Boom Goes the Dynamite

Drops today. Check out my review over at Thunder Matt's Saloon here.

Check out the tunes 'Say Yeah' here and (Yes I Know) Nobody's Perfect, here.

Baby Bump - Week 28

Week 28
600 N. Fairbanks Rooftop

I've not been so successful at posting a baby bump picture every week, so every couple will have to do...but as you can see it's INCREASING in size at a terrifying rate, despite my attempts to look slim in all black outfits. We've been moving forward getting the baby's room ready, my parents generously bought us our stroller and car seat, and I've been settling into "nesting" mode...well, as much as possible between work, school, weekend trips out of town, and visitors! It's fun though. This weekend my work invited Ben and I to a party for a modern dance troupe, so that is where you see me above...dangling from the roof of a downtown highrise. Just don't mistake me for King Kong, ha!

Black and Gold Bloody Marys

It was a September to remember here at the Hacienda, if only I had time to reflect. The turnstile was put to good use, with visitors coming and going, and us playing the role of visitor a time or two ourselves. That, coupled with my hectic work schedule*, which I would call 'comically absurd' were I not too exhausted to laugh, made by brother's trip up here for a Men Behaving Badly weekend feel all the more deserved.

The second weekend in September, Cory and the incorrigible Justin Miller came to town for a weekend of tomfoolery, waffle potatoes and bad decisions. After a relatively tame Friday night at Edgewater Lounge, we headed down to Merkle's in Wrigleyville on Saturday morning for some good old fashioned 'Hawk Time'.

We snagged one of the last tables in the bar to watch the Hawks give the Clones a bare-butt spanking, and in less time than it would take to Google 'Is Iowa State still Division I?', the all you can drink Bloody Marys and Coors Light had taken their desired effect. Soon enough, the Hastings clan, Wade and Ola, made their way over to our table. Fist bumps and conversations were exchanged, burgers were ravished and before you knew it, the Hastings disappeared back into the sea of black and gold, never to be seen again. (Or at least that day. By us. I don't mean to imply that they were murdered, God no.)

After the game we met high school chum Eric "Super" Peters (his skills declining, soon he will be downgraded to merely "Above Average") over at Goose Island, where him and a buddy were babysitting a glass of 13% beer which looked like a giant glass of tar. Suffice it say, we didn't heed that warning and all of us tried a nip of that devil juice. That's what they call in the business "a mistake".

A few shoulder blasts later Peters was on a plane and Justin, Cory and I were back at my place, resting up before the inevitable Chicago steak dinner. We all threw on different clothes, and due to the alleged Western appearance of my shirt, I was dubbed "Paisley" by Mr. Miller. Despite the seemingly obvious reference to the popular country and western singer, my brother continued to baffled by this reference all throughout the night.

We hit up David Burke's Primehouse for some dry-aged steaks and a glorious invention called the potato waffle, which really blew our minds. You can imagine how confused Cory was. He couldn't even wrap his mind around "Paisley", much less the thought of a potato/waffle hybrid.

Hopping in a cab, we headed up towards Wrigley again, but not before having to go back to the restaurant when Justin realized that he forgot his phone. When the waitress asked him to identify it, he coolly responded, "It's the one from Saved By the Bell". She knew immediately which phone was his.

After being ignored at a weird bar that was showing weird (or as Cory would say, 'groundbreaking') 1970's** soft porn on the TV (a 50 year old woman shooting lasers out of her breasts isn't really my thing...well, actually it is, but that's a post for a different forum), we capped the night off with a Margarita at El Jardin. This ended up being that last drink that you know you shouldn't drink, but you do anyway. You can get away with that drink in the your twenties, but as I proved the next morning, when you're on the other side of 30, it really wrecks your life.

It was a great weekend, but as many of those great weekends go, the fallout was regrettable. To quote the great Danny Glover, "I'm too old for this shit."

*Start watching this at the 7:55 mark and look for the dork in the electric blue shirt.
**I initially wrote 70's soft porn, but then felt the need to qualify it as 1970's. God forbid you confuse it with 1870's soft porn.

Wade takes a subtle bite out of his burger.

Outside of Goose Island with a clean shaven Reed Johnson.

Cory, Paisley (Wait, huh?) and Mr. Miller at David Burke's.

The waffle potato. It's like a potoato skin with an ascot.

