Favorite Song of the Week

 

This is my first time listening to Chaoseum and at first I thought it was a song from Korn I was listening to but nope, they just sound like them. If you know Korn, you'll see what I mean.

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. 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:

This week I received one sample. 

Armani Code Men's cologne. It smells ok. I gave it to my daughter to give to one of her male friends. 

Since it was a slow freebie week. Here's a short video I took of Falcor. He loves to tear up paper so when he finds a piece of paper outside, he rips it to shreds. Goofy dog.

Did you receive any freebies this week?

Books I read in 2022

 

This year I set my goal at 100 books to read by the end of the year. I made that goal and a few extra as well. If you set a goal, did you reach it? Here's the list of books I read this year.

1. Kiss Me Before I Die by Rena Marks

2. Knight's Redemption by Sherrilee Gray

3.Savage Road by Christine Feehan

4. Immortal Rising by Lynsay Sands

5. Ancient Vendetta by Katie Reus

 6. Shadow Fallen by Sherrilyn Kenyon

7. Alpha's Temptation by Renee Rose and Lee Savino

8. Forged In Fire by Juliette Cross

9. Auctioned For Her Blood by Mara Leigh

10. Bad Santa by Mina Carter

11. Badgering the Bear by Flora Dare

 12. Banished Wolf by Lily Winter

13. The Texts Before We Met by Matilda Swinney

14. Claimed Witch by Lily Winter

15. The Bargain by Delta James

16. Barista and the Bear by Rebel Carter

17. Beautiful Thing by Ever Nightly

18. Phantom Game by Christine Feehan

19. The Dragon God's Mate by Harlow Blaze

20. Best Laid Stones by Kelly Apple

21. Braxx by Cara Bristol

22. Chosen by the Alien Prince by Kyla Quinn

23. Cupid's Enchantment by Michelle M. Pillow

24. Draekon Conqueror: (Rebel Force Book 2) by Lili Zander and Lee Savino

25. The Dragon and the Singer by Renee Carr

26. Dreams of Darkness by Eve Langlais

27. Eros by K. Cantrell

28. Firefighter Bear by J.K. Harper

29. Forever Still by Corinne O'Flynn

30. Her Alien Prince by Presley Hall

31. Her Donut Shifters by Mia Harlan

32. The Dragon King's Mate by Harlow Blaze

33. Hill Bear Christmas by Ariana Hawkes

34. Hot Enough To Burn by Cynthia Eden

35. Mine to Take by Cynthia Eden

36. Moonrise by Ines Johnson

37. The Mountain Dragon's Curvy Mate by Zoe Chant

38. Parks and Provocation by Juliette Cross

39. The Dragon's Reluctant Sacrifice by Ines Johnson

40. Panther's Promise by Zoe Chant

41. Pariah by Sullivan Gray

42. Shadow Fire by Christine Feehan

43. Wolf In The Shadows by Maria Val

44. Cowboy Wolf Outlaw by Kait Ballenger

45. The Phoenix Dragons by Jadyn Chase

46. The Right to Bear Arms by Vivienne Savage

47. Ring: A Vampire Novel by Connie Myres

48. The Girl Who Jumped by Matilda Swinney

49. Always Practice Safe Hex by Juliette Cross

50. Off Leas by Jenna Anderson

51. Ruthless King by Meghan March

52. After The Bite by Lynsay Sands

53. Dark Waves by Amanda Uhl

54. Wolf Meets his Fate by NJ Walters

55. Guarding Her by Katie Reus 

56. Ruwen by Kate Rudolph

 57. Savage & Silver by Margo Bond Collins

58. The Dragon Berserker's Mate by Harlow Blaze

59. Swerve by Sherilee Gray

60. Stalk the Darkness by Alexandra Ivy

61. Taken by Rebecca Zanetti

62. Tavarr's Mate by Sue Lyndon

63. Tempted By Fate by Cynthia Eden

64. To Love A Wolf by Paige Tyler

65. Untamed Instinct by Tamsin Ley

 66. A Vampire Bewitched by L.E. Wilson

67. Wickedest Witch  by Eve Langlais

68. Wild fever by Donna Grant 

69. Wolf in the Night by N.J. Walters

70. Tiger's Daughter by Jennifer Ashley

