I'm a stay at home mom, and to preserve my sanity and fend off boredom I watch TV (or have it on in the background) pretty much all day. Hubby and I are trying to save money by not having cable, so one of the only palatable shows on during the 10 a. m. time slot is MARTHA STEWART.

I used to despise her on the grounds that she is the ADD nemesis and everything that makes me feel like a piece o' poo-poo about myself. But I find myself strangely drawn to watching this show.

One thing I realized, because the show is live, is that MARTHA MAKES MISTAKES. Also, if you ever watch it, you find out SHE IS NOT THE MOST SOCIALLY APT PERSON around. She says some things that make her guests squirm and even offends them and goes right on like she doesn't even notice.

There are a few guests that she's had that have not been overawed by her (Patti Labelle was one) and I realized MARTHA STEWART IS HUMAN.

Today she surprize visited a person making dinner in her home, and the woman was fixing this enormous, complicated Syrian dish with her family, and her house was beautiful and I felt like barfing (with jealousy, most likely)! At the same time my eyes scanned my apartment and I was like, whoa, what would it be LIKE to live in a place where I could have Martha step in?

Then I had an excellent belly laugh thinking about giving Martha a tour of my apartment . . . "And over here you'll find a pile of crap that's been sitting there for about six months, I wouldn't touch it if I were you . . ." I almost woke my baby up I laughed so much!!

I have an ADD friend whose house is overrun by magazines -- all decorating magazines like House Beautiful. It is too funny.

Anyone torture themselves like this?

I've been a huge Martha fan for years.
My secret is I do Martha on my level.
Like her recipes, She has a wonderful baked apple recipe I make all the time.
But other recipes where she's using like 40 ingredients I don't bother with.
I enjoy watching her show because I learn a lot.
I loved the Christmas special where she glued together a sugar cube house.
As much as I loved that show and idea.
I'm sorry but you will not see me gluing sugar cubes any time soon. LOL
But there are a lot of other Martha projects that I can do.
Take from Martha what works for you.
And just enjoy the rest as something interesting and to learn about.

the woman makes my stomach turn. she is a fraud. anyone can make it look easy with a staff of 50 in the background doing everything for you. she is like the sleight of hand artist whose assistant does all the work while she takes the credit. she even started her career by taking credit for something not hers...

Pembroke pegged it.

Not only is Martha S. a social FLOP, she also has an ENORMOUS staff.

I don't compare myself to others and it bothers me when others compare themselves to me (even in my favor).

My opinion: we're all different people with different strengths. I am someone who must have 20 balls in the air to get even 2 things done. When I do that, I can usually get through all 20. I have a friend that must focus her efforts on 1 or 2 things at a time. We're both pretty successful, but her success comes from quality (with adequate quantity) and mine from quantity (with adequate quality).

I guess my view point on Martha is not the popular one today.
But that's all right. :)
I believe Martha has a lot of value for woman with ADD.
Don't concentrate on Martha the woman.
Martha admits to having a lot of staff and she often says WE did this.
And it's that large staff behind Martha that makes her great for us ADD woman.
Because everything is researched, tested then broken down in step by step how too instructions.

I started getting her magazines when I first moved out after high school.
Because I was completely overwhelmed.
But having instructions in a magazine with pictures and diagrams was a big help.
Martha's website is loaded with that stuff.
You can learn how to make scrambled eggs even.
If you are having a tough time in the kitchen.

Two examples on how Martha's things have made life easier for me are.
Her simple trick for getting candles out of there holders after you've burned them down.
You just put them in the freezer later on they slide right out.
Which is great for me a woman with a high frustration level.
The second one is. A flag from a Veterans coffin was handed down to me in the family.
The flag was rolled into a ball and in a brown bag.
I had instructions from Martha's magazine with pictures on the proper way to fold it.

So don't get discouraged or hung up on Martha the woman.
There really is a lot of help there for woman with ADD.
On her website in her books and magazines.

