Are there any custom profiles out there-- either freebies or just makers-of-profiles-that-do-this-- that leave the default site navigation intact??? I really like the idea of making my pets some lil' illustrated profiles, but I am also a simple woman who is easily puzzled and constantly needs to be able to click a "home" link in order to get by.

There might be but these are probably uncommon though. Might be possible to tweak a free custom profile to have navigation to be visible, could style it a bit as well and not have much problems.

Could request a creator to leave the navigation intact. If I remember correctly some profiles do have a go to subeta home/news page link "button" and some may have a simple customized navigation so it matches the profile's esthetic.

There is the Profiles & Graphics Market fourm where buying and selling profiles happen and there is a sub-forum of freebies

There are offsite profile freebies and such, don't know much about any of that though.

I hope you find this slightly helpful.

Also I can give you some help in creating a profile, just let me know.

Gotcha, thank you! I'll have a crack at it myself, but thank you for offering to help!