I love every minute in the kitchen with my kids, even the mess (I've learned to embrace it!). I find that in the car on the way home from school, I often get one-word answers when I ask about their day. But when we're cooking, I get in-depth stories.

People tell me not to do a soap, but it was a great learning experience because I became familiar with the technical aspects of the business. Besides, look who came out of soaps - Julianne Moore, Demi Moore, Tommy Lee Jones, Parker Posey, Kathleen Turner. All amazing people.

If you love someone and you choose to spend the rest of your life with that person, that's your partner in every way.

You need to keep your creative juices flowing and keep [your] character interesting.

I think that this industry in particular is so fast-paced that you keep saying, 'I'll take vacation later.' Sometimes later never comes. I'm definitely leading a much slower life now that I'm not working every single day on a television series.

I like to stay fit, because [that's when] I feel really healthy. But I never worked out for any kind of image. People have said to me, "Do you starve yourself before photo shoots?" And I always say, "No way.! That's what airbrushing is for. I had french fries last night."

I think that's what growing up is all about. It's about taking on new responsibilities and learning what you can handle, and learning what you can't.