Day 23: Thank God for You Tube

Ok, so I just watched two clips from The Oscars: Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová's performance of Falling Slowly, this year's winner for Best Song, followed by their acceptance speeches. At first I wasn't sure if this would be cheating, but after seeing both, I'm convinced that it's not. I've listened to Falling Slowly on my Ipod countless times, so I don't see a real difference in watching a performance of it. As usual, their beautiful song sent shivers down my spine.

As for watching their acceptance speeches, I realize this is a bit trickier to justify. In my defense, you can't really call either of them celebs. They're independent musicians and neither of them had any acting experience prior to making the movie. They're just normal people like you and me (although suddenly, I'm very curious to know if they're a real couple -- see how this crazy cycle gets started?).

I loved Glen's excitement and amazement over the win, but it was Markéta's speech that really struck me (and God bless Jon Stewart for bringing her back out!). She was so genuine, graceful, sweet and her words about hope really resonated (and made me cry!). It was refreshing to see two struggling artists win an award that is usually reserved for Hollywood's biggest stars. I still don't mind that I missed The Oscars, but I'm so glad that You Tube allowed me to see that.

Oh and I need to make a correction to something I said in yesterday's post. The movie cost only $100K to make, not $1 million. My apologies!

Days 18-22: The Oscars and halfway there!

Many people asked if I was going to watch The Oscars this year. When I said no, some understood, while others tried to convince me that it'd be ok. After all, the show is about movies, right? True, but the real joy in watching them, for me at least, is to see all the stars. Analyze what they're wearing, listen to what they have to say. Some people told me to just skip the red carpet and watch the actual show. I felt better missing both.

Last year, I had my Mom and a few friends over for martinis and short ribs and together we watched the pre-red carpet, the actual red carpet and the 3+ hour show. This year, Daniel and I took a long, late-afternoon walk in snowy Prospect Park, cooked dinner, hung shelves in the baby's nursery and caught up on some reading. I didn't feel like I was missing a thing and not watching was once again easier than I'd expected.

Then around 11pm, I got some Oscars updates via email from my Mom. She and I both loved La Vie En Rose, so she wrote to tell me that Marion Cotillard had won Best Actress. As I was reading, I couldn't decide if I was cheating or not. The she wrote again to tell me that the tribute to people who had died this year had ended with Heath Ledger. This made me much more curious and for a second, I wished I could watch. That soon passed and then, she wrote again to tell me that Best Song went to Falling Slowly from the movie Once (a great independent film that I highly recommend). She told me that the female star of the film got cut off during her speech and that Jon Stewart brought her back out after the commercial break to finish up. Hearing this was the hardest part of all. I'd loved that movie and have listened to the soundtrack repeatedly since downloading it from Itunes a few weeks ago.

I told Daniel that I wanted to search on You Tube for the clip so I could hear the acceptance speech. He did this finger shake thing he does when he thinks I'm trying to break my Celebrifree rules and told me that would be cheating (although when I brought this up with him again last night, he claims he never said that). I haven't searched for the clip yet, but I think I will. After all, I don't really consider the people from this movie stars. I'd never heard of them beforehand and I could really care less about them and their lives. I just really loved this movie and the fact that they shot it in three weeks, with two handheld cameras for $100K and that it's getting so much deserved attention. What do you all think?

Sounds like the Oscars were pretty boring this year, so aside from not hearing the stars of Once perform Falling Slowly (and their acceptance speech), it doesn't sound like I missed much. I doubt I'll skip it again next year, but I can honestly say I'm still really enjoying this much needed celeb break.

In other news, I had dinner with my Mom last night. She claims she doesn't care much about this celeb stuff, but she's definitely having a fun time tempting me with juicy tidbits. For example, she asked if she could tell me about a certain star's new girlfriend. This star just so happens to live right near my brother in Marin County, California and my Mom and I always like to drive by his house whenever we're out there.

I told her no, she could not tell me about him since that would be cheating, and now of course, I'm dying for the scoop. Guess I'll have to wait a few more weeks for that!

