My Sister's Shoes

Peaceful in Mallorca

Worn by Jaime August 5 - August 8, 2012

Rachel, this was our last European adventure together before you came out to visit us in Germany take the shoes back with you.

We spent a restful few days on the Spanish island of Mallorca! We rented an amazing villa and spent our days relaxing by the pool, swimming at the beach and exploring the island ... and fighting the mosquito's at the villa. My word, the mosquito's were terrible.

The villa had a tree in the kitchen!

I think I had to put down the Gelato to take this pic while we were waling along the waterfront.

Pamboli! We ate Pamboli at every meal ... seriously. Pamboli is a specialty in Mallorca and it's light but filling and SO YUMMY! It is basically bread rubbed with tomato, drizzled in olive oil and layered with cheese, spanish olives, tomato, green pepper, and capers. It varied slightly from restaurant to restaurant but they were all fantastic!

... and one last pic just hanging at the villa.

Our Birthday in Berlin

Worn by Jaime June 7 - June 10, 2012

On June 7th we hopped aboard the Deutsche Bahn ICE train headed to Berlin. We spent our birthday weekend walking the streets of Germany's capital city. What an amazing city with a blend of historical landmarks and modern architecture!

A look at the Reichstag building, home to the German Parliament ... which toured together.

We walked the East Side Gallery which is a 1.3km section of the Berlin Wall. Artists from all over the world were invited to paint sections of the wall.

Strolling with the little stinker ...

Where the wall no longer stands, it is marked with metal or brick inlay throughout Berlin.

Walking along Unter Den Linden boulevard

We finished our visit by eating and drinking in Berlin's oldest pub, established in 1621.

A Taste of Tuscany

Worn by Jaime May 13, 2012 - May 16, 2012

We kicked off our summer adventures exploring the Tuscan countryside. We stayed at Villa Campestri Olive Oil Resort ... oh Rachel, you would have loved it!

We took a Tuscan Sauces cooking class! I kept our shoes tucked away in my camera bag during the class. This is Jerry, our Italian chef! We made five Tuscan Sauces together and Jerry paired them with different pastas that evening for dinner .... there was so much pasta that we had a separate table set up to keep the plates!

Basic Sauce with fresh tomatoes, garlic, basil and olive oil

Mushroom Sauce ... this was delicious!

Walnut Sauce .... yummy!

The next day we drove to Florence and walked around the city. I took you to the historic Ponte Vecchio bridge and hung the shoes on the amongst the love locks.

Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore

Shoes!

We walke the leather district ... the purses were gorgeous!

We thoroughly enjoyed the tranquility of our Tuscan Villa.

Kelty snuck in a photo wearing Daddy's shoes. Awe.

The countryside really was covered in poppies!

We tracked down this shop in Bologna that was featured in a Samantha Brown
episode and ...

We ate bologna in Bologna!

It Was A Formal Affair ...

Worn by Jaime on February 17th, 2012

Well, this is me in a dress. Oh dear! I don't wear dresses ... skirts ... or shorts. Every once in a while we'll have something work related and I'm forced to dust off a dress (or in this case buy a new one because even though my kiddo is 4 years old I STILL don't fit into my pre-prego clothes). Sigh. Anyway ...

We attended a formal military awards banquet for my hubby ... he was an annual award for winner for his unit and was competing at the next level. I used to absolutely love formal military events when I was in ROTC and as a young Lieutenant and Captain in the USAF ... but for whatever reason we stopped going. When you live the military life sometimes that last thing you want to do is spend a Saturday evening in uniform ... I had a choice of dressing as a "spouse" or dressing in my uniform since I'm a reservist now. I opted to wear a dress and bring Rachel along ... for old times sake! You see ...

When I was in college and eating, sleeping, and breathing ROTC ... Rachel came to visit! I brought her to our formal Dining Out ... she was 13 and it was really a fun experience. She wore a beautiful red dress and even danced with a "college guy". I think we both remember it as a great night, I remember how nervous and excited she was to be a teenager at a college function ... awesome! So, for old times sakes Rachel ... I brought you along!

... and, it wouldn't be a journey in our shoes unless something comical happened. So there we were (Al and I), they just formally announced us and we started walking under an archway of swords that were held my the Honor Guard ... all 100+ guests watching as you make your way into the banquet room ... and then .... my heel slips out my shoe! For real people! So with the all the grace I could muster, I walked the rest of the way with a little step ... slide ... step ... slide ... step ... slide. I actually don't think anyone noticed, I'll chalk it up to a great performance. :)

So there we have it ... a formal night out in My Sister's Shoes!

I really thought I was smiling when the hubby took this pic.

Apparently I'm to the age where my mouth sags. Ha!

Our shoes with our new matching Miche Purse!

For Christmas, Rachel and I bought a matching Miche Shell for our sister Jessica! Now all three of us can carry the same Miche ... despite being scattered all over the globe! There is something comforting about slipping on "our" shell and knowing that thousands of miles away your sisters may be carrying it today too.

Norway

Worn by Jaime on July 22 - July 29, 2011

Rachel, this is by far one of the most spectacular journeys I've taken you on .... Norway was simply breathtaking. I carried you with me in my camera bag as our outdoor excursions weren't exactly "heel" friendly. :o) We stayed in Flam, a village nestled in the Aurlandsfjord and based our day trips and hikes out of there ...

Our first adventure was a boat cruise up the Naeroyfjord to Gudvangen ... it was stunning.

We visited the Hopperstad Stave Church which was built in the early 1100's. Stave Churches are Norway's oldest surviving churches ... I thought you'd really appreciate this little part of our trip. If I remember correctly, there are only 28 Stave Churches remaining! One interesting fact ... they used to bury the deceased under the floorboards!

