A while back Jo from Sit Still Monkeys tagged me in a Meme and I forgot to pick it up and run with it! Hopefully I’m not TOO late! The A-Z of Ruthie then… Tune out now if you don’t care to hear a few mundane and ridiculous facts about me but if you’re a little bit nosey then you might just like it!

A

Ageing: It’s my latest appearance obsession. I pretty much always have one so I guess that makes me a touch vain? Previous obsessions have been with my teeth falling out (they didn’t), spots (still get em but used to it now) and my weight (which is not an obsession I’ve lost yet)!

B

Bored: I hate the feeling. It feels like tired but without the release of sleep to take it away. As my Mum’s only child I spent lots of my childhood being bored and it’s born in me a desire to have lots of children!

C

Cats: Have always loved them and always will. They are intelligent, can pretty much look after themselves and they don’t make your house smell like dogs do. The perfect pet in my opinion!

D

Dogs: Don’t like em! Actually I can’t stand the smell of them more than anything and don’t like them looking at me. I wasn’t always this way and would frequently be found in my Grandmother’s cellar eating her dog Tess’s biscuits when I was tiny. YUCK!

E

Eggs: Have to be cooked to Ruth perfection and will rarely eat them if anyone else has done the honours. IF I order them in a restaurant I spend a long time explaining that they have to be cooked on both sides to within an inch and most of the time I send them back. I like eggs but…

F

Florence: My baby girl! There’s nothing else I’d think of first when telling something in my life for an F!

G

Grandma and Grandpa: My lovely Grandma and Grandpa moved from Kent to live in Norwich near my Mum when my parents broke up. They sold their house and left their friends so that my Mum would have less of a struggle on her own. My Grandpa died suddenly over ten years ago now but my Grandma only passed away when I was pregnant with Florence. I miss her terribly and I treasure the card she sent me for a ‘Mum to be’ when she found out I was having a baby. When she sent that card we had no idea she was so poorly and would never meet her great grand daughter. She left us her car and I smell my Grandma in it almost every time we go anywhere. When she died she told the nurse to just let her go because Peter had come for her. That’s my Grandpa and it helps to know he came for her and that they’re together again.

H

Hippy: I have tendencies…

I

Italia Conti: I went to drama school from a very young age and it’s shaped me as a person. There was good to it and bad to it and I think anyone whose had such a strange schooling will say the same. It’s hard to explain what life is like in a full time stage school but the film ‘Fame’ does it quite well… It was masses of fun at times!

J

Jimmy and Jonny: They’re the J’s in my life, my boys small and big!

K

Kissing: I’m not a big kisser! I went to a school where we all kissed each other on the cheek every morning (drama school dharling) but I’m never keen on kissing people unless I really want to! If I go to kiss you on the cheek when we say goodbye then you know I REALLY like you! (My poor children get smothered in them but no one else in my life does!)

L

Love: It makes the world go round and if you don’t have it, either in your own heart for others or being given to you from someone else’s then what’s the point? I don’t believe anyone knows the truest love until they hold their baby in their arms for the first time. There’s no love like it!

M

Mummy: I’m talking about mine. It was just the two of us growing up and we’re very close, I admire her so much. She worked as a teacher because she had to and she brought me up all on her own which was a very tough job! The woman is a marvel and she seriously knows the answer to everything! She’s a walking encyclopedia! She can do loads of stuff too and is very clever at cake making, knitting and gardening! I love my Mummy, I don’t know what we’d do without her!

N

Nails: I bite mine and always have done so I wear falsies! They’re usually painted dark red but I like a bright pink for the summer! Occasionally I will get willpower and grow my own which my Grandma always used to be very pleased about but it never lasts!

O

Overindulgent: Once I start eating I can’t stop! I love food but I can be very over indulgent! I also have tendencies to go the other way and once I stop I just stop for days! Maybe I should have been a camel?

P

Photography: I have a new love of photography since writing my blog and use a Nikon DSLR which is awesome! I want a new lens for it and want to get better because I really enjoy taking pictures!

Q

Queues: I can’t stand how some people don’t know how to stay in a proper queue. I am very British in that respect and we Brits do know how to queue! It annoys me so much when people just don’t stay in line or wait their turn! Tube etiquette people, that’s all I’m saying, tube etiquette!

R

Razorlight: They’re my favourite band. I’m a sucker for a hot front man and Johnny Borrell fits my skinny jeaned, incredibly talented guitarist penchant! Luckily so does my own Jonny who calls me his girl with the golden touch! My favourite song from the band is ‘I Just Can’t Explain’, it’s not on any of their albums but I think it should be!

S

Stage: I am an actress, I trained professionally and it’s my passion! I love writing and being creative but being on the stage is where it’s all at for me really! My biggest job was as a dancer in Geri Halliwell’s ‘It’s Raining Men’ Video so I haven’t made it yet but there’s time…

T

This Love: It’s one of my husband’s songs and I LOVE it! He’s written many, many wonderful songs including a special one just for me but this is always the one I play to people because it’s my favourite! Have a listen…

U

Uggs: I have always worn Ugg boots! I wore them way before they were made fashionable or before Pamela Anderson started posing in them on the beach and I still wear them now even though they have dropped in favour somewhat elsewhere! They are the most comfortable boots you will ever try on but I also love the way they look, they are not ugly as far as I’m concerned! NEVER buy a fake they are absolutely worth every penny and they last years!

V

Vila Branca: It’s the Villa complex we stay at in Portugal and where we stayed when we got married. I love it there and even though I like to travel and see other places, this is somewhere we will always want to come back to.

W

Work: I hate it! I mean, I love it when it’s acting or writing but I hated working in an office and used to cry on my way in… Working in an office was always a means to an end for me, I had babies in my sights and I knew when I got out I wasn’t going back any time soon! Luckily my work made me redundant in my seventh month of pregnancy and it was my get out of jail fee card! I’m not lazy but that type of job was squashing my sole, I am creative and when there the most creative I could be was to book rubbish train times or hotels for the bosses who weren’t very nice and see how long I could disguise my screen when Facebook was open…

X

X: I can’t think of anything that’s really me beginning with X! So I’ll have to go back to kissing again! I might not be great at kissing in person but I ALWAYS put an X for a kiss at the end of messages. I do it out of habit now and have sent kisses to companies I’m complaining to and people I’m working for. Slightly embarrassing!

Y

Yes: I try to say yes to every invitation I get! Why not? Would I go to the opening of an envelope? Invite me and see what I say!

Z 

Zoo: I genuinely love going to the zoo, mainly because my Mum does and it’s rubbed off on me I think… I’ve had ace days at the zoo but also horrid ones too. I’d rather never go back to Colchester Zoo as we went for my Mum’s birthday once and it was the day we realised my Grandma might be ill. I still love the zoo, but not that one.

So, that’s my little A-Z and now it’s the turn of those lucky lot that I’m tagging to move it forward:

Tory from Workitmamma

Carolynne from Mummy Endeavors

Katy from Modern Mummy

Kip Hakes from KipHakes.com

Emily from Family Four Fun

Looking forward to reading your A-Z ladies (and gent)!