Apartment Life #434

 

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.

I was outside with Falcor Monday morning and saw a cop taking pictures of the graffiti on the walls. He saw me taking pictures of it for my blog and asked me if I knew who did it. I told him no but that it hadn't been there the day before. 

We talked for a few minutes, and he said he knew who did it and knew he hung out with the homeless people, but he had no idea where he might be staying. He said he'd been patrolling this area for a while because of all the gang activity. I told him I knew a few apartments where the homeless stayed, and 2 vacant houses around the corner and then I asked if he knew about the tunnels. Once again, I encountered a police officer that had no idea what I was talking about. How do the police who patrol this neighborhood have no idea that a bunch of the homeless are down in the tunnels? I myself have told at least 4 cops in the last 2 years. 

So I pointed out the manhole cover off of one of the entrances. I told him that the homeless people go down there and live and people running from the police will go down there because the police usually don't chase them down there. He said he was going to call his boss and ask for permission to go in the tunnel. I walked off and watched him get in his unmarked car a few moments later and drive off. I'm guessing he was told no. Now I know why I haven't seen him around here before. He's in an unmarked SUV. Now I know what it looks like, I've seen him several times slowly driving around.

I continued to take pictures of the mess the homeless people had made of with the trash that had been in the garbage cans the night before, including the mattresses in that last picture. 

On the way home, I noticed smoke coming from the freeway. I could see in between the two parts of the sound wall that there was a car on fire. But the fire department was already there so I didn't walk down there since it was already hot as Hades outside. 

---

On another day my daughter noticed the fire department across the street. They had a ladder against the building across from me and had been on the roof. 

I'm just guessing that someone's smoke detector went off and they called to make sure there was nothing on fire on the roof. But that's just my guess. Because they left soon after. 

---

Wednesday morning I heard a lot of shouting and yelling. I didn't go outside because you just never know what's going to happen when people are fighting. A few minutes later I heard the fire truck stop outside my bedroom window.

I figured it was safe enough to go outside at that point and as I got out there the ambulance pulled up. A lady from my apartment complex was holding a rag to her nose because she was bleeding and they loaded her into the ambulance.

The ambulance stayed for a few minutes after the fire engine left. I kept walking Falcor down the street.

That's when I noticed there was a trail of blood all over the sidewalk.

I'm guessing she got into a fight with another person but the police never showed up. So I'm not sure.

---

The high this week was 110F/43C

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

 

Zero Sugar Chocolate Pudding and Zero Sugar Cool Whip

You'll need: 

1 box of Jello zero sugar instant chocolate pudding mix.

2 cups nonfat milk

Zero sugar Cool Whip topping

What to do: 

Make the Jello zero sugar instant pudding mix according to box directions. Set aside in the refrigerator for 2 hours to set. 

Put 1/2 cup of pudding in a bowl, top with 2 TBSP of Zero Sugar Cool Whip. 

This definitely will curb any sweet cravings you have. 

There are about 50 calories and 10 carbs per serving.

Freebie Friday!

 

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: 

I received this Rocket Chef Turbo Grill from Life Hack Collective. It lets you grill meat and vegetables right in your microwave. It works pretty well too. 

If you follow me on Instagram @ratladymary  you might have seen the video I posted using this.

Did you receive any freebies this week?

Book Review: Irish Sins by Alix Key

 

Book Description

When an Irish Mob enforcer rescues me, can I pay my debt?

I’m an artist on the run after someone killed my roommate. My sole possessions are one hundred dollars, the clothes on my back, and a surprise invitation to an underground club called Kynk.

A giant of a man takes me home. His commands heal the broken parts of me. He says he’ll go after anyone who touches me, anyone who hurt me in the past.

But what will he do when he learns my true nightmare is his mob-boss brother?

This book is available exclusively to subscribers of Alix Key's newsletter, available on her website.

My Review

Jaq has had a hard life. She got kicked out of school for something that wasn't even her fault and before she could explain, her parents kicked her out at the same time. When her best friend and roommate is murdered in their apartment, Jaq finds herself on the run and ends up at Kynk, the sex club. Conner finds her there and they do a scene together, but Jaq gets spooked for a reason Conner doesn't know and she runs. Conner finds her outside being harassed by a man and gets her in his car and away from the danger. Conner doesn't even think twice when he brings her to his house. There he realizes that he can't let her go and wants her to stay, wants her to stay with him and be his. Jaq and Conner have a shared history but Conner doesn't remember being at the same school with her, but she does and she remembers his brother as well, but not for any good reasons.

Conner is the muscle for his mob family. His father is the head of the mob and his brother is second in command. His brother and father don't treat him like he's second in life to head the family should something happen to their father though. His brother Lorcan is a jerk and does whatever he can to make Conner look bad. Conner keeps his alternate life, house and job a secret from his family. They have no idea he's a billionaire in his own right. Jaq has a lot of secrets of her own though and she only tells Conner about some of them when she finds out a terrible thing he's done. 

The danger really rockets up when Conner and Jaq have a falling out over their secrets. When Conner gets proof of Lorcan's deception to his own family, his father has no choice but see Conner in a new light. It changes everything. Secrets come to light as secrets always do and when Jaq's secrets are revealed to Conner, he wants to make things right with her but it's going to cost him. 

This book had a great ending. This is what I would consider a dark romance because of the mob storyline, Conner killing for his family, the sex club and some Dom/sub interactions between Conner and Jaq. But Conner ends up being a great character. 