71. Bright Like Wildfire by Juliette Cross

72. Alpha's Danger by Renee Rose

73. Alpha's Obsession by Renee Rose

74. Alpha's War by Renee Rose

75. Ancient Retribution by Katie Reus

76. Beautiful Lies: Speimen by Ever Nightly

77. Blind Promises by Diana Palmer

78. Dark Whisper by Christine Feehan

79. Ancient Desire by N.J. Walters

80. The Dragon's Compliant Sacrifice by Ines Johnson

81. Blood & Vows by K. Easton

82. Playing With Fyre by Cara Bristol

83. Mistletoe Cowboy by Diana Palmer

84. Alien's Temptation by Tina Moss

85. Mastering The Virgin by Simone Leigh

86. Eight Simple Rules For Dating A Dragon by Kerrelyn Sparks

87. Fated To The Gargoyle by Flora Dare

88. Court of the Vampire Queen by Katee Robert

89. Leopard's Scar by Christine Feehan

90. The Alpha Heist by Kate Rudolph

91. The Dragon Soldier's Mate by Harlow Blaze

92. Alien Commander's Mate by Ava Ross

93. Garrett's Destiny by Rebecca Zanetti

94. A Bear's Protection by Dakota West 

95. Draekon Mate: Exiled to the Prison Planet by Lili Zander and Lee Savino

96. Fanged and Fabulous by Gemma Cates

97. Fated Binds by S.I. Hayes

98. Dark Desires by Raven Hush

99. Sinister Desires by Faedra Rose

100. Unwanted Mate by Jade Marshall

101. Resting Witch Face by Juliette Cross

102. Purge by Raven Hush

103. Antonio by DB Reynolds

104. Ancient Vengeance by Katie Reus

Best Moments of 2022

 

In January I got free flowers from the neighbor next door when she got them delivered accidentally.

In February the mountains looked really cool lit up at sunrise. 

In March I took a picture of my grandson and Falcor cuddling. 

In April my daughter made Birria tacos and they were so good. She had a margarita with her dinner. 

In May I was awake early enough one morning to catch this beautiful sunrise. 

My daughter turned 31 years old in June. 

Falcor got a new dog bed in July and he was so happy. 

Book Mail in August. I love getting books in the mail and this one turned out to be really good.

By the end of September my daughter started decorating for Halloween.

In October Falcor had a panda costume he wasn't thrilled about. 

In November my daughter made a crab boil for dinner and it was so good. I didn't have the potatoes in mine. But it was crab legs, potatoes, corn, eggs, shrimp and scallops. 

I December (Actually November) lol I bought some colored lights for my Christmas tree instead of the white ones I had been using and I like how it came out. 

I hope everyone had a nice year but if not, let's hope next year is better. Happy New Year.

Book Review: Ancient Vengeance by Katie Reus

 

Book Description

She’s a sheltered princess…

Stella is from a fierce and ancient dragon line, but when her kingdom was invaded and half her family slaughtered, everything changed. She’s been taught to fight, to protect herself, but now that one of her sisters is back after being thought dead, she realizes it’s time to make some changes. After years of being smothered, she needs freedom, to spread her dragon wings and experience life. So when her grandmother tasks her with a job in New Orleans, she jumps at the chance to strike out on her own and prove herself.

He's the assassin hired to kidnap her…

Dragon shifter Rhodes is a killer. An assassin. And he’s been ordered to kidnap the dragon princess Stella. He’s always finished his contracts—until he meets her. Now he’ll do anything to keep her safe. To claim her forever as his mate. But first they’ll have to overcome the danger stalking her—and then he’ll have to figure out how to get her to forgive him for betraying her.

