Apartment Life #266

 

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 24 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 24 years here in a weekly blog post. 

On Wednesday I saw several police cars drive past me and only got my camera out in time to catch this one. I think they were just patrolling but three cars went into the alley to the apartment complex that is right across the street from me and this one circled the block twice while I was out walking Falcor. I saw one police car in the alley behind my complex but he left before I could get a picture. He wasn't speeding but he was going faster than a car should be going in an alley. I've seen a lot of police driving down my street lately. Maybe that's why things have been so quiet around here. They don't even have to get out of the car. lol 

Married guy hasn't been hanging around cordless drill woman, in fact I haven't seen her in a while. But he has been letting long haired guy who is homeless and a meth head, sleep by his door. Yep, married guy lives right across from me. On Wednesday *and several other days) I watched as long haired guy (pictured) got out his meth pipe and was hitting the pipe. This dude does not care who sees him hitting the meth pipe. Yeah, sometimes he will turn his head a little or try to cover the meth pipe with his hands so I don't see it but it's pretty obvious what he's doing. Soon after he hit the pipe this morning, he passed out in front of married guy's apartment while he was working on his bike. Married guy is also taking care of long haired guy's tiny, old chihuahua which I'm glad about because it's too hot out here for a dog to be out in this heat. Married guy brings food and water out to long haired guy all the time too. I think the only thing stopping this guy from moving in to married guy's apartment is married guy's wife most likely. 

Long haired guy is a frequent visitor to drug dealers apartment even though drug dealer tried to kill long haired guy a couple of years ago. My daughter and I heard gunshots that night and then police showed up and arrested drug dealer for attempted murder of long haired guy. Long haired guy had a wound on his head like the bullet had grazed his head. I don't know if the charges were dropped or what but drug dealer got out of jail in about 3 weeks after that happened. 

----

I get up Friday morning to take the dog out and there's two people sitting in our chairs in front of my apartment, arguing. She gets up to leave and he stands there trying to talk to me. Then she comes back and sits down again and I said, "Oh no, you both need to leave" 

She gets up and talks really fast in Meth-English. I can't understand anything she says and she leaves.

 Then he's standing there, high as hell trying to talk to me about, "He's trying to help her." 

I said, "I don't care, you need to leave." So he walks off apologizing all the way down the walkway.

 

I look up and my neighbor across from me is peeking out his window. You might know him as *Married guy* from my blog. 

The high this week was 106f/41C

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

Book Review: Cowboy Wolf Trouble by Kait Ballenger

 

Book Description

A wolf shifter romance like you've never seen before—cowboys by day, wolf shifters by night, this clan of secret wolves lies just beyond the mountains. A world filled with intrigue and possibility is closer than you think.

For centuries, the shifters that roam Big Sky country have honored a pact to keep the peace. Even bad-boy rancher Wes Calhoun, former leader of a renegade pack, has given up his violent ways and sworn loyalty to the Grey Wolves. But his dark past keeps catching up with him...

Human rancher Naomi Evans only cares about saving the land that was her father's legacy. Until the day she finds an injured wolf on her ranch and discovers a whole new world—a supernatural world on the verge of war—and Naomi, her ranch, and the sexy cowboy wolf stealing her heart are right in the middle of it.

My Review

Naomi is on her ranch when she hears a trap snap shut, hopefully catching the animal that has been killing her animals. 

Wes is a wolf shifter and after a fight with another wolf, he stumbles into a trap. The human is about to kill him to put him out of his misery so he has no choice but to shift back to human and try and stop her.

But wolf pack law dictates that humans cannot know about shifters and therefore he's supposed to kill her after exposing his secret to her but he can't. He already has one innocent life on his conscience, he can't live with another. But when she tells him about how she has been finding her animals bled dry, Wes knows that vampires are behind it. He has to get her back to his packmaster and let him know that their enemies are working with the vampires. Naomi doesn't want to go with him and makes the trip back home, interesting.

The more he gets to know her though the more he likes her. He just hopes that his packmaster will understand. The Wild Eight are their enemies and Wes used to be their packmaster until he left them and now they are gunning for him and plan on killing him He came to the Grey Wolves and Maverick, the packmaster let him join them but he's never felt a real part of the pack. Plus he doesn't do what he's told which sets Maverick off all the time. 

