Friday Features - and a special Mazda drive!

I can't believe school is out for the summer! We are looking forward to a friend- and family-filled funfest. In the meantime, here are a few links and information on what I have been up to.

* I was featured at the Today Show Parents site this month, with an essay about how motherhood made me stronger:
http://community.today.com/parentingteam/post/motherhood-strong

* And I had the chance to feature my dear friend and Listen To Your Mother co-producer Leigh Ann Torres at LiveMom:
http://www.livemom.com/feature-leigh-ann-torres-non-profit-champion-and-show-producer/

* Last, but not least, I wrote a blog post about my friend Jennifer and her husband Brian, and what they do to manage their family's finances:
http://www.smithwealthadvisors.com/jennifer-brian-keep-family-finances-simple/

A huge thank you to Mazda and DriveShop for sending  me an CX-3 to drive for a week. It was fun, zippy, and had some great safety features. It's categorized as a crossover, and feels like a compact SUV but hugs the curves like a sports car. Car and Driver gave it an excellent rating in its class, and several other sites agreed.

What I loved:

* The heads-up display, especially the speed limit posting reminder that turns red if you're speeding (believe me, this is something I need)

* Mazda radar cruise control to ensure that the car is a safe distance from the one in front of it

* Fuel economy: WOW. I typically drive a gas-eating full-size, V8 SUV. The CX-3 is very economy-minded.

* At first, the dial controls on the console threw me off - but once I got used to them, I enjoyed the ability to change the channels and do everything I wanted to do without leaning over to push any buttons.

* Sport mode and paddle shifters - for a sports-car enthusiast like me, this was fun.

At around $20,000, this car is an easy choice for a young professional, student, or retiree - the back has plenty of room for legs but the car seats don't fit as snugly as some of the larger SUVs and non-hatchback sedans. Well done, Mazda.

#DriveMazda