Welcome to 2025!
As we step into the new year, let me ask—do you set intentions, goals, or resolutions? For me, I like to focus on a word of the year, and this year, my word is MOVEMENT—mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. I’m feeling great about how I’ve kicked things off!

Today, I want to share a memory from 2003 during my time at Marshall Fields—my biggest and best customer. Those were special days filled with meaningful connections with the chefs, managers, and staff. I truly cherished the deep relationships I built with so many of them.

We also had a tradition—a Wednesday ritual that started with a full day at the store and ended with happy hour at the Renaissance Hotel Lobby Lounge. This was every week for several years. It was drink after drink, laugh after laugh, and story after story. At the time, it felt like fun. But looking back, it was also drink after drunk, topped off with the dangerous and reckless choice of drunk driving home.

This memory is a reminder of how far I’ve come on my journey. It’s moments like these that shaped my decision to quit drinking and embrace a life of clarity and purpose.