20+ questions - you asked for it and I answered

Remember on the annoying old man on Seinfeld? You asked for it, you got it. Toyota.

Same thing.

1. What is your all time favorite band?
This is a hard one. I probably have several. The Beatles would probably be the best followed by Tears for Fears.

2. What is the best concert you have ever seen?
Wow. I've seen some great ones. Probably the best ever was Paul McCartney.

3. How old were you when you got your first kiss from a boyfriend?
Kindergarten. We were in the home play center and Brad Hankins was the daddy and I was the mommy and he kissed me on his way to work. First REAL kiss was Damon McBrinn in the eighth grade at field day.

4. Have you ever walked in on your parents making love?
Ewww. It was right after and I couldn't understand why my dad wasn't dressed and still awake.

5. What is your favorite meal?
All-time would be a nice well-done filet mignon with baked potato and a Texas toast-style piece of garlic bread, maybe followed by a piece of turtle cheesecake. As far as comfort food, AoD's baked potato soup or his chili.

6. What was your prom theme and did you go? If so, what did your dress look like?
I went to four proms, so remembering the themes is beyond me. The most special prom was my senior prom and that dress was spectacular. It was a vintage hot pink satin dress from the 1940s. I bought it at an antique mall. It was incredible. Strapless with a little jacket that had a great wide pointy collar, satin covered buttons and the coat length was just below my breasts. The sleeves were three quarter length and folded back with a great pointy fold. It had matching satin gloves that went to the elbow and a great little hat that I would describe as a 40s style female WAC hat. I didn't wear the hat, but wore the rest at times. I took off the jacket early on. The dress went to mid-calf. As a 110-pound girl, I looked awesome. Big 80s hair though. Yikes.

7. Did you go off to college the fall right after high school? Did you have a job while in college?
I headed straight for Baylor University in the fall of 1987 and actually graduated in FOUR years! I worked at a Gingiss Formalwear starting in my sophomore year through graduation.

8. Did you live in the dorms, apt. or pledge to a house while in college?
No rent-a-friend for me. I did live in the dorm my freshman year in the penthouse. :) It was the term for the top floor of the dorm I lived in and supposedly the prettiest freshman girls on campus lived in the Penthouse.

9. What is the worst job you have ever had?
Working for three days as a dental assistant for a lecherous old dentist who scared me.

10. How did you come up with the names for your 3 children?
Can't answer here because everyone would know their names, but I'll email you. One was for a poet, one was after his grandfathers and the other was named after a saint and some late females I wanted to honor.

11. Where did you meet Army of Dad?
Oh, this is a good one. I hung out with a chick sportswriter at the Killeen Daily Herald and we would frequent this country and western bar called Sam's Station. On Thursday nights, a local radio station sponsored events and they would have $1.03 drinks till 11 p.m. and a hot body contest for men. So, we would go to get cheap drinks and get hit on by hot young soldiers. One particular night - two weeks after my divorce was final - I was feeling particularly sad and lonely. Most times when we went there, some hot soldier would be hitting on me and begging me to go home with him. I would always decline. I was NOT that kind of girl. Well, on this night, I spotted AoD and was immediately smitten. I was also three sheets to the wind, too. I kept going on and on to my friend about how cute he was and how he must be way TOO young for me. After all, I was 28 and he couldn't have been over 18. I walked by him a few times trying to get his attention. No luck. So, finally she couldn't stand it any more and she walked over to him. I wanted to crawl under the table. He turned and looked at me as she was talking to him. So, I went over there to talk to him. He showed me his ID. He was clearly 20 and almost 21, he emphasized. I made it clear to him of my age, my marital status and the fact that I was the mother of a 2-year-old. I told him if he didn't like it, too bad and I would walk away. He said no problems. So, after we talked and danced a bit, I went to find my friend and tell her that we were leaving. She was shocked and stunned and kept asking me over and again if I was sure of this. Yes, yes. I was. Her "date" for the evening pulled me aside to make sure I had enough wits about me to make this decision. He was a scary former soldier with a mohawk who looked out for me at the club and kept boys from bothering me in a big brother kind of way. So, he gave AoD the evil eye and may have threatened him, I'm not sure. That was our beginning. AoD actually lectured me for leaving the club with a strange man I didn't know. Not sure if he EVER believed me, but that was WAY out of character for me.


