First Transition E-mail

This week was a new first for us. Though nothing truly crazy or exciting happened, it was our first to experience "The E-mail." This e-mail comes from corporate telling you whether or not you will stay in the location that you are currently at, or move to a new location at the beginning of the next month. We received word that we will be moving again. We are extremely excited for this move! Since Justin's very first assignment was here, in Youngstown, OH and he did not attend any training prior to coming here, he was the Support IM to another IM here in the town. While Justin has had so much fun working with Jason, and I have enjoyed getting to know his wife and kids, it is a huge blessing to leave and a step forward in Justin's goal for his own store.

We will be moving to Jackson, Tennessee on September 1st. At this new location, Justin will now be the Lead IM. This is so exciting for Justin. I know that he is going to do an amazing job.

Jackson has a great location. It is half way between Memphis and Nashville, so we will definitely be doing some sightseeing on Sundays. But, we are truly excited about seeing our dear friend from college Mallory and her husband Chuck. They live a few hours away from where we will be, and are coming down for a weekend. For those of you who don't know, Mallory is the one who actually vouched for Justin to get his first Chick-fil-A job in Joplin, MO.

Our exciting outing for the week was at Sports World here in town. We enjoyed a few laps around the go-kart track (where I came in 1st place both times) and some pitches in the batting cages.

 

 

Niagara Falls

This has been such a wonderful week. It feels like we are both getting into the swing of this whole IM Program thing. I think the dogs are evening starting to feel at home too. Honestly, due to us only working around his schedule, I think this may be the most we have ever seen each other on a weekly basis, with the exception of vacations.

On Wednesday, we had dinner with the lead IM Jason and his family. It is nice to have some "friends" at our first destination. They have truly made us feel welcome and have answered many questions that we still had.

Saturday evening we hit the road and headed to Canada to see Niagara Falls. By the time we arrived it was already dark, so we viewed the illuminated falls and explored Clifton Hill. We rode the Sky Wheel which had a beautiful over view of the falls and the city. We then went to the "Upside Down House" one of the main tourist attractions.

 

 

 

 

 We stayed at Greystone Manor Bed & Breakfast. It was right off of the river and ran by a very sweet lady named Barbara. We were served a delicious breakfast in the morning that was three courses. We didn't even know that a three course breakfast existed. Barbara grew all of the fruits and vegetables that we were served in her garden. We started with fresh fruit and yogurt. This was followed by the most delicious French toast stuffed with cream cheese and homemade apricot preserves. The breakfast ended with two different kinds of quiche, sausage and peppers, and potato puffs.

 

 

 

 

 

After stuffing our bellies with breakfast, we headed to the Journey Behind the Falls. It was amazing to get to so close to the Horseshoe Falls and view them from behind.

 

 

 

 

After our excursions on the Canadian sided, we loaded up and headed to the American side of the falls. We rode the Maid of the Mist boat ride where we got within feet of the crashing falls. This was our favorite part of the entire trip. We were dripping wet and ever thankful for the plastic ponchos that were provided to us.

 

 

 

 

 

We had a wonderful week and weekend trip to Niagara Falls. We will find out this week if we will continue to stay here, in Youngstown, or if we will be reassigned next month. 



 



First Full Week

This was our first full week in Youngstown,OH. We were able to get settled in a acquainted with the town. It was also Justin's twenty-sixth birthday. After he worked, we went out to dinner at a local Italian restaurant called Café Capri. It was highly suggested by many of the locals here. We of course ate alfredo. We then headed over to the movies where we watched the moving Max, about the war dog. Seriously such a sad movie, but very cute. Later, we came back to the house and had birthday cake and presents. It was the most challenging gift I ever had to buy for Justin since I had to give him something that did not take up an space. We seriously have no more room for packing anything in our suitcases.

Later in the week, we had dinner with his boss named Jonathan. And were unfortunately introduced to the most amazing ice-cream place! That is going to be bad for our weight and our wallets. The hot fudge brownie sundae there is to die for! We then ended up shamefully going three more times this week. We decided we are going to have a take a break from there for a while or else our clothes won't fit anymore.

Sunday we tried a new church, had a work meeting, and tried a local pizza place. It was very delicious with a unique menu. It was kind of like a Subway, but for pizza. The toppings were not your regular pizza toppings either. They did have pepperoni and sausage though. I tried a pizza call the "Bianca." It was a specialty pizza with fresh garlic and olive oil, mozzarella, and hot and spicy Italian peppers.

We are counting the days down until this Saturday. We will be headed to Niagara Falls!

Around Youngstown

Justin already had his first day off. Thank God for Sundays, the day of rest. We had some time to catch up and talk about all of the things he learned and experienced at CFA Corporate Offices. Out of all of the things that happened, he was most excited about seeing the original Batmobile and the delicious food at the corporate office. He went on and on about how delicious his fried fish and pecan pie tasted. He is a true fat kid at heart, just somehow it never shows in his physical appearance. (You have to love the male metabolism.)

The original Batmobile.

                                                            

In the afternoon we drove around town looking to see what this city has to offer. We just so happened to stumble across an antique car show. So of course we had to stop and check them out! Later we found what must be the main grocery store chain here, Giant Eagle. It was a great grocery store that kind of had a Central Market feel, but on a much smaller scale. We picked out foods that we could cook on a stove top or in the microwave. (I will be looking for great recipes that do not need an oven or many ingredients to cook for the next several months. I will take any suggestions of your favorites.)

 Seriously, how cute is this church?

Justin goes back to work tomorrow, so until next week, I will be here, around Youngstown.

And So It Begins

About 5 years ago, the summer before my husband's senior year of college, he decided that one day he wanted to own a Chick-fil-A. We were already married at this point and I told him that I didn't care what he did as long as it made him happy. I did, however; want to be sure that he was not about to change his major in college and tack on a few more years of schooling. He assured me that once he graduated he was done.

You must understand that there was some irony in his wanting to own a Chick-fil-A. Only two years prior to this decision, he said that a fast food restaurant was the last place on earth he ever wanted to work. He did need a job though and our good friend Mallory had been working at Chick-fil-A for years. He begrudgingly applied and took the job as a kitchen worker at Chick-fil-A. Over the next two years, he fell in love with the company. After much talk from his operator, Dave, Justin decided that being an owner/operator for Chick-fil-A was exactly what he wanted to do.

After Justin graduated college, we were both ready to move back home to Houston. It still amazes me how God can work out every little detail perfectly when we are following his plan. It just so happened that the week after Justin graduated college, a brand new CFA would be opening only eight miles from the city where we both grew up and the operator was looking to hire managers with CFA experience. With a phone call from Dave recommending Justin, and a phone interview between Justin and the new operator Ron, everything was put into motion. We moved back home to Houston, Justin started a new job that he loved, and he shared his intention to become an operator with Ron.

Ron mentored Justin on all of the financial aspects of the business, Dave showed him how to value the guests, but, both taught him valuable knowledge that has brought him to where he is today. After two years of going through the motions and interviewing on multiple levels, Justin has entered into the Interim Manager Program with Chic-fil-A. Not only has he begun the program, but he is one of only three people to have ever skipped over the first section of the program due to knowledge and interview skills.

After three weeks of what felt like a whirl wind, God once again intervened and took care of everything! Our house rented, all of our belongings sold, and we were able to get everything pulled together and head out to Justin's first assignment. As of last night, we are located in Youngstown, Ohio. And so it begins.

Justin with his new ride.

                                                           

Family Photo

                                                                   

Our new home for the next two months.