Suzi's late NL

Hey all! It's been awhile since I posted anything on the blog, plus I missed the NL this month too, so its time to make up for it :) The holidays were very different for the Johns family this year, and although it was under unfortunate circumstances, I'm glad we got to spend so much time together. Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers for our family during that difficult time. On a side note, I went to Cleveland to pick up Jim a couple of days before the funeral, and we got to spend some time with his family, and then we drove back to FH. While we were hanging out with our cousins at Gpa Johns' condo, V and cousin Nicki were cooking spaghetti, and garlic bread in the oven for all of us hungry hippos. All of a sudden, while we were playing cards in the dining room, the entire inside of the oven lit up in flames, it was completely on fire. Obviously, we're panicking, but thankfully, Jim was right there, and he grabbed the baking soda and put it right out. Good thing too, because none of us knew the correct way to put out an oven fire. V was searching for a fire extinguisher, but we found out later he didn't have one. But now we know - baking soda for oven fires. It turns out, our Aunt Sandee made meatloaf on Grandpa's request for his Xmas Eve dinner; so the grease must've spilt off the side. We were all grateful for Jim to be there, and was dubbed "firefighter" the rest of our time together.

Work has been OK, we're in the thick of our (last?) season of American Greed, and I've been crazy busy, but I'm only supposed to work 25 hours a week. It bothers me that my hours are restricted, while nobody else's are, but I'll take what I can get. As of now, my contract with KP is only supposed to go through April (unless we get another series). I applied for a second job at the beginning of December for a new restaurant opening near Wrigley Field. This isn't just any restaurant, but it's a Leo's Coney Island which originated in Michigan, and is a huge successful chain near the Detroit area. The owners are bringing the very first Leo's to Chicago, and they hired me to waitress at our informal interview. The only small issue is that the restaurant hasn't opened yet, they originally wanted to open NYE, but have pushed it back to mid to late February. But once it opens, I think it'll be crazy busy, it's in a prime location, the food is cheaply priced, yet very tasty, and it's 100% kid friendly which is a huge appeal around that area. We already had orientation, so I've met many of the people that I will work with, and everyone is great, including the manager, so that's a huge plus. I'll let you know how it goes!

When my mom was in town last week, her, Jim, and I went skiing near Kalamazoo, MI at a pretty nice hill called 'Bittersweet'. That was fun, and no major spills, so hopefully we'll all do it again on a huge mountain. I also had a few MI friends stay with us this past weekend to celebrate my birthday. We had an amazing time, going out til 5 AM, shopping, and eating at many delicious places (including Jim's restaurant). I went out for sushi for my first time, and sang karaoke for the first time (and was horrible!), so the entire weekend was a blast. Tonight, I'm taking Flynn to Disney on Ice while V attends one of Patrick's free shows in Wrigleyville. Flynn and I are going with Jim's niece Ally, and his sister Laurie. Ally and Flynn are the same age, so when they hang out, it's fun to see the super cute 3 year olds interact.

Fourth of July get together sounds great! Can't wait to see everyone!