More Art

 Words cant describe how awesome this picture is....

Ok. So I went to this guy's website and found some other AWESOME pictures haha.

Visa. Check.

    Hey everyone! My visa for Thailand came in on Friday! I wasn't expecting it so soon but I was more than happy to receive it. I was really worried that I wouldn't get it in time because I had heard, from the others going, that it had taken them a few weeks to get theirs back. I sent mine in on a Friday with about 14 business days leeway. I knew it would come down to the wire. I was thinking I would get it the Friday before I left lol. So I was surprised to have the doorbell ring so early in the morning to have me sign for my package.
    I can't say that I am on the edge of my seat to leave just yet. It's coming, slowly. I'm betting it will be one of those feelings that hits me all at once as I get onto the airplane. Maybe it will hit me when I am caught in a tropical rainstorm and have to wrestle a tiger for my project supplies back. Only 16 days left! The next thing on my list is setting some good goals that I want to reach the first month that I am there. I'll let everyone know what I come up with so you all can keep me on my toes about getting them done.

P.S. I want a picture of this framed in my house. along with this one....

And This one........

and there is one more with George Washington and prisoner zombies but I think I might lose the battle on that one with my future wife.

HELP!!! HELP International

Hey everyone! Sorry I haven't been as updated as I could be about getting ready to head to Thailand coming up here in May. I just want to send out information on how YOU can help fund some of the projects that we will be doing for the children and people of Chiang-Rai. 

Take a look at what Help International did last year and how donations have helped them! It's a touching vid. Don't be intimidated by this girls expression. She means well.




You can donate as little or as much as you like! Everything helps! You can also donate anytime between now and August 20th. The sooner the better ;)


Here's how : CONTRIBUTE!!! CLICK ME! CLICK ME!!


1. Click on the link.
2. Under number (1) of the "Paypal" instructions click "Donate"
3. Enter in amount and update total
4. Click the Destination and put "HELP Thailand 2012 Jonathan Lerma"
5. Select payment method and all the jazz and then click "Donate"
6. Sit back...Relax...because you did something great!




Follow me on my blog regularly to see how your generous donations are helping us give our time, talents and heart to those in need in Thailand.
Thank you so so much for everything you all have donated so far and to those who will donate in the future.

I'm a Mormon!!!

My link to my "I'm a Mormon" page!

Combined activity

This is some sort of flower I made out of a gum wrapper during my capstone class. It wasn't that I was bored or not paying attention, I just felt like there was a little flower that needed to be created out of my cool mint gum wrapper. 

 Last Saturday we had a combined activity with the relief society at a stake high counsel members house.  He let us use his ATV's and his BBQ. naturally I clung to the grill and cooked all the hamburgers and some of the hot dogs for those who didn't want to make theirs over the fire pit.  The guy on the bottom right of the picture is my home teacher and I am his home teacher lol and he actually wrecked one of the 4wheelers  and broke his collar bone in 4 places. That next Sunday morning I picked up his pain meds from Walgreens. I felt bad because he is such a great guy and now he has to go home to Cali to have pins put into it. He probably wont be back until next semester.

 These are some of my roommates, the two on the right are engaged and they are a ton of fun.

At work this is the warning symbol for the washing machine lol I had to take a picture because this is what you would feel like if you were stuck in an equilateral triangle. Not a good day...

Please Vote for me

            In my Chinese class we were asked to watch a documentary done by the BBC on a class election at an elementary school. I was amazed at what I was watching. These kids were just amazing. There are three kids. Cheng Cheng (Chung Chung) Luo Lei (loo-wo lay) and a girl. lol the spelling on her name didn't come to my mind instantly so she is just "the girl".

            They are sooo funny and make some really startling points on elections, politicians and debates. I think that the point it was showing was that China is ready for democracy. Part of me says "yes" and part of me says "No" if you want to see what I mean just watch these. There are 5 parts and each part is 10 minutes. Tell me what you think. I really want to know.

Part 1

 

Part 2

 

Part 3

 

Part 4

 

Part 5

                                                Cheng Cheng

                                       The girl, she's a sweet heart. It ends really really well.

