I've  been struggling with my faith over the last several months, especially as I come to know who I am more than ever. Some of you may wonder what took me so long, not that I've never questioned my faith before. However, while I used to believe (and still do) that many Christians are just wrong about what they think Christianity teaches along with the fact that it's the men in power who are corrupt, what I'm really struggling with reconciling is the colonization of faith.  

A few months ago, I wrote about successfully potty training our 20 month old within a month. Well of course we haven't gone without hiccups. So, I'd like to share our experience in case it's helpful to anyone else, because as usual, our son doesn't oft seem to follow whatever other people or books say is "normal."

The start to my son's and my nursing journey together was a difficult one, but I think even more difficult was weaning him. There wasn't any physical pain or blood like there was in the beginning, but there were definitely tears. Except this time, instead tears from pain, it was tears from mere exhaustion.  After trying SO many different tricks and methods for trying to wean him, I finally found one that his two-year-old brain was able to comprehend.

With Earth Day coming up, and now people celebrating the entire month of April as Earth Month, I thought I'd share a list of my favorite sustainable brands covering everything from fashion to cleaning products, furniture, food, chocolate, tea,  beauty and skin care, and more. Check 'em out. Several brands have Earth Month sales going on already. Any of your faves on the list?

Today is National Panda Day! What a pandastic day! Here are some random facts about these lovable cuddly creatures.

That's a lot of bamboo! Otherwise, the other 1% of their diet is carnivorous. They'll eat eggs, small animals, forage for beans and pumpkins.

Sounds like the life! Pandas spend 10-16 hours of their day eating...sounds like me when I'm PMSing.

Now that's a unique talent!

Maybe more impressive is how much they poop! On average the have 40 #2s, which can weigh up to 60 lbs (28kg)!

When picturing pandas amongst all the green bamboo, it may surprise you to find that their black and white fur actually helps them camouflage. The black fur helps them camouflage amongst the green, but their white fur helps them camouflage in snow. Very nifty, eh?

Cubs start climbing everywhere by 5 months! And they often practice on their mom. Sounds like my son!

They live about 18-20 years in the wild, and 25-30 years in captivity

The more fingers, the more bamboo they can grab! Their 6th finger actually serves more like a thumb, and has strong muscles but no movable joints.

They don't need other pandas to hunt for bamboo, so they just claim their territory and don't let any other pandas near their bamboo. This also ensure there's enough bamboo for each panda. Since they eat so much, if they all lived together there wouldn't be enough bamboo for everyone.

All that bamboo is not enough fat to allow them to sleep for months. But they're very comfy even in the freezing cold.

Yay! Since the summer of 2021, conservation efforts of giant pandas proved successful. This doesn't mean there's no longer a threat, and they're now categorized as "vulnerable" instead of "endangered." Still, it shows that conservation efforts matter.

I don’t know why it took me so long to figure out that you can consume the whole carrot, but here we are. Last year or maybe two years ago now (time is a blur during the pandemic), my mom and I came back from a farmers market trip with beets and carrots. I used to always get annoyed with the giant leafy greens on beets because, well, they’re giant and I didn’t know you could eat them. I’m not sure why, it just never occurred to me. And when you buy carrots at the grocery store, you rarely see them with their greens still attached.

So, as I stared at our beautiful bundles of root veggies, I wondered if we could reduce waste and just cook these up. Turns out you can and they’re delicious! Apparently, beets were originally used for their leaves, too. Keep reading to see some simple ways I use the whole carrot and beet.

A couple of friends recently reminded me that it's important to celebrate the small wins. If you're subscribed to my newsletter, you may have read the vague hints I've given about recent successes. However, I hesitated to say anything more than "fires are burning and good things are coming," for a couple reasons...mostly because I'm superstitious and don't want to jinx anything. So this post is a little update on this #WritersLife and a reminder to anyone who needs the reminder...​celebrate all the wins! 

My Nai Nai (paternal grandma) used to keep a separate pair of slippers for each bathroom, the kitchen, and one to wear around the rest of the house. This was because she didn't want to cross-contaminate germs. Bathrooms and kitchens are especially dirty so, why would you carry those germs to your living room or bedroom? Makes sense when you think about it though, doesn't it? I used to think she was crazy, but now I'm exactly like her, and I ain't mad at about it! Maybe this is my way of keeping her close? Maybe I'm just leveling up my Asian-ness? Or maybe it's all of the above?

Do you wear slippers in your home? My problem is remembering to keep them on my feet, and then remembering where I left them 🙄

I haven't written as much about my #WritersLife here on this blog as I thought I would when I first rebranded from Love, Justine to The Jawesome Life. I guess maybe I feel a little weird writing about writing. Plus, this blog isn't meant to be a "how to write" type of blog. However, when I was at my optometrist's office recently, he mentioned he had just hired a copywriter. First I thought, "damn it, I'm too late!" Then he expressed concern that his copywriter doesn't know optometry, so he was worried how the copy would turn out. Thus, I thought I'd share why he shouldn't worry about whether his copywriter is an expert on optometry, because this is a common issue in job hiring I find really annoying, overall.