: About Me

I am a Channel Manager for the Home and Garden Channel. As a long time gardener, plant fanatic and plant collector, I feel very much at home in this channel. I am also interested in interior decorating, architecture as well as all of the other areas of the channel, though I don't profess to know as much about those areas. I am always hoping that this channel will provide people with valuable, practical and usable information through the well written and accurate articles that people submit. That means it is always wise to look things up if you are ever uncertain as to whether something is accurate.

There is loads of information about all aspects of homes and gardens all over the Internet. Helium is supposed to be a repository of knowledge, and in keeping with that, I want the articles in this channel to represent solid knowledge or research so that they will be of use to anyone who looks for information. Gardening is my love, and it is with the help of a team of great people, that the rest of this channel is of the quality that it is.

I have a team of fabulous sub-channel managers, and without them, this channel wouldn't be all that it is.The sub-channel managers are listed below. 

Olha Romaniuk - Architecture  

Glory Lennon - Landscaping and Trees and Shrubs

Lenna Gonya - Perennials 

S.F. Heron - Annuals 

Brooke Shambley - Furniture and Home Interiors 

Alexandra Heep - Home Interiors 

I personally oversee Cleaning, Houseplants, Lawn, Gardening (other) Home & Garden (other) Vegetables and Herbs, Weeds and Pests and Real Estate.

Anyone who is interested in becoming a sub-channel manager can also contact me. You will need to have written ten articles in the sub-channel you wish to manage. I would love to have sub-channel managers for the channels listed above that I am personally overseeing. If you have professional experience or a passion in any of the listed areas, please contact me.

I am also a member of the Editorial Advisory Board, and am incredibly proud to be part of this amazing team of people who are helping to elevate the quality of writing at Helium in every possible way. I am always willing to assist Helium members who are looking for ways to improve their writing and grow as writers.

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On a more personal note, here is some background about me.

My undergraduate degree is a B.Music degree in Music History and Literature. I studied at the Chicago College of Performing Arts (formerly known as Chicago Musical College of Roosevelt University.) Music has always been a big part of my life, mostly because I was surrounded by it all the while I was growing up. My father was a well known Chicago violist.

I later moved to Iowa to do graduate work. After getting involved in the Book Arts community there, my career path changed radically and I wound up enrolling as a member of the first class of students to participate in the University of Iowa Center for the Book Graduate Certificate Program. My graduate work revolved around course work related to the history of the book. That also included several years of intensive Latin study.

My interest in plants dates back to high school and has evolved over the years. I am a big proponent of organic gardening and believe that people can improve their health, save money and countless other things by growing their own food crops. I've written a lot about all aspects of gardening and plants and love to collect exotic tropical plants. Another passion of mine is hummingbirds, and I plant as much as I can to lure the little beauties to my gardens.

I welcome suggestions, criticisms, or any other contact from members who have an interest in the Home & Garden channel.

Other writing can be found at the Examiner.com as the Waco Gardening Examiner and at Bright Hub and Demand Studios, under the name Susan Klatz Beal or Susan Beal. I also write for WriterAccess and Skyword, where I write for the Daily Glow, where I write beauty news , Bounty (paper towels, ) and Gather News where I write political news. 

My passion is ...

First and foremost, I'm passionate about writing , then exotic and tropical plants, garrdening - especially tropical plants and flowers and hummingbirds. I'm also passionate about classical music.

I know too much about ...

Probably Classical Music and plants, gardening and hummingbirds

My parents always told me ...

Always be honest and respectful of all people. Treat others as you'd want people to treat you. It is important to know that you are no better or worse than anyone else.

My childhood ambition ...

I had many..........but probably a professional musician or an international linguist. I also had dreams of becoming a librarian and a writer (I'm working on that last one!)

My favorite memory ...

Marrying my best friend or playing duets with my father and holidays with my family - especially the smell of my mom's Christmas goodies.

Why I write ...

I love to write, I love to put my thoughts into writing and I love to challenge myself creatively through writing. I am on a mission to encourage people to become more self sufficient through vegetable gardening.

What I am reading/watching/listening to ...

I'm watching the entertaining hummingbirds who are flocking to my feeders all day long.

My first job ...

stocking clothes in a woman's clothing store

My best moment ...

getting married for the first time to an amazing man just before I turned 50.

My inspiration ...

My husband and everything around me..........Mostly plants, birds, things in nature! Most of all, all of the people who have believed in me, continue to believe in me and are always encouraging me.

Hobbies & Games > Holiday Crafts Creative "green" gift wrapping

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Gift-wrap can be expensive to buy. Think of how much paper is wasted when people use traditional holiday gift-wrap and do not recycle it. The mere thought of this might be enough to prompt eco conscious consumers to want to come up with a more ecologically friendly way to wrap holiday gifts. There are many ways to make gifts look wonderful without using things that cannot be recycled. *Brown paper grocery bags From now until Christmas, ask for paper bags when you go grocery shopping. Use those paper bags as the basis for creating attractive and environmentally friendly gift-wrap. An easy w...

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• Channel Manager Home & Garden
• Editorial Advisory Board
• 1Marketplace Articles Sold
• Helium Charter Member