i lead a hard life

so i'm having this dilemma. i have a perfectly lovely little digital camera, oldish but works fine, nice and small and compact. (it's a canon powershot sd200 for people keeping track, and as you can see, it got great reviews! ..in, uh, 2004 anyway.) however... i now kind of want something better. maybe with an actual lense. while you really can't beat the powershot for convenience (so small! i can fit it in a pocket!) i'm starting to get frustrated with its flash, which is pretty awful. my only choices - when shooting people, anyway - appear to be a) completely washed out, like to the point of trying to discern if my friends are all mimes, or b) blurry and grainy because i left the flash off to capture something approximating natural coloring and light.

so basically what i'm saying is that i'm getting greedy and want to throw money at a fancy new toy. sounds reasonable, right? especially if that new toy is a Nikon D40:

Nikon DSLRs have been recommended by Sundry (and, let's be honest, i do almost anything she tells me. i use bare escentuals makeup and bought an electric toothbrush because she recommended them. my mom: where did you hear about this makeup? it looks so good! me: oh, the internet! there's this blogger, who.. uh.. well, i don't know her or anything, but she has really good advice, and.. uh.. i mean, i saw an infomercial?) and this particular style is recommended by Ken Rockwell as his 2007 pick - plus the D40 is cheaper than the D70s that Sundry has. but.. uh.. still over $500 (but hey! on sale since i last checked this weekend! a sign, perhaps?)

this sudden impulse for a better camera has a lot to do with the fact that i'm taking a 10 day whirlwind tour of germany and austria next month.

oh i'm sorry, did you miss that? I'M TOTALLY GOING TO GERMANY AND AUSTRIA IN A MONTH WHEEEEE!!!

i was supposed to head back to paris and bring the wife this time, but those plans fell through. and i still had all this vacation time, plus some money saved up... and i've never been to germany or austria... and i found a good flight to frankfurt.. so... off i go! SO. FREAKING. EXCITED.

which makes the camera dilemma even tougher. because i mean:

a) i'm going to some of those more picturesque areas of europe. don't i want the best camera i can afford to immortalize these incredible vistas?
b) dude, i'm paying a crap-ton to go already. i really think another $500+ is a good idea?

so... conflicted... but then i remember i'm going to europe in a few weeks (less than a month! oct 8!) and that sure helps cheer a gal up :-)