!!!!!HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

Hi and welcome to my Daily Diary. Here is where we will be posting interesting things that we have been doing and also cool pictures of the places that we have been.

Click to jump the month of your choice

January February March April May June July August September October November December

January

• We celebrated New Years with a wonderful hot dog and sauerkraut lunch and then enjoyed snacks later on. It was a nice quiet day. We watched the Rose Bowl Parade on HGTV. It was the best. No commercial interruptions. It was the same as last year and I  hope that they do it again every year. We are thankful for the blessed 2002 that God bestowed on us and we ask for His blessing for 2003.
• We had a lovely dinner and visit with Andy, Jackie, and Alex down in Forked River.
• We are busy with Praise Team Practice, Trustee Meetings, and the Church Business Meeting for the first half of the month.
• I am working on applying for my unemployment benefits from the state.
• I am still job searching, sending out resumes and talking with prospective employers. I look forward to my next job and I will praise God from whom all of my blessing flow.
• Karen is starting to job hunt. She has her finger in a few places. We will have to wait and see what comes up.
• I have been to several interviews and I am asking for prayers for both Karen and I as we seek God's Will in our new job situations.
• We had a fun Super Bowl Sunday. We enjoyed some really nice seafood cheese dip and we made a big pot of chili which we made Chili-Cheese Dogs during the game. The game itself was pretty interesting. We did not think that Tampa would be able to beat the Raiders, but we really enjoyed watching the game as the Buc's beat the Raiders. The new commercials for the game were enjoyable. A few we laughed long at, and some just did not seem to make sense. We watched the Saturday Night Live Half-time show. It was great! Karen and I really liked the Lord of the Rings scene with the Super Bowl Ring and Gollum.
• We finally replaced the vacuum. The old one has been dying a slow death. The power head keep turning itself on and off will doing the carpets. It finally became to much of a head-ache and we picked up a Eureka upright at Sears. It should work much better for cleaning up our humble little abode.
• We are making plans for Swatara again. It should be a wonderful time with renewal of our minds, bodies, and spirits.
• We tried a wonderful place for Sushi. The name of the restaurant is Tokyo Teppanyaki. It is located on Route 9 North in the Galleria Shopping Center in Manalapan, New Jersey.  Karen and I enjoyed the all-you-can-eat sushi dinner. For the 19.95 price tag, we had an appetizer, salad bar, soup, sushi, and ice cream desert. For dinner, you chose 5 sushi selections from the extensive list in the menu. When you want more, you just order. You do have to pay for extra sushi you do not eat. The food was wonderful and we had a wonderful leisurely dinner. We will be back again when the sushi bug bites us again. There is also Hibachi tables available. The restaurant was clean and the staff was very friendly. 

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February

• We had a wonderful time at Camp Swatara again this year. We journeyed out on Saturday morning and stayed through Sunday lunch. The drive out went very well. We made the trip in a bit less than 3 hours. It was a bit foggy and misty but we ran into no serious problems on the drive. We were able to have a nice time of Christian Fellowship, Bible Study, and FUN!!! Click HERE for the pictures from the weekend.

• Karen started her new job in child care on Monday. Her day went well and I praise God for his provisions. She is working part time for now until enrollment goes up. It is a wonderful way for her to slowing get back into work mode. I thank God everyday for giving me Karen as my friend, wife, helpmate, and Sister in Christ.

• We tried out a new dessert recipe that Karen was emailed from the M&M Candies Web Site. It is a heart shaped brownie with milky-way minis around the edge, then topped with a raspberry moose filling and drizzled with Dove dark chocolate ribbons. Click HERE  for a picture of  how it turned out. It was delicious and we shared with the neighbors. We will be making some more of them for Valentine's Day.

• Of course, one can not create a delicious master piece without some trouble. My trouble was that I thought we had more milk for making the moose. Of course we only had about a cup left. Not a problem. I would pick some more up on my way back from dropping off Karen. Of course we got a snow storm and work was cancelled. Thanks to Rob, though we were able to create the master piece. Click HERE for the pictures of the snowfall we received. I think we got on the 8 inches side of the snow storm and Karen and I loved the extra day together.

