Tuesday, September 23, 2008

"Whatever, Martha" is Totally My New Obsession



If you've ever wondered what it was like to be Martha Stewart's daughter, wonder no more. Alexis Stewart and her Sirius radio partner are hosting a new show on the Fine Living Network called, "Whatever, Martha" Tuesdays at 9.

This show is like watching Martha with your friends, but they're extremely clever, witty friends who have years of issues from having been Martha's daughter.

When I was married, oh so many years ago, I kind of wanted to be Martha. I wanted to be the perfect housewife, but somehow somewhere along the way I lost that. That passion for making homemade pasta was replaced by a passion for writing, but there's still this little part of me that wants to be just a little like Martha. Unfortunately I always fall just a little bit short.

Last night I decided to try to impress a guy by making homemade pizza, something I'm usually not too bad at. I was trying hard to make it look perfect, but the dough just didn't want to cooperate. It was far from round, (I don't think there's a name for the shape it morphed into)and was thicker than I usually make it, it was so not Martha-like. It tasted good, but as it flopped over the wooden palate, oozing cheese on to the counter I realized that no matter how hard I try, the things I do will never be perfect.

Perhaps that why I love "Whatever, Martha." It pokes fun at the quest for culinary and domestic perfection that no one can truly achieve. It shows us the flaw in that thinking and makes us realize that like so many things in life, it's more about the thought behind the effort than the actual outcome. Taking the time to do something for someone rather than the perfect outcome should be the goal, it truly is the thought that counts.

At least that's what I told myself as I stood there trying to figure out how to cut a pizza that looked like a geometry class reject. Hopefully my dinner companion agreed.

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