Naomi and Wes start getting really close even though humans and shifters aren't allowed to mate but they definitely have feelings for each other. But then a misunderstanding sets the romance back to the beginning and has Wes mad at Naomi because he thinks she betrayed him just like another human woman did years before. 

This book has a lot of action, sexual tension and romance. I really like how it ended and how this first book in the series set up the world building for the upcoming books. I have a feeling that we haven't seen the last of the vampires and I look forward to it. 

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars.

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 Metal water bottle from Walmart Spark Reviewer. 

Laroche Posay moisturizer. 

Acqua Di Gio perfume.

Honey Stinger hydration mix. 

Loreal Hyaluronic Acid serum. 

I love the perfume. It smells so good. I've almost used the whole thing. 

The moisturizer and serum are both fine. I've used both before. And the hydration mix I haven't used yet.

The metal water bottle is such a pretty color and even comes with a built in straw. 

Did you receive any freebies this week?

Book Review: The Pegasus Marshal's Mate (U.S. Marshal Shifters Book) by Zoe Chant

 

Book Description

Her new beginning is off to a bad start…

Tiffani's first marriage was a disaster. And now her first day of her new life as a court reporter has involved a jackass judge, a bomb threat…and a sexy silver fox of a US Marshal. One who tempts Tiffani to give up her new determination to prove she doesn't need a man. But if she's going to show everyone she's more than just air-headed arm-candy, she can't just fall into those gorgeous, muscled arms…right?

Pegasus shifter Martin thought he'd never find his mate. After losing his wife, he gave up on love entirely. But one look at Tiffani and he knows he needs this smart, funny, gorgeous woman. All he wants is to give her the romance she deserves—and the protection she just might need.

Between the trial of the century, petty dictator bosses, and a senior citizen flash mob, Tiffani and Martin will have to steal time for their second chance at love. But who better than a pegasus shifter to sweep a woman off her feet?

My Review

Tiffani got married young and thought she would be happy but ended up being a trophy wife that her husband expected to just look good for him. After getting out of that marriage, she's not looking for another relationship, she just wants to be herself and hopefully be happy. Getting a job as a court reporter should have been great except the judge on this case is awful, kinda a bully actually and doesn't seem to want her in his courtroom. But she follows through and things are going good for her. 

Martin is a US Marshal and a Pegasus shifter. When he meets Tiffani he knows he's found his mate, now he just has to talk Tiffani into giving him a chance after her disastrous marriage. 

After a bomb threat, Martin wants to keep Tiffani close and make sure she is safe but he also wants to get to know her better. These two hit it off really quickly and things go well for their relationship. When Martin lets her know what he is and tells her that there are others shifters in the world, closer than she could have thought, she actually takes the news really well. 

While they are trying to work on getting to know each other better, someone puts them in danger. I had a feeling I knew who the bad guy was but I was only partially right. I really liked how this ended though. Karma really gets some people in the end and that's just fine with me. 

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. 

Amazon

Las Vegas Weather in August

 

August started out pretty nice. It was hot between 100-114F but it was really sunny. This sunrise picture was taken at 5;30am. Falcor got me up early that day but I got a nice picture out of it. These mountains are East of me.

You can see the mountains even with the big clouds that way. I like the clouds because they usually mean rain. And we did get a little rain.

The mountains are really clear to see on nice days like this one. These mountains are West of me.

And then we had a lot of haze and smoke from the California wildfires. You couldn't see the mountains at all. This is taken in the same direction as the last picture but the mountains are not visible at all. 

The sun was even blocked out from all the smoke for a couple of days.

And then we got rain clouds again. I love these overcast, cloudy days.

It was pretty dark for a few days. We had 3 days of rain which was nice. You can see the sound wall in the background. Directly on the other side of that wall is the freeway. The wall was built to keep us safe from the speeding cars and to keep the sound from from the cars from bothering us too much. The wall is 16 feet high.

The clouds just looked so cool. 

One morning it was actually a little foggy up by the mountains. 

Another morning the smoke from the California wild fires blew into town again and the sun looked red in the sky as it was rising for the day.

And for anyone who doesn't know this yet, I live in Las Vegas. 

