Favorite Video of the Week

I don't know if you've ever watched the Try Guys but they are pretty funny. This one is funny but it's also naughty, you have been warned. lol

Freebie Friday!

Welcome to another edition of Freebie Friday, where I tell you what free samples and full sized products I received in the mail and how you can get them too. Someone asked me why I do a "Freebie Friday" each week, so I'll tell you.

A while back I listed all the free samples and wins that I had received that previous year and so many people didn't believe that I could have gotten so many free things. So I decided to prove it by taking a picture every week and sharing the sites that I found the links to the freebies at. So now you too can get great free samples coming to your mailbox each week.

  You can find links to great samples at Hey It's Free and Freebie Shark.

This week I received:

A tote bag and sample of Saratoga dry skin ointment from The Upside.

I also won a book in a blogger giveaway.

Did you receive any freebies this week?

Review: Serpentine by Laurell K. Hamilton

Book Description

Vampire hunter Anita Blake has always managed to overcome everything she faces. But this time there’s a monster that even she doesn’t know how to fight...

A remote Florida island is the perfect wedding destination for the upcoming nuptials of Anita’s fellow U.S. Marshal and best friend, Edward. For Anita, the vacation is a welcome break, as it’s the first trip she gets to take with just wereleopards Micah and Nathaniel. But it’s not all fun and games and bachelor parties… 

In this tropical paradise, Micah discovers a horrific new form of lycanthropy, one that has afflicted a single family for generations. Believed to be the result of an ancient Greek curse, it turns human bodies into a mass of snakes. 

When long-simmering resentment leads to a big blowup within the wedding party, the last thing Anita needs is more drama. But it finds her anyway when women start disappearing from the hotel, and worse, her own friends and lovers are considered the prime suspects. There’s a strange power afoot that Anita has never confronted before, a force that’s rendering those around her helpless. Unable to face it on her own, Anita is willing to accept help from even the deadliest places. Help that she will most certainly regret—if she survives at all, that is…

My Review

This is one of my favorite series and I'm glad I finally had the time to sit down and read this because it really did add to the series. If you've been enjoying this series then I suggest you give this one a go as well. 

Anita always seems to find herself in hot water or some kind of trouble and this is no exception. You would think that she could take some time off for the wedding of her best friend, Edward but no. Not when bad things start happening. 

I was wondering at the title and then I got it. I must not have read the blurb too well because it's right there! lol I don't mind snakes, one snake at a time but a mass of snakes might be too much for me to imagine. Micah went around the country with the Furry Coalition who helped lycanthropes with problems and newly turned Were animals with their new condition. Micah is away on business looking into a new kind of shapeshifter, one that weirdly shifts into snakes. He's off trying to help this family deal with what the family thinks is some kind of curse before he has to leave for the wedding. But he's not sure they can help this family since it's unlike anything they have ever seen.

The main story in this book is the wedding and of course there's drama all around them. Dixie is a friend of the bride but she hates the groom to be and wants to stop them from marrying. She's a complete bitch about the whole thing. Then one of the guests end up murdered and that sets a whole other set of problems, including a cop in the investigation that seems to have an interesting set of gifts that even Anita isn't immune to.

One of the characters that tends to creep into this series every once in a while is Olaf. And when I say creep, I mean, creep. Because this guy, no matter what he's doing is creepy as hell and I love him for it. He's one of the more interesting characters that pop up now and again and we never know what to expect from him but that's probably because he's a serial killer among other things. But when people start dying and Nathaniel gets blamed for the murders, Olaf wants to help Anita prove that Nathaniel had nothing to do with it. 

The twists and turns this story took were great. I really liked the snake shifter side of things because it was so different and it tied the whole story together in the end. Of course Anita and her fiances/lovers are front and center and the sex is always a big part of these books but I expect and like that about this series. With so many lovers you kinda have to expect there's going to be a lot of sex in these books. 

If you already enjoy this series then you'll enjoy this book. 

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. 

Favorite Picture of the Week

My daughter sent me this picture of my grandson. Ken and I bought him the Spider-Man blanket and sleep mask and he fell asleep wearing the mask. lol

Happy New Year!

I hope this year bring everyone happiness, good health and joy. 

Books I Read in 2018

I made a goal to keep track of all the books I read this year so I made sure to add them to this post as I read them. I had hoped to reach 100 books but I fell short of that goal. I did pretty good though. 

Here's a complete list of books that I read in 2018. 

