Questy

Following the market crash & recession, we lost everything. Our cars, jewelry, livelihoods, even a 4^th miscarriage. It was a time of great loss. 

To say it was a bleak period is an understatement.

Even our award-winning vintage Adenauer, in the family for over 30 years, was shipped back to Europe as our hearts sunk.

 

We ended up with real clunkers & a car with water damage just to get around. THE very 1^st step to rebuilding our lives was the arrival of this magnificent surprise – rolling in sleek & gleaming…and best of all – smelling clean!! She wasn’t new but she was mine – shiny & safe for the kids!  See 1-minute video below:

A polished Nissan Quest that could hold 6 kids on trips to the beach, playground, anywhere. I was in Heaven! And how perfect – Quest – by definition, a journey, trip or expedition.

Very soon after her arrival, she earned her name Questy from the kids and referral by the feminine pronoun “she” like a ship. After all, she is like a rocket ship, spaceship, voyager. Even her navigation symbol looks like the red Rocket from Little Einsteins, a big hit when the kids were pintsized. A gliding tinted mini spaceship on wheels.

I was super thrilled & still am these 200,000 miles. From toddlers to teens, we’ve had the best of times cruising around to wonderful places. A memory-making kid mobile filled with music, movies, laughter, kittens, puppies & dollies. Perfect for luxurious travel with adults or sparkling with the happy vivacity of kids. 

     

   

  

   

  

                   And on occasion, Batman ditches the Batmobile to cruise in Questy who comfortably accommodates his signature cowl with the pointy ears!

Questy came with 5 sunroofs, 2 TVs, an awesome sound & DVD entertainment system, drilled performance rotors, run-flat tires, Bluetooth, comfy 2^nd row leather captain’s chairs and 65 other amazing features that would bore you if I listed them. You can look them up online.  

Oh, seriously, how could anyone be this excited about a minivan? Well, I was because there’s so much more to the back story but that’s for another time.

Ultimately, she’s trustworthy, reliable, great in the snow, with a super-sized, mega-view windshield, just an amazing vehicle all around with her airy cabin, polka dot rear cameras & rounded design, nothing boxy like a regular van. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And believe me, I know what I love in a vehicle! I’ve enjoyed wonderful cars throughout the years ~ my 1^st car at 16, a new Camaro Z-28 in sparkly midnight blue with a t-top & the coolest silver seats. Then my 1^st stick-shift 2-seater, a zippy MR2, followed by Mercedes’ in white, slate grey, black, ivory, green, maroon, champagne and even matching silver, BMW & Bentley Mulsanne. Questy floats like the Mulsanne.

      

 

And the lovely painted license plate, a gift from the Mayor of Wolcott, during my year: http://www.theletstalkmom.com/missconnecticut/ 

 

  People often ask how do I keep her so clean? It’s pretty easy really; I just ask the kids any time they leave the car to grab an item on the way out. And for wet skiis, sandy beach suits, muddy gear, I line the back with a large thin plastic party table cloth from the dollar store. A $1 covering in a pretty color, perfect. I keep a supply in the trunk.

And for Mother’s Day, I know a lot of women who might prefer Springtime flowers or a lovely luncheon. But my husband had something custom made for Questy – these gorgeous honeycomb mats ~ and I love them!!

 

The mats cover every part of the vehicle wall to wall, back to front. Love!! Perfect for this floating Goddess of the Road! Every inch of comfort is a necessity when you sit in the car as much as I do…nearly 200,000 miles…most of it waiting for kids to finish up school or heading to piano, track, ballet, summer camps, tennis, swimming, beaches & playdates and, with our youngest, countless hours back & forth to NYC for her career.

Questy is a rolling office, a spacious mobile command center loaded with every convenience from hot spots & Netflix to laptops, Smartphones, chromebooks, backrest Ipad holders, charging stations, you name it, she’s got it. The kids have been enjoying the space & amenities for years. Here are some pics of our daughter from 1st Grade, 4th Grade, and 6th – 8th Grades using these long commutes to complete homework & even write an award-winning novella. And, of course, Skyping with friends. I love the photo with the Intrepid in the window. In the night photo, she’s taking a class with a teacher via Facetime!!!

     

  

         

Um, yeah, that’s a ship surrounded by wild kraken in her hair ~ a cool October photoshoot with the amazing creative team of The New York Times.

With her many skylights, Questy is always bright & cheery even on rainy days.

I snapped these beautiful raindrops recently. They don’t even look real!!

If I won the lottery, I would have the entire engine & undercarriage made brand new so her odometer read “1.” I would also buy a new driver’s seat because 6 years ago I watched a <<mechanic swing out of the front seat breaking the frame but he wouldn’t fix it. I’ve been sitting on an uneven cushion & backrest for years. It makes my back ache and my hips & spine feel crooked now but apparently a motorized seat for that car with installation is about $3,000 give or take and when you’re coming out of a recession, you just tuck a big, thick piece of fabric under your backside & keep rolling.

There’s always a Bright Spot – the silver lining – I left that guy that day and that’s when I found the Service Department at Nissan City of Port Chester, New York and am so very happy!!

Don, John & Thalita take very good care of Questy and me. Vasco and Brian make sure every detail is covered so she’s running smoothly.

Ozzie, the owner of Nissan City of Port Chester, is simply marvelous and helpful and we are so fortunate to have found this golden dealership & service department!

