Fun in the Sun

We just got back from spending last night and today at my mom's enjoying her and my dad's company and their pool! They just moved in the week before that and just got their pool lesson to use their new pool gadgets on Friday so we helped get it cleaned up last night. 

Nick vacuumed the bottom, dad used the leaf machine to get the twigs/leaves from the bottom and I helped with skimming the net along the top of the water while mom cleaned up dishes from our cookout. It looks ahhhhmazing and was SO refreshing in this hot weather.

 Mom and dad picked up 4 floaties for us all to enjoy and we all had fun jumping off the diving board. I'd say we all felt a bit like kids again trying out our moves in the pool - my dad showed off his awesome diving skills! He hasn't lost it even though it's been years since he's dove into a pool.

Doesn't it look great?! This is a great feature of the house and we loved breaking it in this weekend! The bottom isn't the plastic liner our old pool had (we had one when I was in elementary school), it's more of a rock/grout type which looks so classy. Mom and dad are going to LOVE their new pool with these long Texas summers!

 Another fun adventure this weekend was making my own wallflower refill! I learned about it here from Pinterest. Check out her steps to make your own, I love it! I used organic peppermint essential oil filled 1/3 way up the emptied bulb and filled the rest with water. It smells so fresh and I've been impressed with how far the scent spreads! Definitely give it a try :)

I also re-arranged my desk area because I desperately needed organization - and Pinterest (yes, my favorite website at the moment!!) inspired me to get organized!

Here's the before:

And the after:

 I made labels to organize and prioritize my to-do list and tried to make it aesthetic too!

 I may have to tweak it as I see what works best, but it's definitely a step in the right direction!

 I also made a new grocery list I'm excited about! I'll have to show you in an upcoming post...

I also wanted to share my fav yogurt treat; Wallaby (USDA) Organic Dark Chocolate Down Under. It is so good and every time we pick it up at the grocery store, I eat it within a day or two :) I love it! I know it's worse than the fruity yogurts, but I figure it's better than a brownie or something else.. 

Speaking of those, I have to post recipes for chocolate chip cookie dough cupcakes and deep dark chocolate cookies I've made recently (those cookies were a hit at our pool party this weekend!)...

A brief update on how I've been feeling lately:
I started a new medication 2 weeks ago that is supposed to be geared toward Fibromyalgia and also helps pain sensors in the brain from firing so often. The first few days were AWFUL. I was a dizzy mess. I was adjusting to this medication and stopping my previous similar medication (that wasn't working) at the same time and it hit me hard. I'm not sure if it was withdrawal effects from the first med (which I've heard are bad) or my body adjusting to this one (which is also bad), but I was very dizzy all the time. I was dizzy walking, sitting, eyes open, eyes closed, and mostly when I was moving at all. I missed a day of work because of it (those effects + driving = bad idea).

It gradually got better with each passing day and I'm pretty much over the dizziness now, thank the Lord. I'd say I'm feeling better than I have been in a few weeks which is great. This new med is relatively new so I'm hoping it helps! If not, I'll keep on keepin' on and living the live I've been given.

Now I've got to get ready for the upcoming week; hope yours is great!

PS - Check out my new tools at the bottom of this post to print, e-mail and share these posts (I think the "print friendly" one will be great for any recipe posts you want to try!).