Love Me! Love Me!

So on top of having my family being so sweet and traveling from all over to surprise me for my 40th birthday, would you believe I also got a bunch of cool presents? First, my friend Mark sent me a package of hilarious Over 40 and Still Cookin' gag gifts along with a framed photo from when we were 12. Then my sister gave me a fun T-shirt and that incredible scrapbook she made, complete with personal notes from my family and some of my closest friends.

Then my friend Nina came up with a clever retro idea and got eight classic albums CDs from the year I was born. As you can see, 1967 was a great year for music:

"Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band"
"Carryin' On With Johnny Cash and June Carter"
"Up-Up and Away"
"Cabaret"
"Take Me to Your World"/"I Don't Wanna Play House""I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You"
"How the Grinch Stole Christmas"
"Revenge"

My brother Terence got me Glenn Frey's "No Fun Aloud," which was the source of great amusement back in the early days of MTV when the omnipresent video "The One You Love" would come on repeatedly, its sax solo sending us both into hysterics for some reason.

My brother Bill and his wife, Jacqueline, gave me "Mississippi Sissy" by Kevin Sessums, which I have been absolutely dying to read.

And my friend Greg got me the recently released DVD of "Apartment Zero" -- which was one of our favorite movies of the late '80s and featured the ever-dreamy Hart Bochner. (Woof!)

And last but not least, my friend Jean sent me a box of Hostess cupcakes, my absolute favorite!! I have to say I'm very lucky to have friends and family with such good taste who spoil me so.