I'm Alive!

Since my last post in March...

We've traveled to Mexico, Belize, & Honduras.

I've been to two concerts:

Cher & Journey.

Both were AMAZING!

I started a new job as an assistant manager.

Love my job...finally!

The hubby graduated with his Bachelors Degree in Political Science!

Law School is next!

And currently we're in the process of planning our

10 year anniversary party!

Venue has been booked.

Invitations have been ordered.

Vegas & Nola

Time to play catch up on our recent travels!

We spent Valentine's Day weekend in Vegas this year.

I always tell the hubby I'm sick of going to Vegas because 

we go so much & I'd rather visit some new places that we've 

never been to before.

But...we always have a blast in Vegas each and every time!

This time was no different.

We went because my brother invited us as this was

his "honeymoon."

So we were there with my brother & his wife and

my brother's best friend & his wife.

It just so happened that my best friend's sister & her husband

were also there that weekend as well as another friend of mine

that drove up from Arizona.

We gambled some, caught two shows Zarkana & Zumanity (which we didn't really care for either show), hopped on a party bus and went to 3 clubs (Haze, Surrender, & Pure), walked the strip, ate lots of great food, & had an overall fabulous time!

  

I almost hit $500k!

 

Toe socks I wore to "try" and help my feet from a night in heels!

These just helped with friction, but that's about it.

 2 weekends ago we decided at the last minute to go

to Mardi Gras for a day.

I'm glad we went because we had a great time, I can say I've

been, & I just love going to Nola.

The city is already full of crazy people but I think

Mardi Gras brings out the crazy people to the 10th power!

We'll be back in New Orleans next month because we're going on a one week cruise to Mexico, Honduras, & Belize. 

I'm so happy it ports out of Nola so we can get there a day early

and enjoy the city again without so much chaos!

My New Business...and a GIVEAWAY!

For the last several months I have been working 

on an online jewelry boutique!

I finally launched my site yesterday, and I would love

for you all to take a look!

It's called:

Sparkling Shimmers by Carolin. 

I'm having a Grand Opening Sale as well!

30% off using the code: carolin.

I also have $6.00 flat rate shipping.

It doesn't matter if you order 1 or 10 items,

as long as it is being shipped to one address you pay

one flat rate for s&h!

If you're on Facebook, please like my page:

www.facebook.com/sparklingshimmers

If you're on Instagram, you can follow me at:

@sparklingshimmers

If you're on Twitter, you can follow me at:

@sparklingshimm

If you're on Pinterest, you can follow me at:

@sparklingshimm

I'm still not 100% done.

I am waiting on some custom jewelry tags to come in

and I am trying to find a designer to create a nicer landing 

page for my website so I can have a featured item of the

day/week.

Of course this is a one woman show so I'm sure

things will be a little slow for me initially.

I'd appreciate if you ladies could help me out & "PIN" any 

pieces that you see & like!

Finally, I am having a GIVEAWAY!

The winner can pick out any piece on my site that they like!

(Must be a U.S. Resident.)

Here are the 4 simple rules:

• Like my page on Facebook
• Follow on Twitter
• Leave a comment
• Follow this blog (which isn't listed below but I will verify when the contest ends)

 Tweet about the Giveaway

Leave a Blog Post Comment

Follow @yourname on Twitter

Easy entry for all YourName fans on Facebook (fangate)

Like this post on Facebook

Google +1

Follow us on Pinterest

Follow us on Instagram

Subscribe to us on YouTube

Link to us from your Blog

Tell your Community (For 25 more entries, post a link to this giveaway on your blog,  favorite community, forum, facebook group, or any other place where you think people would like to hear about the chance to win! Note: You can do this once per day, but each entry must be a different community.)

Read more at http://www.jeffbullas.com/2012/12/13/15-steps-for-creating-a-successful-social-media-giveaway-contest/#eR4SdtAxL6VUwpSJ.99

  

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Story Corps

This past Saturday I went to Atlanta with 

my husband & two friends.

We did a recording for Story Corps on our Asian Heritage,

and the audio file will be preserved at the 
American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress.

It was SUCH an amazing opportunity!
StoryCorps is one of the largest oral history projects of its kind!

