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.

Book Review: A Dark Guardian by Donna Grant

 

Book Description

Earth is about to be annihilated by creatures spoken of only in myths and legends. The fabled race of the Fae has gathered together a group of warriors highly skilled and trained to defeat these creatures. These men come from different times and realms, giving their lives, if necessary, to end the destruction of our world.

Dear Reader –

Have you ever wanted to travel through time with weapons crafted by the Fae themselves? To experience adventure so thrilling and dangerous you don’t know if you will live to see tomorrow? Now my men and I are faced with fighting creatures only thought to live in legend but which have been brought to Earth by evil bent on annihilating all the realms. That is my life – and I love it.

At least I did until I found myself staring into the angelic, innocent face of Lady Mina of Stone Crest. In all the time I have led the Shields, I have trusted my instincts to keep us alive, yet now I don’t know what to believe. Everything points to Mina as the evil summoning the creatures, but she proclaims her innocence.

I should be able to see through her lies, if she is indeed lying, but my attraction to her blinds me to even that. The last time I found myself so lured to a woman, it nearly cost me the lives of my men. I cannot allow that to happen again. I won’t allow that to happen again.

Yet every time she looks at me, begging me with those blue-green eyes to believe her, I find myself sinking further under her spell. Her mouth is a temptation mortal men will never know and her love will either bring me the peace I thought I’d never find – or the death I’ve managed, thus far, to avoid.

Hugh the Righteous

My Review

Mina has had a hard life because her brother and sister have never liked her. They treat her bad and blame her for things that were not her fault. They blame her for the monsters that have been killing the people of their village even though she isn't at fault. 

Hugh is the leader of the Shields, who are men from different times, and places brought together by the Fae to fight the monsters. 

Mina is out by herself trying to lure the monster into a trap when Hugh comes upon her. She thought that there were a few of her men there with her but they had fled on her brother's order, leaving her for dead if the monster had been able to get to her. 

Hugh and his men follow her back to her castle where they meet her brother and sister and Hugh doesn't like either of them. But Mina is taken with him right away. Hugh and his men stay there and try to rid the monster and find out where it came from. Mina shows them where the monster came from which only brings about more questions than answers. There's also a Fae man that is helping them find out what's going on and put the pieces together. 

I was really liking this book and how Hugh and Mina were together and then Hugh's personality seemed to change a bit and I wasn't so sure that I liked him anymore. I didn't like the way he treated Mina even though he proclaimed that he loved her, it was weird. I know this is the first book in this series and some of the questions about the monsters, where they came from, and questions about some of the other characters that were brought up will probably be answered as the series goes on but I found this to have too many holes and not enough answers. 

I give this book 2 out of 5 stars. 

Amazon

Book Review: Day Zero: Beginnings (Savage North Chronicles Book 8) by Lindsey Pogue

 

Book Description

Survival of the fittest. Those four words accompanied me into the inferno. Followed by four others. I am the weak. And knowing I deserved far worse than death, I let the fire inside me burn.

Before the fever, a deadly plan was set in motion from which a single text altered the world beyond remedy--three words that changed humanity forever. It is time.

After the Great Transformation, life in the North was miserable and bleak for those who remained. Loved ones were mourned. Survivors heard voices and could do impossibly unnatural things. Yet, amidst the fear and uncertainty, the grief and despair, Bert, Ross, Kat, and Cal found a semblance of hope.

These are the stories of those who survived the beginning.

My Review

I haven't read any of the previous books in this series  and this is book 8 so I'm sure I'm missing a few things. But this prequel read like the beginning of the series and not 8 books in because it told what happened when the sickness first came and when people first started dying from whatever happened.

Something bad happened, people played a part in that disaster and those that are left have to go on somehow. This book tells how a few of the survivors first started out in this story. It was very heartbreaking. People are dead and dying, people are taking advantage of others. Kids are alone and scared. 

I have no idea what happened after this but it was an interesting look at the beginning. I'm glad I read this first because it definitely piqued my interest.

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars.  

Amazon

Happy Raturday!

 

"Who needs a kiss?"

All pictures courtesy of www.martymousehouse.com

Apartment Life #263

 

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. 

For some reason I was seeing and finding needles everywhere this week. There was a large population of homeless people in these areas this week so that's probably why. Plus I was seeing a lot more people by drug dealers apartment this week as well. The wall that these first two needles were was right by the wall that separates my complex from the parking lot of the store next door. But right on the other side of this wall is a garbage can. Good grief.

I spotted this needle by the hiking trail that I walk Falcor.

And this needle was further down the hiking trail where I walk Falcor. I found a plastic bag to pick them all up and put them in the garbage can. I just think it's ridiculous that they leave their needles laying around like this. 

----

Saturday morning around 3am, my daughter was sitting outside our door in one of our chairs and herd gunshots close by. She wasn't sure where they were coming from until a couple of people started running by the side of the apartment building from the alley and then she heard a couple more gunshots. She quickly came back inside and said a few minutes later she heard the police sirens out there as well. I have no idea if anyone got shot in the alley but I didn't see any blood out there when I walked Falcor later that morning.

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

Recipe: Pancakes

 

Ya'll, I actually didn't realize how easy it is to make homemade pancakes until now. I've always bought the Aunt Jemima complete pancake mix and while it's good, these are just as good and so easy to make. 

