Hi, welcome to the forums!
My name is FaithfulWife and I'm sort of a newbie too! Here are a few things that might help you:
To get blessings, you can go to the Blessings Exchange forum. We play games and take quizzes to earn blessings!
To get a character, go to the top of this page, sort of in the middle, and click on [Character]. You will need to select a body, hair, eyes, lips, and eyebrows/facial hair. I personally chose NOT to have a beard!
Finally, you might want to look in the Life Stages forums to find a group that fits you. I'm in the Women's Discussion, Marriage Ministry, and Fabulous 40's because as you can see, I'm fabulous and in my 40's!!
If you have any newbie questions you can give me a PM anytime.