Why you should never trust photographs

Today I was thinking (I sometimes do that) and decided to spend a little time on photoshop editing a picture that I have. When I first saw how it came out, I was a little disappointed, it was too hard to see me and there were others in the shot, but there was nothing I could do about it... That is, at the time. So, here is my edited photo in the different stages. First is the original, next I removed the people, then I made myself larger.
So what do you think? Pretty easy, huh? I don't like the resize as much because when enlarged, I am pixelated, but that is why I kept the other, just removal of the people.

Hoorah!

Ura! I'm going to DC for the final stage of the Foreign Service Officer selection process! I'm very excited, in case you couldn't tell . . . It won't be until May, though.

Conversations, multiki, temples, spark plugs, and valentines

I am so exhausted. It is after 1 am and this is basically the first time I've been home all day. Well, I was in my apartment a couple of times, but very briefly, but other than that, I can basically say that I did not spend any part of Valentine's Day in my apartment, even the morning...
But first things first, Happy Valentine's Day!
Now before you get any bad ideas, last night, the sisters from my mission had a sleepover that I went to. So I didn't sleep in my own apartment last night. It was a lot of fun, though at times it felt like we were split between the older generation (which includes me) and the younger one, even though there was only one sister there that I didn't know from the mission. My trainer came, as well as my "sister" and another sister from a different "mother." We talked about funny mission stories, what's happened since, and our plans for the future. It was really great. Then, around 1:30 am, or something like that, we were all pretty tired and decided to go to sleep. We went downstairs, but instead of going straight to sleep, we put in some Russian multiki (children's animated shows). We watched a Russian Alice in Wonderland . . . it was really weird.
Then I had to get up early because my family (extended) was meeting to go to the Draper Temple Open House the next morning (this morning). I thought I was going to be one of the first ones up, but everyone was gone except for my ride and the sister whose house we were at. Kalia gave me a ride to the temple and I had to figure out where everyone else was. Eventually they caught up with me (ok, I had to wait at the entrance to the temple for a while) and we went through. It was beautiful and a lot bigger than I imagined when Kalia told me that it was the smallest temple she had ever seen. Bismarck is a lot smaller.
After that, my family got together to eat lunch and celebrate my cousin's birthday (which is tomorrow). It was nice to be with family. Soon, we had to head back to Provo since Sara needed to be to work and I had arranged with a friend to check out my car.
We made it back in time, though Sara was almost late for work. Then I went to look at my car. The mechanic had told me that I needed a new carburetor and that it would cost upwards of $900. My friend looked at it, and after jumping it and using starter fluid, said, "I think you just need spark plugs." We went to Napa and it cost me $8 for the spark plugs. We went back, and my car started right up. Then he listened to it and said that there might be something else. But he thought there might just be some gunk in there that could be cleaned out using a Fuel Injector/Carburetor cleaner. We went and got that ($4) and now my car seems to be fine! I will have to let the cleaner run through, but I will wait until after I get my other key back from the mechanic. I hope they don't freak out since I drove my car home . . .
Anyway, I got home with grease on my hands (my friend made me change one of the spark plugs) and checked my email. A friend of mine had asked me on a group date for tonight (if I didn't get sicker since I was sick at the time that he asked me) but then I hadn't heard anything. I was thinking it was for 7:30 and I got home around 6:00. I checked my email and a message from him. It was supposed to start at 5:30. I called him, feeling a little bad, and was surprised to learn that they hadn't really started yet, so I scrubbed the grease off my hands while he came to pick me up. Two of his roommates had dates (so there were 6 of us total) and we made calzones for dinner. It was really good. Then we watched some Michael Jackson music videos (that was a random result of our conversation, not part of the planned evening) had cake, and decided to go see a movie. We went to see Coraline, in 3D. It was good, but weird. I liked it a lot. The 3D wasn't in your face, though, so most of the time I forgot it was in 3D. That may have been because I didn't have my contacts, which I need only to have depth perception. Oh well, you don't really need depth perception to get on in the world, though it helps with parallel parking.
Anyway, the movie went late so I just barely got home. Still, it was a good day, tiring, but good. Lets hope that I can get my homework done during the rest of the weekend because this coming week will be an insane one.

A light at the end

Things are a little better now. I talked to my dad for nearly an hour. I haven't done that since . . . well ever. I was able to say a lot of things that I needed to say, and I hope that my dad feels the same way. I don't know if I feel any better, because it was two people who weren't involved in the situation talking, and the only thing that will really resolve the situation is if the two people involved change their behavior. But, I suggested better ways to relate to Elizabeth, and I hope that that will make a difference. I also talked to Elizabeth and suggested ways in which she can behave differently. Hopefully, both of them can at least be civil toward each other. I think the main problem is misunderstanding. I just get my sister's side, my dad just gets his wife's side, and when emotion is involved, can you ever really fully trust someone's account? I am more inclined to believe my sister for two reasons: she doesn't sound emotional when she is telling me and also because it usually comes out much after the fact. She isn't just running to me to complain. However, still, that doesn't mean that more civility cannot be attained on her side.
Anyway, time will only tell what will happen, but I hope that things work out because I'm not sure where else Lizzy can go . . .

Resolution, kind of

We kind of have a resolution for the situation that happened today. My dad talked to my sister after dinner and took the wife's side, in everything. He even said that what my sister did was abuse toward his wife. That means that according to him, to stand up for yourself=abuse.
I can't say that I'm surprised that he took her side (he also told my sister that if she wouldn't listen to the wife, then they would have to make other arrangements), but I was hoping that for once he would show that he cared about his daughters. But, I shouldn't have even hoped for that. This means that my sister is going to try to find a different place to live. Hopefully she will be able to find something quickly. The situation she is in isn't going to get better, and I foresee it get worse now that the wife knows my dad won't stand up for his daughters. After all, he doesn't want to be alone, and all she would have to do is threaten to leave him if he did. I don't know if that's what she did, but I wouldn't put it past her. And unfortunately my dad is very different then me because I would say, screw you! I would rather be alone then live with that over my head.
I feel drained now, extremely disappointed, but resigned to the fact that things aren't going to change. And it seems to me that in the future, my dad will be less and less a part of my life. I wonder if he won't come to my graduation now as a result . . .