Top Ten Tuesday

Last week was breakfast, so this week is lunch themed! While these are my faves, they aren't necessarily in order - and also the order might change. For instance while the burger is listed first here, some days I just don't feel like a burger. Also some of these I prefer from a restaurant, some are things that I make at home.

Top Ten Favorite Lunch Foods

1. Burger - I love me a good burger, whether made at home or from a restaurant or fast food joint
2. Onion rings - I prefer the ones that are quite thick and large, soft onions, super crunchy outsides
3. Grilled Cheese Sandwich - I love me a grilled cheese, whether it's using craft singles, cheeze whiz or brie/camembert, I love it. Each different type of cheese tastes best with different types of bread, btw, so for me there's way more to a grilled cheese sammy than just smacking together some bread and some cheese.
4. Fries - what more do I need to say?
5. Poutine - the best ones are from a food truck and the french fries are hot enough to burn fingers and mouths for the first few minutes. And they have to be made with cheese curds, not grated cheese!
   
6. Pogos - the Canadian version of corn dogs. And these have to be from a fast food joint/food truck. You can buy them frozen - they are just not the same. In fact I'd be inclined to say gross.
7. Peanut Butter and Jam sandwiches - these taste best on fresh white sliced bread, with the extra smooth peanut butter and homemade strawberry jam (if the jam isn't homemade, I'm not intersted)
8. Hot Dogs - preferably from home and preferably with toasted white bread. Margarine on the bead, ketchup and mustard on the bread, do the hot dog in a frying pan so its crispy on the outsides.
9. Leftover Chicken Sandwiches - I love taking the leftover meat off a thigh, warming it in the microwave and having it on bread with a little bit of ketchup.
10. Mac 'n Cheese - whether it's the white cheddar mac 'n cheese from a mix or homemade in the instand pot, I'm not hugely picky when it comes to mac 'n cheese. My mom used to make it with elbow macaronis and cheeze whiz and I still like that, too.

And now I'm hungry! I'll need to see what's in my cupboard.

Sean

smut fixes everything

Top Ten Tuesday

There were so many animals I could have included last week, but I only had ten slots. So here`s Another Top Ten Favorite Animals (wild) list.

Another Top Ten Favorite Animals (wild) list

1. Wombat
2. Kangaroo
3. Platypus
4. Red Panda
5. Panda
6. Gorilla
7. Bobcat
8. Deer
9. Seal
10. Chimpanzee 

Sean

smut fixes everything

Top Ten Tuesday

The only problem with doing Top Ten lists is that I can't remember what all the past top ten lists were and I'll go oh, I should do colours, and then I go wait, didn't I already do colours, I'm not sure.

Anyway, I figured I'd go with my Top Ten Favorite TV Shows, because that legitimately changes all the time. So here is the current list.

Top Ten Favorite TV Shows

10. NCIS: New Orleans - I like the Los Angeles version well enough but it has gone downhill some from the first few years of it. And I have tried to get into the original NCIS, but never have been able to. I like this version, though.

9. Criminal Minds - oh, this makes me sad. For many years this was my top show. I didn't even have to think about it. But the last few years have not been great, though I still watch. Even when they got rid of Morgan (which I hadn't heard about in advance and was totally shocked and upset about - he and Penelope were my top faves on the show and I adored their relationship). I almost stopped watching when they brought in the lady whose name I can't remember who took over the BAU and fired half the staff. If it had lasted any longer than it did, I would have been out of there. It felt contrived and unrealistic and stupid. Sorry, but this used to be my bullet proof favorite show and it is not happy making that it's so far back in my top ten now.

8. Chicago Med - ut of all three of the 'Chicago' shows, this one is by far my favorite.

7. Timeless - I'm so glad it's back! I love that when they change things in the past, things change in the furture. There are real consequences. And I love it when the various characters geek out over meeting personal heroes.

6. Here and Now - this is an HBO show and I'm loving the family dynamics and varrious relationships and the different characters and storylines.

