Old hotels

So I'm in Washington, D.C. for work meetings and am splitting my time between two hotels. The first one, the Marriott Wardman has two parts. My room is in the old part. It was pretty cool.










The hallway doors have big doorknobs in the middle of the door. That's not something that you see every day.

The next hotel is the Washington Hilton. I've stayed there before. It was made famous as where president Reagan was shot. The rooms there aren't anywhere close to as spacious as this room I'm in now.

Friday Fragments

Joining up with Mrs. 4444 and the Friday Fragments! Woohoo!



I'm actually writing these early since I catch a plane on Friday to go to Washington DC. My plans are to spend a day in a test review session, and then three days in meetings. Sunday I have the day to explore until the evening activity for the conference. I was hoping to go to the Library of Congress on Sunday but they aren't open. And the restaurant I wanted to try isn't open on Sunday either. Boo.

We gave out lots of candy at work on Wednesday and still have leftovers at home. We were a chocolate free zone at work which helped for the two hours I was handing out candy. I didn't like the stuff we were giving out so no nibbling here! :)

Somehow I watched Dancing with the Stars results show this week. Reminded me once again why I wasn't watching the show.

The weather here is absolutely gorgeous. Too bad I'm leaving to go to much colder temperatures.

I got my hair colored Tuesday so I wouldn't look horrible for my trip. I love the color and am quite happy with the girl who did it. Unfortunately she graduates in two weeks so won't be there the next time I need it done. She had ORANGE hair and looked quite stunning. Oh to be young and not a care in the world.

Dan has lots of leftovers in the freezer for him to eat while I'm gone. He is a great cook but if it is just him I know he won't really cook real meals. So this way he will eat well.

Stupid criminal is a duo this week. Two guys robbed a house and drove away. Unfortunately they got lost in the neighborhood and kept driving by the house they robbed. Then the police who were investigating stopped them and found all the stuff. Guess they should have gotten a GPS.

And because I wanted to end the blog with cute pictures, here's one of a totally awesome beagle puppy (not my own).

Because we all need a little sweetness in our lives.

Happy Anniversary Hodgepodge!

Happy Anniversary! or Happy Birthday! However you want to say it the Hodgepodge hits 100 today! Congratulations Joyce and I hope you have power soon so you can see all the responses!

1. What creeps you out?
When I think of being creeped out, I think of something that gives me the heeby jeebies (I think that's how it's spelled). Lots of blood, that creeps me out. Gives me the shivers just thinking about it.

2. What's your least favorite candy?
Didn't you always hate those orange and black wrapped candies as a kid? I'm not sure what flavor they are but they are yucky.

3. Are you a fan of scary movies? What's the scariest movie you've ever seen?
I hate scary movies. I've seen Friday the 13th and tried to watch Halloween but I couldn't make it through.

4. What part of life confuses you the most?
Interesting question. I have to say I never really feel confused so I'm not sure how to answer it.

5. Pumpkin, sunflower, sesame, poppy...what's your favorite seed?
Not a big seed person. Perhaps a good sesame seed bun? I'm allergic to pumpkin seeds. I only like to suck the salt off of sunflower seeds.

6. Imagine your life ten years from today...what's changed?
First of all the house will be paid for. That means all the money that I'm spending on a mortgage can be saved up for fantastic vacations each year. I can retire by then too so maybe a whole new second career will be in the works for me.

7. What do you a) love the most and b) like the least about the Hodgepodge?
Love getting to know people from all around the world. I've found some of the best blogs through the Hodgepodge. Like least maybe some of the questions that use quotes. I'm not a big quote person so I never know how to answer them. But others do, so I wouldn't change anything about the Hodgepodge.

8. Insert your own random thought here.
I'm getting my hair colored so no roots are showing when I go to my meeting in DC this weekend. I would hate to show up and people look at me and think man she can't even take care of her hair. LOL. I'm sure that's not what they think but I will think they do, so why not get it done. But do we really need an excuse to get our hair done?

We are hosting a Trick or Treat event at work. All the people who work here bring their kids and go around to all the offices. It is always cute to see the little ones. We seem to have had a lot of babies this year and those parents go crazy for cute costumes.

Lasagna

Do you need to have an excuse to make lasagna? Well I created one...mainly I wanted to make sure that there were plenty of leftovers for while I was gone. With it just being the two of us, a whole pan of lasagna will serve both of us 6 times. So lots go into the freezer. And it only improves with the flavors mixing together. So the leftovers are often better than the original.

Lasagna
Recipe adapted from American Beauty pasta

1 lb. ground beef
3 cups (about 28-oz. jar) spaghetti sauce
16 pieces (about 16 oz.) lasagna noodles, slightly cooked
4 cups (2 lb.) ricotta cheese
2 cups (8 oz.) shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

In large skillet, brown meat; drain. Stir in spaghetti sauce; simmer 10 minutes. 

Lay pasta on a sheet pan. Cover with boiling water and let sit for 5-10 minutes, replacing water when it cools. This will slightly cook the pasta making it pliable but not fall apart.

Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, stir together ricotta cheese, 1-1/2 cups mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, eggs, salt and pepper. Spread about 1/3 cup meat sauce on bottom of 13 x 9 x 2-inch glass baking dish. Arrange 4 pasta pieces lengthwise over sauce, overlapping edges. Spread one-third cheese mixture over pasta; spread with about 3/4 cup meat sauce. Repeat layers TWICE, beginning and ending with pasta. Top with remaining meat sauce; sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese and additional Parmesan cheese, if desired. Cover with foil. Bake 45 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Remove foil; bake about 10 minutes longer, or until lightly browned.





This has been our go-to lasagna recipe for so many years. This time I added in 1/2 pound of cooked Italian sausage in addition to the ground beef. We always add more cheese to the top than it calls for because we like gooey cheese.

Herb Crusted Pork Loin

The grocery store had pork loins on sale and I needed to cook something to go with a stuffing recipe for the Crazy Cooking Challenge (which will be posted later). Since we just had our normal pork recipe last week, I wanted to try something new. Normally we are conservative and don't want to waste money if we won't like it, but at nine dollars for the whole loin, I didn't think that was too bad if it didn't taste good.

So I found a recipe at Food Network (always a good go to source). I had never made a recipe by Ellie Kreiger but it had good ingredients, good reviews and who can pass up "healthy" recipes.

The original recipe has a sauce, but we didn't make it since I didn't have the ingredients and it wouldn't go with my side dish anyway.

Herb Crusted Pork Loin
Recipe by Ellie Kreiger

Ingredients
2 garlic cloves, minced (1 tablespoon)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh sage leaves or 1 teaspoon dried sage
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crumbled
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh thyme leaves or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 (2 1/2-pound) center cut boneless pork loin, trimmed of all visible fat

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Mash the garlic and salt together with a fork until it forms a coarse paste. Transfer to a small bowl and stir in the oil, fresh herbs and freshly ground pepper. Rub the garlic-herb paste all over the pork. Transfer the pork to a roasting pan and roast for 1 1/4 hours or until the internal temperature reaches 155 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer. Transfer the roast to a carving board and let rest for 15 minutes. Carve the pork into slices and serve with the sauce.




This is probably going to feed up 5 times depending on how we use the leftovers. It was moist and flavorful. I'll definitely keep the recipe and do it again when we want something different.

Friday Fragments - Finally It Feels Like Fall

Mrs. 4444 hosts the weekly empty your mind of fragments party. She's been doing this a lot longer than I have.



The weather finally got colder. Although I didn't expect it to be 35 degrees this morning. Somehow we are skipping the 60-70 range. It's going to be a cold one for all those football people Saturday night as our game is on national tv. I'll be watching in the comfort of my home with a fire going. See I'm smart like that.

I've even turned on the space heater in my office. One of the best gifts Dan has given me for Christmas. I work in an ice box.

I'm doing a bible study on Jonah and last night something struck me. So time to ponder on it for awhile.

Don't you love it when you think you've been doing extra for someone and then they send an email saying they aren't getting any support from you at all. What's up with that? Now they definitely won't be getting anything extra from me.

If you watch College Gameday on ESPN this weekend, you'll see part of our beautiful campus. They are actually going to be in a pretty spot instead of the last time they were here and were at the track.

In one week I'll be in Washington DC. I'm sure all the pretty leaves will have been knocked off the trees from the storm that is coming their way. Darn, I was hoping to see beauty.

Stupid criminal of the week was a bank robber who turned around and went back to the bank to complain they hadn't given him the $20K he asked for. The police were there investigating and arrested him. Lesson to be learned...don't complain about the money you just stole.

This is as close to pumpkin carving as I will come this year so enjoy!

Hodgepodge - The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round

Joyce provided her 99th version of questions this week. Can't wait for next week.

1. So, do you like beer?
I like light colored beer like Corona. I don't drink it very often. Sometimes at wine tastings they have beer and it is always dark. Yuck.

2. What's your least favorite repetitive task?
Dusting. Round and round my arm goes and yet the dust keeps coming back.

3. When was the last time you rode a bus? Where was it headed?
Last bus ride I took was this summer into Denali National Park. It was nine hours long but it had great scenery.

Denali is way back there

4. What song from your childhood or from your own children's childhood could make a parent's nerves stand on end?
The Barney song. That big purple dinosaur was a close part of our family for a few years and really I've heard that song way too many times.

5. The US Presidential election cycle is drawing to a close (can I get an AMEN??), and the third and final debate was held last night...what was the last thing you 'debated about'?
Maybe where to stay on vacation? I can't say I really call anything debating.

6. Can a person make too much money? How much is too much?
Is the question are some people overpaid? Yes some are. But can you make too much money? No. It all depends on what you do with the money.

7. Pop-soda-coke-something else...what's it called where you live?
Soda.

8. Insert your own random thought here.
I mailed my absentee ballot in on Tuesday. So now I have voted. Can the ads please stop? (Although in Oklahoma we don't seem to have too many since there aren't too many contested races here).