The short version of my story in a timeline:
1980's--used Mom's Kodak 110 and Kodak Disc camera whenever I needed a camera
1990--with my high school graduation money, I went to Wal-Mart and bought myself a Canon Snappy p&s 35mm camera. I was happy just to get a 35mm camera.
2000--after getting married, I buy my very first film SLR, a Minolta QTsi (so basic that it could be considered a p&s SLR)
2001-2007--I got rid of the Minolta and went through a series of both film & digital cameras (a couple were film p&s, several film SLRS, and several digital p&s)
Fall 2007--I enroll in a photography class put on by the Community Education program at the local community college, using a Minolta XTsi. By the time I finished the first 6-week class, I was convinced that it was time to get a DSLR. Although a N&C man himself, the instructor recommended Pentax K10D as the best value, but the money wasn't quite there, so I picked up a DS used off of Fleabay. I was definitely prepared for the second class.
February 2008--after the K20/200 announcement, I decide that I would do whatever it took to get a hold of a K10D (since I couldn't--and still can't--afford the K20). Among the many things I sell to finance this purchase, I sold a Canon G7.
Why I went with Pentax--it was the best bang for the buck.
It wasn't until after I was fully engrossed into Pentax that I found both the Dpreview Pentax SLR and this forum, so all the great people I've met in both places is just a great bonus for me. This is a place that is definitely newbie friendly; you can ask all the seemingly obvious questions and nobody is going to make fun of you or call you stupid.
My lens kit should be complete with the purchase of 2 or 3 more lenses, depending on how bad my LBA is.
Heather