5. Modern Family - a lot of comedies are a miss with me, I just don't appreciate the humor. Or they rely on a single premise. Or they are sort of funny and I could take or leave them. This one always makes me laugh, though.

4. Star Trek: Discovery - I was worried because I've liked the different Star Trek series to varying degrees - but I do like this one a lot.

3. The Good Doctor - this one fascinates me

2. Lethal Weapon - I thought this one was going to be idiotic and that there was no way they were going to be able to do the movies any sort of justice. Boy was I wrong. I absolutely love this series.

1. Lucifer - I still love this one. I don't always like the direction they go in, but I do love the characters, especiallly Lucy himself.

Next week - top ten favorite reality tv shows!

Sean
smut fixes everything

Top Ten Tuesday

I love cooking shows, and more than that, cooking competition shows. So I figured it would make a great topic for a top ten list!

Top Ten Favorite Cooking Shows

10. Guys Grocery Games. The 'special' episodes like when the judges cook are my favorites of this one.

9. Halloween Wars. Pumpkins, cake, sugar work, this one has everything.

8. Worst Cooks in America. I like the regular version of this one more than the celebrity one. I love how competitive Anne is.

7. Cutthroat Kitchen. The best thing about this one is how much glee Alton takes in throwing bizarre and outrageous sabotages at people. The worse it is, the more he likes it.

6. Kids Baking Championship. I might have a few of these on the list...

5. Halloween Baking Championship. I do love the halloween version of this.

4. Holiday Baking Championship. The holiday one is my favorite of these!

3. Chopped. Ted, the judges, the baskets. I especially love the 'specials'.

2. Top Chef Canada. Love the Canadian version of this one more than the US one.

1. Masterchef Australia. I just adore the Australian version of this show. The accents, the judges, the lack of meaness from judges and among the contestants. I just wish that Gusto would air more than two seasons of it!

Sean

smut fixes everything

Top Ten Tuesday

As it's Valentine's Day tomorrow, I thought I would share my Top Ten Favorite ways to celebrate with my honey.

Top Ten Favorite Ways to Celebrate

10. chocolates
9. flowers
8. edible bouquet
7. homemade card
6. stuffed animal
5. watching a romantic movie at home
4. going to a movie we both want to see
3. couples massage
2. a meal out together - steak and seafood are my favorite so anyplace I can indulge in that and a yummy dessert is nice
1. a meal made especially for me by honey


Sean
smut fixes everything

Top Ten Tuesday

It's only the beginning of January once a year, so I figured I'd go with a New Year's theme for today's top ten.

Top Ten Things I Will Try To Do in 2018 (not resolutions - I don't do resoluations as I never follow through - things I'm going to try to do I can always start trying again if I fail)

10. Go to the gym at least once a week.

9. Eat way less potato chips

8. Give up soda altogether

7. Work harder on getting my sugars down.

6. Not get mad at myself when I don't get everything done on a todo list that is longer than there is time in a day.

5. Do less work on the weekends

4. Post pics more often on Instagram. I need to find something that would be fun/interesting to do daily.

3. Be better at hitting writing deadlines (ie, work more on the books that have sooner deadlines and the 'noisy' boys get to be a reward)

2. Not leave blog posts until the last minute.

1. Improve my time management (and if I can get this one down, it'll help all the others)

What are you hoping to do in 2018?

Sean

smut fixes everything

Smutty Advent - Day 5

Tuesdays are usually Top Ten Tuesdays so I thought I'd try to keep it in the theme for smutty advent, but it wasn't easy coming up with a top ten list that also book/character driven. But the Hammer men have come through with their Top Ten Favorite Christmas Auction 'items' over the years.

The Hammer Club's Top Ten Favorite Christmas Auction Items

10.  St-Andrew's Cross. There isn't always one up for auction, but when there is, it's a popular item.
9.  Dinner with Master Oliver and Jack. Everyone wants to sit at Master Oliver's table.

