Nikon or Canon?

I am in the market for a new camera. The best camera I ever owned was a Canon Rebel 35mm SLR that my parents bought for me when I graduated from Auburn. Actually, I think I bought it and asked them to pay for it, but it’s all the same thing, right? So the pictures I took with that camera are by far the BEST I have ever taken. The zoom lens was really my favorite because I loved the bokeh!!! (How many of you are googling the word “bokeh” right now?)

When Patterson came along, we felt the need to sell the Canon and get a digital camera. We thought we needed a digital camera (we difinitely do!) and we thought it would be best to get one that everybody could operate. We have very few photos of me with Mary Anneliese in the early days because I was the only one who could work the camera. I got some high-faluttin’ Sony point-and-shoot that anybody could operate. I have regretted it ever since. It’s not that it’s that bad of a point-and shoot. In fact, as far as point-and-shoots go, it’s actually a really good one. But once you’ve had an SLR, there is no going back.

So now I’m back in the market for an SLR. I have narrowed it down to the Nikon D5000 or the Canon Rebel XSi. If you were me, which would you choose?