Labor Day - No, Not that Kind Yet

The Petersens and the Handfelts break bread, or in this case, rib bones, at Smoke Daddy.

Haven't done one of these in a while. Katy and I at Sox Park. The Sox lost, but as a Cubs fan, I have no room to gloat.

Sonic Boom Week at HHH

In honor of Tuesday's release of the first new KISS studio album in 11 years, Sonic Boom (out exclusively at Wal Mart...gross, I know), the week of October 5th, 2009 is henceforth dubbed Sonic Boom Week here at HHH.

Check in every day for brand new posts on everything from beer, baby bumps, booms, Barrymores, (weird 70's) breasts, beards and Bernie.

Since I'm totally geeked out over this new album (go buy it, seriously...it's a ridiculously fun album), you can expect a few random KISS-related anecdotes from my formative years throughout the week. Will this mean that the widely rumored and rarely seen* senior picture of a mullet-rocking, KISS t-shirt sporting (tucked in!), taco salad-eating** Benjamin Handfelt will finally make it's way onto the Internet? Stay tuned.

In the meantime, check out the official Sonic Boom website for some cool behind the scenes studio footage. Also, check them out on Letterman on Tuesday and Jimmy Kimmel on Wednesday. Geeking out!

*It's not that I didn't try to give out my senior picture back in the day. The fact that there are so few in circulation makes it a collector's item.
**I'm not actually eating a taco salad in my senior picture. But that double chin I had going? There's your taco salad.

Baby Bump - Week 26

Week 26
Date night at "Turkish Cuisine" restaurant

The last few weeks have been busy for Ben and I. I've been wrapped with the start of the new school year at work, planning for new programs and visiting classes. Ben's had some big names in town lately (here's just one of the things he was in charge of lately) and has been doing a fantastic job meeting the studios' high demands (not to mention, working crazy hours)! We also hosted my parents and Cory and Justin over the last few weekends...so after all that fun, this weekend we were ready for some quiet time getting things done around home.

Last weekend I went to the Renegade Craft Fair, which is a very cool "hipster" fair where artists to sell their handmade goods, and bought something for the baby's room. If you're in Chicago, I highly recommend hitting the fair up at the holidays or when it returns next year. I also went to a baby resale event in Evanston that was filled with crazy and pushy "Housewives of Cook County" types. It was like an alternative universe where possessed suburbanites shove you out of the way to get a discounted Boppy...and I was a little scared!

The crib and dresser that we ordered for Little Miss Muffet also arrived, so we spent Saturday assembling it and watching football (Go Hawks!). We were happy that we completed the job successfully and without any meltdowns on our part, except for one piece of the crib arrived damaged, so we have to get that replaced...but we are slowly putting together the little one's room. To celebrate our craftsmanship, we went out to eat at a restaurant around the corner from our place that is creatively named "Turkish Cuisine." Hummus does a baby good!

Baby Bump - Week 24

Week 24
U.S. Cellular Field, White Sox vs. Red Sox Game, 9/6

As I told my dad, we're already trying to teach little Ms. Handfelt acceptance and equality. Last week's bump picture was from the Cubs game, and this week, as diehard Cubs fans (although they're really blowing it this year), we're teaching her to embrace those who are different from us at the Sox game.

Things here are going very well - this morning I had my monthly appointment with the doctor, who said everything is right on track with the little one. (She also previously told me that I should feel free to indulge in milkshakes as often as I'd like, God bless her!) Things are moving along - Ben and I ordered a crib and dresser for the baby's room, we've gotten bedding for her, and are still working on daycare plans...boo to that! You'd think it would be easier than it is, but there is no one reliable place to research or find contact information for daycares in Chicago! And the ones that we do call or email are flighty, at best! I did meet with a couple of other "preggies" on Monday (for ice cream, you know it!) to discuss the possibility of sharing a nanny between two or all three of us. No immediate plans came out of the meeting, but it may down the line (it's a little too early to look for a nanny, if that's the road we decide to take, and we're all keeping in touch). I trust it will all work itself out in due time. Let's hope so at least, or else Carm the cat will be watching the kiddo on a daily basis! It was nice, however, to meet some other ladies with babies...so now I'll have some "mom" friends at the playground next year! How nerdy is that? Would anyone have expected me to say that EVER in my lifetime?