Occupation: I am a social worker with Newtown Youth & Family Services. I run support groups for first-time moms, and playgroups for families. I work there part-time.

Family: My husband, Paul, and I have been married ten years. Our son Matthew is 8 years old and our son Eddie is 1½ years old.

Pets: We have a dog named Cliff, a white shepherd/lab mix. He’s about 9 years old. He’s a fantastic dog and goes everywhere with us.

How long have you lived in Newtown? We have been here for nine years. We moved into our house on our first wedding anniversary.

What do you like to do in your free time? I love to make quilts and I love to read. We throw a lot of theme parties, too, as a family. For instance, once every summer we have “Camp Currituck” and have a band, and a campfire, and camping in our backyard. I recently ran my first triathlon, too, and my husband and I do a lot of biking together.

Do you have a favorite book? There are a couple of books I would read over and over: Love In The Time Of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez and Another Roadside Attraction by Tom Robbins. I also like the writing of David Sedaris and Michael Pollan.

Do you have a favorite travel destination? We have been to Ireland twice. It’s beautiful there, and I would love to go again. The people were so nice. We loved the music and loved the culture.

What is the best thing about Newtown? Definitely the people. We have made what we know will be lifelong friends. We really feel very connected and part of the community, especially with the children. And in the autumn, Newtown is so beautiful.

If you could do one thing you have never done, what would it be? I wish I was brave enough to surf. It addresses all of my fears and I would be very proud of myself if I could surf. I would also love to try sky diving.

Do you have a personal philosophy? My philosophy is probably to make traditions out of simple moments. We have a lot of family traditions around simple events, like a candy breakfast to celebrate the last day of school; sleeping in the living room the night we decorate the Christmas tree; and cocoa mornings where we stay in our pajamas really late and just sit on the porch and drink cocoa and sip coffee.

Do you have a guilty pleasure? I love to sit on the porch with a glass of wine and watch the world go by. That does not happen too often. I also love to get up really early and watch movies by myself, and I love it when my husband plays the drums. When I see him play, I’m like a one woman fan club.