8.  Leatherwork items by Marcus. He donates something custom every year and it is always a popular item.
7. A Portrait by Giles. Marcus purchased this item for Jim.
6. An Evening Topping Peter Dearborne. One of the clubs biggest pain-sluts.
5. A spanking from Master Selven. The man is a body-builder - he can spank like nobody's business.
4. Chef Cooked Meals. Lots of money is made on home-cooked meals offered by the various chefs who belong to the club.
3. Summisive Maid Service. Many of the subs participate in this, offering to clean the house wearing nothing but a small apron and a smile.
2. The in-home figging demonstration. Ten subs pooled their money to win this one.
1. Master for a Day. This is always a popular one where a master offers to be the boy for a day and is almost always won by the sub of whichever master is offering himself over.

Of course all the Masters said that the best item was when their sub was up for auction...

The Hammer Club books are on Amazon.


Sean
smut fixes everything

Top Ten Tuesday

As it's Thanksgiving in the US on Thursday, I thought I'd make today's Top Ten list all about the big meal with my favourite thanksgiving offerings.

Top Ten Favourite Thanksginging Foods

10. Layer salad - though I pick out the olives and tomatoes
9. Mashed potatoes - with gravy - don't forget the gravy because they aren't the same without
8. Cranberry bread - the best Thanksgiving breakfast ever
7. Cheese ball - with Nuthins crackers, please
6. Pumpkin pie - homemade, please, and always with whip cream.
5. Brussel Sprouts - preferably fried with bacon.
4. Rolls - and BA makes an amazing GF roll for Thanksgiving.
3. Pecan pie - anyone who knows me would not be suprised that there's lots of dessert on this list.
2. Cranberry Salad - I make this for every holiday meal after first having it at BA's one Thanksgiving.
1. Deviled eggs. I like these sooo much. I don't know why I don't make them for myself more often, but rarely do I eat them outside of Thanksgiving.

Yes, that's right - there's no turkey on my top ten list. I'm not actually that fond of turkey, though I do like turkey sandwiches the day after Thanksgiving.

So what's your favorite Thanksgiving foods?

Sean
smut fixes everything

Halloweenpalooza - Day 10 - Top Ten Tuesday and Contest

While I don't watch a whole lot of horror movies - because they are scary and leave me feeling unsettled (if they are done right) - I do still watch them. I am more freaked out by the spooky, eerie and psychological boos than I am gory stuff.

Tell me about your favorite horror movie in the comments for a chance to win an ebook copy of any of my paranormal stories.

Without further ado, here are my top ten horror movies:

10 - Aliens - I saw this one because it was sci-fi, but the boo factor had me on edge!

9 - Misery - How can any writer not be freaked out by a book where a fan hobbles the writer and demands he write her more? 

8 - Signs - I admit, I like M Night Shayamalan movies

7 - The Evil Dead - I found this one amusing

6 - Shaun of the Dead - combining humour with horror is one way to get me to enjoy a horror movie and this one totally does that.

5 - I, Frankenstein - another modern retelling of an old story that I really enjoyed

4 - Dracula Untold - I really liked this retelling of the Dracula story

3 - The Sixth Sense - I still remember how cool it was once I figured out the twist

2 - The Omen - I even liked the TV show that came out last year based on a grown up Damien

1 - Seven - this one freaked me out so badly, I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't go to the en suite bathroom on my own!

Sean

smut fixes everything

Halloweenpalooza - Day 3 - Top Ten Tuesday Contest

Today I'm sharing my Top Ten Favorite Halloween Candies. I'm also holding a contest.

All you  need to do to enter the contest is tell me what your favorite Halloween candy is in the comments, and I'll randomly choose a winner on Saturday. The prize is 1 each of the four candy bars that nestle does up special for Halloween. Coffin Crisp, Scaries, Scareo an Kit Kat (which they don't have to change the name for) - pictured to the right. And I'll throw in some swag.

So without further ado here are my favorites (I love mini candies/chocolates!)

Top Ten Favourite Halloween Candies.

10. Candy Apples

9. mini bags of chips

8. mini bags of twizzlers

7. mini Mr. Big chocolate bars (I love the irony of a tiny Mr. Big!)

