Nice pics - i like your depth of field/aperture in the flower photo.
I didn't say that I didn't like your first set of photos
Best suggestion - Keep on experimenting and take a read at
www.photo.net go to the learning tab/section
The projects that Philip Greenspun suggests are really good.
Enjoy your new-found hobby; you'll be forever chasing after the best light and framing. My best advice is not to stress too much over the equipment - its constantly getting better and you can easily spend ridiculous amount of $$ on the gear (which contributes the least to the quality of the pics)...