sickest thing I've seen on SYTYCD

I'm catching up with SYTYCD and this is the coolest routine, like, EVER!
I'm seriously considering starting a tWitch Tuesday because I LOVE him.
http://youtu.be/cKw60liUDk0

this is kinda cool

http://www.jennyerikson.com/2012/09/21/so-i-went-to-mormon-church/

This just shows that you can't accuse the LDS Church for mistreating women.  We looovvee the women of this Church!

Santa Clarita Weekend Trip

Like I mentioned before, I was just in LA for a nanny job.  The lovely and talented Anna needed a sub, so I took the chance to visit California and to help her out, of course!  She sent me a text a few months back saying that her mom surprised her with a trip to Europe for her birthday (rough...) and she needed someone to sub-nanny her family while she was gone.  Make some extra cash while I'm unemployed AND get a couple of weeks in CA?  OK!
For the weekend between the two weeks, I decided to drive up to Santa Clarita to visit my family.  Con about LA: TRAFFIC.  I'm OK with driving there (I think Utah helped out with that...), but it's the fact that it took me 3.5 hours to go 30 miles is what really ticks me off.  But I got there and it was a nice weekend.   Early Saturday morning, my grandpa and I hiked about 5.2 miles in the mountains by his house.  The sign going into the park read something like this: "Park closed dusk to dawn. All people must be out of the park when dark.  Warning: due to fires and such, we have had an influx of wild animals like bears and mountain lions and they are most active during nighttime."  Yup.  Living on the edge. Another interesting thing about the hike is that it is an oil area, so oil runs like streams in areas where they used to have drills and wells.  That was so crazy to me!  The hike was beautiful and therapeutic.

view from the top of the valley

celebrated his 70th birthday this week, but this hike was a breeze. he's still got it.

at the top!

oil along the trail

I got to have some bonding time with my cousin, Claire, which was so fun!  I watched her horseback riding lesson after the hike and then we got ready to hit up Six Flags Magic Mountain! It was only her second time, so I felt honored to introduce her to some of the "big kid rides."  Between Disneyland, Magic Mountain, Universal Studios, and Great America in California, Magic Mountain is by far my favorite.  Seriously, I want to go to this place until I die.

waiting in line for my most favorite

Sunday morning was more horsey stuff with Claire and then we went to breakfast, just the two of us :)  Then I drove back to the Palisades so that I could get ready for my next trip with the nanny family to San Luis Obispo.

And here is a picture of my grandma's one-eyed cat named Penny, whom I call Winky:

The Ericksen's Guide to BBQ in the Portland Area

This experiment is headed by Dad Ericksen.  He loooovveeess his BBQ and so when he gets to choose where we eat, it's BBQ.  So we have tried a few places in Tualatin and East Portland that we thought were yummy.  This is ironic, since Portland is known for their vegan or vegetarian dietary habits (I will have to tell you about some yummy vegan places sometime).  Here it is! What you all have been waiting for!  The Ericksen's Guide to Eating BBQ in the Portland Area!!!  Duht duht duh duhhhhhhaaaa!

Russell Street BBQ~ 325 NE Russell Street, Portland, OR, 97212
Virginian BBQ

Pros: I am a big fan of pulled pork, so I tend to get it at places with BBQ options.  Russell's has really good pulled pork.  Also, my dad is most satisfied with the "meat-a-palooza" option here than anywhere else.  It's a lotta meat.  And I like the atmosphere.  They have lots of different pig figurines hanging out around the restaurant.  In other words, it's cute, but not overbearing-this-is-a-bbq-place-dangit.

Cons: It's popular, so it can be busy.  That can be a pro, though, except from the lack of waiting space/benches.  They don't take reservations, either.

Sam showing how it's done 

love my pulled pork and potato salad!

Podnah's Pit~1625 Killingsworth, Portland, OR

Texan BBQ

Pros: The atmosphere is fun and Portland-ish. It's in the heart of East Portland, so you can do other things, too, like grab dessert afterwards, and feel like a Portlander.  The meat platter does NOT skimp; I had to share mine with my mom and we still didn't finish.  My mom is a beef brisket fan and she really liked the beef brisket (as did I).

