State Farm - Don Roberts

I have been a proud customer of State Farm for a long time -- over ten years. Proud because I choose to go with a great company instead of a cheap company. I'm also proud of the people who represent State Farm here in Monroe -- Don Roberts and Ceil Kelly (and the rest of Don’s terrific team). A few years ago, I lost my engagement ring -- I had handed it to my husband when I went in for spinal surgery, but only an hour later, my husband Tommy had a massive heart attack in the waiting room.

For a young couple, this was beyond devastating. Over the next few weeks, we were focused on Tom's recovery and what this all would mean in our lives, and somehow my ring just never turned up. When Ceil called to see how we were and ask if she could help us in any way (just as a neighbor and friend), I mentioned the additional sorrow about the lost engagement ring. Well, Ceil swung into professional mode in TWO seconds and said that she thought my ring was covered for loss under our homeowners policy. You can guess the end of this story, we were able to replace the ring, and more importantly it continues to represent a beautiful young marriage between two very lucky people. How would anyone ever leave that team or State Farm?

Anyway, I wrote a great article for the State Farm Magazine today, and I thought all my lifeinmonroeNY readers might appreciate it – especially if they need to find a better way to protect their homes and families.

I recently left a high-paying job to pursue my life-long dream of being a freelance writer. As you can imagine, many sacrifices have gone on in my home to support this choice. To begin with, luxuries like great restaurants, new outfits and the vacation we were considering went out the window; next went some of the more basic things like my gym membership and manicures. (I have opted to run around the lake in my hometown every day and to simply keep my nails cut short – not easy for a girlie girl like me). Finally, we have actually hit a point where we have to change what kind of groceries we buy and opt out of some cable TV services.

I am left with two profound questions to ponder day after day. One, Is my dream worth the lifestyle changes it has forced upon my family? (Yep, without a doubt – the wife and mother in this home is so happy and so fulfilled that no one around us would dream of sending me back to investment banking in New York City.) The second question is actually more difficult and it takes a quick financial audit to answer every month – especially while I build my client base and make my freelance business more profitable.

It is this: What are we willing (and NOT willing) to edit or remove from our new lives.

State Farm is always at the top of the things that we are simply not willing to change.

I will do a lot of things to save money – after all, I am the mother in this home – and the one with the dream. I will run and hike instead of go to the gym. I will be enormously creative with pasta dinners and discover the magic hidden inside the ever-inexpensive hard-boiled egg. I will clip coupons and mow the lawn myself. I even sold a car to lose a car payment and bought myself a 1988 Dodge Aries K car with no power steering or air conditioning. (This same car even caused my daughter to ask what those hook things on the door were for, to which I blushed and answered, “They roll up the windows, honey.”)

But change my insurance? No way. Saving $300 a year to switch to something represented by a lizard or a caveman? Nope, not me. And what is $300 anyway? Quite literally, it is $25 a month. For an extra $25 a month, I have the profound knowledge that a great company and a great, local guy (Don Roberts in our case) stand on a line with my family every day. Together, they literally stand on the line between us and catastrophe.

They protect us financially in case the life-altering events we all hope will never happen do, somehow, come to pass. They insure my home from things that happen to people every day, like a fire or a robbery. They insure our cars and the people in them from accidents and injury. Finally, they insure the every member of my household in case one of us should pass away. Now I personally plan to live a long and healthy life, but knowing every single day that our good choice to stay with State Farm protects my child and would provide her with the one gift I could leave behind – the chance at the future I would wish for her – well, that’s something I’m not willing to “bargain” with.

State Farm is my good neighbor. It is the one bill that I can honestly feel good about every month. So a special “THANKS” to all of you who work every day to build and offer a great company and great products.

The Copper Bottom - Florida, New York

Copper Bottom

My husband and I were charmed from the moment we stood outside the paned windows and peeked into The Copper Bottom, in Florida, New York. The warm lighting and tables, filled with inviting laughter, would be immediately outdone as we opened the door. For a moment we simply stood in the entrance way and soaked in the aromas floating around us.

Once seated, a gracious and outgoing server guided us through the many choices. (Later we finished the meal with a slice of carrot cake that our server, Debbie, actually makes herself – be sure to save room!) We started with an appetizer of blackened scallops on a bed of cold sesame noodles. The sweet, savory noodles perfectly contradicted the blackened crust of the soft scallops. My main course of lobster ravioli arrived steaming hot in an alfredo-style cream sauce, topped with three perfectly cooked shrimp. My husband had usual man-fare, but he said his steak was perfect, drizzled with just a hint of herb sauce.

Small things turned this simple dinner out into a great experience – the subtle attention of our server, beautiful water glasses, the brief visit from the owner, Mark – and of course a tremendous chef. The Copper Bottom was warm and inviting, the food is incredible, and you have the feeling that the next time you walked through the door, they would remember you by name.

This is definitely a place to visit more than once.

Visit their website at http://www.thecopperbottom.com/html/index.htm

By, Mary Vetell

The Monroe Diner - Monroe, New York

The Monroe Diner is like an old friend. It is the place we went as teenagers in high school to drink coffee all night and debate worldly chaos and teenage angst. And it is the place, a lifetime later, that we go to have more coffee, laugh about the world, debate worldly chaos, and eat waffles with our daughter.

Steve and Alex, the owners are as much family now as they were then, opening the doors to their restaurant as if you were a guest in their home. We were pleasantly surprised Christmas Eve, to find a big old St. Nick seated in an overstuffed easy chair, sitting quietly next to the dessert display. John, the manager, snapped a polaroid photo of our daughter laughing with the "big guy" while she explained the difference between and EZ Bake Oven and a Real Meal Oven.

How nice to find a place in Monroe, that didn't charge for the photo, or even advertise "breakfast" with Santa (commonly an experience you need a HELOC to attend). Typical of the low-key warmth our diner offers us all, Santa was simply there to greet the kids and hand out a few stuffed animals.

Personally, we've been to the Monroe Diner for thousands of burgers, at least a million cups of coffee, countless laughs, and one or two funerals. I’ve started a business there, ended a business there, and now started one again, and despite the myriad of other choices in our community now, it is still my favorite place to sit with my favorite people and shoot the breeze on any night of the week.

The Monroe Diner simply says, “Welcome Home.”

(To see other people’s reviews, visit http://www.yelp.com/biz/monroe-diner-monroe.)

By, Mary Vetell