1. How did you meet your husband?

Well, through a mutual friend actually. I went over to her house one day when he was there and we ate some pizza and talked. He was a nice guy, but totally my opposite. He was a real geek. He called me a few nights later and asked me out. I went and discovered that we had a few things in common, or at least, more than I expected. But he was still too geeky for me. Heh, look at us now.

2. What's the key to a 17 year lasting marriage?

Wow! That's such a loaded question. There are a lot of different answers, and it all depends on the situation. The key, of course, is communication. To be honest with you, we really sucked at it and sometimes fall back into the same bad pattern. Generally, that's when one of us will make the time to be alone and hash things out. Look, you cannot always be sweetness and light in a marriage. You are going to piss your partner off from time to time by telling him/her how you feel. But if you don't do that, the bitterness inside you will fester to astronomical proportions.

There have been times when both of us have said to each other, look, enough is enough. This needs to change. If it doesn't, then we need to part ways here (I'm talking the big stuff here). That doesn't necessarily mean that the other person has to do all of the changing. Compromise. It's all about compromise.

It goes that way for the little stuff too. Take a good hard look at what irritates you to no end, and that you cannot live with. Determine which habbits are easy to overlook or live with. Remember you are not perfect either.

It's not easy. In fact it's damn hard. But it's well worth it. We have been through some really, really rough times. No more than anyone else so this isn't an attempt at a pitty party. But I will tell you, we BOTH fight our way through it, determined to make it to the other side. And each time we do. We are stronger. And you know what? The next time we hit a bad patch, we are that much stronger. Does this make sense?

3. If tomorrow was your last day on earth...what would you do, where would you go, and with whom?

Hmm...that's a tough one. Not to sound clichéd or trite, I would say my family. My husband and children of course, but also my mother, father and brothers (and their family), father-in-law and sister-in-law (and her family). I would eat whatever I wanted to eat. Drink whatever I wanted to drink. Play card games, hang out. Talk about memories (those card games can bring up some good stories). Good question.

4. What's your favorite type of food? I don't think I could pick just one. I adore pizza, corn-on-the cob, Chinese Food, Mexican Food. The list is endless. As long as we don't count most of the vegetables, I'll be fine.

5. If you could snap your fingers and be in a new country for a visit...where would it be? I guess Australia or New Zealand. Then again, I'd like to visit Germany, where my roots lie. Then again, I wouldn't mind a safari in Africa, or a visit to Jamaica. I'm not a very decisive person, am I?