Iowa Insomnia

This week has been utterly exhausting! However, in the midst of all of the hustle and bustle and thirteen hour work days, it was the first glimpse of seeing this team really begin to work together. Justin has had to hire so many people since arriving here, that the majority of the team are actually new hires. This week we were able to see the team starting to become one team and really start to own their spot here on the CFA team. Many of the workers that were already here have had to learn new positions, be extremely flexible, and they have been asked to work six day weeks as well. This week, three of the leaders began a two week visit to another store out of state, one team member left to go to boot camp for the military, another worker moved out of state, and the CFA trainer went back to her store. I am so proud of how everyone pitched in to work hard, cover each others shifts and step up to the plate.

On Thursday evening, we didn't have to work until close, so we scurried down the road to Des Moines, Iowa, where we happened to end up at the Veteran Fundraiser held by Donald Trump. Whether you are for him or against him, you have to admit that he is rather genius. He was able to draw so much attention to himself during the debate that he didn't attend. He is always able to keep himself in the spot light, kind of like a political Kardashian. We had a ticket, but due to the crowd, the limited number of seats, and the time we showed up, we were stuck outside. We were able to watch him on a big screen and get all kinds of Trump gear. I was so impressed by everyone in the crowd. Everyone was kind and evenly shared the free merchandise that was being passed out. I did not see a single person hoard the hats, beanies, t-shirts, buttons, signs, stickers, hot coffee, or anything else that was being passed out. Instead, I heard, "Did you get anything?" "Take this I already got something." Sometimes I get annoyed at the people that are always looking out for themselves and what they can get. It was so refreshing to see a group of adults, acting like adults. In addition, we got to shake hands with Rick Santorum. He and Mike Huckabee both came out to support the veterans too.



Rick shook every person's hand who was standing outside!

The Trump beanies that they were handing out. We were extremely thankful to get
one because it was in the twenties and windy outside.

We finished the week with a very busy Friday and Saturday at work. I can't wait to see the continued growth and strength that is building in this team, and the leadership and encouragement that Justin will continue to display to them.

Windy City Adventures

Well the past two weeks almost seem like a blur. Justin and I have been working non-stop. Things are starting to look up at his store. In his business plan for the store he had set a goal to have 35 people hired by the end of February. We are just now approaching mid-January and he is only six people away from reaching his goal. A lot of the new hires are great and are really excited to be working at CFA. There is nothing better than having employees who actually want to come to work everyday! Justin also has a great trainer down this week. She is very thorough and teaches with reason and purpose. I have learned so much from her already and am looking forward to anything else she might teach me while she is here. (I am learning all the kitchen spots while we are here.)

CFA is rolling out new uniforms for all the employees. You would think it were Christmas all over again with how excited we are all to be getting new uniforms. The polos are bright red or a blue stripe. The pants are a grey and fit much more comfortably than the old ones. On Facebook a video has been floating around showing the benches made of the recycled Styrofoam cups. In addition to the benches our new uniforms are made from the recycled cups as well. I am really excited that CFA is working hard to find ways to help our environment.

Justin and I took a wonderful trip to Chicago this passed weekend. I am not sure if I would suggest visiting the windy city during the heart of winter, but with our schedules, we go where we can, when we can. We had an amazing time! We used some of our Marriott points to stay for FREE at the Renaissance Chicago Downtown. The location was perfect and super close to everything we wanted to do and see.

 

 

 

We started our trip off with some delicious pizza from Gino's East. While we were waiting for a table we kept seeing people go up the stairs like they knew where they were going. After about twenty minutes of watching the people go up, we asked an employee where everyone was going. They told us that there was a comedy club upstairs that served the full menu. We headed up and were lucky enough to get some seats before the show started. The comedians were no Anjelah Johsnon, but they were still pretty funny. Then we bundled up and headed back to the hotel.

The next morning, we were shockingly surprised that due to our platinum elite status with Marriot, we got a complimentary breakfast at the hotel restaurant. The breakfast was delicious! We then headed to all of the touristy spots: the Willis (Sears) Tower, the Bean, and to the park to ice skate at the Skating Ribbon. It is an amazing outdoor ice skating rink that goes in the pattern of a winding path throughout the park! We had so much fun! We also tried to go to Wriggly Field, but it was under historic restoration, so the entire outside and sign were missing from the ball field.

 

 

 

We also proceeded to go to each of the businesses that Marcus Lemonis is a part owner in. We visited Denim and Soul, The Corner Barkery, and Sweet Pete's. When we got to Sweet Pete's we were asking the employees if Marcus ever stops in. They told us that he had just come in the night before. I thought Justin was going to pass out when he heard. He was so excited, yet so disappointed that he had missed seeing Marcus. They also told us that he purchased a restaurant just down the road called The Grille. They said that it would not be featured on the show, but that it was delicious. So, of course we had to go there for dinner. The food was amazing! Not only were all of Marcus's businesses great, but all of his employees were extremely friendly and had amazing things to say about him!

After we ate, we hit the road and headed back to Iowa City for another week of work away from the Windy City Adventures!

Iowa the Igloo

We finally made it to Iowa! After all of our set backs, everything just seemed to fall into place. We had a smooth trip from Laredo to Iowa. The dogs did a great job of traveling for their third all day and in a row adventure in the airport.

 

When we arrived it was only 20 degrees. We were freezing. Everything was covered in snow. Garth wasn't so sure about walking in the snow. Instead we basically had to drag him around. He tried to plant his whole six pounds in the concrete so that we couldn't make him put his feet in the snow. Roper on the other hand was loving every minute of the cold weather.

 

The puppies were all bundled up to go outside.

 

This Residence Inn is by far our favorite! We have the most room that we have had so far. Due to the bad weather, it took our boxes of clothes a few days longer than expected to arrive at the hotel. On Wednesday, we got a call from the manager at the front desk. "Mrs. Belcher, We have received all eleven of your boxes of French fries. Will you have somewhere to store those? We do not have enough freezer space to put those away for you." I died laughing. We pack in Chick-fil-A waffle fry boxes. I am sure he was thinking that we must be the fattest people on the planet if we ordered eleven boxes of fries for our short stay here in Iowa. When I told him they were just our clothes he chuckled a bit and was relieved that I didn't need him to store them in the hotel freezer.

Justin and I have both been working at the store open to close almost every day. We have been exhausted. We have not even unpacked our boxes yet. As I was steadily bagging orders on Saturday night, I heard someone say my name at the front counter. I assumed it was a guest needing extra Chick-fil-A sauce or a cashier needing help with something. I could not have been more wrong. As I turned I saw two of our favorite people: Austin and Hannah Redd!!! They are our best friends from college. Hannah's family lives about two and half hours away in Illinois and they snuck up to surprise us for the night! I was ecstatic. That was the best surprise ever. It is always good to see a familiar face when you are away from home, but there could not have been a better two faces to see. After Justin and I got off work, we spent the rest of the evening catching up and visiting. It felt like old times as the four of us stayed up way too late laughing and talking. The next morning we went to breakfast before they headed back. Of course I had to give the shortest goodbye recorded in history, because I couldn't say goodbye without turning into a water works show. We are so thankful for such good friends and the time that we got to spend with them.

These two.

We are half way yelling "Cheese!" at the camera and half way laughing/ smiling.

Until next time, we will try to stay warm in this igloo they call Iowa.