I have a big flower garden. I like to cut some flowers and bring them inside.
Martha's flower arranging book helped me figure out how to make them look nice in the vase. lol

I say go with whatever works, regardless of the source.
I like her ideas, but not necessarily her.
I see some of the things she does and recognize that she's good at delegating to a large staff.
I KNOW she's not dusting all those knick knacks herself! LOL
:)

she finally learned to say "we". before her most recent show, she never did. it was always "i" and her most helpful assistants received no recognition at all.

Try watching Jerry Springer and it will suddenly make her look a lot less weird. :)

Martha is cool in my book! I have a sign that I hang on my door that says, "Martha does not live here". Not that there's likely to be any confusion about that after they come in!:D I wrote her web site several times and actually got a personal note back from her one of those times (the other times the staff responded). What I love about Martha is how she makes the ordinary stuff we moms and wives do everyday, shine for the special thing it really is!

Scattered

Ooooops. I love Martha....have some strong opinions I will not go into for everyone's sake.
I think Martha is Martha.
I've been able to run with some of her ideas and laugh at others.
I've taken some of her ideas and been very successful with them.

Airs don't intimidate me. I can usually find value where value exists.
But I agree with Stori that
we should all be selective in what we take from her....be ADD aware of your abilities for success.

No need to add another frustration to the piles on our plates, but some of her projects are welcome distractions for me.

well, i agree with taking whatever works for you from her. just because i personally can't stand her is beside the point. she must be doing something right.....otherwise she would not have been able to sustain her media empire.

Martha's show is like any other on tv, it is an illusion created through the efforts of many people. Her "empire" is built from the hard work of lots of employees who benefit (ie they get a paycheck) from her ability to build an empire. Not personally thanking each person "on air" during every show does not mean that she isn't grateful to those people and certainly does not mean that they are not benefiting from their association with her.

As amiegrace mentioned, Martha makes mistakes, some of which are social in nature. I take heart from the fact that she is successful without needing to be perfect and "charming". Also from the fact that she is unapologetic for not being a nice, soft, fuzzy, mothering kind of woman.

If I had the energy, creativity and organizational ability to build an empire, I would feel pretty fortunate and would also not worry too much about lacking a bit in the social arena. We all have our faults.

I couldn't stand her pompous attitude before.
You know what I noticed lately though ?
Ever since she came out of the 'designer pen' she was mandated to spend time in, she has acquired a laugh.

I didn't even know she had teeth, prior to that, I swear !!

I don't know her enough to judge her, and I don't watch TV enough, but I flipped on her show one day, and I observed her for a while..and I noted the difference in her mannerism now opposed to what she exhibited prior to being incarcerated.

In my opinion, she seems to be warmer, in personality.

I still don't enjoy TV enough to watch her show.

Nova

Sunshine_D Good point.
I watch Rachael Ray's show 30 Minute Meals.
I've made some of her meals but never in 30 minutes.
Guess I'm more of a 40 minute cook. LOL
Sheesh If I only had some staff around here. ;)

LOL, stori!
That's so funny.
I have another word about her image whether it be illusion or other.

In spite of all the talk about her elaborate efforts to appeal to the less than adequate housewife... if you look, she is quite simple.

She is simple in her appearance and approach. Her successes make grand statements which come from simple measures.
She is not a circus act and carefully runs an organized affair.
To me, that is probably the appeal her show and magazine carries for me. She can make the ordinary in life just a bit more special.
There truly isn't all that much fluff there....she has things trimmed and tucked nicely.
For me..an ADDer who loves to complicate everything...begin at the middle and end who knows where.. she is a novelty, yet structured program. I personally could use some toning down and I accept her understated style as a reminder to slow my sorry butt down and pay attention to some detail.

Just wrap those gifts in newspaper, ladies and hear them squeal! Make paper garlands with a twist.....and save the big bucks! Hehe.
And then be prepared to gracefully order from a menu in a fine french restaurant or plant a rose garden. I've never done it, but I'll bet I can milk a cow. :D I can actually be quite domestic.