Book Review: Knock Down Dragon Out by Krystal Shannon

 

Book Description

Winter in Mystery, Alaska just got a whole lot hotter. Dragon shifters, lions, and tigers oh my!

An overwhelming need to get away from life—from grief—sent Naomi Parker on a trek through Alaska. Even though she was expecting to photograph some unique wildlife, she was NOT expecting a dragon. They don’t exist, right? Wrong. And a dragon who turns into a human? Even more unlikely.

A hot dragon prince... yeah, she's totally hallucinating. And when he won't leave her side, and their chemistry is off the charts, suddenly, it's a whole-new-world of fantasy and excitement, until it threatens to cost her everything…including her life.

Col has one mission: to kill the dragons who murdered the royal house of Li'Vhram—his family. But he wasn’t expecting to find his mate in the process. When a cute, curvy woman needs rescuing from the dragons he’s hunting, his senses go on high alert. She’s his mate. He’s sure. And he’ll do anything to make her his.

Knock Down Dragon Out is the first book in the new Soulmate Shifters in Mystery, Alaska series. It’s a full-length, standalone fantasy paranormal dragon-shifter romance story featuring a strong human female and an alpha male dragon prince from another world with a propensity for protecting and pleasuring his mate. Happily-ever-after and more guaranteed!

My Review

Col and some other shifters came through a portal from another dimension where shifters existed and they landed on Earth. Their world was destroyed by volcanoes and they barely got out alive. But not all the shifters get along and Col wants to kill the dragon shifters that killed his family back on his world. 

The dragon shifters he's after don't like him anymore than he likes them and have no problem showing him that. He's in the middle of a battle with the two dragon shifters when he spots a human female in the snow and knows right away that she's his mate. He had a choice, continue fighting or leave the fight for now and take care of his mate. He chose his mate. 

Naomi wakes up with amnesia but she's very much attracted to Col right away. After she realizes what he is and why he's going after the dragons, she wants to help him. I really liked how she was able to help him and it sure was great how she also was able to show him that helping some of the other shifters was a good idea. They all became their own little family which I really think they needed. 

There was enough action, drama, romance and back story to really keep me entertained.

I read the second book in this series a while back and knew I had to go back and read the first book in this Soulmate Shifters in Mystery, Alaska series. I'm glad that I did because this book was just as good as the other book that I read. This book was free when I got it so check and see if it still is. If you'd like to read my review for the second book, I'm Not Lion To You, just click the link.

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. 

Amazon

Happy Raturday!

 

"I are a scary dinosaur. Rawr."

*This was my Flower. She was a hairless rat*

*Picture courtesy of Anisah Grace Hanna*

*Picture courtesy of www.martymousehouse.com*

"Use the force."

"Tis not working. I'm a rat. I don't know how to use the force or a stapler"

*Picture courtesy of www.martymousehouse.com*

Apartment Life #265

 

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 24 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 24 years here in a weekly blog post. 

On Tuesday I noticed some of the homeless people setting up camp at the end of the street near the chain link fence. They draped sheets and blankets over the fence and had their carts and belongings on either side of it. 

I enlarged the picture so you could see it better. They stayed there for a couple of days and then they were gone. I had walked down that way when I was walking Falcor and they always kept to themselves. I've never had a problem with most of the homeless people around here. 

I noticed that maintenance boarded up a broken window in the now vacant apartment where the man passed away last week. It got broke out at some point. I guess they don't want anyone breaking in. 

----

I was talking with a lady from the end of the street when she was out walking her 5 small dogs. Falcor had fun with her dogs. She asked if someone else had owned Falcor before because a red headed man used to walk him. I said that was my husband. She gave me her condolences about his passing last year and then told me that she and her husband moved here from Tennessee a couple of years ago. And that 4 months after they moved here, her husband was murdered down there *She pointed towards where she lives at the end of the street* I had no idea. This was the first time I had talked to her. I don't know what happened exactly, but dang. 

The high this week was 108F/42C

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

Book Review: The Traitor by Abigail Owen

 

Book Description

Decades ago, rogue dragon shifter Rune Abaddon took a stand against the decaying, corrupt systems governing their people. He now uses his bad-ass reputation to protect the innocent as it all comes crashing down. But he’s pushed the limits one too many times. His hideout is destroyed, his few allies are scattered and hiding, and the Alliance has placed a dead-or-alive bounty on his head, making him the most wanted dragon in the western hemisphere.

