guess who's back...back again...

well...i haven't blogged in FOREVER. but seriously...not sure if y'all know this or not..but grad school is no walk in the park. i have been running around like a crazy person for months. however, some pretty extraordinary things have happened since the last time i blogged. here are some updates, pictures and more posts to come:
in case you forgot...i moved to chelsea, alabama to go to grad school in montevallo. currently, i live with this sweet boy.

this is ben..my sweet cousin. i moved in with him & his family & i have loved every minute of it. it is his senior year. he's the quarterback. and the starting catcher for his baseball team. he signed a scholarship with UAB. and he's pretty much just awesome. love him!
while in grad school...i met THESE people.

these are...without a doubt...my best friends in alabama. from left to right, we have: staci, [me], jamie, hannah, gail. they are all SO special. staci is getting married in may (the 19th to be exact). absolutely crazy about her. she gets me. we sing & dance in the car...yet she makes me do my homework when i want to do anything BUT that. jamie JUST got engaged to cody, the most precious thing ever. and they are getting married next may. guess where i get to go for her wedding...you'll never guess...NEVADA! she is crazy & western & i love her attitude about life. learning more to be like her everyday. she is just plain fantastic. hannah is engaged to stephen, and they are getting married in december (what's that?? you noticed they were all engaged?? trust me...so did i. don't worry..i have another non-engaged friend in our crew!) hannah is from south alabama and i love her little country self! she is so sweet and silly and she is slowly but surely teaching me how to be domesticated. it's still a work in progress....good thing she has the patience of job! and last but not least, we have gail. my only other non-engaged friend! gail is wonderful and that's all i can really say about her. we are very similar because we were both in sororities but she is just too precious for words. if you're wondering how i've made it through my first year of grad school, you're looking at them. never would've made it without them. more info to come about all of them in future posts!
and also...in other news...this gal is NO LONGER single. as in...meet my boyfriend {D.J.}!

[oh yeah...and at some point in time...i thought i'd dye my hair brown. ew right?? no worries...it is back to blonde. yuck!]

[here is our most recent picture from Easter...what a cutie]

this my friends, is the sweetest boy in the world. straight up crazy about him. he is SO funny all the time...i could be having the worst day ever and he can turn it around in less than 5 seconds. down side: he lives in georgia. go figure...i leave georgia, i find him. but, i am so thankful for the time we get to have together on the weekends. he has been such a wonderful blessing so far & i am so excited to see where our relationship goes!  and last bit of news....you may remember my best friends in the whole wide world...

[emily, whitney, me]

well...just to update you...emily is rocking grad school for audiology in good ole auburn, al. and miss whitney is GRADUATING in 12 days. oh yes, less than two weeks. AND...we found out last week that she received a graduate assistantship for grad school in communications! i am SO proud of her and everything she has accomplished this year. again...more info to come, those are just a few updates in the life of lauren. til next time kids,