CARRIE ~ glad you joined us here; there are lots of newbies that come here each day but I think you might like to take a look at the 100 lb forum. It's a big site and you may find a few places that interest you ...
Yes, sometimes the blog issues do come up; I'm not sure why, but you could bring that up to the Administration. I suspect that some blogs may not be kept active, and that could be just one cause; or there may be some kind of technical glitch?