Days 12-17: Easier than I thought and some environmental stuff

People often ask how I'm coping without any celebrity news. I tell them this experiment has been kind of easy. They don't believe me.

But I am being completely honest. I'm not missing celeb news nearly as much as I would have thought and it's so refreshing to stop talking about them too. Sure, the other day, it was very hard to read NY Magazine and skip over the article: "The Double Life of Heath Ledger." Then I simply forgot about it a few minutes later.

The harder part is constantly reminding friends, family and people at work about my celebrity boycott. Last week, a co-worker who seems genuinely impressed by my dedication to this experiment tried to talk to me about the lead singer of Stone Temple Pilots and how muscular he is. Luckily, I couldn't name that guy in a line-up so it was easy to change the subject.

On Wednesday, I was in a meeting with a big group. Suddenly, conversation turned to Victoria Beckham when we spotted a steamy ad of her husband on FoodNetwork.com, a normally G-rated site. I didn't say a word and just stared into space. After the meeting, a colleague commended me for being so dedicated to my cause.

Then there's my Mom who is one of the 7 people who reads this blog religiously. Literally two minutes ago, she sent me an email with the headline (in all caps, no less): JENNIFER LOPEZ HAD A BOY & A GIRL. I wrote back instantly and reprimanded her. I don't think she or anyone else is trying to intentionally sabotage me. I just think they, like all of us, easily get sucked into this stuff. Makes this experiment that much more interesting I guess.

Since I don't have much more to say about the past few days, I thought I'd share a very cool email that I received instead. It shows the cost of food for one week for different families around the world. Pretty amazing.

Some other fun things I've been reading and learning about during my break from celebrity fluff: how to reduce my carbon footprint, how to cancel all those annoying catalogs I receive each month, and while we're talking the environment, I can't help but tell all of you to go out and buy some Envirosax. I got one a few months ago and can't believe how much use I've gotten out of it. When folded, it's as small as a fist. Mine has a permanent place in my purse making it easy to use whenever I need an additional bag. As someone who has a really hard time with mindless waste, it has come in very handy. My hall closet isn't overflowing with a gazillion plastic bags either. I recently heard about a great deal that allows you to buy a pack of 5 for $35. They're really durable and great for supermarket trips. Check them out!

And now on to that email I was telling you about... Enjoy!

Germany: The Melander family of Bargteheide
Food expenditure for one week: 375.39 Euros or $500.07

United States: The Revis family of North Carolina

Food expenditure for one week $341.98

Italy: The Manzo family of Sicily

Food expenditure for one week: 214.36 Euros or $260.11

Mexico: The Casales family of Cuernavaca

Food expenditure for one week: 1,862.78 Mexican Pesos or $189.09

Poland: The Sobczynscy family of Konstancin-Jeziorna

Food expenditure for one week: 582.48 Zlotys or $151.27

Egypt: The Ahmed family of Cairo

Food expenditure for one week: 387.85 Egyptian Pounds or $68.53

Ecuador: The Ayme family of Tingo

Food expenditure for one week: $31.55

Bhutan: The Namgay family of Shingkhey Village

Food expenditure for one week: 224.93 ngultrum or $5.03

Chad: The Aboubakar family of Breidjing Camp

Food expenditure for one week: 685 CFA Francs or $1.23

Days: 8-11: My biggest test yet

Since swearing off celebrities a week ago, I've hit one or two bumps in the road. But those were just minor mess-ups. Especially when you consider all the things I've been doing right. Here's a quick run-down:

1. I haven't picked up, looked at or read a single celebrity magazine in over a week.

2. I haven't even glanced at any headlines on said magazines. In fact, I avoid subway kiosks and magazine sections of stores completely.

3. I skip over celeb-related articles in all publications.

4. I removed all celeb alerts (EOnline.com, People.com, Popsugar.com and Buzz Tracker: Michelle Williams) from my My Yahoo page. These days, I only get updates from Reuters, CNN, Flickr and food blogs.