SGU

After further investigation, I have concluded that the reason for my planetary dreams is due to the rapid pace my roommate Scott and I have been watching Stargate Universe....

dreams and snow

          Has anyone seen 12 Angry men? Not the one with Tony Danza but the black and white one. We watched it in my organizational effectiveness class and it was very interesting to stop every 15 mins and evaluate what was going on, who had the influence, who was over reacting or speaking with bias. Our teacher told us that he had to watch it for a psychology class and had to evaluate all 12 of the men for a final project. I think there is a lot to learn from that movie.
          Rexburg is dumping snow now and it feels more and more like March. I bet we got at least 4 inches in 24 hours and its still coming heavy. I am really grateful for a car that drives. Not that it would be harder to walk to class and work and dating life would come to a halt but the fact that I don't trust other people driving in snow haha. I would rather get hit by a car in a car than to get hit walking. My internship is coming up fast! I am half way through the semester and about 2ish months away from jumping on a plane and feeling the country for a few months.
         I think that Thailand is on my mind more than I realize. Over the last few weeks I have been having recurring dreams of two things. 1. Rain and tropical landscapes 2. Planets and night time. specifically I am looking up into the night sky to see HUGE planets or the moon. Most of the time I am not scared or amazed at how big the planets appear. Or i am not uncomfortable by the rain or the landscape but I just thought it was interesting that they are occurring so often.

                                   It's finally snowing in Rexburg! And it's coming down hard.

I think every time I see these guys I think of our trip to California. We had stopped at a gas station somewhere in Merced and I asked one of my sisters, "Where are we?" ( I think I was 9 at the time) and she said, " Mexico". I looked around and all I saw were Mexicans and taco stands and markets. I think that for a couple years after that I would tell people that I visited family in Mexico.

I found this the other day and I couldn't stop laughing. School is going good, I have been really busy this last week. It feels like this week is my mid-terms because the work load is crazy! I read a book called Battle hymn of the Tiger Mother. Good book, Crazy woman, semi-crazed kids. Other than that it was pretty good. I talked to a Chinese guy at school and he said that some parents are like that and some aren't in China. So don't think all Chinese mothers are like that.

Blueberry Syrup

I was trying to focus on getting some homework done last night but I overheard in the kitchen that they were going to throw away blueberries that no one wanted to eat. So I sprung up and, I really don't know why, but the first thought in my head to do with them was "make syrup!" so I did. 

Granted this is a guy's apt. We didn't have the luxury of all the culinary tools needed so I had to improvise a little. Fortunately all you need for syrup is, water, some blueberries, sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest.

 I didn't have a strainer or a smasher guy so I used the small holed side of a cheese grater and relatively flat spoon. I later switched to a butter knife.

 It wasn't giving me all the juice it could so I flipped it on its side where the holes were a bigger and I continued to press.

 Added the water and sugar, and brought it back to a boil. It said that I needed a candy thermometer to bring it to 225 degrees but come on people, how hard is it to recognize when it's become syrupy?

                                                                         Nuff said.

lol thats about all I got out of those few blueberries I had. I don't think I did too bad granted I eyeballed the recipe and used maybe a cup of blueberries instead of the half pound it called for. Now I just need to put it on some pancakes. For now it is sitting in a gatorade bottle in the fridge lol.

Oh Boise...

HAHA I bet they are at Camels Back Park.

funny FB status

I saw that my friend posted this, he said that he found it on pintrest lol. I think it sums up the way I feel about some people sometimes. haha " Some people need a high five.....to the face.....with a chair" 

Happy Valentines day everyone

Happy Valentines day! aka singles awareness day or as my friend Andrew Brimhall informed me, "Arizona pride" day. Whatever that is. I got a valentines from Mom and Dad and it was much needed. I kind of felt like I was being incepted because I read the line "Mom and Dad" and I had a jolt of memory as to who I was and where I came from and where I am going after the semester ends. lol like the card was my totem that I have to open to make sure that I'm not dreaming. But that would mean I would have to replace the monetary factor back inside the card each time as well....hmm maybe I'll just read the card instead. Things are going good here, I am in the process of getting all my internship junk figured out and will soon be starting the fundraising process. Cross your fingers and say your prayers that I raise enough. It snowed for the second time in Rexburg this semester but melted by mid-day. I'm not complaining haha. 

This sums up my efforts thus far but who's to say my luck won't change right?

A long past due update

Ok everyone, it has been a long time and much has happened in the life of myself ( trust me, I would know) so if you like doing things that you enjoy, this post will do it.

I was hit. Everyone is just fine. I can't tell you how grateful I am that the person who hit me was so nice, this whole thing has gone so smoothly that the load has been lighter. 

I got the golden elephant. I think that Kristin and Kenley have it actually but it was suggested that I send it to Kaitlyn. I am seeing a personal trainer, my roommates are great, semi addicted to Story Teller by Jim Henson on Netflix, love work and all its craziness, I am playing on an indoor rec team at BYU-I and it is a great escape from accounting so I don't care if we win or lose; I am just happy to play. As of last week I have been exposed to flavor blasted cheddar gold fish and I have gone through 3 bags by myself... any questions or comments will and can be addressed/ answered upon request.

