Brandi's Place

  In my previous post, I mentioned that “Pona” was the name my oldest daughter AJ gave to one of her stuffed animals. But if you’re thinking ‘that name just sounds kind of familiar’, maybe there is a reason why. If you are familiar at all with popular video games, perhaps you have heard of one called The Legend of Zelda. Although I’m not much of a gamer, I do enjoy the story behind the Ocarina of Time game.   AJ has often enjoyed watching her dad play around with Ocarina of Time some, especially the part when the character Link obtains a horse named Epona. When she was little, she pronounced it as “Pona” and then named one of her favorite stuffed horses after the character. The rest as they say is history.     There you have it! “Pona” is a little girl’s mispronounced version of “Epona” from The Legend of Zelda game.   So if you happen to be familiar with or a fan of the game, maybe you’ll enjoy my little story that much more knowing where the name c...

  How did Pona and the Valiant Veterinarian come to be? To start, AJ and LA both seriously love My Little Pony, Barbie, Sailor Moon (the 90’s version), Littlest Pet Shop, and Pokémon. Strong female leads, doe eyed animals, and adorable pets that do what you tell them are apparently all the rage with my two kids as I am sure is probably the case in many households with little girls. Ha! Right?   Every night before bed we have the same routine of reading a story together, singing some nursery songs, and saying our prayers. A little over a year ago, my kids surprised me by requesting that I make up a new story and tell it to them on the spot. (Thanks for putting me on the hot seat, girls.) So, I thought for a moment, and then began telling them a story about AJ’s favorite stuffed animal, a horse she had named Pona. I used their names in the story as well. Princess Pomegranate was originally Princess AJ. And Dr. Valerie was originally Dr. LA. They loved the story I made...