9 May 2018

When I stepped out of my apartment to bike to work, I saw two cyclists up the way. Passing them was easy; then, I heard the second guy’s chains, changing to another gear, and he left me. That didn't bother me. His reaction and acceleration was impressive especially since we were cycling up hill. Cruising along, I stopped at a traffic light. Rolling down a long hill, I saw the competitive guy, accelerating from stopping at a light too. I charged to pass him a second time, going uphill again. Both hills tired me, but I almost finished it. The competitive guy came on my left, pointing that he was going to turn right, and he passed me again.

Today I have time to write my full review of ThermaLeaf, since Jessica is at Cub Scouts. Yesterday the church announced that the church will no longer encourage the youth to do Boy Scouts after this year. The church is too international to continue to endorse a program most youth can't do.

Mothers' Day, 13 May 2018

Early last week we received the news that our tradition of eating dinner with their Ledesma family was going to be broken for mothers' day to give her rest. Jessica was thinking of preparing burritos. Her mother said that we could make spaghetti. When we called to see what we should purchase, we received word from Mercedes that she wanted hamburgers. Yesterday I went to Safeway with the grocery list. After I got everything on the list, I went to the checkout line. I went to the Coinstar machine to get rid of the coins that Jessica has been collecting. I collected my Coinstar money voucher just before the two customers before me finished.

The total expense came out about fifty-six dollars. I knew that I only had about fifty dollars from our remaining of our budget. The Safeway customer loyalty card cut the total down to nearly fifty dollars. I gave the cashier all of our food budget money, saying that it was not enough. You might think that I may be a jerk, but I was slow to pull out my debit card. When the cashier saw that the remaining balance was eighty-one cents, she paid the remainder with a dollar bill. I was hoping the buy flowers, but the barbeque meal consumed the entire budget.

On Thursday, the sister missionaries visited us spontaneously, since they were in the area. They got to know us. Jessica and I told our story, and the sister missionaries gave us a bookmark, laying out the ward mission plan.

15 May 2018

On Sunday the cheeseburger dinner was a success.

Oh, talking about food. During the week Jessica texted me a link from lds.org, saying grains should not be a man's sole source of protein. On Saturday Jessica and I counseled about how we should get beans in our diet. As we looked into the issue, we found that grains have amino acids in its composition, but it doesn't have all of the necessary ones. Legumes oftentimes have the complementary amino acids. Looking through lists of options, I realized that we don't get our protein solely with grain. Soy milk is made with soy beans; therefore, we should be safe.

After the cheeseburger dinner, Lucas and Jasmine came by. I spoke about how pearls are made are a metaphor to Joseph, the son of Jacob. Pearls are made when sand gets in the shell of an oyster. Since the oyster can't spit it out, it covers the irritant with a shiny hard substance, making it smooth. Joseph made his trials a pearl. I didn't know how pearls were made before Sunday. When I shared this, John Ledesma had a video to share, a Judaic perspective on Joseph's life.

While watching the video, I grew to be not fond of the rabbi's instruction. John Ledesma said that Judaism doesn't have modern prophets, but rabbis make commentaries on the Torah. https://www.chabad.org/3872739Mendel Kaplan was the instructor. My opinion of the instruction would make people think that I am intolerant. There has been commentaries made by Mormon scholars on the Book of Mormon. We have been told not to believe what they teach. The study of scriptural commentary requires the spirit of discernment. Prophets are the chosen people to give us the true interpretation of scripture as revealed by God. Scholars don't have the authority to interpret scriptures. The Kingdom of God ought to run by Jesus Christ as revealed to his prophets. Religions should not be run by man without revelation from God.

17 May 2018

Late last week my trainer from my mission asked if I would like to carpool with him. My trainer is named Daniel Garcia. Jessica and I decided to go. Alex Boyd, my second companion, recommended the catered food. I hope that there is good Jerk Chicken. I have never had good Jamaican food in the United States except for one dish at a Jamaican restaurant in my hometown. The dish was stew oxtail.

One coincidental thing about my new website is that this week is Bike to Work week. The website is a lifestyle blog, teaching thrift. Biking to work is a practice of frugal living. Friends on Facebook don't seem to be supportive. My last journal entry got a lot of views, but no one on Facebook liked it. Maybe people think that I am trying to be self-reliant; therefore, he doesn't need our support. Do you recall how long it took for the Mormon YSA Blog Spot to achieve a consistent audience? It took several years. Many people supported me. I recall a girl liked every post that I shared, when I started the media outlet.

