Good game, and nevermind, most people here are autodidact and most of us (including me) are not champions at all.
This game illustrates that in most games were the level of the players is similar, the right handling of the pawns makes the difference.
Cheers
You have definatley played chess before doobieboy. What was the time control for the game?! Seems to me that you understood the game you played quite well. Congrats on having played your first online game, and winning of course.
never read any books on tactics or studied any games of the great players (and I haven't done much of that, I've mostly been playing with that tactics trainer) - I dont know if its just me, but that sounds like an advert for chess.com(tactics trainer) This isnt a stunt is it Erik?! 
You have definatley played chess before doobieboy. What was the time control for the game?! Seems to me that you understood the game you played quite well. Congrats on having played your first online game, and winning of course.
never read any books on tactics or studied any games of the great players (and I haven't done much of that, I've mostly been playing with that tactics trainer) - I dont know if its just me, but that sounds like an advert for chess.com(tactics trainer) This isnt a stunt is it Erik?!
Time was 3 days per turn, which seemed insanely long since I'd only played with the board in front of me and games rarely took an hour. But with that comes the opportunity to study everything much deeper than I ever had, so i quickly discovered that I liked it.
Certainly wasn't meant as a stunt. I started off pretty well with that tactics trainer. But actually the more I mess with it, the more I'm losing interest in it. It seems that the key to nearly every puzzle is just to find the boldest sacrifice you can.
I learned to play from my dad when I was 7 or 8 years old, and since then everyone I've played has either been family or a friend. Until I signed up here less than 2 weeks ago, I'd never read any books on tactics or studied any games of the great players (and I haven't done much of that, I've mostly been playing with that tactics trainer). I'd seen a few puzzles in newspapers and such, but that's it. Everything you see in this game is 99% self-taught through experimentation, trial and error, and most frequently, having mistakes punished and learning from that.
I'm not saying that to be boastful or anything, because I certainly don't consider myself to be any sort of fantastic player, and I'm positive there's room for improvement. Which is why I signed up here in the first place and why I'm posting this game. To learn from it. I did end up winning this game, but I never once thought winning was certain until my opponent resigned, and even that surprised me. This is the first game I've ever played that didn't go all the way until someone was mated or stalemate reached.
Anyway, I'm going to refrain from trying to do too much insight into the game, simply because I don't think I'm qualified to do it. I'll make a few comments about what I was thinking when I made some moves, and then you can tell me how that kind of thinking can backfire on me in the future.
Also, I'll be heading out of town for the weekend, so I'll answer any questions you have when I get back.