Happy Raturday!

 

*All pictures today are courtesy of www.martymousehouse.com*

Apartment Life #317

 

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.

I heard a bunch of noise outside my bedroom window at 7am one morning (Last Week) and saw this. I didn't readily know what they were doing. I didn't post this last week because my post was already so long.

The crane swung it to the apartment's across from me.

In this heat, I guess the air conditioning unit they had wasn't working well. 

So the owner had to replace it with a new one.

---

My camera doesn't take great pictures at night but I was able to get a picture of this police car that parked here after the police helicopter had been up shining its light on my street for a few minutes. The cop got out and came into my courtyard somewhere but I didn't see where. 

The high this week was 103F/39C

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.

Favorite Song of the Week

 

I don't like many Cradle of Filth's song but this one is one of my all time favorite songs. I hope you enjoy it too. I know I've posted this song before but I think it's been years. And because I don't think most of my newer viewers have heard this, I wanted to post it again because everyone should hear this at least once. 

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: 

I was given a panda pet Halloween costume for Falcor for free in exchange for an honest review from Walmart Spark Reviewer. 

I also received a dish towel from Walmart Spark Reviewer.

Falcor is going to look cute in his costume. And I can always use another dish towel. 

Did you receive any freebies this week?

Book Review: Mistletoe Cowboy by Diana Palmer

 

Book Description

In this heartwarming story of holiday romance, one cowboy is ready for love—whether he knows it yet or not . . .

 

Horse whisperer Parker doesn't drink, smoke, or gamble, and he doesn't have much to do with women, either. But that may change when a runaway Palomino leads him to his small Colorado town’s new schoolteacher. Widowed Katy, and her sweet daughter, are new in Benton. But while the little girl can’t even ride yet, Katy’s not new to horses or ranching. It seems she and Parker have a few things in common—including hearts in need of healing. With Christmas around the corner, could kisses under the mistletoe bring the handsome wrangler the gift of his very own family?

My Review

After her husband dies, Katy and her young daughter move back to her grandmother's ranch which is in need of some repairs. But Katy knows that they are safe there and they need a new start. Teddie is her 11 year old daughter who has adopted an abused horse after the owner was arrested for the abuse. Teddie loves the horse but doesn't know much about them. When the horse gets out, Teddie runs after it and that's when she meets Parker. Parker is a ranch hand and horse trainer for a nearby ranch and he's good friends with the wealthy ranch owner. 

Parker is talking with Teddie when her mom finds her and they all talk about the horse. Parker and Katy meet for the first time and Parker decides to help Katy out around her ranch and with the horse, and training Teddie in what to do with it. Parker and Katy spend more time together and even though both of them are slow to give in to what they feel because of past hurts in both of their lives, they do get closer.

Of course there's a misunderstanding that comes between them because they don't have great communication skills and don't talk. So they have to find a way to work that out. The one problem I had with this book was that Teddie acted much more mature than a 11 year old would. 

I've been reading this series for such a long time but somehow missed this one. I know the wealthy ranch owner Parker works for and read he and his wife's story a while back. After reading the books in this series for so long, you feel like you know everyone and how they're going to react at times. 

I always know what author to go to when I want a feel good romance. I enjoyed this story. 

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. 

Amazon

Favorite Picture of the Week

 

Last week we had a lot of rain, clouds and humidity. All those clouds made for some really pretty sunsets. These were taken the same night, just a few minutes apart.

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?

KETO Taffy- I loved the taffy and so did my grandson. It has a great flavor, I really liked all of them. 

Daily Immunity- Not my favorite thing but it can be added to drinks to cover the taste.

Liver Cleanse These teas always have a strange flavor. I tried one cup but I didn't like it at all. Not something that I would buy.

Rich Mud Butter- This was definitely my favorite thing in the box. It works well on my dry feet and hands and it has a light, pleasant scent to it. 

Herbal Health Drinks- It can be added to other drinks and be ok. Not something that I would use though.

