Saturday, December 04, 2010

398.8

I know I haven't updated everyone in a very long time (96 days to be exact) but I felt that updating every week or every month was somewhat pointless. I set a goal for myself to be under 400 pounds by Christmas of this year and decided not to post anything until I reached that goal. Well I weighed in about 20 minutes ago and this was the result...


I also wanted to update everyone with the front and side view pics I have been uploading so here they are as well...

























I was sitting at 405 before Thanksgiving and tried hard to still enjoy pigging out but keep it under control :) I ended up gaining 3 pounds but have worked hard since then to get the weight off. I started going back to the gym, I have been slacking on that, and really watching what I eat again, hard to get back into that trend after Turkey Day :) Thanks again for all the support from family, friends, friends of family/friends!!! It really means a lot and seeing the response I get from everyone really makes staying on track an easy thing to do! I love you all... 350 Here I come!!!! :)

Monday, September 13, 2010

Diet Food?

I'm getting ready to go camping with the family for a few days, yes real camping, in a tent! So we are having a lot of the usual camping food, burgers, hot dogs, tater salad, s'mores, etc. I've had an itch to make something I made about, 2 years ago? now, so my Mom suggested it for camping...




















































Pulled Pork!!! I cooked it low and slow for 9 hours (225) then turned up the heat (325) and slathered in Sweet Baby Ray's for another 30 mins, Pulled it to strips and added more seasoning and BBQ Sauce and cooked for another 25 mins. Finished it off with another quick squirt of BBQ sauce (the bottom picture was taken right after). It is really, really good (Had to taste test of course). And yeah this in no way would go under "Things to eat to lose weight" :)

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Day 151 Now with scales!

Yes I finally am posting pictures and now with a scale update. I have still been doing the usual, eating healthy, absolutely no pop, drinking a LOT of water (more than usual this week actually), and trying to exercise whenever I can (they closed the pool this week though to drain it due to algae, so Fatty and I didn't get to go on Thursday, we did throw the baseball around for a little while though).

So here are the pictures:

Day 1/151:


 Day 15/151 side:


My Dad (Thanks again) bought me a scale last Sunday, I tried it out in the store and it read 427.4! a loss of 72.6lbs (also tried again later at home and it read the same thing)!!! But that's not the best part about it, I weighed myself countless times in the last 15 minutes because I did not believe the scale but this is what it read numerous times (or within .1 lb difference):

So if it's true that the "scales don't lie" I am now down to 419.6!!! I have lost a total of 81.4lbs in 151 days!!! The numbers on the bottom are what my daily calorie intake should be, umm but screw that I eat less, I'm not going to lose weight eating almost 5k calories a day.

Thanks again for the support and the amount of people behind me, Oh I also got a new shirt 4XLT! and a new pair of shorts size 50 waist!!!

This blog is in not an ad campaign for the exclamation mark! :P

Friday, August 06, 2010

Workout Videos?

I finally got to the gym last week!!! I only made it there 3 days but it was good and I plan on getting back again this week for more sweating :) My workout consists of 15 minutes on the elliptical, which usually hurts my knees but I figured out if you actually do a walking motion as your foot comes up it takes a lot of stress off your knees. Than I do about 15 minutes on our weight machine, I can get in 2 sets of each of the workouts I do in. Then I go to the pool and swim 25 laps, do a couple leg workouts (water aerobic stuff) then finish up with 25 more laps.

So what do workout videos have to do with any of this you may be asking, well nothing... I recorded day 1 & 2 at the gym and plan to keep making these videos, most likely once I get a new camera though. But here are day 1 & 2...

Day 1:



Day 2:



I still don't have a scale yet but my Dad and I found a couple that are in my weight range from $70-$90 so I may be getting one soon. Once I do I'll start weighing in each week on Sundays and letting you guys know where I'm at, followed with pictures at the beginning of each month (this months will be up as soon as I get someone to take them).

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Day 116

Yesterday was day 116, I know I said I would post pictures every month or two months but yesterday was a milestone day.

We went to the fair and I was weighed on the "guess your weight" game. Last year in July I did it and I weighed in at 475lbs, and the time between then until I started this journey in March of this year (8 months) I know I gained a lot more weight. I know I weighed over 500 lbs, but don't know the exact number, so we'll say I weighed 500 for weight loss sake.