• Karen is enjoying her time with the kids at Children's World and I am still job seeking. I am amazed at how well God has taken care of us and I pray for His Will to be done in my job search.

• Sunday February 9 was Friend's Day at Amwell. There were lots of new people to meet as members invited their friends to come out and worship with us. A delicious luncheon was served in the annex after the service. My thanks go out to everyone who used the time and talents that God gifted them with for making Friend's Day such a wonderful time.

• Happy Valentine's Day to my beloved. We had a wonderful weekend together to remember 15 Valentine's Day's together.

• We renewed our wedding vows at church on Valentine's Sunday. It was a wonderful celebration of the renewal of our commitment to one another. Click HERE to go to the church website and see the pictures and hear as Bob & Jean spoke the vows that we repeated.

• President's Day Blizzard.... Click HERE for the pictures from the snow fall....

• Went to the Sarts/RMS reunion dinner in Eatontown. It was nice to see the people and to relive some of the moments of a large portion of my career at AT&T/Lucent. I was sad to hear that there were more layoffs in my old group. I hope that the economy picks up soon to pull the telecommunications industry out of the slide that it is in.

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March

• Celebrated our 15th Wedding Anniversary. Sorry Dearest wife for not mentioning it at church.... :) We had dinner out at Tokyo Teppanyaki. We enjoyed the sushi again.

• Getting into the swing of being the house husband and taking care of the house. Still doing the job search. I know that God has already answered our prayers and we just have to wait for His timing. Thank you to all who are praying for my job situation.

• Had a long drag out fight to get the new Amwell site up and working correctly. Finally got it all working again on the new server. Looking at moving this site to the new server as well. Probably look at doing it next month.

• We went to the movies and the Pizzeria Uno's. Thank to Bob and Margaret for the gift cards.

• Thinking of heading up the Woman's Banquet at church in May. They are looking for a head-chef. Will have to make the decision soon I guess.

• Been making Welcome signs for the front door. Been getting the materials from Rag Shop. The signs have turned out pretty neat I think, and they are cheaper than the ones that we saw at the store.

• We had a scare with Trouble. Turns out she had a UI tract infection. She was not happy getting the medicine that she needed. Why couldn't someone come up with a liquid anti-biotic that is tuna flavored instead of bubble gum...

• Replaced the air filters in the cars, and the rear wiper on Eggy. Eggy's air filter was easy to change. I finally had to go back to Pep Boys to have the Van's filter changed. I could not figure out how to get to it. Turns out you have to take the breather system off to get to the filter. I will know how to do it next time....

• We enjoyed a nice dinner out at Charlie Brown's Steak House. They had sent us a nice double points coupon.

• Got painting supplies to paint the trim and doors for the bath, laundry, pantry, and bedroom. It keep me out of trouble for two days, but I think that is turned out really nice. Would like to get new doors for the pantry, bedroom, and closet. Maybe after I get my job.

• We are figuring out what color to paint the bedroom. We ordered new curtains, comforter, sheets for the bedroom. Now we just have to figure out what color to match the walls. We hung the new curtains. What a difference. The bedroom is nice and dark now.

• We enjoyed a nice treat to the Old Country Buffet for the Saturday breakfast bar. The food was nice and we enjoy it as a special time to sit and relax while we enjoy a nice breakfast. I would recommend that for a nice leisurely family breakfast.

• We saw a couple of movies this Month. The best was "The Core". It was well done. Kind of a "Armageddon" set under the sea.

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April

• Applied for a NJ State job in Trenton. They sent me a qualification form to fill out. Please add this possible job to the prayers for my job situation.

• We enjoyed a nice dinner at Pizzeria Uno's before heading over to church to watch the kids for the marriage encounter workshop. We only ended up with the twins, but we had a nice time with them.

• We enjoyed a early dinner at the Jackson China Buffet. It had been a while since we had Chinese and it was nice change of pace. 

