af design

As some of you already know, I have been doing quite a bit of graphic design freelancing over the past year. I finally got my own computer and design software (Adobe CS3) at home, so I'm excited about being able to take on more business. The name of my "company" is af design. Click here to check out some of my samples.

Eventually I'll put together a "real" website with my contact info, portfolio, and pricing, but this is good for now.

California family

My step-mom, Doris, sent me a few pictures today of my "California family." Enjoy! :)

My brother, Bryan, and my soon-to-be sister-in-law, Liz


My nieces, Carissa and Kyra


My dad


My nephew, Ethan


Doris and Carissa


My nephew, Liam


My step-sister, Lisa, and Kyra


My nephew, Josh

On a hike

These are our friends, Terra and Geoff:



If I told you how much we had in common with this couple, you would freak. Geoff proposed to Terra where Curt and I got married. (Nobody else has ever heard of Royal Oaks Cabins!) We all love hiking and the outdoors. No kids. One dog. Love lots and lots of land. Same values. Same living situation (temporarily). Bottom line, we were meant to be friends.

So Terra and Geoff came down to our neck of the woods today and we went hiking with our dogs at Pocohontas State Park.



We went on a beautiful 5-mile hike around Beaver Lake, which our dogs (Star & Radar) enjoyed immensly. Then we all came back to our place and had a BBQ. Curt and I got to try out our new Tiki Torches, which were pretty cool! It was a great ending to an awesome Memorial Day weekend.

My two favorites

Mother-in-law

We got a call from my mother-in-law today. She said she had a bone to pick with me because there was no photo of her on the blog. So let me introduce everyone to my mother-in-law, Jean, and her FAVORITE little dog whom she loves very much, Max. :) (For those of you who know Max, you know that it's really a love and hate relationship!) This one's for you, Mom!

Lions and tigers and bears, oh my

We went to the Metro Richmond Zoo today, a place we didn't even know existed in Richmond until about two weeks ago. (And, by the way, it's nowhere near "Metro Richmond.") My brother and his fiance flew in from California so we could all spend Mother's Day together in Northern VA, and we went to the National Zoo in DC. When we came back, Curt was talking to his boss about how cool the zoo was and his boss told him about the one in Richmond. The Richmond Metro Zoo was great because we were able to get close to the animals and feed them, and there was a sky ride that took you over several of the zoo exhibits. I took a TON of pictures, so I tried to pick out the best ones that described our day ...



Feeding the giraffes was our favorite part. Their tongues literally wrapped around our hands, and they felt squishy and sandpaperish at the same time!


This giraffe was picking its nose with its tongue! Click on the picture to make it larger.


We ended the day with the Sky Ride, which gave us a neat view.


Note: There were lions and tigers and bears ... I just didn't get good photos of them. :)

A little background

Before we begin to blog, I'll give you a little history on us ...

FOREVER

Our wedding day. October 8, 2005. The day I became Mrs. Curt Fallecker. We had a small wedding nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains - ironically in Love, Virginia. Our friends and family rented out Royal Oaks Cabins (www.vacabins.com) and we got married in the wedding garden and then spent the weekend with everyone who traveled from California, Pennsylvania, Colorado, New York, etc. It rained all day Friday, and all day Saturday until about 30 minutes before I walked down the aisle. Someone was obviously watching out for us. :) After the wonderful weekend, we headed up to the mountains of Pennsylvania for a fun-filled, adventurous honeymoon!

STAR-BABY

This is our dog, Star. We picked her out at 2 weeks old and picked her up when she was 7 weeks. It's actually a funny story. She wasn't the original "Star." Curt and I tried to adopt a beagle puppy, and I was so excited that we picked out a name and I bought the dog tag. Then the phone call came ... we were rejected. It was before we were married, and they felt "joint custody" wasn't good for the dog. How messed up is that?! Anyway, we ended up buying a beagle puppy from Curt's friend who breeds them, and we love our little Star-baby very much. She doesn't need to know she wasn't the first. :)

Star as a puppy:

CHINA

Curt was sent to China for work right after we got married. It was his second time out there, but this time it was for a month. So, courtesy of Filtrona Fibertec, they flew his bride of four weeks out with him to spend 10 days in ... well, I wouldn't quite say utter bliss! The food was horrible, the people liked to stare and touch my curly hair, and I spent most of the time by myself while Curt worked. BUT, we did get to travel to Beijing for a weekend and took a private tour. It was neat to see the Great Wall of China and many other places I've only read about in my history books.

MY HUSBAND, THE HUNTER
(and Star, the helper)

Yes, everyone, I married a hunter. (He's in the orange hat. Star has a matching collar.) Ironically, I haven't eaten red meat in 10 years. At the ripe old age of 13, I gave up cow and pig and anything that doesn't have feathers, scales, or shells. Then along came Curt Fallecker, born and raised in Pennsylvania, hunter of anything that moves. I still don't eat what he shoots, and he still thinks I'm going to one day.

For all the PA folks (the rest of you close your eyes, Curt made me do it):

Curt & his dad after a "successful" hunt.


MORE GOOD TIMES

Thanksgiving 2004 - in the mountains of PA
Curt & Me


Curt & his brother, Mike


New Years Eve 2004


May 2005 - Me & Mom


Memorial Day Weekend 2005 - We picked up our Star-baby


Our first Christmas 2005
(Notice the stuffed bird on the wall? We obviously were in PA with his parents.)


Easter 2006



Nagshead October 2006


My first Thanksgiving turkey 2006


Our second Christmas 2006 - the family


Just us :)

Welcome!

Hey everyone! Welcome to my new blog! I figured since our friends and family are all over the country, this is a great way to keep everyone updated on the Adventures of Curt and Alison. :) So save this to your Favorites and check back every now and then. You can leave comments on my posts ... and maybe I'll even inspire you to create your own blog. I have to thank Aimee and Robert's "Like a Little Bean" for inspiring me to finally create this one. I hope everyone enjoys it - stop by often!

Love,

Alison