5. I haven't spent any time on IMDB.com, a site I used to visit regularly for celeb fun facts.

6. When friends try to talk celebs with me, I kindly ask them to stop and change the subject. If celebs come up when I'm with a group, I excuse myself if possible. If not, I let them talk, but don't chime in.

But on Thursday night, I had my true test.

Daniel and I went to see The Farnsworth Invention, an excellent play about the birth of television. I bought the tickets months ago, way before I knew what I'd be giving up for lent. Hank Azaria, one of my all-time favorite actors is in the show. I got us front row seats.

For 2 1/2 hours, were were about a foot away from Hank. I was mesmerized -- by his acting and that fact that I could practically reach out and touch him.

After the show, we filed out of the theater and I had to force myself to leave. Had I gone to this play a few weeks ago, I would have waited around, in the cold, to meet Hank and his co-stars.

For those of you who might not know, going to the theater in NY is a great way to meet celebs. They all get picked up by cars right after the show and many will stop and chat before they go. My grandmother taught me this trick after my first Broadway play in the 1st grade. Thanks to her, I've met countless stars this way.

But I knew last night couldn't be the same. I'd given up celebs for lent. Waiting around to try to meet one was out of the question. Daniel agreed.

I'm not going to lie. It was so hard to leave. The play was amazing and I wanted to tell Hank how much we loved him (and how much I missed Huff, a show he did for Showtime). As we walked toward the subway, I looked back once or twice at the small crowd that was waiting, envious that they'd get to see him and I wouldn't.

Which made me wonder: is it really so bad to want to meet someone whose acting you truly admire? What's the harm in that?

I think most people would agree that it's not bad at all. But is it necessary? Or better said, what's the point? In my case, I don't even particularly like talking to celebs. I get all tongue-tied and say stupid things. I just really like to see them. To stare at them. Confirm that they're really real. And after I've seen them, I like to text, email and call a million people and share the good news.

And I guess that's where the problem lies. I see one, talk to one and then need to keep talking about an experience that really doesn't mean anything at the end of the day. It doesn't change or affect me in any major way, not to mention that these people already get more attention than they'll ever need.

As hard as it was to just leave last night and not meet Hank, I'm so glad I did. It felt good to be on the other side. To not care about a celeb. To see a play, appreciate good acting for a few hours and leave it at that. By walking away and caring a little less, I proved to myself that I don't need these celeb fixes as much as I think.

Days 4-7

I expected my own curiousity to be the hardest part of this experiment. Surprisingly, it isn't. Avoiding celeb news on TV, online and with my friends is the true challenge.

Take yesterday for instance. My friend Kristen was over. She's someone who is just as, if not more obsessed with celebrities than I am. She was recently in LA for a work event. When I asked her to tell me about the trip, she said she couldn't because it involved a lot of celebs.

She did tell me about a guy she met. Turns out that he appeared on The Sopranos for a season. I figured this was fair game for two reasons. First, I'd never heard of the guy and even when she showed me a pic online, he still didn't look familiar. Plus, if this was someone she might soon start dating, I had to talk to her about it! Soon we started doing imitations of our favorite Sopranos episodes (I do a mean impersonation of Adriana during Christopha's intervention) which led Kristen to search for the actual clips on YouTube while I made homemade pizzas in the kitchen.

But then she had to check out Popsugar.com, one of the celeb blogs I used to read regularly. Instantly, she was oohing and ahhing over photos of Michelle Williams at Heath Ledger's funeral. She even tried to get me to come over and see!

For those who don't know, Michelle is one of the celebs I like to read about most. I used to live on the same block as her and Heath and would see (or should I say, stalk?) them all the time. The day Heath died, I got so many text messages and emails, you would have thought that he was my ex-boyfriend! It took all my willpower to keep pounding pizza dough and not walk over to the computer, just to sneak a peek.

