Happy tax day!  I guess I shouldn’t say happy.  Tax day is generally not a day of happiness for many people.  So, happy tax day!

So today is not only sad because I am now officially unemployed (meaning, zero income), but because my time with a certain adorable little tot has come to an end.

Today was my last day as Mason’s nanny, as his permanent, full-time nanny starts next week.  I started sitting for this little guy when he was only 3 weeks old.  I used to be able to fit him on my lap, lengthwise, and now look at him!  5 months old and sitting on his own.  He wasn’t even smiling yet when I started nannying for him!  Now he laughs and makes all sorts of hilarious baby noises.  I’m sure his new nanny will do a great job and love him just as much as I do; but I’ll definitely be going through some Mason withdrawal over the coming weeks!

Before heading off to watch Mason this morning, I had some Kashi for breakfast:

Nothing like some Heart to Heart in a pink bowl to start your Thursday!

I hopped on BART and headed to Bar Method to take Anita’s 11am class — she killed with the inner thigh work today!  I’m already sore from the class, so that doesn’t bode very well for how my muscles will be feeling tomorrow…  Oh well, bikini season approaches, and no pain no gain right?

After class it was time for my final hours with my favorite boy (under 5 feet).  Mason wasn’t so into napping today — I’d like to think it’s because he knew it was our last day together and he wanted to enjoy every minute of it.  Though I love spending time playing with Mason and making him laugh, him not napping means I don’t have much time to eat during the day.  I managed to squeeze in time for the iced coffee I brought (of course.  I mean, priorities people), an orange I didn’t take a picture of (I was eating it with one hand and shaking a rattle for Mason with the other — which he thought was fascinating — so I didn’t really have time or an arm for the camera unfortunately), and some yogurt in my new favorite travel-ware:

I figured after my stomachache last night, some probiotics might be in order.  I brought some organic lowfat plain yogurt mixed with organic wild blueberries, some honey, and raw sliced almonds.  (The other cool thing about my new travel container is there’s a compartment in the top — I kept the almonds in there so they wouldn’t get mushy.  Genius!)

After a full day with the big man at the studio, I headed home on BART.  I have plans to make brussel sprout salad for dinner (but I’m out of onions, grrr).  I heated up some of the leftover cauliflower to snack on, before I decide whether to run to the store for a single onion (so annoying) or just start dinner without it.

In other news, Priscilla (who works at Bar Method) has an organic cupcake business which is competing for the title of Best of the BayList.  You can check out her website for her company, MoonBaby Cakes, here. Let me tell you, I don’t even like cake (as I’ve mentioned before) but Priscilla is so good, she even converted me with her cupcakes! She made gluten-free, dairy-free chocolate cupcakes for Heather’s baby shower (that’s Mason’s mom) last year, and oh. my. god. They were the most amazing little cakes I’ve ever tasted! I seriously still have dreams about those cupcakes… I have to think up an event where I can commission Priscilla to make those again. Maybe a party for when I become employed? That would certainly be something to celebrate.

Anyway, if you’d like to vote for MoonBaby Cakes for Best of the Bay, you can do so here.  And hey, if she wins, maybe Priscilla will have a cupcake celebration party and invite you! (Try and request the gluten-free, dairy-free cupcakes she makes. Life-changing!)

Alright, off to make a decision about onions.  I know, my life… seriously epic these days…

Hey-o!

I don’t know about you guys, but I love to snack.  I don’t eat a lot at one time, but I love to eat things throughout the day (I eat probably every 2 hours or so..!)  Anyway, I find that a good way to stay healthy throughout the day is to prepare snacks for myself the night before, or in the morning.

This morning I had oatmeal for breakfast:

Irish oats with almond butter, raspberry Bonne Maman, and raisins — nice way to start the day!

After breakfast it was time to head to Bar Method to work the desk for a few hours.  Before I left, I got my lunch and coffee in order.  I make my own coffee during the week, and bring it wherever I’m going (usually Bar Method) in my travel cup.  The travel cup was definitely an investment (about $20), when considering that a cup of coffee is only about $1.50; but seeing as I’ve been using it weekly for the past 2 1/2 years, I’d say it’s more than paid for itself.  Not only that, but think about the number of paper cups this represents, not to mention the amount of money I’ve saved schlepping my own caffeine around (as the cup pays for itself in a mere 14 uses).  If you like coffee like I do (we have a very serious relationship, java and I), you might consider investing in a travel mug of your own!

I also used my new travel bowl again today.  This time I brought leftover Pasta e Fagioli soup in it for lunch:

That’s my very eco-friendly lunch setup.  Soup, coffee, and water.  The soup stayed a bit warmer than the oatmeal did yesterday.  Given the bowl’s performance today and yesterday, I’d say it was a good investment.  I will definitely keep using it.  Even though it’s kind of a pain to lug around all these accoutrements, it saves me from having to buy lunch (I’m poor, remember?) and at the end of the day, I’m not throwing away a bunch of plastic and paper.