Recipe: 

1 1/2 cups flour- sifted

3 1/2 tsp. Baking Powder

1 tsp. salt

4 TBSP Sugar

1 1/2 cups milk

1 large egg

4 TBSP butter- melted

1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. vanilla

Sift together all dry ingredients in one large bowl. 

In another bowl mix milk, egg and vanilla. Add to dry ingredients and mix well. Add melted butter and mix just until incorporated. 

Let sit at room temperate uncovered for 30 minutes. 

Heat griddle or large non-stick pan to med. Add batter 1/4 cup at a time. Flip when you see bubbles forming on top. 

I don't have a griddle so I use a large non-stick pan and make one large pancake at a time. This will make 6 large pancakes or 12 normal size pancakes. You can also add different flavorings to this recipe. 

Have you made homemade pancakes before? Do you have a good recipe?

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 $15 gift card from You Gov Surveys. 

A Halloween Costume from Walmart Spark Reviewer. 

2 free Luna Bars from Any Cart when I ordered using them. 

I'm really liking You Gov surveys. It's pretty easy to cash out with them. 

I got this cool looking Halloween costume for my grandson from Walmart Spark Reviewer. 

I ordered a couple of things using Any Cart and in the bags was a free Luna Bar. That was kinda cool. 

Did you receive any freebies this week?

I'm Going To Bug You

 Warning: This post will have pictures of bugs. If you don't like bugs, you can leave now. 

Every Summer and sometimes in the Winter the bugs seem to come out and I find weird things in my apartment. One year it was spiders, another it was lady bug larvae and this year it's been beetles. This is a baby stink bug. They don't bite, or at least I've never been bitten from them and I've handled several of them. You don't want to squish these things because they put out a really bad smell when you do. So just take them back outside. I take all the bugs I find, back outside.

This was a tiny beetle. It was really tiny and was crawling near my laptop.

This is how tiny it was which is why I couldn't get a good picture of it.

So imagine my surprise when I took it outside and it sprouted wings and flew away. Flying beetle with wings. 

I'v made these kinds of posts over the years and if bugs interest you as much as they do me, then you might like these posts... Baby Ladybug Larvae, Sowbug, Stink bug. 

Aren't you glad I bugged you today?

Book Review: Godhunter by Amy Sumida

 

Book Description

Godhunter—what a dumb name.

Hunting implies an advantage. It speaks of tracking and skills and swift kills. That's not what I do. I'm more of a “sneak up on them when they're asleep” kinda gal. And don't give me any crap about that; didn't you catch the god part? I do what I have to do to survive. Yes, survive. I don't do this for pleasure. I'm not a crazy person. I kill gods because I don't want them to kill me. Okay, yeah, that still sounds a little crazy.

But then he showed up: eyes full of lightning, a jawline that could cut glass, and the body of a Norse god... which is exactly what he is. One of them. He's the one who gave me that stupid name. He also says he's on my side. I should probably kill him. And by that I mean that I should run away and sneak up on him later when he's asleep. But I have the strangest feeling that I can trust him. As a witch, I always trust my gut but as a woman, I suspect that this time, those feelings are coming from somewhere a little lower.

Trigger Warning: Although there is NO rape in this book, there is a dream scene with an enemy that involves consensual sex which the MC considers to be rape after she awakes. The dream itself is not violent nor does it involve force, but some readers may be disturbed by the reaction of the MC after the fact.

The Godhunter Series is a slow-build Reverse Harem Paranormal Romance series with Gods, Shapeshifters, Witches, and mythical beasts that will keep you hunting for more.

My Review

I wanted to like this book, the description sounded promising but I couldn't get into it for several reasons. I DNF'd this book at 40%. This is my very first dnf but it won't be my last I'm sure. I used to try and read the books that I started but I don't have time for books that I cannot get into and this was one of those books. 

Vervain is a witch and when someone comes after her to kill her, she kills him and a god. She decides to go through the god's things and finds a book that teaches her how to do more magic. So she kills a couple of gods and gets the name Godhunter because of it. 

In walks Thor, yes, that Thor and he wants her help. There are a few other gods that join them and want to change how the gods treat humans. Sacrificing humans gives the gods more power but we find out that the gods already have all the power they need so there's no need for all the killing. So Vervain decides to stay and help if she can. 

Now my first problem comes when we start meeting some of the other gods. A good looking man walks in and we're told he's Indian but then this happens... " (Indian with a dot not a feather)". I actually had to read that a couple of times because I couldn't believe what I had just read. The author could have said so many things. Indian from India. Indian but not Native American. I mean, I just had a lot of problems reading the rest of this after that. 

It was overly descriptive to the point where I started skipping over some of the descriptions. The conversations didn't flow and was immature at times. 

And then there was Blue, the sun god who is also pretty much Dracula or the father of all vampires. After he kidnapped Vervain and she gets away, he enters her dream and pretty much mesmerizes her and tricks her into sleeping with him and letting him bite her in her dream. But when she wakes up she has real bite marks. Blue was a total creep. I love vampires but I didn't care for this guy at all.

It was so slow. I kept waiting for the storyline to pick up and things to start happening and when it didn't, I just got bored and quit. A book has to keep my attention and unfortunately this one didn't. 

I give this book 1 out of 5 stars.

Amazon