Let me start this post by saying that I have enough drama going on in my own life to get too wrapped up someone else's identity issues but I have to share a bit of background so that this post can make sense. A night or two ago while playing around on Twitter, a website that I follow posed a request to its followers. They said that someone mentioned that their website looked as if it was selling something and asked for opinions on what they appeared to be selling. Since I had a minute, I stopped by their site and offered my 20 second critique. I said that her site was a little flashy with ads and such and that it may contribute to giving a "buy me vibe". So without getting into all of the gory details, the person behind the website then went and asked on a forum of other site administrators if she should "trust my opinion given the state of my site." She then went on to compare me to a bag lady giving fashion advice.

At first, my feeling were a little hurt. Then I was angry. But, after talking with Doug and he helped me put it into perspective, I responded to her with this:

I am confused. You asked for opinions and then you turn around and critique my site. My poor site design has nothing to do with why or why not you site might appear to be selling something. I am just a new mommy blogger who is simply getting things off the ground. But, my lack of experience and traffic has little to do with what I see when I look at your page. If you were only interested in the opinions of people with more experience and knowledge of web design, it looks like this forum has a lot of fantastic members with lots of great input.

I could go on for hours describing all of the immature and tasteless comments she made (that she later erased by editing her posts) but that is neither here nor there. As always, Doug reminded me that I have to start somewhere. Everyone does.

As my readers know, I have tried to make a habit of finding the good in even the worst of situations so this is my idea. I am formally inviting anyone who has any interest in designing my website to show me what they've got. You don't have to be a professional. This is open to anyone who wants to design what they think looks best for Life, Loss, and Other Things.

What you get:

• Each entry will be posted with your name, website, and links.
• You can share any info you wish to about your design, your inspiration, etc.
  
• Your information will also be placed on a wonderful page with the other entrants for one year after the new design is chosen and launched.
  
• Should your design be selected, you will also get a FREE button on my homepage. The size can be 250x250 but since you will be designing the page, the exact dimensions can be tweaked to whatever is appropriate for the site. Who doesn't like free advertising?
  
• For as long as I am using your design, your link will also be in the footer with "This site designed by____."
  

I think it is only appropriate to have my website visitors choose the design since the opinions of my readers matter to me. Not only am I asking for your thoughts, I plan on following your lead. The winner will be decided by the number of facebook likes the design post gets. It is my readers who I want to make feel comfortable here. I like the connections I have made thus far and look forward to making Life, Loss, and Other Things a place you are proud to associate with. I am thankful that you have befriended this "Bag Lady," helped me push my grocery cart full of odds and ends, and am excited to let you help me wipe 6 months of dirt off my blog face.

A couple housekeeping things:

• All graphics or images must be created or owned by you.
• You have permission to use any images that are currently on my blog, only for the purpose of designing my site.
• You may submit up to 3 different designs if you choose to.
  
• The winning design, once launched, will become the property of Life, Loss, and Other Things.
• If you intend on making a page design, please email me or comment below indicating your intent to participate.
  
• Email your designs to me- Maria@LifeLossAndOtherThings.com
  

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