Why I Oughta...

I think I was born to be a minivan guy.  I love driving it.  I love that they call it the Swagger Wagon .  I sometimes wish it was a bigger, real van .  Not a 'mini'.  Nat, on the other hand, is counting down the days until she can downsize into something smaller, more SUV-ish that is easier to handle (and park).  Once we get into all boosters and don't have the need for the massive double stroller, I think we can move off the mini-van everyday routine.  But, I think I'll keep it!  And use it as my primary car.  That's why I put on some sweet new tires - 80K tires. I roll hard. I don't drive my car very much - to the grocery store or to Menards, so it gets light use.  But, when we go somewhere as a family, we take the minivan.  And...it feels to me like the van is like a space shuttle.  Has so many controls and is so comfortable.  I love driving it and having the space.  It gets just ok gas mileage, but make...

Over the weekend, we finally handed over Nat's Honda Accord and as part of that process, I had to clean it out.  I'd be the one who most recently drove the car, but it hasn't been regularly used for a number of years.  We bought our first larger car back in the fall of 2009 and that's when this car became the '2nd car' and we got rid of my very first car - my Toyota Camry. When we got the van last year, the Accord got parked and stayed there until this weekend. Amongst the things I peeled out of the car was this Sportster Sirius radio.  I still remember how Natalie gave it to me for Christmas back in December of 2004 when Howard Stern was about to make the move to Sirius.  It spent some time suction-cupped to the dashboard of my Camry, then quickly was relegated to the cupholder.  Once I upgraded to the newer Accord, the Sportster came with me. Lots of laughs were had with this thing.  But now, it's time has passed.  Between in-car Sirius and th...

Friday morning, I was out running errands - returning pavers to Menards, getting gas, and getting Nat's car washed.  On the way home from Menards, I spotted this DIY wash place right on North Avenue. View Larger Map Normally, we go to the Delta Sonic a bit closer to home, but I was feeling cute and decided to check this place out.  Turns out, for $5.00, you get a 5 minute vacuum and a 10 minute wash including wax and special wheel cleaner.  Pretty good.  The Delta Sonic mid-grade wash is $10 and it doesn't include wax nor anything inside, so I figured I was ahead of the game.  The only issue is that this place doesn't have blowers to dry.  You have to bring your own towels.  Now I know.  Next time, I'll bring all my supplies (Armor-All, TireShine, etc) as well as towels to get a good spot-free finish. I left the wash and hit North Avenue heading home feeling awfully prideful of the clean job I did, but also the deal I discovered. Then...o...