Sick and tired of the squirts!

I was up at least 15 times last night with... the squirts! It all began with sweet, innocent, little Aubrey (or it was food poisoning by Lara - which too may be possible) and passed systematically through Lara, Josh, Todd, Kirsten, Maria and finally me. I thought I was strong enough to resist the virus but I was not. (I may have been though the only not to toss my cookies though - is it any surprise that what goes in my stomach stays there?)

All I know is that I am sick and tired of it. I never felt that poorly and even considered going into work today but decided to avoid others to stop further spreading of this evil flu. The worst part was all the sleep lost sitting on the pot! I have not had it this bad since I was in Venezuela!

I am sure the last thing you wanted to read about today was my Hershey Squirts but hey if you have read this far into the post it is your own darn fault!

To see a picture slide show of last nights events click here.

President Gordon B. Hinckley

President Hinckley

Click here to read the news release on LDS.org

I just heard the news about President Gorden B. Hinckley passing away at the age of 97 years. I feel great affection and love for him as he is the prophet I most recognize and have grown up with. I can only imagine the reunion with his sweet wife. What a blessing he was in all our lives.

Speaking in Churchy

Today Jake and I spoke in the church for the first time in our new ward. Jake did an awesome job as he has such great speaking abilities. Some times I can't believe what a smart, intelligent, and witty man that I married. We even did some matchy matchy outfits with his red tie matching my red top. As Dad would say..."fer cutee!" I had a hard time trying to figure out what to talk about as my assignment was Blessed are the Pure in Heart. I called Dad and he hooked me up. I feel so blessed to be able to have such a resource. It seems like every time I talk to him he is speaking in church. So I guess, practice makes perfect. All in all I am glad it's over!

The grass is greener...

This is a really random thought (which I am known for having every now and again) but I was looking at the picture we have added of Nacho and realized how lucky we are in Arizona. That picture was taken only a few days prior to Christmas and look how green the grass is. I mean it is the dead of winter and I am outdoors in a t-shirt taking pictures of Nacho in the grass!!

Man we're lucky! Sorry to all those in colder regions!

National Do Not Call (for a good time) List!

Saturday Maria and I planned a really fun activity for family and friends. Maria's cousin Jennifer told us about a restaurant that shows a full length, box-office, movie while you eat! It is called Farrelli's Cinema Supper Club in Scottsdale, AZ. It was a really nice restaurant with a wide variety of foods (from $8.00 - $25.00 a plate) and a great atmosphere. We watched Dan in Real Life and ate great food.

The point of this blog, however, is not to share the wonderful experience we had, but to complain a bit. After calling several friends and family members we had 16 people who said for sure they would go and a couple others who told us maybe. Maria called and made reservations for those who said they would be there for sure. We were so excited to have a large group of our friends together for a fun time.

Saturday came and everyone was supposed to meet us at our house for carpooling to the theater at 11am. As 11am approached the phone began to ring off the hook with people flaking-out on us. Even worse though were those who did not bother to call and left us waiting on them. When all was said and done only 7 people came!

I propose that we begin a National Do Not Call -for a good time- List! Let's begin a list of those people that have just blown us off too many times and who we have just decided not to call again.

Truck's first visit to the $hop!

We took Maria's truck to the shop to get the AC/Heater blower replaced (Maria got tired of the early morning winter commutes to work with wet hair and no heat - wimp!). This is the first time Maria has had the truck in the shop for a more than a day or so. The truck has 111,000 miles and she has put on over 60,000 of those. We knew of a couple other things that needed to be worked on and told the mechanic about those and also gave him liberty to look over the truck and let us know of other issues. He called me today and gave me the run-down:

• Replaced blower
• New brake pads
• Fixed parking break cable
• Bolted down the battery
• Re-bolted fuel filter (both the battery and the pump must have rattled loose on a rabbit hunt)
• Replaced the timing belt (the loose battery had fallen on one of the belts and began to wear a whole in the battery and deteriorate the belt)
• Replaced coolant pump (which was leaking on the torque hinge of the timing belt)
• Removed and cleaned corrosion of earlier mentioned hinge
• Replaced water seals and radiator hoses
• General tune-up of other components

I think that was everything. I may add to the list when I see the receipt. Speaking of receipt... this is costing us a very pretty penny so if any one is interested I have a kidney and a pint of plasma for sale on Craig's List - check it out.

