Well.. my fiddling around with Vue is starting to produce some results.  Made a pretty decent scene.  Nothing nice enough to share with the rest of the class; but, it was a decent try at my first full scene.  I have some full pre-made scenes that are pretty cool too; so, I'm using one of a desert oasis to try out as an IBL.  It's going to take a while as it's huuuuuge...  8096 wide.  I'll post the preview jpg when it's done and when I figure out how to compile a full ibl out of the render then I'll put it up in my freebies area here and post a link.