Well, I wasted little time and visited my local camera store and purchased the Tamron28-75mm F/2.8 XR Di LD lens. I cost $389 and allowed me to purchase a significantly better tripod (Manfrotto), a Wacom 6" X 8" model 630 tablet (loaded with software) and some other smaller things.
I tried the lens on my camera and it felt great and worked well (in th store). I'll see how it works out for me in the studio.
I agree, most of the problem is probably my inexperience, but I can shake how light the lens the came with the camera is and how poorly it performs in low light.
I am keeping my fingers crossed.
