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 have gone on in and around my apartment complex and in my neighborhood in the past 25 years that I've lived here and people keep telling me I should write a book. But instead of a book, I've decided to share the crazy things that have happened in and around my apartment complex in the last 25 years here in a weekly blog post.  

I spotted another video camera in someone's window across the street. I think it's funny that I keep spotting more of them. I knew I wasn't the only one with one in my window. My new neighbor who just moved in next door to me has one in her living room window pointing towards her door.

Oh and these signs were put up all over our complex. We now have security patrolling here. I've seen them in the cars a few times but they never get out they just drive by. I never see them patrolling the grounds. I don't know if we're supposed to call the number if we want someone to come out for something or what. A new neighbor said his rent when he moved in is $1060. So I now know that our rent is increasing by about $125 next time we sign a new lease. 

The police were in the shopping center parking lot next door. I'm not sure which one of these stores was robbed but that's usually what happens when 3 police cars show up. 

As I was walking down the street with Falcor, I noticed some smoke further down the street where the homeless people make their camps 

I didn't see any fire but there was enough smoke to worry me so I called 911 and told them about the smoke. Then I walked home and waited to see if I could catch the fire truck driving by.

And I did. That sidewalk near the sound wall is where I was walking. But as you can see, I can't see where the smoke was coming from, from my bedroom window. It's too far down the street.

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The same neighbor who was taken by ambulance a couple of weeks ago was taken again this week. 

She was having breathing problems. That's the paramedics and the neighbor in the gurney walking past my window camera. 

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On Thursday morning around 6AM, my daughter had to call the police because one of the homeless guys was walking in and out of our courtyard and trying some of the door handles as he was holding a knife. My daughter works the graveyard shift so she was up early and saw him when she was sitting outside. She came inside and watched him on the video camera we have in the window. The police came, talked with some neighbors but I don't know if they couldn't find him or didn't have enough proof to take him because he was still here that morning. 

On Friday, the very next day my daughter was over at the store right next door when she spotted him again, this time rifling through someone's car in the 4-Kegs parking lot. So she called 4-Kegs as she video taped him and told them that he was going through someone's unlocked car and they came out. I don't know what happened, my daughter didn't stay. 

The high this week was 87F/30C

The low this week was 55F/12C

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

 

Friendly Fire- Linkin Park

This made me sad and happy at the same time. Ever since Chester passed away, the band has been releasing formerly unreleased songs. So seeing this and seeing Chester singing a new song is sad but also made me happy to have a new song. It's a great song too.  

Low Carb Recipe: Roasted Shrimp with a Vegetable Medley and Crab Salad

 

Ever since I found out I was diabetic a few years ago I've been trying to eat better and more low carb. Some days are better than others but I'm still doing it for the most part. My A1C went from 10.1 to 8.4 and my blood sugar numbers went from 350 to 125. So I must be doing something right. I've also lost 25lbs so there's that as well. 

This is a typical low carb dinner I make. 

What You Will Need

A carton of cherry tomatoes

1 bunch or bag or fresh spinach

1 carton of mushrooms

1 lb of shrimp

1 TBSP Oil

1/2 tsp. Old Bay Seasoning

Salt and pepper to taste

1/12 tsp. Seafood seasoning of your choice

1/2 lemon

The Seafood Salad recipe link will be below. 

What To Do

Cut the mushrooms into quarters. 

Toss the mushrooms and cherry tomatoes in the oil. Add seasoning. 

Place the mushrooms, tomatoes on a baking sheet and bake at 350F for 30 minutes. Add shrimp to baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Next add the spinach to the baking sheet and place in oven for 5 minutes. After spinach has wilted a little, toss with the other ingredients on the baking sheet. Sprinkle more seafood seasoning and salt and pepper. You can add more if you like. Bake 5 more minutes or until spinach is as wilted as you like. 

Seafood Salad Recipe

The seafood salad I make calls for imitation crab meat but you can also use real crab meat if you like that better. You can use more or less mayonnaise as well depending on your taste. 

Would you eat this?

Everyone Has A Story, Here's One of Mine

 

I've been thinking of writing an autobiography or memoir but it just never comes together for me but I figured if I write one story at a time and post it on my blog maybe once a month, I can do that. Maybe one day I'll pull all the stories together and put them in a book but for now I'll just share some stories with you about my childhood. Some of the stories will be happy, some sad and some horrific because that was my childhood. But they will all be real, things that actually happened. If it seems like something that people enjoy reading maybe I'll keep it going. These stories will not be in any kind of order, I'll just write them as they come to me.

