a list.

My weeks have just been flying by. Between working 40+ hours, spending my evenings watching lectures, cooking and baking far more than our poor refrigerator can store, and attending to all the other ins and outs of life, I feel like I blink and it's Friday again. I'm not complaining, I love Friday, but seriously, I'm pretty sure yesterday was Sunday. So how is it already almost Friday again? Crazy times.

I don't have any pictures to share, mainly because there hasn't been much worthy of a photograph. Instead, I have a list...my favorite way to share the this and that of the past week.

1. I ventured back to the Galleria this past weekend. Well, I didn't, we did, since I'm still too confused and intimidated by the maze of a mall to go at it by myself. I need my sweet husband to help navigate the small country that is the parking garage. Our mission: locate the only J. Crew in Houston and replace my tortoise-shell hairclip that unfortunately broke last week, leaving me at a complete loss for a hairstyle. Let's just say I've been at my job for a month now and my coworkers have yet to see my hair down. Houston and blow dryers don't mix. Don't worry though, we accomplished our mission and my favorite accessory has been restored.

2. In an attempt to counter that disagreement between Houston and the hairdryer, I actually went after work today and got a few inches chopped off. It was quite the experience. I spent hours searching for a hair salon within 30 miles where I could get a simple cut for less that 50 bucks. Yeah, it doesn't exist. I did, however, find the Paul Mitchell School, where you can get a cut from a stylist-in-training for $15-$20, depending on their experience. I ended up with a Phase I stylist, meaning the cut was very cheap, but I basically served as a mannequin. I'm not sure the girl knew what she was doing, but she went and got her trainer like every 5 minutes to help her, resulting in a total haircut time of an hour and a half. I think it looks okay, though. I immediately came home and washed all the goop out, and we'll see if I dry it before bed.  :)

3. Ben and I cherish our nightly tv time, maybe too much even. But all our shows are coming to an end! The summer season of White Collar came to a very breathtaking end on Tuesday, and Next Food Network Star wraps up this weekend! Best be on the lookout for some new and addicting television!

4. I am SO excited to announce that my family is coming to visit!! I can NOT wait! :) My dad and sister are coming the second weekend in September to watch the Texans-Colts game (Maddie is a die-hard Peyton fan and needed a reason to wear her million dollar jersey), and (hopefully) my mom is coming for a little while longer over her fall break in October. We got our football tickets in the mail this week! Super pumped to introduce them to all that Texas has to offer...the heat, the traffic, the frontage roads (worst idea ever)...hah, and the good things too (like the food! yum!).

5. I'm currently on a frantic reading spree, trying to finish The Help by this weekend so I can go see the movie. I'm a little less than halfway through and have to work all day tomorrow, so I'm thinking I might not make it, but that's okay. I'm excited to go with some ladies Saturday afternoon (when I'm not working, yay!) to watch the movie, which I've heard is fantastic!

6. I've been getting to know the people at work better and am loving it. :) Their fabulous personalities are what keep me sane at 3:00 in the afternoon after doing therapy for 6 hours straight. My relationships with the kids are getting better too, which helps a lot. With summer coming to an end and school starting back up, my schedule is probably going to change quite a bit with less kids being at the center. I'm looking forward to a break but hoping I'll still be there enough to fund my shoe-shopping habits.  :)

7. It's hot. 'Nuff said.

8. I made a key lime pie for community group last night, and it was delish. The recipe is courteous of the Food Network and can be found here.

9. I found a new Jillian Michaels workout on our free OnDemand shows from ExerciseTV, and I haven't been able to walk normally for two days now. Kill-er. That makes chasing crazy hooligans around rather difficult.

10. Did I mention it's hot? I believe the news just informed me today was the 22nd day of 100+ degrees for Houston. Thankfully we have wonderful management at our apartment who sent maintenance to give us a shot of freon and change the air filter yesterday. So our A/C is still going strong! Now if I could only find a way to not burn myself on the steering wheel when I leave work everyday...

Okay, 10 points is mighty good enough. Kind of a long and boring post, but hey, not too much excitement going on around here these days. Just trying not to sweat too bad. Have a great Friday everyone!