Any helpful photography shooting advice?

I own the Nikon D3000 and have learned to use most of the functions but my photos are not turning out the way I would like. They are either blurry, fuzzy, or I can't get the aperture right. I love my camera and would love to start buying new lenses but I want to master the camera and the kit's 18-55 mm lens before I start shopping for more expensive and professional lenses. I'm more of an intermediate beginner, so any advice on how to use my camera for effectively?

Try getting artistic first. Have a new approach on photography.
I used to love taking pictures with a cell phone. Then, when I got a new camera, I can take everything to a new level.

Take pictures from a high level.
Take pictures from a low level.
Anything!

First check the aperture when your going to take a picture. Buy a light sensitive device that tells you how you have to configure the parts and you just put them. Use flash all the time and try to not move so much. Try to not put you're finger in the flash space (if you don't have the alternate flash). Another one is that you buy a Canon when you can. Sorry to tell this but Nikon's sucks.

Well, first off, try auto, and once you get comfortable with doing some testing with the Lens, try going to the A setting witch controls the aperture, you can set it wide to F-5.6 in low light conditions, or f-20 for brighter sunny days, and somewhere imbetween for indoors. Don' forget to try manual focusing for great photos.

Blurry or fuzzy could be technique, the subject or could be your camera settings.

There's a rule of thumb that your shutter speed should be faster than 1/lens focal length x crop factor. What this would mean for you D3000 - if you were zoomed out to 55mm, your minimum shutter speed should be 1/55 x 1.5 = 1/82 or about 1/90 of a second. Most photographers can benefit from faster shutter speeds. This rule of thumb helps minimize camera shake - blurriness caused by you!

By technique, I mean how you are braced to take the image and how you press the shutter release button. I see some people that just pull the camera to their eye, don't change their feet or tuck in an elbow, and then push pretty hard on the button to take the picture. Try slowing down, take a breath, spread your feet to gain stability, tuck your left elbow into your chest or stomach and slowly press the shutter release.

Lastly, if the subject is moving quick - like someone playing sports or driving a car, you'll need a faster shutter speed. It should be at least 1/250 and if the lighting conditions allow it, even faster. I shoot baseball and softball at a minimum of 1/1000 second and prefer 1/1600.

After reading your question - it doesn't sound like you know how to balance your apperture / shutter speed and balance of light. Do you want to shoot shallow depth (subject in sharp focus and blur background) or deep depth (subject and background in focus) - I'm in a college photojournalism class and my teacher says only use flash when absolutely necessary.

If you higher the shutter speed - it stops motion more (speeds of 250 and up)
If your apperture is f/2.8 your subject will be sharp and the background blur
A nice average if a f/5.6 - 8
And you need to be able to set you meter within your camera to balance the light

Are you trying to use the manual focus or auto focus? Do you have VR lens? Do you have your shutter speed to low? Do you need to be using a tripod?

It just takes practice. I would find one subject and take pictures over and over changing your settings and reviewing your pictures to see how the settings affect each shot. Take notes on your settings so you know what you've tried.

Each time you take a picture - you need to ask yourself - WHAT IS IT I'M TRYING TO CONVEY? And then set your camera accordingy.

Not to be long winded - but my teacher also covered Composition Tools of Photography -
Crop your photo - cut out the distractions
Depth of Field
Motion
Light
Rule of Thirds
Framing
Bullseye
Contrast
Symmetry
Foreground/Background
Lines
Subject Relationship
Angle
Repeated Pattern

Google these terms and it will give eamples of pictures

btw - I'm using a Nikon D60

You are not an "intermediate beginner" if you are getting "blurry, fuzzy" images,
You are a rank beginner.

It is not the camera you need to master so much as the principles of exposure and how shutter speed/aperture work together.

Go to the library or a bookshop and get a book on basic photography.
Learn about the basics and then translate what you learn there into how it works on your camera.