Welcome to 2014. I certainly hope you had an amazing holiday season filled with quality family time. Despite a hectic travel schedule thanks to my family spread throughout the nation, I had a wonderful end of 2013. My holiday season included stops to Washington D.C., southern New Jersey, Milwaukee and a visit from our Michigan-based family.

While former Secretary of State and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton’s keynote address at Greenbuild 2013 left me and others I spoke with underwhelmed, we agreed her final point during a post-speech question-and-answer session with U.S. Green Building Council President and CEO Rick Fedrizzi was the lynchpin of the night.

I’m 31 years old. That’s young in a numerical sense, but the creaks and groans I make getting out of bed tell a drastically different story. Still, at my “young” age, taking over as editor of pme is a daunting challenge. It’s a test I’ve enjoyed during the first six weeks on the job and one I look forward to six months from now and onward.

Had our paths crossed three years ago at an airport bar, we would have enjoyed a pleasant conversation about the ballgame on mute above the spirit bottles while we waited for our flight to start boarding.