The BEST smell in the world!

Next to Christmas - I would have to say this is the most wonderful time of the year! It is one of my favorite times of year....ORANGE BLOSSOM time!! I look foward to March and smelling this incredible smell! I would say I am borderline obsessed with the smell - It is very likely that you could catch me driving down Val Vista-ish area with my windows down deep breathing for several minutes! I can't get enough of that smell! I wish there was a way to have the scent year round! Orange blossoms are probably one of my top ten favorite things in life!

The HIU Crew

HIU Crew - Katie, Elisha, and Lisa (and Me)

This would be a display of the best part of hygiene school! These girls have become a huge part of my everyday life! Not only do we see each other 8+ hours a day - but we have survived the hygiene drama! Lobby day, homeless shelter, CRAZY patients, INSANE teachers, SEVERE stress with boards - tests - and group projects, and list could go on! But these are also the girls that make me laugh, put up with my shananigans, enjoy taco Wednesdays, go out to vent after class, allow me and Katie to be sober sisters, love when we order diet with lime, Love to CTR, know what suave means to me, and share in the HIU talk...and again the list could go on and on and on. But I was just thinking about how I sometimes feel detached from my fam, my other friends and the normal non hygiene world - and that can be hard! But the HIU crew - keeps me going! Thanks girls!

Last weekend (after the lovely 3 day national board review) Me and my Dad (the other picture - that would be Ted/Dad) stayed to together in Cali - and stayed on the Queen Mary! (Or as my Dad said we stayed with the queen in a room with two beds and a porthole) My Dad is a funny guy - we got quite a few kicks out of the porthole thing! So to drop the porthole talk...The Queen Mary would be the large cruise ship in the picture...It was used during World War II and then docked in Long Beach 40 years ago! And for any of you that know about the ship or watch the Discovery Channel...know that it is supposedly HAUNTED!! Anyway - the ship is huge and kinda creepy BUT super cool!! We ate at a cool restaurant on the ship for dinner and I tried Lobster for the first time And I liked it (but as usual the texture got the best of me!) On Monday we went on a whale watching cruise - sadly we did not get to see whales - but we did see hundreds of dolphins at once! It was so amazing! I have never seen SO many dolphins at once - They were EVERYWHERE! The captain said that they estimated it was a pod of about 1000 dolphins. (I will post dolphin pics when my Dad sends them to me) It was one of the coolest things Ive ever seen. Anyway the Queen Mary and the Dolphin Cruise were a FABULOUS ending to a long not so fun weekend! THANK YOU DAD!!

"I have noticed that folks are just about as happy as they have made up their minds to be."
-Abraham Lincoln

I just found this quote today and I LOVED it! I could not agree more! I am a firm believer (yes I just said FIRM BELIEVER) that life can be a happy thing - if you decide it is going to be wonderful...it will be! Sadly it goes the other way too - if you decide things are miserable, chances are that is what they will be - I think a positive attitude and making up your mind to be happy are invaluable! And that my friends is the thought of the day from Tracie :)

Above ALL things I believe in LOVE! LOVE is like OXYGEN - LOVE is a many SPLENDID THING- LOVE lift us up where we belong- ALL you Need is LOVE!
HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!!!

Goin' Back to Cali!!

Yep - headed on back! Now it will not be as fun as my last trip (to Dland with Chris, Heather, and Madi!) BUT - it's still Cali! I am headed over there tomorrow with Katie and Cody for a BIG FAT 3 DAY TEST REVIEW - GOO!!! We are going to be staying in Long Beach - and the review class is from 7am to 5pm - Fri, Sat and Sun! And again I say GOO!! But hopefully we will find the time to throw some fun in there!! I am excited for the road trip, the company, and the Beach!! I will post pix when we get back!!

Me Likey!

Loved Kanye's performance at the Grammys Sunday night! (This is a strange thing for me to say - I used to have serious Kanye West issues) BUT I thought it was AWESOME!! As usual his performance was over the top and caused a scene (in a good way). I did not think that he could out do his last grammy performance (Gold Digger! - That was some good entertainment - at least me and Kath thought so) BUT he did it - I also thought it was super sweet that he did a tribute to his Mom - by singing Hey Mama. I am pretty sure I cheered out loud during his speech too when he laid the smak down about being cut off with the music....... "It would be in good taste to stop the music," said West. Quickly enough, it did — and the crowd applauded.
He continued, speaking to his mother: "I know you want me to be the number one artist in the world. And, Mama, all I'm going to do is keep making you proud." Holding his Grammy aloft, he added: "We run this." NICELY DONE KANYE!!