Turning 50 this week and...

[jgranzier]

Well I'm turning 50 this week and it is "weighing " on me a bit.
My wife has been after me to do something .....
So this weekend I came up with a list of friends to call and have excluded some of her friends .....( i want to enjoy myself ).
7-8 couples coming over for dinner on Saturday night.

That part was easy - The dinner will be nice , a few drinks and some conversation.
My questions are
- Is this a time I should make a toast ? Thanking my friends for their friendship? Thanks to my wife for putting up with me ?My business partner -(the same )

Any thoughts ,ideas on all the above would be welcomed
FOOD ,DINNER , DRINKS , CONVERSATION , GAMES , JOKES
This will be a diverse group , not all have been together before most of us
are in late 40's early 50's.
Thanks

[t walgamuth]

Ahhhh... I wish I were fifty again!



A toast would be fun.

[Stretch]

I think it is always nice to do something like that after a really good main meal whilst there is still the promise of a really good desert... the only other advice I'd give is to be yourself and be honest.

FOOD - pick what you like
DINNER - again what you like
DRINKS - be generous
CONVERSATION - don't talk about work - talk about fun (or what you find fun)
GAMES - I wouldn't even go there
JOKES - none at the expense of others

[KarTek]

When you say you're going to be 50 and the wife is after you to do something, the first thing I think is "colonoscopy"...

[dynalow]

Originally Posted by t walgamuth

Ahhhh... I wish I were fifty again!



A toast would be fun.

Amen.



For my 50th birthday, my dear mother gave me a money tree.
She got a small limb of a tree with a few branches and tied 50 $1.00 bills to it. Kept it around hoping it would flower, but to my deep regret, her house was robbed and the thieves took the tree along with a number of other things.

[dynalow]

Expect a lot of the usual gag gifts. Prune Juice, Beano, Mucilix, adult diapers. It is, walking canes, etc.
Tip: keep the non-perishable stuff for re-gifts later on. Someone you know will be 50 soon.

[strelnik]

Originally Posted by jgranzier

1. Make it easy on everyone, including you and your wife: make it a buffet with some stuff catered, some home-made. That way, you can spend less time prepping and more time enjoyoing yourself.

2. make some hors d'oeuvres and have some made. Different but cool stuff like
a. small roast peppers filled with cheese (25)
b. a shrimp mound (1)
c. a mimosa punch bowl filled with orange juice and inexpensive sparkling white wine-- or a sangria punch, or both. (1)
d. get a gallon of vanilla ice cream or ice milk and let it melt, then stuff a bunch of dixie cups with fruit and pour the ice cream into them. Freeze and when ready to serve, flip upside down into shortcake. (15)
e. Slice French bread (2 x baguettes) thin and get small plates. On one plate put the bread, on the other, a mix of olive oil and several types of pepper (10)
f. Small shish kabobs of red-yellow-green-pepperoncini peppers, small onions, big mushrooms and meat balls made of ground beef or lamb (10)
g. A cold pasta salad (1)
h. Go to the Italian store and get a mix of multiple ravioli: cheese, meat, and m,ushroom+garlic, if they have them. Cover with their own spaghetti/red sauce and serve as a hot dish (50)
i. Order two roast chickens.
j. Make 25 mini bacon cheeseburgers.

Ok, there ya go.

Not expensive, pleases everyone.

And since this is an occasion, order some good beer: MGD, Miller light, Heineken, Heineken light, and a couple of Fischer's.
Or get a keg from the local microbrewery.

Wine: a pinot grigio a chablis or chardonnay for the white. For the red, with this food, only lambrusco and chianti.

Whaddaya think?

[elau]

I did absolutely noting when I turned 50. Spent a quiet evening at home like most bachelors.

[jgranzier]

strelnik
your'RE THE BEST - THANKS FOR THE INPUT
We'll be serving a few items off you menu
Thoughtful response - I guess you've done this a few times


ELAU -
YOU 'VE GOT TO GET OUT MORE ! THIS 50 thing has been on my mind - worrying me
but I'll get over it

Thanks to all

I've been trying my best to ignore my birthdays since I turned 30 (almost 22 years ago).

[barry123400]

Well the age of others to me is totally relavent to what mine is now. At sixty seven fifty seems fairly young.

I think the first time I was really concious of my age and mortality was on my fifty fifth birthday gathering. I suspect this varies with each individual. You of course are aware well over half your time has passed but fortunatly we do not dwell on it.

The only ripost I can think of is I have lived to see sixty seven and will probably see sixty eight this July. Many do not even get this far.

The old saying is completely true in my mind. Health and perhaps circumstance to a lesser degree dictate your actual age more than anything I can think of. As long as you have them that is you can stay pretty young in both outlook and activity.

It too has to go sometimes with the vast majority of us. At present mine is reasonably sound and does not inhibit me to any degree at all so far. I wish all others were in the same boat but know better. Hardly any of my generation can stay with me. No personal credit there particularily as that is more a matter of genetics.

Unfortunatly because of familiarity I believe. Apparent time seems to always speed up with every year we accumulate. I have not figured out a way to slow it down yet. Probably a waisted effort to attempt it anyways. So it just will continue to accelerate for me. The real hardship is I always thought time to do desirable things would free up more as the years went by. Unfortunatly that has not happened but instead is reversed.

Well happy fiftieth birthday as it approaches. If nothing else generally heated discussions do not usually errupt when we deal with absolutes. This has got to be one of them in my opinion.

[strelnik]

Originally Posted by jgranzier

strelnik
your'RE THE BEST - THANKS FOR THE INPUT
We'll be serving a few items off you menu
Thoughtful response - I guess you've done this a few times

No, but in a previous life I went to cooking school in France one summer and it has always come in handy, especially with women. They love not having to cook and I can get them drunk at my own speed...

I cook for everyone. My son prefers my cooking to his mother's.

In the winter, wherever I work, at least once we have a breakfast extravaganza, a corned beef feast and a Romanoff/Stroganoff lunch where I provide everything for up to 30 people.

I could never run a restaurant but I could do a catering service.

[okyoureabeast]

Only 50? Please, we're all 21 at heart

[sunedog]

Originally Posted by barry123400

Unfortunatly because of familiarity I believe. Apparent time seems to always speed up with every year we accumulate.

My recently deceased father was fond of saying, "The older I get, the longer the days, and the shorter the years."

I just turned 50 a couple of months ago and I resemble his remark.

[pawoSD]

I'm still a couple months away from turning 24.