Living Social with Groupons

One of the coolest trends we've been taking advantage of lately are the online coupon sites like Living Social, Daily Deal, and Groupon.  Not only do they get us off the couch and out the door, but they expose us to things we would have never done if we didn't have a coupon.  For example, in April we went to Hollywood for a night of salsa dance lessons and a mojito making class.  That's right, you read it correctly - Peter went salsa dancing.  See the post about his 30th birthday - pigs are now flying and frosty the snowman vacations in hell.  We've also purchased discount paintball passes, eaten at cool restaurants, gone whale watching in Malibu, and Peter has some boxing lessons to go to soon.  If you haven't explored these types of sites yet we highly recommend it!  Save some money and go have some fun!

Hotel De La Stewart

Over the last few months we have had a ton of visitors. First, two of Peter's best friends from college, Tony & Kelly Harris, came into town and stayed for the memorial day weekend.  Allison's childhood friend from Orlando, Mike Romain, came out two weeks later for business and stayed with us for a few weekends. Finally,  Allison's brother, Kevin, came out for the 4th of July weekend.  It was great to get him out in CA since it's been 5 years since his last visit - we enjoyed grilling out, watching a UFC fight and general chilling, heading up to Santa Ynez wine country and went to Long Beach to see our cousin & watch the fireworks go off from the Queen Mary down to Huntington Beach.  Everyone left a little tanner and/or fatter, as we planned. :)  It's always great to see our friends and we've got an open door policy so when you're ready to start your California adventure, be sure to swing through.

The Dirty Thirty

Well, it finally happened.  Pigs flew and hell froze over - I turned 30 in April.  Now I have no excuse to act like an idiot - I'm a bonafied, certified adult.  And I have the grey hairs to prove it!  To celebrate we took a long weekend in Vegas and went all out.  We stayed at the Flamingo Hotel, a true classic right in the middle of the strip. There was a little issue with our first room so we got upgraded to a sweet suite (like that heterograph?) with a great view of the Las Vegas Blvd and Caesars Palace. After that, it was game time.  On my birthday I went to the Las Vegas Speedway and rented a Lamborghini Gallardo and raced around the track for a bit.  Had I wrecked and died, I would have certainly died happy. While in the staging area, I was allowed to sit in all my dream cars - Ferrari's, Lamborghinis, Audi R8, Nissan GTR, Aston Martin, and a Porsche 997.  I truly had a permanent smile for the next two weeks.  That evening my lovely wife took me out for a killer steak dinner at Vic & Anthonys, which happens to be at the Golden Nugget (the same hotel we had our wedding reception at so of course, we reminisced out by the pool & just walking through the casino). Once the food coma wore off we saw a fantastic show at Caesars Palace called "Absinthe" - it's really amazing because the stage is literally 9 feet in diameter and the acts are right in your face since the front row is 3 feet from the stage all based inside an old school circus tent.  The following day we hit the strip to walk around, down random free beverages, and gamble a bit.  I actually had a bit of good luck on the Wheel of Fortune slots and ended up in the black.  That night we ziplined down Fremont St and Allison nearly had a panic attack - tears were on the verge of falling but then the zipline guy shoved her off the platform & down we went. Saturday morning we woke up early and headed to the famous Gun Store so I could thump my chest and shoot some automatic weapons before heading back to LA.  It was the perfect ending to an amazing trip.  PS - There were no car air conditioners harmed during this trip :)

Moving Sucks

Allison and I just spent the last month trying to find a new place to live, and it was a disaster.  We've never run into so many apathetic and unrealistic landlords before. We're model tenants - good income, quiet, clean, pay rent on time, etc, yet we had to practically BEG people to let us rent their properties.  It's as if people like losing money.  In typical Peter fashion, things worked out at the 11th hour and we signed a lease the day before we were supposed to move. The place we got is awesome - a great Spanish style house on the Westside with a large yard for Paxton to run around in and detached garage/gym that Peter built - the only downside is one bathroom for two people that seem to get ready at the same time in the morning.

As the title of this blog says, MOVING SUCKS!!  Luckily we had the help of some great friends, but still, our bodies were just rocked after the moving weekend.  We vowed never to move ourselves again - next time I'm heading down to Home Depot in a pickup truck and picking up some cheap day laborers to do my dirty work.  Hey, we'll be stimulating the local economy!

Battle of the baby pics

Here is Allison's baby pic.  Who was the cutest??  Let the debate begin!

I was so cute...what happened??

My dad pulled this one out of the vault.  I don't think I had ever seen it before.  C'mon, say it with me: "awwwwww".

So busy we forgot to blog

This year certainly has gotten off to a great start.  It's been a bit of a whirlwind actually.  January started off with Peter working nonstop for about 3 weeks - it was necessary to get the business back in full swing after the holiday slow down.  Things weren't too slow though, in the last month he has taken over 6 new listings.  The second weekend of the month Peter and his business partner purchased a booth at a bridal show in downtown LA and they hope to get a ton of new business out of all the new brides they met.