I see her as intelligent, simple, graceful, and an offerer of gifts..as well as an animal and nature advocate. Those are the things I gather from her.

Stop rolling your eyes ;)

~gourmet~

Today she surprize visited a person making dinner in her home, and the woman was fixing this enormous, complicated Syrian dish with her family, and her house was beautiful and I felt like barfing (with jealousy, most likely)! At the same time my eyes scanned my apartment and I was like, whoa, what would it be LIKE to live in a place where I could have Martha step in?
Well, this was all on TV, so the "surprise visit" might have actually been preplanned.

I think sometimes we watch TV and think, "oh I wish I didn't have ADD so that I could be more like them," when in reality, no one (with or without ADD) is like that. TV is TV and real life is real life, and people tend to forget that. There's a psychological term for this, when people watch TV and start to model and base their lives on what they see on TV.

Sunshine_D Good point.
I watch Rachael Ray's show 30 Minute Meals.
I've made some of her meals but never in 30 minutes.
Guess I'm more of a 40 minute cook. LOL
Sheesh If I only had some staff around here. ;)


Rachael's meals always make me drool too !!
They look so tasty !
So do Bobby Flays !

I know that wasn't the point..
Tangent... LOL !(0:

Nova

Just wrap those gifts in newspaper, ladies and hear them squeal! Make paper garlands with a twist.....and save the big bucks! Hehe.
And then be prepared to gracefully order from a menu in a fine french restaurant or plant a rose garden. I've never done it, but I'll bet I can milk a cow. :D I can actually be quite domestic.

Stop rolling your eyes ;)

~gourmet~
I know how to milk a cow (0:
I do. And a goat, too !
I grew up on a farm, and it's not as easy as you think, lol !

What I don't know how to do is be pretentious, or pompous (0;
But I did give Ms. Martha credit for being a tad warmer...and that's all she's getting out of me !!!!!!!!!!!!!! So she should run with that (0:

I was rolling my eyes...but not at you..I was, and still do it at Martha..
See I just did it now at the mention of her name (0:
I did it again, LOL !!


Do you know that 'rolling your eyes' is actually called 'the face of contempt' ?
It actually is called that.

A little 'behavioralese', compliments- to you from me, G.

Nova

I recently read a quote from her, "I've learned that I am invincible."

At first I was ticked off, I thought she sounded beyond arrogant. But now, I am wondering if she meant that she can handle anything and survive.

I like watching her Apprentice show. It's not good enough for a second one, but I still am enjoying it. I have great respect for her as a business woman - she is so sharp and intuitive. And, as an ADD person, how refreshing to see that a woman can make it big while still being a socially awkward person! like me! :)

I'm fascinated by the variety of opinions expressed here about Martha Stewart! I almost expected a chorus of agreement about how she was the pinnacle of organizational success who ADD women would "love to hate," not that she's a good or bad person or that you really "hate" her, but just sort of how you love to hate the "woman who can do it all" out of a mixture of envy, resentment, and awe --

kind of like the women I used to work with who always looked flawless, never got the bottom of their pants wet when it poured outside, never had lipstick smeared on their teeth, always had the right accessories, and who managed to "whip up" homemade quiches for office breakfasts -- while I would pull my wet, bedraggled, hair sometimes brushed, Food-Lion bought doughnuts through the door three minutes late --

Hmmm!

amiegrace
Never buy into thinking any woman can just do it all.
They may appear to be doing it all without effort but that's never the case.
Just do your best and in your own way. :)

And hey you showed up with the donuts and hungry people got to eat.
That's good enough doesn't always have to be homemade quiches. ;)

I completely agree.
When you see a woman surrounded by an
aura of perfection,
repeat after me....."you're not real, you're not real, you're not real."

It's only our insecurities that color our viision and lead us to believe an illusion.

~gourmet~