FIFTY!

Yes -- I turned 50 years old today. At 1:33 this morning, September 23rd. Hard to believe - at least for ME it's hard to believe.

You know those big, round YORK peppermint chocolate patties? I love those. I picked one up today to buy and realized these particular ones, according to the promo on the packaging, had 70% less fat! So I bought and ate four of them. The large ones. Without stopping. Hey! It's my birthday. Leave me alone.

Joelene and I got the chance to sing a little Karaoke 'impromptu' something at the party (above). The selection? "Unforgettable." Appropriate. The girls sang, too (above). The selection? "Fifty Candles" (a take-off on "Sixteen Candles"). Appropriate.

The birthday party cakes are shown below. That dark one was a HO-HO cake. Notice all the HO-HO's ringing the edge all the way around. It's a little known fact that I keep a box of them under the front seat of my car just in case of an emergency. The white, Harley-Davidson one was an Italian Creme cake. They're gone now.

Thanks for all the notes, cards, e-mails, Facebook and Twitter hits - and the love.

And be blessed.