I ♥ colors

Valspar is giving away a free paint sample to the first 1000 people each day who request one!

According to their Facebook page, you will receive an 8-ounce sample, a mini-roller and tray, coordinating color chips, and a coupon for $5 off your next Valspar purchase at Lowe's.

More criminal mischief

From the Dakota County police blotter, March 14, 2011:

"Drug activity. A 45-year-old Burnsville man was arrested for manufacturing methamphetamine, indecent exposure and disorderly conduct in the 200 block of Burnsville Circle."

Naked and cooking meth is no way to go through life, son.

From the North metro police blotter, February 10, 2011:

"Disorderly conduct. Officers went to a business on the 7900 block of Sunwood Drive NW. regarding a customer who had presented an obscene picture to a clerk. Police contacted the suspect by phone and issued the suspect a citation for lewd and disorderly conduct."

So, a guy walks into a business and schleps a picture of his junk onto the counter...

From the West metro police blotter, February 5, 2011:

"Animal complaint. A man called police to report there was a weasel in the garage at his home on Trista Court. An officer was unable to locate the animal."

Yes, well, who hasn't had a weasel in the garage?

From the West metro police blotter, February 11, 2011:

"Theft. Officers responded to a parking lot on the 3800 block of Hwy. 169 regarding a theft. Someone had stolen $800 worth of meat from a delivery van that was parked in the parking lot."

And, to add insult to injury...

February 19, 2011:
"Theft. A barbecue grill was stolen from the yard of a home on the 14000 block of 37th Place N."

The diet of a business traveler

I never thought I'd say this, but I'm actually tired of going out to eat. I sincerely enjoyed the potato sausage and roasted carrots I had for dinner tonight, because it was food I made myself, for myself (plus, the roasted carrots were amazing). It's not that I don't enjoy eating in a restaurant, but look at what I ate while I was on my business trip:

Thursday: see my post titled "The one where Erin finally does something nice for herself"

Friday: my husband took me out to eat at the same restaurant I had been to the previous night and I had a half a rack of BBQ ribs, mashed sweet potatoes, and mixed vegetables

Saturday: a nice, normal, unmemorable eat-at-home day. Until that evening, when we got invited to go to the movie "Battle: Los Angeles" with some friends and ended up having pie and coffee at McDonald's afterward.

Sunday: oatmeal, an orange, and half a hard-boiled egg for breakfast; a low-fat cranberry-orange scone for "lunch" (traveling); and a package of beef jerky from the gas station for "dinner"; a tangerine and a piece of toast at my parent's house (yeah, this wasn't the best day, but it's hard to eat healthy food when you're traveling... I will take solace in the fact that I ate the fruit and toast for a movie snack while my brother ate potato chips and fun-sized Snickers bars)

Monday: oatmeal for breakfast; blue cheese hamburger and Caesar salad for dinner in the hotel restaurant (had a late start that day, so missed lunch)

Tuesday: ham, bacon, onion, and mushroom omelet, whole wheat toast, and copious amounts of fruit for breakfast (hotel restaurant); vegetable soup and an Odwalla bar for lunch; and a beer-battered cod fillet BLT with sweet potato fries and a Caesar salad for dinner (hotel restaurant)

Wednesday: Odwalla bar and coffee for breakfast; roast beef, smoked turkey, lettuce, and banana pepper sub for lunch (cafeteria); and potstickers, crab rangoon, mini spring rolls, and a piece of chocolate raspberry cheesecake for dinner (I had a pretty disappointing day, hence the fatty dinner in the hotel restaurant)

Thursday: scrambled eggs, bacon, English muffin, and fruit for breakfast (hotel restaurant); a huge salad with buffalo chicken for lunch (cafeteria); and sushi for dinner (from Target... don't laugh, I like theirs even though it doesn't taste like "real" sushi)

Friday (travel day): oatmeal for breakfast; Indian buffet for lunch (met up with a friend while in the area); aaaand it was pretty much all downhill from there, with "dinner" consisting of coffee, a donut, and some cheese and crackers. When I got home, I noticed that my husband had eaten all the food in the fridge while I was away, except for half a carton of eggs, a gallon of orange juice, and all the condiments in the door. The freezer was still jam-packed because he didn't feel like cooking anything.

Before anyone comments, yes, I know I ate a lot. But it was all for legitimate hunger, not boredom or anger or frustration or any other reason people eat when they're not hungry. At any rate, everything was back to normal yesterday: a bagel with PB&J for breakfast, a chicken burger with tomatoes and jalapenos for lunch, and chicken, mixed vegetables, and dumplings for dinner. I need to add more fruit, but this was the best I could do considering my husband ate everything else over the past week. And now I can't wait to go grocery shopping! Haha.

Big-time business

Well, my apologies for the lack of posts over the past week and a half... I was on a business trip! In all the years I've worked in an office setting, I've never gotten to say that. I've been to off-site meetings and conferences, but never an honest-to-God business trip. Last week, I got to stay in a hotel, eat hotel food, and take the hotel shuttle. It was a great experience -- everything was so posh and the people were fabulous. The only bad part of the entire week was not getting carded in the hotel restaurant when I ordered a glass of wine; especially since everyone seems to think I'm in my early 20s. I will chalk it up to my deportment, rather than the aging process... haha. Of course, they probably figured they'd be getting $9 out of me for a glass of $7 wine (yes, we found out later that the wine sells for $7.19 per bottle at MGM) and didn't much care how old I was.

At any rate, I had a fantastic week. Not only did I get to experience the life of a business traveler, I got to visit my family for a couple days. My Mom said it looked like all I did was shop when I was in town because I came back with a case of beer and a grocery bag full of stuff from Trader Joe's (it's true, but only because I live in the middle of BFE and there aren't many signs of civilized life around here). I'm hoping to take more business trips in the future!

The one where Erin finally does something nice for herself

I never do anything just for me. While other girls go out for drinks and manicures and hot waxes and whatever else they do, I'm cooking dinner for my husband. If I'm serving pie, I'll take the deformed, messy piece that gets cut first so everyone else can have a picture-perfect slice. I'm used to putting everyone else's needs above my own, which would be a great trait if I ever wanted to be a mother.

Last night, I got some great news about work. My husband was so non-plussed about the whole thing, which really disappointed me. I had hoped he would be as happy for me as I was, but he gave me a half-hearted, "Oh. That's great." After he left for work, I called my parents to gripe about the situation. My Mom suggested, "Why don't you go to [local restaurant] and have a glass of wine and dessert?"

Brilliant!

So, I got dressed up and walked to the restaurant. By the time I got there, I was starting to get hungry. To start, I had a Caesar salad (which was pretty hard to eat because of my missing molar), warm bread with herbed garlic butter, and a glass of Robert Mondavi riesling. The main course was applewood-smoked salmon with cherry cheesecake mashed sweet potatoes (oh my god, were those good!). Finally, they brought out the dessert tray and I picked out a slice of French silk pie. At the end of my meal, the waitress asked if I lived around here. I thought that was sort of an odd question, but I figured she asked because I was wearing nice clothes and was very polite (there are a lot of rough characters around these parts). After I paid, I walked back home and capped off the evening by reading for a while and then trying on outfits for my upcoming business trip.

The point of this? It felt so good to actually do something purely selfish, purely for me. I needed someone to congratulate me on my good news, and that someone ended up being me.