Happy Raturday!

 

"Just making some candy"

"I think this cookie is big enough to share."

"Anytime is a good time for a hamburger"

*All pictures this week are courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

Apartment Life #537

 

This is a weekly blog post that I'm calling Apartment Hell  Life. I've mentioned a few times some of the crazy things that have gone on in and around my apartment complex and in my neighborhood in the past 27 years that I'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 27 years here in a weekly blog post.

The police have been driving around, parking and just hanging out quite a bit. Not sure why but it sure has been quiet around here lately with them doing that. 🤣🤣

There's a group chat between my daughter and a few of the women neighbors in my courtyard. A couple of the neighbors said that 2 guys that looked like gang members were watching them and following them into our courtyard, watched them go to their door and then left. The guys were scoping out cars in the alley too. A bunch of us went outside in the alley to make sure none of their cars were being broken into. Nothing happened thankfully. My daughter and I did see 3 more gang member-looking dudes walking by though. 

A couple of weeks ago I was talking with a police officer from the Gang Unit and he told me that there were more gang members in my area. They have been tagging walls all over the place. He said they were all Hispanic, male, teenagers and all of these guys fit the description. Thankfully it was quiet after that though. 

The high this week was 107F/41C

The low this week was 86F/30C

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

Saturday Vittles

 

Zucchini and Carrot Zoodles with Chicken

I have a vegetable peeler that makes these thin "zoodle" strips of vegetables. So much easier than trying to julienne the vegetables. 

You will need:

1/2 carrot cut with a zoodle peeler or julienned

1/2 zucchini cut with a zoodle peeler or julienned

3 ounces of chicken breast

McCormick's Mesquite seasoning

McCormick's Montreal Chicken seasoning

salt and pepper to taste

No calorie cooking spray

Cut the chicken breast into small bite sized pieces, add a little of the spices to the chicken and toss with a spoon so it's all coated. Add a little no calorie cooking spray to a pan. Cook chicken to your desired doneness. Add the vegetables and add more of the spices if you choose to. Cook for 3-4 minutes or until the vegetables are done to your liking. 

This bowl is 1 serving. The entire bowl has 150 calories and 5 carbs. 

Would you eat this?

Freebie Friday!

 

One of the packages got misdelivered and I had to contact customer service to get a replacement, and they sent out a replacement with no problems.

Back in August I was notified that I would be getting a Hamilton Beach toaster oven for free to review from Influenster.

And this week I got it!

Welcome to another weekly Freebie Friday post, 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.  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 4 pack of Amsety bars. I ate one before I took the picture. lol They say they are good for liver health. They are pretty good. I really liked the dark chocolate ones. 

I won a Sinister Remnants blog tour giveaway from Anita Dickason. I won a cute tote bag with my initial on it.  

I received a Hamilton Beach Sure Crisp Air Fryer/Toaster Oven from Influenster. 

I did a product test for IL Makiage again and they sent me 2- $150 gift codes to use on their website. So I got $300 worth of Makeup for free.

I received Mascara, 2 eyeshadow palettes, foundation and a bottle of facial firming cream. 

This is what I ordered. Yes, their makeup is expensive. I would not ordinarily be ordering from their website. lol But I've now completed a couple of product tests for them and received a few gift codes for their website. So if you ever see that ad on FB where they are looking for people to test one of their products, it's not a scam. It's definitely for real. I've done it a few times now. 

I love the new toaster oven!

Did you receive any freebies this week?

Product Review: Catalina Crunch Protein Cereal- Dark Chocolate

 

As most of my readers know I've been trying to eat healthier and so far in the last 2 years I've lost a total of 70 lbs. 

I've been trying different products that are high in protein because eating protein with your meal is supposed to help you feel fuller, longer. 

When I first tasted this cereal, I didn't like the weird crunch it had. It's a crunch as if it's been in an open container for a month and is now old and stale. If you let it sit in the milk for a little while and get a little less crunchy, you won't have the weird crunch this has. The taste isn't horrible, I do taste chocolate. But if you're looking for a sweet cereal, this isn't it. 

The price for a small 9oz bag was $6.99

A serving size is 1/2 cup. There are 150 calories for 1/2 cup. 

I ate this for a couple of days for breakfast. Did it keep me fuller than the 2 boiled or scrambled eggs I sometimes have? No, it lasted about the same as eating eggs for breakfast. 

Would I buy this again? No. Straight talk, I didn't like this cereal. 

I tried it as a snack by itself, and I would rather have something else. 

I added a handfull of the cereal to my zero sugar Banana Cream Pudding and let it sit to get a little soggy. Again, I didn't like the taste of the cereal. I did try it several times and came to the same conclusion, this just isn't for me. 

If I'm going to eat cereal because I'm craving cereal or something sweet, I'd rather eat a traditional sweet cereal instead of this. 

Favorite Picture of the Week

 

It was overcast and rainy on Sunday because of hurricane Marie.

It hardly rained but it was cooler and we had lots of great clouds.

Sunday morning at 8AM. 

Sunday morning 8AM.

Sunday morning 10AM

Monday afternoon. 

