Hey guys, thanks for the tips!
Evita, I'll grab my trash bin lining bag.

Wouldn't it make the feet more slippery within the foot pockets? I'll certainly give it a try.
But it's good to know it's normal learning curve thing and not that I need another pair of monofins (still got my house mortgaged for this pair). It felt like learning to ride a bike all over again and trying to keep in a straight line. How odd! Normally I go 50m doing dolphin kicks w my scuba fins but with my monos, I was struggling for 25m! Will keep practicing. I saw this page on Umberto's book about practicing finning by pushing again the wall in the pool. If the pool is deep enough, then fin while pushing on the bottom of the pool. Mine isn't deep enough so will try finning against the side of the pool.