On to this year the guy at the booth walked around me a few times and he guessed 145lbs, I said this leg? He laughed and then guessed 444lbs, now I know this is a fair game and I do not know how accurate these things are but the one I was weighed at 1 year ago was the exact same booth, and I one last year (he guessed 485lbs, I weighed 475lbs) This year the guy was right on the money I was teetering between 443-445!!! So being generous and using the 500lbs mark I have lost 55ish lbs in 116 days!!!

Here are some new pictures from last night with the day 1 and 15 side by sides again...

Day 1 and Day 116:























Day 15 and day 116 side view:























I still have not made it to the gym, but I was watching my older brother's house and pets for him last week so my plan to come home swim and then work out didn't go so well. I am going to pack my bag in the morning with swim trunks, goggles, towel, and workout clothes and keep it in my car so I can use after work (obviously clean workout clothes and dry towel/trunks each day :P ) And if anyone wants to join me for a swim or workout session at around 8:15ish on Tues, Wed, Fri, let me know (Monday I will most likely go around 1:30ish, Thursday is my day to hang out with Fatty, Saturday is usually family day and we usually swim or do something energetic, and Sunday is my day to relax and spend time with my Dad usually, pretty much my free day) Thanks again for the support, it is surprising to see how many people are supportive and all for someone getting healthier!

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Day 105

It's only been 17 days since the last post but I had a few people ask me to do side by side pictures so here are pictures from Day 1 and Day 105 (front), and Day 15 and Day 105 (side).













































So there you go :) I've been swimming a lot recently, still haven't made it to the gym but I did do about a half hour straight of laps in the pool earlier this week. Thanks again for the support from everyone, it helps!

Wednesday, July 07, 2010

Back to Life

I am back from vacation as of Monday night, it was nice getting away for a week but like all vacations it went by way too quick. We stayed at my Aunt Loreen's house like usual, played basketball, football, bingo, dice game, cards, mud boggin, went to the beach, made bonfires, ate at Katy's Ice Cream Shop, and relaxed a lot :)

I drove a Ford Bronco in my Aunt's field that was just drenched in a nice rain storm, I was getting almost sideways from drifting through the mud, and I got us pretty deep in a big mud hole that 4Lo got us out of. My Cousin also brought out his ATV but I was exceeding the weight limit, hopefully next year I'll be able to ride if he still has it. 

My Cousins/2nd Cousins and I are all really close so we pretty much hang out all week and mess around and do whatever. We went to a gas station at 1 in the morning and got some pizza and basco sticks, and the next night we went to Mobile and saw some drag racing until about 3 in the morning. We went to the beach on Sunday, it was 93 degrees, and played catch and messed around and had a good time cooling off and getting burnt. We also played bingo and the dice game, roll two dice get doubles win a prize unless it's double 3's and all your stuff goes back, and won stuff that my Mom and Aunt's brought.

Katy's Ice Cream Shop made a nice profit off of us and it has become tradition to go there at least once whenever I am in town, we went 3 days in a row :) (For my weight loss fans I had a berry fruit tumbler fresh fruit and vanilla ice cream every time I went). My Aunt is also a really good cook and we got some good home made breakfasts and dinners while there. On Sunday after burying my Grandpa, nice ceremony my Great Uncle did it and did a really nice job, my Aunt made a big Turkey dinner with all the fixings. Speaking of my Great Uncle, Eldy, he took us to a few scrapyards and then to lunch at McDonald's and later in the week bought us all pizza and cheesy sticks.

I had a great time and can't wait to go back again, hopefully it won't be a whole year and I'll get up there to see my family sooner.

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Phase 1 Complete!!!

Well today is day 88, I must have counted wrong or I was hoping we were leaving on Thursday :P But Phase one has come to an end and as I promised this post will have the before and after pics so far! I'll let you know beforehand I am wearing nothing but a pair of boxers, I thought that this would be the best way to take the pics.

Before pictures though I thought I would let you know that my Mom and I went shopping today. I have gone down two sizes in my pants, 56 -52, and also 2 sizes in shirts 6XL-4XLT (I tried on a few 4x's today and they were about an inch too short so an LT, being an inch or two longer would be just right). I still do not know how much weight I have lost though since I was too heavy for all the scales I tried and I didn't have the money, still don't, to buy the scale from Casual Male.

