Coding Tip: I dont know if you're doing this allready, but make sure the screen resolution is the same as your picture ( if it's to be full screen ). Or better still work with 640x480, and resize your image; the higher the screen size you use the slower stuff will run at.
Very festive indeed dude, been keeping a bit of a close eye on your progress, both graphically and programming wize, and your doing very well indeed. Keep it up.
Cheers and all the very best,
Clyde.