More Answers *

Hooray, Erica has made me feel special, too!!

1. Who do you miss most from MN (friendwise)

Good question, especially seeing as how I really only have sporadic contact with a few people up there anymore. But I’m going to have to go with Katie – she was the first real friend I made up there, and she and I went through a lot of ups and downs together over the years.

2. Do you feel wrong having sex while being pregnant?

Sex? What’s that again? Ha, I’ve had sex ONCE since we found out!! I don’t have a problem with it, but Jake is terrified of hurting either me or the baby, even though I’ve told him repeatedly that there is NO chance of him hurting the baby, and only a slim chance of hurting me. But he’s a man, so does he listen? Of course not! But hey, we’ve gone 10 months without sex before (when he deployed the first time, he got to come home on leave a couple of months before they came back for good), so this is certainly nothing new to either of us.

3. What type of music annoys you? Whats your current "repeat" song?

Nothing really annoys me. There’s genres of music I don’t really care for (i.e., polka…..*shudder*), but it doesn’t annoy me, I just tune it out.

Hmmm…..repeat song….I guess the closest thing to that would be "Now or Never" by Three Days Grace.

4. What would be your first reaction if I said yesterday they legalized pot in NC?

Great……there goes Daddy’s efforts to straighten Brandi out…..(I don’t know if she’s ever even tried pot before, but I have no doubt she would if it were legal!!)

5. What made you fall in love with Jake so fast, what about him?

A big part of it was the fact that he actually listened to what I had to say, and cared about what I said. The fact that he was actually interested in me, and not just in trying to get me in bed.

And the eyes. Gotta love those eyes.

6. If OD shut down foreva, where would you go?

I’d probably sit down and try to figure out how to use some blogging software on my own website. I don’t know that I’d feel as comfortable elsewhere.

7. If you could rewind would you still marry Jake so fast or would you have waited a little bit?

Part of me wants to say I would have waited until we could have a REAL wedding, but a larger part of me says that I wouldn’t have changed a thing. I truly believe that things happen for a reason; I’m not usually an impulsive person like that, and neither is Jake, so there is obviously some reason as to why we got married when and how we did. Who am I to question that?

I still want my wedding with a white dress and all that though, dammit.

8. What scares you about being pregnant/having a baby? (you cant say $$)

Why can’t I say money? It is, after all, our biggest concern right now. We’re barely making ends meet as it is on not quite $800 a week….once the baby is born, we’re going to have to sustain three people on less than $500 a week. You do the math.

But, fine. Other than that, even though I’m excited, I’m also scared about being so responsible for such a tiny little person. I’m so scared of doing things wrong. I know a lot of it ends up coming naturally, but isn’t it a mother’s job to worry anyway? I’ve got that part down to a science already!

9. What was life like 3 years ago in March?

Pretty darn miserable. Married for two months with my husband thousands of miles away, stuck doing a job I hated with a boss I despised…..just about the only good thing that happened was the discovery of OD.

10. Can I have your blessing to be with Kasey? You’re pregnant now… so… 😉

Uh…..nope. Not unless you move down here. I won’t be pregnant forever, you know.

More questions from the lovely Manda!!

1. Worst friend in your life?

I’d have to say….Kelly. She was my best friend for a loooong time. Like, I was seven and she was five when we first became friends, and even after we both moved away at the ages of 14/12, we remained friends. But then, I went up to her high school graduation a few years ago. And she just wasn’t the Kelly I thought I knew. Slept around with random guys. Smoked pot – IN MY CAR no less, which could have gotten me into MAJOR trouble when I got home, if an MP had still smelled it in the vehicle. Practically ignored me the whole time I was up there. I just couldn’t believe what I was seeing, because she had been NOTHING like that when we were younger. And I haven’t spoken to her since.

2. Are you a Daddy’s girl or Momma’s lil helper??

I’d have to go with momma’s lil helper, seeing as how Daddy hasn’t been around since I was five.

3. What song lifts your depression?

Hmm. Hard to say, as I typically listen to sad songs when I’m upset. They eventually make me feel better. But an instant mood lifter for me would be anything by MxPx.

4. Painkiller of choice?

Excedrin Migraine. It’s about the only thing that works for me nowadays. Though, I try not to take it now unless I’m in really bad shape. Like today. Having a headache for three days straight will do that to ya.

5. Worst heartbreak, what happened?

I’d have to say my worst heartbreak would be with my first love, Nick. We were together for nearly three years, and were engaged. Things got kind of strained between us, but I figured it was all due to living together, trying to pay bills, and the fact that I was still in high school. Things got progressively worse, even escalated into physical abuse a couple of times. Still, I was devastated when he decided we needed to end things. The worst slaps in the face?

• We still had to live together….neither of us could afford to pay to break the lease.
• We still had to share a bed. And he decided a few times to try and still get some action. Please.
• We fought for two weeks over the engagement ring. I felt I should keep it, as it was a gift, after all. He, for some reason, wanted it for sentimental reasons (or so he said). I finally let him have it, just to shut him up.
• The reason he gave me for the split? He thought I was cheating on him. He never could handle the fact that I had a lot of male friends, and I guess it finally got to him.

I hurt over our split for a long time, though I didn’t really show it. When I came home from Basic Training for Christmas later that year, he wanted to see me. Ended up sleeping with him, which I found ironic, because he had a girlfriend (who, incidentally, is now his wife), and he had just done what he had accused me of doing so many months prior. After I went back to tech school, we talked constantly. Part of me still loved him deeply, and apparently, he felt the same, as he suggested trying to make things work again, thought that maybe all we had needed was a break. Obviously, we couldn’t make things work. We didn’t talk for a couple of years, and then his name popped up on my Classmates list. I went out on a limb and emailed him, and we’ve been emailing sporadically for the past year. A part of me will always hurt over this, I think. They do say that you never f

orget your first love.

6. 3 OD people you’d love to be for a day?

Oh gosh……honestly, I’d love to step in your shoes for a day. Not only because you have fabulous shoes, but I’d love to be able to pour out my creative energy as easily as you make it seem you do. And, your kiddos are adorable – who wouldn’t want to spend a day being their mommy?

Erica. I’d gain a whole new level of understanding for the things she has to put up with (and shouldn’t have to!), and I’d then be better able to help her and be there for her.

And…….the DM. So I could implement some much needed improvements around here.

7. 3 quirks hubby has?

He has this knack for remembering the craziest things. It might be some obscure history fact, might be a line from a movie – but he will always bust out with this stuff at the weirdest times.

Uh……..off the top of my head, I can’t think of anything else right now. It is five in the morning, after all. I’ll get back to you on this one.

8. How do you feel about spanking kids?

I think it should only be used as a last resort. There are much more effective ways of disciplining your child and teaching them that certain behaviors are not acceptable. Of course though, every child is different, and spanking might be the only way to get the message across. But I just don’t like the idea of striking a child in anger. That only instills fear and mistrust in them, in my opinion.

9. What were you up to a year ago around this time?

Anxiously awaiting Jake’s arrival home from his second deployment!

10. And, randomly, thongs, boyshorts, bikini or bare down there?

Used to be thongs, but over the past year and a half or so, I’ve been more comfortable in boyshorts and bikinis, especially here lately. I could never go bare – I’d be too paranoid of leaking anything, and as I mostly wear jeans, I imagine chafing would be kind of bad. Especially since, in a different sense, I already go bare down there.