So I went to my local brewing store, and got a starter kit. It came with a 7 gallon fermenter, a siphon tube, a floating thermometer, bottle caper, bottle caps, bottle scrubber, and sanitizer.

By the way I have multiple questions. I know most first time brewing experiences are uneasy, but I was hoping someone could make mine slightly easier. I explained to the lady at the brew shop that I wanted to make a blonde ale similar to the one Sierra Nevada makes. She recommended a "Cooper" extract for my first time that would provide a similar beer. The directions say to simply boil it with the recommended amount of water and 1kg of corn sugar.

I did that exactly, then added the recommended amount of cool water to my (plastic) fermenter. I added ice cubes to bring it down to 70 degrees F. Once that was done I had read that it was more effective to "prepare" your yeast, rather than sprinkling it on in powder form.

By "preparing" my yeast, I sanitized a cup, added hot water, let poured the yeast into it, and let it dissolve for 10 minutes. After that I mixed it up, and poured it into the cooled wort.

I closed the lid and added the Air Lock. It has been over 24 hours, and I have not seen any bubbles, although I haven't been checking more than twice a day due to my schedual.

Everything was sanitized might I add. My questions are these. Did I make a mistake somewhere? How important is keeping the fermenting brew between 65 and 75 degrees? and do I need a second fermenter?