1. The Loneliest Alpha by T.A. Grey

2. Kade's Dark Embrace by Kym Grosso

3. Luca's Magic Embrace by Kym Grosso

4. Tristan's Lyceum Wolves by Kym Grosso

5. Logan's Acadian Wolves by Kym Grosso

6. Coercion by Chloe Cole

7. Wolf's promise by Ambrielle Kirk

8. Cheetah's Never Run by Suki Selborne

9. Invincible by Diana Palmer

10. Ty's Temptation by Patrice Michelle

11. Beautifully Wounded by Susan Griscom

12. Kindred by Nicola Claire

13. Her Perfect Mate by Paige Tyler

14. Reaver by Larissa Ione

15. Act of Mercy by Mandy M. Roth

16. Desert Moon by Anna Lowe

17. The Dragon's Dilemma by Jessie Donovan

18. Emerge: The Awakening by Melissa A. Craven

19. Smoldering Ashes (book 4) by Annie Anderson

20. 1001 Nights Bundle Ten by Tessa Bailey, Lexi Blake, Larissa Ione, Laurelin Paige, Jenna Jacob and Sierra Simone

21. Scorpius Rising by Rebecca Zanetti

22. Dragon VIP: Pyrochlore by Starla Night

23. A Collection of Dead Men Stories by Jacqui Jacoby

24. Quinn by D.B. Reynolds

25. Midnight Wolf by Jennifer Ashley

26. When An Alpha Purrs by Eve Langlais

27. My Plan B by Shelley Munro

28. Wild Hunger by Suzanne Wright

29. Wolf of Her Own by N.J. Walters

30. Unbridled by Diana Palmer

31. Kenya Calling by Tori Knightwood

32. A Wolf Apart by Maria Vale

33. Beauty and the Beast by Skye Warren

34. Bengal's Quest by Lora Leigh

35. Leopard's Blood by Christine Feehan

36. Baby I'm Howling For You by Christine Warren

37. Hawkyn: A Demonica Underworld novella by Larissa Ione

38. The Big Alpha in Town by Eve Langlais, Milly Taiden and Kate Baxter

39. Bring The Heat by G. A. Aiken

40. Wolf's Mate by Katie Reus and Savannah Stuart

41. Twilight Desires by Amanda Ashley

42. Finding Master Right by Sparrow Beckett

43. Playing Hard to Master by Sparrow Beckett

44. Second Chance Dom by Sparrow Beckett

45. To Have and To Master by Sparrow Beckett

46. She Speaks to Angels by Ami Blackwelder

47. Bear the Heat by Catherine Vale

48. Del Fantasma: Demonade by Melisse Aires

49. Cybot Awakened by Melisse Aires

50. The Shifters of 2040 by Ami Blackwelder

51. Master in Shining Armor by Sparrow Beckett

52. Star Gazer by Shannon Rouchelle

53. Dark Sentinel by Christine Feehan

54.  Leopard's Run by Christine Feehan

55. Wild Things by Jennifer Ashley

56. Unleashed by Caitlin Crews

57. Tiger Striped by Jennifer Ashley

58. Shadow Keeper by Christine Feehan

59. Bound To The Bear by Kathy Lyons

60. The Boss by Abigail Owen

61. Legendary Beast by Barbara J. Hancock

62. Animal Attraction by Jill Shalvis

63. Wyoming Legend by Diana Palmer

64. Wolf Rising by Paige Tyler

65. The Duke with the Dragon Tattoo by Kerrigan Byrne

66. Tall, Dark and Stormy by Mickey Miller

67. Kiss of the Fallen by Kharma Kelley

68. Selenium Night by Kharma Kelley

69. Crossed by Karin Tabke

70. Feral King by Sparrow Beckett

71. A Serial Killer's Desire by C.F. Rabbiosi

72. Sentinel of Darkness by Katie Reus 

73. Dark Thoughts by Cynthia Sax

74. Gone Hunting by Cecy Robson

75. Defying Pack Law by Eve Langlais

76. Echoes of Fire by Suzanne Wright

77. Talon by Theresa Hissong

78. Toxic Game by Christine Feehan

79. Shifter Mate Magic by Carol Van Natta

80. His To Protect by Elena Aitken

81. Immortally Yours by Lynsay Sands

Apartment Life #61

This is a new weekly blog post that I'm calling Apartment Hell  Life. I've mentioned a few times some of the crazy things that go on in and around my apartment complex in the past 20 years that we've lived here and people keep telling me I should write a book. But instead of a book, I've decided to share the crazy things that have happened in and around my apartment complex in the last 20 years here in a weekly blog post.