19 May 2018

Today is the twenty-sixth month celebration of Jessica and I's marriage. We should be on the road to Spanish Fork, Utah for the missionary reunion, but Dan Garcia is an hour late. I am writing as we are waiting. I wonder if his Facebook account was hacked because he called Elder Lott's first name as Elton when it is Shawn. That is like me forgetting the name of my elementary school, a very personal historical thing. Elder Lott was his companion.

20 May 2018

I am not an ultra-intelligent person. Maybe I am use to be informed of things the week before. The missionary reunion is actually next week. I don't follow the mission reunion updates on Facebook. Dan Garcia called me, and I didn't recognize his voice. It has been almost ten years since we served closely, so his voice didn't prove that he was not hacked. I am not the brightest or sharpest. A lot of people can tell you how weak that I am. I just try the best with what I have. Dan described our service together by my request. I am missing the missionary reunion because I made plans to visit my family in California for Memorial Day weekend.

My journal entries don't seem to be organized well. I am going to listen to what I wrote already, noting everything that I want to address.

I have been able to figure out how to cook rice. On Tuesday, I transcribed a story by grandpa from StoryWorth. I signed up for Teespring. I wrote a couple articles for my website last week, signing up for the Amazon Affiliate Program. I finally got a response from Ikea. This weekend Jessica and I went out a couple times. Saturday I got up early. When we realized that Elder Garcia is not coming, I made preparations for my Sunday school lesson; although, I got a substitute. Last Sunday at choir, I learned that today was the last time that we were going to perform until we start rehearsal until the fall, and I wanted to sing in the choir, and we were able to. My lesson went well.  

A lid for the pot did solve the “water boiling out too quick” issue; however, at first, the rice seem to come out like mashed rice. I have learned to make rice better.

Teespring is a profitable business that I signed up for. I think that I have an audience for my products, but an audience is required in my belief. Jessica came in as I almost completed a design. I think my original idea is good for a design, but Jessica thought it might be a humorous quote. My first attempt at a quote was not humorous, so I didn’t go through with it. I don’t think that my idea is supposed to be humorous; although, my first attempt tried to adopt some humor. I am still working on the design.

Since last week was ‘bike to work’ week, I wrote with beginner cyclists in mind. I was a beginner cyclist, so I know some of their thoughts. Fun fact about me: I was thinking of being a bicycle mechanic at one time. I have explored so many career options. I think that it is ironic that I have started a cycling and lifestyle blog. Signing up for the affiliate program of Amazon, I think that it is a good opportunity, but I am still developing my audience with my website. I got nineteen clicks on the affiliate links, but no sales yet. My website is not designed well. I still need to work on that.

Ikea’s costumer service for delivering missing parts is really slow. I requested the missing part on May fifth, and they did not respond until May eighteenth. Their original email said that it would take them five days to respond. Their respond said that they started the process of delivering the missing parts, which will require a few days to ship it; then, seven to ten days for it to arrive.

Since we were supposed on the road on Saturday, Jessica and I celebrated our twenty-sixth month of our marriage on Friday; although, Friday was the eighteenth. I asked a coworker for a suggestion of where to eat, since she lived near Multnomah Village. She recommended the Village Hut for their seafood. I think that it is weird that restaurants don’t serve to fill you in Multnomah Village. My coworker did say that Marco’s Café is not good for dinner, so I was not off on my review. I got Ahi fish because I did not know what it was (of course.) I love exploring food. Ahi was a sashimi type dish over rice, a bento. I enjoyed it.

On Saturday, the nineteenth, Jessica took me out to the Wafflicious Food Cart near Multnomah Village, since the nineteen of March is the day of our marriage, and I got the sausage and mushroom entrée, since I love exploring food (of course.) It tasted good. The flavor was not bold. I barely tasted the waffle, mushroom, and cheese. The sausage seemed to overwhelm the other flavors, but I liked it.

Today was Ward Conference for Beaverton Stake’s Maplewood Ward. I looked sitting in the stand next to the organ as a choir. I feel that our choir contributed a lot to the sacrament meeting. The first song that we sang sounded a little off, but we made it through it.

