Of course, everyone wants to know just HOW he asked. Let’s just say between recently moving, being 20+ weeks pregnant (with TWINS – surprise!) and just being stressed and exhausted,  I single-handedly messed up his plans. I would have blogged about it sooner but I’ve been without internet for a few weeks due to moving into a new home and a headache with AT&T customer service.  Happily, things are finally back to normal. Yay!

Back to the engagement. For a long time now, Jason had been planning on proposing and was hoping to take me to a nice dinner last Tuesday night. Stubbornly, I refused to go to dinner because I was just too tired and REALLY wasn’t the mood to get dressed up and go out. He tried everything to convince me how it was a great idea to go to dinner that night and I was all “UM… NO.”

It turns out he had really cute plans which involved a red velvet cupcake (my fav) and a really nice restaurant -  of course, I didn’t know this at the time.

The next day, he had to drive all the way back to the restaurant to retrieve the ring and they wanted to know what happened and I’m pretty sure they felt badly for him.  Later that night, he invited me out to our new balcony to enjoy the beautiful night and bask in the stunning view of the Hollywood Hills.  He went on to nervously chatter about life… and I was all, “Why are you acting so weird?”

He then got down on one knee, opened the jewelry box and asked me to marry him. My chin quivered and I started to sob because I was suddenly overwhelmed with surprise and adoration for his unwavering commitment to our future. On top of that, I found out that he had intended to ask me the previous night and I had sabotaged his plans.

I’m really blown-away by Jason’s thoughtfulness and consideration into making sure it would be special just for me and it was. You see, I’m not the kind of girl who would feel comfortable with tons of attention in a public setting. I loved it the way it was -  just the two of us.

Now, every time I now stand on our balcony, I will forever remember and cherish that sweet moment under the night sky.  I’m blessed to have my best friend by my side through some pretty rough times and has he has shown me that he’s not going anywhere. Jason is going to be an amazing husband and father. I look forward to the adventure.

It’s that time of year again! SXSW has just opened up voting on this year’s panels and holy cow is it a big one.

Over 2300 ideas were submitted and only 500 will be selected. Naturally, I’m selfishly asking for votes on my panel.  It only takes a moment to sign up and vote.  I’d really appreciate your support! Community voting goes from August 9 – August 27, 2010.

VOTE NOW

Why Brainstorming Sucks & What to do About It.

Get ready to explore methods that spark ideas before you start pushing pixels or crafting code. This hands-on session is perfect for designers and coders alike because ideas can come from anywhere and anyone. Roll-up-your sleeves get ready to walk away with a few tools to help spark some innovative ideas and give your projects new meaning. After all, Creativity is a choice.

Questions Answered:

1. Why does brainstorming suck?
2. Where do you begin?
3. Is it better to brainstorm in groups or alone?
4. Is there a good brainstorming process to follow?
5. What are some good brainstorming methods?

Thank You in Advance

This will be a similar panel to the one I did at the Front End Conf, which got really great twitter reviews and was lot of fun with audience participation. Hope you can vote! It really would mean a lot to me.

On July 23rd, 2010 in St. Petersburg, FL, I will be speaking alongside some really well-respected speakers at the Front End Design Conference.  It’s an honor to be included in this exciting one day event, especially considering that it is an unusual all-female lineup including: Meagan Fisher, Lea Alcantara, Niki Brown, Jina Bolton, Adelle Charles and Sarah Parmenter.

The Front-End Conference was created for anyone interested in front-end design to spend a day learning and hanging out with a bunch of like-minded people. The topics are intended to cover as much of the spectrum of front-end design that can be squeezed into a single day.

My session is called “Learning to Love Ideas: Brainstorming 101″.

Together, we’ll explore some methods to spark ideas even before you start pushing pixels or crafting code. This hands-on session is perfect for designers and coders alike because ideas can come from anywhere and anyone. So, roll-up-your sleeves and get ready to walk away with a few tools to help give your projects new meaning.

If you are going to be at the event, stop by and say hello! I’m looking forward to meeting everyone.

As some of you may know, my Mom is battling pancreatic cancer. She is in the final weeks of chemotherapy and radiation and I’m happy to say she’s feeling much better than she did several weeks ago. It seems that the treatments are having some effect on the tumor and parts of it are dying. Right now it’s just a matter of waiting for next steps. I think the hardest part is in the beginning when you don’t know what to expect.

After the last bit of chemo she will get a few weeks of rest and recovery so that the doctors can evaluate what the next steps will be. The hope is that they can shrink it enough to remove it from being wrapped around her portal vein.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!

Today was my Mom’s 58th birthday – So feel free to wish her a late happy birthday. It’s been so nice to hear from others who know what it’s like to go through the same battle with cancer – so thank you and you know who you are!

We couldn’t have had a more beautiful day – we pulled out the grill and enjoyed some BBQ and warm sunshine. My brother helped me make some mouth-watering kabobs and tasty baked potatoes for our family from Germany who is visiting. We were so happy to have my aunt Hala and cousin Silke come all this way to share some good food and good laughs.