Thanksgiving 1985

In 1985 my uncle Jack's ex wife, Geishla, her husband moved to California from Germany. With them they brought their 2 sons and my uncle Jack's daughter, Vicki. They moved near where I lived at the time. My uncle Jack and his wife Wanda also lived near us so they were able to see his daughter Vicki too. I was excited because I got to meet my cousin Vicki and her family for the first time. She was 12 years old so just a couple of years younger than me at 15 years old. 

That year at Thanksgiving we were all invited over to Geishla and her husband Joe's house. So me, my mom, her boyfriend, Jose, uncle Jack, his wife Wanda were all over at Geishla and Joe's house visiting with the whole family. Geishla and Joe's other two sons were older than me and Joe Jr had a car so after Thanksgiving dinner, all the kids piled in the car and we went for a ride. When we got back a little while later we saw the police, ambulance and fire department at Vicki's house. 

We were not allowed to go in for a while but we found out that all the adults were drinking and there was a fight between my uncle Jack and my mom's boyfriend, Jose. Jose took a knife and stabbed my uncle Jack in the abdomen. He was a big guy and had a big belly which is what saved him from any real damage. He just needed to go to the ER and get stitches. Jose was arrested and when we went back inside after all the police, ambulance and fire department left, my mom and Wanda got into a fight and my mom ended up with a black eye. 

My little brother got really mad at Wanda and tried to punch her in the face but Vicki's step dad, Joe stopped him. That Thanksgiving was a complete shit show. I don't think my uncle Jack ended up pressing charges because Jose was out of jail soon after and nothing ever came of it. Everything was back to normal soon after and we were all hanging out again like it never happened. 

At that time I lived in Hawthorne, California. Which is really close to Compton, California. Geishla and Joe bought a house in Compton, California and they still live there today. If you know anything about that area then you know it was a hugely bad place to live even back then. Which is probably why the boyfriends my mom found there were so bad, the wife my uncle Jack found there was always ready to fight and there was always something bad happening near where Vicki lived. I went to Leuzinger High School which in in Lawndale, California. You think I live in a bad neighborhood now? This is nothing compared to where I used to live. Maybe that's why none of the things that happen here really bother me now.

Links to past stories

2023

January 2023

February 2023

March 2023

April 2023

May 2023

June 2023

July 2023

August 2023

September 2023

October 2023

November 2023

December

2024

January 2024

February 2024

March 2024

April 2024

Favorite Picture of the Week

 

A pretty sunset this week.

Book Review: Lucky Charms by Louisa Bacio

 

Book Description

After Cornelius’s family is jinxed, he suffers from the unluck of the Irish. Forced to spend every St. Patrick’s Day with green hair—and more—Cornelius must convince Jenna of his love when she’s unable to remember him.

Out for a good time and some green beer, Jenna sustains disbelief of not-so-little green leprechauns when she discovers Cornelius’s really big curse.

My Review

Jenna and her friend are at a bar for St. Patrick's Day and are hoping to have a little fun. When she runs into the gorgeous Cornelius and he's starts flirting with her, she decides to flirt back. 

Cornelius is a Leprechaun who's family was cursed. Each year on this day his hair and other parts of him turn green. Anyone who meets him and talks to him throughout the year cannot remember ever meeting him. If he can get her to fall for him, it will break the curse. He works at the same place as Jenna but she doesn't remember him at all. So when he starts to flirt with her she doesn't remember they have talked before but she feels comfortable with him. 

This was so much fun. I liked the banter between the two of them. I liked how Jenna took everything in stride and wasn't sure she believed him when he told her he was a Leprechaun but she went along with it. This was a fun, quick read. 

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. 

Amazon 

Happy Raturday!

 

"The free samples are the best thing about doing the grocery shopping"

*All pictures today are 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 have gone on in and around my apartment complex and in my neighborhood in the past 25 years that I've lived here and people keep telling me I should write a book. But instead of a book, I've decided to share the crazy things that have happened in and around my apartment complex in the last 25 years here in a weekly blog post. 

