May 26, 2010
I grew up as a Playstation girl. That’s the console my dad preferred and as a result the one that my family owned. I loved Playstation. We would have family nights spent gathered in front of the TV playing Tomb Raider or some hard ass puzzle action game in which we would take turns at the controller trying to solve. All that changed when my father met his girlfriend, but that’s a different story– even still I miss those days. But if I’m honest, when it boils down to it, I miss us as a family.
Meeting Robby was a change for me in terms of console. He wasn’t a Playstation guy. In fact he was an XBOX type of guy. Oddly enough this was a turn off for me (don’t act shocked, I told you I was a geek) and it took a long time for me to be okay with his taste in consoles and games. Even though, if I’m completely honest the XBOX still bugs me (too many fucking buttons) but I love him so I manage to deal with it, albeit grudgingly.
For our one year anniversary and his birthday I decided to get him an XBOX 360, even though I was pretty much poor at that point (part time at Macy’s, barely above minimize wage? Come on, what’d you expect?). Despite that fact I wanted to do something special for him and something to symbolize how much he and our relationship meant. I wasn’t really able to splurge on accessories for the system, but that didn’t prevent me from getting him one nonetheless and it was worth it. Even now, nearly 5 years later I remember the look on this face when he opened up his present and honestly that was the best gift that I could ask for and still is.
May 21, 2010
Robby and I spent ages, trying to find a home theater system that would work the best for us. We’re quite picking and had specific requirements, some of which were true HDMI switching (basically it would not only carry video but also sound) and we wanted the option of having wireless speakers to avoid having speaker wires all over the house.
We looked at several systems from Samsung, to Sony, to Pioneer. We’ve heard great things about all these manufacturers and found it quite difficult to choose which system we wanted to with. One of our friends recommended Pioneer because their a little more cost effective, however we have a Samsung TV so we thought maybe it would be best to stick with the same manufacturer. Sadly, though we still haven’t decided what unit to get, so here’s your opportunity to help!
If you have a home theater system, what system do you have? If you could rate your system on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the highest), what would you rate it and why? We’d really like everyone’s opinions on this so we can make a decision, so please let us know what you all think!
May 21, 2010
Those who know me, know that I love deals. So much in fact that I have sites bookmarked that I visit every day to see if there are any good finds. I particularly love finding coupon codes , especially codes associated with Barnes and Noble and domain names. I hate having to pay full price for a domain so if I’m able to find a deal where I can buy a domain for $.99 or even $1.17/year I’m all over it.
The one thing that I’ve had the most trouble with is finding good deals on computers; specifically HP promo codes and Dell coupon codes. A few months ago, Robby and I were shopping for computers and I looked everywhere possible, but couldn’t find any coupon codes or good deals for computers. Now that I know where to look, I’m a bit bummed out because I seem to have lost out on some really great deals! So in the future, for those who are looking for awesome deals, be sure to check out these savings! I know that is where Robby and I will be looking when we upgrade his tablet, which should be sometime in the very near future!
May 13, 2010
When we first moved into our house one of the sales individuals to stop by was with an alarm company. Given the price that he was offering we were going to turn down the offer, but he managed to lower it enough that we just couldn’t resist. So now we have an alarm instead in our home, though if I’m truthful we hardly ever utilize it. I know it’s a HUGE waste, but it’s such a pain in the ass to have to set every night and then remember to turn off in the morning before Robby runs out the door.
One of the security features Robby wanted to install were driveway lights which light up when someone approaches the home. That got me to thinking is there a such thing as a driveway alarm and if so how does it actually work? I mean I would suspect that they do exist, but would have no clue why someone would feel the need to have one installed. Anyone care to share their thoughts on this? 
May 13, 2010
When Robby and I decided to use the loft as our main entertainment room, a lot of aspects had to be considered. First and foremost what type of equipment we wanted in the loft, such as what console what type of home theater system, etc, etc. The most important aspect we had to consider was home theater seating. The reason being is because we needed to properly utilize the space and ensure that we were able to achieve the most out of the space.
