I guess we’ll just jump right into the stuff I have to share. The first thing, which I am most excited about is that my tea blends have been doing so well in the www.buydanido.com shop that I have decided to roll them over to their own brand and shop. On Wednesday I announced the grand opening of Goddess Tea. Goddess Tea features the same blends that were previously available at DaniDo Crafty but they have been renamed (each listing has the old name as well so if you’re looking for an old favorite you can still find them in the new shop.) Each of the teas are now named after a Goddess. You can read more about how I decided to use this theme on the Goddess Tea Blog. I also introduced a few new blends in the shop this week, the most popular so far has been the Hestia Chai Kit which is a kit I’ve put together for people who enjoy the chai concentrates you can get at the grocery store or chai lattes you get in coffee houses. This kit gives you the tea and spices you need to make your own concentrate as well as directions for making the concentrate itself and 4 recipes for how to serve it. I love this kit so much, I keep a jug of the concentrate on hand all the time in my house. I drink chai year round; hot in the winter and over ice or blended in the summer time. In my opinion it’s the perfect beverage.
As I was trying to figure out how to rebrand these teas and what my new labels and logo should look like, my own personal Goddess of Photoshop swooped in and saved me from my own subpar design skills. Miss Violet (of Lime & Violet , Recaffeinated Bath Works and Oak River Township fame. She also has many other homes on the internet but I won’t link them all.) bailed me out in my time of need by procuring this MOST AWESOME logo for me to use. She’s fabulous in so many ways they’re almost as hard to enumerate as her many blogs/shops/websites.
Tada!
HOW FREAKING GORGEOUS IS THAT?!? SERIOUSLY?!?
Excuse me, freak out over now. I’m sorry for the outburst. I’m just super in love with that logo.
So, as with any new obsession I have been up to my eyebrows in Goddesses, tea, packing slips and all things Goddess Tea related. I’ve also been blessed with many hours spent standing over a bowl in my kitchen thinking up new blends and sipping hot tester teas in deep introspection. This introspection has led me to realize that I am surrounded by my own Personal Goddesses. (And a few Gods as well.) I want to tell you all about some of my favorite ladies and then I’m going to give you incentive to tell me about your Personal Goddess.
We’ll start with the one closest to my heart and person: Goddess of Listening, Moral Support and Holding Me Accountable Christina Marie. She is my bestest bestie and she listens to more pathetic whiney self depreciating ‘ZOMG I can’t do this I suck at everything!’ crap than any other person on the planet and does it all with grace and only occasionally tells me off. I am endlessly grateful for her and I don’t think I would be half as sane or competent as I am without her.
I also have a wonderful group of Goddesses of Business Brainstorming and Good Ideas who include but are not limited to Amy, Chelsea, Lori (couldn’t find a blog but here’s her Twitter!) and of course Laura and Kelly of the Unique Sheep. These gals are constantly giving me feedback on my various business endeavors, moral support and cheerleading, and of course they buy my stuff too! Which is always nice.
Lastly there is my Goddess of Silliness and LOUD Laura Marie who constantly keeps me in good spirits, reminds me to not take things too seriously and that there is always time for singing, dancing, making noise and fan girl-ing out about whatever makes you feel good. She is my little ray of sunshine and without her I’m sure I would be dreadfully boring.
My other goddesses include Donna Lee (Goddess of Being Supportive), Mary Catherine Black (Goddess of OMG CAN YOU KNIT THIS NOW?!?), Tamsie (Goddess of Please Be My Mom), Teri (Goddess of How Do You Do It?) and many more.
These are just some of the incredible women I am lucky enough to have in my life. There are lots more I haven’t mentioned who deserve to have their praises yelled from rooftops, unfortunately naming them all here would take weeks.
Now the fun bit! I want to hear about your Personal Goddesses! Tell me about a special lady in your life and why they are your own personal Goddess and you could win a prize.
What is the prize you ask? Well, one lucky winner will get next months Choose Your Own Adventure Club package! This will include a hank of hand dyed sock yarn in the ‘Nature’ theme and the goodie that the rest of the club will be getting (it’s a good one!). 2 other winners will get copies of my Flounce Neckwarmer pattern which is a perfect Spring time knitting project.
