My sister is 40 today

And boy, did she rack in the goods or what at her party last Saturday?

Dang.

I was overwhelmed with the amount of loot on her dining room table by the end of the night. Those L.A. folks sure spend some bucks on each other.

Made me think about gifts. I'm as materialistic as they come, and I love presents, but I was almost embarrassed by the display of spendage I saw. Was I a wee bit jealous? Maybe, but I don't think so.

I have a lot of friends who aren't big present givers. Instead they do small things, like write me a poem, or a sweet card when I'm down, or take me for a coffee and a treat for no reason at all. Those are gifts that really mean something to me. I have a friend who differentiates between gifts and presents. Gifts have more thought. Presents are what the giver actually would like to receive herself, while gifts are made or bought with the specific receiver of the gift in mind.

Does that make sense?

One of my best birthdays was spent in Key West in Florida with a friend. We had drinks, went snorkling (even getting stung by ajellyfish didn't take away from the fun). got all dressed up and went to a great dinner. At the end of the meal, she said, "I got it," even though we had planned to pay our own way. It wasn't that it was an expensive dinner (although it was), but that it was an unexpected treat.

Last year I invited a few friends over for pizza, wine and board games. Even my pal who doesn't really like board games came. We laughed so hard at one point I thought I was going to wet myself. She had brought this really silly little party game; plastic glasses with a stick attached, onto which several other attachments fit. One was a mini basketball hoop, with ball on a string. We all took turns with these glasses, bouncing our heads up and down, trying to make a basket.

It was perfect.