• We had our air ducts sucked and the dryer vent cleaned. Wow, what a bunch of dust had built up over the years. The dryer seems to be working better now that it can exhaust the moisture. I am looking forward to less dust in the house since I am the one trying to keep ahead of it. The cat was not happy with the procedure and I am sure that she was glad when they were done with the cleaning.

• I put in the new garden edging and racked out the flower beds. Karen is looking forward to planting soon. In the meantime I bought her 20 cut tulips for Easter. Tulips are her favorite cut flower and I was glad to see that they were still available at Easter. The garden bed looks nice and awaits the warm weather when we can plant it.

• I cleaned out the shed and put out the lawn furniture. It is nice to be able to sit out and enjoy the beautiful weather that God is blessing us with. I am also looking forward to BBQ this summer on our little grill. It worked very well up at Treasure Lake last October and I can't wait to enjoy grilled hamburgers, hotdogs, and chicken.

• I agreed to be the head-chef for the Women's banquet at Amwell. I have worked out the menu and I have tried the vodka sauce for the pasta. The recipe that I found is very easy and very delicious.

• We laughed at the all of the ads for last minute tax preparation. We are glad that we get our taxed completed and E-filed as soon as possible. We get the refund in about 2 weeks and miss the rush. I would recommend Tax-Act as this is the third year that we used it. It was quick, easy, and reasonably priced.

• We are very thankful for all the blessings that God has given us. Thank you Lord for blessing the troops in battle and for guiding President Bush during this time of upheaval. 

• We have been busy getting ready for the Amwell Women's Banquet in May. I  have been testing the recipe for the Vodka sauce that I will be making to accompany the Chicken Parmesan.

• I am still doing the job hunting. I am waiting for God's time to place the job that He has for me. 

• We have picked up a new Home Borrowers client from the Ocean County Library. It is so nice to be able to help the patrons who are house bound.

• We have planted the garden flowers. Karen did a wonderful job while I was updating the church's website. I had to replace the edging with  interlocking PVC plates which I found at Home Depot.

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• I have had a busy time doing the shopping for the Women's Banquet. My thanks go out to my loving and helpful wife Karen who helped me with the food preparation and to the guys who helped with the serving and clean up. Over 60 women and about 10 helpers were served. The menu was: Appetizer of prosciutto and provolone rolls with black olive and grape cluster; Salad of romaine lettuce with grape tomatoes, seeded cucumbers, shredded carrots, red onion with a Balsamic vinegar dressing; Entrée consisting of chicken parmesan and a side of penne with pink vodka sauce; Dessert was vanilla ice cream filled waffle bowl with a chocolate hazelnut pirouette cookie stick and an After 8 mint. Everyone had a great time at the Banquet and we have started to plan next year's menu. Click here for pictures from the banquet.

• Mother's Day service at Amwell was a wonderful service. Karen and I created a slide show of pictures of mother's and their children. Jean picked out "The Potter's Hand" as the music to accompany the show. A lot of people told me how much they enjoyed the presentation and how well suited it was to the music.

• I finally was able to paint the bedroom. Karen and I picked out Luminary for the walls with the trim and doors done in Glazed Pecan. The combination looks really nice. It was a very long week to get the room prepped for painting and to get the actual painting completed. It was worth the effort. I finished putting everything back into place Friday afternoon and I think that it looks pretty nice. I can't wait to get out the new accents  that we bought to enhance the room.

• Karen is working away at the latest edition of the Amwell Newsletter. I have been helping with some of the typing to free her up to do  the layout and content. I am proud of her labor of love in producing the newsletter every other month.

• We had a delicious dinner out with Bob, Margaret and Dorothy. We went back to Rico's in Freehold for some really nice traditional Mexican cuisine.

• We are looking forward to Love Feast and Communion on the 18th. It is a wonderful service of remembering the Last Supper Christ shared with the disciples.

• Karen and I had a great weekend. It was capped off with the beautiful and meaningful Love Feast and Communion service. It was a very touching service. Karen honored my Mom by wearing Mom's pray cap for the service.

• I added the last touches to the room. The new sheets and bed spread and the throw rug. The room looks wonderful. Click here for pictures of the completed room.