Author note: each book in the Ancients Rising series may be read as a complete stand-alone with HEA.

My Review

Rhodes, an assassin hired to kidnap Princess Stella, sets out on his mission thinking that she's a bad person and he's justified in kidnapping her and taking her back to the Fae. There's only one problem, she's not the villain that they made her out to be and his dragon wants to protect her. The longer Rhodes is around her the more the feelings he has for her deepens and he realizes that he'll never be able to hand her over to the Fae who want to do who knows what with her. 

Stella is a dragon shifter from a royal line in the Nova Realm. She's been sheltered ever since her sister was lost to the family but now that her sister has been found and is back, she wants to head out on her own for a little while and experience life for once without her family sending bodyguards with her to keep her safe. 

So when Rhodes finds her after she's been poisoned and she mistakenly thinks that he's a bodyguard her grandmother sent to keep her safe, he let's her believe that's who he is so he can be around her and keep her safe from the people who hired him.

Once she is back with her sister's friends, he stays around keeping her safe but not telling her the truth about who he is. They are both dragon shifters and their dragons know they are meant to be mates, they are attracted to each other and after a while they can no longer keep from being together even though he knows he's no good for her. It isn't until her sister and her mate show up that all hell breaks loose. Rhodes seems like he would be a hard guy to fall for but he has a big heart and really cares about Stella. I really liked him. Stella I didn't really like all that much but that might be because she's been so sheltered and isn't worldly and acts like she can take care of herself even though she is a bit naïve. 

This was a good addition to the series but not my favorite book. 

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. 

Amazon

Disclosure: I was given an e-ARC via NetGalley but all thought and opinions are my own. 

Happy Raturday!

 

All pictures this week are courtesy of martymousehouse.com

Apartment Life #346

 

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 go on in and around my apartment complex in the past 25 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 25 years here in a weekly blog post. 

Back in March of this year I told you that maintenance had taken the office door off of the office and we had no apartment manager onsite for more than 3 years. I guess they didn't want anyone trying to come to the office at all so they sealed up the office door like it had never been there. The door had been right there in the corner. 

Well, this week they opened the door back up, unsealed the wall and put the door back on. I've seen the apartment manager back on the property quite a bit this week as well. She's been around a lot since the explosion and fire in the apartment across from me a couple of weeks ago. Maybe the owner thinks that it's better to have a manager here on the property with all the things happening here lately. 

Merry Christmas to all who celebrate the day. 

The high this week was 65F/18C

The low this week was 35F/1C

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

Favorite Song of the Week

 

I'm not even sure if I've shared this song before but I was listening to it the other day and thought I wanted to share this song this week. Avenged Sevenfold have a lot of great songs but this happens to be my favorite.

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. 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 perfume sample of Very Good Girl by Carolina Herrera. 

2 tubes of Tacky Glue from Walmart Spark Reviewer. 

I like the perfume and the tacky glue will be good for paper crafts. 

Did you receive any freebies this week?

Product Review: Walmart Beauty Box- December

 

The Walmart Beauty box is a subscription box that comes out 4 times a year. You sign up for it and it comes automatically every 3 months. They did increase the price of the box a little bit. So instead of $5 it's just a couple of dollars more. These boxes are free and you just pay for tax for shipping, mine came to $7.48.

What was in the box?

Covergirl Simply Ageless Plumping Mascara

Liquid IV Hydration Multiplier powder

Cetaphil Moisturizing Cream

Cetaphil Facial Cleanser

Neutrogena Daily Defense invisible sunscreen

Physician's Formula Diamond Lip Plumper

I love Cetaphil moisturizer. I use it for my dry hands in the Winter time and it works well. 

The Mascara is a good one. Not as good as the L'Oreal Voluminous mascara that I use but still good. 

I hate the Liquid Iv and wish they would stop sending them. But I have several of them now in case we need them when we get sick and need more hydration. 