2 years ago my water heater exploded *not really* and water leaked out over night all over the inside of the cabinet it was in, the kitchen floor and through the kitchen wall to our bedroom and all over carpet on my side of the bed. Everything on my side of the room that was on the floor got drenched and ruined. Thankfully it was just a few books and a nice pair of suede boots that were too high for me to walk in without falling down anyway. It was the weekend and we called the emergency number for the office and no one picked up and when Ken knocked on her door she refused to answer. So we soaked up as much as we could and put fans on the carpet to try and and dry it. It was in the middle of the summer so opening the bedroom window really helped dry it out in a couple of days. 

Later that night though the bathtub, bathroom sink and kitchen sink backed up and smelly black water started filling the sinks and tub. The manager refused to answer her door or phone until Monday morning and when we asked about it she said she doesn't get paid to be on call on the weekends. So I guess too bad for us, huh? 

The manager sent the maintenance man over who tried plunging the sinks and bathtub. He turned off the water until he could get a new water heater so we had no water. At this point it had been 2 days. 2 more days went by before we got a new water heater because they said they had to order one. And when they came to install it the maintenance man had no idea what the hell he was doing, so Ken asked the manager if he could install it with this guys help and she said yes since he used to be the maintenance man here years ago. 

So Ken installed the new hot water heater with the help of the maintenance guy and then emptied the trap under the sink and fixed the kitchen sink. The plumber came out and snaked the bathroom tub and fixed the bathroom sink. 

So after 4 days of not having running water in my kitchen, a stopped up sink and nasty black water that kept coming up in the sink that Ken had to keep bailing out, everything was finally fixed. Oh and don't mind my messy floor because on the day I took the picture I hadn't cleaned the mess since I didn't have running water yet. Falcor was right by Ken watching what he's doing over there. My kitchen sink got fixed! My bathroom sink was fixed! The new hot water heater is not leaking and we had hot water again! 

I just think it's ridiculous that the manager refused to do anything on the weekends if something like this happened though. Just call a plumber and get that stuff fixed instead of leaving it for days. Thankfully we don't have that manager anymore.

So that's it for this week's Apartment Hell  Life! Be sure to come back next week for more.

Favorite Video of the Week

On Christmas my daughter gave Falcor some presents. He started opening this one right away. it was 3 balls but once he got it opened he took it in the bedroom to hide them. lol

Freebie Friday!

Welcome to another edition of Freebie Friday, where I tell you what free samples and full sized products I received in the mail and how you can get them too. Someone asked me why I do a "Freebie Friday" each week, so I'll tell you.

A while back I listed all the free samples and wins that I had received that previous year and so many people didn't believe that I could have gotten so many free things. So I decided to prove it by taking a picture every week and sharing the sites that I found the links to the freebies at. So now you too can get great free samples coming to your mailbox each week.

  You can find links to great samples at Hey It's Free and Freebie Shark.

This week I received:

3 seasoning packets from Bragg.
2 Johnson's Cotton touch baby lotion and shampoo.

Did you receive any freebies this week?

Favorite Picture of the Week

We had a fiery sunset Christmas night. 

Merry Christmas

Happy Raturday!

*Picture courtesy of Jin Wicked*

*Picture courtesy of Jin Wicked*

*Picture courtesy of Anisah Grace Hannah*

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

Apartment Life #60

This is a new weekly blog post that I'm calling Apartment Hell  Life. I've mentioned a few times some of the crazy things that go on in and around my apartment complex in the past 20 years that we've lived here and people keep telling me I should write a book. But instead of a book, I've decided to share the crazy things that have happened in and around my apartment complex in the last 20 years here in a weekly blog post.

This happened 2 years ago with a different apartment manager than we have now.

This overhang was supposedly fixed so the rain water wouldn't leak through the overhang and go on to the walk way, but as you can see, it was not fixed and the water was coming down heavy right there when it rained. 

That night my manager calls at 11pm to see if Ken would look outside and see if the overhang was leaking and as you can see it was during the day so that night when it was really coming down it was leaking even worse. 

The roof on my building and the one across from me was supposedly been patched and sealed after a crap roof job that cost $22,000 for both roofs. So at 11pm my apartment manager calls here and asks if Ken can go outside and see if the over hangs were leaking. O.o what? He was sleeping so she asked me to look outside and see if my overhang was leaking and of course it was because the roofers did a shit job. I still can't believe she called my apartment at 11 fricking pm instead of getting off her lazy lazy ass and going to look for herself like a manager should have done. She lived on property in the next courtyard! The water came right through the over hang on my side as well and right onto the walkway there as well. This didn't get fixed until the next summer. But at least it got fixed. 

