Where we're gonna be when we turn 25

I remember hearing the song "Graduation" by Vitamin C ALL the time around high school graduation. The opening lines go, "And so we talked all night about the rest of our lives/Where we're gonna be when we turn 25..."

Twenty-five seemed so far away then, but I hit the quarter century mark yesterday! Here's "where I am":

Residence: El Paso, TX, for 6 more weeks, then with my parents in Kirkwood, MO, until further notice.

Education: B.A. in Spanish from Drury University in Dec. 2008, looking into obtaining a teacher certification once I'm settled in the Lou...

Employment: Finishing a 3 yr. stint as a long-term volunteer at Ysleta Lutheran Mission in El Paso, TX, on 12/31/11, starting as the Assistant Marketing Manager in the Multilingual and Curriculum departments of Concordia Publishing House on 1/9/12.

Hobbies: St. Louis Cardinals baseball, scrapbooking, reading, cooking and baking, walking, crossword puzzles...

Family: Single; younger brother owns a landscaping business in St. Louis, younger sister is in 8th grade

Friends: a few are still local, others are scattered in southern California, Houston, Omaha, and Springfield, MO--I'll be leaving behind many in El Paso too :(

Faith: looking forward to reading the Bible in a year for the 4th time in 2012 and returning to the church that I claim as my home base, St. Paul's Lutheran in Des Peres, MO!

Pets: 2 1/2 yr. old cat, Freddy :)

I had an awesome day of celebrating--actually 2 days! Chris had been making plans for months, but the first "event" was put on hold until this morning when his dogs escaped from his yard. I had to wait to find out what it was, so you do too...I'll post a blog with some pictures you'll definitely want to see tomorrow. After we found the dogs--a block away!--we went to the El Paso Museum of Art to see the special exhibit, which was about Normal Rockwell. It was a fascinating display, featuring the photography he created his works from. It was great, and something I wouldn't have treated myself to. After killing a little time, we went to one of those Japanese hibachi places for dinner on a recommendation from some coworkers. My teriyaki NY strip was delicious, and the chef's antics were pretty impressive too. The night ended with something sweet--Dairy Queen blizzards!

OK gotta go--birthday dinner #2 (homemade butternut squash risotto) coming up! Until next time, blessings!