And that keeps this Nissan-driving Mama happy!

Going National ~ Thanks to YOU!

Thank you to everyone who listens to our Life, Love & Parenting show, “Let’s Talk with Bianca & Phillip!”

After nearly 500 interviews &             19 Seasons, my husband & I are excited to announce we have been signed for national syndication!

 

For those who are new to this program, here are snippets of our bios & an overview of our show.

Bianca’s Bio:

Bianca Tyler is a 3-time award-winning TV journalist, nationally-syndicated radio show host, popular blogger, Mompreneur, former Miss Connecticut, TV & radio producer, founder of WH Publishing, and “The Momversationalist®,” the title of her new book coming out in 2016.

She’s also been a news anchor, news reporter, parenting contributing editor, entertainment reporter, weathercaster, one-man band, linear & NLVE editor, singer, model, lecturer, teacher, animal-lover, adoring wife, active mom of 2 kids and her pets, and an all-around, bona fide multi-tasking guru ~ a BFMTG!

In addition to her TV awards, Bianca has also been honored with 8 other awards including the Women’s Leadership Award and a Citation of Excellence from the Connecticut State Senate.

Her website, www.TheLetsTalkMom.com, currently celebrates over 10.26 million page hits & counting! Her focus is about family life and empowering oneself by “Finding Your Bright Spot™.”

She has spent over 30 years promoting her charitable causes ~ during her reign as Miss Connecticut, statewide charities raised over a million dollars of fundraising revenue.

Bianca has appeared as a special guest on over 35 television & radio programs and in more than 60 newspaper, journal and magazine publications in over 135 articles, photos and covers worldwide, including USA Today, NY Post, NY Daily News and The New York Times.

Bianca has explored over 120 times more than 50 countries on 5 continents.

Phillip’s Bio:

Phillip is a multi-award-winning entrepreneur who founded his 1st company and grew revenue by 268% in the first 3 years. His 2nd venture – a tech company, www.IDCardGuard-us.com, launched last year and specializes in patented RFID-shielding for credit/debit cards & identity theft, SmartTag & WalletTag tracking devices, selfie remotes, RFID-blocking wallets, passport shields and so much more.

An accomplished publishing & media executive, he demonstrates extremely strong strategic and analytical skills with a proven track record in business start-ups & turnarounds. Most recently, the division under his leadership ranked in the Inc.500 list as one of the fastest-growing companies in America showing a 3-year, 937% increase in revenue ranking them as the #9 media company in the USA.

Exceptional P&L and cost control expertise, Phillip is a leader in identifying strategic alliances to build and convert market opportunity into new business revenue streams. He has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars worldwide for charity. 

“Let’s Talk!” Show Overview:

“Let’s Talk with Bianca & Phillip” is a Life, Love & Parenting program. It’s a forum to discuss parenting, relationships, single parenting, infertility, marriage commitment, intimacy, loss of a spouse, communication, raising phenomenally close & thoughtful children, romance, matchmaking, healthy living, information and well-being, great tips to make your life easier, getting through any tough situation and, most of all, getting & staying motivated whether you are married, single, male or female.

We’ll help you empower yourself and keep your sanity while keeping your marriage and family strong!

We have incredible, experienced & dynamic guests from all over the nation, many of whom have been quoted from People magazine to Parenting magazine and have appeared on shows like Today & Good Morning America, experts, authors, parents, and doctors as well as little folks on our “ChitChat with Childrenâ„¢” portion, and teenagers for our “Teen Talk!â„¢” segment, connecting parents and youths through understanding and communication.

All programs are archived on this site. You can listen to the shows on your computer or cell phone at home or in the car for your listening convenience.

The Bright Spot – “Let’s Talk with Bianca & Phillip” ~ Empowering parents/listeners through information, advice, guidance & tips.

Hide the Candy!

Easter is my favorite holiday.

I love that our daughter was born the day after Easter.

I sometimes call her my Little BunnyChickie.

 

I love that Spring just started. Everything awakens from Winter’s long freeze & is born anew. The air smells fresh & green baby leaves are

slowly unfurling. I love pussy willows and forsythia, big blossoms and tiny crocuses.

I love the Easter story of Jesus’ Resurrection & I love the trumpets at church that glorious, Holy morning when we all celebrate together in song & praise. I love & appreciate the religious traditions of other folks as I am a member of a very large, close-knit, multicultural, multi-religious, multi-international, multi-lingual family.

I love coloring eggs & decorating them with the kids. I love the little 50-year-old, wooden, hand-painted European Easter decorations from my grandparents. I love to mix those decorations with our little one’s pretty, handmade decorations from preschool. Old & new crafts together.

I love the Easter Bunny, the delicate, ceramic decorations, fragile Easter eggs, egg-citing hunts & yummy candies.

I particularly love pastel M&Ms!! I like all chocolate, but those tiny, pale- colored little chocolate dots of joy always seem to find my lips, hummm… I admit, I will steal bites here & there from my children’s baskets in passing. I’ll pass a lot – cover those baskets!!

I love the Easter egg hunts at farms, in fields, at church & at friends.

   Parties, celebrations, the Easter Bunny arriving on the fire truck!

I love Biblical epics on TV at this time of year and was particularly pleased with Mark Burnett’s The Bible miniseries ~ simply outstanding!!

The Bright SpotTM  – I love Spring & all the cheeriness of the season!