On the third weekend of the month our good friends, Dave & Brooke Snyder, came into town for the weekend from Indianapolis.  It was a short but sweet trip, and they certainly enjoyed escaping the snow and ice only to hang out in the sun and sand.  There is always trouble a-brewin when the Snee's come into town (good trouble, of course!) and after a night of hanging out and drinking on Friday at Cabo Cantina on the Santa Monica Promenade we managed to get kicked out around 1am.  Brooke sure is a firecracker!  The following day we all enjoyed a mid-day BBQ at the Goldsteins house.  Seth grilled his famous chicken, many beers were downed, and we capped off the day by laughing hysterically at some of the best clips the web has to offer - david after dentist, chad vader, bedroom intruder, ginger kid, sittin on the toilet, etc.  After everyone power napped, that night the boys at the Sawtelle house threw a party and it was business as usual.

A few days later Peter woke up with blown blood vessels in both eyes.  Ewww.  It certainly isn't fun having monster eyes when a large part of your job is meeting with strangers.  Needless to say, he didn't take off his sunglasses for the next two weeks. 

On the 26th, Allison celebrated her 29th birthday.  Peter spoiled her (of course) with some good gifts, a steak dinner, and a big box of sprinkles cupcakes.  There was a Vegas trip planned but that had to be canceled because there is just too much going on right now.

On the last weekend of the month Allison's good friend from Orlando, Mike, came into town for work.  He stayed the weekend and we all had a great time hanging out and showing him the sights.  Venice beach was probably the highlight of his stay - it was 70 degrees, sunny, and packed with weirdos.  Good times.  Peter and Mike are both huge metal heads so of course they became BFFs and jammed metal all weekend.  Being a metalhead can be quite lonely, so anytime Peter meets another metalhead that is pretty much the topic of conversation for as long as they're together.

The madness was continued in February.  Mike came back to LA for the weekend.  Peter worked open houses on both Sat/Sun and had a bunch of appointments scattered throughout the weekend.  Saturday night was UFC 126, and our friend Ryan hosted.  He's got an amazing house and it's perfect for entertaining.  We gorged on good pizza, Pete's home brews, and yelled at the TV for about 3 hours during the fights.  The entire card was awesome and the main fight between Anderson Silva and Vitor Belfort ended in a spectacular first round KO of Belfort from a straight kick to the face.  Rumor has it that Steven Segal taught him that move.  If anyone knows some sweet fighting moves, it's a washed up 80's action star....After the fight we headed to Baja Cantina to celebrate Peter's business partner's 30th birthday.  When we arrived Richard had already consumed a few of the giant margaritas, so he was in rare form...That Sunday was the Superbowl, again hosted by Ryan.  It was a really fun game to watch but the commercials were pretty disappointing this year.  As usual we cooked a bunch of good food and Peter made his famous butterscotch rolls.  By the end of the game at least 3-4 people were close to being diabetic after eating too many of them.

So, that about wraps up the fun over the last month.  We'll try to update the blog a little more often so we don't have to write a novel to get caught up.  And, it's tough to try and be funny and/or witty when writing 6 paragraphs of material.

Let's get the dog drunk!

Today is our dog Paxton's 21st birthday.  Our furry little buddy is officially a man and can now legally drink.  Ok, so he is only 21 in dog years and feeding him a whole beer would probably kill him.  But it's funny to think about where he is in life in dog vs human years.  Naturally we spoiled him all day with yummy wet food, duck jerky, milk bones, bacon pieces, and plenty of walks and playtime.  Our manimal sure has it rough. 

It's also our 2nd year anniversary of adopting him from the rescue shelter.  Two years isn't that long but we cannot imagine life without him.  He brings a smile to our faces and warms our hearts each and every time we see him.  Everyone thinks their dog is the greatest, but there really is something special about this dog.  His energy is unmatched and his personality is so unique.  Just try to look at his happy puppy face and not smile.

Told you so!

Bleeding Blue

Time to refill my prozac prescription as another football season ends too soon with the Colts losing to the Jets in the first round of the playoffs.  All the west coast Indy boys gathered at Chris Leys Stadium to drink, eat, high five, armchair quarterback, and yell at the TV.  There were 6 Naptown natives, 3 neutral individuals, and 1 lonely degenerate Jets fan who barely escaped with his life.  Halfway through the game I took inventory of my environment and it was a spectacle to behold - a room filled with Colts jerseys, a stack of pizzas, a mountain of chicken wings, and lots of empty beers.  God damn I love sports!!!  Despite a slow start, the Colts were looking decent and held the lead for most of the game.  Unfortunately the Jets were able to kick a last second field goal to take the win.

Allison loves to quote something I said early in our relationship.  After two years of dating she had finally realized that she must become a football fan, more importantly a Colts fan, if she wanted us to work.  She watched every game and became emotionally involved in the 2007 season.  The Colts made it to the playoffs and lost in the first round to the Chargers.  After the game she was truly upset and I turned to her and said:  "Welcome to the world of the professional sports fan - get used to being disappointed".  If you are a sports fan you're guaranteed to ride an emotional roller coaster each and every year.  But that's part of the fun, isn't it?

