Playing with Numbers

This last week has seemed to have an overall theme with numbers. Every day I have been working on my tiger project data and working out what statistics to do. I spent many hours just researching two different tests, and I had to spend a lot of time setting up my data sheet to be stats ready. After I finished that I couldn't remember how to even load it to R (my stats program) and had to review many of my notes from courses I have had. This morning I realised I had missed something and need to fix my data sheet again and then load it into R again. Hopefully today I will be able to start playing with tests!! Stats and I seem to have a love/hate relationship as it takes so long just to figure out what test to do, how to do the test, understand the results, etc. In the end though, statistics are awesome in telling you a lot of things about your data!

Additionally, Matt and I met with an H&R Block accountant to sort out our Australian taxes. Since Matt is basically self-employed it is so much easier to have a professional do our taxes. In case you are wondering why we chose H&R Block....we chose them because I wanted to make sure we had a reliable and trustworthy accountant to work with, and they also have an expat division that will help us do US taxes as well. Last year I estimated how much Matt would owe in taxes based off how much he earned and what percentage is owed to taxes. I figured we would owe around $8000! To my surprise our accountant said we will likely owe less than $1000 after he enters in all our deductions! This is huge!! Matt made a lot less for our US taxes in 2013 and yet we owe $3000 to the IRS. I had to spend the next day creating a spreadsheet with all of Matt's business expenses, counting receipts, looking up house bills and whatever else the accountant needed.  It may seem like a lot of work, but it is worth it. There are definitely some differences between US and AUS taxes!

Matt has also been working with numbers, but in a whole different way. He has spent many numbers of hours working and earning extra money. For the past month he has been working his regular job and then every night and all day Saturday he has been going to a side job. This particular side job is at my colleague Tim's home which he has recently been renovating. What we thought would be a weekend job ending up taking way more time! He hopes to finish this week.

Despite Matt's long hours we were able to have some nice evenings together. One night we watched Divergent and the following night we went to TGIF's for dinner. We may have had to wait nearly 30 minutes just to have someone take our order, but the food was awesome! Their Jack Daniel's sauce is so good and I wish they would sell it! It's nice to get out and do something together once in a while.

Saturday I also spent a couple hours doing some much needed cleaning! As I mentioned before, we decided to dispense with teaching our cat to use the toilet. Well, we have had issues with going back to litter boxes. We bought a storage container with high walls, but he didn't seem to like it so we switched to the small litter box from when he was a kitten. That didn't work either because he would dump so much of the litter out from trying to cover up his messes. Finally, I found the holy grail with a cheap $10 storage bin that has slighter higher walls and is quite long. It works great and he doesn't get litter everywhere. I was so happy I had to take a picture of the new set-up.

Sunday was a busy day. I got up early so I could make a red velvet cake for one of my young women's birthday. After that I had to prepare my chastity lesson for the class. It's not that easy to think of ways to explain to 13 to 17 year old's the importance of keeping themselves sexually pure. In the end I think the lesson worked out well, but the highlight was easily my red velvet cake with homemade cream cheese frosting! I wish I had taken a picture because I think all those episodes of Cake Boss paid off because I impressed myself.

Some other Sunday events was Matt's discovery of a blue-tongued lizard in our back patio. He was so excited about that and made me run to get a camera. Although those lizards are quite common he hadn't actually seen one yet and not only did he get to see it but he got to catch it! We were a little worried about the cat attacking it so Matt released it behind all the townhouses and watched it run to a nearby den.

Also, we had Brock and Kaytlin over for FHE that night. We had a nice dinner, lesson, and then watched Meet the Robinsons. Kaytlin's lesson was about provident living/food storage and preparedness. It really got me thinking about some things that Matt and I could be doing better with emergency preparedness. We have a 72-hour kit that my dad bought me one Christmas, but that's not enough for two people. Kaytlin also mentioned about having a USB with any important files for an emergency and I had never thought of that. I think I am going to work on finishing my Master's project first, and then use my time off to look into things I can do for emergency preparedness. Hopefully no major disaster happens in the next month and a half! It's back to numbers for me! An what would a blog be without cute cat pictures?

Cold Weather Brings Illnesses

Some weeks just fly by and the last few weeks certainly have for me! With the end of winter we have some varying weather with super warm days and then all of a sudden pouring rain. The flu has been going around and many people are getting sick either physically or mentally it seems. 