Crunchy Mung Beans- I don't care for them. They are alright but they go better in a salad where they can be hidden by other stuff. 

Banana Snack Bars- I liked these, the texture isn't bad and neither is the taste but I think a different flavor would have been better for me.

Facial Cleanser- This cleanser works well and leaves me face feeling soft. I like it and would use this again.

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!

 

*All pictures today courtesy of www.martymousehouse.com*

Apartment Life #316

 

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.

I saw the police outside when I was walking Falcor. They were on the other side of the fence right in front of the police car where some of the drug addicts were sitting. I figured they would be arrested since that's where they have been sitting smoking their drugs but the police just made them get up and leave. 

---

It's not really clear but there's a police car in front of the RV and one in back of the RV. They were out there for about 30 minutes talking to the guy in the RV again. I actually talked to him this week when I walked past his RV while walking Falcor one night. I asked him why the police kept hassling him and he said they didn't want him parked there and they keep wanting to see his registration, insurance and ID. He said he's showed it to 6 different police officers so far but he doesn't think they talk to each other so he has to keep telling them and showing them the same info every time they come by. The day after I took this picture, the man in the RV had moved on. 

So I looked up my state's law about parking an RV on a residential street. Here's what the law says. 

"Can I park my RV on the street in Las Vegas?

Can you park an RV on the street in Las Vegas? According to Las Vegas code enforcement, living or camping in an RV outside of an RV park is not allowed. Clark County civil codes state that an RV may be parked on the street for up to 72 hours, presumably only if it's unoccupied."

So that's why they kept hassling him. 

---

This is the busted window in drug dealer's bedroom. It got even more busted the night we had all the rain and they nailed a board to it, probably trying to keep the rain water from getting inside the window. I seriously doubt that worked because the wind was crazy and even my closed bedroom window was leaking. The next day this window had been fixed and a new window was put in.

---

Tuesday night I was outside with Falcor at 9pm in my courtyard and the lady across from me opened her door and all she was wearing was a bra and underwear. So instead of shutting her door or putting some clothes on, she shuts the light off and stands in her doorway staring at me.  I could see her because her undies were white. Lol wtf

And my next door neighbor told me that the new move in right next to this woman let her kids come outside and pee on the tree in the courtyard. They started out seeming normal too. Dang. 

---

Drug Dealer's wife is back. That's her in the middle with the walker. I bet you didn't imagine a little, old, frail looking lady, eh? Nothing has changed, the druggies are still coming and going from her apartment. But some good news, the dogs are back and they look fine.

---

On Thursday I noticed Parking Enforcement taking pictures of a few cars, the license plates and putting the license plate numbers into his hand held device. He put notices on some of the cars and my neighbor told me that they were $75 tickets for not being registered.  

He was taking a picture of a license plate here. This truck actually had two tickets on it. 

Then I got a picture of him leaving.

----

On Wednesday my neighbor (Married guys wife) knocked on my door and said,  someone told me you suffer from depression. 😲

Me: Yeah,  I do. *I actually thought she was going to ask for an antidepressant*

Her: I did too, until I found jesus, now I'm not depressed anymore. 

Me: In my head I'm thinking,  Oh no. 🙀

Me: Oh,  I'm not religious. 

Her: Just try it. Go on YouTube and watch some Sunday church services. It will help.   

Me: I appreciate that but I'm Agnostic. And I'm doing alright. 

Her: Well ok, if you change your mind you can come talk to me. 

I know she's been hanging out with the only neighbor who knows I suffer from depression. Someone has been talking about me. 🙀

Maybe instead of preaching to me about jesus, she and her husband should lay off the cocaine and clean out their apartment. They are both hoarders and can barely open up their door to get in and out.  Maybe you need to ask jesus for a little more help. 🆘

I can still barely believe that this woman who I've only ever said Hi too, had the balls to knock on my door and tell me I need jesus. 