So without further ado here are the pictures:

March 30th, 2010






































April 13th, 2010 (first time I thought of taking a side view, my bad)






































June 26, 2010






































June 26th, 2010 (Side View)





































So there ya go! I never took a picture of my back, hands, feet, arms (out), thighs, or legs beforehand I just didn't think of all that. I may do that for phase two, since I have lost a lot of weight in all those areas (I'm thinking of posting pics every month? 2 months? having a goal and knowing when I need to put pics up always puts your mind in the right place :) well at least mine) I have also kept to everyone of my goals, from water drinking; I have not had a single pop since March 29th, haven't been eating before bed, trying to stay away from junk as much as possible, exercising more I love the pool!

So let me know what you think so far and I'll be posting again soon with new pics! And Thank you everyone for all the awesome support from Family/Friends, to Co-workers, to all the people at GCC. And a Big special Thank You to Dr. Bob! he is an awesome friend and we have inspired each other to keep going with our goals.

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Addicted Part 6

I haven't done one of these in a long time so I thought today would be as good as any :)

Modern Warfare 2:

I have reviewed this game 2 times already I think but after playing it for this long I just wanted to say I'm still interested/addicted. I play at least every night (multiplayer) I have prestiged 3 times now and am getting close to my 4th. For those that don't know in multiplayer you gain levels, which cap at 70, when you hit 70 you have an option to just chill at 70 and keep all of your weapons and attachments or Prestige. You can still gain rewards at 70 and still get points, and new callsigns and emblems. If you decide to prestige, up to 10th prestige, you lose all of your weapons, attachments, and killstreaks. You do get to keep any callsigns or emblems you have achieved however, once you prestige there is a whole new list of callsigns and emblems you can unlock, and you have to level to 70 again until your next prestige (if you decide to). So pretty much if you don't play enough and don't want to start over DO NOT prestige.
 
Red Dead Redemption:

This game is awesome! I have played both single player and multiplayer and there are both very addictive. I have not beat the game yet but am currently in Mexico killing banditos. If you live in a cave and have not seen any reviews, trailers, etc. This is pretty much the western version of Grand Theft Auto. Your decisions determine if you are a hero and can do jobs for the many cities in the area or if you are a bandit and gain money and negative honor by plundering, stealing, and killing. I have gone the heroes path and am enjoying killing bandits along the way. There are also many side quests and in game challenges that can be done, from sharpshooting, to collecting goods (usually from killing animals and collecting pelts, meat, or feathers, or from herbalism), to rolling on the ground 100 times.

Multiplayer is a lot of fun too, you get in a lobby of up to 12 real people, who you can kill and get points for if they are not in your posy.  Speaking of posy's, you can have up to a posy of 12 people who you can do any of the online quests with, taking out bandit hideouts is all that I have done so far but the same goes for multiplayer there are tons of side quests and challenges to do.

My Rating: Single Player 10/10  Multiplayer:  10/10

Bioshock 2:

I beat this game in 1 night but it was 9 hours of continuous play pretty much so don't take that as it's short and sucks. Bioshock 2 was better than the first in my opinion, the levels were darker and more advanced, and playing as a Big Daddy is awesome. The add-ons to your suit and power-ups you get are great and the vast amount of weapons and unlockables make this one better than the first. The story line, I won't ruin it for you, is also very good and keeps you guessing the entire time. There are also puzzles to solve to open the next door or get to defeat a boss, etc. So it's not just a shoot em up, or grind em up with your Big Daddy arm, and kill kill kill game it actually takes some thinking and the use of the right weapons. This is another game that makes you choose between helping the sisters or killing them and determines how your fate will be decided at the end of the game.

My Rating: 10/10

Nier:

I have not played a ton of this game yet, but from what I have played I have to say I really liked it. It reminds me of Devil May Cry to an extent, you are a hero trying to save your daughter and protect the town you live in. This in an RPG/fighting game, you have quests to complete and a large world to explore. You can buy weapon upgrades and other random items, collect goods from killing animals and looting them or foraging the land. There are many monsters to kill and some pretty epic, difficult bosses to defeat. The one big thing in this game is collecting "words" these upgrade the magic powers you can control and are obtained from killing the demons throughout the world. Once again I will review this again when/if I beat it, and I will rate at a later date.

