I am sorry to hear about your camera. That's a bummer!!! But there are some great cameras out there and hopefully you'll find one that is in your price range and offers options you want. If it has a memory card, maybe the memory card has gone bad? You could take it to a store and have them try a different memory card to see if that is the problem.
The photo that you posted in your article is reduced when I click on it. Can you re-post it in this thread so that perhaps it will enlarge when folks click on it?
And yes! If you get a new camera or get the current one fixed, I'd love to see more photos! Enjoyed your article!