The Edge of Thirteen..

Well, I guess I finally have to admit my 'baby' brother isn't a baby anymore. On Friday, July 3rd, he'll be 13 years old. Today I took him to get a hair cut, and surprisingly he agreed to let me snap a few.. very few.. pictures of him!














I just can't believe how fast he's growing. He'll be sporting a mustache in no time.. :)

Big Fat Fort Worth Zoo Adventure Post!

I feel a bit like I'm on vacation. I have been running so steadily for work (photography) and now I've switched gears to focus on my family and it feels really weird. But, we've been having a great time!

Here is a huge post of our trip to the Fort Worth Zoo. You will notice several cameos by Flat Stanley. I am participating in a Flat Stanley project for one of my photography buddy's (Zak Schwank Photography) wives, who is a teacher. If you're not familiar with Flat Stanley, check out http://www.flatstanley.com/!

It wasn't really ideal photo-taking conditions when we went to the zoo, but who I am to pass up cute animals?





Brothers.. I didn't dress them. ;)


We got Joshua this little video camera for Christmas and he carries it everywhere.








The Cheetahs were the only cats that weren't sleeping.. They were pacing around their habitat very quickly.


A poor attempt at a shot with myself, Joshua, Jonathan and Svaya.


I don't give up easily :P




MEERKAT!!


They are so cute..


I really wanted to scoop one up and put it in my purse to take home.


My personal favorite zoo exhibit is the white tigers. They have been my favorite as long as I can remember.


Nom Nom Nom


I love how majestic they are! (By the way.. the weird black shadowy stuff is from shooting through the bars on the exhibit.)


Pile O' (Big) Kitties!






The lions were sleeping too..


I almost decided not to post this picture, after I really looked at it.. but then I figured.. I'll leave it to you to decide why I almost didn't post it. :P






Flat Stanley checking out some birds.








Joshua with a Kangaroo statue, that I'm pretty sure USED to be a Komodo Dragon sculpture (I'm pretty sure, because Brian took a picture of me on it around 4 years ago.. and no, I'm not posting it!).


Of course, Flat Stanley had to have his turn as well.


Penguins are awesome.


The reptile house was PACKED because it was air conditioned. :)


The Fort Worth Zoo is divided up into areas like "Africa, Asia and Texas".. So this is a random fake cemetery in the Texas area.


Joshua pays his respects to the fake dead.




Texas is one of the, if not THE, most diverse state, as far as terrain goes. We have mountains, rolling hills, deserts, coastlines, and even rain forests! A little bit of everything.


One more sleeping kitty.


After the zoo, we went to Spiral Diner for some lunch. Spiral Diner is a completely vegan restaurant, and quite tasty. They also have a new location in Oak Cliff, for the Dallas side of the metroplex.



Joshua and me (with bunny ears, of course).


Our friend Sara, and Svaya.. who managed to look fresh faced and adorable, despite the heat.


Here's wishing you all a wonderful week!

Brandi = Pig?

Okay, amusing blog post titles aside, I find this Chinese zodiac pretty interesting. I don't put a lot of faith into any kind of zodiac, but it's fun when it reads true.

My father actually sent this to me, so I am not sure where he got it.

I was born in 1983, so that's the year of the pig. Here's what the Chinese zodiac says about Pigs.

"Sincere, Honest, Trusting, Sociable, Hard Working, Stubborn.

The Pigs of the Chinese Zodiac are giving and principled beings
without equal. Pigs are very pleasant and have flawless manners and
taste. Because they are also perfectionists, they are often wrongly
viewed as snobs or as having feelings of superiority. Pigs are
sensuous and luxuriant by nature. They love the finer things in life.
Pigs care deeply for their friends and family and will go to great
extremes to keep them happy and well. Pigs do not see helping others
as a duty but as a pleasure.

Pigs are so giving they are actually sad when they have no one to give
to. Their need to be magnanimous makes them an easy mark for those who
live by the con. Pigs make great friends and lovers. Truly believing
there is a higher good in all of us, the Pig will do almost anything
to not see the bad qualities in their friends and family members.
However, once a Pig feels they have been wronged, they become a force
to be reckoned with.