Cons: Street parking only.  Also a bit of a wait since it is popular.  

not my picture

the meat platter my mom and I had to share

Famous Dave's~three locations in the Portland area

Chain Restaurant, but I think they shoot for Texan BBQ

Pros: I super love their cornbread and potato salad.  They have lots of choices for sauces.  The decor is cute.  

Cons: My dad is a little disappointed about the wimpiness of the equivalent of the "meat-a-palooza," since there are only two meats you can have, unless you add $3.99 more per addition of type of meat.  

Pine Shed Ribs~17730 Pilkington Rd, Lake Oswego, OR
Pit BBQ
Pros: The menu said one side for my particular choice, but when I got my plate, I also got chips and a pickle! A pickle, I tell ya!  The cornbread was really good.  I got the pulled pork sandwich and it was also really good.  I hear their white mac n cheese is also good, but they were out.  They also claim on their menu that they only get meat from local vendors, if that suits your fancy.
Cons: Of course, my dad got the meat platter and he and my mom loved the almond smoked chicken.  However, the rest of the meats they complained were a little dry compared to the other places.  Also, we were unsettled by the fact that you have to order in one spot and then walk in the rain to another area to sit.  So, this place is probably more fun in the summer during a quick lunch time when you can just eat standing up outside or you don't have to get rained on going to the eating area.

We are still on our quest to discover good places to eat in Portland Metro area and this includes our BBQ spots.  Let us know if there are any good places you'd recommend to us, BBQ or not!

Michelle's Guide to the J. Paul Getty Museum

Location: off of the PCH in Santa Monica by West Sunset.
Price: free
Parking: at the museum, $15. Or you can drop off at the entrance
Duration: 1.5-3 hours

Located on the cliffs above the PCH and the California coast, this museum was created from the personal collection of J. Paul Getty. He was the richest man in America during his peak in the oil industry and he used his wealth to collect art and artifacts. When he died, he left it for the people of California.
Before you visit, you have to have a ticket printed out online. Good news: it's free! Bad news: parking is $15 (is the museum really "free"??).
You have to print the ticket first because you verify it at the gate. You get a certain time, but I called and they said that I could go up to an hour earlier. That's possibly for the off-season, though.
I was a TA for a classics class and took a few during my undergrad so I have found a love for Greek and Roman history and mythology. To my delight, I found that the collection at the Villa is Greek and Roman artifacts.
My favorite from the permanent collection is the Lansdowne Herakles statue on the first floor. I also liked the gold laurel victory crown/wreath from Olympian games a long time ago.

There also was a temporary exhibit inspired by the last days at Pompeii. They had a couple of casts of people that they found preserved by the debris from Vesuvius, which was cool. And I loved this painting:

The Destruction of Pompeii by John Martin

I'm a fast museum-er so know that you can spend more time if you want. They have guided tours that take 40 minutes, so you can easily spend a few hours if you take your time. If you're interested in Greek and Roman artifacts, spend an afternoon at the Getty Villa!

bumpin' birthday bash at the beach

For the next couple of weeks, I'm stepping in as a sub nanny for the kids Anna takes care of in Pacific Palisades, CA.  I have to admit, I enjoy this weather a bit more than the weather up in Anchorage ;)
Speaking of good times on the beach, a couple of months ago, my mom's side of the family had a reunion at our beach house.  I pretty much didn't have my phone with me much during that week and, being that my phone is also my camera, I was waiting to get pictures from others before I put up a post.  So the following pictures are from my uncle's gf, Megan.

horseback riding on the beach with the girls

 my sister, Syd~my grandma~my cousin, Nicole~my mom~Megan~Me~my cousin, Kimberly~my cousin, Claire

The next day, we ate at Grateful Bread, a cute little bakery/cafe in Pacific City

my cousin, Dan and my uncle Mike just crack me up

Then on full stomachs, we climbed the sand dunes in Pacific City

I chose this picture to prove how good my uncle Chris is at smizing

 my family as little dots as we climb all the way up

 the view from the top is worth the scramble

 my dad's in the back with Dan~action shot with sand of cousin Bart~Chris~Claire

 uncles Mike and Chris~Bart

top of the dunes

Now for my pictures!

view from my walk: 2000 year old ghost forest preserved by the sand and just discovered within the last 10 years 

feeding 16 people made meal times a fun time! 

family time with horseshoes and croquet

and, of course, fun on the beach 

we had a competition for who could find the most whole sand dollars. Nicole won!