Work - School - Sleep (Repeat until May)

I know many of you have been through this already but it is now our turn so I am going to rant about it for a minute or two.

This semester is going to test Maria and I like no other semester thus far. As a means of graduating as quickly as possible I have decided to go to school full-and-a-half time. I am taking six courses and an institute class (not because I am super righteous - because I get free parking at the Tempe campus). I had just as heavy of a class load last semester and did well but was but I was able to schedule it much better than I could this semester. I am taking two day time courses in Tempe, three night classes (one on each of the three campuses) and an Internet course too.

Monday I went to work at 8am and went straight to school afterwards and got home just after 10pm. Tonight and tomorrow will be the same!

If anyone sees Maria between now and the end of the semester let her know I love her and will see her soon!

Eating Out

Many of you don't have to be told that Maria and I like to eat out! It is true though, we really do enjoy eating and trying new kinds of food and new restaurants. We are even thinking of starting a new blog (aside from this one) where we can share with anyone who cares the places that we enjoy to eat and save you the time of trying bad places. We would also like to hear from everyone where they like to eat out at and all about their favorite eateries.

So here is just a sample of what kind of things we might write about:

A week or more ago we found a new Indian food restaurant in Mesa thanks to Josh and Kirsten. We went there with Maria's sister's and Josh and ordered several different entrees along with rice and a variety of naan. The winning dish for me that night was the Lamb Saag! The service was not perfect but was not a hindrance for the evening either. The environment is excellent and improving (we went there again a few days ago and they have added murals to the walls). It also a great place to try Indian food for those first timers. Each of the dishes can be ordered as mild or as hot as you'd like and the employees are great at recommending dishes. Give this place a try, you'll love it!

The Guru Palace
NE corner of Gilbert and Baseline behind Wells Fargo

Maria Conchita Wanita Chihuahua

This is my very first Blog! Jake has been crazy bothering me for months no to contribute to the blog. He even threatened to take me off the blog and I would have to start my own. I need to class our page up with some pink camo or something. Christmas has came and gone along with the flu I had and Jake has now inherited. :) Lo siento mi gordito lindo! Picture this 25 Boyles in our 1,000 square foot condo for Christmas dinner...Alright it was only like 8, but felt like 25 because of our tiny condo and huge furniture. It was great and we all had a great time opening presents with TJei and Mia. Christmas Day was spent with the Wilhelms and all I can say is Rummy. Jake taught it to us and my Mom wouldn't let us leave the table the whole time. It was also fun seeing Ralf run around the cedars with his knee brace and BB gun. We had a New Years Eve party at Jennifer's new house (check out her slammin' new house on her blog). We stayed up late and drank Italian sodas and carmel corn till we barfed! So Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!

A Brief History: Radio Winnings

As some may now, and for those who don't, in the last two years I have been rather lucky (at least in the realm of radio contests). This hobby (obsession as some may call it) began when I was driving truck for my previous job. As a means of passing time I would listen to the radio. It began pretty innocently but eventually grew to be much more. Before long radio personalities became part of my regular conversations outside of work. Viewing them almost as co-workers I would recall stories from work and refer to the personalities on a first name basis to friends, family and nearly anyone in my social circle. It was not long after beginning to listen to the radio (religiously) that I began calling in for different contests and winning. The more I won the more commitment I showed to the station (and the more Maria thought I should be "committed"). Each win fueled the fire more and more. Then a devastating blow occurred... In July of 2007 I had called in too many times and won too many prizes and it came to the attention of the radio station. Staci, the office receptionist of the station, called and told me that I had won too often and that I had to pick only one of my multiple prizes and forfeit the others. I, very angered, explained that they could not do this! I had won those items fair and square! She said that it was unfair to other listeners that I call and win so often. I argued that I had no unfair advantage over nobody else and that their chances of getting through and winning were equal to mine. After a while of arguing they agreed to give me what I had won but told me as a result they are beginning a new policy. She explained to me that now an individual could only win one prize every 60 days. She also said since I had won three prizes in July it would only be fair that I not be able to call in and win again for 180 days. I talked her down to 120 and agreed to the terms. That is when I thought that life was not worth living (just kidding) I quickly realized that I could continue calling and winning as long as I use aliases (names of family members and friends!). And so I did continue calling and winning. Only now, nearly 5 months later, have I used my name again on the radio when I won concert tickets last Friday. Maybe some day I will share my secrets.