Watching movies has been hard, too. On Saturday night, Daniel and I watched Parenthood. When it started, I noticed Leaf Phoenix in the credits. I'd forgotten he was in the movie and informed Daniel that Leaf was really Joaquin Phoenix. At another point, I asked if the nerdy father with the brainiac daughter was the same guy from Honey I Shrunk the Kids. Then Daniel wondered aloud if Keanu Reeves made Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure before or after Parenthood. I also told Daniel that Steve Martin's wife in the movie is the woman we always see in Curb Your Enthusiasm, the one who is married to Ted Danson in real life. Soon I started wondering: Do comments such as these count as celeb talk? I'm still undecided.

Some might even take that question one step further by wondering if this very blog is counterproductive too. I've given up celebs, yet have I given them up entirely if I'm coming here every day to write about them? On that note, I'd have to say yes. I might mention a celeb's name here or there, but I'm only doing so to show how frequently they're inserted in my life, even as I try my best to avoid them.

I know there's no way I can completely escape celebs. Friends will still talk about them in front of me (and purposely try to tempt me!), news shows will still share updates on them, and I'll still see celebs regularly just by watching movies and TV shows.

The difference is that I'm choosing to not read and gossip about them anymore. I know I can't live in a bubble the next few weeks. I'll still watch TV and go see movies. But slowly, I'm training myself to care about these people less and less. That's gotta count for something, right?

Day 3: "You don't have to give Leanna up for lent!"

Yesterday during a meeting at work, talk turned to Ashton Kutcher. Since it was a small meeting and I knew everyone well, I quickly piped up about my lenten promise. Everyone seemed to understand and we quickly moved back to business.

After work, I had a business meeting with a different group of colleagues to discuss some web videos we'll be producing with a new chef (for those who don't know, I work for Food Network -- a challenge all in itself since talking with and about celeb chefs is a part of my job!). One of the people at the meeting was a woman named Leanna, a producer we're using to shoot the clips. From the moment I saw her, she looked familiar. It wasn't until an hour into the meeting when I found out why. Leanna had spent a season on Saved By the Bell, a show I watched religiously in my pre-teen years.

Next thing I knew, our conversation turned from seasonal cooking to Zack Morris and Jessie Spano, two of my favorite characters on the show. We even found out that Leanna had gone to the prom with Kirk Cameron. For years, a framed poster of him hung from my bedroom wall.

It wasn't until I started telling everyone that Kirk is now married to Chelsea Noble, a woman who appeared with him on Growing Pains that I realized what I was doing. Gasping, I practically shouted, "I just cheated!"

Leanna assured me that while Kirk falls into the celeb category, she does not. But then she had to go and tell me that she and her identical sisters had starred together in The Parent Trap 3. Just what I needed to hear! I loved that movie as a kid and definitely remembered her from that. Slowly, she was seeming like a celebrity in my book.

My boss must have seen the Catholic guilt spread across. She leaned across the table and tried to comfort me by saying, "Honey, you don't have to give up Leanna for lent!" I knew she was right. This was a business meeting after all. But I was still pretty bummed that I couldn't search for Leanna and her sisters on IMBD the minute I got home, something I definitely would have done had this meeting happened before or after lent.

Soon we were all talking about celebrity addictions and why so many women are drawn to trashy magazines like Star and US Weekly. One woman said she likes to read them on airplanes to help her forget where she is and what she's doing. I told everyone about an upcoming pedicure appointment that just won't be the same without a stack of celeb mags to flip through. Sad, I know, but so very true.

When the subject switched to Heath Ledger's death and his relationship with Mary Kate Olsen, I covered my ears. Then I tried something new. I just sat there, let them talk and did not say a thing. And to be honest, it was wonderful. I didn't even feel the urge to chime in. So yes, while I did unintentionally cheat last night, I think I recovered pretty well in the end. You could call it progress, I guess?

Day 2: In need of a new morning routine

Every morning, I watch The Today Show while having my breakfast. When I finish eating, I go about my business -- making lunch, getting showered and dressed -- but the TV stays on even though I'm not actually watching it. I never really pay much attention since the stories are generally about things like that guy who turned blue or today's interview with a lawyer whose client punched him in the face. It's just a lot of fluff with a bit of real news thrown in for good measure, but but ever since 9/11, I'm too paranoid that something could happen and I'd have no idea. So morning and after morning, I've always turned it on.

