One of the things that many people ask is, “What is the number one thing I can do to prolong my car’s life?” The answer is to change your oil. Because I work in the automotive industry, I probably pay more attention to the messages relating to auto repair than the average consumer. I think sometimes people tune out the radio, online and magazine ads because they are inundated with ads to come to certain places to have your oil changed. If you asked your car, it would tell you to change its oil in the recommended increments with the recommended oil. It would tell you not to try to stretch your oil changes out too much, too often. Our family cars have a tendency to get in excess of 200,000 miles. Our 1999 Ford Expedition has 290,000+ miles on it. It went through three teenagers learning to drive and numerous biking and soccer trips. Sometimes it was not shown a whole lot of love in the maintenance department but it always, without fail, had the oil changed on time. Oil changes have also ... read more

On this upcoming Sunday we celebrate Father’s Day. One of the biggest blessings in my life is my business partner who is also my husband and our children’s father. We began as a young couple with three children and became business partners out of necessity, not design, when we purchased the family business from Jeff’s family. I’m thankful for a man who worked hard all week and still coached his kid’s soccer teams on Saturday. For several years he wasn’t able to attend many weekday kid’s events but made a point to take what little free time he had to spend with them. They always knew they were important to him. Jeff modeled commitment, a strong work ethic and love to his kids every day. The kids getting up at 6:00 in the morning to see their Dad before he left for work wasn’t something I thought about at the time but on reflecting back, I realize how precious that time was. When we purchased the business, he asked me to begin working with him, even though I had no experience or interest ... read more