Priced Match Again!

I love Vanns.com. I just checked out their site about 30 minutes ago and they had lowered the T.V. I purchased again by another $100. I emailed them to see if they'd do another price match. They emailed me back within 10 minutes saying that the price indeed dropped and that I should see a credit back on my card within 3-5 days. Sweet!

New T.V.!

We finally entered the Digital world by making a purchase on a new Sony H.D. LCD T.V. I had done a lot of research and discussion with Fiona before making the purchase.

I started off looking at the Vizio's at Costco and I originally limited my search to 37" screens because that was about the the maximum size that would fit our armoire in the living room. But then the specs got more specific. Vizio only offered 720p and Fiona and I figured that if we were going to make a jump, then we should get a set that would offer a higher resolution size. So I looked at the 1080p sets.

I broaden our search to Toshiba, Sharp, Samsung, and Sony. After talking to a few sales people and doing some online research, I narrowed it down to either Samsung or Sony. Then I looked at Sony's 37" XBR set and had my mind focused on that until my co-worker started mentioning that there are some 40+ inch sets that still might fit in my armoire with smaller bezels on the side.

I once again broaden my search to Sony's 40" sets. Sony has 5 different 40" (6 including their new updated XBR series) T.V.s, all priced differently. So I had to go and research the differences (i.e. contrast ratio, motion flow, x.v. color). I had my eye on the second cheapest level that Sony offered. But Fiona wanted to check it out at the Sony Style store in South Coast Plaza. So we went down there and she fell in love with the XBR series (top of the line level), also quite pricey. So I went back home and did some more research and we finally compromised on getting the second best level. It went slightly over our budget but I still got an awesome deal.

I ended up ordering from a site called Vanns'com. It wasn't the cheapest online but it was pretty competitive and I was quite comfortable with the site. It's located in Montana and has six physical locations and they had really high review scores. They offered free shipping, no sales tax, PLUS they were running an offer of a free Sony Blu Ray DVD player with select Sony T.V.s I ordered the T.V. last Saturday, they shipped it out on Monday, and I received it on Thursday. Quite Fast. Not only that but the site had lowered it's price by $100 and they priced matched it. Sweet! Usually I don't blog, in specifics, about my major purchases but I have to say that this was one of my best experiences with online purchasing. I'd definitely recommend that site.

I love my new toy and picture quality is phenomenal.

Purple Belt!

Last Monday, Jadon took his test for Purple Belt for Tae Kwon Do. Although he messed up on a part of his form he still passed (of course)! This boy is moving on up. Next up is Blue belt.

Raging Waters, Kinderfest, and Old Memories.

Two Saturdays ago I took Jadon to Raging Waters. My co-worker goes out there each year to promote my company (at a shared booth with Blue Cross) at one of contracts' functions. Each year, the Association of Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs (ALADS) blocks out Raging Waters (after the park closes for the seasons) and treats their members. Everything was free (food and all). My co-worker invited me and told me I can take the family. Fiona stayed at home with the girls and I took Jadon. He just had a blast. They have a water-playground which he thoroughly enjoyed and We went on some of the big rides. We were there for about 3 hours total.

This past Saturday we went to what was called "Kinderfest" (Octoberfest for kids). It was in Huntington Beach. One of my other co-workers had mentioned it and she gave me a couple of admission coupons. So we got in for free! The even was quite small actually and we primarily went there to see the Dachshund races. Otherwise that was pretty much it. We were there for probably less then an hour.

After we left Kinderfest, we were driving around and I decided that since we were so close to my old house when I was a kid, that we could stop by and look. I lived there from age 1 to 4 and I remembered a little wooden bridge in the front yard. Guess what? It's still there! Holy cow!

Then after that we decided to head on over to Lee's Sandwich over by my old college at UC Irvine. We strolled the student center, which was totally remodeled. Then we had some good sandwiches for dinner.

All the memories........