Hooray for Friday! No gym this morning, so I got to work nice and early. Operation Sleep is not quite in action. I started taking 5HTP and I am sleeping through the night mostly, but still waking up too early. I need to buy a sleep mask. No night sweats the last few nights, but I can never really predict when those will happen anyway.
Brekkie was the 1-minute muffle.
Yum! I miss my protein waffles. A little birdie told me I shouldn’t get a magic bullet type blender replacement just yet until after this weekend. Hmmmm….
I worked steadily today and was so productive! I did some work on a stability ball, although I don’t know as I felt much from this. Of course, Pixie had to get in my lap, so I had my ebook and Pixie in my lap sitting on the ball. I could have popped it!
Lunch break. Greek yogurt with pumpkin and Kashi Berry Blossoms.
And a side of fruit. The last of the strawberries and blues.
After lunch, I had to take a trip here as my driver’s license expires on Sunday:
Luckily for us, our town is the center of the county, which actually is pretty large. That means all administrative buildings are within walking distance of our house. Nice way to save gas. It was soooo busy there, but mostly for the line of vehicle registration. The license renewal line only had 2 people in it. Score! I had to go in person because I needed to do the eye test this time.
Cooler weather yesterday and today, so I had a hot latte today (with some peanuts).
The garden is coming along nicely. The Sunsprite rose bush is popping out all over.
Long time readers know this is my 100 pound rose bush. Nice to see it back again 😉 It is so fragrant, too. I just love it!
Snow Queen clematis exploded this week. There were 17 blooms at the top of this!
They are quite large, too.
Pretty.
My newest rose bush that I got on sale for $6 last fall (score!!) has just started blooming. It is a hybrid called Wild Plum
It has a million buds on it, but only a few have opened.
Here is my shade garden on the north side of the house.
My ferns are a bit out of control. There are astilbes in front that are going to bloom soon. The little mounds surrounding the bowling bar are liriope that I just trimmed back. Those are work horses, I tell you. This would look even better if we repaved the driveway. The driveway actually looks better in this picture than it does in person LOL!
Dinner time came and I finished up early with work – even with that break to go to the DMV. Thank you speedy doctors! I used up the last of the lettuce to make a somewhat lame salad.
Then we suited up for a Friday night ride! 16.5 miles with a stop for some of this:
Creme de menthe froyo! This is Only8, so it is not the tart kind of yogurt, which makes all flavors good.
Could I get the whole thing in my mouth?
Close, but not quite 
It’s the start of birthday weekend! Cause I don’t just do one day. Tomorrow is a cupcake ride. Not sure exactly what I want to do on Sunday, but I will find something fun and report back!
Heck, forget having birthday weekend – make it birthday WEEK. I hope you have an awesome birthday, Lori!
Have you practiced your “I’m so surprised!” response to opening your birthday gift? 🙂
Wishing you an awesome birthday weekend…and YES, it absolutely should be the full weekend!
Love the beautiful flowers. We are hoping to get out to see the lilac dell at our botanical gardens this weekend.
The yogurt looks so cool and refreshing…bet it tasted great.
Can’t wait to see what kind of cupcake you have, the possibilities are endless. Enjoy your ride and your birthday weekend!!!
What’s htp?
5HTP is an amino acid that is a precursor to tryptophan, which is supposed to help better sleep and also restless leg syndrome. It’s on my list for Operation Sleep this month.
What a great way to celebrate the start of your birthday weekend–with a 16.5 mile bike ride! Isn’t that truly wonderful?
And you know what astounds me when I look at your garden? That something that beautiful could be growing when just a few weeks ago it was completely buried in the endless snow!
Happy Birthday, Lori!!
I know Debby, that snow is still a little fresh in my mind and it is amazing that was under feet of snow!
Happy birthday my sweet friend! I hope you have a wonderful weekend with your loved ones. And that there’s a magic bullet among the birthday presents 🙂
Your garden looks absolutely beautiful. It’s a treat every week to look at it.
Thank you Fran!
I’ll bet the picture on your new driver’s license will look a lot more like you than your previous one, anyway. Glad it was a fairly painless visit!
So happy early birthday – love that you celebrate all weekend!
Happy Birthday weekend Lori!!! Hope the celebrations are fun, and that the year ahead brings you all you wish for!!!!
BTW: Your garden is GORGEOUS!!!! Have a great day!!!
I love your garden pics Lori! Beautiful! Would have loved a pic of Pixie on your lap on the stability ball! 😉
Have a wonderful bday weekend! Yes, make it as many days as possible!
PS: You should see the DMV’s in my area – you have to take vacation for a week to get thru the line! 😉
Happy Birthday, Lori! Your garden looks great–I love the yellow roses (and the bowling ball)!
Happy birthday week. Your garden is beautiful.