Overall it was a good season though and I'm proud of my team.  We had so many important players injured it's amazing we pulled it together and went as far as we did.  Now it's time to look towards next year.  Indianapolis is hosting the 2012 Superbowl and I think it will be perfect timing for Peyton Manning to get his 2nd championship ring and solidify his place as the best QB in history.  Go horse!!

No resolutions only goals

Instead of the obligatory new years resolutions, I prefer to set goals and make a gameplan for the year.  Last year this worked well.  Before you go on a cross country trip you're probably going to map it out and set a route, right?  Resolutions are always vague and according to a study done in 2007, 78% of people who set them fail, 50% by the end of January.  People can't even make it one month, how pathetic!  When S.M.A.R.T. goals are set the success rate increases 22%.   That figure increases 10% when goals are made public and you have support from friends/family.  So, I've decided to share some of my 2011 goals.  Since I am turning 30 this year I'm really pushing to step it up and become the person I truly want to be and have the life I have dreamed of living.  Given that, I have a lot of goals.  I'm sparing you all some of the details of each goal (the whole "smart" part...so are they "dumb" now?) partly because it's too much typing and partly because some of them are personal and somewhat embarrassing.  I'm not going to write "kiss my wife daily and write 2 sweet notes per month" because I sound like a complete wuss.

1. Increase business production by 50% - close 36 deals
2. Treat my wife like the princess she is (ie be a better husband)
3. Be more active outdoors with my dog - at least 2 trips to a park or hike per month
4. Get back in shape - gym at least 2x per week
5. Eat healthier - fruits, vegetables, lean meats every day, daily vitamins, and minimal fast food
6. Purchase 2 properties
7. Be more social - go out with friends/family at least 2x per month
8. Find a better work/life balance
9. Focus on enjoying the moment instead of always focusing on the future
10. Show more appreciation of the important people in my life
11. Go on 2 vacations

So, there they are for all to see.  Please hold me to them, I could use the support.  And feel free to share your goals with me.  We can be accountabilibuddies.  South Park anyone?

-Peter

Things just got real

Allison received her new social security card in the mail so she in the eyes of the government, she's a Stewart.  No more "Al Bundy"...now it's "Alligator Stew".  Needless to say, she's thrilled with her new moniker....Peter may be sleeping on the couch tonight.

Game Day

Sunday was the Colts vs Titans game.  We had a large group of Colts fans at the Sawtelle house and at least 6lbs of Pete's World Famous Chicken Wings were made.  The Colts pulled off a last second win thanks to the magic leg of Adam Vinatieri.

Although our Christmas "vacation" is over, it was nice to end it with good friends, a colts win, and bad food gorge-fest. 

One-One-One One

Started the year off right with 7/11 coffee and blueberry muffins.  Ghostbusters was on TV.  Got the standard bug up our asses about cleaning, decluttering, etc, so we did a thorough house cleaning and even cleared out the pantry and fridge.  By 2pm we decided we really needed to get out of the house.  We ended up with our default get-out-of-the-house location, the mall.  Wandered around for an hour without buying anything accept orange julius and some candy.  Then went to Target to spend our recently acquired gift cards on boring crap like tylenol, band aids, and razors.  Exciting way to spend a Saturday afternoon, right?  Like usual we fell into the Target trap and bought way more items than planned ("oh yea, I forgot I needed that") and spent too much money.  Later in the evening we went over to our good friends house, the Goldsteins, in North Hollywood.  Had a great dinner, some drinks, had some fun with their baby Sydney, and we all taught Allison how to play Euchre.  She actually caught on quickly and played pretty well.  Once we got home Allison fell asleep right away on the couch (as usual) and I watched a random movie on Netflix called "Bitch Slap".  It was low grade b thriller mixed with amateur lesbian porn.  Needless to say, I watched the whole thing....

Picture Book

Wedding Day 8/21/10

Oahu Honeymoon August 2010

Colts game at Lucas Oil 11/28/10

Our lovely ladies

Where did the year go?

2010 was an exciting year for both of us.  So much happened - Peter's successful first year in real estate, Allison's job change, the Vegas wedding and Hawaii honeymoon, a Thanksgiving trip to Indianapolis, good friends/family having kids (Snyders, Graves, etc), Allison's Florida trip, Peters start in home brewing, the list goes on.....It feels like the year just flew by, and every year goes by faster than the last.  Why is that?  Is it an age thing?  It's kind of scary though - like I'm going to blink and I'll be 50.  It's time to slow things down a little and enjoy the present day instead of always planning for the next.

New Years Eve

Here we go, 2011

Since we always seem to forget what we did all year, we've decided to start this blog to keep track of all the fun stuff we do out here in sunny california.  Ok I'll be honest - it's our attempt at being "hip" by joining the blogsphere.  It's like facebook but more detailed and intimate...Keep in mind that neither of us are professional writers or comedians so just bear with us.  We got married on 8/21/2010 and life has been great so far.  2011 will be our first calendar year together and we think it'll be the best year of our lives to date.  Stay tuned for vacation updates, random thoughts, and lots of pictures of our dog Paxton.  Happy New Year!