The Sunday school lesson that I prepared was based on the doctrine that many ancient prophets are types of Christ that we may learn of him. I taught from the life of Joseph’s life, teaching about Christ at the same time as his life is a similitude. The following list are some of the ways that Joseph is a type of Jesus Christ: I got this list from a student manual. The apostle Bruce McConkie taught these similitudes.

1.       Joseph was the favored son of his father; so was Jesus (see Genesis 37:3; Matthew 3:17).

2.       Joseph was rejected by his brothers, the Israelites, as was Jesus (see Genesis 37:4; John 1:11; Isaiah 53:3; 1 Nephi 19:13–14).

3.       Joseph was sold by his brothers into the hands of the Gentiles, just as Jesus was (see Genesis 37:25–27; Matthew 20:19).

4.       Judah, the head of the tribe of Judah, proposed the sale of Joseph. Certain leaders of the Jews in Jesus’ day turned Jesus over to the Romans. Judas (the Greek spelling of Judah) was the one who actually sold Jesus. (See Genesis 37:26; Matthew 27:3.)

5.       Joseph was sold for twenty pieces of silver, the price of a slave his age. Christ was sold for thirty pieces of silver, the price of a slave His age. (See Genesis 37:28; Matthew 27:3; Exodus 21:32; Leviticus 27:5.)

6.       In their very attempt to destroy Joseph, his brothers actually set up the conditions that would bring about their eventual temporal salvation—that is, Joseph, by virtue of being sold, would become their deliverer. Jesus, by His being given into the hands of the Gentiles, was crucified and completed the atoning sacrifice, becoming the Deliverer for all mankind.

7.       Joseph began his mission of preparing salvation for Israel at age thirty, just as Jesus began His ministry of preparing salvation for the world at age thirty (see Genesis 41:46; Luke 3:23).

8.       When Joseph was finally raised to his exalted position in Egypt, all bowed the knee to him. All will eventually bow the knee to Jesus. (See Genesis 41:43; D&C 88:104.)

9.       Joseph provided bread for Israel and saved them from death, all without cost. Jesus, the Bread of Life, did the same for all men. (See Genesis 42:35; John 6:48–57; 2 Nephi 9:50.)

I expounded on Joseph’s life in Egypt as the slave of Potiphar, observing his character, which led to him ascending to obtaining stewardships over Potiphar’s house, prison, and Egypt. We practiced the thirteen articles of faith, and I taught that Joseph lived the thirteenth well.

“We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul— We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.”

I transition to teach about Joseph’s experiences with Potiphar’s wife by discussing the definition of, the word, chaste. I taught more about Joseph’s character, reviewing the seventh article of faith, since he interpreted the dreams of the Pharaoh’s chief butler and baker in prison. “We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues, and so forth.” Joseph’s benevolent nature was revealed in the record of Genesis chapter forty.

“6 And Joseph came in unto them in the morning, and looked upon them, and, behold, they were sad. 7 And he asked Pharaoh’s officers that were with him in the ward of his lord’s house, saying, Wherefore look ye so sadly to day? 8 And they said unto him, We have dreamed a dream, and there is no interpreter of it. And Joseph said unto them, Do not interpretations belong to God? tell me them, I pray you.”

His character was a bold testimony of God as everyone recognized that he communed with their spirit. I concluded my lesson with the last two types of Christ. The lesson went well.
I brought the children Goldfish by their request.

Cinco de Mayo 2018

Today is Saturday. Last night we attended a first celebration of Cinco de Mayo. Our apartment complex hosted a margarita and taco evening. It was more like a taco salad.

6 May 2018

The event was very Americanized; at least, we met a neighbor, who is completely Mexican. She actually just got back from a vacation at Thailand, visiting the exact same places that I did two years ago with my family; Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket, and even Phi Phi Island. She moved up her for work like us in February. I hope that Jessica tries to be her friend because they exchanged phone numbers.

After the party I felt out of it for an odd reason. Jessica and I were going to watch a movie, but I was not feeling it. Jessica actually chose a few movies, which doesn't come easily. One sounded interesting. It was one of Robert Downing Jr's first movies. The film is named "Hearts and Souls". It had an inspiring message, but my theory of how directors add suggestive or perverted scenes, making the film mainstream, applied to this film. It shows the acting skills a Robert Downing Jr. I like films that highlight skill & talent. I did not realize until just before going to sleep why I felt out of it. It is because I am an introvert. The socializing drained my soul's energy.

