Christmas Photos and New Years Resolutions

So one of my major goals this year is to really improve my photography. I've always had an interest in it, but until now, I haven't really invested in the equipment to take really great shots. However, for my birthday this year, I recently purchased a digital SLR (the Nikon D1X) and took some shots over Christmas that I really love. I still need to get used to working with it a bit because my shots tend to be unfocused /underexposed pretty often, but I think I'm starting to get the hang of it.