Chickens can be a witness to crimes, so don't kill anyone while their are chickens around... I'm serious.
I only have about 30 hours logged and am only level 8 right now. I'm spending all my time exploring, smithing and collecting ingredients for making poisons (my 1 character is a Brenton Mage and my other is a Wood Elf Archer, with both I'm focusing mainly on sneak/thieving). Heck, just plain old hunting is fun in the game. I probably have killed about 100 deer and elk so far lol
Check out this list of mods available so far. My favorite is Val's Crafting Meltdown... All those worthless accessories in the game (pots, pans, plates, etc...) can be melted down and used to make weapons! Finally, a reason to collect wooden plates! http://www.pcgamer.com/2011/11/25/skyrim-mods-the-20-best-so-far/
StringJam, that's an awesome looking map! Map making is a freakin' ton of work, even if you already have all the models done. I tried making an old hospital from Gears of War and I only had the basic layout done and modeled about 3 or 4 things and ran out of free time LOL Here's my old portfolio (those railings and pillars under personal work were from the map): http://nfollmer.daportfolio.com/