This week was chill. I did not do start my cycling blog yet because I have a lesson to teach about Jacob and his family.

One thing that I realized lately is that Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob lived pretty normal lives. They did not convert thousands of people unto Christ like the great examples in the Book of Mormon. I want to start the lesson by explaining my realization. Abraham did the works of a normal man, but he was given a unique covenant because he desired it. Abraham had great desires. They were the first thing that he explained in his book, writing:

"In the land of the Chaldeans, at the residence of my fathers, I, Abraham, saw that it was needful for me to obtain another place of residence; And, finding there was greater happiness and peace and rest for me, I sought for the blessings of the fathers, and the right whereunto I should be ordained to administer the same; having been myself a follower of righteousness, desiring also to be one who possessed great knowledge, and to be a greater follower of righteousness, and to possess a greater knowledge, and to be a father of many nations, a prince of peace, and desiring to receive instructions, and to keep the commandments of God, I became a rightful heir, a High Priest, holding the right belonging to the fathers.

It was conferred upon me from the fathers; it came down from the fathers, from the beginning of time, yea, even from the beginning, or before the foundation of the earth, down to the present time, even the right of the firstborn, or the first man, who is Adam, or first father, through the fathers unto me. I sought for mine appointment unto the Priesthood according to the appointment of God unto the fathers concerning the seed."

Ancient prophet's lives were in similitude of God. Abraham's sacrifice of Isaac is symbolic of Heavenly Father's sacrifice of his only begotten son Jesus Christ; other than that, Abraham seemed to be a nomad shepherd driven around by famine and lack of food for his livestock.

This week I was trying to develop a passive income business strategy. It is interesting that the YouTube videos don't talk about anything that my father-in-law does. He has a lot of passive income businesses.

I am thinking about making merchandise for the Mormon YSA Blog Spot. I found a way to do it without needing money to manufacture and inventorying products. It is through Teespring. Teespring is a website that will do everything except designing the logos.

I am thinking about making an online business with a theme of a frugal cyclist and my lifestyle. This will include waste free products, selling products that I use with affiliate marketing links with Amazon.

On Thursday I recalled my old sci-fi story to Jessica because Amazon Kindle publishing is a great opportunity. Jessica did not get the vision of the story at first, but she thought it developed into a very interesting story. I can complete this story and sell it.

Clickbank is another opportunity. Clickbank gives you high commission rates to sell educational courses. I always pick on people's running form. This is a hobby of an avid runner. I can sell or make course content that teaches people to run. I am a runner at heart; although, I ride my bike to work. Udemy or Teachable might be better affiliate marketing education websites.

I have a lot of projects that I can do, but I want to develop a wholesome lifestyle about it rather that an overbearing salesman that worships his business. Since I teach every other week, I will try to do one or two projects every other week. I still plan to make the video about my apartment's bike lounge, being a cyclist's treasure in Portland.

My Primary lesson went well; although, the students were a little distracted with stickers. We were moved to another class; plus, Brother Kuhn came late, so my lesson was cut short.

On Saturday the YSA missionaries came over for dinner. We finally got missionaries to come to eat at our residence. Jasmine & Lucas was going to visit, and help us complete assembling our dresser; however, they never came. The missionaries did help me with it until we realized that we were missing parts. We made them surprise sandwiches from last week. They committed me to follow up on a missionary opportunity on Monday.

“I'm trying out passive income opportunities, & @MobileXpression, which was recommended by a YouTuber, disabled my phone from receiving WiFi.” I went all out into passive income apps with my phone about a year ago. A lot of them require a consumerism lifestyle, so you are probably not gaining much from them.

The YouTuber also recommended Slidejoy. The apps that this YouTuber are suggesting are not a meaningful passive income stream; however, I used to use them. I used to use Slidejoy. It is an advertising app, giving you money for using your phone. The advertisements are only on your lock screen not randomly. I used like seven of these apps at once, but it drained my phone battery. My little brother asked me what the best one was, and I said that S'more is. My little brother use to buy toys for himself with this side income. They actually give you a comprehendable amount of money each day. The minimum that they give you is ten cents a day. Other apps give an incomprehendably small amount of money each day. I started using S'more again. You can make more money each day with other opportunities in the app. The following link will take you to the app: https://goo.gl/x7wb8c .

