Non-aggressive staring?

My min-pin, Rosie, is my favourite dog I've ever had. I've had her for 12 years and even though I moved out of my mom's house and couldn't take her with me (so she still lives there), we still have a strong bond and definitely "my" dog. One weird thing is that she will sit on my lap and just stare right into my eyes for a long time without even blinking much. I know this is supposed to be a sign of dominance with dogs, but it doesn't seem that way with her. Though she tries to be the boss of all the other dogs, she has never tried to be dominant with me. She will bring her treats to me so she can eat next to me, she licks me all the time (especially tries to around the mouth), follows me around everywhere and acts as if I'm her "leader" in general. So what's with the staring? When she does it, it seems as if she is wondering what I'm thinking or something...just a very deep stare directly into the eyes. Sometimes if I stare back at her for a while, she will suddenly jump forward playfully and lick my face and other times she will look away shyly.