The Double-Double deserves a standing ovation.

You know I love to cook.
And you know I love my Cuban food.

But you have to realize that I'm also just a Suburban Mom most days.

And sometimes I do get supremely tired of schlepping (in Spanish, I think "arrastrando" would be the comparable word) my kids to classes and practices and friend-outings and all that.

For someone who homeschools, lately it feels like I've been spending a lot of time in the minivan.

So what do we do in the Darby household when we're running late and Mami doesn't feel like cooking?
Fast food? McD's?  (A shudder just went through my entire body.)

Ah, but we here in the southwest have a not-so-secret-alternative to regular fast food:

The Legendary In-N-Out Burger.  (Insert angelic choir here.)

Available only in California, Arizona, Nevada and Utah -  sorry, Rest of the Country!

Their fries are made with real potatoes. They use only the freshest produce. There is nothing (nothing!) like a freshly made In-N-Out Burger.  (Can I get an "Amen?")

If you're traveling anywhere in the Southwest, please do yourself a favor and just eat there. I mean it. Put it on your Bucket List as something to do at least once in your lifetime. At this point in my post I'm wishing I was somehow getting paid for this glowing endorsement, but that's not important right now.

And if you Know Stuff because, like me, you've been eating at In-N-Out these past 30 years, you will know what to order from their Not-So-Secret Menu.

You're wondering what this has to do with anything involving my big, fat, Cuban family, aren't you? Well, we always stop at the In-N-Out in Barstow whenever we drive to Vegas, it has seriously become part of our driving-to-Vegas tradition. (Barstow is at about the halfway point between Mission Viejo and Las Vegas, but that's not important right now, either.)

It turns out that In-N-Out is celebrating their 60th anniversary and no, they haven't lowered their prices - it turns out that that was just a rumor - but because we celebrate everything else, we're going to In-N-Out for dinner tonight to celebrate their 60 Years of Awesomeness.

Which means that not only is Mami not cooking... 

It further means that Eric can have his "Double-Double, Animal Style, with Extra Grilled Onions and Crispy Fries."
And we will actually clap, and possibly jump to our feet, when they bring out our food.

You know us... any chance to celebrate.  =D