Amy Ruttan

Other than working in my cave … not much. Seriously. I’m hard at work.

I have a lot on the go. I came up with a writing plan for my year. I don’t know how it will fly, but I figured it’s time to get a plan done up; and in case of cracking up I entrusted said plan to one of my CPs. Evidence in case I really do crack up.

 I’m on Twitter a lot of the time. If you’re on Twitter find me. I chat … alot. My user name is ruttanamy.

Other than that, what’s up with you?

And when my brain becomes my own again, I promise more exciting topics. I swear.

How was everyone’s Halloween? We didn’t have as many kids as we usually do. I usually buy about 150 mini chocolate bars and am able to give them all away. The street is humming with kids, I live on a crescent with a school so there is no shortage of trick 0′ treaters. This year not so much. By the end of the night I was giving the few kids coming to my door handfuls, and I still didn’t get rid of all my candy. I bought double because Halloween was on a Saturday and I was expecting a lot more.

I was talking to my neighbors and other mothers at the school and we think it was the Swine Flu which kept them away.

If I didn’t have the kids innoculated I might have reconsidered too. James is just too young to get the H1N1 shot; but Thursday I lined up 1.5 hours before the clinic in my area opened and our entire family got innoculated. My DH and the kidlets hung out in the van watching a DVD while I froze. LOL! It was also important because my parents came down with H1N1 and it hit them fast and HARD! My mother is an asthmatic with COPD, she’s still suffering. My Dad is a diabetic, he’s on the mend, but my mother told me it was the worse flu she has ever had. She’s been an asthmatic her entire life.

I’ve also been locked in my writing cave since NaNo started. I started NaNo with roughly 23k in my Urban Fantasy. I’m now sitting at 31k. I’ve written (since the start of NaNo) 8007k on my WIP. Not bad. I just got to keep my momentum up. I want to get my UF to 80k by the end of the month so I can start pitching it and sending it out. After the read throughs from my CPs of course. I have to say I’m loving this WIP. It does have romantic elements, but I’m loving not having to write all the hot sex all the time. In fact 31k in my hero and heroine haven’t done it. It’s a great mental break.

I’ve also been preparing my blog posts for The Raven Happy Hour. Yep, starting November 16th and then every 3rd Monday of the month I’ll be posting about Canadian Hauntings and Ghostly tales. I’ve been prepping my posts; but I thought for my inaugural post I would do a post on a ghost I have spotted before, and a ghost close to my hometown. I’m doing the mysterious headless biker ghost from Scugog Island in Port Perry Ontario.

I’m not just doing Ontario ghosts either. I have some great Maritime hauntings, some freezing hauntings from the artic, and I’ve lassooed in some hauntings from out west as well.

So how have you all been?

Can you believe it’s the middle of July. Friends of mine are flying out to DC for RWA Nationals. Stinkers. (Sorry that’s my bitterness talking about not being able to go LOL!). Summer seems to be flying by. Ok, ummm NO!

Summer I’m not ready for you to go yet. Yet I was reminded about how fleeting summer can be, my daughter got invited to a birthday party and the date on the card made me do a double take.

No July please don’t go, I’m not ready for fall.  I’m also not ready to face the prospect of the baby formerly known as the bump to be turning 1 month old. No, no, no. Plus a deadline for a story I have been working on is July 31st, and because it’s been a while since I’ve been in the writing saddle I don’t feel confident that it’s ready. Though I have fabulous people to read it over and tell me whether or not it’s ready.

So is it just me or is this year just flying by? Have you done anything interesting this summer yet?

I don’t get Showtime, and I know that Season 3 of The Tudors has started, but I have to wait until it arrives in Canada. BOO!!

I can’t wait to watch this season. I’m writing a short based in the time when Anne of Cleves is about to get the boot. I’m working on the synopsis now.

