7 Months Down!

It has NOT been seven months already, has it?

I've said "this month has been the fastest yet!" before. But seriously, this time, it's for real. Yesterday I was going out to dinner with my family because I'm home for fall break. And as I was talking about Jared I realized that today would be seven months down and I was so surprised because I forgot! Usually I'm counting down the days till we hit the next month mark. This time it just totally surprised me. This month flew by. But isn't that to be expected? It's October :) The beginning of the best season, and best time of year! October, November and December are in my opinion, the fastest/best months of the year. And because of that, I'm really excited for the next few months :) 

Here are some pictures I took to celebrate today :) 

I love my sweet missionary SO much!! And honestly? The waiting part isn't even hard. The not dating other people part? Piece of cake. Not getting to hear from him every day? Eh, I got used to it. Waiting isn't that hard. I'd wait forever for him. Yeah it's hard not having him here when I'm having a bad day. Or, when I need someone to talk to. Or when I just want to cuddle and forget about the rest of the world. But the actual waiting part? Not that hard, because I know who I'm waiting for :) 

Here's to month number 8! :)

Get to Know Me

I decided to do a post of 50 things that most people might not know about me :) You obviously know I'm a missionary girlfriend, but that's only part of who I am :) So here are a bunch of random facts about me.

My name is Desiree! :)

1. I was born in Las Vegas and have lived in multiple different states and countries. I guess you could say that's why I hate staying in one place too long. Traveling has been distilled in me ever since I was little.

2. I absolutely love candy stores. Whenever I'm walking around a city and see a candy store, especially in foreign countries, I HAVE to go in. I actually think a perfect date as well. Take me to a candy store and I'm a happy camper :) 

(candy porn right there ^)

3. I would love to get married in September or October :) 

4. I'm not really a party person. I don't exactly enjoy going out to parties. I'd rather go on a walk under the stars with just one person, and have some good conversation, rather than being surrounded by a ton of people. 

5. I have the smallest stomach in the world. I can never completely finish a hamburger, or most of my meals for that matter. I get full after a few bites and then I have to wait a bit before I can continue eating. 

6. My favorite words are: Harvest & Serendipity.

7. I document EVERYTHING through video. Literally, everything. (ie killing spiders, cool looking meals, conversations with my mish, my thoughts, etc...)

8. I'd rather have conversation with kids than adults.

9. I hate confrontation and arguing. Like, more than anything in the world. I'm a very passive person and I just can't handle it. I have to leave the room because I hate arguing back with someone.

10. I have to drink orange juice every morning with my breakfast :) 

11. For the past 4 years, I listen to The Main Title from The Notebook one time through before falling asleep every night. Music is very important to me and helps in so many different ways. In this way, it helps me prepare to fall asleep :)

Click here for a link to the song

12. I am mildly dyslexic. Which causes me to be terrible at math, spelling, and reading out loud.

13. I absolutely hate flying. I'm constantly imagining ways the plane could crash. Yeah, It's a problem.

14. My favorite song of all time is Here Comes The Sun by The Beatles. If you've never heard it, I'm sorry, and here's the link to listen to it.

Here Comes the Sun - The Beatles

15. I am a perfectionist. 

16. Purple, teal, and champagne pink are my favorite colors :)

 

17. I am a somewhat reserved and shy person. A lot of people think I'm not a nice or friendly person because of it. 

18. This basically describes me every time I check the mail.

19. Overcast is my favorite weather. I'm actually not a huge fan of sun.

20. I'm a night owl. Night time is when my mind is most creative and productive.

21. I listen to The Osmonds the way some girls listen to One Direction. And it's my dream to meet Donny Osmond.

22. My favorite city is Venice :)

23. I hate spiders with a passion... I know most people hate spiders. Especially girls. But me? I really REALLY hate them. 

24. I have a dad crush on Victor Garber and Denis Quaid.

25. I am obsessed with old movies! Especially Jerry Lewis. When I found Rock-A-Bye Baby was on YouTube I acted like a 13 year old girl meeting Justin Bieber. Click HERE to watch it. I promise you won't regret it. It's absolutely hilarious with an adorable love story :) 

26. I'm a snowcone and hot chocolate addict. During the summer I could get snowcones every day. And during winter, it's the same only with hot chocolate :)

27. I eat homemade popcorn (not the nasty microwave stuff) weekly, and I have to have my salt and vinegar seasoning to put on top. Basically anything salt and vinegar flavored is just amazing.

28. Besides the scriptures and textbooks, Nicholas Sparks books are the only ones I read.

29. I hate the word, "someday." ex: "We'll definitely go there someday!" It's just a word with not much promise to it.

30. I like making forts and camping in the living room :) I really don't think I'm a very high maintenance person. I've slept all night on an airport floor, lived without wifi or internet for weeks, went 4 months with no tv or hair straightener, plus more. I think life is more fun that way anyway :) 

31. Every time after I get gas, the first thing I do when I get back inside my car is put hand sanitizer on.

32. I have a constant love affair going on with Canon cameras.

33. I absolutely hate going out by myself.. Shopping, or even going to the post office. I prefer always having someone with me. I've been an extremely needy person ever since birth (my mom can attest to that).

34. I love cheese. Like.... a lot.

35. I don't know any other languages, but I can have full conversation in movie quotes.

36. The 4 months I spent teaching English in China were the best 4 months I've ever experienced in my life thus far.

37.  Half the music on my ipod is that of Nat King Cole, Sam Cook, Jimmy Durante, Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Dean Martin, The Temptations, Barry Manilow, Rod Stewart, Steve Tyrell, Seal, Elvis, The Beatles, The O'Jays, Lionel Richie, etc.. Basically everything 80's and earlier. 