Pigs are curious, intelligent beings. Pigs are sometimes wrongly
perceived as being lazy. Their love of family and warm hearts make
them wonderful mates."

To see what your Chinese zodiac is, you can check out THIS page or you can Google for a variety of other pages.

Happy Sunday all!

Preview of our Fort Worth Zoo adventure!

Friday, myself, my brothers Jonathan and Joshua, and Svaya loaded up and headed out to Fort Worth to go to the zoo. It is the oldest zoo in Texas. A couple of my friends also met up with us once we were there. I took a few pictures, but here's just a little preview.



Almost ALL of the big cats were sleeping in the shade, except for one of the white tigers, who was cleaning himself in the shade. They were sure cute though. My crazy cat lady tendency includes loving big cats as well.


I saw the "Twister House" so I told Jonathan to pick up Joshua's feet like he was about to get blown away. This is what I got. I love it.


Joshua wrestling a very dangerous bronze alligator.


Flat Stanley came along to the zoo too!


Have a great weekend all.. !

Music Video Friday - The Monkees

To tell the truth, this was like the sixth song on my list but the rest were all 'embedding disabled by request' :( .

A few of my favorite things..

I am already anxiously awaiting my baby brother coming in, even though he won't land until almost 10 PM tonight. I figured I'd keep myself busy by posting a few random things I like and dislike.

I really love... Squirrels. Our office faces our front yard and I always watch the squirrels (and sometimes bunnies) playing in our front yard. I am just fascinated by the overwhelming cuteness that is squirrels.


So cute!


I really love... Kernel Seasons. I know you're all like.. what? Kernel Seasons is this really tasty popcorn seasoning stuff. I am an absolute popcorn addict and I love it with this flavoring. Generally white cheddar, but they also have a variety of flavors like Parmesan Garlic, Ranch and.. Chocolate Marshmallow, which I have not seen locally but it's on their site. I might have to try that. You can take a look HERE!

I really, really, REALLY love... Pandora! If you are not hip to what Pandora is .. I suggest you immediately direct your browser (new window or tab, keep one here on the blog, of course) to http://www.pandora.com! It is completely free online personalized radio. You input the artists you love to hear, and then it plays those artists, and related artists. Generally it's pretty spot on for me. Occasionally it slips something I don't like in there, and I just give it a thumbs down and it goes away. I love you Pandora, you make me oh so happy.

On the flip side.. Here are a few things I just don't like.

I really dislike... Bananas. I have never been a fan of bananas, as long as I can remember. First, I just think they have a weird, rather unpleasant flavor. Second, their texture is just wrong. After you eat a banana, it coats your tongue with this weird, slimy-yet-mealy type feeling. Yuck! No bananas for me, thanks.

I really dislike... The Fashion Show. You know.. Bravo's attempt at replacing our beloved Project Runway, which got snatched away to Lifetime. Despite a glaring lack of Tim Gunn's presence, I gave The Fashion Show a chance. I have watched the first four episodes. But, I can't take it anymore. Watching the show causes me great pain. From everything I've heard, pretty much everybody agrees with my opinion. I'll be interested to see how Project Runway works on Lifetime! I miss Tim Gunn.

Agree with me on any of these points.. disagree with me? Leave me your opinion in the comments! I've got a great weekend coming up, chock full of family! It's going to be awesome. Hope you all have a great weekend as well!

Gigi, Harley, Mina and Dante - Oh My!

Today is a 'post your kids pictures' kind of day, except.. these are the only kind of kids I have. But they're pretty darned cute, you must admit.







The sunlight was so hard here that it almost looks like flash.


The whole two different size of pupil thing is kind of weird.


Gigi was being all frisky.




It's kind of like she's wearing a comfy parka, except, it's attached.


The 'put that stupid thing down and throw this for me' look.

Do you know that it's hard to throw a frisbee and take pictures at the same time, especially if you do both things best with one hand?


Will trade pictures for new fence. :P


Dementor-dog! Scary. Don't let your kids see this too close to bed time.




Even the best looking animals can't be gorgeous all the time.


Happy Wednesday!