Welcome to Peachy G.R.I.T.S. (Girls Raised in the South)

Yes, I was raised in the South and proud of it!!! My Southern heritage is important to me. To hear my children tell it, you can readily "hear" that I'm from the South. Although I don't think I sound too Southern....but I love having grown up in North Carolina and living in Georgia for the last 20+ years. Nothing can compare with pecan pies, hot summer days, dogwood trees, fried chicken, Georgia clay and FAMILY.

Come back ya hear...bless your heart for visitin.......

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Great weekend visit

This past weekend was a total blast!!!  My sister flew in from D.C. and her companion was her granddaughter.  They arrived Friday afternoon at 4:30 p.m. We drove down to pick them up and they walked out of the terminal and we were right there - couldn't have worked out any better. We were SO excited to have them here and looked forward to our time together.

I'd been working on a special new recipe for bean burritos. A friend at church had received the recipe from her favorite mexican restaurant. You prepare this spice mixture and then add 2 teaspoons per one pound of pinto beans along with enough water to cover them in a slow cooker. You then cook the beans for 24 hours.  We also had the recipe for 2 special sauces for the beans. When we were ready to serve we had corn shells, tomatoes, lettuce, sour cream, cheese and they were delicious. We had a great dinner together Friday night.



We talked for a while then the famous words we'd hear often over the weekend came - "Can we play a game?" from our little guest.  So off to the closet and out came, Farkle, Uno and Blokus.





   Wikipedia

For a six year old - she played a mean hand of Uno. It wasn't long and we were all getting tired so off to bed and needed rest to prepare for our Saturday.

After breakfast we girls left for the mall. My sister was looking for a couple particular items for her granddaughter and this little miss loves shopping almost as much as her Nana and Great Auntie!! We had a delightful day. It was an experience to watch this little girl shop. It was even more fun watching her try on her many outfits.  We came upon some great sales. This Nana (sorry, both sisters are called Nana to their respective grandchildren) found some wonderful things for her own granddaughter for her upcoming birthday. We went to a new shoe store and found the tennis shoes that had been on the list of items needed.

We left the mall (we won't say just how long we had been there!!!) and headed over to Whole Foods. We had a ball while there. My sister helped me find gluten free products and the cart was quickly getting full of all sort of new things to try. Most exciting of all was the find of  Xochitl chips - they are amazing!! Thin, crisp, delicious and gluten free!!!  Everyone loves them - even the COP.

We talked, we played games, we went shopping - couldn't have asked for a more wonderful weekend. My niece is an intelligent and well mannered young lady. She knows her games - so be on the lookout if she asks you to play a game with her, it won't be an easy game. She loves to win.

It was a wonderful weekend. I love being with my sister and it was great having her here in Georgia and we're glad her granddaughter came along for the visit. Can't get any better than to have two Southern Sisters together.

What did you do over this past weekend?

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

SOOOO Cold but still got in the pool

It's a beautiful day today and all is well with the world except it's SOOOO COLD. I'm just not a cold person. Most days you'll find me walking around in so many layers that you'd think I was trying to get ready to go into a deep freezer or something. But alas, I'm just trying to be comfortable while in the house!

Each night my routine is a very quick change into flannel P.J.'s (long legged and long sleeves) and getting into bed where my dear, sweet husband has already turned on the electric blanket. His side is a one (1) and my side is five (5). His side has just the sheet and my side has the sheet and two, yes I did say two, blankets in addition to the electric blanket.  Before going to sleep I'll turn down the electric blanket to one so as not to fry during the night. Can't explain why I'm so cold but I've learned that layering is an art.


This morning I was particularly proud of both the COP and I because even the cold weather and even colder wind at 8:30 a.m. didn't keep us from the pool for water aerobics.  Water aerobics gives us the standard benefits of any exercise, but the use of water in water aerobics supports the body and reduces the risk of muscle or joint injury. It also allows a greater range of motion. It can also prevent overheating through continuous cooling of the body. Most classes last 45 minutes to an hour.

Yes the COP went with me on his day off to water aerobics. Gotta tell you he even went Monday morning with me too.  This morning, however, when we went to sign in the lady on duty told us the pool was rather cool at 85 degrees.  A few of the regulars even decided to not go to class.


Wikipedia

The COP and I looked at one another and then just smiled and said - "Let's go for it."  My normal routine includes jumping into the shower at a tepid temperature and then walking down to the pool and getting in quickly. When I do that, the pool feels warm after the tepid shower. This morning, however, just didn't feel the same - it was very cool water when I got in the pool. Surprisingly,  we had a large class.  The COP and I quickly got to the deeper end of the pool so that we'd have more water over our shoulders. But we need not have worried so much because our instructor was ready to help all of us get warm. She proceeded to run us through our paces at a very quick pace and she increased our work-out with weights. So we stayed warm until the end where you're doing your cool down for your muscles and body and boy did that cool down hit you hard this morning!!!  But we did it...we didn't let the cold weather keep us from getting our exercise. So another one down and the next one hopefully will find the water warmer.

We can hope can't we?

How are you starting off the year in getting healthier?