Back to today: Bar Method was a zoo!  The studio has gotten super busy lately — I think people have finally caught on and realized just how effective the workout is.

I took the 3pm Bar Method class today after my desk shift ended.  Before heading into class I had the typical fare:

Yes, that would be an orange and a hard-boiled egg in my trusty Snapware (I bought 2 sets of the stuff at Costco a few months ago, and I love it!  Airtight and BPA free, what more could you want?)

After class I headed home on BART.  Once I got home I was hungry, but wasn’t in the mood to start dinner just yet (since I’m not sure when my hard-working boy will be home yet!)  I had a head of cauliflower and some tomatoes which were about to go bad, so I decided to make some turmeric roasted cauliflower with tomatoes (genius!).

I cut the cauliflower into florets and tossed it and the tomatoes in olive oil, 1 teaspoon sea salt, 1/2 teaspoon turmeric, and 1/8 teaspoon of cayenne pepper.  I roasted all this at 425° for 25 minutes, and it was ready to eat.  Easy peasy:

Delicious and healthy snack!  If you haven’t tried cooking with turmeric yet, I definitely recommend trying it.  Not only is it delicious and a fabulous shade of yellow, but there are a bunch of health benefits to it (you can check out some of the benefits of turmeric here)

I’m currently trying to decide whether to make brussel sprout salad or carmelized onion pizza for dinner.  Hmmm, maybe I’d better look in the fridge and see what’s going to expire first…  That’s always a good way to decide things like this, right?  I’ll post the winner of this challenge later.  Off to the fridge!

So I have to admit, I did end up scrounging for another piece of candy last night… and KC and I finished the Macadamia nuts!  At least they’re out of the house now.  I can’t control myself around those things!

This morning I got up and had some Kashi Heart to Heart:

Again, I still think it looks a little like dog food (or as the Barefoot Contessa would say, “a dog’s breakfast”), but it tastes like people food, so that’s a plus.  After breakfast (and getting dressed obviously) I headed off to the city to work the desk and Bar Method for a few hours.

While there I had:

A hard-boiled egg, plus water and coffee (of course!).  I also had an orange but forgot to take a picture… sorry!  And I ate half of this…:

Oh croissant, why do you have to be so delicious?  If you’re going to taste so good, you could at least be mildly nutritious.  Is that really so much to ask?

Since I didn’t eat the whole croissant I was still hungry.  I managed to wolf down a granola bar and some pineapple before class.

Dear Camera: Why do you need to make everything look blurry and/or shiny?  I hate it.  Sincerely, Chelsea

Yes, this is the pineapple that KC and I won at the baby shower over the weekend (ok, well, not the WHOLE pineapple obviously.  That would just be crazy.)  Baby shower pineapple makes a great pre-workout snack.  (In fact, even non-baby shower pineapple makes a great pre-workout snack.  Grocery-store pineapple works just as well.)

After my snack it was time to feel the burn in Heather’s class.  Her thigh sequence today was killer.  I almost thought I wouldn’t make it through, but I found some motivation (helloooo bikini season rapidly approaching…) and forced my legs to cooperate.  After class I hung out with Alexis who was watching Mason for the day.  We thought Mason should practice sitting (he’s so close!)

Ta Da!

Woops… well maybe not quite there yet.  Seriously though, is he not the cutest thing you’ve ever seen?  Mason thought trying to sit was hilarious and laughed the whole time we were trying to get him stable.

After heading home on BART, guess what I found in my mailbox?

Yes my friends, that would be a pound of Blue Bottle coffee — a birthday gift from the one and only BFF Micha.  Michelle, how do you know me so well??  Perhaps it’s because we’ve been friends pretty much literally forever (yes, I realize after re-reading, this sentence make no sense).  We met at the age of 6 and went to the same school from 6th grade through community college (yes, I went to community college.  My parents are frugal, deal with it.)

Anyway, back to the important part of this post: the coffee.  The coffee is sitting here with me and my whole living room already smells like Blue Bottle.  Ahhh could there be anything better?  Well maybe an adorable, tiny, blonde best friend.  She’ll be here on my actual birthday (Saturday) for lunch.  Can’t wait!  Until then, I will drinking my birthday Blue Bottle (sorry kids, not sharing) and thinking of her.

Currently I’m snacking:

Cottage cheese with sea salt and pepper and a mango Kombucha.  Gotta get some energy going to clean this dirty apartment!  Go go gadget motivation…

Ok, better get moving since I’ve got to make dinner at some point too (Piadine!  Who’s excited?  Well… I am.)   Hot date with Softscrub and some rubber gloves right now (who’s jealous?  No one.) — later!