I got a really bad cold at the end of July. I had a cough early in the morning and on my home from uni that day I officially decided I was sick. This developed into a really bad cold that lasted about 9 days. The frustrating thing with colds is that even if you do everything you can to get better sometimes you just have to let it run its course. I got plenty of sleep, stayed warm, had tons of vitamin C, and didn't push myself, but my lack of energy and cough took forever to dissipate. Apparently the flu has been going around so I'm glad all I had was a cold.

The third day of my cold I had a rolfing appointment that I didn't want to miss. Running on dayquil medicine I miraculously made it through my appointment. This time the rolfer did something called Gua sha at the end where he basically scrapes the skin with a Chinese spoon. It's painful but helps heal really knotted and sore areas which in my case was my upper back and shoulder area. A couple of days later the whole area was bruised but I did notice that the really bad knots in the area were gone.

The darkest spots were the worst areas

Another interesting occurrence is that my little sister returned home from her LDS mission in Dallas, TX! She was struggling with some health issues and difficult circumstances and was given an honourable release. I know without a doubt the Lord wanted her home even though she just left in February of this year. Many people don't realise or understand how stressful a mission can be and the toll it can take on your mental and physical health! I have no doubt she'll be an awesome ward missionary. To this day I still feel I have done more for missionary work after my mission than I did on my mission.

Sis Serisa Woodruff in Texas

Our adorable bengal cat turned one year old August 9th! He is still an amazing kitty that loves to play and cuddle. We didn't get him any presents since we recently bought him an automatic feeder, but I did just order a bunch of cat toys for him! I left a cat teaser out and he not only destroyed the feather toy but cut the string it was attached to. We need extra durable toys for this guy! Matt and I also decided to give put training the cat to use the toilet. We have worked with him for eight months on this and honestly we have not been very good at training him and so he just hasn't progressed. This week we will get him a new litter box and finally dispense with toilet training! In the end I don't know that training your cat to use a human toilet is worth it. I am also working on clicker and harness training him so some day I can take him on walks.

Around 8 weeks old

Now

We also had to say goodbye to a missionary in our ward that had finished her 18 months and was going home. Sis Church has been in our area for a long time and so we've had her over many times. I also helped register her for college classes since she was unable to do it. I'm hoping she'll do well at school and that we'll keep in touch!

Although I haven't talked about my project much, I have been doing a lot of measurements on my data. At this point I'm just trying to do what needs to be done, but I don't find any real joy in my project any more. In the end I feel that because of all the issues with this project I'm not very proud of what I have accomplished. Nevertheless, I can't do anything more than complete it with what I have been able to obtain and I'll be happy to be done with this research project. If I had another year or two I think I could've come up with something really good but so often you just have to work with what you get!

Shade helping me work

I would also like to mention a little about one of the major events that have occurred recently. Most, if not all, of you have probably heard about Robin William's death by now. It has been confirmed he committed suicide and had been suffering from severe depression. As many people have heard I suffer from depression some have thought of me in relation to this tragic news. I would like to clarify now that I am NOT suicidal! At times when I am really low, it does seem that living with the pain and anxiety is too much for me to handle, but I never completely lose hope. I just finished the chapter regarding suicide in my Feeling Good book and I learned a lot about how those that are suicidal feel completely hopeless - they do not believe things will ever be better in the future and often feel things will only get worse either for them or others around them. When you are suffering from depression your thoughts are so distorted that this is an easy conclusion to have! If you have not suffered from depression you may never understand, but for those that have or are currently suffering understand why suicide can seem like the logical choice. Why do I not have this issue? The answer is simple: I have an unwavering testimony that my Heavenly Father loves me and has a plan for me on this earth. It's impossible for me to completely lose hope in life when I have such a good understanding of why I am here on this earth and what my purpose in life is! I know without a doubt that the Lord will never give me any trial that I cannot handle or survive. My current trials are simply teaching me better coping mechanisms! Additionally, I know that suicide would prevent me from receiving the greatest blessings and peace after this life. I am blessed because I have this knowledge, but I know there are many that don't.

Please be careful that when you or someone you know has depression or may be suicidal that you look to reputable sources or professionals for advice. I have seen a lot of bad advice out there and having personal experience does not make you an expert! I have been using a self-help book that I trust and although I highly recommend it, what works for me may not work for everyone.

Well it's back to work for me! Hopefully I have more interesting events to report next time!