 

Early Monday morning while out with Falcor, I spotted an ambulance and police car across the street from where I live. There was a lot of yelling and arguing going on and a woman was brought out and put in the ambulance. Then the police left.

Less than 2 hours later the police were back and I just happened to see them again because I was once again walking Falcor. Another ambulance was parked around the corner from the police cars. No one was brought out into the ambulance this time though. The police were there for about an hour. I'm not sure what happened. 

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Wednesday I spotted a police officer, truancy officer and someone else wearing a badge at my neighbors door. The guy that lives there has a 2 year old daughter with his ex girlfriend. So I was curious why CCSD (Clark County School District) truancy officer would show up with the police. But they will sometimes do that when there's an allegation of abuse even if the child isn't school age. I haven't seen the little girl visiting her dad next door in a couple of weeks, so I have no idea what happened. 

---

On Friday this couple who moved in with one of the new neighbors were fighting. He was inside and wouldn't open the door for her so she started trying to kick the door in. When that didn't work she broke the living room window which you can hear towards the end. Some of the neighbors were outside watching and a couple of the women yelled at her when she broke the window. 

He finally came outside when the window broke. This is the seconds time that she's gone off yelling like this. The same thing happened about 3 weeks ago. The guy who actually rents the apartment was at work and the boyfriend called a glass place and had the window repaired in less than 2 hours, before the guy who rented the apartment got home. I don't know if he even told him about the incident. It wasn't our apartment maintenance that fixed the window so I know that he called and had it repaired himself and it was fast. 

A hour later they were all lovey dovey again sitting outside talking. Boy, run! Because she's crazy. 

The high this week was 93F/33C

The low this week was 57F/13C

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

 

One OK Rock- Stand Out Fit In

I recently found this band a couple of months ago and have been loving their songs. They are a Japanese Rock band. I hope you enjoy. 

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.

What I received this week

A Full size bottle of RED by KISS Growth MD: Hair Growth Serum

A $10.17 Amazon gift card for cashing out my points on Paid Viewpoint

My hair is getting a little fine and thinner in places as I get older so when I saw this freebie, I snatched this one up. I've been using it in one place to see how I react to it or if it actually does help your hair grow more. Nothing yet but we'll see how it goes in the future. 

I cashed out my points from doing surveys on Paid Viewpoint for an Amazon gift card. 

Did you receive any freebies this week?

Book Review: The Alpha's Inferno by Reece Barden

 

Book Description

Marcus is the new sheriff, tasked with keeping law and order in this wolf town. The tough grizzly is determined to prove he's moved on from his troubled past and notorious family. Looking for an easy life and a fresh start, his infatuation with the local doctor is a distraction he doesn't need. Even if his bear is telling him otherwise.

Leila has a reputation as the wolf pack princess. To be seen, but definitely not to be touched. She's worked hard to carve out a life for herself as something other than the Alpha's daughter. When she meets her fated mate, a bear shifter who's the opposite of what she expected, she wants passion and fireworks, but the grumpy sheriff has other plans.

All of which involve staying far, far away from Leila Jones.

When an old enemy resurfaces in Grey Ridge, tragedy hits their small mountain town, putting both their lives in danger. Will it bring them together or tear them further apart?

This is Book 2 in the Shifters of Grey Ridge paranormal romance series. Expect a happily ever after, grumpy men, strong women, and lots of steam.

Grumpy sunshine, fated mates, second chance romance, bear shifter, wolf shifter

My Review

Marcus is the new sheriff in a town of shifters. That's ok because he's a shifter himself but he's a bear while most of the others are wolves. Marcus has secrets, family secrets that he is trying to forget and get past and he's afraid that if the alpha finds out who he is and who his father is, he'll be asked to leave. So when he meets Leila and wants to have a little fun with her, he's all for it until he finds out she's the alpha's daughter. Then he's all hands off and wants to keep her at arms length. But that's easier said than done since Leila is a wolf shifter and can tell that Marcus is her fated mate. But he's not a wolf and doesn't know. 

Leila wants to fall apart when Marcus pretty much rejects her without saying the words but her brother is having worse problems and she has to put aside her own feelings for her family. But because Marcus is around, he and Leila spend time together and seem like they are getting closer but he keeps her at arms length all the time. Because he thinks he's not good enough for her, it causes a lot of problems for them. Communication is key when trying to have any kind of relationship. I always say that and these problems that always arise in these romance books brings that to light all the time. 