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars.

Goodreads

Favorite Picture of the Week!

 

Sunset one night this week. It's been a crazy weather week and I took a lot of pictures so this will be a long post with lots of pictures. 

The clouds started forming over the mountains and they were big.

Then the clouds burst out over my area.

The next day it looked like this all day. That's the sun trying to peak out behind the clouds around 3PM. 

The next day it looked like this. 

And then on Friday we actually got a little rain.

It rained on and off for a few hours.

At least it cooled things down a little.

The rain was welcome for sure.

This sunset was wild. I saw so many pictures of it just like mine on social media. 

More dark clouds but no rain from this.

The bright white clouds all over the place.

I couldn't even fit how large this cloud formation was into the picture. Of course you know that is my apartment complex with the orange stipe. I still call it the Clown Motal because of the orange stripe. Such a weird color combination they picked.

This sunset looked really cool. I love the huge clouds.

Book Review: Hooked On Phoenix by Ashlyn Chase

 

Book Description

AITA for hooking up with my best friend's little sister when we were locked in a bank vault together?

I'm a firefighter by trade—though my side hustle is being a phoenix. As you can imagine, not every woman is on board with hooking up with a shapeshifter. Luckily, I have my brothers and my best friend for company. Unfortunately, the aforementioned best friend has tasked me with keeping an eye on his little sister Misty, the girl who used to have a childhood crush on me. A lot has changed since then. Now, Misty is a bank teller with a sassy mouth and curves that don't quit.

I could have kept my hands to myself, but then a bank hold-up goes wrong, and Misty and I end up locked in the vault together. Alone. For hours. I mean, I'm a phoenix. I can't ignore heat…especially the smoldering looks Misty throws me. So, one thing leads to another, and let's just say, the situation between Misty and me goes up in flames…in the best kind of way.

But now her brother has questions and I've got to figure out how much to tell him. AITA for wanting to risk our friendship because I can't stop thinking about his little sister, and I don't want to keep Misty and me a secret any longer?

My Review

Gabe never saw himself with a wife or kids, he has no plans on settling down because he thinks he's not responsible enough to take care of another person or a child. He had something bad happen to him when he was younger and he's never forgiven himself for it and now thinks he'll let a wife or kids down the way he let down his family the day his dog was killed. 

Gabe's best friend asks him to look out for his sister, Misty while he's on deployment in the military. Gabe doesn't think he's responsible enough to look out for another person but he reluctantly agrees. Soon after Misty's bank get held up while he's there and he locks himself and Misty in the vault to keep them safe. They spend hours alone in there and Gabe has a hard time keeping his thoughts pure since Misty has been in love with him all her life and doesn't want to let him get away again. She sees this as a second chance for them but Gabe doesn't want to hurt her feelings when he inevitably leaves. The only problem is Gabe can't stop thinking about her now. Once they start dating, Gabe has to tell her his secret. 

Gabe is a firefighter and a Phoenix. Phoenix can live for a very long time but when they get hurt, they can just be reborn again. Gabe is a firefighter and when he gets hurt and burned really badly, the doctor finally agrees to let him go home when he's stable. His family knows he'll be fine if they can get him home where he can be reincarnated. 

A family member is married and mated to a dragon shifter so the dragon fire will burn Gabe until his Phoenix is reborn. He'll have to stay in Phoenix form for a couple of months so he can mature in human years to the age he was before he was badly burned. It was interesting to see how the family came up with a cover story about a good plastic surgeon out of the country who is working on Gabe while he was waiting in Phoenix form. 

While everyone is waiting on Gabe and his Phoenix to age so he can come back, there are a plethora of other things happening. Misty has a medical mystery going on which she has to see a bunch of doctors to figure out about her symptoms. Misty has a stalker, and Mother Nature makes an appearance for several reasons. There's a lot going on in this book but it sure kept me entertained and I like that. 

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. 

Amazon

Happy Raturday!

 

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

Apartment Life #433

 

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.

Tuesday night the neighbors directly across from me started arguing really loudly. My daughter recorded a little bit of what they were saying. You might have to turn the sound up. In one of the videos one neighbor says she licensed to carry (gun) and has a 9 up in here (9mm hand gun). 

Well after saying she has a gun, I wasn't surprised to see the police show up. But she had closed her door and wouldn't open it back up when the police got here. But the guy who lives next to her came out and talked to the police. 

*For those who have questions about her not opening the door and the police leaving* 

Unless the police have a warrant, you do not have to answer your door or open it and talk to the police. The police cannot make you answer your door unless they have a warrant. A cop told me this when I was calling the police of 'drug dealer' years ago before he was evicted.

But a little while after the police left, they were screaming at each other again. Then they quieted down and things have been quiet. 

The high this week was 108F/42C

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

 

Berry Dessert

I've made no secret of my love of sweets. But I've found some sweet treats to eat that don't have a lot of calories and so when you're having a sweet tooth, you can indulge a little. 

You will need: 

Cool Whip zero sugar whipped topping

Berries of your choice

What to do: 

Mash 6 raspberries with a fork. Add 2TBPS of Cool Whip zero sugar whipped topping. Mix together and add a small hand full of berries on top. I used blueberries and raspberries. 

This sweet treat has just 50 calories and 3 carbs.

Freebie Friday!

 

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 free first aid bag with the purchase of select first aid products at Target. But everything was on a great sale and they had digital coupons to cut. You never know when you'll need first aid stuff.