About Crystal
The Nerdery of Code
I am a self-taught front-end developer with over a decade of experience in creating HTML skeletons from photoshop designs using CSS/CSS3 and HTML/HTML5. In fact, if you want to know how nerdy I really am, I started coding websites in Notepad in 1994 and it really took off from there. I prefer hand-coding my sites, but have experience with Dreamweaver as well if needed (I mainly use it for sprite-maps).
I also have years of experience with cross-browser compatibility for Firefox, Internet Explorer (yes, even IE6), Safari, and Chrome. If you want my honest opinion, Mac FF is the most difficult to debug for 
But I certainly have no love for IE either. Thankfully most modern web companies have written off IE6 due to Microsoft no longer supporting it, and IE7 is becoming less of a burden as well.
Most of my sites are W3 and Section 508 compliant outside of the .NET framework (we all know how .NET is). I prefer building sites that meet W3 standards, as I like my work to be as efficient as possible, but not all content management systems allow for it these days.
I have plenty of experience coding HTML E-mails by hand. It sorta brings me back to the days of archaic HTML from 2000 where tables were more prominent and inline styles dotted all of my code. Unfortunately that is where E-mail Coding is, presently. I prefer using services like Mailchimp because the e-mails are created more quickly (saving you time) and work across a majority of e-mail platforms.
In addition to my front-end experience, I have dabbled in php, jQuery, javascript, classic ASP, and hope to expand on these languages in the near future. My goal is to expand my knowledge in javascript/jQuery, PHP, and AJAX this summer through self-education and online courses.
Design
I am very familiar with Photoshop. I use it for editing photography and also splicing up designs to place into HTML. I have designed sites before, but I wouldn’t call myself a designer. Of course I have great style, but my strength is in my code.
Project Management
I have also have over 2600 hours of experience in Project Management for web development projects. In the spring of 2013 I am enrolling to get my 35 hours of Project Management Education and then applying for my CAPM certification.
Life
In the mundane world I am also a folk musician (mainly acoustic guitar) who does a mean version of Folsom Prison A tough-truck enthusiast (I own a 1978 full-size Ford Bronco), eco-nerd, gaming nerd, personal finance mentor, and farmer’s daughter. I take care of my disabled father and spoil my rescued pittbull. I am the volunteer treasurer for a Non-Profit Organization in Baltimore, and I love being outdoors.