Another app that I found a long time ago that does not disable my phone's Wi-Fi, but does the same thing as MobileXpression is called Mobile Performance Meter. This app also gives ten cents a day. MobileXpression takes your phone anonymous usage data, making business out of it. I obviously don't recommend MobileXpression because it did not work for me. Mobile Performance Meter is better. Go to https://www.embeepay.com/mpm/bin/invite/8312950611/8ea5to check out this opportunity. I use to get ten cents a day, but I get five now.

Another app that I came across randomly is McMoney. The company is trying to upgrade the international texting (SMS) service. They will text you randomly, and you don't have to do anything. I think that it is funny that they said that they can pay me up to six dollars a month, but I only pay three dollars a month for my phone bill. Most of these apps will give you virtual gift cards, and I actually got one when I was into it a while ago. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.cmtelecom.texter

7 May 2018

I came into work today, and a guy from BMCW mechanical firm recognized me, asking if I went to Western Oregon University. When I said that I worked at Apollo Mechanical, he realized that I helped him with his tablet at Intel, when he was a foreman there. Our conversation initially started by him, asking me about cycling to work. After our conversation he determined that he was going to ride his bike to work. This was not a spontaneous decision. He had considered it previously, mapping out the path from his residence.

Today I was a little distracted because I am thinking of making a new Twitter account for my new lifestyle passive income blog. I knew that I had an email address with iCloud, and I would rather recover an old email address than make a new one. Apple makes life really difficult, but I figured it out. I created the account, yet I don't know why. Maybe I should just rebrand my Twitter account. I want my new Twitter username to be @alexycles. I deactivated the account, trying to rebrand my Twitter account, but I already made the account. The transition could not be that fast.

8 May 2018

Today I invested more into myself. I even purchased a website domain. I posted an article on the website, but it is not ready yet to share. It is the following essay:

"I have wanted to be an entrepreneur for years; however, I have had a realization recently. If one is going to invest in a company or a startup, one should invest in your own personal business. The yield will be much greater than giving money to a company, and greater control of the decisions in the business will be the owner’s. The risk and the actions of the company are their decision too.

I have made an investment of purchasing a domain name. My first article will be my review of the experience with that. I considered SquareSpace and Wix. I did not visit SquareSpace because I expect their rates of maintaining and establishing their websites are comparable. When I signed up for Wix, my first URL was goofy. (alexnhicken.wixsite.com/alexycles) I didn't want that to me by business website to start.

I wanted a beautiful website with my business name, alexycles. I checked out GoDaddy because I knew that they sold domain names. Their rate was not monthly at first. I saw their affordable rate for a domain name. When I got to the template part of the website development, I was shown the following options for website: Personal Blog (six dollars a month), Business (ten dollars a month), Business plus (probably twelve dollars a month), and Online Store (fourteen dollars a month). This was after purchasing the domain name. I felt like I was stuck in a trap.

Looking back at Wix's rates, I saw that they offered a seven dollars a month rate that would be ideal for my business; plus, the domain name would be free. They also give advertising and SEO features. I tried to get the seven dollar monthly rate, but I was denied the opportunity for an unknown reason. It was a fifty percent off deal for a year.

GoDaddy makes everything too raw, selling you on features that should be a given. I applied for an option with GoDaddy because I was denied service at Wix. They claimed to give a free custom email address with my website, which I found out will be sixty dollars a year after choosing a rate. I called GoDaddy because the email situation with the account was very confusing. The guy on the phone was trying to sell me on a backup service of theirs, which will allow me to recover emails that I accidentally deleted permanently.

My experience was a mess. I wish that I chose Wix. I seem to be making decisions too quickly. I finally got my own domain name!

This website is called alexycles because I bike to work. It is pronounced as ‘Alex cycles.’ That is my main hobby right now. I am trying to make a business based on many passive income ideas, hoping to combine them into my life well. I have a Twitter account @alexycles, but my personal one is @A_NielsonHicken. I post about technology, writing, cycling, running, frugal living, and many other things. I hope to make @alexycles an extension of my lifestyle, applying it to a passive income source.

Last week I told Jessica about a Science Fiction Novel that I am writing. I started writing it years ago, but I was able recite my story to her. Jessica is my wife by the way. I never realized the wisdom of a paperback writer until last week. Free publishing with Amazon Kindle is a great opportunity. I have many ideas and projects to do. Let's get to work."

