is there a GUI wallet?
Not yet, we recently funded a proposal to get it finished. See (there are also some screenshots there):
https://forum.getmonero.org/8/funding-required/2476/the-official-qt-gui-project
His work and the activity can be followed on:
https://github.com/mbg033?tab=activity
https://github.com/mbg033/monero-core
https://github.com/mbg033/bitmonero
The current options are:
-MyMonero, which is a web wallet and very convenient to use -> https://MyMonero.com.
-Simplewallet, this is a CLI, which might have a bit of a learning curve but does better in preserving your privacy. Binaries here -> https://getmonero.org/downloads/. You need to sync the whole blockchain from scratch though to use simplewallet. Syncing from scratch is done with the daemon (bitmonerod). If you want, I can walk you through on how to use simplewallet at IRC. Alternatively, feel free to ask any questions here.
-Jwinterm's lightwallet, which uses either your own or a remote node. See -> https://getmonero.org/getting-started/choose (at the bottom). Instructions on how to run a remote node here -> https://www.moneroclub.com/node
-Lastly, there is https://Moneroaddress.org which can be used to generate a paper wallet. It is simply a port of -> https://github.com/moneromooo-monero/monero-wallet-generator and can be used offline.
Again, if you have any question, don't hesistate to ask!
So, I'm still confused about generating a secure paper wallet... if I were to bring up the web page, disconnect my computer from the internet and then generate a new wallet while offline, would that be acceptable in terms of security? I want to create a paper wallet, but I need a ELI5 version of what to do to create something that's very secure to store my xmr.
Also, if I deposit xmr into said paper wallet... how do I view the amount of xmr I have on there and spend them if I want later on down the road?