And then the most enticing woman he’s ever met barges into his mountain, demanding an audience.

Hadyn Reece's future was ripped away long ago. The man fated to be her mate was murdered alongside her parents before Hadyn was old enough to be turned, leaving her to be raised and trained by her dead mate’s parents in the dragon shifter world. Now, the Alliance has come for the only family she has left. It’s a good thing she was raised by dragons, because the only one who can help her save them is a traitor she’d be smart to fear.

Especially when his dragon decides she’s theirs.

My Review

Rune Abaddon turned his back on being an enforcer when he realized that potential female mates were being killed when those in power decided to try and turn them against their will and mate to them dragon males who were not their mates. If a female tries to mate a male who is not her mate, she will die when he breathes his dragon fire into her. So Rune let his people and his friends think that he was stealing mates and keeping them, when he was actually keeping them safe until they could find their true mates. 

When Hadyn Reece's adoptive parents are kidnapped, she does what her father had taught her to do, she went in search of Rune to get his help. Haydn had been a potential mate but her mate had died along with her biological parents before they were old enough to try and mate. His parents took her in and she's been with them ever since. So when dragon shifters come and kidnap her parents, she knows only one thing to do, get help. Rune isn't sure about her story and he's skeptical about her at first but they do finally come to an understanding and he agrees to help her. But things go terribly wrong when they go to save her parents and Rune realizes that he needs more help than he thought. 

I really thought that this was going to be the end for Rune and his friends at one point but then he makes a fast about turn and decides to change tactics to make sure that their secret doesn't get out to the humans, it makes other dragon shifters from the opposing side look differently at him and this story takes a turn that I never saw coming.

I've been reading this series since the beginning and I've loved this series, the characters, the storylines, pretty much everything. But I will say that this story made my cry at one point, the heartbreak was real and deep with this book. There's no shortage of action, drama and romance, these characters come alive while reading and really draws you into the story. Rune deserved a happy ending and I'm glad he finally got one.

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. 

Disclosure: I was given an e-ARC of this book via NetGalley but all thoughts and opinions are my own. 

Amazon

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 $25 gift card to Macy's. 

A $25 gift card to Target. 

Both gift cards were because I cashed out my survey points on e-Rewards. 

I also received a Christmas tree topper from Walmart Spark Reviewer. 

Both Walmart Spark Reviewer and e-Rewards are by invitation only so I don't have a sign up link to give you. 

Did you receive any freebies this week?

Book Review: Double Dragon Box set by Terry Bolryder

 

Book Description

Three hot and sexy dragon menage romances at an incredible price!

Welcome to the world of dragons, fire-breathing enforcers of the shifter world who possess special powers and do everything in pairs. Strong, sexy and unimaginably wealthy, the only thing these dragons need is a sexy mate to complete their triads. Enjoy all three complete and separate stories in a best-selling series with over 400 five star reviews!

Double Dragons

Ran and Draven need a mate now. As the black and gold dragons of their region, their very lives depend on finding the right woman to complete their triad. And when they find and rescue Melissa, a quiet librarian who has gotten in way over head trying to do the right thing, they know she’s the one. If she agrees to be their mate, she’ll have full access to the men’s hearts, wealth, and incredibly generous love-making. But in return, she’ll have to put everything on the line, including her own life, as she enters the dangerous world that the dragons call home.

Desired by Dragons

When Tara jumped into icy water to save a drowning child, she was expecting to die. Instead, she wakes up to find that two tall, beautiful men with rare powers want her for their own. Tara's intrigued by the dragons and the off-the-charts sexual chemistry she feels with them, and agrees to spend a week figuring out if she can really belong in their world of magic and adventure. But the dragons aren't the only ones who want Tara forever, and an obsessed ex from her past may bring the dragons the biggest challenge they've ever faced. Drake and Quill will have to put the past aside and learn to work together if they want to attain their most important goal: protecting their mate.

Destined Dragons

Sterling and Gentry are the powerful leaders of the New York dragons and still looking for the perfect mate. From the moment they meet the brave, independent, and curvy Roxy, they’re sure she’s the one for them. Now they just have to show her all the reasons she should be the mate of two sexy, capable dragon shifters who live for nothing but to please her, while keeping her safe from the men still stalking her. But while things quickly get hot between Roxy and her sexy shifters, evil forces are also building to mount an attack. If the dragons want to protect Roxy from the most dangerous foes they’ve ever faced, they may have to make choices that could lose her forever.