It was fun trying to walk around here when it rained, that's for sure. 

So that's it for this week's Apartment Hell  Life! Be sure to come back next week for more.

Favorite Video of the Week

I hadn't heard of either of these singers before hearing part of this song on a show I was watching. I had to find it and listen to the whole song. It's a beautiful song.

Freebie Friday!

Welcome to another edition of Freebie Friday, where I tell you what free samples and full sized products I received in the mail and how you can get them too. Someone asked me why I do a "Freebie Friday" each week, so I'll tell you.

A while back I listed all the free samples and wins that I had received that previous year and so many people didn't believe that I could have gotten so many free things. So I decided to prove it by taking a picture every week and sharing the sites that I found the links to the freebies at. So now you too can get great free samples coming to your mailbox each week.

  You can find links to great samples at Hey It's Free and Freebie Shark.

This week I cashed in points on MyPoints and got a $50 Amazon gift card.

I also received a party pack from Ripple Street which contained, tote bags, apron, serving tray, selfie stick, dish towels, napkins and recipe cards.

Did you receive any freebies this week?

Review: Immortally Yours by Lynsay Sands

Book Description

One hundred and twenty-five years is a long time to nurse a crush. That’s how long it’s been since Beth Argenis first met Cullen “Scotty” MacDonald and he instantly became the star of her most X-rated dreams. Back then, he was rescuing her from a Rogue Immortal. Now Beth’s a Rogue Hunter—a damn good one. She doesn’t need saving anymore, despite what Scotty thinks. What she does need is the fierce, wild desire that finally erupts between them.

Scotty has hesitated to claim Beth as his own. But one explosive kiss confirms what he’s long suspected: She’s his life mate. But Beth is tough, fearless, beautiful…and in immortal danger. Unless he wants to lose her forever, he’ll have to rethink everything he once believed about love and destiny as well as confront an enemy who’s terrifyingly close.

My Review

Scotty is an 800 year old vampire and kinda still has some weird thoughts when it comes to things. The fact that on two separate occasions he wanted Beth's mind wiped because of the awful things she went through is a real testament to that. He's a Rogue Hunter and goes after other vampires that break the rules. He met Beth when he saved her from a Rogue and knew she was his mate but she needed time to get over everything she'd been through so he didn't claim her. 

Beth on the other hand thought Scotty didn't like her since he was always standoffish and not very friendly but she couldn't stop fantasizing about him or dreaming about him. She had a very bad life as a mortal before she was forcibly turned into a vampire against her will. The story was tragic and awful. What she endured because of her father was heartbreaking. 

It became very clear that there were other reasons Scotty wanted Beth's mind wiped and he didn't want to claim her as his lifemate. The fact that she had been a prostitute as a mortal was the biggest reason and it seemed like he just couldn't put her past behind him even though she had done just that. It wasn't until she had explained to him why she didn't want her mind wiped and that her life as a mortal made her who she is now, that he finally understood her reasoning and how wiping her mind would change her personality completely. Scotty was a great character and a good guy. He cares about Beth a lot and he shows it. Plus there's just something extra sexy about a man with a Scottish accent. 

While they're trying to sort out their relationship, they're also trying to keep Beth safe from someone who wants her dead and keeps setting traps for her. It's a good thing they're immortal because some of the things that happen to them would surely have killed a normal human being. 

While this was a good book in the Argeneau series and can be read as a standalone, it really didn't do much for the series itself. It was a fun read though. 

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. 

Favorite Picture of the Week

At the beginning of the month when I went to put my tree up, I made a horrible discovery. All of my Christmas ornaments and lights were gone. I have no idea where the heck they went, the only conclusion we came up with is that they somehow accidentally got thrown away last year. I made a comment on FB that I was upset because I lost all my ornaments and unbeknownst some of my fb friends got together and sent me new ornaments. 

As days went by, more and more ornaments showed up and some of them didn't come with a signed card so I didn't even know who all of them were from. I guess some people wanted to be a secret Santa, which is so sweet.

But I decided to put up my tree since I had so many new ornaments. 

I have some of the sweetest friends and the fact that they sent me these ornaments means the world to me. How sweet was that? When Ken came out and saw all the ornaments on the tree, even he got a little emotional when he saw me get emotional over it. I can't thank everyone enough for what they did for me.

EDIT: More and more ornaments keep coming so I'm going to keep adding them to this post.

Review: Degusta Box Subscription box- December

DegustaBox is a monthly subscription box filled with food and drink products. The price for the box is $19.99 a month.  