While I was watching yesterday, I heard that Kate Hudson would be coming on. And for the record, although I gave up celebs, I'll still need to refer to them from time to time in these posts just to show how often they try to sneak into my life. The minute she showed up on screen, I changed channels. How's that for willpower? I wondered if this meant that I'd have to stop watching The Today Show in the morning since they frequently have celeb guests.

This morning, I put it on again, only to find out that the entire cast of Family Ties would be on. I really could care less about any of them, but since they're celebs, I decided to switch to CNN. I changed the channel and there it was, splashed across the screen: "Angelina Jolie in Baghdad." See what I mean? Even when trying my very hardest to escape celebrities, they still find me, on a 24-hour NEWS CHANNEL no less. Daniel tried to tell me that since this was a newsworthy story, it would be ok to watch. I disagreed. I'm trying to free my life of celebs in any shape and form -- newsworthy or not. And so far, this hasn't been easy.

I ended up just turning off the TV and listening to NPR on the computer. The first live show I found was all about fashion week at Bryant Park. I switched over to one that was chock full of news but not live. I know I need a new morning routine, but I'm not sure there's any morning show that will be truly-celeb free. Any recommendations?

Day 1: Let the celeb detox begin!

For as long as I can remember, I've been giving up sweets for lent. I'm not even religious anymore and still, I subject myself to such torture year after year. Now that I'm 7 1/2 months pregnant with my first child, there's no way I can deprive myself of dessert. This year, I'm going to give up my other guilty pleasure: celebrities.

That's right. For the next 40 days, I can't talk or read about celebrities. If I see one walking down the street (as I do all the time since I live in NY and can spot them a mile away), I can't follow them to see where they're going. When I'm in my old Brooklyn neighborhood, I can't go out of my way to walk down a certain celeb's block just to gaze at her beautiful brownstone. When I go to The Farnsworth Invention in a few weeks, I can't wait for the star of the show, one of my favorite actors, to come out and sign my Playbill. I can't even let my friends tell me about the celebrities they've spotted. I'm still deciding if I can watch the Oscars this year. Technically, that's just one big celeb fest, but maybe if I skip the red carpet pre-shows I'm in the clear. Or am I already trying to bend the rules?

Everyone who knows me realizes how hard this is going to be. Some wonder how I'll even do it. In fact, some of my equally celeb-obsessed friends wonder how they'll go 40 days without gossiping about celebs with me.

And that's exactly why I want to do it. We're a country obsessed with celebrities. My husband and a handful of my friends don't really get it and actually have no problem living fairly celeb-free lives. The rest of us? We're all a little too knowledgeable about what's going on in Hollywood when there's much more important stuff to to think and talk about.

It's not something I'm proud of, but I'm not entirely ashamed either. We all need guilty pleasures and I could have a far worse one than this. I don't keep track of the celeb train wrecks. I actually ignore those types of stories completely and focus on successful celebrities whose movies and TV shows I really like. I know the names of their kids, where they grew up, who they're dating now and who they dated way back when. I like to look at pictures of them. I'm fascinated by their love lives and extravagant lifestyles (and sometimes a little sickened by how much money they all have). I'll admit it doesn't always make me feel good about myself or the world we live in. Sure I sometimes wish I could look like them, have all the things they have, but to be honest, I'd never, ever want to be any of them.

So, I'm going to give them up for 40 days. I'll read CNN.com and The NY Times when I'd rather be browsing the People.com photo gallery or searching for videos on TMZ.com. When people try to start talking about celebrities with me, I'll save my breath and change the subject. I'll track my progress here and let you know how I'm doing, any obstacles I face and hopefully talk with all of you about your own celeb obsessions.

In fact, I already passed my first test! My husband just sent me the autopsy results of a certain celeb who recently died. When I saw it in my inbox (he titled the email: "Your first real test. Attention, this is celebrity news. But it is also hard news"), I didn't open it. According to him, lent doesn't technically start till noon. If that's the case, I still have one hour left to completely indulge...

Welcome to Celebrifree and let the celeb detox begin!