Warning: Each of the Dragon books is a standalone novel with no cliffhangers and two sexy, stubborn dragons who might just light your fire. However, each also contains adult-level sexiness and some intense action scenes and is meant for mature readers only. Enjoy!

My Review

I'm going to do a mini review for each book in this box set. 

Double Dragons

Ran and Draven aren't looking for a mate when one falls right in their lap. Melissa is a librarian and when when she stays after work several large men are talking about slaves and other things she can't quite understand. She's hiding until she hears what she thinks is a little girl crying and whimpering so she comes out of her hiding spot and confronts the guys. They are going to kidnap her too until Ran and Draven come to her rescue. Ran thinks she might have a dragon-heart because she is so brave but Draven isn't so sure and doesn't want to get hurt again when she finds out who and what they really are, But Ran gives her the choice to stay with them on a trial basis to see if they all work together. Melissa agrees and things are looking good until they find themselves in a dangerous situation and Melissa does something that could have great consequences for all of them. The romance was great and the dragon shifters are hot, seductive and great with her. 

Desired By Dragons

Tara, Drake and Quill meet when she jumps into a lake to save a drowning child. Quill can't let her drown and Drake can't let Quill get hurt so he jumps in and saves her. Right away Quill wants to take her back to their home and see if she could be the mate for them but Drake is standoffish at first. All these dragon shifters think that the human women are going to run away once they learn what the guys really are and what they might have to sacrifice if the mating doesn't go well. But Tara is there to stay. There's only one problem, she has an ex boyfriend who doesn't want to let her go and that brings danger to their doorstep because he's more than just a mere human and she had no idea about that when she was dating him. Drake and Quill are so great and exactly what Tara needed. 

Destined Dragons

Sterling and Gentry are dragon shifters and the leaders of the New York dragons. I didn't really like Sterling from the last book but we only get to see a little of his personality. Roxy saved a man from getting killed by a train and then she is kidnapped by some other shifters. The wolf shifters and wyverns are working together with a someone who wants to experiment on Roxy and she's put in danger on more than one occasion. When Gentry has a vision of what is about to happen to Roxy, they go and save her. But because she is dragon-hearted they decide to ask her if she wants to take a week to get to know them and see if they are mates. The next week is hard because she has plans for her life but Gentry and Sterling are already getting attached and don't understand why she isn't agreeing to become their mate. It's not until they are all in danger that she realizes what she wants.This had such a great ending and it was nice to see what was going on with the other two couples from this box set. 

I give this box set 4 out of 5 stars. 

Amazon

Book Review: Ranger Griffin by Zoe Chant

 

Book Description

A lonely reporter in deadly danger + a protective griffin shifter who thinks he's a monster + a cozy cabin in a snowy forest = one exciting and heartwarming romance!

Curvy Emily Green grew up on stories of magical forests, enchanted beasts, and happily ever after... but then she learned that life isn't a fairytale. Now a determined investigative reporter, she's not the type to sit around waiting for Prince Charming to rescue her. But when her pursuit of a story brings her face to face with a terrifying enemy, even an independent woman like Emily needs help from a hero...

Park ranger Gabriel Allen thinks he's a monster. A griffin shifter who has never known any other shifters, he's spent his life isolated and alone to hide his secret. But when he rescues Emily from deadly peril, he realizes that there are worse monsters out there... and that he'll do anything to protect this brave, beautiful woman from them.

Can two lonely people break the walls they've built around their hearts and find their happily ever after? And can they discover the truth about Gabriel's past and Emily's enemies in time to save each other from the danger closing in on them?

Ranger Griffin is a sizzling hot, standalone griffin shifter romance. No cliffhangers!

My Review

Emily is a reporter and she is sent to interview people who have said they saw a large flying animal. Some people think it's a flying dinosaur like a pterodactyl but she has no idea what it really might be. She's always fantasized about finding her prince charming in the forest where they can both live since she loves it there but she's not holding out hope that she's going to actually find anyone who will love her. When the snow starts coming down harder while she's driving and then her car is attacked by a large flying animal, she goes over a cliff but she's able to climb down a tree to safety and start walking, hoping someone will find her. 

