Aw Man... It's Monday Morning Already?

I didn't accomplish diddly this weekend with the exception of buying a couple things for Sarah's birthday.

Back before Thanksgiving Sarah's digital camera bit the big one (hey, what does that really mean anyway?). I remember thinking that the timing for something like that to happen really wasn't too bad. After all, it was before Black Friday, so chances are I would find a hot deal on something good then, and if not the Christmas deals would surely present something good.

I did a lot of "deal watching" for them, having to relearn what was new on the market and read reviews voraciously, trying to pick up on what was hot and what was not. Well, there was no deal on Black Friday of course (or I would have already blogged it, right?). A week or so into December is when I decided on buying her a laptop, so the camera idea got pretty much pushed aside for the time being. I still continued to watch for them, learning about them as I went, secretly hoping I wouldn't find a deal before Christmas so I could minimize the fallout on my bank account.

Since Christmas, Teresa and I discussed buying her a camera for her birthday and we agreed to go half on one. Because she is frugal (polite words!). I knew she would be okay with that. I asked her about a limit and told her $150 would buy her a nice little camera with great features and she agreed on that price.

I still couldn't find a better camera for the money than a Canon, and that's what I ended up ordering for her yesterday morning online. Usually I get a sour taste in my mouth when something dies and hesitate to buy one of that brand again. I still maintain that rule regarding Sony products though. I won't buy Sony for two reasons: First of all, I've had several Sony products and something has went wrong with almost every one of them, and second, they have too many things that are "proprietary" or unique, so it becomes a compatibility thing. Anyway, cameras have come a long way since hers was bought as far as features go, and the prices are holding well. Value, feature, and picture quality-wise, Canons are still getting good reviews. My main thing was sticking to a camera that takes AA batteries. The lithium-ion batteries may hold a charge longer, but you have to recharge them yourself or buy another to swap out if you're "in the field" taking pictures and you run out of power. I figured for her AA's would still be best because she already has the rechargeables from her other camera, and she can put alkalines in if she get s in a jam.

I also ordered a bag for her laptop online yesterday morning. I bought it from Circuit City and had to speed up to the Tacoma Mall store to pick it up. It's a nice looking bag in the "messenger style" instead of standard attache' type you usually see. It really boils down to how well it will fit into it and all that. One thing about it, it does have some style at least, and it's not black--It's some sort of sea greenish/grayish canvas type material. I hope she likes it.

Suzie came down yesterday afternoon and we went and saw Atonement at the movie place in Kent. As far as movies go, I give it an okay rating. It was a very visual movie and had some really good camera work. It did a good job of capturing wartime England in the forties. I'll give it a 3-star (barely).

So I got a few things done and got to see Suzie twice this weekend so it was a good weekend. If I could shake the thing that's going on with my back I'll really be happy. It only bothers me when I'm lying down for some reason. Most of the time back problems are the other way around.

Well, it's garbage day too, so I'd better get cracking and get that stuff dragged out before I leave for work.