Neutrogena sunscreens are really good so I was glad to get that. The Lip Plumper is a nice gloss but it didn't plump my lips. I did feel a slight tingle after putting it on and thought it might plump them a little bit but all it did was make my lips red. 

Not a bad box for the price though.

Did you get this box?

Low Carb Recipe: Creamy Brussel Sprouts

 

Creamy Brussel Sprouts

I made this as a side dish to see if I liked it and it came out so good. 

You will need: 

10 Brussel Sprouts

1/4 cup heavy cream

4 TBSP Cream Cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

2 TBSP Olive oil

1/4 cup vegetable broth

What To Do: 

Clean the brussel sprouts. Cut off small any leaves that look wilted. Cut the brussel sprouts in half and add to a pan, cut side down with the oil. Cook over medium heat until browned on the cut side. Add vegetable broth to pan with a pinch of salt and pepper. Add lid and let cook for 5 minutes or until broth is evaporated. Add cream cheese and stir until melted, add heavy cream and let cook for 3 more minutes. 

I've made this a few times and one time added 2 diced up pieces of bacon to the finished product and that was really good. I made this as a small side dish for myself. If making for more than one person, you can double this recipe.

Favorite Picture of the Week

 

I actually took this sunset picture with my camera so I'm surprised that it came out as well as it did. I knew that if I waited until I got back and asked my daughter to take the picture that it wouldn't look like this anymore. The sun was setting really fast so I was glad it came out well. 

Happy Raturday!

 

Candy Cane Elf.

Merry Ratmas Elf

Christmas Magazine Elf

Christmas Present Elf

Christmas Cookie Elf

Just a few of the Rat Elves of Christmas. 

All pictures this week courtesy of www.martymousehouse.com

Apartment Life #345

 

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 go on in and around my apartment complex in the past 25 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 25 years here in a weekly blog post. 

The Marshall and a van to pick up the homeless people and take them to the shelter was on my street again this week. 

You can see the black van parked behind the Marshall's car. They talked to a couple of homeless people who had their camp set up just ahead of the car. But they must have declined because the cars left without anyone getting in the van.

The sun was shining right towards me so the pictures didn't come out great but you can see the cop car has his lights on. He had someone pulled over and was talking to them.

I didn't see anyone get arrested but the cop was talking to them for a while. Maybe they just got a ticket. I didn't see what they did wrong. I just heard the police siren beep and looked out the window to see he had someone pulled over. 

---

There was a huge fight between two people that live in my courtyard. When it kept going on for hours, the yelling, screaming, door slamming and the sounds like they were throwing things against the walls in their apartment, I finally called the police. But wouldn't you know the police never showed up. This is the 4th time in a couple of years that I've called the police for something and they never showed up. This is why I almost never call the police because so many times, they don't even bother to show up around here. It's so crazy. One of these days, people are going to be fighting, someone is going to need the help and going to get really hurt or die because the police don't bother to show up. That's so crazy to me.

The high this week was 54F/12C

The low this week was 28F/-2C

It's been pretty cold this week. I actually had to break out my coat. lol 

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

Favorite Song of the Week

 

I don't post a lot of covers of songs because the original is almost always better in my opinion. But I heard this cover of a Twisted Sister song and thought his voice was spectacular. This is Tommy Johansson singing a Twisted Sister song. I've never heard him sing before. I'll have to look him up now because his voice is amazing.

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. 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: 

Bloomingdale's Little Freebies Box with 2 mini candles from Voluspa and Glasshouse Fragrances. 

I also received a perfume sample La Belle by John Paul Gaultier.

I love the mini candles, they smell so good and have so much scent to them. The perfume samples smells really good too. 

I find the Bloomingdale's Little Freebies Box on FaceBook when they are available. They come up as an ad or sponsored post randomly. If you happen to see it while scrolling, make sure to sign up for it. 

Did you receive any freebies this week?