My young cousin Silke speaks German, Spanish and English fluently. AND she’s studying multi-media and interactive design. I guess it’s in our blood. She just might be the smartest 22 year old I have ever met.

Easter was awesome. Hope yours was as well! Feel free to give a shout out to my Mom in the comments – she would love to hear from you.

First of all, thank you so much to everyone for your support during this difficult time. A few weeks ago I wrote about what we were going through as my Mom was recently diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer. Last week, she finally started chemo and radiation treatments. We also received some great last-minute news. The doctors were able to work with the insurance company to get approval for her to be in a study which will shoot chemo directly into the tumor. We got this approval literally the day before she was scheduled to start chemo after 6 weeks of waiting. Phew!

She is now in the second week of Chemo and will have to endure about 4-5 weeks more in hopes of shrinking the tumor so that they can remove it by a Whipple procedure. Because of all of the complex veins and organs in that area – it makes surgery rather difficult. The good news is, my Mom’s cancer has not spread but they need to shrink the tumor in order to remove it because it is tangled up in some major veins. This gives us a lot of hope that she can kick cancer in the ass. It is also very painful as the tumor often pushes on your organs causing the patient to be in constant pain.

Most people diagnosed with this cancer do not have symptoms until a much later stage and after it has spread. This is one of the reasons, statistically, it is a very dangerous cancer. That said, I hope anyone with a history of cancer’s take this to heart: if you smoke, please stop. This is one of the leading causes of all kinds of cancer. I can’t say enough how many horrible things smoking does to your body.

So, right now my Mom is enduring some pretty sucky side effects from the medicines, chemo and radiation. For one, it changes the way things taste and smell, causing her to have constant nausea, making it very difficult to enjoy food and can easily cause dehydration.

There’s some other crappy side effects that I won’t go into detail here, but one thing I have learned is that being diagnosed with cancer can be a really confusing process. The communication in hospitals is really disorganized. And having to deal with many different doctors who are often in a hurry can make it difficult to get your questions answered. I can only hope that one day our health care system gets fixed.

I also have to give a huge shout out to Agencynet for being so supportive during this difficult time. Without their understanding and support, I wouldn’t be able to work from St. Louis and be with my family. I’m cherishing every moment of every day and I’m blessed to work for such a great company who is not only very capable of producing award winning work, but also excels in being empathic and human.

That said, thank you all for your thoughts and prayers!

I want to thank everyone around me on twitter and Facebook for support and help during this difficult time. I see now how truly powerful social networks can be in times of need. I am sharing this story in hopes of getting insight from others who have been through this before.

The Background

4 weeks ago my beautiful Mom was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. She is 57 years old, much younger than most with this type of cancer. She is the most amazing woman I know. She has been through so much and sacrificed a ton for me and my brother. She was born and raised in Germany with 4 other siblings in a tiny 2 bedroom apartment. Her parents only had one leg each due to World War II.

She slept on the couch with her sister and did not even have her own bedroom. Despite all of that, she is the strongest woman I know. She met my dad while he was in the U.S. army stationed in Germany. She emits joy, laughter and calls things as they are. She is stubborn, a neat freak, smart, funny, sweet and creative.

About 6 weeks ago she was hospitalized for jaundice and that’s when some further investigation revealed a mass in her pancreas. The good news is it has not spread but the bad news is that it’s a very complicated cancer.

Her bile duct collapsed as a result of the tumor pressing on it. So they had to put a stint in her bile duct to keep it open. The tumor is also entangled among her veins that supply blood to some of her her major organs.

Our Healthcare System

We have been waiting for 6 weeks for treatments to start and it’s been a whirl wind of emotion and confusion.

The doctors wanted her to be in a study that would shoot radiation directly in the mass but we were just told by the doctors that they “forgot” to get clearance for all these tests from the insurance company.

Thus, my parents may be facing tens of thousands of dollars in charges that they assumed were cleared by the insurance company and to be covered. At the fault of the doctors and hospital – we just found out they did not get clearance for all of these tests.

In the mean time, she’s been in constant pain and sickness – already loosing weight because she can’t eat.

Today, we just found out that the insurance company said they would not pay for any of the normal treatments if she decided to do the study because they considered it “experimental”. I can’t fathom how they could do such a thing and say no to a treatment that could possibly save her life and others – even though the trial is paid for. They said they would not pay for her chemo if she chose to be in the trial. Thus, she won’t be in the trial.

Her doctor said it may take months to fight the insurance companies to get approval for the clinical trial. Unfortunately, time is not on our side.

She has not had any treatments for 6 weeks because of the confusion. She is supposed to finally start Chemo on this coming Monday.

I have so much anger towards our health care system and its stupid bureaucracy. How is it an inmate will get better health care than my Mom who has worked hard her whole life?

Sorry for venting… but it just doesn’t seem fair.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to deal with insurance companies and clinical trials?

Last Saturday night I went to Seth MacFarlane’s private residence for a HUGE party hosted by 20th Century Fox. Seth is the creator of Family Guy and is insanely talented. He can draw, animate, sing AND write.

I hate him already.