---

And to close things out for this week I thought I would share a video my daughter took at the bus stop on her way to work. This is the same woman from my neighborhood who screams walking up and down the sidewalk. While she probably suffers from mental illness she also takes drugs so I'm sure that isn't helping. 

The high this week was 103F/39C

The low this week was 81F/27C

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

 

Bridge To Grace is a new band for me but I really like this song. I hope you do too. 

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 throw blanket from Walmart Spark Reviewer. 

Kids Z bar. 

Estee Lauder Moisturizer.

Dr. Zenovia moisturizer. 

True Skin Vitamin C super serum.

The Kids bar was good. It was blueberry flavored. 

I like the moisturizers and serum. They are pretty good at making my skin feel soft and smooth. 

I love the throw blanket. It will come in handy this Winter. 

Did you receive any freebies this week?

Blind Promises by Diana Palmer

 

Book Description

Fall in love with Diana Palmer's fan-favorite story, BLIND PROMISES!

Dana Steele's new patient, Gannon van der Vere, is a tough customer. He had run off his last four nurses, but Dana's determined she won't be the next on that list. A powerful entrepreneur until a devastating accident left his future in doubt, Gannon raged at all who approached him. Dana hoped to light a candle in his darkness—and to escape from the shadows in her own past. But when she fell in love with her curmudgeonly employer, Dana's challenge was no longer strictly professional. Could Dana and Gannon heal to find a true happily-ever-after?

My Review

Dana Takes on a new job of being a personal nurse to one patient after a car accident that killed her mother and left her with scars. But Gannon had his own accident that left him blind and very angry at everything and everyone. He'd already run off four other nurses before Dana took the job so she had her job cut out for her. 

Right off the bat, Gannon thinks Dana isn't going to last but she isn't taking his snark without giving a little back which peaks his interest. She ends up staying and he becomes more and more invested and interested in the banter between them because most people don't talk to him like she does. Gannon is actually a good guy but he's been hurt and doesn't trust her enough to let her in until he realizes that she's wormed her way into his heart. But by that time he's pushing her away because he doesn't want anyone around feeling sorry for him because he thinks no one could really love a blind guy. 

But they are both in love with the other so they can't stay away for long. This is another one of those stories that if they had just talked, had some communication with each other the problems wouldn't have been as big as they made them out to be. But it was a good book. 

Diana Palmer is the author I got to when I need a feel good read when I'm not in the mood for a paranormal romance. This is one of her older books but I realized I hadn't read this one so I got it and I'm glad I did. 

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. 

Amazon

Favorite Picture of the Week

 

Last Tuesday night we had such a downpour and lightning storm that my courtyard flooded. The rain came down so hard for a while and the wind was crazy. My daughter took a little video. 

The next day, Wednesday it was really cloudy and over cast but we only got a little rain that day.

It also rained on Thursday and we had these spectacular clouds giving us some shade from the sun. 

Book Review: Stalk the Darkness by Alexandra Ivy

 

Book Description

Becoming a vampire nearly killed Satin. After decades in hiding to reach fighting strength, she swore never to be weak again. Instead, she flings herself into the joys of life. Like “combat practice” with Marco, the owner of the wildest club outside of Chicago. Getting a workout with the sizzling Were is the ultimate no-strings-attached pleasure. Until a chaos-strewing demon leaves Satin with an impossible, infuriating diagnosis: Vampires don’t get pregnant.

Marco prides himself on being the perfect Were—strong, savage, and barely housetrained. But with Satin gone on her mysterious quest, he’s compelled to follow. This raven-haired warrior might be his mate for all eternity. But a dark presence hovers around her. If Marco and Satin can’t solve its riddle in time, there won’t be any future to worry about . . .

My Review

Vampires can't get pregnant but Satin does indeed find herself pregnant with Marco's baby. And Marco is a powerful Were but he had nothing to do with it. Satin and Marco have an understanding that they are just out for some fun when they get together and it doesn't mean anything but Marco knows that Satin is his mate, as crazy as that is. So when Satin goes on a mission to find a gargoyle and bring her back for questioning, Marco follows her to make sure she and his pup will be safe. But along the way they find out from a powerful elemental that Satin is somehow infected with a demon called an ifrit. If the ifrit is allowed to become corporeal the way it wants to, it will not only put their baby in harms way but it could also destroy the world. 

