment sort of way but the "enjoyment" sort of way.) the beauty of this tale is that not only didnt they take the coupon the first time, but they didnt take the coupon the 2nd 3rd or 4th time either! it is a marvelous thing. a kind of tasteless, greasy thing, but i cant stop going because it is like the lord just wants to keep giving me free lunch! therefore, i must continue to pull off this wonderful feat, i may become a fat ugly wench in the process, but i think it is well worth it in the end. what do you think my friends, am i sinful sinner?

grad time...

it is a joyous time in the silvestri household. eric will grauate from college in a matter of 5 days and just the thought of it makes me want to wet myself. it has been a looong journey but alas, the day is arriving. i heard a nasty rumor that the ceremony is suposed to last 4 hours. once again i may wet myself if this is true, (although not in joy) as i am not partial to sitting in a hot gym listening to boring speakers for hours on end. my plan was, as soon as he walked down that isle, eric would get a wonderful job and i would be a wealthy housewife, able to sit at home, cook amazing meals, plant a lucious garden that would produce fruit of bounty. i would sunbathe every afternoon, but never get more than a golden glow. my morning routine would consist of reading my bible until i was completley full of the spirit, able to share my plathera of wisdom with the people of the village. these are just a few of the things that my heart longs for and now i have realized that instead, i will end up going to work every day from 8-5 and then pick up eric from work at best buy. we will cook tv dinners in the evening and on the chance that i get to lay out on the weekend, i will fry my skin and it will peel off days later so that i have blotchy pink skin. all this to say that in reality, no matter what our circumstances, eric and i will deal with whatever god throws our way and somehow always end up growing closer. congrats E, i love you baby!!

daisytara schmilvestri...: April 2006

My precious dog, Violet, has got a nasty habit. in reality she has lots of nasty habits; butt munching, running away with her partner in crime and best friend, bruno, barking in my face and biting erics, but more odd than these few things is that she loves to eat bugs. i know that all dogs chase flies and eat random bugs, but my dog has a taste for rolly pollies! we seem to have an amazing amount of rollies around our back yard and she searches them out and eats up as many as she can. sometimes when she ruturns from a romp in the yard rollies will drop out of her mouth! eric and i try to dis-sway her from these cute little balls of fun, but she just laps them up. weve all had our fun with rollie pollies-flicking them around, and so it brakes my heart everytime violet decides to have a tasty treat.

eenie meenie...

so, this is what it has come down to...im a blogger. i guess i just wanted to be cool like a few people i know, jen, ry, lis, arwen... so here i am. i hope people will like me better now, i hope i can be in the cool club of people who write ramdom, yet amazingly witty things for others to read, criticize and ponder. come to think of it- you four, mentioned above are truly some of my wittiest friends/siblings/bff since 3rd grade. none can compare to the quick wit of arawan, she has cat like speed and reflexes when it comes to the mind, nay, ryan's ability to sound exactly like ron burgundy may trump all funnyness. Lisa, i never knew of these writing skills, it is a river that runs deep...into the soul... jen, my little buttercup, has the sweetest smile...need i say more? no, i need'nt.