Park Ranger Gabriel is flying around making sure no one needs help. He's a Griffin shifter and a loner since he doesn't know any other shifters. He was found as a baby and spent his life being tossed from one foster home to another. He spots the car that went over the cliff and goes to investigate and then follows her tracks until he gets to her. He shifts back to his human form before getting to her and then carries her back to his cabin since she's not dressed for the snow and doesn't want her to get frost bite. His Griffin shouts at him in his mind that she's his mate and he didn't even know that he could have a mate out there somewhere. 

But there's another shifter out there that puts both of them in danger. So while they're trying to wait out the snow storm and get to know each other, they also face the danger of the shifter that's after them. Emily ends up being exactly what he needs when he needs it and she shows him that she can be as fierce as he can, just in her own way. But this has such a sweet conclusion that I'm really glad I picked this one up.  

I give this 5 out of 5 stars. 

Amazon

Book Review: Firefighter Phoenix by Zoe Chant

 

Book Description

From ashes, love will rise again...

Swan shifter Rose knows she doesn’t have a true mate. She isn’t the one for Ash, the Phoenix Eternal. She knows he can never be more than a friend, no matter how his dark eyes and hard body make her burn.

Everything Rose knows is wrong.

Twenty years ago, Ash destroyed everything to save his true love. But he’s never been able to walk away from her. He yearns to claim her at last...but the shadows of his past are stalking him again. If anyone discovers what Rose means to him, all his sacrifice will be for nothing...

Rose is his mate.

She just doesn’t remember.

Yet.

My Review

Rose owns The Full Moon shifter bar. A place where all shifters could go but humans could only go in if invited. 

Ash who used to go by another name, had been raised by a horrible person who kept him as a slave. But the warlock, Corbin got away and is up to his old ways again.

The warlocks that enslaved shifters like Ash when he was younger is back at it and have enslaved a shifter close to Rose. She finds herself in trouble and danger on more than one occasion so Ash can't ignore what he feels for her any longer. He has to come to her rescue even though he doesn't want to get close to her. 

Rose has known Ash for 10 years and she's always been attracted to him but he's always been aloof and kept to himself. She had no idea there was a reason for that and when she finally realizes why he's never made a move on her and even turned her down when she went to him, she's blazing mad. Absolutely furious but knows he had a good reason for doing what he did. 

When Corbin resurfaces and brings the danger up a notch, it's the mates that come to their rescue. Watching the danger get worst and worst and then have something terrible happen had me on the edge of my set. I read fast but I wanted to read faster to see what would happen next. The ending was fantastic, I never saw any of that coming. Just wow. 

This book is the last in the Fire & Rescue Shifters series but we get a look at the spin off series where all of their kids have a series of books in the Wildfire Crew series. I shall be reading that as well very soon. 

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. 

Amazon

Happy Raturday!

 

"I made you a picture wiff my tiny paws"

All pictures today courtesy of www.martymousehouse.com

Apartment Life #264

 

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 24 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 24 years here in a weekly blog post. 

--

This week my daughter was sitting outside with her boyfriend when she saw a couple of police officers walking down our street with shotguns. She didn't see their car and didn't see where they were coming from or going to. I have no idea what was going on. 

---

On Sunday at 10pm the police showed up in my courtyard. I don't know why they were here but they left soon after they talked with a resident. They didn't stay long and no one was arrested. 

---

Friday afternoon a neighbor texted my daughter and told her the police were out front. We found out from a neighbor that a man in the last building of our apartment complex had died in his apartment. He'd been going through dialysis treatments and was sick. He passed away 4 days prior to this day and the AC had been off the whole time. (His AC was working he just didn't have it on when he passed away) Some people around here like the heat and don't turn their AC's on all day. He must have been one of those people. The white SUV on the left hand side if the coroner vehicle. I don't know if the man had any family around here or not.

The high this week was 113F/45C

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

Review: Daily Goodie Box - August

 

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?

Gloss Leaf - Collagen Iced Tea Mango Pineapple- If you like mango tea then this will be a big hit. Unfortunately I don't like mango but I did taste it and then give the rest of the can to my daughter who loved it. But she likes mango. The tea itself had a good flavor and it wasn't a bad collagen tasting drink at all. 