6. Pringles in the mini containers

5. Rockets (what they call smarties in the states)

4. Scareo and Scaries

3. Russel Stover's marshmallow pumpkins

2. Russel Stover's caramel pumpkins

1. Haribo mini packages of Happy Cola gummy cokes

Sean

smut fixes everything

Top Ten Tuesday

Today I thought I'd share my top ten favorite colours!

10 - yellow - I prefer gentle yellows to bright or garish ones.
9 - orange - I like it better than yellow, but these two were my least favorite of this top ten, that's for sure.
8 - white - I know that technically white is the absence of colour but for the purpose of this list, I like myself a nice white
7 - cream - nice and gentle on the eyes.
6 - green - especially a deep emerald green, or a kelly green.

5 - red - it's a good colour. I prefer a true red - I'm not so fond of the orange-reds
4 - pink - for a long time I did not like pink. I still don't like a bright garish pink like magenta. but a pastel pink or a bright pink - yeah, I like those.
3 - blue - for a long time blue was my favorite colour then I fell in love with purple, which has blue in it...
2 - purple - I love purple in all it's iterations - from violet and lilac to a deep, rich royal purple. If there were no rainbows, this would be my favorite colour.
1 - Rainbow! it is too a colour and it's beautiful.

What's your favorite colour?

Sean
smut fixes everything

Top Ten Tuesday

Today's Top Ten is all about food - this time my favorite cuisines or types of food.

Top Ten Favorite Cuisines

10. Thai - noodles with veg and tamari sauce and crushed peanuts. Yum.
9. Indian - I love me a good karma and naan is one of the best breads and is perfect for dipping into sauces
8. Italian - Alfredo sauce with lots of fresh garlic for the win.
7. Danish - my mom is Danish so I've grown up eating a lot of the traditional food, especially at the holidays.
6. Japanese - tempura for the win! Shrimp, veggies, it doesn't matter what as long as it's tempura'd I'll eat it. I like some sushi too.

5. Chinese - gimme a buffet and I'm a happy camper.
4. British - I love roasts of all kinds, but especially roast beef
3. German - I love me some schnitzel mit frites (mit being German for and)
2. Tex-Mex - I just love tex-mex food. Flautas, fajitas, nachos, burritos, enchiladas
1. Canadian - I eat this the most and enjoy it the most. Gimme a steak and fries, a burger, poutine, lots of veggies...

Now I'm hungry.

Sean
smut fixes everything

Top Ten Tuesday

For today's top ten list, I thought I'd do favorite shifters in honor of Seduced by the Tide being out.

Top Ten Favorite Shifters

10. Bird shifters. I've written one - a cardinal shifter in Little Red Riding Hood - but I'm still not sure about them as shifters.

9. Snow Leopard shifters. One of my favorite big cats. In fact, I have one tattooed on my right foot.

8. Lion shifters. There's something about these huge cats that's so much fun to write.

7. Mountain Lion shifters. I love these big cats with the enormous paws.

6. Panther shifters. The black panther is another one of my favorite big cats.

5. Wolf shifters. Tried but true, I love the pack set up that comes with wolf shifters.

4. Dinosaur shifters. I've never written one, but I'd love to. I think it could be a really neat story.

3. Rhinoceros shifters. My rhino shifter in Beauty and the Beast was a total blast to write.

2. Bear shifters. I haven't written many of these, but I love them

1. Dragon shifters! My favorite at this point in time. And I'm having a blast writing the Dragon Soul series. I'm going to be very sad when I put 'the end' to the last of the books.



Sean
smut fixes everything

Top Ten Tuesday

Today I thought I'd share my favorite non-alcoholic drinks - for lo it has gotten hot and I need to keep hydrated.