Kermit and the Rainbow Connection

So from my last post I had to look it up. Jason Mraz does a great version of it but I still think that this one is the best.  little known facts,
~This song was nominated for an Emmy in 1979
~Reached #25 on the charts in 1979
~Is sung by Weezer, Jason Mraz, Willie Nelson, Debbie Harry (whoever that is) and tons more.

Dia Frampton

So I love Spotify and there was an artist on there named Dia Frampton. So I started to listen to her and I love nearly every song on her album. There is a song about a naughty little boy named Johnny that I got a kick out of and another song called "Isabella" that I find really funny when I think about Bella. Dia Frampton, get on that train. She also won "the voice" or something. I also found a nice spot in my heart for the original "rainbow connection" that kermit and miss piggy sing lol but anyway...

Sunday message: Truth is Everlasting

Don't forget in the dark what God has told you in the light.

I dont know who said it first but I found that quote in a stash I had and I really felt it. When we are doing the best we can and our Heavenly Father give us assurances and guidance, how quick are we to forget all of it when hard times come? He is the same today, yesterday and forever. That goes for his assurances and guidance as well. So this month, let's not forget what truth we have learned when the trials come. God is Truth and God is Everlasting. Therefore, Truth, is Everlasting.

Start of the New school year

School is going great. I have my own room because my roommate never showed (yesssss). It's really nice to have your own room when you payed the price of sharing. I can go to bed and wake up without having to worry if I am bothering them or the other way around. I am making a huge leap in my cleanliness this go around by picking up and maintaining my clean room daily. It is starting to become an eyesore if i have socks on the floor or a loose shirt on the other bed. Cleanliness is next to Godliness right? It definitely helps to have a clean room when you are studying too.

My room is a great place to do my homework as well. My roommates are really funny and they are always joking or laughing about something. I am excited to get to know them better this semester. My classes are great. A lot of reading which this time around I am not too bent out of shape about because I am enjoying almost everything I am reading. Confucius said, "You cannot read a book without learning something new." and It's true. At work my co-worker Orrey, had a child development text book that I thumbed all the way through. I learned a ton just by glancing at the definitions on the sided of the text and the little explanations of the pictures. Did you know that the chances of a woman having a down syndrom baby in her 20's is 1 in 800? A woman in her late 30's is 1 in 67 and a woman in her 40's is 1 in 16? crazy stuff.

I drove down to Boise to watch Jake play with his band INTERSTATE and it was so worth the drive. He had a guy, Mike Quinn, open for him and he used loop pedals to record himself over and over to play his songs. It sounded like 4 or 5 guys at once playing! Jakes group did amazing and they played a lot of their new stuff and a few covers of desperado and a Keith Urban song. I'll try to put up videos for you all. They are a really good performing band. Check them out at Interstateband.net

The Start of a New Year

       Today was the first day of the new year. What did you do? Have you ever thought that resolutions and plans for the future start now? This crossed my mind as I was thinking about my hopes and dreams of the new year. "I am going to do this" or  "I am going to be this way" but when? There is no better time to start than the second you decide.


       I read something awhile back that is so basic yet really deep. And that is the fact that your body, does what your mind tells it to. lol that's it! Your body does what your mind tells it to. If you think about negative things, chances are you are going to be upset or you will become angry about things easier than usual. Have you ever thought about something that never happened and never would that just ticked you off? ha ha I don't how many times I have been perfectly happy stepping into the shower and fuming coming out.


      The opposite thinking has the same result. If you tell yourself, " I am confident, I am happy" you will feel better about yourself and have a more courageous spirit about you.
     
         Mind ---> Actions


  I believe that getting sick is 60% mental. As soon as you choose to be sick, your condition worsens.


 This truth also works with forgiveness. This last 5 month break from school, I found myself angry at situations or people specifically or even things that someone did that happened years ago. It was a slippery slope and really easy to give into once the initial thought had arisen. Then, one day, I remembered that simple fact. I was thinking negatively and it was causing me to become negative. So I made the short, mental effort to say in my head
"I forgive you"
Even if I didn't mean any of it. Even if I had to repeat it over and over. Each time got easier and easier. I could feel my heart lighten up and true forgiveness set in. The amazing thing that occurred was that the more I mentally forgave others the stronger desire I had to forgive myself. A lot of the anger I had for others was actually a result of feeling regret or guilt over things that I had done or said. Talk about the miracle of forgiveness. It's a life changing bandwagon that we should all get on.


   So coming into this new year, when resolutions are made. What a difference it will make if you mentally and consistently put for the effort to be (right now) what you want to be in the coming year.