A grand design

I am about to put together my first ever website. I should be really excited to actually put myself (or so to speak) online. But I find the whole prospect daunting. There's so many different websites out there, it's a confusing minefield.

The colours I think I'm going to choose are a light grey and a girly light pink. The banner will be a picture (which I haven't chosen yet) with a grey border on the bottom. The title will be in large font in a white colour with the stand first a pink font. The body of the site will be similar to three columns with my side navigation bar on the left-hand side. This will have a pink background, a grey strip along the top and the writing in grey. The main context will be on the middle and adverts and links on the right-hand side.

The site I have based my design on is Notes from the Trenches. It's more of a blog design than a web page but is easy to navigate around with the side navigation bar. There are a number of adverts and links down the right hand side. Overall the design is rather basic but the layout is one which i could build on and add my personal style.

One of the quotes on the blog is:
"Start and continue an exercise regime for three months, even if it kills me [God, I’m lazy][I GAVE UP EXERCISE FOR LENT THIS YEAR. ALSO, HEALTHY FOOD]"

I've tried the social networking and left a comment on the blog. I've told them why I like it and that I have used it aas inspiration for my website. Hopefully, they might return the favour and comment on mine.