Top Ten Favorite Non-Alcoholic Drinks


10. Lemonade - the kind made with fresh lemons, some sugar, water and plenty of ice

9. Tang - made with a far higher powder to water ratio than suggested and lots of ice.

When I was little, we'd go spend a week or two on my grandparents' farm and when all the guys were in the fields bringing in the crops, my grandmother would make up some Tang in the mid-afternoon and I would walk it out to them. I can remember she used to make it in this big honey tin with a handle. And she'd put a lot of ice in it, but of course by the time I got out there, most of the ice would be gone. There was a big ladle in it and instead of any sort of cup, the guys would just dip the ladle in the Tang and drink out of it. That was the only time I would have Tang until I got older and left home. Now, any time I have Tang it brings me right back to my grandparents' farm  during the summer heat.

8. Orange Valencia Refresher - from Starbucks and unfortunately no longer sold. Damn it.

7. Second Cup's White Hot Chocolate with whip - mostly drunk in winter, I love this stuff

6. Lady Grey tea - it's a milder version of Earl Grey and I like it very milky.

5. Apple juice. I like it cold out of the fridge.

4. Milk. 2% is my milk of choice. I love it with grilled cheese sandwiches, desserts, some things just taste better with milk.

3. Canada Dry Gingerale. It's my fizzy drink of choice now that I no longer drink Coke.

2. Water. I prefer Icelandic Glacial bottled water, but Disani is a close second and I have a filter on the fridge. Hell, it's not even bad out of the tap.

1. Coca-Cola - this has been my favorite drink ever since I was little. It was always a treat for me back then. When I moved out, I drank it every day and was quite addicted to it. I could easily drink several cans a day. Sadly, I've had to quit it and as addicted as I was, I can't do just one drink now and then. Just one drink always leads to another. I know because I tried to quit it several times. I finally managed to get it to stick for more than six months. It's been four years this August since I last had one. I still miss it.



Sean
smut fixes everything

Top Ten Tuesday

Today's top ten list will be my favorite doughnuts, in celebration of Timmies bringing back the dutchie.


Top Ten Favourite Doughnuts

10. Apple Fritter
9. Chocolate Glazed
8. Chocolate Coconut
7. Toasted Coconut
6. Honey Dip
5. Cinnamon twists (I haven't seen these in an age so I'm sure no one makes them anymore)
4. Maple Dip
3. mini powdered sugar doughnuts
2. Honey Cruller
1. Dutchies


Sean
smut fixes everything

Top Ten Tuesday

It's Top Ten Tuesday (again - the weeks are shooting by so fast!) I thought I'd share my favorite fried foods today. I know they're terrible for me, but I do love fried foods. I think grease should be one of the food groups ;)

Top Ten Favourite Fried Food

10. Chips - especially salt and vinegar ones
9. Pogos (Canuck version of corn dogs)
8. deep fried ice cream (mars bar/twinkie/etc) - dessert is good to start with, and then you add deep frying? yes, please
7. calimari - as long as it's not overcooked, I love calamari
6. french fries - yum!
5. fried chicken - dark meat for me, please - although I do like the breast well enough in chicken fingers
4. tempura vegetables - I love the tempura batter on veggies

3. tempura shrimp - yum!

2. beavertails - deep fried dough of any kind is yummy - I'd put funnel cake and churros in with this one
1. Onion rings - done right, these are pure heaven. I like the onions to be really thick and the breading to be super crispy.


Sean
smut fixes everything

Top Ten Tuesday - On Wednesday

Top Ten Ice Cream Flavours

10. Heavenly Hash - that's right, the closest thing to chocolate is in 10th spot. I am not a big chocolate ice cream fan.

9. Maple Walnut
8. Cookies and Cream - it's like an oreo cookie and ice cream had a baby.
7. Butterscotch Ripple
6. Strawberry - but only if the strawberry tastes real.
5. Orange Sherbert - light and orange-y.
4. Pralines and Cream - I do like the salty and sweet combo of this one
3. Vanilla - I know, plain and simple, but I love it and you can dress it up if you want or just eat it as is.
2. Lime sorbet - I especially like the one that Farm Boy used to do.
1. Butter Pecan - it's getting harder to find, but it's my all-time favorite.

I think it might be time to go get some ice cream...

Sean
smut fixes everything

Top Ten Tuesday

Today I'm sharing my favourite candies! I shouldn't eat any of these anymore, but that doesn't stop me...