This contest will run from today through January 15th (next Friday). All you need to do is leave a comment on this blog post with who your Goddess is and why. Make sure you leave some way for me to get in touch with you email address or Ravelry ID works. The grand prize winner will be chosen based on how much detail they give and how happy and/or weepy their story makes me. The other 2 winners will be drawn at random from all of the comments. Bonus points for creative Goddess titles. (Goddess of Underwater Basket Weaving, Play Doh Sculptures & Puppy Juggling for example.)
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emoticon. you are totally one of the queens of my world!
Personal Goddesses, I have several. There is Carrie (craftypuppylover) who is my Pimp My Shop Goddess. There is my friend Kelly who is my Quit Whining and Get Out There and DO IT Goddess. And there is Jessie (phatfiberlady) who is my Everything Is Possible Muse. There is you, the Oh Crap, What Does This Mean? Goddess. There are probably several others that I will think of later because I’m a dork and this stuff simmers and comes up when I go to bed and can’t sleep.
Who are my personal goddessess? Well, two of them would be Ann and Susan – they are my “cheering team goddesses” who remind me that I am a goddess in my own right! And, that I deserve the best life has to offer!
nhsarab on Ravelry
love the design!! might be a bit cliche but i would have to say my daughter, cait. She has the best giving heart, is a beautiful girl (but isn’t vain at all)and at 17 knows what she wants for a career, finishing her second year of college while also finishing her senior year at the high school … in electrical engineering. She inspires me to keep learning new things and always strive to keep busy! Good luck with your new venture!
Ok, as a Christian I am against the “goddess” idea, but I can definitely go for “women I look up to” idea. Of those I have 2. My mother, if for no other reason than she actuality raised me in all my wild yarn wanderings. She didn’t get it when I wanted a spinning wheel, but did I get one for my 13th birthday? Oh yes. Didn’t understand my need for different size hooks and needles or even a stash of yarn, but did I have all of those things before I could read… yes again. Does she do ANY of these crafty things herself? No… but she did seek out lessons for me and would even sit in the classes when the teachers would not take students under age 13 without and parent present. I love her so much, even when I complained about her because she wouldn’t let me stay out all night with boyfriends (which looking back was the right thing to do, but tell that to a 16 year old!) I loved her. I still do.
The second would be my Mother in Law. I know many complain about their own mother in laws but mine rocks. She tries very hard to love all her kids and grandkids equally and to follow the rules that the parents put in place. She crochets and knits and likes to get presents of handspun yarns (I spin so this works). She understands that I didn’t “steal” her son from her but instead that he grew up and “choose” to marry me. She is a lady of grace that I hope I can be for my future daughters and sons in law. I love her so much.
Oh and disregard this post for the contest but I forgot to put in that my Ravelry name is MamaMay as well…
My goddess is my mother. When I became an adult, our relationship changed to one of the most beautiful friendships ever. She encourages me, and has never once said “I told you so” when something goes wrong. She devotes all her energy into everything she does, teaching high school courses, gardening, and genealogy. It was by her example, and encouragement that I auditioned and was accepted into a professional Shakespeare company. She rocks!
I’m naughtyknots on Rav
I guess my goddess would be my friend Johnette. She’s a wonderful business person, inspirational pilates instructor, great listener, and just good people.
I can be found on ravlery as squiggi.
My personal goddess(s) have to be my 3 daughters I’m totally amazed at how they have turned into beautiful,wonderful women ,adoring wives & most excellent mother’s to my 6 grandchildren & all in spite of MY bumbling attempt at being a good mother!!!
The Goddess of Nurturing New Mamas, Teaching World Languages and Tellin’ It Like It Is Even When You Don’t Want To Hear It – is my good friend Jennifer. I met her when I was a new world languages teacher in this city and she was my department chair; when things at that school started going south for me in a hurry, she generously opened her schedule and classroom to me after school so she didn’t have to deal with students wondering why a teacher was bawling in the hallway. She inspired me to attend my first Big-Time Teaching Conference, which completely changed the way that I looked at language learning and how I taught. (The way I used to teach was just dumb. But did Jennifer ever say that? Nope. She listened patiently, bit her tongue, and offered suggestions that ultimately led me to go to the conference.) She called me with random useful bits of information during my pregnancy with Baby Girl, helped me through the first two weeks of painful and awful breastfeeding, and knit Baby Girl the most awesome baby blanket ever. She supported my decision to leave teaching when things at the second school started getting awful and commiserated as I transitioned into a new career in “domestic engineering.” She has far surpassed me as a knitter – both in speed and proficiency (she won first prize for a project at the state fair last year!) – but she puts up with my pokiness and keeps enabling me with fiber and yarn and knit-alongs. And, most importantly, she’s a mom to three boys under the age of 9 and still has a cool and calm head on her shoulders.
