You may be thinking ‘Wow, this EnviroWoman is a hardcore GRANOLA-type’. The sad reality is — I’m more of a RiceCakeChick. There’s nothing better to satisfy the munchies (and I mean that so TOTALLY NOT the way you think) then Quaker Butter Popcorn Rice Cakes. But, maybe I’ll have to resort to granola after all, ‘cuz it ain't looking plastic-pretty in the cracker aisle.

There is not a single italian allele in my chromosome map, but still I love pasta. I wish I could say “I’m an athlete and need it to power up”. Alas, the reality is, “I’m an EnviroWoman and just love a good chow down”. Here’s another reality – I’m only 3 weeks into this ‘no  plastic’ New Year’s Resolution and I gotta confess — all the plastic in grocery-land is really starting to grate my cheese. Here it is again, rampant in the pasta aisle. The good news — at least I find a few SAINTS. The bad news — there’s something akin to the Madonna/Whore factor goin’ on here.  

EnviroWoman has committed her first MAJOR SIN since pledging to live plastic-free in 2007.

A MAJOR SIN is when EnviroWoman falls right offa the bandwagon and buys or uses new plastic, flagrantly throwing her morals to the wind (and kyboshing her 'no-new plastic' New Year’s resolution)...thereby putting the future of Mother Earth in jeopardy.

I was 35,000 feet above sea level. The flight attendant was wheeling the ‘onboard café’ down the aisle and I was starving. She might as well have been peddling crack cocaine. ‘Cuz this woman was dealing in plastic. And I’ve gone plastic-cold-turkey in 2007.

The little pretzels, the cookies, the sandwiches, even the water. All packaged in plastic. The pizza was a maybe, but I wasn’t going to chance it. If I went all trippy and succumbed to its ‘potential no-plastic’ lure and then discovered it indeed had plastic inside that cardboard box – well I’d fall off my no-plastic bandwagon and have to go into rehab.

I’ve finished my first month living plastic free in 2007. Wow, what a difference a New Year's resolution can make. Check out this picture of my plastic shrine.

• On the left, is ‘2007’ (new plastic I’ve let into my life in 2007 that’s now ready for recycling/trash). Doesn't include the plastic recyclng bin
• On the right is ‘2006’ (plastic I had in my life as of Dec 31 2006, have finished using, and that’s now ready for recycling/trash. (One of my rules is I can continue to use or re-use any plastic in my possession as of Dec 31 2006 as it would be hugely wasteful to throw all that stuff out.)

Dramatic difference isn’t there?

Oprah’s been letting fans in on ‘The Secret’ over the last 2 weeks. And since EnviroWoman has ‘SUCKER’ tatooed across her forehead she headed down to Banyen Books (the local mecca for all things New Age) to see if they had any copies so she too, like millions of Oprah-devotees, could become ‘enlightened’.

This was the first time since pledging to live plastic-free in 2007 that I was truly tempted to commit a MAJOR SIN not out of necessity, but just because the lure of the plastic-thingy was just too, too provocative.

When was the last time you were asked ‘paper or plastic’? It used to be the norm, but no more. Eco-do-gooders have to take the initiative and declare ‘paper please”. But, last week, my request was met with ‘We don’t have any’. EnviroWoman was so aghast SafewayGirl obligingly trekked over to the bakery department in search of a bread bag. I had left my handy wire grocery basket in the car as it was already chock-a-block full of books for the second hand shop. Gotta admit, I felt like a fool stuffing potatoes and rice into my purse and broccoli and oranges into a bread bag…but it's worth being a fool for Mother Nature.

I bring this up because Ikea has been in the news because starting March 15th, it will charge its US customers 5 cents per plastic bag (it currently supplies 70 million of the little darlins’ to US shoppers). This is just IKEA’s first step to ending plastic bag use altogether, all in an effort to reduce the ~100 billion (yes, BILLION) plastic bags thrown out by our southern neighbours every year. Watch the news coverage

I’ve finished my second month living plastic free in 2007. Although January was a big adjustment, February was much easier. Maybe it’s just the calm before the storm. The reality is, the ‘big’ choices have yet to hit…like car oil, toilet paper, prescription bottles. I've added a few MAJOR and MINOR sins this month to the plastic shrine (see pic at right), but not too much in comparison to the Progress Report for January.

They call me the Queen of Denial. Because this year is all about giving up some of my favourite things in the quest to live plastic-free for 2007. It’s like a lent-induced abstinence - for 365 days. Case in point - my favourite shampoo/conditioner of all time is Freeman Botanicals. I’m a long-time die-hard fan. I’ve even lived through three total product rebrands and one episode where it magically disappeared Jimmy-Hoffa style from the shelves for over a year. So now, when I find it, I buy it in bulk. That is, until Jan 2007, when I swore off buying anything packaged in or containing plastic.

Forgive me Father, for I have sinned again. It’s been 2 months since my last confession.  

And what is the sin you have to confess this time,my child?