I jumped out of bed and onto the scale -- and made it. I wanted to be at or under 275, and I am! It's not my "official" weight, because I only record that on Mondays, but I'm pretty happy.

I'm meeting friends for lunch at a restauraunt that the other "birthday girl" chose, but I'm sure I'll find something to eat -- these women have been wonderfully supportive. DH won't bake me a cake, since he's LC'ing, too. As far as the rest of my family -- frankly, I'll be surprised if they remember it's my birthday -- which is really OK, since my younger daughter is opening in a play tonight, and my son is in the second weekend of HIS high school play, and my other daughter has been unwell. I'd been thinking I wanted to eat mashed potatoes for my birthday -- but right now, that doesn't sound all that important.

So -- happy birthday to me!

Marie H

Hope you have a great birthday! What a terrific present!

Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi Marie,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

You're doing so well! That is fantastic!

What restaurant are you going to? Max's cafe at Westgate makes an amazing lc cheesecake! Only 6 carbs per slice. Chances are it's not there, but it's still good to know! The only places I have a hard time low carbing are Chinese! So hopefully you'll find something yummy and LC for lunch.

Cheers!

Happy Birthday!

I'm glad you got your wish and I'm glad your friends and family are so supportive!

Happy Birthday, Marie!

What a great gift to receive!

Congratulations & Happy Birthday!

Happy B-day...I can't wait to get into the two's...that is a wonderful b-day gift to yourself!!!

Thanks, all! We ended up at a new Transylvanian restauraunt in Los Gatos (one of our members -- the other birthday girl -- had a DMV appointment there at 1:00, and it's close enough for all of us). The choices weren't great -- at least, not if I wanted to eat something authentic -- but I had cabbage soup and some sort of sausage. Not sure how many carbs it was, because I didn't see the recipes, but it FELT pretty good. The only real problem came when the waitress found out we were celebrating birthdays. She REALLY wanted to bring me a free dessert (and I must say the desserts looked scruptous) and wouldn't take "no" for an answer. You all know the line, "Oh, come on, it's your birthday, you have to have dessert, one won't hurt." I told her my birthday present to myself was to NOT go off my diet for the day -- and she KEPT pushing! Finally, the other women chimed in and got her to stop if we promised to let her join them in singing happy birthday. (By the way -- for any of you who live in the area -- while it isn't overwhelmingly cheap, the food was good, and it looked like the dinner menu had better LC options.)

Thanks for the suggestion of Max's, Cindy. Maybe over the weekend I'll get DH to take me there.

(Oh -- and while my mother and one brother have called, no one who lives here seems to remember that it's my birthday yet. I'm curious about whether they ever will. The trick is to not mention it, but NOT get mad if they HAVE all forgotten . . . I'm generally not into playing "gotcha" games.)

Marie H

Way to go in sticking to your guns!!!

Happy Birthday from one Marie to another Marie! You are doing so well. What a great present you gave to yourself. Just imagine your next birthday - I'm picturing you out shopping for a new outfit in a size 10/12 because everything you own is too big. Take care and lots of happy wishes. Sounds like you have a very talented family.
Marie

Happy Birthday!!! Congrats on your loss!
Jen

Happy Birthday and Congratulations!!!

WTG Marie!!!

Happy B-Day ... to you..... Happy B-Day... to you...

happy birthday and congrats!!