I am a high school teacher and I'm very dedicated to education. I eat well and lead an active life, though I rarely pass up dessert. I think one person can make a difference, so I try to do that as much as possible. I love my family and spending time with my sisters, and I have a lot of great friends at work, so I enjoy spending time with my colleagues. I like sunshine and warm weather. For me, ultimate relaxation is floating in a pool or laying on a boat with a good book.

I teach reading, writing, and language classes and I am fascinated by words. I recently finished a masters degree in English education. During the school year, my teaching job keeps me really busy grading papers and planning my classes. In my free time, and during the summer, I enjoy running, travelling, spending time in the sun, reading and writing. Last year, I ran my first (and maybe last!) marathon for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I also like to cook and bake.

Experiences are more important to me than acquiring things, but I do have an affinity for shoes.

I'm very good with words and I love word games.

I've been told I'm a good teacher by students and parents:) I hope that's true. I'm very dedicated to my job.

I'm also an excellent cook and my students say I make great cookies and other treats.

I have a great smile and I'm very friendly.

I have too many favorite books to list here, but the top of the list: The Shadow of the Wind, Ishmael, Beloved, The Red Tent, The Kite Runner and One Thousand Splendid Suns, Como Agua para Chocolate and Tan Veloz Como el Deseo, Goodnight, Mr. Tom, Found, Post Secrets, Traveling Mercies, The Blue Day Book

I don't watch a lot of movies, but I do own Elf, Serendipity, Fools Rush In, DeLovely, Good Will Hunting, 50 First Dates, Tommy Boy. Recently, I've seen Slum Dog Millionaire and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and I loved both movies.

I listen to almost anything, but some of my favorite groups/musicians are Maroon 5, John Mayer, Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Presley, John Legend, Justin Timberlake

I love dining out and trying new things. I love salmon and steak, prefer red wine to any other drink, will almost always choose to eat dessert, and have a weakness for dark chocolate and ice cream. I eat a salad for lunch every day, not because I'm on a diet, but because I love fresh vegetables with craisins, walnuts, and feta cheese.

I'd like to think I could live a perfectly happy life without any "things," but truly I cannot imagine living without a computer with Internet access and my cell phone. Life without ice cream would be pretty sad as well.

Of course, I would also find it extraordinarily difficult to live without my family and closest friends.

During the school year, I spend a lot of time thinking about creative ways to teach Shakespeare (or mythology or the subjunctive verb tense, or Lord of the Flies), how to get kids to really think, what to teach this week in creative writing, how to reach difficult students...

I also think a lot about the future...I'm not sure if that's thinking or daydreaming or a little of both.

I have a constant to-do list running through my mind, so I think about that a lot as well. I'm pretty organized and focused.

In the summer, I am not at all focused...10 weeks of vacation is a long time to just read, think, run...it's glorious, but also makes me feel inefficient and lazy. I think too much in the summer.

At home grading papers with a glass of wine, maybe out for dinner with a glass of wine.

I'm honestly a bit jaded on dating right now after a string of interesting experiences (not all from this site...okcupid is not to blame :). I'm also extraordinarily busy this school year with too many classes! Please don't feel offended if I don't return your message.

You can write a grammatically correct message and you really think there's a good reason I should respond back.