Beginner Tips for Shooting with Nikon 35mm f/1.8G

I recently bought a Nikon D5000 with the 18-55 and 55-200 kit lenses. Extremely pleased. I am shooting mostly family photos and after reading so many posts regarding the Nikon 35mm f/1.8G as being a fantastic all around lens for portraits, night, indoor etc., I purchased it this weekend.

After shooting several hundred photos on my new 35mm f/1.8G, I don't feel the pictures are quite as good as the other two kit lens. I believe I am struggling with the narrow depth of field/focus plane when set at the lower aperture.

I have done a fair amount of reading, but wanted to see if anyone on the forum has any tips/techniques I can work on to improve the quality of my photos. (Note: I typically shoot on aperture priority setting.)

As an aside: About 5 months ago I was struggling with whether or not to upgrade from a point and shoot to a dslr. Needless to say, I am now on my third lens and loving photography....

Mike