This morning our rice cooker broke. I realized that I don’t know how to cook rice. Jessica thinks that a pot lid is the key. My rice for lunch and dinner was not normal. The rice cooker only lasted less than six months. It is called Aroma Professional plus.

April 24, 2018

On Sunday, Sacrament meeting was special for Jessica and I because we performed a musical number with the ward choir. Most of the sopranos were missing, so Jessica joined them. Them ended up being only one soprano. She felt needed, since she would have a soloist without her. As Sacrament meeting started I was asked if I would like to serve the sacrament with the youth. I fit in the service without confusion. I love serving the sacrament.

Sunday, 29 April 2018

This week was busy too, but I didn't have as much to write about as last week. On Tuesday Jessica filmed me unboxing my bamboo tree from ThermaLeaf. The film, introducing the unboxing part, was not good, so I had to redo it Thursday evening. I think that it is interesting how much better the second session of film than the first. I think that the tree looks good.
On Wendesday we babysat a couple of the Mitchell children. On Friday night I felt it eating something fatty & filling. Our diet is so simple. We only have the following three types of food that we eat: oatmeal, sandwiches, and stir fry. We went to Bellagios' Pizza. After we watched Dispicable Me 3. The next day Jessica and I fulfilled assignment to clean our local chapel. It was Lucas' birthday on Thursday, and I invited him over for a surprise lunch since he was going to help me put our new dresser together. After we watched Avengers: Infinity War. Today I had my first experience, teaching the Valiant 8. They are truly valient. Brother Kuhn is an  exceptional teacher. I was personally asked to bless the sacrament today, and I went out with a Mitchell boy to serve the sacrament to a bed-ridden sister after church. Afterward Jessica & I practiced with the choir.  Now I am riding in my journal. This paragraph was a summary, and now I will expound on each part.
The unboxing Youtube video was not successful, but it doesn't matter. I was only able to convince one person to click on it. I enjoy Unbox Therapy, the YouTube channel. The channel unboxed a technology that I wanted to invent. Do you remember the idea where a mechanical system can harvest water from the moisture in the air? EcoloBlue has the technology, but not my vision. I have put my unboxing video of ThermaLeaf's bamboo tree below. I was able to convince two bloggers to join me, but we will see if they follow through. 