Favorite Picture of the Week

 

On Sunday we had a very overcast day. You couldn't even see the mountains and it snowed in the mountains that day. We actually got a little rain out of these clouds. It was nice to get a little rain this week.

Funny how just two days before that it was mostly sunny with big puffy clouds over the mountains.

My daughter took this picture of the sunset a few weeks ago for me but I don't think I ever shared it because it was sitting in the wrong folder on my computer. it was a gorgeous sunset though.

Low Carb Recipe: Surf and Turf (Steak and Shrimp)

 

We made steak and shrimp with roasted cherry tomatoes and asparagus. 

So to make this you will need

Whatever steak you like. 

1 LB of shrimp

1 bunch of Asparagus

8-10 cherry tomatoes

1/2 stick of butter

salt and pepper to taste

4 TBSP Olive Oil- divided

3 TBSP cilantro-diced

What To Do

Start by preparing the asparagus. If you hold each spear at the ends and bend them, they will snap in the exact right place they need to. Throw the end away and just keep the tops that are left. Add asparagus and tomatoes to a bowl, add a pinch of salt and pepper and 2 TBSP olive oil. Stir until completely coated and transfer to a baking dish. Roast in a 350 oven for 20 minutes.

Melt butter in a pan, add a pinch of salt and pepper, add shrimp and cook until shrimp turns pink. Add cilantro and stir until mixed well. Remove shrimp from pan or it will over cook. Use butter and cilantro as a sauce for shrimp. 

Add 2 TBSP olive oil in another pan and cook your steak the way you like.

Product Review: Daily Goodie Box: December

 

The Daily Goodie Box has been around since about July of 2016. I signed up for an account right after I heard about them. They are 100% free, you don't even have to pay for shipping. And for a free box it's a nice sampler box of products.

What was in the box?

Miracle Tree - Moringa Energy Tea - The tea is good but I didn't feel any extra energy from it. It had a good taste to it though,

Hubbard Peanut Company - Hubs Power Packs - This was a good little snack and it was low carb so I was able to eat it. The peanuts had a good taste to them too.

Toast! - Before You Drink Gummies - I really wish they would stop putting these in the boxes. They smell bad and taste even worse. Plus my daughter said they didn't make her feel any different after drinking the night before. 

Honey House Naturals - Bee Bar Lotion - I love the Bee bar Lotion. It's a solid bar of lotion that you warm in your hands and then rub on your skin. It works well and smells good. I use a shampoo bar and like it so this was great to me. It also came with a lip butter which I loved.

Flathau's Fine Foods - Key Lime Shortbread Cookies - This was definitely my favorite thing in the box. They had such a good flavor to them.

Sambrosa - Night Syrup - I have to say that this did help us sleep better. It got us both tired and helped us sleep.

Rowdy - Collagen Protein Powder - I've said it before but I am not a fan of protein powers and this was no exception. I tried it in a smoothie and I just didn't care for it at all. 

Bee & You - Vitamin C + Zink Propolis Shots - I'm not a fan of these kinds of shots because they always taste so bad and this one did as well. 

All they ask you to do is try the products and leave reviews for the products you got in order to be eligible for more Free Goodie Boxes. As you guys already know, I'm a fan of all these types of boxes. I love all the different subscription boxes and it's really nice to be able to try new to me products for free. This is a great box to try for.

Oh and one more thing, if you visit their FB Page, they give away Goodie Boxes to people who interact with their posts. So if you've tried before and weren't able to get a Goodie Box, there's even more ways to get one now.

Daily Goodie Box. It's more than just Free Samples!

Have you signed up? Have you received one of these boxes?

I'm a fan of subscription boxes and love trying new products for free so this was a huge hit with me. New products+free box = Fabulous!

Disclosure: I was given and free box in exchange for a review but all opinions are my own.

Happy Raturday!

 

"Chillin' with my new hat on."

*The pictures today are courtesy of Anisah Grace Hanna and www.martymousehouse.com*