Mother's Day is this Sunday. I'm one of the few mothers on staff at my restaurant.  Last week, the kitchen crew was brainstorming what sort of food specials they should make for Mother's Day.  At the top of their list? 

No blog tonight.  I'm teaching my kids a lesson.  They've been real punks this week, and I took away all their toys and screens. Then they asked "Well what are we going to do now?!" So I'm marching them out…

In my perfect world, there would be instructions on "how to be good."  The instructions would be wrapped up in an easy-to-understand e-book. The book would give definitive ways to act that would ensure the most good was being done…

Last week was full of frenzy and chaos.  We reopened my restaurant.  I couldn’t have been more proud of our crew.  It was a long, hard, hot week in the kitchen, and the team put out incredible food to hundreds…

What a gorgeous day.  

I spent the bulk of it working to get my restaurant ready to reopen next week, but I managed to squeeze in an hour or two with my kids.  We hunted for Easter eggs and…

Last week, my kids were on spring break from school, and I decided to take them to the Field Museum in Chicago.  I figured it would be good for them to get a little more education in their lives.

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One of my resolutions for 2021 was to be more open minded.  Since the beginning of the year, I've been trying to expose myself to fresh ideas in all realms of my life. 

(Did you know pirate metal is…

My team and I hit a lot of roadblocks this week at my restaurant.  We didn’t have the right tools for projects or the best food for recipes or enough money for equipment.   

And when I focus on what…

I was a rigid kid.  I laid out my world in self-made black and white guidelines. I remember the day I decided I’d never put bumper stickers on a car or get any tattoos.  I didn’t want to commit to…

I have anxiety in cluttered spaces. Rooms with lots of knick-knacks bring out my claustrophobia.  (Which is a damn shame because I really love a good knick-knack.)  Lots of my friends hold onto items because they think they'll use them…

I took a solo vacation this week.  From Wednesday to Saturday, I rented a small stone house (with surprisingly nice acoustics) in Mineral Point, Wisconsin. I loaded in my instruments, made a lot of food, and spent hours every day…

My restaurant is still closed, and the renovations continue.  Last week, I drove to Wisconsin, picked up the all the pieces needed to construct an 8’ x 8’ walk-in cooler, and drove them back to Illinois in a snowstorm. I…