Apartment Life #353

 

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 26 years here in a weekly blog post.  

I know it's hard to see but this homeless man who is standing between the fire and the dumpster started this fire in the alley across the street. He was burning a bunch of loose cardboard, trash and papers on the ground. People from across the street called the fire department and the police. The homeless man dipped out before the police got there and told everyone to go back in their apartments. That's why I don't have any pictures of the fire trucks in the alley behind the apartment complex putting the fire out. 

That's dangerous having fire on the ground like that so close to the cars and apartments.

My daughter sent this picture to me while she was at work. She said she was sitting outside her work for her 15 minute break and this guy walked over to her and told her she was beautiful. He then went to his car and came back with 2 lemons, gave them to her and told her these were for her being beautiful. lol She took them back into work with her and took a picture of them. She said she got free lemons for being beautiful. lol 

---

On Tuesday around 10AM I had my earbuds in listening to music and thought I heard 3 gunshots but wasn't sure. I'm always watching the cameras so I saw when 8 police cars pulled up on my street just a few minutes later. I went for a walk with Falcor to get a picture of all the police cars. 

Then the police helicopter was up flying up over the apartment complex across the street where the police were. I saw 3 different guys get taken out in handcuffs and they were taken away in police cars. But the police helicopter kept flying overhead for quite some time so I'm guessing someone got away. 

The ambulance showed up a few minutes later. 

One person was taken out on a gurney and taken to the ER. The police left a little while later and so did the police helicopter so I guess they might have found the other person they were looking for. Not sure exactly what happened. 

The high this week was 60F/15C

The low this week was 27F/-2C

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

Saturday Vittles

 

My Daughter and I are trying to eat more healthy so I thought I would share some pictures on Saturday's of what we've made. Most pictures are from my daughter since she takes good food pics. lol

This night we had Rib Eye steak, salad and steamed broccoli. 

We split an 8oz Rib Eye because they are high in calories. The salad is just lettuce, tomato, cucumber and celery. I use regular Ranch because I don't like the taste of the light ranch. 

So this meal was 500 calories but 0 carbs. 

Freebie Friday!

 

Welcome to another weekly Freebie Friday post, where I tell you what free samples and full sized products I received in the mail and how you can get them too. Someone asked me why I do a "Freebie Friday" each week, so I'll tell you.

A while back I listed all the free samples and wins that I had received that previous year and so many people didn't believe that I could have gotten so many free things. 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:

Cocoavia Cardio Health pouches. 

I received 4 single serve pouches of this chocolate flavored mix. You're supposed to add it to something like a smoothie and drink one a day to help with blood pressure and better health of your heart. I do have high blood pressure and these didn't seem to help with that but they did taste good. 

Did you receive any freebies this week?

Book Review: Alien With Benefits by Cara Bristol

 

Book Description

A space cruise with her bestie seems like the vacation of a lifetime until Holly Winter gets abducted by aliens and finds herself on a slave ship.

When the ship’s AI goes haywire and accidentally releases the prisoners from their cells, she makes a break for it—only to be kidnapped again by a huge horned and furry alien. Aeon claims to be a prince, but he acts like a royal jerk and refuses to let Holly go. However, she’s determined to locate her friend and somehow get home to New Terra.

Prince Aeon of Araset is enjoying his last breath of freedom from royal duties when he’s accidentally ensnared by slavers trafficking in alien species, including the protected but despised humans. At the first opportunity, he escapes in a tiny evac pod and lands on the nearest inhabited planet. In an impulsive act of sympathy, he takes a human female with him to save her from a fate worse than death. Now he’s stuck with the talkative, conspicuous nuisance. For her own safety, he can’t release her.

At odds, at first, Holly and Aeon quickly discover that on a hostile, dangerous planet, being friends and working together offers more benefits than fighting. But when friendship turns passionate, emotions remain guarded because both know they are loving on borrowed time. Upon their rescue, Holly must return to New Terra. A human would never be accepted on Araset, and Aeon must bond with a royal of his species to inherit the throne.

Can two lovers from different worlds defeat the forces against them and find happiness together?

My Review

When Holly thinks she's booked a cruise but then gets kidnapped by aliens that plan to auction her off as a pet or worse, she's happy when it looks like the ship is in trouble. But before she can escape, one of the aliens that had been in the holding cell with her, kidnaps her and takes her with him. He's helping her but she doesn't trust him right away. 

Prince Aeon was hoping to have a little freedom before his father the king makes him take a mate to form a truce with aliens they have been at war with. But he gets kidnapped by slave traffickers and when he's able to escape the ship, he does the unthinkable and saves Holly. He's not even sure why he did it, other than he's intrigued by her. 