• Karen and I are enjoying our Memorial Day Weekend together. On Friday we have made BBQ chicken and home made macaroni salad. On Saturday we went to the moves and saw X-Men 2. The special effects were good, but the plot was a bit thin. We also had BBQ beef for dinner. The rain may have dampened outdoor activities, but we are still having a great time resting and relaxing together. We will be grilling sausage and making red potato salad for dinner later on Sunday. In the mean time, Happy Memorial Day Weekend to everyone. God Bless

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• I have been continuing the job hunt. I want to thank everyone for their prayers for my next job.

• Karen has been enjoying her job. I praise God for putting her in a job that she enjoys and is able to make a difference.

• I am still baking treats for Karen and her co-workers on Fridays. It is usually something chocolaty and very, very good :)

• We had a wonderful time at the Tent Revival Meetings that were held at the church during the beginning of the month. We were out in a large tent with sawdust floors hearing the word of God preached. Each of the speakers touched those in attendance with their  words of spiritual revival. Pictures are available on the church's website.

• We had a lovely fathers day. Church started with summer hours so we get home an hour earlier. We had a relaxing day that ended with Pizza Hut Pizza.

• I have been delivering books to our home borrows patron. It is a nice feeling to be able to help those who are homebound.

• We went to the movies and saw The Matrix. It was not as good as the first one and leaves things hanging until the next installment. We also saw the Hulk. That movie was a waste of money even for the $6.00 matinee price. It was rated PG-13, but it had way to much torture of Bruce Banner by the government bad guys. We would have walked out of it about half way through, but we were seated in the middle of the row and would have had to walk over people to get out. I think that it is in the top 3 worst movies ever made. The special effects and computer generated monster were ok, but the plot line ruined the experience for us. 

• We are now planning for the July 4th weekend. Making menu choices and deciding what to do. We are mostly looking forward to a quiet time where we can be together.

• We had Dorothy over for dinner. The menu was tossed salad, chicken with 40 cloves, rice, peas, green beans, and cheesecake pie for dessert. The meal was delicious, but the company and conversation was the best part of the evening. 

• Karen and I celebrated the end of the her full week of being in charge of the room at Children's World by going to the movies and seeing "Finding Nemo". It was a great movie that we enjoyed. It was such a better movie than the Hulk was that we saw last week. 

• Karen is now starting work on the next installment of the Amwell Newsletter while I update our site here. Afterwards I think we will just relax and enjoy the day.

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• The month of July has been speeding along. We had a wonderfully quiet 4th of July. We went to the movies and saw Terminator 3. It was a pretty good movie. Much better than the Hulk as well. It had some interesting temporal mechanics about time travel in it. We stayed close to home for the weekend and enjoyed some time with each other. Karen was ready for her three day weekend.

• I had to report for Grand Jury duty on the 8th. I ended up being the last person seated for the jury. That next to the last seat had three people in it in a quick rotation until I got called. I now get to go to Grand Jury duty one day per week for 16 weeks. I think that it will be an interesting time.

• We went to the movies and saw League of Extraordinary Gentleman. That was a great movie and we recommend it highly. It is about the best film we have seen for a really long time. An original idea and great photography and effects. I think it will be a definite addition to the DVD library when it comes out. As a side note, The Hulk, was not in the theater, and we were not surprised.

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• We went to the movies and saw Tomb Raider II. It was a fun action flick with some nice surprises. 

• We are looking forward to the upcoming Amwell Sunday School Picnic at Bushkill Park and the Movie night at Amwell. It looks to be a busy but very fun sort of day.

• We had a blast at the Sunday School Picnic. Even though the rains came down, spirits were high. Everyone had a great time. Click here for the pictures.

• As part of our busy Saturday, we also set up and showed the movie "Road to Redemption". That was a great film with a good message and some good laughs along the way.

• I am getting a few more calls for job openings. Maybe our prayers will be answered soon. In the mean time, we will keep praying that The Lord's will be done in my search for a new job.

• Still no job yet. Please keep me in your prayers that God will lead me to the position that He knows is where I should be.