Final Fantasy XIII:

This game is great, the amount of monsters to kill and the combat system are better than I thought it would be. You have to decide what you want to upgrade, Magic Damage, Melee Damage, Healing, Tanking, or Buffing/Debuffing. It makes the game feel more epic and gives you a chance to customize your own gameplay. Later in the game you can also choose your team setups and actually adjust different presets to determine what each member of your team will do. Like usual you can usual skip "trash" mobs and bypass certain areas but usually upon further looking there are usual chests, which are floating balls in XIII, and some of these contain some great loot. For some XIII starts out slow but once you get later into the game it becomes filled with epic battles and hours of upgradeable content. I have yet to beat the game but am on the final disc, so I will rate this and come back and re-review once I have defeated it.

My Rating: 10/10

Darksiders:

Darksiders is a pretty epic game, just a kill kill kill collect souls and kill some more game. But it's fun and keeps you addicted, and there are many levels and enemies to kill. The massive amount of combo hits you can rack up really make the game seem more epic and achieving a high combo just feels good. There are side levels to complete to advance through some of the story, these usually involve doing a certain thing like killing all the enemies a certain way, or killing a set amount of enemies in a time limit and at the end you open the door collect your reward and move on to killing more stuff. You work for different demons or monsters to reach the final goal of killing the end boss, and can turn in souls to upgrade your weapons and unlock different abilities.

My Rating: 8/10 (The game is addicting but I think re-playability will be low)  

Borderlands:

A good game overall, should have been on the top of my list since it is a shooter RPG, but it gets boring and just feels repetitive. Unlike other RPG's the quests and the lack of different enemies makes it feel like you are just doing the same thing over and over again just in different areas. The weapons in the game are great and if you find the right ones can really do some major damage to the enemy. There are a wide variety of weapons from long range, to pistols, to fully automatic rifles and there are also elemental features your weapons can have, adds extra damage or a ticking damage to enemies when shot. The bag space seemed to small even after upgrading to a larger size, I was always having to sell or drop weapons that I really didn't want to. The boss battles were all good and none of those were repetitive at all just the mobs in the open world that also keep respawning and just being annoying. Vehicle play takes away some of the repetitiveness since you can usually just drive right past or over the enemies but I think for me just seeing the same thing over and over again got old. All that being said as weird as it sounds I would recommend playing this game, it is fun at first and didn't feel old to me til later hours of play.

My Rating: 8/10

This is getting really long so I will make a list here of games to look for next week: Fallout 3, Split/Second, Skate 3.

Games Beaten: Assassin's Creed, Bioshock 2, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Fable II, Fracture, Gears of War 2, Halo 3, Kung Fu Panda, Lego Batman, Lego Indiana Jones*, Prince of Persia, Prototype

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Calories, Oh Calories

I looked these numbers up a while ago and have been debating on posting them, but it is pretty crazy to see so I will. This was an average full day (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner) for me before I decided to be smart about my health and food habits...

Breakfast: McDonald's

2x Sausage, Egg, & Cheese Biscuits
1 Hashbrown
Sm. Orange Juice

Lunch: Taco Bell

3x Chicken Burrito w/Red Sauce

Dinner: Somewhere late night (IHOP)

2x2x2 (Bacon, Eggs, Pancakes w/syrup & butter)
Hashbrowns
3x Mt. Dew

Drinks/Snacks:  Usually after midnight

2 Liter Mt. Dew (I would drink this throughout the day)
Big Bowl Cereal w/sugar & milk
Chips (aprox. 3 servings)
Something Sweet (i.e. Vanilla Wafers)

Calorie Count: 6480 

So as you can see I was literally killing myself and I was getting little to no exercise unless someone else initiated it. So here is a new day usually...

Breakfast: 

Fruit
1 Slice Banana Bread

Lunch:

Turkey Breast
Green Beans
Deviled Eggs
Jello w/whip cream

Dinner: Subway

Oven Roasted Chicken Footlong w/light ranch, lettuce, tomato, cucumbers

Drinks/Snacks:

Water
Water Flavoring (Sugar Free 10 calories!)
Fruit (Usually Oranges/Grapes)

Calorie Count: 1627

Average Daily Calorie Loss: 4853

So I'm doing a lot better and I usually don't feel hungry til late night and than I usually grab an orange or something that isn't going to ruin my weight loss. I have allowed myself to, what I like to call cheat, about once a week but even then I am pretty cautious about what I eat and usually still have water to drink. I am still going strong with the new lifestyle and like I said I will post pictures on Day 86 (I have taken a pic each week to see the change in progress!).