They go through a lot while trying to find a way to get back to their homes and along the way they find that they really like each other. They get closer even though they know they can never be together after they get home because Aeon had to mate with someone else and his father and his people will never accept a human mate for their prince. 

It was fun to watch these two get closer and form a bond that neither thought possible. Gotta love these sexy aliens. 

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. 

Amazon

Favorite Picture of the Week

 

*Click on pictures to make them bigger*

All of these pictures were taken at the same time, I just swung the camera around and snapped a picture in each direction because the clouds looked interesting. It was 2PM in the afternoon so it should have been a lot sunnier and brighter at this time. 

But there were clouds in every direction, not that I'm complaining, it was nice. A little cold though. The temperature this day was 54F/12C

I would still rather have this than the really hot temps we get in the Summer time.

But as you can see there were big clouds in every direction. I liked how the sky looked this day. 

Book Review: My Funny Demon Valentine by Aurora Ascher

 

Book Description

Asmodeus, Prince of Hell, just wants to make music. Jazz, specifically. Unfortunately, he’s a demon. And he’s supposed to be evil.

Clearly, for Ash, a career as a musician isn’t exactly an option. Plus, he’s cursed. Sick of playing by the rules, Ash and his three brothers escape Hell in search of freedom on Earth. But it’s harder than they thought to keep their enemies off their tails . . .

Yet everything changes for Ash when he meets a beautiful violinist who can see through his curse. No matter the risk, he has to have her.

Evangeline Gregory is just your average human. She works at a jazz bar, plays gigs on weekends . . . and, apparently, hallucinates demons.

At least that’s what Eva tells herself when, moments after she meets the man of her dreams, she sees him shift into a 7-foot-tall monster. Not believing her own eyes, Eva decides to investigate and soon finds herself in the middle of a supernatural clusterf**k.. But Ash isn’t the only one keeping secrets, and the search for answers reveals a shocking truth that will change Eva’s life forever. Or maybe just doom it. The path to love can be complete Hell.

My Review

Asmodeus, Raum, Belial, and Mephistopheles are all demons and they got tired of what they had to do in Hell so they escaped. They were done with that whole life, they wanted to live on Earth and have lives but Lucifer isn't going to just let them walk away and so they have to be careful and make sure where they live in warded against hunters and others coming to look for them. Only problem is Asmodeus (Ash) meets Eva who can actually see through his curse and see him. She's a musician and he loves that since he likes to play the piano. His brothers are happy for him that he's met a human female who can actually see him but that also puts her and the rest of them in danger. 

Once Eva realizes that Ash and his brothers are actual demons and a hunter is out to nab them and take them back to Hell, the action ratchets up a whole lot. But Ash and his brothers aren't the only ones with a huge secret that's about to pop wide open and change Eva's life forever. 

This was such a great story! I love demons, especially when they turn into good guys which these guys really were trying to do. Yes, they might be demons but even demons get tired of being bad all the time, at least these ones did. I loved getting to know Ash's brothers, especially Belial, he had such a bad temper. I can only hope he meets someone who is good for him when he gets his own book. I can't wait to read more of this series and find out what happens to the rest of them. 

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

Happy Raturday!

 

"Waffles and whip cream make me happy."

"I wonder if an interview with a teddy bear would make it on a talk show."

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

Apartment Life #352

 

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 26 years here in a weekly blog post.  

Can you believe I've done 352 of these weekly posts now?

I circled the uncovered manhole on the left and the bag of dog food in the middle because I wanted to talk about the dog food for a moment. There are some people that drive by in their cars and bring supplies for the homeless that live down in the tunnels. This week I watched as a guy got out of his truck and set several bags of supplies by the open hole, shined his flashlight down the hole and a moment later two people popped up and took the bags down the hole. One of the things the guy brought was that large bag of dry dog food because at least 3 of the homeless people around here have dogs so that was nice. I saw several of the people who have dogs take a bowl, scoop out some food and give it to their dogs right around this area. I just thought that was nice of someone to do for them. One guy puts his small Chihuahua in a backpack on his back, leaves it open so the dog has his head out and he goes down in the tunnels with the dog on his back in a backpack. Another guy lives in his car with his dog and I mention this because of the next picture. 

The guy that lives in his car with his dog had the police right behind his car this week. They must have run his plates and saw that it was fine because he didn't get a ticket or anything. But this is the third time I've seen the police checking out his car. 

The confirmed structure fire on Bromley happened last Sunday night. I was already in bed when I heard a bunch of sirens and got up to see what was going on. A bunch of fire trucks drove down my street to get to this structure fire about a block away. An apartment building caught fire, don't know how bad it was but there sure were a lot of fire trucks. 