We discussed growing up Asian- home life, 

friends, education, dating, traditions, stereotypes, etc.

It took about 40 minutes at the Atlanta History Center.

I recommend checking out their website and

listening to some of the various stories.

You might find they are recording 

in your area as well. 

If so- I definitely recommend participating! 

By the way- in case you haven't noticed...
I am changing my blog name from 
Lawton Lane to A Whimsical Existence!
I felt Lawton Lane was boring and my new blog name
describes me and my life perfectly.

So please be sure to update your bookmarks to
awhimsicalexistence.blogspot.com!

Can you hear me now?

Can you imagine being phoneless in 2014!?

The charging port on my Samsung Galaxy S3 has been acting up for about 

2 weeks now & this past Monday it finally stopped charging completely.

I went to T-mobile & they said they'd overnight me a phone & that 

I'd have it Tuesday.

Tuesday came & went- no phone.

I figured it would come Wednesday since I went to the T-mobile

office Monday night.

Wednesday- no phone.

So I called corporate and they said the phone is on back order and 

I should get it Friday.

This has been the longest week ever with no phone!

I've been using my desktop & kindle do check my 

emails & social media.

But it sucks not having a phone to send texts or make calls.

On the other hand, when I'm out and about doing my thing,

it feels great not looking at my phone every few minutes.

It instantly took me back a decade when I actually had a life outside of 

social media.

Of course I could never give up my phone because I need it 

in case of an emergency...

but it has been peaceful without hearing all the rings & dings.

(Random pic of me since I'm scared to upload an image from the internet now!)

And in other news- tomorrow I am heading to Atlanta to do a voice recording

for the Library of Congress about my Asian Heritage!

I'll post an update on that went next week.

Blogger Sued for Using Images from Google

Hey all, I wnated to share some very important news!

 I came across this post that EVERY blogger must read.

This poor lady, like must of us, was just a casual blogger.

Sometimes she would upload images from Google like many of us do.

Well apparently one image caught the eye of the photographer, and

not only did he send a cease & desist letter to remove the image, 

he also sued her!

I'm a photographer as you may or may not know.

So I get why the photographer may have been upset.

But (me personally) I would NEVER sue anyone unless they

were getting some type of profit off my image.

Please be careful when uploading images to your blog!

Read her POST for more info & tips!

After reading this, I spent the last hour deleting old posts 

and removing certain images from posts. I went through my entire blog history!

I know this may seem tedious- but it beats being sued right?

So since I can't add a random google image to make this post prettier...

here's a few images from this past weekend.

My hubby turned 34 & we celebrated by going to dinner with friends!

Salsa Chicken Casserole

This recipe is so easy to make & extremely flavorful!

It is definitely on the repeat list.

Of course I found it via Pinterest but here is a direct link:

Salsa Chicken Casserole. 

I copied the following directly from her site:

Ingredients

• 1 cup uncooked rice 
• 1 cup frozen corn kernels (thawed) 
• 1 (15 oz.) can black beans 
• 1 (16 oz.) jar salsa 
• 1 cup chicken broth 
• ½ Tbsp chili powder 
• ½ tsp oregano 
• 2 large (1.5 lbs.) chicken breasts 
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese 
• 2 whole green onions, sliced  

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Drain and briefly rinse the black beans. Add the dry rice, black beans, corn, salsa, chicken broth, chili powder, and oregano to an 8×8 inch casserole dish. Stir until everything is evenly combined.
2. Cut the chicken breasts into three pieces each. Push the chicken pieces down into the rice salsa mixture in the casserole dish. Try to push them down as far into the liquid as they’ll go. Cover the casserole dish tightly with foil. Bake for one hour.
3. Take the casserole dish out of the oven, test the rice with a fork to make sure it is tender. If it is not, recover the dish, return it to the oven, and bake for 10-15 minutes more. When the rice is tender, sprinkle the cheese over top and return the casserole to the oven for a few minutes, or until the cheese has melted. Add the sliced green onions on top after baking and serve hot.

Notes

If your chicken and frozen corn are still partially frozen, the casserole will take longer to cook. So, make sure they’re both thawed before hand.

 

 

 

 Nom Nom Nom!