I took this picture on Friday as I was walking over to Mariana's Supermarket next door. That was a huge cloud.

Monday Afternoon. 

Book Review: The Orc Who Kneeled by Nellie Voss

 

Book Description

I'm not looking for true love on another planet. I'm just looking for a way out before there's nothing left of me to give.

I'm the woman who handles everything — my mother's dementia, my brother's money issues, my sister's emotional breakdowns — and I'm bone-dry empty.

So I walk into an alien matchmaking facility expecting to get on a list for “someday.” I’m not expecting a seven-foot, scarred, forest-green orc rounding the corner and dropping to his knees like he just took a blow he wasn't braced for.

Ruhn isn't even in the match pool, but his biology doesn't care. One scent of me and he's shaking. I haven't been touched in years and my body just volunteered as tribute. Neither of us planned this.

I came here to take something for myself for once. I didn't expect him to kneel before I even got his name.

For readers who love: short and spicy fated mates, orc romance, scent bonds that bypass all higher brain function, "who takes care of the caretaker?", snarky first-person heroines, monster size difference (everywhere), he-falls-first-and-harder, claiming bites, a warrior who will ruin you and then make you midnight porridge, and the kind of heat that soaks through the pages.

My Review

Maeve has always been the responsible one, the one her family calls on when they need something. But what about when she needs something? She's decided to be 'selfish' for once and do something to maybe, hopefully make her life better. She's signing up at the alien matchmaking building and getting herself a husband/mate. 

What she isn't expecting is for a huge Orc to walk near her and for him to fall to his knees in front of her after he scents her and realizes she's his mate. Ruhn hasn't even signed up to find a mate, he's at the facility for a completely different reason. So, the powers that be have to expedite some paperwork so these two can get to know each other and figure out if they want to try and give this a go or not. 

Ruhn isn't the only one to feel the mate bond pulling at him though, when they are put into a room to talk, Maeve realizes that she can barely keep her hands to herself. 

This was a cute, sweet, quick read. I am loving all the Orc/human romance stories that I've been finding, and this was a fun one. Ruhn is so caring, so attentive to Maeve, when she's not used to anyone caring about how she feels or needs. Ruhn was exactly who Maeve needed and it turns out, she was exactly who he needed as well. 

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. 

Amazon

Happy Raturday!

 

*All pictures this week are courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

Apartment Life #436

 

This is a weekly blog post that I'm calling Apartment Hell  Life. I've mentioned a few times some of the crazy things that have gone on in and around my apartment complex and in my neighborhood in the past 27 years that I'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 27 years. 

 

I was walking Falcor around 10PM and when I started to walk back into my courtyard, I stopped because there were a couple dozen Palmetto bugs/water beetles. Not sure what to call them. I'm pretty sure they were Palmetto bugs because they had wings. Let the video play a few seconds and you'll see a few of them. My camera didn't pick up just how many of them were crawling around the bottom of the bushes in the shaded areas. But then Falcor saw them when they came out from under the bush. They were crawling up the walls, fighting on the sidewalk. There were so many! 

---

And then I have a video of Screamer Lady. I've talked about her before. She is not homeless, she lives on my street and has been here for probably as long as I have. She used to be the neighborhood hooker. Now though, she walks around the neighborhood screaming things all hours of the day and night. She was also changing her shorts there in the parking lot. She was standing around in her underwear. I think she has some mental problems but it's also the drugs. 

The high this week was 97F/36C

The low this week was 80F/26C

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

Saturday Vittles

 

So, I thought I would share this delicious recipe again for mini chocolate pudding pies that I made. I've shared it before but some of the newer readers might not have seen it and it's too good not to share again.

Mini Pudding Pies

You will need: 

Keebler Mini Graham Cracker Pie Crust

1box of Jell-O Sugar Free Pudding Mix

1 can of Sugar Free Reddi Whip

What To Do: 

Make the pudding according to the package directions. I made mine with 2% milk. Let chill in the refrigerator for an hour. 

Preheat oven to 350F, place 1 pie crust on a cookie sheet and bake for 5 minutes. Do not over bake. Remove from oven and let cool completely. 

When you're ready to assemble one, add about 1/2 cup of the pudding mixture to the crust and top with 2 TBSP of Reddi Whip. 

These crusts are ready to eat and you totally don't have to bake it for 5 minutes but I liked it a little crunchier. You can remove the crust from the tin before you assemble it if you like but it came out easy after I added the pudding also.

1 Mini Pudding Pie has 210 calories and 26 carbs.

Would you eat this?

My diet mostly consists of meat, vegetables, salads and some low calorie desert I come up with. 

I'm trying to stick to under 1200 calories and less than 80 carbs per day. 

Things I'm not eating or eating much less of, rice, oats, potatoes, bread, pasta, sugar, honey, butter, oil, yogurt, beans, lentils, peas or pea soup. 

My doctor said to avoid anything that comes pre-packaged and eat whole foods like fresh vegetables and fresh meats. Although I do eat a few things that are pre-packaged like the products in this desert. There is some compromise that has to happen.