one hell of a week :)

Blogosphere! I have SOOOOOO much to tell you! Be prepared, this is a marathon post, and you know what, I am not even going to be able to get it all in here.

If my dad was living close enough to me to see what I was doing this past week he would've been shaking his head and saying, "Sarah - you are burning the candle at both ends again." I know myself well enough by now to know that I am just a go, go, go and push further than I really probably should kind of girl, even when it makes me feel like I am going to break down- thankfully I'm getting a little bit better at staying calm amidst the chaos of life these days but man I sure did feel on the verge of melt downs on a couple of occasions this week. I could not be more grateful for a Monday off today and a chance to get some of the recharge time I was sorely missing during the week. I plan to spend the day sitting around with loverboy blogging, reading and just not rushing off to the next event.

I don't know what has been in the air lately but I feel like I have been on high-alert and just extra concious of all the wonderful things around me - which I love but which I also realize is a bit overwhelming because I just start to bubble over about everything and well, I just plain ol' overwhelm myself if that makes any sense.

So this week was not only full of fun external events ie; DC work trip prep (oh so many meetings!!), DC weather prep (warm clothes shopping - I am a So. Cal girl for goodness sakes!), 8th grade girls bball games, basketball practice, Co-worker birthday potlucks, Co-worker retirement parties, yoga, 6 am workouts so I can squeeze all the other fun stuff in after work, Indian dinners to celebrate Jack's birthday, making it rain, Elton John/Billy Joel concerts, valentine's day roses/dinners with loverboy (I feel like 5 lifetimes were lived in the past week!) - it was also full of all this internal craziness going on - feelings of overwhelming gratitude for where I am in life, for the people and things in my life - everything from the beauty of the mornings when I am walking from the Stanford gym to locker room to shower, the camaraderie I share with co-workers, genuine life conversations with friends, all the cherry blossoms starting to bloom...I feel like I can't walk two steps or live two minutes without being touched or moved by something - am I going nuts?!

And then to top that off, I feel like I have been showered with love from friends and family recently. I have arrived home from long, LONG days in the past couple of weeks greeted by a homemade scarf from Niki, a lovely valentine's day card from my crazy mom, a yoga card from Kat, a rockin' CD from Sadina which I have been listening to over and OVER all week long! I can't wait to have a few more spaire moments to pay it forward :).

Here are a few pics of the week....

This is what my mom looks like (well maybe a bit more asian) when she texts. Love it mom, love it!

My favorite Salmon Recipe - Barefoot Contessa Style - a little ginger, garlic, green onion, sesame oil, soy sauce and panko.

The scarf that Niki crocheted!

I am going to miss this woman at work!

The birthday boy - the only pic I got of the night thanks to dead camera batteries. Deeeelish Indian buffet with even more delicious company!

My dolla dolla bill winning after a riveting game of "Make it Rain"/ Left, Right, Center with the crew post Jack's bday dinner.

Billy and Elton on stage Saturday night. Gosh this picture deserves an entire post all in itself! If seeing Billy and Elton in concert is not already on your bucket list, you should seriously consider adding it. I was so completely moved by the talent of these two musicians. And to top it off I got to share the evening with lover boy who just lit up watching Billy and Elton jam on the piano, guitar, harmonica - I love how much he loves and appreciates music. They had a camera on the pianos so that you could see Billy and Elton's fingers up close as they were playing and it was simply amazing to see their fingers in action. Words cannot express how much I loved being able to share this experience with Joe. Music sure is a powerful thing and sharing it with someone who you love and care deeply about is just something that I am not sure the English language has words strong enough to explain. Ooooh and being the cheesy, sap that I am - you can imagine the way I melted when they kicked off the concert with "Your Song" and "I love you just the way you are."

Sir Elton.

Billy.

This picture deserves a post in itself also. I had to be back on the peninsula for basketball practice mid day on V-day, so Joe and I spent our first valentine's day staying in cooking up a yummy, romantical meal together. And get this, while we were cooking we were listening to the Disney Princess CD! And Joe was singing both the girl and boy parts- total heart melter! I am a sucker for goofy boys!

Roses that were waiting for me when I got back from my morning run and an adorable note with ways to say I love that Joe learned from his students in all different languages - another heart melter.

Double dessert - Chili chocolate - yummmmmy...and......

I was craving raisin bread - so we picked a loaf up for dessert #2 - yay for lover boys who indulge my cravings.

Whew, well I am done for now, but geez louise I still have so much to tell you, remind me that I have basketball stories and yoga stories that I just can't wait to share!

Happy Valentine's day weekend/president's day weekend everyone!