I thought I would leave you with one last Falcor Christmas picture. This was taken Christmas day. My daughter had light necklaces for all of us to wear that day and she put one on Falcor with his little Elf hat. 

The high this week was 59F/15C

The low this week was 36F/2C

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

Saturday Vittles

 

My Daughter and I are trying to eat more healthy so I thought I would share some pictures on Saturday's of what we've made. Most pictures are from my daughter since she takes good food pics. lol

We had bunless hamburgers and homemade Jalapeno poppers. 

We used 1/2 lb of lean hamburger, lettuce, tomato and pickles for the hamburgers. My daughter added Chick-fil-a sauce to hers, I did not. Instead of a bun we used lettuce leaves to wrap the hamburger, pickles and tomato in.

For the Jalapeno poppers. We boiled 3 whole jalapenos for 5 minutes, cut off the ends, scooped the seeds out and cut eat jalapeno in half. Then we added a little cream cheese to the inside of each jalapeno and wrapped each half in 1 slice of bacon. We tossed those into the air fryer until the bacon was done, about 10 minutes. Oh man those were good. 

And yes my daughter had a Chelada with hers, I don't drink so I just had a Coke Zero. 

For this it was about 400 calories and 10 carbs. 

Freebie Friday!

 

Welcome to another weekly Freebie Friday post, where I tell you what free samples and full sized products I received in the mail and how you can get them too. Someone asked me why I do a "Freebie Friday" each week, so I'll tell you.

A while back I listed all the free samples and wins that I had received that previous year and so many people didn't believe that I could have gotten so many free things. 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 bottle of Viemaa Bond Booster for hair. 

It made my hair silky soft. You're supposed to use it once a week so I have been and I really like it. If it wasn't so expensive, I might buy it. 

Did you receive any freebies this week?

Book Review: Black And Silver by Gwendolyn Harper

 

Book Description

Ivy Saint James was desperate.

Despite being a powerful Witch in Dublin's magical community, her talents could only do so much in healing her sister from a horrible illness. Running out of options, she finds herself on the doorstep of a notorious Infernal - an Incubus by the name of Silas Grey - and makes a deal with the gorgeous demon.

If he saves her sister, he can have her magic at his beck and call.

Except Silas isn't only interested in her supernatural skillset...

He wants her.

He agrees to her bargain on one condition - that she becomes the Incubus Pleasure Dom's primary food source.

And it's hotter than hell's flames.

Will selling herself to a devil be too much for Ivy to handle?

Or will she learn to embrace her own shadows?

(This is an adult romance novel with sexually explicit scenes and darker themes meant for readers 18 years and older. Content warnings are found at the beginning of this book. Please use your own discretion to decide if this book is for you.)

My Review

Ivy has been looking for an infernal to help save her sister from cancer but so far none were willing to help her. So she turns to Silas, an Incubus who agrees to help save her sister if she agrees to live in his house and be his food source and use her magic to help him when he needs it. Ivy is a witch but she didn't have the skills to save her sister so after helping Silas with a little magical spell, he heals her sister and Ivy becomes his. But it isn't a bad thing because Silas isn't as bad as she thought he was going to be. Silas has been seeing to her comfort, giving her anything she wanted and the way he looks at her makes her think he might want her for more than food. 

When these two get together it really was hot as hell. But he's an Incubus so of course things are incredibly sexy. It was nice to see BDSM portrayed in a nice way where everything is consensual and pleasurable. But what else could you expect with a Pleasure Dom? Silas is a great character and he was so great with Ivy. I really liked seeing Ivy embrace how powerful she was and get more comfortable with her powers. 

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. 

Amazon

Favorite Picture of the Week

 

*Click picture to enlarge it.*

Another cloudy day here in Las Vegas. This was around 4PM.

Book Review: Awakened By The Heir by Vilyn DeVine

 

Book Description

Okay, so I thought being jobless, alone, and pregnant was the worst of my problems, but now I’m trapped on an alien planet.

I only planned for my stay on Hydor to be for six months. It was just enough time to make the money I needed to raise this baby…until the descent sickness nearly destroys me and I’m not allowed to leave Hydor.

No! I had plans to raise my baby in my sweet little seaside cottage…on Earth!

But before I can figure out a way off this planet, I find myself drawn to the King of Hydor: The ruler of the royal city Eudoxia. After all he did save me and he can’t stop looking at me.

