My MIA explanation...again....sorry

Hello Divas!

Oops, I did it again...I disappeared for a little while, for which I am very, very sorry!

Quick explanation:
In addition to getting our new vehicle and trying to figure out all the knobs and stuff last week, we had a number of personal sagas unfold last week that took up most of my time and made me feel a wee bit yucky about myself.

I won't go into details with you all, but suffice to say it was a trying time for these Divas (and it still is not over)!

That's why I was so thankful that we had such a wonderful Memorial Day weekend at the Newburyport Arts, Flowers & All that Jazz! festival. Once again we met tons of new people who were very supportive of our efforts and also truly excited about our products! We sold a lot of stuff, too, which is always nice!

Lots of stuff to make this and next week before our next show (in Beverly), so I can't talk long, but wanted to thank you all that have been so supportive and genuine with us! It really is nice to know we are doing something right! :)

Talk again, soon, darlings!

Here comes the La Diva Bella Caravan!

Well, lovies, I've got great news!

We're getting a new vehicle for La Diva Bella!

A brand new Dodge Grand Caravan SXT with all the fun features, too! And plenty of room for all our new stuff and Little O, of course!

We get to pick it up today--after a bunch of red tape hurdles, mind you--from Herb Chambers Dodge on 114 in Peabody.

Herb Chambers folks were very nice to us--especially after the run-around we got from a competing dealership on the South Shore--and they didn't insult our intelligence either! Our salesman Richard--who will probably never read this--now calls himself Diva Richard. How funny is that?

It was tough getting this new vehicle. We were told to "Come on down!" and we did...a long ride for us...but we didn't find what we were promised ahead of time and then they seemed to think cuz we were girls (and not DIVAS!) they could pull one over on us.

Well, hello!!!! No dice!

Divas rule and we got exactly what we were looking for at a great price right here on the good ol' (soggy) North Shore.

The North Shore rocks! Ha ha! Sorry South Shore, but it's true. Just kidding...a little.

So, wahoo! Let's hear it for the Divas!

As they say in New Orleans, "Laissez les Bon Temps rouler!", which means "Let the good times roll!" (pun intended).

Got to go pick up the new Diva-mobile! Luv ya all!

Rainfall & flooding update in good ol' Peabody, MA USA

Well, darlings, the big news is the rain and flooding here in Peabody.

Peabody almost NEVER makes the news. I've lived here most of my life, so I know.

So now we are on national teevee and folks "from away" are going: "Where the heck is PEA-BOD-EE"? And we are going: "Duh! It's PEE-BUDDY" Haha. Reminds me of the Gold Bond Powder commercial they tried to do years ago when they named all the local cities but got them wrong. Remember? "Joe from HA-VER-HILL uses Gold Bond" (It's Hav-rill!)

We just do that to mess with the minds of people "from away".

Let me give you a tiny bit of advice if you ever come to New England--maybe to Peabody now that we are famous--NONE of the cities and towns are pronounced as they appear.

Don't even try.

We'll just snicker at you while we tell you the correct pronounciation...thinking: "It's SO obvious "Danvers" is pronounced DAN-VAHS! And it's RE-VE-YAH (Revere). You must be a blockhead! Ha ha...you are from away!"

Anyway, I digress. Downtown Peabody is completely underwater and they have blocked off almost all major roads in our area, including Route 1, 114, Lowell St., Main St., etc.

MDH didn't go to work today--though I think he could have made it--just lazy, I think. DIT LeeLee--who is back again--couldn't go to school at PVMHS because they put elderly folks from the former High-school-turned-elderly-housing up there.

Wondering if they'll get some ideas while they are there?

I can see it now:
"We, the Senior Citizens of Peabody, are tired of living in the OLD high school--where many of us actually went to school. We want new scenery! It's depressing to think we graduated and had lives and then ended up back at high school! The food isn't even better!
Therefore we are taking over this newer high school for our permanent residence!
Try and stop us! We have walkers and canes!"

heehee...just kidding...seniors are pretty mild mannered in Peabody....I think.

