Cards / Brewers in Milwaukee

Tomorrow we are road-tripping to Milwaukee for a Cards / Brewers game!

vs.

Along the way we'll also make a pitstop at The Brat Stop for some fresh, Wisconsin brats and of course, cheese curds...

Although I'm a Cardinals fan, I do have to admit that Miller Park is a really great ballpark with an awesome tailgating lot and scrumptious food vendors.

I can't wait! I love baseball season.

March Madness

It's my favorite time of year in sports, MARCH MADNESS!

Last year I won my office pool, but this year I'm not feeling very optimistic since I barely followed college basketball. The games are still so exciting though and once again my alma mater, Mizzou, is in the big dance so I'm happy. Plus, filling out a bracket gives me someone to root for in every single game making any match-up a little more fun to watch.

I always have Mizzou go at least two rounds in my bracket, even if it's against my better judgement, but can I really have them beating #2 seed powerhouse West Virginia in the second round? I don't think so. Some experts have West Virginia in the Final Four, so I'm just not sure. And what is with our arch-rival kU being the #1 one seed?? I just can't have this. I can't put them in my Final Four and still feel good about myself.

Just like last year, I'm having a struggle between my heart and my head again. Which will prevail? I'm not sure, but they only have until tomorrow to battle it out!

'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!