So much of the drama in their relationship would have been solved if Marcus had just talked to her. So many hurt feelings could have been avoided. 

There are several other things going on at the same time as these two are trying to get together and all the drama made for a really entertaining read. I really like the characters and hope to read more of this series now. 

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. 

Amazon

Favorite Picture of the Week

 

We moved into this apartment complex about 26 years ago. At that time my courtyard had a lot of these green bushes and the pine tree's were small. That's my daughter posing for a picture. lol 

Taken at the same angle, this is what my courtyard looks like now. There's one pine tree instead of the two that were down at this end and none of the bushes are here anymore. I liked it better with all the bushes. There are still a few bushes around the complex here and there but nothing like it was back when we first moved in. 

Book Review: Malachite by Starla Night

 

Book Description

Dragon shifter CEO, Malachite “Mal” Onyx, doesn’t have time for relationships.

But the gruff billionaire has no choice. He must marry a human female and produce dragonlets, or return to his home planet and take the claw of ancient Empress Horribus.

Where can he find a willing female? One with soft brown hair, mouthwatering curves, and who lights his soul on fire.

Like that mysterious intern, Cheryl…

Cheryl has been secretly drooling over her smokin’ hot boss for months. Then, his marriage offer lands on her cramped desk. What's a shy intern to do? Should she run from the irresistible dragon and his toe-curling kisses?

Or give in?

A dragon male has never dared to turn down the Empress. The entire universe is about to be rocked by a curvy female from a backwater little planet named Earth!

Get carried away by this fun standalone novel with no cliffhangers, no cheating, and a guaranteed happily ever after where an introverted heroine goes from crippling self-doubt to literally breathing fire. 

My Review

Malachite (Mal) is a dragon shifter and is supposed to marry the Empress but if he does, he'll lose his company because it's a matriarchal society and she'll rule the relationship.  Mal's mother tells her sons that they are to marry soon and when one of them tells her that he can't because he's in love with a human woman, the others do the same. Now Mal has to find a human female that will agree to marry him right away. 

Cheryl has been drooling over Mal ever since she started working for his company but he never looks twice at her until he does. Mal is in such a hurry and Cheryl is so love struck that things rush past her and all of the sudden they go from dating to him wanting her to sign a marriage license. 

Since Mal is a dragon shifter, he's not very smart about human relationships and gets so many things wrong. I wanted to not like him but his family helps so that he sees the mistakes he's made and tries to fix them but sometimes that doesn't work out the way he thinks they will either. Watching him fall over himself as he tries to make things right with Cheryl was fun. But when danger comes to their door, he goes from bumbling fool to pissed off dragon instantly and will do whatever it takes to save the woman he's fallen for. 

Oh this was a good one, I was highly entertained while reading this. This was exactly what I needed. 

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. 

Amazon

Happy Raturday!

 

"An apple a day keeps the veterinarian away"

*All pictures this week are 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 have gone on in and around my apartment complex and in my neighborhood in the past 25 years that I've lived here and people keep telling me I should write a book. But instead of a book, I've decided to share the crazy things that have happened in and around my apartment complex in the last 25 years here in a weekly blog post.  

On Tuesday two police cars showed up as I was out walking the dog. They went into the courtyard that has the swimming pool and were at someone's door for a few minutes and then they left. 

Wednesday the police came in 2's again. Two police cars stopped in the middle of the street while I was checking the mail and were in the courtyard 2 buildings away from mine. They were there for at least 45 minutes but I didn't see anyone arrested before they left. 

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Then on Thursday a fire truck showed up for an apartment across the street. 

Then two ambulances showed up. One is the Fire Departments ambulance and the other is AMR (American Medical Response). AMR left soon after getting there. 

And then the other ambulance brought their bed back out without anyone on it (They had their equipment on the bed) and they left. The fire department left a few minutes later. What's the point in calling for help if you're going to refuse to go to the ER? Because for such a big response, a fire truck and two ambulances, the caller must have said at least one person was in need of serious medical help. 

The high this week was 90F/32C

The low this week was 55F/12C

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

 

The Boyz- Watch It

As I've said before I like some KPOP and this is one of those songs. I hope you enjoy. 

