Thanks for stopping by. So here are the basics about me....

* My goal in life is to make a difference. Between being a teacher, doing volunteer work for 2 organizations, adopting needy families at Christmas, etc., I really hope that I can accomplish that.

* My job takes up a lot of my time for 10 months of the year (after all, I have to grade papers and do lesson plans), but I still find time to have a life.

* I generally try to work out 5 days/week -- a lot easier to do in the summer than during the school year!

* In the summer, you can find me at the pool almost every day. I love being tan! I also enjoy daytrips to O.C.

* In the fall, I enjoy watching football, both college and NFL.

* In the winter, I love watching college hoops, especially my alma mater. Please don't hate me because I'm a Duke fan!

* Most of my family lives in the DC area, and I enjoy spending time with them. I am the youngest of 5 kids, and I have 5 grown nieces and nephews -- we have a great time when we get together, and we are really loud and fun-loving!

* I love to travel and try to take a "big" trip every couple of years. My favorite vacation spots so far are Spain, Costa Rica, and Puerto Rico, but I think I'm kind of partial to the Spanish-speaking countries anyway.... My best friend and I may be heading to Tahiti this summer -- I hope it works out! I'm so excited!

* I love just about all animals! I have a cat (who is bigger than most small dogs and counts as 3 regular-sized cats) because he's more condo-friendly than a dog and is easier to take care of, but I love dogs, too. Even if you're not a cat person, you'd like my cat -- he's very cool and not aloof like so many cats are.

* When I was growing up, my parents took me into DC quite often to go to the theater. I still enjoy it, but I don't go as often as I'd like -- tickets are just so expensive!

* I enjoy reading, but I generally just read popular fiction (James Patterson, Nicholas Sparks, Karin Slaughter, Patricia Cornwell, Lisa Gardner, Lee Child, etc.) because I consider reading to be an "escape" so I really just want to be entertained -- I don't want to have to think!

* I love to laugh, and that's reflected (in my opinion anyway) by my favorite TV shows: Seinfeld, Friends, Will & Grace, Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory, The New Adventures of Old Christine, 90210 (Okay, THAT'S embarrassing to admit! Also, I deal with so much teen drama in my job; WHY would I want to watch even more?!?), Desperate Housewives

* My taste in music is varied and you'll find all kinds of stuff on my iPod from 80s to country to hip hop to metal to alternative to pop. Look on my iPod and you'll see multiple songs by Hinder, Guns N Roses, Nickelback, Disturbed, Flo Rida, Kelly Clarkson, Pink, Seether, Linkin Park, Fuel, Enrique Iglesias, Madonna, Prince, Taylor Swift, Garth Brooks, Aerosmith, Godsmack, Good Charlotte, Janet Jackson, Barenaked Ladies, Breaking Benjamin, Three Days Grace, Rihanna, Dave Matthews, Cowboy Mouth .... You can see that it's a wide variety.

What I'm looking for:
* Someone who understands that sometimes my job takes priority over all else (like when grades are due!) and will respect that
* Someone who can make me laugh
* Someone who doesn't necessarily put me first all the time, but isn't all about himself either
* Someone who shares some of my interests (I realize I'm probably not going to find a tap dancing Spanish teacher! LOL)


Just a note about the "no kids" thing.... I don't want to have kids of my own, but I don't object to dating someone who has kids. Obviously, as a teacher, I have nothing against children; I just have never desired to have any myself.

A first date should be somewhere very public and something low-key like happy hour or lunch -- something that can be kept short if the chemistry just isn't there, or something that can be extended by going someplace else if things are going well. It definitely should not be anyplace loud where you have to shout to be heard -- we would need to be able to talk and get to know each other.