Levet and Troy are also in this book and they are on their own mission looking for Levet's aunt Bertha. Bertha just so happens to be who Satin is looking for. Both Levet and Troy find themselves in danger a time or two but if you've read any of the books in this series you know that Levet always finds a way out of whatever trouble he gets himself into. 

Because of all the different characters in this book, there was a lot going on. But even with so much going on, I found the story to be a little on the boring side. The story just didn't move as fast as some of the books in this series which stalled the progress for me more than once. While it had a good ending, it took a while to get there and I hate feeling bored while reading. 

I give this book 3 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

Happy Raturday!

 

"Stop playing with that scone and give us a bite."

*All pictures today courtesy of www.martymousehouse.com*

Apartment Life #315

 

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.

Last week this camper/RV pulled up across the street and the guy living in it has just been staying there. I saw the police pull up behind him and he came outside and was talking to them. Boy, he was not happy about it though. He was waving his arms around, yelling at the police and showing some papers to them. 

A few minutes later a second police car pulled up along side the first one and they stayed out there talking for a while The police did leave and it's been a few days and the guy with his camper/RV is still parked there. 

----

Drug dealer is still in jail, his wife is still in the hospital and will be going to rehab to help her walk on her leg again. The drug addicts have taken over the apartment again and us residents have given up trying to do anything about it. 

----

The high this week was 102F/38C

The low this week was 88F/31C

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

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 new dog bed for Falcor. 

A pair of ankle boots. 

Both items were from Walmart Spark Reviewer. This site is by invitation only so I don't have a link where you can sign up. 

Falcor loves his bed. It's bigger than he is but he likes to stretch his legs out behind him when he sleeps so this gives him more than enough room to really stretch out. 

He's definitely living the dogs life right now. That stick in his mouth is a non-rawhide treat kebob stick or what is left of one. 

Those ankle boots were a complete disappointment though. They were so small. I wear a size 10, yes I have a big foot. lol I couldn't even get my toes all the way inside them, that's how small they were. My daughter wears a size 8 and I had her try them on and they fit her perfectly. So there's no way these were a size 10. But it worked out well for her, she got a new pair or boots out of it. 

Did you receive any freebies this week?

Book Review: The Dragon's Compliant Sacrifice by Ines Johnson

 

Book Description

Prized for her willowy-thin form, she'd never hungered for life. But when she is sacrificed to a dragon, she becomes a glutton for his touch...

After surviving years of catcalls and casting couches, model Lily Bishop suffers nightly from sleep paralysis. It takes the touch of the gentle dragon shifter Elek to free her from her night terrors. Though Elek does not want a mate, he agrees to place his mark on Lily which will keep her safe from other shifters in the Veil. Mated in name only, Lily is safe from being sought after by the other shifters looking for a mate and can now have the quiet life she always dreamed of. That is until she begins to yearn for more from her fake dragon mate than their easy friendship.

An accident that sent his mother into a catatonic state has kept Elek's dragon on lock down. That tight leash the man has on the dragon loosens when he reluctantly agrees to mate quiet, withdrawn Lily. At first Elek believes the two of them can have a quiet life together watching old sitcoms and 80s movies. But one whiff of Lily and Elek's dragon wants to claim the comely model in the flesh.

As man and beast struggle for control, other shifters learn that Elek's claim on Lily is not complete which leaves Lily open to mating games. Now Lily is in danger of losing the safety she craves. But she'd throw caution to the wind with just one sign that the dragon she's falling for wants to stake his claim for real. Elek has already lost his heart to Lily, but if he loses control of his dragon the man he is will succumb to the wiles of the beast and the past could repeat itself, causing him to lose the woman that he craves with his whole self.

