I’m conflicted about what to think about the recent ouster of Honduran president Jose Manuel Zelaya.  The military showed up on his door in the early morning hours last week and flew him out of the country while still wearing his PJs. The reason? He had been trying to hold a voter referendum to change the Honduran constitution so he could run for another term (the current constitution only allows for one term). Technically the referendum was illegal so many supporters of the ouster are claiming removing Zelaya was a legitimate military action to uphold the law. Others (including our media and most Western leaders) are calling it a coup.

In the opinion of one of my contacts in Honduras, from the non-profit ACTA de Honduras, the military’s actions were actually upholding the law (and upholding a ruling by the Supreme Court to have Zelaya arrested).  The pictures in our news media are of violent clashes between demonstrators and police, including a few days ago at the Tegucigalpa airport when Zelaya tried to land his plane but was kept out by military aircraft.

Alessandra has pointed out the thousands of Hondurans marching in peace marches across the country, which our media is not reporting.  Also that the military was just following the orders of the Honduran Supreme Court. So who gets to decide this one? The world political leaders or Hondurans? I’m still not sure what to think but I do think our media and our leaders need to pay closer attention to what the Honduran people want.

Me on my 3-speed bike somewhere in the Japanese countryside

So I’ve taken up biking again. I say “again” because I had just started to bike commute to work 3 years ago when the pregnancy test gave me that little blue line. I immediately gave up biking altogether thinking I was protecting my unborn child, although in retrospect maybe I wouldn’t have gained 50 pounds if I had kept biking. Who knows.

Anyway, now that Grace is 2 and the Portland sun is shining for a few months, I decided it was time to get back in the saddle. I ran out and bought a bike trailer, a bike rack for the car and got our two adult bikes tuned up at our local bike shop.  As you may have guessed, my philosophy of hobbies is the more money I spend, the more likely I am to feel motivated to actually do them. Believe me, it works very, very well.

I’ve been biking everywhere I can and finding it both exhilarating and frustrating. I love the feeling of the wind on my face, of using my own muscles to get somewhere, the looks of awe people give me when they see me pulling the bike trailer behind (believe me people, it’s really not that hard).  But biking in the suburbs is not always the easiest thing, even in the suburbs of Portland, one of the country’s most bike-friendly cities. Somehow the suburbs, at least ours, are still short on the amenities to make biking fun and easy.

For one there are no bike trails to speak of in Tualatin, our southwest suburb.  There are lots and lots of bike lanes but I end up on the sidewalks most of the time, not comfortable with only a thin layer of mesh between Grace and passing car traffic.   I do see other bikers but mostly they are spandex clad commuters, not other moms out with kids in tow. I find myself wondering if I’m crazy to bike to the post office, grocery store or park instead of hopping in my car like everyone else for the 1 or 2 mile drive.

I assure myself I’m perfectly sane by thinking back to the year I lived in Japan 11 years ago. Fresh out of college, I lived in a rural coastal town where the only wheels I owned were my bike. In fact, the first full sentence I learned to speak in Japanese was “I want to buy a bicycle, please” (Jitensha o-kaitai, kudasai). That bike and its 3 speeds took me everywhere and I never thought twice about whether I should bike or drive anywhere. Rain or shine, near or far, if I wanted to get there it was by bike. I was the thinnest I’ve ever been in my life and in the best shape.  Of course, most of the rest of the town was also out on their bikes, not in their cars, so I was never alone on the road.

When I start to feel lonely biking in the ‘burbs, I just remember my small town life in Hagi, Japan.  I remember that even when the roads here aren’t full of fellow bikers, the streets of Hagi certainly are and so I am not alone.  Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to buy one of those handy bike trail maps I’ve heard so much about. Surely there are some hidden bike trails somewhere in Tualatin….

Me (center) with Greenheart manager Katherine and staff member Laura

Chicago is a city teeming with fabulous restaurants, breathtaking architecture, interesting museums and little neighborhoods full of gorgeous boutiques. Strangely there is an incredible shortage of fair trade boutiques (any Chicago-based entrepreneurs want to take up the challenge?) but one shop has got it right and you don’t want to miss it.

I visited Greenheart a few weeks ago while visiting family in Chicago. The shop is amazing, I wanted to buy one of everything!  Greenheart is the kind of shop that has figured out the perfect harmony between good prices, great quality, and excellent style and selection.  I found the expected variety of fair trade goods – handbags, jewelry, some nice clothing lines, children’s toys and home decor. On top of that they’ve hunted down some truly unique finds such as ethical flip-flops (I’m loving my new pair!), scissors handmade in India, outdoor floor mats made from recycled materials, and the cutest umbrellas made from recycled plastic laundry detergent bottles.