The Hydorians look like humans, except they’re taller, their skin looks like the sea, and their King, Zadoc, is the most beautiful creature I’ve ever seen…with a tail. He's strong and protective of me. I’m drawn to him in a way I can’t understand—and everyone keeps calling me his bonded mate.

But in my new situation, I realize I left a mess on Earth and now my family is in jeopardy.

Can my newfound mate keep me safe and save my family on Earth?

Even if his emotions are a mess now that he feels what I feel, sees what I see, and wants me like I want him?

Awakened by the Heir is a short series starter sci-fi romance featuring an alien protector with a tail and a connection to the weather that mirrors their moods, a heroine who finds her true self…and her past…on a new planet, and a protective hero who will destroy it all for his fated mate.

If you like protective aliens, fast plots, and heated romance, you’ll love this series. No cheating, a promise for more in the series, and a happily ever after guaranteed for every read. Stay tuned for more from Eudoxia and beyond!

My Review

Kazia is on the run from her ex boss and father of her unborn child when she takes a job offworld on another planet. She thinks she'll be safe there because the transport only runs every six months so if her boss isn't on this transport she won't have to deal with him for at least six months and hopefully he'll never find out about their child. But she spots someone from work on the ship and knows it's only a matter of time before her boss finds out where she went. But before she can decide what to do she starts to get sick and a nice nurse who knew her father helps her after they land. 

Zadoc who is the ruler/King of the alien planet where Zadia has decided to go and restart her life is looking for his mate. So he disguises himself to meet the newcomers from the transport ship, not really believing that his mate might be among them but as soon as he spots Zadia he just knows she is meant to be his mate. But Zadia is sick and pregnant so that complicates things a little bit. 

Once she is feeling better, Zadoc wastes no time telling her that they belong together. But her ex-boss is causing a lot of trouble back on Earth and he's really mad that Zadia took off. So Zadoc offers to help Zadia with her problem and they spend more time together to make sure she is safe from any of her ex-bosses people. 

These two were so fun to watch fall for each other. Although she is human he's not, they make things work. She doesn't really understand all of his customs and the things that are happening on the planet because of the King but she's a fast learner and she falls for Zadoc pretty fast because he's so protective of her and is willing to do whatever he can to help her and make her see that she would be happy with him. 

This was such a fun book. I loved these characters. 

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. 

Amazon

Happy Raturday!

 

"Yes, I do need all of these."

"If you are near the fires, stay safe."

"It's a pasta party."

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

Apartment Life #351

 

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 26 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 26 years here in a weekly blog post.  

This dog is small but he's a terror! One of my neighbors has this dog that is NOT friendly and was outside without anyone else outside. Earlier he was out and he ran up to me and Falcor and he jumped on Falcor who just stood there. The dog was aggressive and I scooped Falcor up real fast and this dog was jumping on me and and jumping up trying to bite Falcor's leg. 

I saw the guy by his door and started yelling at him to come get his dog. I had to yell at him several times before he came over. I said, "You heard him barking and didn't even see what was going on!" He just said sorry and got the dog. Then an hour later the dog is outside by himself. The owner is so irresponsible. 

Wednesday night I saw the flashing lights coming through the bedroom window at 2AM. The ambulance was across the street and brought someone out on a gurney that they took to the ER. I found out the next day from some people who were out that someone got stabbed and the police were out looking for the boyfriend that ran off before the police got there. I guess more police showed up after I went back to sleep so I never saw them. 

The high this week was 60F/15C

The low this week was 36F/2C

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

Saturday Vittles

 

My Daughter and I are trying to eat more healthy so I thought I would share some pictures on Saturday's of what we've made. Most pictures are from my daughter since she takes good food pics. lol

For breakfast we had 2 scrambled eggs, 1 hashbrown, sliced cucumber, blueberries, strawberries, cantaloupe, sliced tomato and olives.

This breakfast was about 350 calories and 35 carbs because of the hashbrown. 

I try to keep my carbs to under 150 carbs per day and I'm trying for 1200 calories a day but some days are 1500.

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 samples of Gisada perfume, one for men and one for women. I started wearing the woman's perfume right away because it smelled so good. 

Did you receive any freebies this week?

Book Review: Alien's Captive by Tina Moss

 

Book Description

All I’ve wanted since my abduction from Earth’s first long-range space flight is freedom from my alien captives. But when I’m sold off to a Rhonar warrior, I learn I'm not the only one enslaved on this hellish planet, and survival comes at a cost.

The commanding alien they call Xelan may be in charge, but his fair dealings—and devilishly sexy charms—give me hope for the future.

If I can strike an agreement with the battle-scarred warrior, perhaps together we can change the destiny of those bound in chains.

And if I can’t—well, I haven’t backed down from a fight yet.

