This year my birthday falls on Super Bowl Sunday, which means the NFL is usurping my special day. But I'm not going to let that get me down. I love my birthday. And even though I'm approaching an age where many women would rather not celebrate, I still feel like celebrating my big 38th birthday. So I'll blow out my candles and let my family sing me a song and dive into the buttercream icing with a smile on my face - and love that for once I have an excuse to down more than one piece of cake.

Ah, another Hollywood couple bites the dust, but this one wasn't on our "couples-who-won't-last" list that my husband and I bet on (I currently lead). No, this couple was on an entirely different list, one we call "people-we'd-like-to-have-to-dinner." When we learned that Richie Sambora and Heather Locklear announced they were splitsville, our dream of dinner with the couple died an untimely death (ok, so it wasn't really a dream, just an idea). See, we'd read that they play this game when they have friends over - Stump Richie - in which you name a song and Richie plays it. The goal, obviously, is to come up with a song he doesn't know. We thought it would be fun to listen to Richie play the guitar while having a few beers (and I'm sure my husband wasn't minding that he had to hang out with Heather in the process).

So, this couple is off our list and our dinner table will have two empty chairs (in fact, it always has six empty chairs because the last time we had people over and ate dinner in the dining room it ws 2001). Who will join us for our imaginary dinner party that includes Will Smith, Jon Stewart, Emma Thompson and Kevin James? I guess we'll have to wait and see...

I have a little game I like to play when reading my guilty pleasure, Town & Country magazine. It's called, "Pick one thing in the magazine you'd like to have if you could, but once you pass the page you can't go back." So, basically, as I begin to read the magazine (passing by all the photos of the uber-fabulous people attending galas and fund-raisers) I may see something that appeals to me, but there's also the chance that something better lies ahead, so there's a huge risk in picking something too soon. Yesterday I was browsing through the February issue, passing by great vacation spots (yes, I can choose anything from a vacation to a car to a stunning piece of jewelry - I always go for the jewelry), lovely necklaces, and great shoes. But by the time I got to page 100 I was starting to get worried. Should I have picked that 12 carat flawless diamond ring on on the very first pages (of course I should have, what was I thinking???)? What if the only things left toward the end of the magazine are those black and white classified ads in the back touting European nanny services and portrait paintings (while a few years ago I probably would have jumped at the nanny service, my kids are in school now so Mary Poppins is useless to me)?

I was getting a little jumpy. Desperate, if you will. But low and behold, I came to a page with wonderful large, even very large, diamond rings. I made my pick and was able to continue reading knowing that the ring was mine. In theory, anyway. In reality I was wearing cargo pants, a Martha's Vineyard sweatshirt and living vicaroiusly through people who actually think sending their wedding photo into Town & Country is a cool thing to do (I always check out the wedding pictures to see if I know anyone, and I did, once, the sister of a guy I knew in college). And the real payoff to T&C comes on the last page, where they have the best horoscopes going.

I told my friend about my game and now she plays it, too. It's harmless, not terribly taxing on the brain, and doesn't require breaking a sweat. Now that's my idea of the perfect sport.