You asked for it.

I decided to honor one of those common blogger traditions as I reached my 200th post mark. I asked you guys to come up with questions for me to answer. I'm only going to answer a handful right now. And, I held an impromtu photo session with myself in my good ole cowgirl hat just for the occasion.

Jen asked: What is with the pink cowboy hat? It's really cool, and I was wondering what it means to you?

Well, Jen, I wore this cowboy hat ten years ago in my first rodeo where I competed in the barrel racing event on horseback. My horse, an Appaloosa named Indian Runner, slipped on the last barrel, but we pulled it off and made it back to the gate in record time. My hat flew off and into the stands, and some random guy caught it. I won first place in the competition but I barely noticed because the random guy who had my hat was Brad Pitt!! I was given a trophy and a huge shiny belt buckle for winning, but it paled in comparison to that hunky guy. The hat has been special to me since then (don't tell my hubby!) and it's been good luck ever since...

Ok, that's not true. I made it all up. Here in Texas we tell stories, tall tales perhaps, which some might mistakenly call lies...you see the difference though, don't you?

Really, I bought that hat for myself when I published my first short storyin a magazine! I was so excited and wanted to celebrate in a special way...and I'd been wanting a pink cowgirl hat for a while.

Kystyn asked: Are your toenails painted now? Are they always painted?

My toenails are blue right now. A bright, beautiful, vibrant blue. They tend to stay painted in the summer, but come winter, not so much. If I was good at painting my toes, I would have them painted all the time, but I'm not so great at it. I love coral, red, bright blue or purple.

Karen and Jules asked for my most embarrassing moment, so I guess I'll have to share one or two of those.

I tooted once in the middle of Latin class in high school. I immediately denied it and lied. One of the few times in my life I have lied. I'm pretty honest most of the time but I was one of only two girls in that class, and I wasn't about to confess to the crime in a room full of huge guys. I have boys now, two sons, so tooting is considered pretty cool. Remy laughs like a maniac at any bodily noises. I'm a rock star in his eyes.

I fell off the stage in our middle school musical, which was totally embarrassing. I cut up my leg and had to hobble away. It was awful, and I was in the poodle skirt. I'm super clumsy.

Jules asked me what things I don't think I'm good at. Sheesh, Jules, the list would be way too long for this post, and I'm trying to keep this short so I don't bore everyone.

I stink at cleaning, organizing, losing weight, and making money.

What am I good at? Making my kids laugh, making my husband crazy, making messes, taking way too many photos and writing nutty stories.

Kat wants to know what smutty books are in my bathroom. Ok, I don't normally kiss and tell, but I'll share this time. Guilty Pleasures, the first book in an awesome dark, urban fantasy series by Laurell K. Hamilton, Kitty and the Midnight Hour by Carrie Vaughn, Bitten by Kelley Armstrong, and The Outlaw Demon Wails by Kim Harrison.

My favorite genre of books to read is dark, urban fantasy with mystery and romance mixed in. That's my guilty pleasure. I'll read all kinds of subjects, don't get me wrong, but I LOVE this area. Now you know. My secret's out. I read the first three books in the Twilight series, just gobbled them up, and now I've just bought the fourth and final book in the series to read. Reading is a huge passion of mine, as is taking lots and lots of pictures and blogging!

I'll get around to answering more questions in another post! And, coming soon, recap of my trip to the family reunion in Hunt, Texas.