How Did It Happen?

Funny how this summer, when viewed from a distance (back in April or May) didn’t seem like it would be that busy. Much like a turtle will grow (or not) to fit the size of the aquarium in which it’s housed, I seem to be on a mission to fill all available time until very little remains. Although, happily, we did manage to squeeze in a long weekend with not much to do, not that long ago. It was blissful, I tell you. Felt like being on vacation.

Fortunately, most of the things that have been filling our days and evenings have been fun things – time with family, time with friends. Time drinking wine with family and friends. All good things. Now if I can just sleep for more than 5 hours at a time on a consistent basis, good things will happen, I know it. Some of it is totally my own fault, though. Last night, I suddenly realized it was midnight and set about a flurry of activity – preparing lunches for today, finishing and folding laundry, cleaning up the few pots and pans left over from dinner. Yes, this is a sickness – but as I get older, my tolerance for mess and clutter is decreasing, and when I’m in a mood, it’s best to just stay out of the way. I sank into bed at 12:45, with my mind still whirling and wide awake. It calmed down about 20 minutes later, and the alarm went off way too quickly in the morning.

By way of plugging a favorite new discovery, Special K and I joined some friends at a new place tonight, called Big Buns. I know, I know…but this place is awesome, and their burgers are just so much better than Five Guys. Seriously.

The fact that they sell t-shirts that say “I like Big Buns and I can NOT lie” is just the ketchup on the burger.

You can order one of four types of burgers (beef, chicken, fish, and Portobello, I believe) on a bun or in a bowl, and any one of a slew of toppings. I got a beef burger, medium-rare (and it actually was) on a wheat bun with Swiss cheese, grilled onions, lettuce, tomato, corn relish (which I would leave off in future), and honey mustard, with a side of sweet potato fries.

Oh.

My.

Gosh.

It was so good. Soooooo good. Good enough to make me actually consider going to Arlington again just so I could eat there. And for someone who loathes Northern Virginia, that’s really saying something.

The best/worst part was the chocolate malt we got at the end of the night with extra malt. It was magically delicious, but the combo of (let’s face it) way too much food and a lot of dairy made my intermittent lactose intolerance decide to pay a visit. Not pretty – although I’d say that it was still worth it, despite knowing that I’ll be paying for it for a few more days. We got home and I looked at my profile in the mirror, observing my larger-than-it-was-that-morning belly, thinking that the “fat baby” was back. No, no – I just needed to digest my enormous dinner. So, perhaps I’ll take it a little easier next time, since I seriously doubt that my lunchtime workout did much to offset the consequences of that dinner. (You can file this away under “reasons Mandy will never be skinny”.)

Fortunately, it’s generated a wicked food coma, so going to sleep at a relatively early hour shouldn’t be a problem tonight, even if I do end up dreaming about burgers and malts. (Let’s hope not, though. That would be sad.)