The party promoted the upcoming 1 hour episode of “Something, Something, Something, Dark Side” – a Star Wars parody. The event had a holiday theme with Family Guy and Star Wars imagery integrated everywhere. This was the most amazing and extravagant event I have ever been to in my entire life.

Trailer Below:

Seth Can Sing!

Seth is well known for loving show tunes and wowed the crowed with some memorable entertainment of him singing.

Here’s a few fun pix:

I have a more photos on Flickr.

Celeb Alert!

Overall, this shindig was just jaw-dropping! I spotted Alyssa Milano, Zach Braff, Audrina Partridge (the Hills) and I even said hello to Mark Salling – SQUEEEE!!! (“Puck” from Glee). I LOVE GLEE!

Finally, a little Hollywood gossip

Mark Sallings looked like he came with Audrina Partridge. I don’t know 100% if something was there – but the pair were hanging out quite a bit and seemed to be a couple. I’m pretty sure they are dating.

Also, Seth MacFarlane was dancing into the wee hours of the night with one of the sisters from Sister, Sister. I don’t know which “sister” but they were inseparable and totally in the moment with each other.

Phew! I’m still exhausted after such an amazing event! Tell me, what’s your favorite Family Guy episode?

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Recently on Facebook, a childhood friend from eons ago asked me about some special cookies that she remembered from back in 5th grade. These were cookies my  Mom received from our family in Germany.

My Mom was born and raised in Amberg. Why is that important?  Well, because Amberg is less than an hour drive away from Nuremberg and Nuremburg is famous for its Lebkuchen also known as Nürnberger Lebkuchen. Every holiday season, my Aunt would send us a big box of goodies which always included a bunch of variations of  Lebkuchen.

So, what are Lebkuchen?

Well, there are a lot of variations.  The ones I know of  are  soft cookies – sort of chewy and they taste a little like Gingerbread. They also have a wonderful sweet-spicy aroma to them. They are glazed with Chocolate, Vanilla Icing or often just a sweet glaze. My favorites were the chocolate ones.

Where to Buy?

Below, I’ve collected some of my favorites from Amazon.

The History of Lebkuchen

I was so amazed my childhood friend remembered our family tradition, it got me wondering about he History of Lebkuchen.  As it turns out, it dates back to a really long time ago. Below is some of the history sourced from Wikipedia.

History

Lebkuchen (or Pfefferkuchen) is a traditional German product baked for Christmas, somewhat resembling soft gingerbread. Lebkuchen bakers were recorded as early as 1296 in Ulm, and 1395 in Nürnberg (Nuremberg). Since 1996, de:Nürnberger Lebkuchen is a Protected Designation of Origin and must be produced within the boundaries of the city.

Emperor Friedrich III

Local history in Nuremberg relates that emperor Friedrich III held a Reichstag there in 1487 and he invited the children of the city to a special event where he presented Lebkuchen bearing his printed portrait to almost four thousand children.

Ingredients

The ingredients usually include honey, spices such as aniseed, coriander, cloves, ginger, cardamom, and allspice, nuts including almonds, hazelnuts, and walnuts, or candied fruit.  Lebkuchen dough is usually placed on a thin wafer base called Oblate.  Typically, they are glazed or covered with very dark chocolate, but some are left uncoated.

Lebkuchen range in taste from spicy to sweet and come in a variety of shapes with round being the most common.

Packaging

Sometimes Lebkuchen is packaged in richly decorated tins, chests, and boxes which have become nostalgic collector items.

NEAT!!

It seems every time I started a new design, life got in the way and I was never able to finish. After too much time had passed, I would lose my train of thought and start all over on a new design.

Here are a few designs that I did over a year ago that  DID NOT make the final cut.  As you can see, they are all only half way  done. I tend to start off in black and white and add color as I go. These are merely wire-comps if you will…

Let’s just say that looking back I’m glad none of these directions made the cut, as now they seem a bit archaic with newer technology available — or maybe I just got wiser.   Anyhow, I’m excited about the direction I ended up going in.

Not to mention how BADLY I need to update this site.I think I have about 20 new blog PSDs concepts that I never  finished because life just got in the way. I promise that I will eventually get this thing updated with a fresh face.

In the mean time, I’ll go ahead and embarrass myself and post a clip from my reality show that I was on about 6 years ago. How the heck did I go from that – to designing and building websites?… life is craaaaaazy but fun.

In doing so, I discovered some awesome makeup tutorials that I have to give credit to for my Geisha makeup. I took some creative liberties but without these videos I wouldn’t have been able to pull it off. (Videos below the photo.)

To see more amazing costumes you can check out my Flickr stream.

AMAZING GEISHA MAKEUP TUTORIALS

This was super helpful when putting my look togther so thank you to both video authors for the tips!

I definitely think after being brave enough to attempt this myself, I just might have to do some crazy makeup next year. It’s a great way to take your costume up a notch.

I’m pretty sure this how shes spends about 90% of her day. Upside Down.

My little jumping bean is so cute.  Crazy dog… LOL!

This was a small TV role I had back in 2004… I think I had like one line. It was Off Centre – P.P. Doc II: The Examination Continues. The show was cancled after this episode but being on set was a ton of fun.