All these great products were laid out in a warm, inviting space where my sister-in-law and I were treated to tea, fair trade chocolate and great conversation with the store staff. I walked away with my funky flipflops and an organic lipstick I love.  Now at Greenheart you’ll find a selection of Bambootique’s messenger bags from South Africa, jewelry from Honduras and Nepal, journals from Thailand and more!

Greenheart is located on the north side of Chicago. They packed up and moved everything to an even bigger, better space just a week after I was there and I can’t wait to check it out next time I’m in Chicago. Find them at 1911 W. Division and tell them I sent you!

Something new is brewing for fair trade in Portland and I’m not talking about that delicious coffee over at Stumptown. Lois Gearhart, manager of our city’s Ten Thousand Villages store, is keeping a Portland Fair Trade blog to bring the fair trade community together.  Check it out to see what’s new in fair trade in Portland, how you can get involved and who else is talking about fair trade. Thanks Lois and all the bloggers at Portland Fair Trade for keeping us up to date on such important issues!

My grandpa Eldon Barnes passed away a few days ago. It wasn’t a surprise – he’d been going downhill for a while and

Grace snuggling with Grandpa the day before he died

lived 86 full years.  Still when we got the call that he had collapsed and died immediately, I was overcome with grief. Grandpa was a big part of my life growing up and knowing I would not have the chance to visit with him again this side of heaven is a sad, sad thought.

I also was filled with relief and joy. Grandpa seemed to be struggling more and more each time we’d visit him. No matter how bad he felt he always wanted to know what we were up to, where we’d been traveling, what new thing little Grace was doing these days. He always ended up each visit with a feeble kiss and a heart-felt “I love you.” With Grandpa Eldon I felt special.

I think it’s impossible to know just how influential someone is in your life until they’re no longer part of it. In the last week I’ve been struck by the life lessons Grandpa imparted to me simply through his actions. His presence at every school play, choir concert, graduation, birthday and every other major holiday and event demonstrated how valuable I was to him.  His generosity at times when all seemed lost saw me through some otherwise impossible situations, including a private college I never could have afforded without him.  His inquisitive nature always wanted to know more about me and what I was interested in.  He made me feel like I could do anything.  His faithfulness to my Grandma Clara showed me how fun and rewarding marriage can be even after 59 years.

I miss my Grandpa incredibly already. It’s hard to imagine visits to my Grandma will now be without him. And yet he’s free. He became a follower of Christ just a week after his marriage and he lived a life grounded in his faith. He’s no longer struggling and I’m so glad for that.  I honor his life, a life well-lived, one I would do well to emulate.

Bambootique is thrilled to join forces with our friends at Anti-Body, as well as other fair trade companies and organizations, to ask Michelle Obama to make the White House fair trade!  The coalition is a grass-roots, non-partisan group of vendors, consumers and fair trade organizations inviting our first lady to make the White House a fair trade home.

You can easily join the campaign by signing the invitation to Michelle Obama. The suggestion to Michelle is to increase the number of items purchased by the White House that are fairly sourced. Think how much coffee it takes to run the country? Or how much chocolate is used in those delicious White House pastries I’m always reading about? Our President and his wife have shown their committment to sustainability in so many ways, most recently in breaking ground on the White House’s own kitchen garden.  This request asks them to take that personal commitment one step further by prioritizing fair trade food, body-care and clothing within their family and staff.

Join Bambootique in asking our First Lady to make fair trade an everyday part of White House life!  (And while you’re at it, check out these great savings from Fair Trade The White House sponsors including Bambootique)!

I’ve noticed more gift certificate orders coming in lately and realized it’s that time of year when we give gifts to grads and teachers. If you’re stuck for a unique gift for someone you want to appreciate, consider a gift certificate for $25, $50 or $100 from Bambootique.  If you’re shopping for someone who’s concerned about women’s issues, the environment, sustainable living, or just likes to look great, then I can help you out. Click here for certificates in set amounts or contact me directly for a specific dollar amount.

Today I saved $254.65 on my family’s weekly groceries!  However did you manage that? I hear you ask.  It took a lot of prep, two hours of shopping at two different grocery stores, lots of bribing Grace, plus a trip through the Burgerville drive-thru on the way home. My deeply discounted purchases included organic beef, wild caught salmon, organic fruit and vegetables and organic milk, and I saved big on every single one.

Before I tell you how I did it, let me tell you who inspired me. I read this article in our local paper a few months ago about Louise Jaffe, a local coupon guru who regularly saves 75% off her grocery bill just by shopping smart. She blogs about it so I turned to her site for advice last week to see if I could do the same while still shopping sustainably.

