To be shapely when you're in the seventh grade is not exactly what everyone's looking for, or they weren't then, as someone was telling me the other day. now, that's like a really great thing to do, to be, but then it wasn't.

So you know, my plan was that I was going to make records, and be a rock star. And that's really what I wanted to do. And I sang from the time I was very young.

But I started it when I was going through a transitional time in my life. At the end of it, it really sort of symbolized it. I had made room to change, and room to grow. I recorded it in a little room.

I loved Peg Bundy. I am so happy that I got to do that. It was really fun.

For me it's also - the music is equally as important. I mean I think as somebody who writes music, there just has to sort of be the marriage between both.

And I like to interpret music. So I think it's all interpretive.

Music is extremely intuitive, which acting too in a different way.

And then I think now we are - you know his - like I've always said. His spirit is so large that we feel his presence around the show, and we always will. He will always have a voice.

I didn't actually begin professionally acting until I was 30.

I don't know, Y'know, I always wanted to be one of those cheerleader girls and I never was that, and I was never sort of cute and perky, and I always thought it was fun to be cute and perky, and those, I don't know what those girls are doing now.

You know, we travelled a lot when I was a kid because my father was wherever the work was.

Each time I seem to go through one of life's huge things, I want to play music.

To be shapely when you're in the seventh grade is not exactly what everyone's looking for, or they weren't then, as someone was telling me the other day. now, that's like a really great thing to do, to be, but then it wasn't.

I'm a pretty emotional person.

I love to perform live.

I grew up listening to a lot of soul music, and a lot of folk music.

I think we respond well when we do something well.

And this one I wanted to do some covers. So I just really sang some of my favorite songs.

I think I'm a soulful singer.

When you grow up around it, I just watched my father work really hard. He wasn't around as much as I would have liked. And when I grew up, I understood why.

I'm very comfortable as a singer. In fact, I think it's more - I identified my self-esteem, my self more in those ways when I was growing up. I really - it was kind of my calling card as a kid.

And I think that's why I was going to be a musician. I was very rebellious. And I didn't want to be an actor. My father used to say to me you should be an actor if you want to be in the arts.

Um, I have an enormous faith in God. I have an enormous support system that also has that same belief.

So they've actually - it's not that her character is a singer, but she had ambition to do that at an earlier time in her life. So I've actually sung two or three times now on the show.

It was really fun. It was fun for a lot of reasons. It was fun because nobody thought that we would be successful. It was on a network that wasn't even there at the time.

Being a mother has been my greatest teacher and also the most self-sacrificing thing I've ever done.

Generally, I find a lot to be grateful for.

I do a lot of writing about my family.

I don't like violence.

I don't take story input from fans.

I had to accept the fact that sometimes things happen that are out of our hands.

I have a little kitchen office at home, where I do all my kids' stuff.

I like when everything's naturally moving along - I find that pretty exciting.

I love TV.

I made a living being a background singer for years.

I think the biggest change has been realizing I now have three children.

I wanted to be a rock star when I grew up, or at least a singer/songwriter.

I was kind of lost for several years.

I would literally have to go meet people so they could see I didn't have big red hair and wear high heels constantly. It was just really ingrained in people.

I'm a better mother if I'm also doing my work. Some women find a lot more satisfaction from doing the hardest job, which is being a mom. But I like my day job, so I juggle a lot.

I'm a big 'American Idol' watcher, and sometimes I like to watch 'America's Got Talent.' Those are big, corny admissions, but sometimes it's so fun to see those kids really sing their hearts out.

I'm not a Facebook/Twitter gal, but my husband is.

I've certainly experienced physical pain in my life.

I've done comedy most of my career, which I love, but I wanted to expand.

I've never loved anybody the way I love my children.

I've never played a character that would sing.

I've never worked on a lawyer show for a long time, but I imagine the actors all start acting like lawyers.

It's great to be mean, it is, it's fun.

It's so weird that I play this woman who pretty much deals with violence on a daily basis, and I'm such a wimp in who I am.