Buying a camera

I am planning to buy a digital SLR camera sometime in the next few months and I need recommendations. I've read through some review sites and based on that, I'm thinking about a Canon Rebel XS or XSi or a Nikon D60, D3000, or D5000. I'm looking for something in the $500-$650 range for the camera and standard lens, and ideally for a telephoto lens also (I'm pushing my luck a bit there, but Amazon has a few packages like that).

I wish I knew a little more about the technicalities of digital photography. I'm doing some reading online, but it's difficult to keep all the terms straight. I've read that you're supposed to think about what you take pictures of, and for me that's mostly landscapes, macro photography of nature, and documenting events (portraits of people standing in front of something). However, I've been saying I'd upgrade to digital SLR on the occasion of either going on a major trip or having a baby, and we're planning a trip to Scandinavia this spring. Thus, I'm planning to use this camera to take pictures of interesting things I see while traveling, and later on when we have kids I'll use it to take pictures of them.

From what I've read, it seems like the cameras in the category I'm looking at (bottom of the price range for dSLRs, good for someone like me who is not a professional photographer and just wants better picture quality than a point-and-shoot can provide) are all about equal in terms of photo quality. So how do I figure out which one to buy?

A Blanket for Hope

I have been very crafty lately. And when I say crafts, I mean sewing. I took a quilting class this summer and have been excited about using my sewing machine for the last several months. A recent project was this:



















I made this blanket for an adorable 5-year-old girl named Mia. She is my coworker Michelle's daughter, and she was diagnosed with leukemia a few years ago. The orange ribbon for awareness is associated with childhood cancers, and Mia's family has adopted the orange ribbon as a sign of hope and support. Last year, they had a banquet and auction to support her cancer treatment. (They sold t-shirts with "Cure LeukeMIA!" on them - isn't that creative?) This year, Michelle was planning another event, so I told her I'd make a blanket to auction.

I used orange satin for the back and trim of the blanket, and picked a pink and orange heart patterned fleece for the front. "Princess" Mia is a very girly girl, and I thought pink hearts with orange satin made a sweet, spunky blanket to support Mia and her treatment.

As I was working on the blanket, I decided I'd tell Michelle that she could decide whether to auction the blanket or to just give it to Mia. After all, I made the blanket with Mia in mind, and it was a gift for her either way. When I took it to work, Michelle decided to give it to Mia. Apparently, Mia loves blankets and always has them with her.

Today, Michelle shared some great news on Facebook -- Mia's doctors say she has just one month of treatment left before she will be considered cancer-free! So I'm glad to be able to share about the blanket, and joyful beyond words for Mia, Michelle, and their family that Mia's road to recovery is almost over.

(I've made another blanket for another adorable little girl - Ross's new baby niece - but I won't post pictures until we meet her and give her the blanket at Thanksgiving.)