Sandy - we were all beginners at one point, so don't get too concerned about your skill level. Get out there, have fun and learn.
I see you live in an area where snow seems to be a significant part of life at this time of year.
A couple of quick tips should help you get better snow captures.
1. Your camera's light meter is set for an "average" scene, and a snowy landscape is everything except average, in fact they tend to be a lot lighter than average, so to make it look "average" your camera will tend to underexpose the scene quite significantly when you are using any of the automated settings. I know you said you don't like reading your manual, but check out the section on exposure compensation.
Exposure compensation allows you to override your camera's exposure recommendation and help give you a "properly" exposed image. Unfortunately, there is no simple rule of thumb that works, so experience and taking test shots are the best way to go. I start with a +1 setting, and will then look at my histogram to check my exposure. The trick is to have the histogram over to the right side, generally without clipping any highlights. Shots like yours, where you are pointing at the sun will have clipping, so this is something you need to figure out.
2. Snow will reflect the colour of the sky in shots like yours. The sky is blue, so the reflections are too. This is most noticeable in shadow areas, so you get the classic compromises that photographers see in "mixed lighting" situations. A low sun can give you warm tones and cold shadows, especially if you shoot at "golden hour" just after sunrise or just before sunset. How you treat this (if at all) is totally up to you. The contrast of yellow sunset and blue shadows can work quite well compositionally in some shots, less well in others.
I always pull out this sunset shot to demonstrate - warm glow from the direct sunlight, blue shadows from the sky falling on the snow.