Om

I am a work at home mother to two boys ages 8 and 10 who love to help me in the garden as often as possible. Happily married to my high school sweetheart for going on 13 years now. I run 6 businesses from my home, and somehow find time in all of that to teach three subjects. For businesses I am a henna artist, do custom tailoring and sewing, do web programing, compile research, run an herbal company with some employees, and write and edit crossword puzzles and other trivia related games.

As for hobbies, I have turned most of my loves into business ventures. I love to sew and do millinery work, and make jewelry. I crochet, knit, tat, spin, macrame, embroider, and quilt. I draw, paint, and sculpt, doing wood firing as often as possible. I am an herbalist working toward various other certifications in that discipline. I also enjoy origami and furoshiki. I teach and perform folk dances from around the world, and enjoy the study of cultures and languages. I am a trivia addict, and love to read and research for the pure pleasure of the act. I enjoy collecting old books and rare copies, and smelling old paper. I also enjoy being outside and in nature as much as possible. I give weed walks and teach foraging, wild identification, and herbalism in many manners. When I was a child I inherited my father’s rock collection and have kept it up, along with starting a bug collection. I love the chemistry of life and to that end pursue a lot of wine and mead making along with just playing with my rather advanced chemistry set in the basement. I enjoy raising little yeast and other fungal and mold colonies. :)

The name Om means a lot of things to me. It was originally short for another nickname Occult Mastermind, gained by my endless font of trivial knowledge on the subjects. And of course a pun in itself. I have also spent much time studying religions and Om as the sound of origination appeals to me also. As does the fact that it is a frequent abbreviation found in the gardening world for Organic Material. It is also used as an abbreviation for Open Minded in many pagan circles I frequent. So, I find it applies in several aspects.

And yes, I am an extremely busy and driven person. It keeps me from being a control freak, and allows me to socialize. I have a very addictive personality, and have replaced dangerous addictions over the years with new hobbies and pursuits. No, I don’t sleep much. :)