Burning Down the House

This evening I nearly burned down my house. The flat cooktop was off all day, so I set a pizza box over on the left side earlier while I cleaned the fridge. Tonight, I put a pot of water over on the right burner to boil chicken for the pups. Well, I turned the wrong burner on (it happens a lot), and then went outside to water some plants. About 15 minutes later, I opened the back door and walked back into my house, and a disgusting wave of smoke caused me to gag. My dogs are just sitting there inside looking confused. Panic Panic Panic. Suddenly, the fire alarm upstairs/around the corner goes off (finally), so I run into the most likely place- the kitchen- and the whole pizza box is engulfed in flames. So I screamed,"Eeeek!" and turn on the faucet/sprayer thing and hose the whole thing down. Now black nasty water is EVERYWHERE. I run upstairs to turn off the alarm, but I am not tall enough, so I had to get a chair....meanwhile the WHOLE house is full of thick nasty smoke and it reeks! I opened every window, and we don't have screens, and this is TEXAS! So not only is my house smoky but there a million gross bugs flying in.

Well, I cleaned it up, and other than the lingering smell, some beetles flying around inside, some oranges that were charred, and my Corian countertops that will need to be repaired (an easy repair according to the web), everything is okay.

I learned three valuable lessons:

1. If the house is burning down, my dogs will not save me.

2. I should have a smoke alarm on the bottom floor.

3. I am an idiot

Kent came home in the midst of the cleaning and airing of the house, and asked one question, "Can I have some string cheese?"

Lone Star Air Show

Top-Bottom: Kissing Sailor on V-J Day!, Jana and the Kissing Sailor, TBF Avenger like the one President George Bush Sr. flew in WW2.

Today Kent and I went south 80 miles to Galveston Island for an air show we had seen advertised from the Lone Star Flight Museum. We almost didn't go, because when we left there were thundershowers, but in true Texas fashion, it ended up being sunny and 85 degrees once we got there. It was a great show, with a ton of different aircraft including the B-17, B-25, F-18, and other smaller WW2 fighters such as the p-51, Avenger, etc. There were also several bi-planes and stunt planes doing loopty-loops. I cannot tell you how awesome that F-18 Hornet is. The b-17 seems all tough as it flies by until the F-18 buzzes by real low and practically blows out your ear drums. I felt sorry for any country that ticks off the USA. Such force!

The other very cool thing was that Glenn McDuffie, the "Kissing Sailor" from the famous Alfred Eisenstaedt photograph in Life Magazine was there signing copies of the photo, "for free, with a $10 donation". I asked him if the woman he kissed was good looking, and he said, "She was beautiful back then but now she's as ugly as a darn Saint Bernard (censored)." He insists that she grabbed and kissed him. Anyway, it was fun because I had read this year on msn.com that some volunteer scientists had used forensic analysis to determine that he is indeed the sailor. Apparently there were several imposters, and in fact Time magazine still will not recognize him as the sailor. So yes, I took a picture with him, and when I joked that I wouldn't try to kiss him he said he didn't mind if I did, as he had "kissed thousands of women".

Another Texas Moment

Tonight Kent and I attended the wedding of our friends Joe and Alison. It was held in old town Conroe, in a wedding venue consisting of a few 1930's farmish type homes and a chapel. The weather was fantastic and perfect. Anyway, our two favorite things were 1) beef briskit dinner, and 2) the DJ played "Honkey Tonk Badonkadonk", which everyone but us knew the words to. And they knew how to line dance to it. For the part where Joe takes off Alison's garter, they played the Texas A&M fight song. Texas is so fun :-) We recommend it to anyone who wants to move here.

Not Your Average Trip to Chick-fil-a

Today my friend Wendy and I were in a Chick-Fil-A drive-thru, and in front of us was a mounted policewoman on horseback placing an order. The horse kept sticking his head through the open drive-thru window. I SO wish I had my camera with me. It was not something you see in Southern California. Classic!

Almost Done Reminiscing... I Promise

Top: My Cousin Lauren and I looking totally awesome in our matching Bass Lake tank-tops in 1991. I must have meant to mail this picture to Lauren, because on the back I wrote, "Lauren, Wohhhh! Baby! Tough Mama! Lauren, you are taller than me, and I am MAD!!!!! Love, Jana Eichman I (heart) U 2!"

