You've received good advice from John and Ken, and it sounds like you've got a good handle on what you need to do. In addition to what they said, the biggest thing I learned from my instructors was to fly smooth. It's not too difficult to bang the sticks from side to side, pull the stick all the way back (and never reduce the throttle) to make a loop, etc. It's much harder to make nice big round loops and wide smooth turns while maintaining a constant altitude.

This is the start of prime flying seasons in these parts, when the wind isn't too bad, get hooked up with your instructor and start flying!