living sustainably, all day long
By Leah Rybak
She eliminated the use of paper products in her kitchen.
She bakes instead of buying pre-packaged food.
She recycles packing peanuts from her local doctor’s office.
Suzy Hawbaker is an avid multi-tasker, working on her online business from home and raising a family with her husband, Andy. And she even incorporates living sustainably every way she can.
11:25: A Peaceful Home
Not quite spring yet in Colorado, the air is cold on Feb. 11, even though the sun is shining brightly. The lack of paper towels in the kitchen and the presence of wooden organic crayons draw attention to themselves as eco-friendly in Suzy and Andy’s home. Not the fact that Suzy’s online business, Hip Mountain Mama, promotes and sells eco and mom friendly products right from her living room.
 |
|---|
| Running and online business and raising a family keeps Suzy Hawbaker busy all day long. Photo by Leah Rybak. |
Suzy’s lifestyle and business compliment each other in every way, an uncommon thing in many companies today.
Noon: When the Action Starts
With the Rocky Mountains in the distance, the Hawbakers’ house is in a suburban area in Loveland. Their tan house comes into view as an olive Subaru outback pulls into the garage, “Go Green” stickers on the back bumper.
The serene, sun-filled living room then fills with little girl giggles, hellos and pink Valentine’s candy as Suzy’s daughters creep into the house. Andy has just picked up Magnolia, 5, and Sienna, 3. Sienna jumps into her mother’s lap, her two pigtails bouncing all the way. Magnolia follows and quickly situates herself on Suzy’s right leg.
Suzy hugs the girls. Her white blouse and blue jeans contrast with the pink the girls are wearing, but her bright magenta tie-dye socks match Sienna’s tights. She asks the girls about their day and as they excitedly get up and show her their schoolwork, Suzy starts making lunch.
The girls then discuss their Valentine’s Day parties at school and decide who gets each piece of candy. Sienna looks over at her older sister and says, “You can have whatever you want Maggie,” and hands her a lollipop.
12:25 p.m.: The Not so Ordinary Ordinary Lunch
The wooden dining room table, touched up by green crayon marks, does not host the girls for their lunch. Instead, Magnolia and Sienna pick out their sage colored hemp cloth napkins from the armoire in the dining room and set off for a miniature table in the corner.
Water boils on the stove. There are fresh-baked oatmeal muffins sitting on the drying rack next to a collection of organic cookbooks. The kitchen is slightly cluttered; Barbara Kingsolver’s book “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle” next to candles, a gallon of organic milk and hand-drawn cards from the girls.
12:58 p.m.: Back to Business and the Kids
When lunch is ready, Suzy brings dark orange and brown leaf shaped bowls over to the girls’ private table.
In the background, Andy and a neighbor work on fixing the Hawbakers’ business computer. The computer has a virus, and Suzy has been disappointed she has not been able to blog or update her Twitter for the last week. Her blog welds her daily life with the girls and Andy and her business together, offering “green” tips and ideas for other families. The blog’s name is synonymous with Suzy’s business, Hip Mountain Mama blog. The name represents both her business and Suzy’s pleasure for sharing her life and sustainable practices with the online world.
1:32 p.m.: Packaging the Environmentally Friendly Way
As the girls finish up lunch and the men in the living room finish the computer work they have been doing, Suzy decides to take advantage of the calm and get back to work.
| Where to find Hawbaker online |
|---|
| Hip Mountain Mama: Hip Products for Natural Mamas: Started in August 2008, Andy joined in November 2009 Online retail shop with organic and sustainable materials for moms and children. Hip Mountain Mama Blog: Started in 2007 Showcases products from the Hip Mountain Mama online store, offers “green” tips and incorporates the Hawbaker’s personal lives. One Small Change: Started January 2010 Showcases online blogging competitors who are making “one small change” monthly until Earth Day to help the environment. |
“Andy, do you want to come help package up some orders?” she calls to the next room. He replies that he is not quite finished and Suzy heads down to the basement.
Andy joined the business in November. He helps with every part of the business, from the ordering to the packaging, while she focuses on customer service, she says, for the sake of family balance.
Floor to ceiling, the basement is covered with boxes full of products for Hip Mountain Mama. Suzy stuffs recycled packing peanuts into a small package of modeling beeswax, weighs it and brings it back upstairs to be mailed out later in the afternoon.
2:07 p.m.: Blog Templates with Laughter as the Background
The top of the Hawbakers’ desk features plants, a wooden Buddha candle and business cards. As the sun warms the carpet, the two girls play in their fort and Suzy logs onto her blog for the first time in a week. Andy writes addresses on boxes, crouched next to his wife.
Maybe later the family will go for a walk through the fields across from their house or do crafts with the girls. Either way, Suzy and her family find a way to continue living happily and sustainably.
Leah Rybak
I'm a junior journalism major, and I also work for The Mirror, UNC's student paper.