Top Ten Favourite Candies

10. Swedish Berries
9. Lemon Drops
8. Sour Patch Kids
7. Sour Keys - this is hit and miss though in that some flavors are better than others
6. Sour Wine Gums - I like the regular wine gums okay, too, but I prefer the sour ones (can you see a theme developing here?)
5. Nerds - there used to be a super sour box, but it seems to have disappeared, but I still like Nerds anyway
4. Sweettart Sours - but I only eat the purple and orange ones (I used to get the regular sweetarts too and only eat the orange and purple, but then they stopped making the orange ones!)

3. Prosecco Bears from Squish - how they manage to get them to feel like they are almost bubbling as you eat them I don't know, but they are delicious
2. Gummy Cokes from Haribo -it's got to be Haribo or it just tastes like fruit, and I have loved these since I lived in Germany when I was ten and you couldn't get them in North America.
1. Raspberry Puckers from IKEA - who knew IKEA would have such good gummies? Or that their sour ones were really nice and sour without disappearing into sickly sweet?


Sean
smut fixes everything

Top Ten Tuesday

I thought I'd share my top ten favorite moments from my time at RT last week.

Top Ten RT17 Moments.

10. Finally getting to Atlanta after Monday's storms kept me at home.
9.. The Giant Book Fair. It is wonderful to meet readers, to sign books and hand out swag.
8. Having dinner at Benihana's on Saturday night. I'd never been and it was a wonderful show and delicious food.
7. Getting to meet Lisa, who had so kindly let me send all my swag to her so I didn't have to carry it down with me. She also picked me up from the airport.
6. Going to the ATF panel for writers. They had 9 agents from the agency and each spoke about what they did, then took questions from the audience. It was fascinating and the explosive sniffing dog was cute as hell.

5. Playing Cards Against Humanity in the lobby of the International Tower (the quiet one).
4. Catching up with folks I haven't seen in a year. I miss everyone already.

3. Playing Pin the Tail on the Dragon at the Sexy Southern Seance Carnivale. I was a little worried people might think it was too hokey, but it went really well and I think everyone enjoyed it. Plus, anytime you can ask multiple times "Do you want a dragon penis or a book as your prize," is a good time.

2. Meeting the readers. To all of you who came to the signing or the Carnivale or who stopped me in the halls - it was so nice to meet you!
1. Meeting Wander - the inspiration behind one of the characters in Branded by Flames. I saw a picture of him and had to write him and out of that the whole Dragon Soul Series was born. Then I went to RT this year and there he was. He was so very nice.


Sean
smut fixes everything

Top Ten Tuesday

I thought today I'd share my favorite time wasters. Most of these are aps available through your handy ap store.

I should preface this by saying that I used to have a game called Solitaire's Journey for Windows that I loved loved loved. But I haven't been able to find a comparable solitaire game that matches it for number of solitaire games (I think there were 150 or so) or games set up. If anyone knows of this game and knows a modern version (preferably for my phone or iPad) I would love to have links! If I still had it this one would totally be number 1.

Top Ten Favorite Time Wasters

10. Peggle - I go through phases where I'll play this one for ages.

9. Bejeweled - A classic from back when all I had was a PC.
8. Zuma - I go through phases with this one, too, although I always sit and play obsessively until I've finished it once I've started another "run" at it.
7. Mahjong - I love Mahjong, but again, I haven't been able to find anything to match the game set-up I had on my PC way back when. Any recs would be great.

6. Word Stack - I enjoy this one, though I get frustrated when the stacks don't really make sense.
5. Bookworm - a giant word search, this one is great for in a waiting from or just to kill five to ten minutes.
4. 4 pics 1 word - I leave this open and do some everyday - I usually go 'til I get stuck and then put it away until tomorrow
3. Word Cookies - Brand new obsession - creating words from the letters given - so addictive!
2. Words with Friends - I love this for being able to make my plays and then leave it until I get another chance to sit and play.
1. Jigsaw Puzzle - My favorite! I love the ones with the bold colours the best!


Sean
smut fixes everything