38. The Gospel and the church is everything to me. My reason for living. My happiness. And I honestly don't know who I'd be without it.

39. I've met Taylor Swift :)

40. I've ridden an elephant.

41. Autumn is my absolute favorite season :) Everything about it makes me so happy :)

42. One of my favorite parts about Thanksgiving is waking up in the morning to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade :)

43. I believe animals have feelings and emotions. Especially dogs.

44. I don't watch much TV. But when I do? It's gotta be Fresh Prince or Full House.

45. I never get sick of hearing songs on repeat. In fact, when I do homework I have to have one song on repeat the whole time. It drives my sister nuts, but it somehow helps me focus :)

46. I'm a hopeless romantic, but at the same time, I have issues believing in true love and happy marriages.

47. I had to go to the ER once for getting a pill stuck in my throat. 

48. This boy right here has my whole heart :)

49. One of my favorite pastimes is playing guitar :) 

50. And last but not least.......

Busy Summer in Italy!

Hey Everyone! :) 

Yes, I'm still alive. Just in case any of you were wondering. I realized I haven't blogged in forever. But I have a good excuse (kind of) I promise. 

I moved to Italy June 5th and have been going, going, going non stop since then. I'm working here for the summer as a tutor/camp counselor at English camps all over Italy, and will be moving to Austria next week until August 13th. But that's besides the point :) I've just been so busy. Today is the first day in a month and a half that I've had time to sit down and relax. I haven't even had time to send Jared letters. Yeah, it's sad. We've been communicating primarily through email. But honestly, I really miss getting/sending letters.

I have so much I should update, so many stories and experiences I could share, but that would turn into a massive novel I know none of you would read, lets be honest. So I'll stick with the important stuff.

• Jared had his first baptism on June 1st and was asked to be the one to perform the baptism. He was beyond excited :)

• Teaching English over here in Italy has done wonders for making time pass. Not only is time going by quickly, but I've learned and grown so much just by living here. The only downside is that I haven't been able to attend church because my host families don't like driving far distances and the churches are always far away :( But there's always a positive way to look at a situation. I have realized the importance of attending church every single week, and how big of a blessing it is. I will never take it for granted again.

• Call me a little 13 year old girl, but I love Cody Simpson's music, and this song has been on repeat recently. "Wherever you are, no matter how far, I promise that I won't give up on you. They say 'out of sight' means 'out of mind' but that couldn't be further from the truth, because I'm in love with you. I'm still in love with you. Even if there is an ocean keeping your heart from mine, that doesn't mean I'm not thinking about you all of the time. I'm counting the days till I see you, and somewhere I know that you are too" He gets us MG's ;)

• Yesterday we hit 4 MONTHS DOWN! I can't believe it :) The first three went so slow, but the fourth just flew by. And what better place to celebrate than Venice, Italy? :) I am seriously so blessed to be having this much fun while he's gone. I'm living my dreams and couldn't be happier with everything in my life :) Waiting isn't about "waiting" It's about growing, changing, becoming, having fun, traveling, making friends, fulfilling callings, working, developing hobbies and skills and ultimately, becoming who Heavenly Father knows you can become through righteous living. 

• Click here to watch my 3 Months Down Video :)

• Overall, I am so happy, and loving life. Jared is amazing. So dedicated to the work, I've never heard him complain, and he is loving the people. He writes the most loving emails, along with amazing stories and spiritual experiences. He never breaks the rules, and he's just basically the perfect missionary :) I couldn't have asked for a better boyfriend/missionary. I couldn't have asked for a better experience in my life. Waiting is hard, but amazing at the same time. We're both growing so much and I've seen it bless our relationship tremendously. Basically, I got this :) 4 down, 20 to go! 

Emails & Letters :)

I always knew that Jared would most likely not be allowed to email me at all during his mission. At least, that's what I tried to prepare myself for. I didn't want to get my hopes up. Low and behold, I woke up on the morning of his first pday in the MTC and his name popped up with an email from him! I totally freaked out :D

How lucky am I that the week he entered the MTC is the week they changed the rules about emailing? I feel so blessed :) I'm so proud of Jared. He's been in the MTC for 3 weeks now and is working so hard on learning the language and how to be a missionary. He's one of the most dedicated and hard working people I know. He's so obedient and follows all the rules. I know that being an obedient missionary will bless him in ways I can't even describe. 

On his second pday, I got his email in the morning and was happy about it :) Little did I know that I'd receive another email from him at 5:00! I was so surprised :) It's little things like that just totally make my day. Apparently he didn't use up all of his time in the morning and got to use the rest of it at 5:00. 

I was super excited this past week to tell him that I'll be living in Italy this summer :) He had no idea that I applied or anything. I asked him in a Dear Elder how he would feel if I did apply, and this is what he said, 

"I think you should definitely go to Italy if that is what you want to do.  I mean, why not?!  How cool would it be if we both could at least speak some Italian when I got back?  And I know you love Italy and you love teaching...It's the perfect combination :D Just follow your dreams Desiree.  Although, I am so glad you still asked for my opinion. That makes me very happy to know that we are still that close and you still consider me your closest and best friend...because you are definitely mine! :D :D"

<3

Now I feel even better about spending my summer working in Italy. I love that he's supportive and wants me to follow my dreams no matter what. That's just one of the many things I love about him :) To sum things up, he's loving it in the MTC but can't wait to finally start teaching in Italy. We're both happy and we love receiving letters from each other :)