Celebrifree: 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