When you really are country, and you don't just wear it like a piece of clothing or something, you really can't get away from it. It just is who you are.

We have never seen a career like George Strait's in this business, and I venture to say we never will again. He has handled things amazingly well.

The satisfaction comes because you work hard and it pays off. It is not as glamorous as I thought it would be, but, you know, I appreciate it more than I ever knew I would, and I love it more than I ever knew I would.

So you do shorter versions of the hits, or you take out a long guitar solo or things like that to make time for the hits and new music as well. But I don't think any of us ever get to do as much new music as we would like to.

It's hard either way, at home or on the bus, I think the hardest thing probably for me is going one second from being mom to right out on the stage and having to be that person too. It's hard to switch gears.

I love my little back room of the bus.

I have a washer and dryer, and I have a queen-size bed in the back with great linens that I got myself. They're Egyptian. Then I have a big plasma screen TV at the foot of my bed on the wall.

I don't sing country music because I'm not capable of singing other kinds of music; I sing it because I think it's the most beautiful kind of music there is.

I don't have any idea what I'll do next. This year I'll be figuring that out, and something will just come to me, just like it did with this record.