I hope we don't have to wait for the next 70th birthday to see everyone again!

Alaskahhhh

I went to Alaska! My dear friend Allie's family moved from Portland to an Eskimo village while she was on her mission. No kidding, a legit Eskimo village where the people don't have running water a lot of the time and they have to get there by a little 6 person plane. A couple of months ago, her mom messages me asking if I'd like to come and surprise her in AK. I've never been there, so a hop over another country later, I find myself already encountering Alaska weather. About an hour from Anchorage, where I was supposed to land, the pilot gets on his intercom and explains that the winds in Anchorage are so bad, they had to evacuate the flight control tower. Apparently, they were clocking winds at over 100 mph. So for safety's sake, we landed in Fairbanks, just an hour more north. Well, an hour of flight, but 6.5 hours of driving north of where I needed to be. It's the beginning of September, people! And I had a no so great experience with that, but this is a happy post, so I'll write about that later.

my day spent in Fairbanks after a sleepless night

Fairbanks, AK

I finally get to Anchorage Wednesday night after a day in Fairbanks and instead of me running to her coming out of the gate, she runs to me. I was bummed that the surprise was kinda ruined, but it was so fun to see her, anyways! Since it was late, we hung out at the hotel and talked and I showed her how to do things on her iPhone and we talked some more while she got on Facebook for the first time in a year and a half. It was like no time has lapsed, but at the same time, we are different and grown up, so it's different, too.

Thursday, we did some post-mission doctors stuff and I got to see Anchorage in the day time. Flying into Alaska, it looked like the tundras that you see on "Planet Earth." I know you watch "Planet Earth," too, so you know what I'm talking about. It was still pretty windy and just about as cold as I expected it to be (like late fall, even though it's summertime). Anchorage is the biggest city in Alaska, but there aren't that many people and it's not very big, so that'll give you an idea of how tundra-esque this state is. The people remind me of small-town southern people. It's just pretty and quaint and the people are nice.

ain't no fear in the last frontier 

We had lunch at this spunky little bar and grill downtown called Rum Runners.  I ate some yummy salmon chowder in a bread bowl.

We had a tour on a trolley of the city and here are some things that I learned and found interesting:
1. There are about 2,000 moose in the Anchorage area, which means about 1 moose per square mile.  Now, it was my #1 goal while I was in AK to see a moose, so I pretty excited about that.
2. We drove across a landing strip for the airport.  A LANDING STRIP. WHERE PLANES LAND. AND WE DROVE ON IT.  Apparently, you just have to look both ways for a plane.
3. They refer to us down here as the "Lower 48."
4. AK is the #1 consumer of ice cream in the US. No one knows why, but I thought that was just odd that it beat out, like, hotter places, ya know?
So post-tour, we ate some ice cream and I met Sarah Palin while we were at it.

downtown 

I met a bear

Then we hit up the Anchorage Museum.  They had an exhibit from the Smithsonian about the tribes of Alaska and had some cool artifacts.

I wish I saw a live moose up close, but this would have to do until I saw one the next day.

pretty museum exterior

For dinner, we ate at The Peanut Farm Restaurant, which isn't a farm and I didn't see any peanuts, but it had a cool view of the river and yummy food.

That night, I took Allie to her first movie since being back from the mish.  We chose to see "Brave," since that's pretty mild.

The next morning, before our flights, we drove up to the cabin we were going to stay in before the power outage and got this great view.  Oh, and I saw a real moose on the side of the road on the way up (no picture :( )

houses spotting the hillside 

view from the cabin--the inlet is on the top left--what a view! 

Although it was a short trip, it was so fun to see Allie and get an Alaskan experience!