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

86 Days...

 Before I tell you about 86 days I just want everyone to know I am a very happy fat guy, I love myself and my family and friends but I need to change my size and this is what I plan on doing (This is me on March 5th, 2010 I will put before and after pics up on the 86th day).


There are 86 days left until my family and I leave to go on our annual family reunion. I got looking at some pictures from last year and it hit me... I am OBESE. I have decided to go on a "diet" for 86 days, now this doesn't mean I am going to crunch every calorie I can for 86 days and than go eat 12 pizzas in a sitting and gain it all back. The 86 days is there because I know that there is no way when going to my family reunion that I will follow my "diet" so 86 days and then a week of eating not so good, and than back to eating right after that.

I hate the word diet and I have been on them before and they have failed me, or I failed them? I am going to make a decision to change the way I live my life, as dumb as it sounds a life change. I am only 25 years old and I am topping the 500lb. mark, I actually do not know how much I weigh because I outweigh my doctors scale. I have come to the fact that I am scared for myself, being this big is not good for my heart and various other issues I have (bad knees, looking sloppy... my clothes are too big in some areas, etc.). So to prevent my death I am going to try to lose weight and get healthy.

I have talked to my Mom, and two brothers so far and they are on board to "coach" me and help me out along my journey and my Mom and younger brother are going to "diet" with me. I told them I do not want to be a diet Nazi and only allow ourselves to have a piece of fruit and a glass of water for every meal but I made myself a "To Do/Not To Do" List... Here are my ideas

To Do:
-Drink Water @ Restaurants
-Salads/chicken instead of burgers, fries, fried foods
-Low sodium if possible (I also have high blood pressure)
-Bring lunch/dinner and waters to work
-Park further away (grocery store, restaurants, etc.)
-Keep Fruit (grapes, oranges are my favorite) in my fridge
-More routine sleep
-Exercise (we have a gym at our apt. and a pool soon)
-Chew Gum (curb appetite)
-Drink Water (in general)
-"Play" more (more active)
-Better Hygiene
-Keep Room/Car clean (the less food/pop residue that's visible the less I'll crave it)
-Smaller portions

Not to do"
-Buy 2 liters of Mt. Dew (AT ALL, I used to drink a 2 liter a day)
-Go to Taco Bell everyday ($3 is a cheap lunch/dinner, but obviously deadly :P )
-Snack on crap all night
-Eat right before bed
-Eat on impulse
-Buy pre-made food (Frozen Dinners, Frozen Pizza, etc.)
-Be Lazy

So that is my plan, if you know me and can help keep me on the right track than please by all means give me a little nudge here and there if I start slipping :)

Thursday, March 04, 2010

More Presents!

My older brother Mike and sis-in-law Samaree gave me my presents today at work!

The first is a pic of everything they got me:



The WoW Scourgewar TCG Box set!!! Comes with a large playmat, looks like a giant mouse pad, over 100 cards, a nice card case, a cool poster with a card checklist, and a loot card (Tiny)!

 
 

A mini zombie punching bag, for those stressful days :P

Two Chicago Bears Super Bowl XX Glasses (awesome find btw!)

 

Thanks guys!!! Now I have to find a spot to display everything :)

Monday, March 01, 2010

Addicted Part 5

It's been a while since I've done an "addicted" post so here goes...

I've played a lot of stuff since my last addicted post back in FEB 09! been over a year already...

But here are a few reviews (of stuff that I actually remember playing :P )

Lego Batman:

This game like the rest of the Lego series is just fun, especially if you have a love for legos like I had/have. There are tons of levels, 30+, unlockables, hidden areas, and hours of lego smashing/building. And it's Batman!!! You can play as the hero or the villain, including Batman, Robin, Batgirl, Joker, Penguin, Clayface, Poison Ivy, Catwoman, the list goes on :)

My Rating: 10/10

Devil May Cry 4:

I said I'd review this in my last post so I guess now is as good as ever. I still have not put a ton of time into this game, and it's not because it's not a great game. I actually don't know what it is, I love this game just like the other DMC's in the series. I just keep buying it again when I have bought something else and it gets put on the back burner. Like I said I love it, from what I've played, there are a lot of baddies to slice and dice or shoot to death, unlockables for your weapons and devil arm, and once again a lot of cool areas and side missions. I really need to sit down and beat this game, I have never taken this long not to beat a game :)