Anyway, it's back to the mad flop-house here. At least until they open the roads again.
Baby terrorizing the dogs in his walker, everyone hanging around doing nothing and me just wanting my old peace and quiet back.

I'll just go off and quietly have a nervous breakdown in the closet.
At least until some laundry or dishes need doing....

Peabody: The Big Easy of the Northeast?

Well, Dear Ones-

We've been having rain. Actually as I write, we are still getting rain.

Lots of rain.

They said almost 12 inches when its done. We've only had 20 gallons in the workshop so far.

Our quiet little city is on the national and local news.

Peabody!

Could we be The Big Easy of the Northeast?

Actually--it's no where near as fun as Nawlins here--Peabody is NOT a destination city by any means, my friends. But it still is fun to see us on the news--even though it is for a bad thing.

Tune in later to find out what happens.

Where have I been?

Hello Dear Ones,

I'm so sorry for not posting all week. It's been a very busy time for us here at La Diva Bella and also for me personally. Plus my network decided to fail half way thru the week, which didn't help! But all is fixed and I hope all is forgiven.

I know in my last post I promised to write you about MayFair in Cambridge's Harvard Square. We had a fantastic time, but WOW was it ever exhausting. Not knowing what the crowds would be like, but hearing it may attract some 100k people, Tre & I decided to rent a cargo van to bring all of our stuff in.

Good thing we did! It was packed and we sold out of many things. It was a different crowd than we are used to--much more earthy and hip--so we sold many of the more natural things as well as lots of the earthy scents such as patchouli, sandalwood and lavender.

No surprise that we sold out of our new All Natural Citrus Deodorant (http://www.ladivabella.com/product_info.php/products_id/463), but we also ran out of Tropical Pumice Foot Scrub (http://www.ladivabella.com/product_info.php/products_id/465) and sold lots of our massage melts, too (http://www.ladivabella.com/product_info.php/cPath/61/products_id/383).

I guess the folks in Cambridge really know how to treat themselves right!

It was fun to just meet new people, too and to see such a great mixed group of faces and races. I don't get out of the house much these days and it is always nice to meet new, non-judgemental people, don't cha think?

Even though MayFair was only from 12-6pm, we were gone ALL day. We left at 7am and didn't get the van back to the rental company until 9pm at night! It was sort of fun driving in the van, but also kinda bumpy, too. What barely fit in the Jeep, fit into the van PLUS loads more inventory, thus making us think we should maybe upgrade if we are going to keep up this fair schedule. And considering we have a busy year ahead (see fair schedule here: http://www.ladivabella.com/fairs.php), it might be a great idea.

Besides I really want to get rid of my other car--too many bad memories from the Evil Empire! We're thinking of replacing it with one of those Sto-n-Go Grand Caravans, so we can make room for Little O when we need to. But that would officially make me a soccer mom, which I've been trying to avoid! Oh, well, what are we gonna do?

This week also had many visitors to the "compound" including one of Nettie's friends who is currently canvasing Boston giving out samples of Wrigley's new Cool Watermelon gum, which seems to be getting quite the buzz on the net without his giant Watermelon Costume and sort-of-odd Watermelon bags.

But, I must say, the gum is pretty awesome. It actually never seems to lose its flavor. Unfortunately though it seems addictive. I chomped on my piece for like 6 hours and I am not a gum chewer. Finally my jaw became so stiff, I had to throw it out. Maybe they should have called it the Everlasting Gobstopper Cool Watermelon Gum...from Wrigleys...naw! Too long!

This week we saw the return of our new helper M (name masked to protect privacy) and we got lots of stuff done with her help, for sure! She's actually turning out to be quite a task master--sort of like Tre--which is good for me and my sometimes waning motivation. Made oodles of stuff to replace all the things we sold at MayFair and started to get ready for our summertime schedule with The Kennebunk Inn (a way cool Inn in the heart of Kennebunk that we have been providing with soaps, lotions and shampoos for some time now: http://www.thekennebunkinn.com/).

They get so busy in the summer that we send them stuff every week. It's a blast though, except when it comes to wrapping all those little bars of soap. Thank God for Sisters!

