Five Guys and Other Randoms

So, shortly after I wrote the last post, our plans for Jared's graduation got derailed by a trip to the ER followed by a weekend stay in the hospital. Since then, we have a new plan for Charlie that we are hoping will work. Essentially, it has been determined that he has "gastroparesis" or, in layman's terms, his stomach is not moving things out the way it should, which is making him feel full, and causing him to not be able to tolerate the volume of food he needs to thrive (or survive). So, on Monday, we are getting what is called a g-j tube, which will be put in through his existing g-tube but feed him directly into his intestines and skip his stomach altogether. The g-j is a temporary solution as they come out of place frequently and so, if it works, we will get a permanent j-tube placed in about a month. The bummer is it looks like this is going to be a permanent struggle for him. I struggled with this a lot over the past two weeks (it wasn't really my plan for him to have one hole in his stomach, much less two and I certainly never thought it would be permanent) but I am choosing to focus less on that and more on the happy, sweet, funny little boy in front of me. He really is a trooper.

One of the things I miss A LOT about California is In N Out Burger (so much so that I think this isn't my first post on that topic). They apparently have no plans to open stores here in Oregon. Boo. Anyway, I love hamburgers. They are certainly one of my vices and not particularly helpful with weight loss or cholesterol but...so it goes. So, I recently tried Five Guys, for which there is a location close to my house. Five Guys is always busy and I've read they are similar to In N Out. By the way, according to new blog rules, I think I need to state that I am not being compensated by anyone for this review. Anyway, back to the burger. I can see why it has been compared to In n Out--you walk inside and it looks virtually identical! That all ended at the order counter. At Five Guys, you choose what toppings you want. There are no pre-determined packages. By that I mean, you add absolutely everything to the blank burger...nothing comes standard. I wasn't expecting this, so I was a little flustered when I got to the counter and didn't know what to do and there was an impatient line behind me. So, I ordered a cheeseburger with lettuce, tomato, mayo, ketchup. I'm sure I could have been more adventurous than this but like I said, I was a bit out of my element. I ordered fries, which, like In n Out, they make fresh there. They do not have milkshakes. The burger was good, but not like In N Out. Definitely better than a McDonalds burger or other major chain fast food burger, but not earth-shattering as well. As my friend Tara pointed out, it was kind of like a backyard grill burger. The fries were better tasting than In n Out, I think. But very greasy. All in all, it was as decent a substitution for In n Out as I am going to get here in Oregon but my heart is still in California when it comes to the In n Out burger.