This month is flying by! I was traveling for work again at the beginning of the month and Chris launched a business venture called Chow Locally that he cofounded! It's been exciting but busy! In the midst of the busy-ness here's how I did on my goals for July:

• Send birthday presents to my Dad and good friend, who both have early August birthdays. My dad is incredibly hard to buy gifts for, I ended up just calling him and having a good chat. I sent my good friend a subscription of Everyday Food which I also just started getting, I love it so hopefully she will too.
• Keep the house tidy during the week by doing a little each day. We did well on this in July! We kept the house tidy during the week and didn't have to spend a big portion of the weekends cleaning. This will get harder now that the fall semester has started and Chris is back to school
• Buy materials for my cubicle makeover. Nope. I might put this on hold for a couple of months while I explore options for changing jobs. If I decide to stay at my current job I'll definitely do the makeover.
• Finish reading the book I agreed to review for Environmental Practice and start writing my review.  I got an extension on my review until August 29. I've read the book but still have to write the review.
• Buy a present for my friend's baby shower. Yes! I took two adorable Indestructibles books, these are my new favorite books to get for babies. 
• Research teacher certification programs for science teachers. I'm going to attend an info session for a local community college program on September 7th. 
• Plant slipper plant cactus around our front porch. Yes! We had a landscaper do this for us and it looks great. However, the poor plants get full western sun exposure so some are a bit sun burned. I probably should have waited until the fall to plant.
• Be more organized about meal planning and grocery shopping. I just started last week and enjoyed trying out some new recipes and feeling more organized about our dinner situation.

August is already more than half over but here's what I hope to do before September 1st (can you believe it?):

• Submit my book review for Environmental Practice. I can't wait to be done with this obligation, it's been stressing me out!
• Plan for a fall garden. So far my gardening experience has been one failed summer garden. But I have a new spot in mind for a garden in our yard and I'm excited to try my hand at growing a few things.
• Continue to keep the house tidy during the week as Chris gets busier with school and Chow Locally. Hopefully we can find some routines, like taking 10 minutes before we go to bed to pick up, that will help.
• Decide what to buy Chris for his birthday and plan a birthday celebration with friends. He turns 34 on September 9th!

Even though it'll still be hot for awhile here I'm getting so excited about cooler weather and fall clothes...which probably won't happen here until November. But a girl can dream!