Here's what I've been up to...Ruidoso and some health stuff...

I thought I would give a little update on some of my summer health goals and also share a few pictures from a trip we recently took to Ruidoso, New Mexico.  I think I'll start with the mountains and the coolness.  Central Texas is hot, hot, hot in the summers, but we've been a bit lucky this year or rather we were earlier this year.  Lots of rain - well, too much rain at one time in late May and June.  July, however, did not see us with one single drop of rain and I'm thinking that there has not been any in August either.  And it's hot, with way too much humidity.

We escaped to New Mexico for a week - Ruidoso to be exact.  It was lovely.  Temperatures in the high 70's (and a few low 80's) during the day and 50's at night.  And some rain.

Here's a lovely picture of the Sierra Blanca mountains in the golf community of Alto, just north of Ruidoso.

This is a shot my husband took early one morning from the golf course at the Inn Of The Mountain Gods - a resort in the Ruidoso area that is owned by the Apache Tribe.

The hubby golfed and I spent a lot of time on this front porch of the house where we stayed, reading of course.  It was a log home and all the wood was really beautiful.

This is a whimsical little bear on the back porch/deck area.  Isn't he cute?  And yes, there are actually bears in the area.  Trash has to be placed in steel dumpsters located on the streets of the town.  They have heavy lids so the bears and other creatures will stay out.  There are a lot of elk and deer as well.  And a few mountain lions.

I'll share more about a couple of places in Ruidoso next week.  I have one post about a bookstore that I love to visit each time we go and also I'll have a Weekend Cooking post about a great coffee/sandwich/cookie/gelato shop.  It's called Sacred Grounds and I love it.

Otherwise, my quest to shed some pounds, avoid a diabetes diagnosis, and improve my blood work numbers will hopefully be successful.  I've lost 20.4 pounds since late May.  I have worked hard at eating better and also moving more.  My doctor had told me to work on this for 3 months and then we would do the testing again.  Well, I went on Tuesday morning early to get my blood drawn.  I don't have the test results back yet, but I am hopeful for better numbers and no additional meds.

I also had a dermatology appointment this week to check several little spots on my face and legs.  I have had some skin cancers in the past and so must go in for skin checks periodically.  Happily, the spots were benign and so I'm cleared for another 6 months.  Unhappily, a tendency toward skin cancer has been something I have passed on to my daughter.  She has had Mohs surgery on her scalp in the past and recently found that she had more basal cell carcinomas on her scalp again and also on her nose.  I went with her on Wednesday when she had Mohs surgery on her nose.  It was fairly extensive, but she is feeling better now.  She has one more scalp surgery to get through and then will be cleared for 6 months too.

Oh, and I have to have a crown on one of my back upper molars next Friday.  Sigh.  I'm not a very happy camper in the dental chair.  But, needs must.  I've only ever had one other crown and then that tooth had to have a root canal a few years later and then it got an abscess and had to be extracted.  And then I got a tooth implant, which took forever, but has been very successful.  I'm crossing my fingers that this crown will not have issues.

Only an eye exam will remain and then I'll be finished with doctor appointments for a while.  Whew!  Sometimes it seems that by the time you get through checking all these parts of you, it's time to begin again.

School starts here in our area week after next and that must mean that fall is coming.  I'm looking forward to cooler weather.  Ha!  Seriously, it will be weeks and weeks before that time comes, but I can hope can't I?