Shopping?...

Well, yesterday (Monday) My mom and I shopped almost all day... and by all day I mean from 2 in the afternoon to 7:30 at night. It was actually quite nice; we got almost EVERYTHING that was left! Two nights before, I went looking through all of the stuff that we purchased last year, and discovered that I had 3 suits (one of which was bought 2-3 months ago), 7 long sleeve shirts, 4 ties, 6 pairs of socks, a pair of shoes, a journal, and a notebook. So a trip to get the last bits of clothing and a lot of the daily necessities was all that was left!

About three fourths the way through all of this my mother commented that I was much easier to shop with this time, "You weren't exactly ready last time." "I know I wasn't!" This last year has been wonderful, and I am so grateful for the friendships I was able to rekindle and new friends that I made over the year; it has been more than wonderful, and the preparations were dire for me to not be destroyed by my first companion... I honestly think I might have come home had I gone out the first time I was called.
(ah ha, for those of you that didn't know, I got a call right around this time last year. The same place... I can't tell you how glad I was to hear that I was going to the same place.)

I'll upload some pictures of what I bought to this later (it's late, check the post time...) But it was a fun trip to the store, and I was actively hunting and thinking about stuff that I might need when I'm on my own. Being on my own (with someone else 24/7... literally) will be a very interesting to say the least. My mother commented that she thought I'd have a fair amount of homesickness, and I'm begining to think that she might be right. Not necessarilly the "home" portion, but the being able to call a friend or family member whenever I want will certainly be a shock. There have been a few times recently where something has happened and I've grabbed whomever and they've instantly cheered me up because they know who I am and how to do so (Thank you Lynnae; 9 days)! That will be a major shock when I've left... and I may finally be begining to understand how big that will be. I'll have paper to write on, and that will help with getting stuff out of my mind, but it is gonig to be a BIG shock.

Well, pictures to come, and sleep for me now!

~Elder Douglas Westwood*

Well, It finaly happened! ...Again

Well, it came! I almost read it myself, but my dear friend saved me and got me to tell my family and open it with them (it would not have been a happy ending otherwise...). The same place! Who would have thought? Apparently my father, now he's guessed two mission places and he's all the more proud for it!

My day was a fairly regular day, but when I checked the mail, I was finally blessed with the opportunity to snatch my call and conceal it from everyone else until I'd found out where I was going. Quite honestly, there really was good cause for this action to take place! I spent nearly 2 hours last time calling everyone, saying "I'm so excited!" and just really losing the meaning of what was going on... I think that was part of the reason I didn't quite realize what was really ahead of me. Although, this time, I didn't open my call until late enough that I didn't have to make all of the crazy phone calls to everyone quite yet (that will be coming tomorrow). We were able to contact my immediate family and grandparents and let them know the GREAT news, and I look forward to talking with everyone else!
The reason for opening my call by myself was so that I could take the time to admire the moment, instead of being caught up with all of the fanfare; I actually did a good job of staying with the moment and not getting lost. I wanted to take the time to read everything ever so carefully and enjoy it, because when people are around, I lose focus way to easily. The last year has help me a lot with understanding myself and knowing why I do the things I do; if you've ever known me personally, you'd understand.

So here it goes!
Colorado, Colorado Springs Mission! English speaking, and I prefer it that way. I report to the MTC on June 24th 2009, at 1:00PM. I know it still hasn't sunk in, but there were moments when I knew just how little time I have left to prepare.
We've been getting stuff and storing it away and all, but most of the time I've had, I've used to learn about myself. I look forward to the next month that I have to dive into The Scriptures and Preach My Gospel just a little bit more... I promised the Sister Missionaries that I'd read the "My Purpose section, and so far it has been very mind opening (two pages... who'd have thought).

So there you have it! Now, lets give you a little bit more (keep in mind, in the last 2 months, I've gotten !!!!2!!!! Chinese fortunes claiming, "You need a new Environment. Go on a vacation):

• May 14th, Recieved call
• May 29th, Leave for California (This was planned before I got the first fortune)
• June 7th, Arrivae home from California
• June 8-9th, Go through temple for mission
• June 22nd... or 23rd, Leave for Idaho to see my sister, In-Law (love you... sort-of), and HOPEFULLY!!!! their child
• June 24th, Take a shuttle down to Provo and arrive at the MTC (WITHOUT STANDARD DOUG MUSIC... aye yai yai...
• Spend every other waking moment working or getting ready to go (keep in mind, that leaves less than 30 days to shop, then subtract at least 2, hopefully 3, days off a week for work (thats 9-12 due to the vacation trip being over a week long), and then time to have a few last hoorahs with my friends) so really, I less than 115 days to get everything ready and packed.
• Oh yeah, clean up the two rooms I'm currently Inhabiting so my parents don't throw everything away while I'm gone... that'll be at least 3-4 due to the stuff they just moved in from another room that was to be used for the summer.

Yeah, am I nervous? "NO WAY!!!! WHY WOULD I BE NERVOUS?!?!?!?!" *twitches a little, convulses for a bit, slaps his own face, "Stop that! I told you to calm down!" (did he just yell at himself?...)*

... Yeah. I'm TOTALLY ready for this! 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D