On a side note ... the little girl in the pink rain jacket kept running around the church and EVERY single time I tried to take a picture, she ended up in the background. :o)

We took a long and really muddy hike up to a waterfall!

We drove the "snow road" and stopped to take a photo ... yes, this WAS July and there was snow. I just about busted my butt trying to get this picture. :o) I actually attempted to climb the snowbank in our heels ... yeah, that wasn't happening.

Our final excursion was a hike to Jostedalen Glacier ...

Isn't it gorgeous!

... and here is a "behind-the-scenes" look at me switching out our shoes. :o)

My Sister's Shoes on Facebook!

We started a Facebook page for My Sister's Shoes! We'd love for you visit and get to know us better! Our Facebook page will help fill in the gaps between posts!

Rachel just posted our first My Sister's Shoes video on our Facebook page! It's a little behind-the -scenes look at how we package and ship our shoes. Enjoy!

All Work, No......Well, A Little Play!

Worn by Rachel on Thursday June 23, 2011

A move to Tampa, FL, an audition at Disney World to work as characters, and navigation on I-4 while under construction would have all seemed a bit too much of a challenge with out you Jaime. You facilitated my transition from random part time jobs to the professional world of working as Disney characters where clocking in 2 minutes early (this is not a typo) would penalize me. Disney had some bizarre rules to abide by, clocking in just 1 minute too early was a no, no! Jaime and I had the opportunity of working side by side as Chip and Dale and other popular Disney characters one summer way back when. What a blast we had! So, when I told Jaime of my reprimand for clocking in too early, she marched off in a fury to talk to the boss and stick up for her little sister. I remember yelling "wait!" as she scurried off with the news. Dodging discombobulated heads, bodies, furry feet and racks of princess dresses I thought to myself, "Wait! Could you tell him I don't want to see the furry monkey Turk on my schedule anymore too!?......" (Turk is a popular Disney character from Tarzan.) We walked away shaking our heads at such nonsense and made our way down the underground tunnel at the Magic Kingdom, holding our nose because of the smell coming from the bog of eternal stench (garbage shoots ran along the top, never smelled anything quite so horrible).
I thought that would be the end of troubles with Disney, until Pooh Bear appeared on my schedule. He was literally a pain in the neck (neck and back). I requested that my set manager take a look at "him" on one of my shifts (advise from Jaime). What Jaime didn't know is that the next time she would see me following her advise, I'd be wearing a janitor uniform. Go ahead and laugh Jaime.. I was referred to Physical Therapy to strengthen my back in order to put up with the strain of Pooh Bear all the while being put on schedule to do random work around the parks. My universal uniform was one of a janitor. I was just hoping that they would take Pooh off my schedule, that wasn't the case. Well, I didn't know it then, but all the while I was getting physical therapy I was really get a taste for what I'd later choose as a career in life! Thanks Pooh...

Well, I've finished my summer semester of PTA (Physical Therapy Assistant) school and will be starting my second round of clinical's in July. (yea! for the week off!) Before I took a break from the class room scene I had to bring My Sisters Shoes to school for at least one day.

Jaime, I wish so much that you were close enough to give me that encouragement I need now again that you did so often when we lived in Tampa. On one of our most recent phone calls you made the mistake of talking about your back and ankle problems which prompted me to talk for at least a half hour until you got in another word because you had opened up the door for me to talk about all that I've learned in Physical Therapy. The nervousness I get before taking my competencies or exams in the PTA program is the same nervous feeling I had be before auditions with you at Disney. It was so much better having you there. I can't go through life's nerve raking moments with hand held assistance and continual encouragement by someone that really knows me like a sister, can I? Oh! I Can! We Can! In a size 5 1/2!

CERVICAL TRACTION

INFRARED THERAPY
Have Pressure Ulcer?
This type dry heat is used for seeping wounds.

LASER THERAPY
Have Tennis Elbow?
Laser therapy works at the molecular level to decrease pain!

DIDN'T KNOW YOU'D GET AN INTRO TO PTA DID YA?

THERABAND EXERCISES
I believe I was strengthening scapular muscles however, you can also strengthen your gastrocs from this position.
I believe ours are tight enough, thanks to our shoes.

HEAT MODALITY

CPM MACHINE
Used in hospitals post op for passive range of motion of the knee joint

AEROBIC CONDITIONING

SAW THE SCALE, HAD TO TAKE THIS PICTURE

ME AND HARRY

OH ME!! THE STRESS OF IT ALL!

PATELLA TENDON RELFEX
(Very poor body mechanics)

PROPRIOCEPTION EXERCISES
AFTER AN ANKLE SPRAIN IN OUR SHOES!

2 POINT GAIT
AGAIN, FROM AN ANKLE SPRAIN
WEARING OUR SHOES

Thanks to my classmate Jaime Soule for taking these pictures! Jaime is the only other Jaime I've met that spells her name like my sister. Kind of neat to have her take the photos.

Happy Birthday Sister!!

Worn by Rachel on Thursday June 9th, & Friday 10th 2011

With you in Germany and me here in South Carolina the six hour time difference gave us the opportunity to say "Happy Birthday" to each other for the first time on both our birthdays! You called me at 6 pm , 12 am your time and by the time we got off the phone at 7 pm my time on June 9th and 1 am your time June 10 we were saying Happy Birthday to each other! It was both our birthdays! I thought this was the coolest ever! Later that day, for your birthday I dunned our shoes again and took you to Nacho Hippo for dinner. Knowing how much you love Mexican I couldn't think of a better place to take you on your birthday. Just the day before on my birthday, I opened the most thoughtful gifts from family with our shoes right beside me. I sure did miss blowing out candles with you on top Our Birthday Cake this year!