12. How long did you know Army of Dad before you knew you loved him?
Maybe a week. We met on a Friday night and a week or so later I won tickets to a concert at Fiesta Texas in San Antonio, about a three-hour drive from Fort Hood. We decided to make it a weekend and stay. He made me feel so safe and he paid so much attention to me, I kept telling him that if he wasn't so young, I could fall in love with him. We had talked and decided to NOT be boyfriend/girlfriend because I was not ready for a relationship so soon after my divorce. But, alas, I fell in love anyway.

13. Where is the best place you've ever been on vacation?
I think that would be a tie between Washington, D.C., and Europe. I saw so much history in both places. I would love to go back.

14. What is the most romantic thing Army of Dad has ever done or said to you?
One of the last business trips he went on, he had to leave super early in the morning, but before he left he took like pieces of note paper and left me little notes all over the house. I was still finding them weeks later.

15. Who is the one deceased person you would like most to meet?
I hope to meet my Savior when I die.

16. What is your favorite movie?
So many that I love. I love the Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter movies. Ferris Bueller's Day Off is up there and A Christmas Story, too.

17. What celebrity did you have a crush on while a teenager?
Don't laugh. Rick Springfield was my biggest one, but my first sex dream was about David Lee Roth.

18. What was your favorite tv show growing up?
Again, lots. I loved The Cosby Show, Family Ties, Life Goes On, Fantasy Island and Love Boat.

19. What is the one most important event of your life that you know you'll never forget?
When I was pregnant with my oldest child and lived in Midland. Because it seldom rains in West Texas, the genius city engineers there have no drainage. So, whenever it comes a downpour, the streets flooded. On this particular day, Uzz had the better car because he had to drive to Brownwood to open a new store. So, I had the shitty car with no AC. I was about 7 months pregnant and had to keep the windows cracked so the windshield wouldn't fog up. Well, I was driving in water that was up to the middle of my car door and I was getting scared. I finally got out of that situation and as I was driving home I saw an accident in which a car drove into a building. The reporter in me wanted to go over and cover the accident for the paper, but the mother in me said 'it isn't safe, go home.' That was a major turning point in my life. That was the moment that I became a REAL mother. I was no longer just living for me, chasing tornadoes or going into harm's way for the sake of a story. I was responsible for another life.

20. What's your pet peeves?
People who lie. People who drive slow in the fast lane. There are more, but those are the top two.

21. I'd like to know how you can handle any sort of contact at all with your ex, let alone as close as you all appear to be, now.
Uzz and I love our son and we remain friends for his sake and because we like each other. We were good friends.

22. On the ex-husband line, if he is so wonderful, how come you're divorced? Do you ever feel like you have two husbands? Sometimes I do feel like I have two husbands. Regarding why we are divorced, well, we went different directions. We married relatively young. I was running away from my childhood and thought getting married would solve all those issues, for one thing. I thought I could change the hippie-Peter Pan in him and make him a grown-up, but that just isn't him. We still share our love for our son, music, art, sports, etc. We are much better off being friends for our son's sake than being enemies. The initial divorce was bad, but we got through it with effort.

23. Do you open presents on Christmas eve, at midnight, or first light Christmas morning? Growing up, we always opened one gift on Christmas Eve and then exchanged gifts from my grandmother and cousins. Then, on Christmas morning we opened the rest of the gifts. Now, we let the children open one gift from someone outside the family like family friends or aunts and uncles. Then, we save the rest for Christmas morning.