If It's There, You Bet I'll Photograph It

Anybody want to give me a crash course on photography and DSLR cameras?  I know some of the regular bloggers that I read are photogs so your advice would be well-appreciated.

I'm an amateur and while I love my little point-and-shoot and it will travel everywhere with me forever, I'm thinking it's time to upgrade.  I just feel like some of our most beautiful moments from last year could have been captured so much better if I had a stronger camera.

I look at shots of some of the bloggers I read everyday and admire the crispness and the depth of color and just the overall beauty of their photos and I'm jealous and I want that.

Problem is, my knowledge of photography is limited and I have no clue where to start in upgrading to the DSLR.

So two things would be wonderful:

1.  Any suggestions for basic photography concepts and language

2.  Any suggestions for a "starter kit" of sorts for a DSLR. 

I've been leaning towards the Canon Rebel XTi and have heard that instead of buying the body and lens kit together, to just buy the body and start with a better lens.  One that someone recommended was the Canon EF 50mm f1.4 USM Medium Telephoto lens.

Beyond that, I am completely clueless and even the slightest bit of advice would be AWESOME!