We babysat Luke & Peter Mitchell. Jessica helped Luke with homework as I played basketball with Peter. He wanted to play one on one, but I was to tired & lazy. We played pig and around the world. I lost of course. Peter finished the around the world game in two attempts. We were expected to put them to sleep at 7:30. As we waited for sister Mitchell to return with her daughter, I spoke to Trevor, my little brother, on the phone; then, Jessica and I played the Spot It! card game. I am not good at quick reflex and thinking games, so after losing several games in matter of seconds. I changed the rules instead of finding the match between to cards. I put out ten; then, sixteen cards. Whoever found the most of one symbol after one minute wins. Jessica found five in the first round; however, since she pulled them out before the time ended, and I can see them; we tied. We tied the second round too since we can only spot sets of three. When sister Mitchell arrived, we caught up, hanging out for a little bit. She knows Jessica from her youth.
Bellagios Pizza was amazing; much better than Marco's Cafe. Their 19 dollar service filled Jessica and I rather than Marco's 19 dollar dish filled my stomach thirty percent. We ordered the Mother Earth by phone; then, we walked there as they baked it. The first bold flavor was the mozzarella cheese. Since the cheese was unique, the taste was incredible. The mozzarella cheese made the first slice so delightful that I didn't taste any of the other ingredients. I was grateful for three more slices to enjoy the artichoke. Jessica underestimated the artichoke, but we loved it. The creative options of Bellagios Pizza makes it my favorite pizza joint.
We watched Despicable Me 3 after. I loved the story and the humor, but Jessica was over it after about ten minutes or less. I would not say that it is as good as Leap!, Ratatouille, or Meet the Robinson's because the content was not uplifting and inspiring.
Since I am writing about movies, I will write about Avengers: Infinity War. I had low expectations, since the hype has been for so long that I didn't care. I don't care for movies anyways. I wish that film makers should quit making the 'must see' movies because I never finish the movie feeling inspired. I wish that I could quit watching them, but my wife loves cinematics too much. The story is not creative or compelling. Thanos is still a shallow character. Brute strength and overbearance doesn't lead to success. Humor and emotions don't make a good movie. I think that people love the movie because it is telling the story of Marvel Comics. What are they going to decide on? ...
The lunch that Jessica and I prepared for Jasmine and Lucas prior to the movie and assembling  our dresser did surprise Lucas & Jasmine; although, I said that we are having a surprise lunch for them. We made them my favorite sandwiches with our homemade bread. Jessica is the avocado master, and she thinks her avocado spread made it mind blowing. Lucas said that it was surprisingly as satisfying as a meat dish. We never plan cook ourselves meat. The large heavy bread was the first impressive feature of the sandwich. I showed him that the bread is so dense that you can squish the slice of bread, and it would not be ruined.
Lucas brought his tools, and we were able to get most of our new Ikea dresser put together. It was nice to work together. I was able to practice leadership.
Brother Kuhn and I did not know what was going in Primary today, since I have not been in Primary for years. I asked for guidance as I saw Brother Kuhn sit himself in the junior singing and sharing time. When we met the Valiant 8 children, we introduced ourselves. One named Ari is in Jessica's Cub Scout Pack. Skye is the daughter of the Elders Quorum member that I spoke to at the Mitchell's new member occasion. McKelle is the sister of Syndie, the little girl who I played with at the Mitchell's. McKelle & Syndie are the daughters of the Taylors. A while ago I said the Sister Taylor served with my brother in Ecuador. Ari, Skye, & Mckell were in Brother Kuhn and l's first class. Brother Kuhn had a charm of humor as he told of Jacob and Esau, which was engaging.
Although Jessica & I arrived a minute late for sacrament, I was still asked to bless the sacrament. I have not blessed the sacrament in a long time. The act of breaking the bread was symbolic of Christ's body. His broken flesh & suffering was part of his atoning sacrifice. I blessed the water, representing Christ's blood. Jesus taught his disciples that we would be blessed, if we ate his flesh and drank his blood. He was alluding to the sacrament, a most sacred ordinance. Ordinances most of the time are covenants. Covenants need performed to be performed with the Priesthood in order to be in force; for this reason, Jesus went to John the Baptist to be baptized. Jesus said to him. "Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness." The baptism that he took upon himself is a covenant, creating a contractual relationship with Heavenly Father. The covenant is that you will be given eternal life, if you are obedient to his commandments as he reveals to his prophets. Heavenly Father's lifestyle is eternal life, and he loves us as his children so much that he desires to give us all that he has. Eternal life is life in his presence for eternity as well as our children with us like father like son unto all our future and previous generation, a way for his children to return home. Jesus Christ had to covenant with Heavenly Father in order to return to his kingdom too. The sacrament is the most important ordinance because it renews all of one's covenants.

2 May 2018

Today is Wednesday. On Tuesday I made my first cycling friend. We rode the elevator down to Portland a previous time, so I introduced myself to her. I spoke to another sister, but I didn't introduce myself because I did not know her from a previous occasion. She was a resident doctor at a hospital. The girl that I meet yesterday is named Cara. She is also a medical student, learning physical therapy. When I left to conversation, cycling toward Portland, we both stopped at a stop light. I didn't know that she was behind me, but she bid me farwell by name a she departed on a different path.
Last night I double checked whether I am consuming enough protein, since I don't cook myself meat. I learned that I need grams of protein equal to 36% of my body mass in pounds. It calculates to almost 50 grams. I get about 13.5 grams of protein per cup that I eat of oats, 14.3 for each cup of brown rice, and 9 per serving of soy milk. My calculation comes out to be almost sixty grams with 1.5 cups of oats, 2 cups of brown rice, & a serving of soy milk.
My dad revealed that he was the one person that watched my ThermaLeaf video an Sunday. He gave me the honest opinion that it was not interesting. I did not attempt to make it interesting because the subject is not interesting. I commented on my Twitter post on Facebook that my father is my best supporter, inspiring eleven other people to view it. Aaron McKinnon commented on the post "Keep at it! Super cool." He probably helped too.
I have been thinking of making a lifestyle/cycling video blog as a passive income. I asked my apartment manager if I would get credit for referral to the apartment. I am thinking about doing a video about my favorite part of the complex, the bike lounge. It is very nice.