I’ve always been a coupon clipper from the paper but now I’ve gone hardcore, at least this week.  First I perused my Sunday Oregonian for grocery store ads and manufacturer’s coupons.  I compared what was on sale at different stores to my grocery list and made a list for each store.  I chose to focus on just two stores as I knew my schedule (and sanity) couldn’t accomodate more. I chose Safeway and Thriftway since they’re both reasonably close and had the best prices on the things I needed.

My list for each store was made almost entirely of items on sale at that store that I needed. I also found I had a number of matching manufacturer’s coupons plus both stores offer double coupons. On top of that, both stores offered $10 off your order of $50 or more this week through coupons in the paper.  I stocked up on items that were really, really cheap and would store or freeze easily.

Here are some examples of my favorite deals today:

Safeway

• Buy one, get one free on organic blueberries and organic grape tomatoes (neither available yet in the farmers’ market but both coming soon to our yard!)
• Wild Atlantic salmon for $9.99/ pound. I bought 5 pounds, had the butcher wrap each pound separately for easy thawing and froze them all.
• The clearance section was full of organic beef tenderloin at 50% off. I bought four packs (about 10 pounds worth $76) for $38. It’s all in the freezer.

Thriftway

• Organic Valley milk is on sale for $3.69. I printed off $1 off coupons from Organic Valley’s website (you can print the coupon up to two times) plus used double coupons to get a total $1.50 off each half gallon, or $2.19/ half gallon.
• Kettle chips are on sale 3 for $5  or $1.69 each. I was kicking myself for not having anymore $1 off coupons from the Chinook book. If I had I could have doubled them for 50 cents more off (the max Thriftway will double a coupon) and paid $0.19/ bag. Alas I did not have any more but $1.69 is still a great price.
• While not organic, I did save really big on my husband’s favorite Raisin Bran Crunch cereal. The Thriftway insert in Sunday’s paper had a coupon for buy 3/get 3 free. Then I had 3 manufacturer’s coupons totaling $3.50 off. My double coupon gave me another $1.50 off. All 6 boxes cost a total of $7 or $1.25/ box. He’ll be happy with that for quite a while while I enjoy my Barbara’s Shredded Spoonfuls.

My total bill between the two stores was still higher than a normal weekly shopping bill.  After all the savings I still spent $228.44. However we’re now stocked up on really nice meat and fish for at least 2-3 weeks. We’re also headed to the beach with friends this weekend so my bill included several meals for 12.

I don’t think I could shop this way every week but I don’t think I’ll have to to still save big. If I do crazy coupon shopping (my new moniker for it) every 2-3 weeks I can stock up on canned goods, cereal and meats I can freeze when they’re on sale. We’re growing a lot of berries and veggies and buying the rest of our produce at the farmers’ market so I figure I can shop there weekly for fresh items.  Now that I know how much money I can save if I just put some thought into it, I’m pretty sure I’m hooked.

I’d love to hear what deals you’ve found and how you manage to save money for your family while shopping for sustainable foods. What do you do? Have you tried this kind of crazy coupon shopping and does it work for you?

If you’re a mom concerned about living green with and for the sake of a little one, you have to get a hold of Melissa Moog’s new book Itsabelly’s Guide To Going Green With Baby. I’ve blogged before about what a complete guide it is to being an eco-friendly eco-mom. Now you can get a signed copy of the book, meet Melissa in person (she’s really great), and enter for a chance to win a $400 stroller from Baby Planet.  Here’s the full scoop:

EVENT:

Itsabelly’s How to Choose Safe Baby Products Event
Saturday, June 13th at 11:00 am
Barnes & Noble Tanasbourne, 18300 NW Evergreen Parkway, Beaverton
Local author Melissa Moog, author of Itsabelly’s Guide to Going Green with Baby will offer simple and practical Baby Safe Tips including:

* Shopping tips & reviews on safe & eco-friendly baby products
* How to go green without breaking the bank
* Tips about organic and natural family living

Raffle drawing for $500 in eco-friendly baby products (Stroller System, Earth Mama Angel Baby Gift etc.)

Refreshments provided by New Seasons.

Last week a friend invited me to International Justice Mission’s fundraising dinner. This Christian international organization is awe-inspiring with their mission to set enslaved and entrapped people free. They go under cover with the support of local authorities, gather enough evidence on human trafficking, child prostituion, and slave labor and, most dramatically, bust people out of wretched situations. They make sure the perpertrators get prosecuted and justice is served, all in the name of Christ.

Lamont Hiebert of the band Ten Shekel Shirt was at the dinner playing a few songs from the band’s new album, Jubilee.  They were great! The album was inspired by Lamont’s experience with IJM and his own non-profit, Love-146, which provides after-care for children set free through the work of IJM. Take a listen and see for yourself how beautiful and inspiring songs about injustice and ensuing freedom can be.