beyond cinderella

Most women have special girlfriends in their life that they love, and call their “best friends forever (BFF’s). If we are lucky, we have one or two girlfriends in our lives that we consider much more than a “best friend”. These women are more than a friend. They are a sister by choice, or what I call a frister…A friend who has become your sister by choice if  you will. I never had a sister, but I have been blessed with two women in my life that I consider my sister’s by choice. These two special women walked into my life and changed me forever. I connected with them immediately, and formed a life-long bond with them that I know will never be broken. I trust and love these women with my whole being. And, I thank God everyday for bringing them into my life.

Today, I was able to spend the day with the first women I ever loved enough to consider her my frister, sister by choice, Holly. Holly and I met twenty something years ago when I first started working in Corporate America. Holly trained me in my position, and over time, we became best friends. Please know I never really had a “best” friend before Holly, because I grew up in family filled with mistrust  to say the least…

So, in the beginning of my relationship with Holly, I didn’t know how to react to her welcoming me into her circle of friends… but over time, Holly not only welcomed me into her circle of friends, she welcomed me and my family, into her life. Our families have shared holiday’s, and birthday’s together. And, when our daughter, Shantel, was diagnosed with cancer, and we knew she was going to lose her sight, it was Holly who showed up at the hospital, and helped me know “we” could deal with this…”we” would help Shantel learn how to live in her blind world…Holly, and her husband, Chuck, were my husband, Bill, and my life line then, and they continue to be a vital part of our life to this very day…

So, today, after several months of not being able to spend quality time with my sister by choice, Holly, because of circumstances outside of our control…Holly and I finally got to spend the entire morning and afternoon together… Let me tell you it was like going home for me… I LOVE this woman with all my heart and soul…and if I never said it enough to you Holly I’m saying it now… I LOVE You girlfriend!!

We started the day as we always do when we meet up by having breakfast at IHop:

After breakfast we moved on to the East Valley Park -N-Swap. We love this park-n-swap because it is covered which is a welcome relief in the summer months…

I was looking for a plastic pitcher, to replace the one Holly’s husband, Chuck, gave his famous Ahh juice to Shantel in, and I melted it when I put it in the top shelf of our dishwasher:

What we found at the park-n-swap was, lots of clothes for adults:

and for little children…how cute are these…?

And funny hats, if you have a mind for that:

We saw dogs in shoes:

But we did not find an ahh juice pitcher.. So, we left to go to a discount mall, where we found vintage everything:

We found a colorful cat, but no ahh juice pitcher in sight…

Our last resort was Kohl’s department store where we were sure we would find our treasure ahh juice pitcher…but, no ahh juice pitcher was to be found…. However, I did score these pretty pants in black & white which were on the 80% off rack for only $12.80… now, no girl can pass that up… right?

And, I scored this galvanized and painted tray which was originally priced at $30.00 for $6.00…what a deal…

And as if that were not enough….I scored this colorful measuring cups/spoons set deal for $5.00 on clearance…When Chef Shantel bakes in the winter…we never have enough measuring cups/spoons soooooooooooo now we do…

Nothing replaces time spent with Frister’s … aka, Sisters by CHOICE… 🙂

Stay Tuned!