'Mine That Bird' is buying me a Camera!

I have had just about the luckiest year in sports that a girl can ask for. So far in 2009, I won our office "Super Bowl Squares" Pool, I won our office NCAA March Madness Pool and then to top it off I just won big this weekend at the Kentucky Derby!

My coworker, Emily, goes to the Derby each year, and on Friday on her way to catch her flight she asked if anyone wanted to give her money to bet on a horse. My coworker T gave her a $20 bill and I handed her a $10 and that was that. She instructed us that we could review the horses on Saturday morning and text her our picks. Well, when the horses were announced, she texted me to tell me that there was a horse called "Mine That Bird" that she was going to bet on for me, being that I am a tiny bit obsessed with birds. I wrote her back and said, "Perfect!"

WOW! It was perfect indeed! A minor obsession of mine really paid off big. 50/1 big! (And, man I should have given her a $20!) Talk about a major ROI in this crappy economy.

So thanks to Mine That Bird, I had a nice chunk of cash sitting on my desk this morning when I arrived at work. And that unexpected cash payout is going to go towards a new DSLR camera! (heck, it will almost cover the whole thing!)

I seriously feel so lucky to even be posting about this right now, and am happy that I will hopefully be able to learn to use my soon-to-camera before our trip to Italy!

I have been following some blogs, doing some research on my own and also asked two of my photog friends their advice for an amateur like moi, and have all but settled on a Canon Rebel XSi. But I could be talked into another model/brand if anyone wants to steer me in another direction. For instance, I had really good experience with a Pentax digital point-and-shoot in the past; does anyone have experience with Pentax DSLR's?

Also, where is the best and most reputable place on the net to find a camera? I'd love the advice of any owners out there!