Wild Flowers

 

Today is supposed to be Freebie Friday but I didn't get any freebies this week. So enjoy some wild flowers. My courtyard was alive with these tiny yellow wild flowers. I have no idea what they are. They lasted about a month before the groundskeepers came and weed whacked them away. 

 They are still popping up all over my street though. The flowers are super tiny. 

Book Review: Seduced By The Sea Lord by Starla Night

 

Book Description

Tattooed warriors are climbing out of the secret depths to claim their soul mates and save their race!

Determined warlord Torun must claim Lucy, who mistook him for a shipwreck survivor and pulled his injured body from the ocean. She is his soul mate. Now she must join with him and give him a child.

Lucy can’t believe the words coming out of this dominant male. Her destiny is to become a mermaid queen? Too bad “destiny” forgot that Lucy’s a broke divorcee who can’t even have a child. It really is too bad, because Torun’s gorgeous, and his iridescent gold tattoos shimmer beneath the water as he flexes those broad, hard pectorals...

But Torun's in more danger than a bump on the head, and Lucy is the only one who can save him. Their choices will forever change the endangered race of mermen - or destroy it!

Dive in to the first novel in the bestselling Lords of Atlantis series. This complete novel with a happy ending features steamy shifter love scenes, underwater gun fights, and a giant female octopus named Mr. Huggles.

My Review

Lucy's ex divorced her because she couldn't have children. But she's determined to make a name for herself by finding opal's in the ocean. While out on the ocean in her boat, she spots Torun's body and thinks he's deceased. But she can't just leave him there knowing his family would want closure so she pulls him aboard only to find he's very much alive. But once he recovers, she finds he's a bit strange and thinks it's just because he's from a tribe far away. He is in fact from far away, under the ocean because he's a merman. 

Torun knows that she's his mate right away because he can see a light coming from her and it's bright. He convinces her that he's a merman and that she'll be able to breathe under the water if he can just find an elixir that she can drink so they can go find more opal's. But his people are outraged that he's brought back a human as a mate and a long battle between he and his people start. 

Torun was a little weird at first because he really doesn't know a lot about humans on the top side. So he's learning and it was fun to watch. He's very protective of Lucy and wanted her to be happy with him. The things she sees while under the water was sometimes fun like the octopus she called Mr. Huggles and sometimes scary like when Torun's people found out she was there. 

Learning about the people, culture and things under the sea like their life tree was fascinating and made for a fun read. 

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. 

Amazon

Favorite Picture of the week

 

There was a huge rain cloud that came through, mostly over the mountains. We did get a few sprinkles out of it but just a few. And yes, before you ask, those are bullet holes in the block wall by the trash can. They have been there a while and it happened a couple of years ago when someone shot at the trash can. I wrote about it in this post. 

This cloud blew by really fast and then it was gone. 

Book Review: Long Distance Wolf by Rose Bak

 

Book Description

He’s the right wolf at the wrong time…

Connie Lucero has just turned eighteen and is looking forward to escaping her small-town, going to college in the big city, traveling the world, and having adventures. When she meets her fated mate at a party, she knows she had no choice but to reject him before she ends up mated and pregnant.

Andy Galina moved to the shifter town of Greysden for a new job, but it’s not long before his wolf locks onto the beautiful younger woman they’re meant to be with forever. He’s stunned when Connie tells him she has no interest in being his mate. He knows that his independent mate needs some time to find herself and make her own way in the world, but his wolf has other ideas.

Can their love survive a long separation?

“Long Distance Wolf” is a prequel short story that’s part of the “Bite-Sized Shifters” paranormal romantic comedy series. Each book in the series is standalone that can be read in a few hours, and features a mature couple, steamy scenes, a lot of fur and claws, and a guaranteed HEA.

My Review

Connie is just now 18 years old and she knows what she wants to do with her life. The most important thing is to go to college and get her degree and nothing is going to stop her, not even meeting her mate. Connie and Andy are both wolf shifters and after they meet each other, Andy thinks he can just decree that she is his mate and they will live happily ever after. But that's not what Connie wants and she rejects him as a mate. 

He's so confused and surprised that his mate rejects him that he goes to talk to her and they decide to stay friends for now and she'll go off to college and hopefully one day Connie will feel differently about him. 

This is a very short novella prequel for the Bite Sized Shifters series and after reading this, I will be reading more of this series. This book definitely intrigued me enough to want to read more of this series now. 

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. 

Amazon