Congrats, OrchidBetty! Now about your "now what?" question, a really great ham instructor has a whole (but short) book on the topic, "21 Things to Do After You Get Your Amateur Radio License." What's more, he's blogged most of the chapters, so you can scope out the content for free:
https://www.kb6nu.com/?s=%2221+things%22If you want to read more, in addition to what SCWolverine suggested, here's a good book for beginners, in pdf and for free:
https://www.qsl.net/sp9hzx/img/Ham%20Radio%20for%20Dummies.pdf There's a new version out ($$), but this old version isn't too out of date and it'll get you started.
Start with a better antenna. Then find the local radio club. If you don't have a ham club near by, then try one of the on line clubs. Of course you can get good info here.
Yep, this is likely the problem. If you have any repeaters within 20 miles or so, either one of these DIY antennas will probably let you reach it for under $20:
http://thesurvivalpodcast.com/forum/index.php?topic=20653.0http://thesurvivalpodcast.com/forum/index.php?topic=50529.0If you'd rather not DIY it the first time around (and I can't blame you), here's a decent hang-it-in-a-tree antenna solution for less than $30:
http://www.2wayelectronix.com/main.scYou can even get it with attached coax cable and whichever connector your radio needs. Plug & play.
Like SCW and AM said, a good local club could be the way to get things rolling for you. Anyway, congrats again, and keep asking questions.