We Are Rugged Beauty - B. Shaye Nail Polish- I don't paint my nails since I found press on nails but my daughter does and she loved the red color of this polish. She's been using it since I gave it to her. It's a nice color too. 

Aroma Naturals - Vitamin E Créme- This lotion works well but the scent isn't to my liking. But it works well on dry skin so I'll save it for this Winter when I know I'll be needing it. 

Baja Jerky - Street Taco Beef Jerky- This was the best thing in the box. I love jerky and this has such a great taste to it. It actually really does taste like street tacos. 

Cleanse.Freshen.Go™ - Dental Appliance Cleansing Towelettes- These towelettes are for people who have partials, retainers, ect. I don't have any dental appliances so I will have to find someone who does to give this to. 

CBDfx - Vegan Protein Cookies- I don't like CBD infused things but I like cookies and peanut butter so I tried this. Once again I didn't care for the taste of it at all probably because of the CBD and so I couldn't finish it. My daughter tried it and didn't like it either.

Le Caramel - Caramels- These are so good. I love caramel and these have such a great taste to them. I loved getting these and trying them.

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.

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:

2 cologne samples. 

Face cream. 

Makeup Primer. 

The cologne smells ok. I like the face cream and the primer. 

Did you receive any freebies this week?

Answering Your Questions

 

So each week on my Sunday posts I get a few questions that I thought I would go ahead and answer here. 

So the biggest question I've been asked is, "Why don't you just move?"

Answer: I've looked for affordable apartments and can't find anything as cheap as this place. I'm still looking though.

Question: "Why don't you call the police on the drug dealer?"

Answer: He's been raided, busted, arrested several times and he's always out within a couple of days. Calling the police doesn't always help. 

Question: "Does the apartment manger do anything about the people causing problems?"

Answer: NO. We haven't had an onsite manager since February of 2020. I have an email but they don't care about anything as long as people are paying their rent. I've complained about drug dealer and have been told they can't do anything for me to call the police. And you already know how well that helps. 

Question: "The needles look like insulin syringes. Do they use those for drugs too?"

Answer: Yes, they do unfortunately. I've watched one guy in the bushes using one of those needles to shoot up. 

Question: "Do these people ever sleep?"

Answer: Apparently not. Falcor has a very sensitive stomach and frequently has to go out at 3 am so I see people out at all kinds of hours. I know a few people around here do coke and meth and stay up for days at a time. 

Question: "How can the homeless afford the drugs?"

Answer: I see them panhandling in the parking lot where there's a McDonalds, Del Taco and a bunch of little shops. They get money that way. I assume that some of the women are prostituting themselves out in the drug apartment seeing how I see naked women coming out of that apartment on occasion.

And on Instagram someone asked how to get The Daily Goodie Boxes. The easiest way is to go to their FB page and comment on their posts. They give away a lot of boxes each day. 

Question: "Has it always been this rough in the neighborhood the whole time you've lived there OR did it slowly evolve?"

Answer: It was nice when we first here. Lots of families and it was quiet. Over time it's gotten bad and a lot of druggies, drug dealers and homeless people have moved around here.

Question: "Do you see other litter, like food wrappers?"

Answer: Yes, the homeless and drug addicts around here leave a big mess where ever they seem to congregate. 

Here's a couple of pictures to show you what I mean. These are two electrical boxes of some kind. The homeless people sleep here a lot of times because there's heat coming from the boxes. In the Winter time they can stay warm here. On this day there was clothes, food wrappers, and signs they had made to panhandle. That building right behind the block wall is my apartment complex. The sidewalk on the right is where I walk Falcor. There are two more electrical boxes across the street on the other side of my apartment building and more homeless stay there. So it doesn't matter which way I walk, the homeless and druggies are all over the place but I don't usually have any problems with any of them. 

These are the same boxes but from another angel and you can see the sidewalk on the left where I walk Falcor. The area around the electrical boxes usually gets cleaned up either by the porter for my apartment complex or by people who work at Cal Ranch since this is technically part of their parking lot. That fenced in place you see on the far left is where Cal Ranch keep the bigger things and large palettes of things that I guess don't fit in their store room.

So there's a few of your questions answered.