• We joined Blockbuster and rented some movies. Bringing Down the House was wonderful and funny. Kung Pow was horrible and I am glad that we had a coupon for a free rental. That was the movie we went to the theater to see, but ended up with Count of Monte Cristo instead. The Count was much better. Glad we had that mix-up then. The third movie is Agent Cody Banks that we will watch as a Sunday Matinee. I hope that it is  a good movie. I will let you know when we have watched it.

• We watched Agent Cody Banks as our Sunday Matinee movie. It was a really nice movie with a good plot and the best demonstration of nano-technology out of control that has been in movies lately. We are both looking forward to the next installment.

• Quiet week so far on the job front. I thank you for the prayers about my new job. I am learning patience while I wait for God's timing.

• I created a website for the Millstone Township Democrats (www.millstonedemocrats.org). I think it came out pretty nice.

• Karen and I are looking forward to this Labor Day weekend. We are planning a nice quiet weekend. We will have to see if it happens.

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• We saw a wonderful Christian movie at church on Saturday the 6th. It was preceded by a wonderful picnic that we shared and then when we were returning home, we were able to stop and watch a fireworks display in Ringoes. We stopped off for an ice cream cone at McDonalds to end our evening.

• Karen is making a wonderful chicken and dumpling stew for supper on Sunday. It smells wonderful and tastes even better.

• The month of September is flying by. I have been to an interview with a placement firm in Parsippany for a job in Piscataway. We will wait and see if this is the answer we have been waiting for. In the mean time I am staying busy being a lousy house keeper. The people Karen works with are glad that I am home because I bake and take in delicious treats on Fridays. 

• Karen, Bob, Margaret, and myself had traveled down to Brick to check out a new BBQ place, Famous Dave's. The place was packed and the line was out the door, so we decided to go to Dim Sum in Brick. The food was delicious, but they do not offer the AAA discount anymore.

• I helped Karen with the latest issue of the Amwell COB Newsletter. It comes out this Sunday for October/November 2003. It is a labor of love. Karen enjoys putting together each issue. She keeps thinking that this issue will be smaller, but The Lord keeps smiling and makes it as big as He wants it.

• We were power washed this month. The siding is cleaner and now I have to clean up the shed so that the patio chairs will fit without falling on my head when I open the door. The weather is beautiful as we start to enjoy Autumn.

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• We enjoyed a short weekend in Treasure Lake this year. Karen did not have the time yet to take more then one day off. We enjoyed ourselves by going to the drive-in movies where we saw "Good Boy!" and "Secondhand Lions". They were both good clean movies and we were glad that they were playing at the Moonlite Drive-In theatre. The fall foliage was beautiful and we enjoyed our drive through the mountains of Pennsylvania. We were disappointed however with the state of our time-share. It has been two years since we paid for the refurbishment to the unit, but it still is not done and there were no available units to switch too because of a foul-up in ordering furniture. I wrote a letter and I await to hear back as to the answers to the maintenance and cleanliness problems as well as the schedule for the to refurbishment.

• I have started my own consulting business, Harclerode Computer Consulting, as a way to make some money. I have been doing some work for people, but this makes it more refined and also as a way to see if this is what my next job will be. I am available for home or small business for consulting work in most areas of computers. I have done website design and maintenance. MS Access work for matching up phone numbers to voters for the Millstone Township Democrats. I also have lots of experience in creating MS PowerPoint Presentations for displaying via LCD Projects for large gatherings. Check out the new business site for more information.

• I ask for your continued prayers for my job search and for Karen as she is now the lead teacher for the 24-30 month kids. 

• We had a very enjoyable Sunday, the 19th of October. We went to the Alpha Charlie Brown's with Bob, Margaret, and Dorothy for lunch after church and then for a ride around the area to some of the nice bird watching areas. We even make it into Pennsylvania to get around a fire that had the road blocked. We returned to church for the Love Feast Celebration. It is a wonderful remembrance of the Lord's Last Supper and Jesus washing his disciples feet.

• We had  a nice Halloween. The candy lasted for a couple of hours. Some of the costumes were pretty scary.