My Rating: 8/10 (great game but I'll rate again when I actually finish it)

Banjo Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts

Another fun game just to mess around and waste some time with, that being said it gets repetitive. There are a ton of ways to customize your vehicles and make them your own and essentially make each level your own by the way you play. You can stay on the ground or fly depending on your vehicle set-up, oh and making super fast motorcycle type vehicles is really fun. I spend some good time just messing around and making vehicles and trying them out, I think more time than actually playing the story. The story is good and easy to follow but like I said gets repetitive, go here collect this and that turn in to open that... good but not great, and I sold the game because I was bored with it. Still if you can get it used for a cheap price and want to spend some time just messing around it is a good game to buy.

My Rating 7/10

Prototype

I put a lot of time into playing this game, because it was somewhat challenging and a lot of fun. Levels are big and free roaming is great, there are tons of side missions and baddies to destroy. The story line keeps getting more intense and the city more overrun by the plague. I ended up beating the game and still playing (until I had to return to the guy I borrowed it from) because there was more to do and I was still having fun. The different "weapons" you get make the baddie beating great, and by weapons I'm referring to the way your body switches to a giant axe, or whip, or giant spike, and the special abilities the allow you to destroy a whole block make it even more enjoyable. The one large flaw is that this is another repetitive game, but the fact that you're killing tons of baddies in single sweeps and blowing up cars and feeding on people's memories almost make you forget that you just did the same thing in that last mission.

My Rating: 9/10

Call of Duty: World at War

I'm not going to do a huge review on this game, it is an amazing game and I would recommend it to anyone but CoD:MW2 is out now and is better and I love it! I do need to get this game again and actually beat it, the later levels when playing on the hardest difficulty are... HARD.

My Rating: 9/10 (offline only, never played multiplayer)

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

This is pretty much the reason I started this post again, I am literally addicted to this game. The campaign was actually good and didn't have you whipping through just wanting to finish it. You actually get a feel for all the different weapon classes and I think it actually got me prepared for the multiplayer action that was to come after I beat the campaign. There are many weapons, explosives, levels, and opposing forces to kill. There is also a Spec Ops that is pretty much bonus side missions, they are challenging and make you actually think and use your skills to manage your way to a victory.

My Campaign/Spec Ops Rating: 10/10

CoD:MW2 Online Multiplayer

I was just going to continue writing this along with the first part but playing online is like playing a whole new game, so it'll get it's own section. I am beyond addicted to playing online and killing people... ummm online fake people that is :) There are 70 levels of unlockables to open, from weapons to call signs to kill streaks that will decimate the opposition. After you have ranked up to level 70 you can go prestige and pretty much start over and level up again but this time with a prestige sign next to your name and the ability to open up more unlockables. I have played other multiplayer first person shooters on Live before and the amount of childish bull crap has always been a big hindrance to the game play. MW2 got it right, and besides the few Nuke boosting idiots and the occasional little kids messing around talking about balls and dicks on the chat (which can quickly be muted) it is an extremely enjoyable environment to play in.

My Rating: 10/10

This was a long addicted but it's been over a year, to keep with tradition here are the games I've beaten since the 1st addicted post:

Games Beaten: Assassin's Creed, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Fable II, Fracture, Gears of War 2, Halo 3, Kung Fu Panda, Lego Batman, Lego Indiana Jones*, Prince of Persia, Prototype

Friday, February 19, 2010

Early Birthdays are great!

My Birthday is March 5th, but my family got paid before and after that day so I got some presents early!!!

My mom got me a TV, 32" Sony Bravia 720p HDTV. It was regularly $448 but I ended up getting a floor model that was on sale for $398 and another 10% off so I got a $450 TV for $383!!! I hooked up my computer to my tv since I have an HDMI port on my video card, the computer looks great. I was watching some HD videos last night and playing WoW in 1600:900 resolution and it's amazing!!!

































My Dad got me a Blu Ray player (my younger brother sold me his that he just bought 2 months ago for $75, regular $130, so my Dad just bought that for me!) He also gave me 2 gold tipped HDMI cables.

My younger brother bought me 2 figurines, an Illidan Demon Form and an original Batman and Robin remake set. Here they are:





Thanks guys for the great Birthday so far!!!