Okay, three possible paths. Really without knowing what sort of photos you want to take its not easy to recommend one option. First thing though is to take your present camera out somewhere and use the flipping thing to take photies, lots of them. Find out what its really capable of. You may find that your present one does most, if not all, of what you want. A 3x zoom gives you 28-84mm equivalent on most cameras, which covers at least 80% of the shots I take.
Fill the card and buy a spare if you need it.
http://www.7dayshop.com will supply most. Make sure your camera can use it though, check that it can use the memory size, not just the type of card. I carry 4x1GB cards giving 1600+ photos! Keep doing it, dont worry about what you are taking photos of, you can ditch them after looking at them if you want.
One: Get an SLR camera and a couple of lenses, or just one to cover 18-200mm.
Advantages are that it offers really good flexibility. Disadvantages, dust can get in, good lenses are expensive.
Two: Get a bridge camera, it looks like an slr but has a fixed superzoom lens.
Advantages, you only need one camera, if you go for something like the FZ50 or equivalent you are buying something that will produce photographs up to the standard of an SLR. Disadvantages, a little more noise due to small sensor, may perform poorly in low light situations.
Three: Get a superzoom compact with full manual/shutter priority/aperature priority options. Has all the advantages and disadvantages of two, except its smaller. Make sure the zoom is big enough too. The latest Panasonics have been rated very well. Main advantage is its easy to carry.
Last item, most professionals stick the damn thing on program and autofocus and leave it there most of the time, it works for them so it should work for you too.