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• We are looking forward to having Kenton visiting us for Thanksgiving. We have sent him his ticket and he is looking forward to coming out for a few days.

• We are currently looking for someone to rent out Florida timeshare in January '04. We have a few nibbles but no one has paid up the money. Luckily we have not been charged yet for the '04 maintenance fee.

• We plan on having an old fashioned Thanksgiving dinner. We are getting a free turkey from Shop Rite. Karen will be making sage sausage and onion dressing. Homemade mashed potatoes, yams, peas and carrots, whole kernel corn, and cranberry sauce will round out our meal. Dessert will be delicious pies from Battleview Orchards over on Wemrock Road in Freehold, NJ. Their pies are fresh and delicious.

• On the job front, I am trying to gain more customers for my business. I have prepared a brochure as well as postcard mailers to send to the businesses in Jackson, Howell, and Lakewood. I also have sent out letters to the churches in the Atlantic Northeast District of the Church of the Brethren to see if any of them are looking to have a home created for them on the internet. I pray each and everyday for God to guide me where I am to go.

• We saw the Looney Tunes Back In Action movie. It was quite fun with a lot of WB cameo appearances. There are some really good movies coming out over the Holiday season. Hopefully we will be able to see the ones we liked.

• We have had some really bad storms and also some really nice sunny warm weather. It seems that we can not be sure if fall is turning to winter sooner or later.

• We rented 8 Crazy Nights and Legally Blonde 2 on DVD for the weekend. It should make for a fun little movie fest.

• We have all of our supplies for Thanksgiving. We are so looking forward to seeing Kenton and having a nice visit with him. We are also planning for the Christmas Holiday. Trying to figure out when to go visit the folks in PA as well as Lou and the kids in MD. The only thing for sure is that we will always remember the reason for the season!!!!

• We had a wonderful visit with Kenton. Dad came out on the Tuesday train and returned on the Saturday train. That worked out wonderfully as we missed the mess and press of Holiday travelers. We were sad that Karen had to work on Wednesday and Friday, but we found things to keep us busy. We picked up the delicious pies on Wednesday and on Friday we went to see Donna, Ken, Heidi, Art, and Heather in south jersey. With the weather we could not get to the light show at Great Adventure on Friday evening. Instead we stayed in and had a nice time chatting and watching TV. Thanksgiving Eve Service was very moving and full of the people counting their blessings. That was followed with the traditional dinner at the Golden Gate Diner with Bob, Margaret, and Dorothy. Thanksgiving day was great. Karen and I cooked a great meal with all of the trimmings. Before the meal we watched the parades. After the meal we returned to the living room to spend the afternoon watching the football games. It has been a wonderful weekend where we spent our time counting the blessings that the Lord has given to us.

• We are now planning for Christmas Holiday. Working on our menu and just loving the best gift that was ever given, our Lord Jesus Christ.

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• We have had a wonderful December so far. I have had a few interviews and I am awaiting the outcome of a job in Princeton. It seems like a great opportunity with a nice small business.

• We saw 'Haunted Mansion'. It was a good time matinee movie. It was not a very deep movie but it had some great laughs.

• We saw 'The Return of the King'. It was a great movie. A bit long, but still very good installment in the series. I can't wait until they have the extended version with all of the extra footage that was left on the cutting room floor.

• We have enjoyed the Christmas Season at Amwell. The children's program was postponed to the 28th due to the snow storm. The Christmas Eve Service was well attended and very emotionally fulfilling experience. I think that Jeff did a wonderful job in setting up the service. It was the first time Amwell has had a Christmas Eve service. It should be an annual event now that someone is heading it up.

• We are looking forward to seeing 'Bad Santa' maybe this weekend if there is any matinee shows.

• We want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! May God bless each and everyone of you in the coming year.

• We had a great time with the children's Christmas play and are going to have a nice quiet New Year's Eve.

• May God Bless everyone in 2004!!!

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Of course there are no guarantees that this will be updated on a daily basis... Monthly will be more like it. Today's update is as of December 30, 2003.
 

If you have comments or suggestions, e-mail me at steve@steveloveskaren.net
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