I’m Kansasienne on Ravelry.
My Goddess of All Things Amazing,Inspirational and ZOMG Totally Want To Live in Her Heart is Vandy on Rav . I have not yet had the opportunity to meet Vandy in person , but I wish I could. She inspires me in so many ways.
A little background; I met Vandy in the Karma Yarn Swap group almost 3 years ago. She is vibrant , vivacious and a boatload of fun ! She is also one of the most compassionate people I have ever met.
Last year Vandy was diagnosed with Cancer. At the same time I was going through a horrible time (homeless). When I was able to get online I always tried to check in to see how Vandy was doing and her main concern was for what she could do for me ….not visa versa.
Vandy is a nurse who works with special needs kids and has a son with asbergers (sp?). She is very active with charitable knitting ….and is just….well….awesomeness personified.
My personal heroine / Goddess is my grandma. Half of her spine was fused and she was told 35 years ago she never walk again. This was the same year my grandpa died. After a few years in bed she got bored and got up. By working out in the gym every day and using a corset, she created an exoskeleton of muscle and nylon. She is now 92, still lives alone, and is still a beauty queen. Men in their 70s chase her, but she isn’t interested in “those young boys.” I hope to be half as cool and tough as her when I get old.
Oh – forgot to mention that she still has romantic & sexy dreams about my grandpa and is clearly still in love with him.
one of my personal “goddesses” is a good friend of mine…..she’s a proffessional jeweler in a niche market, a strong woman, and keeps everyone’s respect while doing it!! keeps all the “boys” in check while we’re all hanging out……
-oonagh fibersmyth on ravelry
This is a wonderful question. After much though, I have decided to introduce my birth mother, Maria, as my personal Goddess of strength. Maria and I have had quite a rocky relationship. You see, she was only 16 when I was born, and was struggling with a hard-knock life with a loud angry mother and an alcoholic abusive father. Interestly enough, I was in and out of state homes and adoption agencies in my first 3 months of life. Her father, ended up adopting me. Some say that I changed his life, but I feel like it really changed hers. So I grew up, fully knowing my mother and always seeking her love and approval. Our relationship was paved with guilt, jealously, love, hate, and everything under the sun. When I was 2 years old, she fought for me. When I got older, she tried to reach out. Time went by, the gap grew wider, and hurtful words were said. It has only been recently that I have reconnected with her, and she has informed me of her struggles over the last 5 years. Both her parents died, including the man who I knew as my dad. It all felt like a battle. Although we will never have that great ‘mother/daughter’ relationship, I know that she cares for me and I care for her. This is why, without a doubt, she is akin to Athena: She fought hard, but she also has grown into her own brand of wisdom. And so have I.
My goddess… I have two, one here and one up above. The first is my mother who passed away a few years ago, but I attain to be the goddess of a mother that she was with my newborn son – she was loving and supportive, and intelligent, motivated, nurturing, fun and creative and beautiful and all the things a Goddess should be. I miss her lots and she motivates me every day.
My goddess here on earth is my friend Susie, she is an amazing friend who always is there to listen, or chat or offer a hug or a joke or to run off on adventures together or just hang out together. We’ve been friends for years, and although I’ve moved many times, we’ve remained close friends and I haven’t found anyone else remotely like her.
I love my Goddesses!!
My mom will always be my personal goddess. This woman raised 3 kids on her own & we all turned out to be warm, loving, caring, strong, individuals. That and she’s just had the most amazing life. She was an Olympic hopeful in the 1984 Olympics in LA in 1984…well then she got a lil surpise…me
When she was 19 she was lost at sea for 3 months…seriously lost. Her & the 2 frenchmen on the boat (they were delivering the boat to its owner) were hit by a hurricane & for 3 months drifted around, bailed water, & lived off of molasses. To this day she loves the smell of the stuff.
I guess I shouldn’t be so surprised she raised us all so well & on her own…she’s the strongest woman I’ve ever met.
I love my mom <3