The Life and Times of Todd and Vicki

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Hello, Again.

Two years.

Well, 22 months to be exact. It's funny how life gets in the way sometimes. You get caught up in this, busy with that. Sometimes you just forget. We're on facebook, or twitter, or pinterest. Anywhere but here, really.

But I miss this place. I miss the actual writing. I miss not being confined to 140 characters, or being able to expand not just on how I'm feeling or what I'm doing, but why I am feeling and doing those things.

So I'll make an effort.

We got a new computer, one that actually works. A mac, actually. That should help. We've settled into a marriage routine, where I can carve out some time to update. That should help. We have a good base of friends and what seems like things going on all the time, giving me something to write about. That should help.

-----

So what have we been up to the last two years? There's so much I don't even know where to start. But I'll give a quick rundown.

Places we've been:
Italy (Rome, Florence/Tuscany, and Venice)
Portland (twice)
San Diego (a few times)
San Francisco
Philadelphia and New York City
Iowa City (of course)
Kansas City
Spain (Barcelona and Madrid)

Things we've been doing:
Renovated the kitchen, changing our island and adding granite.
Renovated the backyard almost completely.
Todd got a promotion.
Vicki's job is in the process of a merger, and who knows what will happen with it.
Had three cars totaled due to moron drivers.

What we haven't done:
Gotten pregnant. Ha! Just in case anyone was wondering.

I'm sure I'm missing things, but two years is a long time. It won't be that long until I write in here again.

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Married Life!

Whew!

As most of you know, it's been kind of a whirlwind last six weeks for Vicki and I. In May we were in the Dominican for our wedding for a week from the 17th to the 25th. The weekend of June 18th we went to San Francisco to celebrate Vicki's birthday. The following weekend we were back in Iowa City for a small wedding reception with family and close friends. This past weekend, over the 4th, we took one night and went camping up north near Prescott Valley and Cottonwood.

With everything that has been going on, this blog hasn't been updated much. Expect that to change! I'll throw a couple links below to some pictures of our travels, but I'll also be putting up a blog post about each trip in the near future. In the meantime, take a look at the pictures and check back here often!

Click Here for pictures we took in the Dominican

Click Here for our Wedding Photographer's pictures

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Wedding Reception in Iowa City

As most of you know, Vicki and I got married in the Dominican Republic on May 22. While we couldn't be more excited that a few of you were able to join us, many more of you were not able to make the trip. And since we'd love to see as many of you as possible, we have decided to have a cocktail reception in Iowa City to celebrate our marriage!

The reception will be on June 25, 2011, from 2-6pm at Atlas World Grill. The address is 127 Iowa Ave, Iowa City, IA 52240 (downtown Iowa City). We'd love to have as many people as possible at the reception, but we do ask that you RSVP by June 10th by emailing me. And of course, kids are more than welcome to join us!

After the reception we will enjoy a night out in downtown Iowa City to relive our college days. Please feel free to join us for that as well.

If you are in need of a place to stay for the weekend, the Heartland Inn on the Coralville Strip is offering a special rate for us. Their number is 319 351-8132. Just ask for the Smith-Macek rate.

Please see the "Wedding Information" links to the right for more information regarding our wedding (including pictures!) and our reception. We are looking forward to seeing as many of you as possible!

Friday, March 25, 2011

Phoenix Bachlorette

I thought in honor of our upcoming wedding on the beach, I'd change the background to display a taste of the big day!

My work girls in Phoenix threw me a bachelorette party. It ended up being a complete success! We started drinks at a martini bar, AZ88, since I love martinis. It was a very swanky bar. We moved the party on to dinner at a Spanish Tapas restuarant: Tapas Pepin. The food was absolutely amazing, and the atmosphere included flamenco and salsa dancing. We ended the night at Martini Ranch, where a band, Rock Lobster, was playing 80s music (and some newer music!).

The work girls at AZ88: Cherame, Evelin, Erin, Saidah, and me

Rachel and I

Me opening goodies: a pink boa, feather crown, bride martini glass, and necklaces for everyone.

They sent Todd a list of questions to answer. I had to guess how he answered, and take a drink for every answer I got wrong.

Everyone

Tapas Pepin

Frog legs: absolutely amazing!!!

Snails were yummy!

A very small sampling of food for the night. Since it was Tapas style, we got to share and try so many things. Yum, yum, yum! I want to go back!

I was "forced" to flamenco. I was a good sport.

In line at Martini Ranch

Enjoying the show!

The night turned out so amazing! Meanwhile Todd awaits his bachelor bash in Chicago..... and I'm awaiting a girls weekend in Kansas City! Wedding countdown here we come!

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

San Diego

Vicki and I decided to take a quick trip to San Diego the first weekend of December to celebrate my birthday. We left Phoenix on Saturday morning and were back Sunday afternoon. But we managed to pack quite a bit into that short time. Check out the pictures!

View from our Hotel.

Our Hotel

This is how you do breakfast. On the coast with a crab and shrimp

stuffed omelette topped by creamy lobster sauce. And a mimosa.

Vicki in front of the Hotel Del Coronado.

The Pacific Ocean.

Waves rolling in.

Vicki's first ever steps in the Pacific Ocean.

I've been in the Pacific Ocean before, but I still love it.

The two of us.

San Diego, December 2010.

Vicki and I at a wine bar in San Diego.

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Thanksgiving 2010

This year we hosted Thanksgiving at our house. Its always a lot of work, but I enjoy cooking for others. We probably had a little more food than we needed, but I love having lots of extra leftovers! We did some prep before, including making the homemade noodles the Sunday before. It was our first attempt at them, and I say they turned out more than perfect. I gave Todd the job of peeling potatoes the night before. That ended up being a mistake, as the potatoes clogged our kitchen sink. So we started Thanksgiving morning with a plumbing problem. I hate calling plumbers, as growing up, dad was the plumber. We tried draino and then liquid plumber and nothing helped. So we proceeded with Thanksgiving, assuming the sink would have to wait until the next day. That meant I could run my dishwasher either. However, one side of the sink was draining fine, so we could get by. After suffering all day with a compromised sink, Chris brought up the idea of plunging it. What do you know-it fixed the problem! Here's some pictures of the day.