Chocolate Date Bars

I like Lara Bars. Stella likes Lara Bars. Lara Bars are expensive. But I feel like they are full of whole foods and nothing processed, so I've been buying them as easy snacks on the go. But in an effort to save money on these kinds of things, I've been trying to make them myself. Any recipe I have tried so far has not lived up to my expectations. Until now. This is pretty good! I like it. Stella likes it. It went fast in our house.

The Clark Clean-Up!

Starting on January 1st, I decided to do a Whole30. Whole30 you ask? In a nutshell, I strictly follow a Paleo diet for 30 days. No Grains, No Dairy, No Sugar, No Alcohol. There is a ton of science behind this kind of elimination diet. A lot has to do with eliminating foods that cause inflammation in your gut and other parts of the body-which most diseases start from. The Paleo Solution is a good book about it and there are a ton of podcasts and blogs that I found helpful too (Balanced Bites and The Paleo View). I had a few reasons for trying to do a Whole30-since college my stomach goes through phases where it is knotted up, cramped, and bloated! Yuck! It hurts and it's hard to keep up with two little girls when my stomach is in knots. The other reason is I need to get into my old jeans-plain and simple. 

I'm back!

It's been over a year since I've posted anything on our family blog. So, for my first post of 2013 I thought I should do a rewind of 2012. Here goes...

New pictures of our little family

Family Easter photo

Stella in her tutu.

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree...

Early this morning I went to Redwood Covenant Church to help pass out food to those in need. I'd never done this before so I hardly knew what to expect. I showed up at 7am to see hundreds of families posted up waiting for us to "open". The line wrapped around the church and some had been waiting since midnight. It was great to see so many families getting food, gifts, and Christmas trees this holiday season. Despite the long line and long wait, kids and adults alike were smiling and thankful.

Making a list...

Anyone who knows me well knows that I like to make lists. Grocery lists, lists of stuff to do, lists of stuff I like, stuff I don't like, things I wish I had, places I wish I was, and it goes on and on.

Today I will make a list of things I am thankful for in my life. However important or ridiculous they may be, I am thankful for the following...

The mystery of napping.

I was all set to go back to work in January. We found a wonderful lady to watch over Stella a few days a week, which was quite a relief (which reminds me, I need to call her).