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About Me

Hi, my name is Marsha Kumi Pao. While some of you know me by Marsha, my blog will be taking on it’s life by my middle name. So “byKumi” wasn’t the most obvious choice, but let’s be honest…not much is left for domain names. Plus, Kumi has a much better meaning than Marsha. Kumi translates to “everlasting beauty” versus Marsha “warlike”…hmmm.

My full name pretty much sums everything up about me! I am American born (Marsha) of Japanese descent (Kumi) that married the Chinese classmate sitting behind me in junior high school. (Pao) There’s more to the junior high story, but we can get back to that another time.

My mom and dad were very traditional Asian parents and always very interested in natural healing. I grew up with aloe plants everywhere and my dad would start his morning with a cup of home-brewed kombucha! That was over 40 years ago! Little did I know they were such pioneers in their own way! But I was also taught the value of home cooking, sewing, crafting, and worked many hours in my family’s rental homes. (Aren’t there child labor laws?)

Fast forward to the present…I am still married (yep, to the same guy) and with two daughters in college. (Whew!) I am currently transitioning from being a stay-at-home mom for the past 20 years. Not sure what things look like for me moving forward, but fortunately my husband is taking this part of the journey with me!