My Review

Elek is a dragon shifter stuck in the veil with other shifters. He has his dragon locked down tight though because of an accident that happened to his mother and he's never forgiven himself. So when Lily needs to protection of a dragon shifter so she's safe from other shifters in the veil, Elek agrees to give her his mark but that is all. He does not want to be her mate and all she wants is to have a peaceful existence until she wants more from Elek. When he refuses to give that to her she refuses his mark which leaves her open to other shifters to pursue her but that doesn't sit well with Elek. 

Now Elek will have to come to terms with what he is as well as let his dragon out in order to get the woman he wants before some other shifter makes a claim on her. 

Elek and Lily were made for each other but one stubborn dragon shifter won't let them be together for real until it's almost too late. Watching them fight the pull they feel was fun but watching them finally give in was even better. This series has been fun because the dragon shifters all have very different personalities and the women that come into their lives are all very different and fun. 

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars.

Amazon

Book Review: Beautiful Lies: Specimen-One book #2 by Ever Nightly

 

Book Description

I’ve been kidnapped, and I’m completely alone. Area 51 has been destroyed, and S1 is gone. I’m left to sift through the pieces of what happened, and figure out how I’m going to survive. But as I dig deeper into the government’s secrets, one thing becomes abundantly clear...

Nothing is what it seems.

My Review

This book picks up where Beautiful Thing left off. If you want to read my review for that one just click on that title. That one ended on a cliffhanger and even though I liked the premise of the book and the writing, I hate cliffhangers. But then I saw that book 2 was free on Amazon and decided to go ahead and get it. I mean, it surely won't end on another cliffhanger, will it? Yes, it does. This book is only 136 pages, the first one was 236 pages and the third book is 156 pages. Why not just consolidate this trilogy into two books that have real endings? Either way I read this one and again, I liked the story, the writing and the characters. It kills me that it ends on another cliffhanger. 

Ava is locked in the lab and she's pregnant. The head scientist wants to keep her and then use her child who is half alien to run experiments on. But not everyone there at this facility thinks what the doctor is doing is right and he tries to help Ava as much as he can. She thinks that S1, the baby's father is dead, and there's another group of people who work there that want her to just abort the baby because it's half alien and they see it as an abomination. 

When she's kidnapped from the facility by the other group, she knows that she and her unborn child are in even more danger. But like I said, this one ends in a cliffhanger as well. I wouldn't have even bothered with this one if it hadn't been free. I thought maybe it would be a full book with a real ending and if that had happened I might of bought the 3rd and last book. But I'm done. 

I give this book 2 out of 5 stars. 

Amazon

Book Review: Wolf in the Shadows by Maria Vale

 

Book Description

Shifter Julia Martel has been spoiled and pampered by all the alpha males around her whose urge to protect her have left her uninformed and vulnerable. Now the Great North Pack has relegated Julia to the care of the wolf at the very bottom of the Pack hierarchy, Arthur Graysson. Julia wants nothing to do with the Pack, except to escape back to her life of luxury and idleness, but the more time she spends with Arthur, the more she learns about the Pack, the dark secrets Arthur carries with him, and the fierceness within herself that could save them all...

My Review

Julia lived as a human as her powerful shifter family instructed her to reject her animal half, she was pampered and looked after and brought up to accommodate the powerful men in her family. She wanted nothing to do with the pack so when she and her fiancé are kidnapped and she is relegated to care for Arthur, she wants nothing to do with him. She just wants to go back home to the way things were before. 

I've read this series from the beginning and really liked the previous books but I found myself bored with the first half of this book. The romance between Julie and Arthur didn't feel genuine to me and I didn't like how Julia was treated. 

The second half of the book was a little better but because this is the last book of the series I expected more and I didn't get it which I was disappointed about. I didn't think the writing or the storyline was as good as the previous books. But I read it and was glad that it did have a good ending. That's the best thing I can say about this book. I will say that you should read this series in order for it to make more sense though. 

I give this book 2 out of 5 stars.