Bottom: My cousin Rachel and I looking...lame as ever. With matching hair and reverse outfits at Bass Lake in 1992. Again, I must have meant to mail the picture, because I wrote on the back, "Rachel + Jana, Summer of '92. Rachel, I (heart) U! You are very special to me. Love, Jana Eichman. PS If you grow up to be taller than me I'll get you and you'll be sorry! (Heart)!!!"

Apparently I was having some height issues.

I Love My Friends

Debbie looking HOT in Washington D.C. 2004?

Oddballs: It Takes One to Know One

This week I have been thinking a lot about friends. How much I enjoy my new Texas friends, how I love my California friends and miss them, and how much I appreciate those that put forth the effort to maintain our friendship since I moved. Thanks ladies! You guys make me feel loved and important.

xoxo Jana

Jana's First Tiered Fondant Cake!! How (un)Exciting!

On Saturday I made this cake for my friend Alison's personal bridal shower/bachelorette party, and to be honest it turned out better than I thought it would. It actually tasted good as well, minus the black store-bought fondant zebra stripes. I am loving these cake decorating classes!

Fond Memories of Yesteryear...

After rummaging through some old shoeboxes of this and thats, I found these two pictures of my girlfriends/roommates (minus Camille- bummer!) from college. I think the top one was taken the day after I graduated from college and was moving home (2001), and I think the bottom one was from Debbie's going away party when she moved to Washington DC in 2003. Those were good times. I miss you gals!

Laundry Room After

And the laundry room after some serious elbow grease... It looks a hundred times better, and is way more functional. Thanks to Grandma Jo for financing the cabinets, and to dad Eichman for installing them. One more room is done- Hooray!

Laundry Room Before

Here are some pics of what our mud/laundry room looked like before...

Last week our friend Lanette Whitaker came to Houston from Northern Cal. to watch her daughter Kaylan play volleyball in the Lone Star Classic. Lanette was able to come stay with Kent and I for a couple of days, and I was able to go into Houston and watch Kaylan's team kick some butt. This tournament was HUGE, with over 1,400 teams competing. Here is a picture of Kaylan and I, all smiley because she just won her match.

Kent's Man Camping Trip

Last weekend Kent spent some man camping time with his buddies Jason and Justin. They borrowed a small boat for fishing (strapped to the top of our tent-trailer) and went up north to Lake Conroe. Kent was so excited about the trip that he woke up at 3 am because he couldn't sleep. So, I took this photo to show what Kent looks like when he is sublimely happy.

Kent's men's soccer league played some British guys on Sunday at Bear Branch Park. They tied 2-2. Look at that fierce look on his face! :-)

Our Loot

Here is a picture of our Round Top finds!

Antique Week in the Texas Hill Country

Pictures from Top to Bottom: Mom with Johnny Waddle and her new cow hide; plenty of rusty chairs for everyone; The Knittel B&B in Burton, Texas where we stayed; Mom with some serious boot envy; Jana with her new dream car (JK)...

Mom Eichman came in to town last week so we could road trip over to Round Top, Texas for "The Biggest Antique Show in the USA". We read about this last year in Country Living magazine and decided that we had to go! Round Top is a small town halfway between Austin and Houston, and the drive there was beautiful. All of the Texas wildflowers are in bloom right now and the highways are lined with all kinds of vivid color. We stayed at a small B&B in nearby Burton (population 350) which we loved- our room was done in a "Teddy Roosevelt Lodge" style, complete with clawfoot tub and old farmhouse sink.

The antique fair was amazing- thousands of vendors ranging from fancy and expensive European furniture, to some-what cheap and tacky junk (my favorite). Mom bought a cow hide, which we named "Heidi", some pink cowboy boots and some other small items, and I bought some goblets, old window screens and cabinet doors (for something crafty), an apron, and other random items. We heard Brad Pitt was in the neighborhood filming a movie, but we didn't see him :-(

We had a lot of laughs, and enjoyed our waitress at a cafe in Burton apologizing for running out of frog legs that evening. The cow hide salesman introduced himself as "Johnny... Johnny Waddle like a duck." Johnny what? "Johnny Waddle- You know, like a duck." Ohhh.

After Round Top we drove another couple of hours to Fredericksburg, a quaint town in hill country known for antique shops and German culture. We ate some sort of German cuisine that I can't pronounce (der Schnitzelschimmglochen.. or something like it) and spent a day at the Chester Nimitz National Museum of the Pacific War, which was awesome. A great time!