So I’m rewatching Season 1 and 2 now to immerse myself in the period, and I just freaking love JRM as King Henry VIII. I can see in Season 1 the moment he goes “crazy” as it were. He’s drive, his need to have a son. Of course at the end of Season 2, after Anne loses her head and he’s eating that crazy stuffed swan there’s a moment of insanity again. It’s in his eyes, brilliant acting.

It’s a beautiful weekend here. Warm, but not hot. I have all the windows open, a beautiful breeze wafting through. I’m wearing a light summer dress that looks like I have beach ball tucked up underneath. I kid you not. I’m going to have DH take a picture later and post next week. LOL.

My writing is  GOING again, so I’m happy. It’s just every afternoon around two p.m., I fall asleep can’t be helped. LOL. I plan on writing a lot this weekend. I have words to do before June, for when June hits I know it will be hard for me to get anything done.

Kimber Chin has an awesome contest on her blog here, for a chance to win Enchantress The Fey.

So what are your plans for this weekend?

Yeah it’s raning hard here. It’s cold and nasty and ugh. Especially since this weekend was beautiful and we got our bedroom ready for baby.

I’m quite tired because of the rain and don’t have anything exciting to say. LOL. So I’ll leave you with this funny picture about how NOT to wash a baby.

Or how not to dry a baby:

I’m pretty inundated with guests this weekend, so here’s wishing you and yours a happy one!

I’m not wearing green. I know, I know. It’s Saint Patty’s day, both my children are wearing green but me and the Fetus are not. Basically because the only green things I own no longer cover my burgeoning package. I’m having some pain today so I’ve retreated to the corner of my L-shaped couch to rest and I’m wearing an old cotton sundress from my bigger days that’s lose and shapeless and comfortable for me and little *J*. It’s nice and red.

So today I’m a bit anti Irish, and I apologize for that, but I can’t drink and I can’t wear green so meh what’s the point. I am writing however, and that’s good all around. I’ve been a little down and out lately for a few things, so it feels good to find my groove. I also sated the nesting instinct with sorting through all my tax stuff. It’s verra happy.

Happy St. Patty’s Day to those out celebrating!

Don’t Speak … it’s killing me they’re coming here and I can’t go see them. KILLING ME!!!! KILLING ME!!

Oh Gwen Stefani if you read this … feel sorry for your number 1 fan and the fact she’ll be trapped in the hospital giving birth to a “hey baby” when you come to London, Ontario on June 30th.

Okay, sad little pity party over *sigh*

BUT SERIOUSLY!!! Me cry now.

My DH tells me I have nothing to complain about as I was saw the Sweet Escape tour … COME ON that was two years ago.

Well, as in the song Don’t Speak “I’ll sit with my head in my hands and cry.”

Yep … that’ll be me. Maybe they’ll give me muay drugs and I’ll be loopy and not mourning them. LOL.

I freely admit it. I have a craft addiction.

I love Michael’s The Arts and Crafts Superstore. I used to work there when I was a teen, and I freely admit to being in love with craft supplies.

Here’s a few crafts I’m interested in learning more about and crafts I need to get back into … whenever I get the time too.

PURSE MAKING: I love purses, and I’ve often thought of trying this craft. Though that episode of Sex and the City still haunts my head. “I cut up my bedspread for this!!!” LOL.

SCRAPBOOKING: Oh man I need to catch up on my scrap books. I haven’t even finished Brianna’s first year of life scrap book and she’ll be SIX this fall. I do have a lot of pretty paper though. I love pretty paper.

CROSS STITCHING: Although doing that bit for my friend for her wedding nearly killed me, I kind of enjoyed the cross stitching process. I think I would like to try another project. Hehehe, we’ll see though.

BEADING: I love beads, and I love beading. I do a lot of that still too. I just love to buy beads.

I also used to do a lot of sewing, sketching and painting that I’d like to get back into. I’d also like to try my hand at photography, but these are all wishes at the moment. I have to find the time between two (soon to be three) little ones.

So what about you, any craft you like to pursue? Any suggestions on a new craft you think I should try?