Martha, Martha, Martha

One of our New Year's Resolutions over here at the Phillips' casa is to go through each room in our house and weed out the stuff that is no longer used and organize the remaining treasures. This may sound like the world's worst task to some of you readers, but the idea of organizing something puts a big smile on my face. I was a Graduate Assistant in Grad School and the professor I worked for sat me down one day and told me that he believed that I had the spiritual gift of organization. I taught a whole unit on organization in my classroom (thus probably reinforcing those students with Obsessive Compulsive issues, but oh well) and my students could color-code, alphabetize, and label with the best of the best.

To accomplish this resolution, I have marked in my Day Planner what I plan to clean out each week. Tuesday it was our pantry, which needed some serious help because the unit consists of one tall cabinet with shelves that tend to hide jars and bags of bread. I noticed that Martha Stewart was doing a segment this week on organizing the pantry, so I figured I should tune in to see what tips she had for me. If you have watched the Martha talk show, you likely know it is very dry and Martha typically insults her guests for not knowing such things as the proper use of a cheesecloth or how to expertly arrange flowers. I usually never watch due to these reasons (and because The Cosby Show is on at the same time), but I had to learn how to organize my canned goods.

The celebrity guest for the day was Cyndi Lauper (yes, you read that correctly. Why was she the guest--I am still unsure. She was not promoting a new album because she sang "Time After Time".). So after a soulful rendition of a classic 80's hit, Cyndi joined Martha in the kitchen to be educated on the fine art of pantry organization. Martha had this huge stainless unit that she claims is her actual pantry from her farmhouse (it apparently used to hold towels in her bathroom but she had recently relocated it to her kitchen). This unit was about 7 feet tall and the width of an entire wall. Martha starts in on putting all dry goods in clear, pretty containers and place like items together. Okay, I can do that. Then Cyndi asks a very relevant question, "What are some tips for those of us with small kitchens and small pantries?" Martha's response: "Remodel your kitchen." WHAT?!?!? Does she really think the stay-at-home moms of middle class America who make up her viewing audience can just remodel their kitchen on a whim? Did she not meet any "normal" people while in prison and understand that her farmhouse in the Hamptons where fitted sheets are expertly folded and all plants are labeled is not reality? I turned off the TV right then and decided that I did not need Martha in order to organize my pantry.

Isaac update: We think he rolled from his back to his tummy on Tuesday night. He was all the way over except for one arm kept strategically underneath himself so he could flop onto his back at any moment. He also can take his spoon and feed himself the cereal. His independent nature (don't know where he learned that) is in full bloom!