I’m still not 100% content with our current set up, but it does have it’s advantage and given the dimensions of the room, I don’t think we would have been able to successfully changed our set up without really compromising the space in the room. Do you have an entertainment room in your dwelling? If so, what did you do to optimize the space and ensure that it fulfilled your every need?
Mar 9, 2010
I’m going to preface this blog by saying, I’m tired. So if I start to ramble, please excuse my brain which is running on about 3 1/2 hours of sleep, though if I actually calculated, I’m sure would be much less. I had attempted a nap against my better judgment, however Robby decided to jump in bed with me, which effectively became my alarm clock, because Angel + snoring man bear does not equate to sleeping Angel. Oh well. Let’s hope that tonight I can crawl into bed at a decent hour despite my impromptu non-nap (though I have heard that power naps are actually quite good for you).
In any event, the events of the last few days have ranged from quite eventful to painfully drab, though I don’t suppose you can expect excitement each day right? One can hope. This weekend I picked up a new dSLR, after selling my beloved Canon Rebel XTi. Why the upgrade? Well, despite the fact that I’d lost all inspiration for awhile there, I decided (for some unknown reason) to crack open a book I’d purchased, The Digital Photography Book which inspired me to jump back into it. Secondly we had a $485ish credit with Best Buy, a $20 Reward Zone certificate and a gift card, so I only had to sale my camera for at least $350 to ensure that I had very minimal out of pocket cost (which turned out to be no out of pocket cost and $28 left over) to get the camera I had been lusting over for quite some time: the Canon EOS Digital Rebel T1i.
I’m not quite ready to upgrade to a more professional camera so to speak, therefore I decided that it was best just to upgrade within the same class. The specifications of the T1i are as follows:
15.1 MP CMOS sensor, up from 10 in my XTi
Full HD (1080p) movies (arguably not really, only shoots in 20fps in this mode)
High ISO up to 12800 for low-light conditions
3″ LCD, same as 5D
3.4fps with burst shooting up to (170 JPEGs max)
3.0” Clear View LCD with Live View mode
9-point AF system
DIGIC 4 image processor, makes for better noise reduction
EOS Integrated Cleaning System
EF/EF-S and EX Speedlite compatibility
Compared to my XTi, this was a considerably upgrade and it also meant no more running to grab my camera whenever I wanted to take video of the animals because they were doing something unbelievably cute. In any event I’m really pleased with the purchase and quite happy that the members of Ecstasy1 seem to be quite happy with our recent addition of the photography forums. I think I’m going to find good use for it and I hope that eventually, I’ll be much more confident and creative when it comes to my photography, specifically portraits because admittedly that’s where I am the weakest (the book is helping though!).
This week marks the last week of my class from hell. Right now I have an 80%, however my instructor has yet to grade the assignment I completed on Sunday, so it can either go up or down, depending on how well or how terribly I did. Robby is going to sit down and help me with my final to ensure that I will at the very least pass my class, because we all know I cannot afford to shell out $1,035 to retake it; ironically that would probably result in the selling of my new camera, lol. In any event the Ecstastians2 and I have planned a member chat for Saturday in which we are all going to get hammered on web cam (we’re celebrating the end of my perdition). It’ll be pretty amusing to say the least, I’m sure… though now that I’m thinking about it, AIM may not be feasible because I don’t think it allows video chat rooms. LAME. Ecstastians, quick help need suggestions fast! I’m sure I’ll think of something.
And to end this on a more uplifting note, there is talk of a Ecstasy meet up here at my place, late fall. Everything is still tentative, however people are actually considering it and this pleases me greatly. I think we’ll have a kick ass time and the best part? It’ll all be on video, thanks to my spiffy new camera. What’s that? What happens at Angel’s stays at Angel’s? Hmm, I think not. 
1. Oh come on really, you knew that shameless plug was coming.
2. A member or rather in this case members of Ecstasy
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