Hey Linda! We don't think any question is stupid and we welcome everyone here at the O! =)
First things first...you'll want to change your editor settings. To do this go to User CP in the upper left corner. Then go to Edit Options on the left. Scroll all the way to the very bottom and change your Message Editor Interface to Enhanced Interface Full WYSIWYG. This will be very, very helpful to you and it's something someone had to tell me how to do! Make sure to save changes.
To get a blinkie, you have to know the link to the exact blinkie image. A lot of people will use an account at a place like Flickr or Photobucket to host the original image. I go the easy route and use a blinkie that someone else has on their signature and then right click (or ctrl click on a Mac) and select "Copy Image Location".
Now, to edit your signature, you can go to the user control panel in the upper left corner. Then to "Edit Signature". In the Edit Signature box, click on the yellow button with mountains on it. In the box that pops up you can paste the link that you copied. Then save...and you have a blinkie.
If it tells you you can only have five lines in your signature, it's talking about html coding, not actual lines that you see. If you are willing to play with the coding, you might be able to fix it. Otherwise, you might be able to convice one of the superpower admins to help you fix it. =)
Hope that helps and welcome to the O!