Our dear little DIT (Diva-In-Training) Leanne also packed up again and went to Mount Pleasantville. For those who don't know her, Leanne is our 14 (going on 35) year old niece that sometimes lives with us and sometimes doesn't. Everyone was sad to see her go. Okay, maybe not everyone...well, maybe just her cat, Oreo Cookie Man, the bulimic cat (It's true! This cat has an eating disorder!). Now Little O can have his room back, because it was looking decidely teenager-ish with clothes strewn about, etc.

Actually, she left some stuff here.
She tends to do that.

But not as bad as her mother, who has literally bushel baskets full of dirty clothes in our upstairs. Diva Nettie and DIT Leanne usually leave and then their stuff follows them eventually (and I do mean eventually). I think Sara Lee has stuff left there since February. (Actually, I believe they consider themselves celebrities, with different houses all around the world. Ok, maybe not the world. maybe just Peabody.)
Gotta love 'em!

And then...just when things quieted down...we took in another cat (temporarily)! So we are up to 4 cats, 2 dogs, 1 baby (ok, 2 babies if you count MDH) and me!

So, anyway, that's where I've been all week. My life is a soap opera...or as Nettie says: "They make movies about people like us!"

Sorry if you missed me! I promise to be more diligent with my writing next week!

Take care!

What is a Diva?

Hello, Darlings!

Since I started this blog, I've had a lot of folks ask me or talk to me about the meaning of the title "Diva" and why we chose to name our company "La Diva Bella".

The simple answer is we are just "calling it what it is", but I will elaborate (as usual).

Our heritage (from our father's side) is Italian and we are darn proud of that. And, we've always been keen on the name Bella, which of course means "beautiful".

But, "Diva"? Isn't that derogatory or something? Doesn't it essentially mean "witchy" (with the "b")?

Well, no. (Or as I like to say: "Yeah.....no.") Actually Diva--in Italian or Latin--means "Goddess". So putting it all together we've got "The Beautiful Goddess", which we absolutely just loved.

But there was a deeper meaning to the name choice, too.

Remember when the words "gay" or "dyke" were not used to in polite conversation?

I do. It just wasn't right to address people tht way.

But then a curious thing happened, all the folks that were being called "gay" and "dyke" in a negative way decided to embrace the moniker (fancy word for name) and make it their own. Sort of reverse psychology in a very positive way, right?

Well, that's sort of what happened to us.

For a long time, I was called a Diva every time I wanted to do something original, creative or just off-the-beaten-path. It was meant as a slur on my originality, I know. But once I actually thought about it, I realized that I really didn't think it was an insult at all. In fact, upon searching the meaning, I realized that a Goddess was something I really wanted to emulate--possibly even be. So, I decided to embrace the name and everything changed from there!

First off, I wasn't ticked off by being called a Diva anymore and I actually started to thank people who called me that which pissed them off...haha!).

Then I started looking for the word Diva in everything. I got a key change that said Diva on it and a bag that said: "Do me over, Diva!", too. I became proud of the name and took it back for us, darlings!

And since I do truly believe there are goddesses in all women--and I mean EVERY woman--we also incorporated the slogan: "Because Inside Every Woman is a Goddess!"

Honestly, at first, some people were sort of shocked. And some didn't want to be called a Diva. "Oh, no, not me. Maybe you, but not me." But with every passing day, we've added more and more Diva Devotees on our side. A revolution has begun!

So it's time to ask yourself. Are you treating yourself like the Goddess you are, Diva?

Do you put up with inferior or derogatory behavior from others because they don't really understand your divine nature?

It's time to embrace the title and start acting "as if", ladies.

Act "as if" you really ARE a Diva, and you know what? Pretty soon everyone else will start treating you the same way. And before you know it, you'll be proud to wear the title and maybe even have to insist on it in conversation. (Hey...look at one of my all-time idols, Queen Latifah. At some point she declared herself royalty and now she is!)

Try it and let me know what transpires, darlings!

Have a wonderful weekend! Hope to see you!