The Happy Side of Happy Birthday.

After being all full of melancholy and self-pity earlier in the day, my mood has greatly improved.

Beer, pizza, presents and cake and hugs can do that for you.

The beer and pizza were from Atomic Ale Brew Pub.  If forced to make a decision, I would say it is our favorite restaurant in the Tri-Cities.  They have very good sandwich's, and THE BEST Potato Soup I've ever had.  Their pizza is one of the two best pizzas we have had since moving here...if we want a crispy, thin crust you get Atomic Ale Brew Pub...if we want a chewy crust, we go to Apollo's Greek Restaurant.  Today we(I) had The Four Kings...pepperoni, sausage, Canadian Bacon and Bratwurst.  Yup...beer braised brat's cut up on pizza.  Plus a pint or two our their Plutonium Porter to go with it.  Tasty.

Presents, along with being a good excuse to leave work at 11am, are one of the few perks of even a melancholy birthday.  SWMBO bought me a collection of 20 magnetic spice containers that I can fill and use in the kitchen in the new apartment.  No more cabinet full of unorganized spice bottles!  My mom bought me two new sets of swim trunks...I assume sometime this summer it will get used.

At one point it looked like there might be a new gun in store for me for my birthday...SWMBO gave it her blessing, going as far as to take the money out of the bank for me so I could go to the gun show armed with cash.  After I didn't buy anything at the gun show, I then wasted a good portion of the money at the Ducks Unlimited Banquet the other night.  This left me enough budget left to purchase some new firearm accessories, but not an actual gun.  Sometime in the next week I should be getting a new TAPCO stock and forearm for my 7.62 X 39 Saiga, new wood grips for my CZ-75, Weaver Scope Mount for the 10-22, and a few magazines.

The cake was chocolate, chocolate, chocolate. 

The hugs were from the wife and kids, and are the cherry on top of a pretty close to perfect day.