However, as enemies line up to destroy the alien warriors and subjugate the galaxy, I discover that the universe has a sense of humor.

Fated mates are real. And Xelan declares me his.

How can I attain my freedom if I’m tied to another being? Even if his possessive growls and single-minded attention ignite my desires in ways I’ve only dreamed, I cannot be his.

But how long can I fight the pull of a mating bond before I lose my head—and my heart—to the heat burning between us?

Only the stars know.

My Review

Xelan is trying to find a way to stop the slave trade and help the slaves find their freedom but there's a lot to do. On his mission he comes across a small human female who's sad eyes call to him. He sets out to free her by buying her and lets the slaver know this. But by the time he comes back for her, the slaver has tortured her and she's in bad shape. Xelan wants to take his anger out on the slaver but if he does his mission would be compromised so he has to wait to get his revenge for her. 

After rescuing her and she finds out that he really is one of the good guys, she starts to trust him more and he realizes that she's his mate which is startling but gives him and his people hope for the future since the females from him planet have all been wiped out. 

I liked that along the way they found others who are trying to stop the slavers as well and I hope to see more of them in the future. Some of the aliens they encounter in this story are big and scary but some are small and cute and I loved all the different descriptions of the different aliens.

These two really are completely different but they made it work over time.

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. 

Amazon

Favorite Picture of the Week

 

Pink Sunrise in Las Vegas. The sky was so pink! It shows a bit in this picture but it looked so much pinker in person. It's still a nice picture though. 

Book Review: Dark Hope by Christine Feehan

 

Book Description

Immortal passions rage as evil grows in this gripping novel in Christine Feehan’s #1 New York Times bestselling Carpathian series.

Silke Vriese Reinders knows a war is coming. The demon slayer has seen it over and over again in the cards—and the battle won’t just be for the survival of her remote village, but for all mankind. Silke knows the only way to win will be with the help of the Carpathians. A fact that fills her with trepidation, as she is fated to be the lifemate to one of the ancient supernatural warriors—bound to a complete stranger and responsible for his soul.

One of the oldest, most dangerous Carpathians, Benedek Kovak is more beast than man. Locked away for centuries, the only thing that has stopped him from becoming one of the monsters he’s sworn to defeat is the thought of his lifemate. When Benedek senses the impending danger, he sets out to find her before it’s too late. But their enemy has laid a trap that pushes him closer to turning than ever before.

For so long Benedek has felt nothing. Now, some dark art is compelling him to indulge in cravings he thought long buried. He has no hope that anyone can restore what’s left of his tainted soul, but Silke is nothing like he imagined. Perhaps she’s strong enough to fight back the darkness. Perhaps together they can defeat an adversary hell bent on destroying them all....

My Review

Silke knows a war with Lilith is coming. She's been training her entire life for this battle. She also knows that she is destined to be the lifemate of a very old, very dangerous Carpathian warrior. She knows the only way to defeat her enemies is with the help of the Carpathians but she didn't know her soon to be lifemate was on the way to her village to aid them in battle. 

Benedek and four other ancient warriors show up in Silke's village, not only to meet his lifemate but to help her defeat Lilith and the demons she's sending. Silke and Benedek feel an attraction right away because of the lifemate bond but they are both distrustful and Silke isn't sure she wants such a powerful, dangerous supernatural as a husband. So when Benedek makes it clear to her that she has no choice in the matter and he's has no plans on giving her up, they sit down and come to some compromises like adults would. This gives them some time to get to know each other while also bonding them together so he doesn't turn into a vampire. 

In the past few books the overall arc of the stories was about the ancients from the monastery in search of their lifemates before the darkness claims them and they turn vampire. Most of the lifemates have been human females who are tarot card readers. While Silke is also a tarot card reader, she is also a demon slayer and she doesn't use her tarot cards very much in this book. When she did  use them it felt like an afterthought just to throw that in there. She really doesn't gleem too much info from her tarot card reading to give to the Carpathians that she gave readings to. Her friend Tora, who is a Carpathian has been with her for years and has trained her and told her about the Carpathians since she is to be one after she mates. Tora is one of the women who guard the gate so a fearsome ancient named Justice doesn't escape. But there's a huge twist in that story at the end of this book. 

There was a lot of fighting in this book, a lot of action, so much so that Silke and Benedek didn't feel like they had time to really get to know one another much. 

While I liked this book it wasn't as good as some of the others and I miss the stories of some of the previous Carpathians that used to show up in books. We would get a look at some previous characters lives and we haven't had that in a while. I hope this series gets back to the Carpathian families and the Prince who made me love this series in the first place. 

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