You do not get to pick any of the products you get, it's a surprise each month. But they say each box contains 10-15 items and each box is worth at least $30. I like trying boxes like this because they usually contain products that I've never tried or haven't seen before.

What was in this months box?

Garden of Life protein bar. 

Hu Chocolate bar- mint and dark chocolate flavor.

Vandam Teas sampler. 

G.H. Cretors popped corn- cheese and caramel flavor. 

Dave's Gourmet hot sauce. 

SunSpire dark chocolate candies. 

Chef Paul Prudhomme's Magic Seasoning blends for poultry. 

Bahlsen Iced Cinnamon Stars. 

Campfire Marshmallows- 2 bags. 

Chimes chewy ginger candies.

I love marshmallows. I actually already had a bag of marshmallows in my cabinet so I liked seeing those in the box. And I was excited when I saw the dark chocolate mint candy bar but when I took a bite of it...O.o it was so bitter. I ended up not liking that at all. I gave the protein bar to Ken because he likes those a lot more than I ever will. So he was happy about that. 

The Dave's Gourmet hot sauce was too hot for me. But my daughter is always asking if I have hot sauce when she comes over for dinner, so I know she'll use it. 

I used the poultry seasoning on some chicken and it was really good. The cinnamon stars cookies were delicious and so were the dark chocolate candies that had a hard candy shell on them. Kinda reminded me of a dark chocolate M&M. 

The tea sampler was great. I do love trying new teas. The ginger chews had a good taste but a spicy bite to them. The popped corn bags were my favorite thing in this box. There were cheddar cheese and caramel popcorn in each bag. At first I thought it was weird to have both in the same bag but it turned out good.

If you don't live in the US, they have a Great Britain Website.

If this box looks like something you'd like and you live in the US, you can use code MARYK-ACB and get your first box half off. That's a big box of food for only $10! and you can cancel anytime. So if you're interested, go to the DegustaBox site and sign up and don't forget to use my code to get your first box for just $10.

Have you tried any of these products?

Happy Raturday!

*Picture courtesy of Jin Wicked*

*Picture courtesy of Jin Wicked*

*Picture courtesy of Jin Wicked*

Apartment Life #59

This is a new weekly blog post that I'm calling Apartment Hell  Life. I've mentioned a few times some of the crazy things that go on in and around my apartment complex in the past 20 years that we've lived here and people keep telling me I should write a book. But instead of a book, I've decided to share the crazy things that have happened in and around my apartment complex in the last 20 years here in a weekly blog post.

A couple of years ago we called Elder Protection Services for the elderly neighbor who had severe dementia because she said the maintenance man was in her apartment at night and was stealing from her. She thought people lived in her closets and she said that a woman was in her apartment and wouldn't leave. So Ken went over there and she pointed at a pile of clothes on the ground and said there she is. Ken picked up the clothes and let her see that it wasn't a woman but she still didn't believe us. This went on for 2 days with her coming over and telling us that there were people in her closets and in the pile of clothes. But Elder protection Services said it would take at least 48 hours before they could get out here to talk to her and I didn't think this could wait. They told me that I could call to have her evaluated by the paramedics and they would ask her to voluntarily go to the hospital and if she does then people there could talk to her and do an evaluation.

We ended up calling the police and an ambulance to come do a welfare check on her when she started freaking out about the manager stealing her door keys which the manager didn't do. The apartment manager asked us to call and have her evaluated. I was a little surprised that the manager wouldn't call but she wouldn't.

She had to first agree to go to the hospital and have the people there talk to her. Since she did the paramedics said it's easier to make an evaluation on her once she's in the hospital. Her family abandoned her and the paramedics said that someone from elder protective services and someone from social services would come and talk to her while she is at the hospital. If they find she can no longer care for herself they can ask a judge to give them control over a person's health and well being and they can make her go to an assisted living home. The hospital cannot release a patient into what social services believe to be a dangerous situation for herself and if they determine that she can no longer care for herself they can go to a judge and obtain guardianship over her.

She had a cat and the manager asked Ken to look after it until we heard back from Elder Services or her family. 2 weeks went by and Elder Protection Services and Social Services came to the managers office with her brother to get in her apartment and get her stuff. She was moved to an elder assisted living facility and they came to get some of her personal belongings to take to her and everything else her brother took with him. Her brother used to live her with her so we knew him and he came over to say thanks for looking out for his sister and getting her some help. We didn't hear from them after that. 

So that's it for this week's Apartment Hell  Life! Be sure to come back next week for more.