&quot;Five Years....&quot;

Christina from Fashions Most Wanted tagged me recently for a "Five years...." list. Christina must be the coolest girl in London, her blog is extremely well written, you can tell she does her research thoroughly and she knows what she is talking about....her posts on people, fashion, parties, arts and culture are absolutely fascinating.....reading her blog often feels like being a fly on the wall at a very glamorous party! She's also just very lovely....

When I was at school from age 11 upwards, I had piano and drama lessons with the most interesting/cool/intelligent/beautiful girl in the school....she was in my year but she was the lead in every school plays, was head of the Debating Society and could hold a conversation with anyone.....she was clearly destined for great things - and she made it, I won't name her here but I often see her name mentioned in the press. We were chalk and cheese but she was always absolutely lovely to me and I remember her with great fondness....and Christina always reminds me of her for some reason!

So here goes....

1. Where were you five years ago?

I was six months pregnant with my son during a super-hot summer, had just moved to where I currently live (with the intention of only staying there a year or so!) and I was enjoying the last couple of months with my daughter before she started full-time school. I was also working part-time, two days a week in publishing - advertising production. I think I had about 6 weeks to go until I started my maternity leave - although I think that started sooner than I expected after the 7/7 London tube bombings and I, for once, decided that it was too risky to travel on the tube so I finished work a few weeks early. It was a very happy time for me though....my daughter was 4.5 years old when my son was born and I loved having those years with her, just the two of us girls....they were happy days. I am very fond of where I live now, it's a great location, very close to the centre of Muswell Hill and two minutes from all our friends, the shops and school.

My life five years ago actually seems a very long way from where I am now....now I am a preschool mother and a school mother....the two being quite different....and I have two children....very different from just having one....and my life revolves pretty much around my home and my family....

2. Where would you like to be five years from now?

I have been at home full time since my son was born and at the moment I am definitely wondering what I will do next. He starts school in September and I am wondering if I will go back to work and, if so, what I will do.....I think I would like to. I am feeling that I would like a change of scene and that I need a new challenge. Being a full time stay at home mother is certainly not without its challenges. but I have loved it and wouldn't have had it any other way....whatever I do next will definitely have to fit around my children. These last five years have revolved around my children and I have a feeling that the next five will involve some changes for me, some exciting ones!

We will move house in the next year for sure....not far, probably literally just down the road since really we need to think about school catchment areas etc etc. My daughter changes school in two years time and I would love her to go to one particular school....we shall see!

I would like both my children to be happy and settled at school, for me to found some new challenges for myself....and for my husband's company to have done so well that he can spend a little more time at home!

I do think that the next five years will be a happier, fuller and less challenging time for my little family than the last five years......I have lost five close family members in the last 2.5 years and all in very sad ways - even as I write that down it seems incredible to me and quite overwhelming ......so I know that what lies ahead of us in many ways cannot be as difficult as some of the events we have been through recently. Onwards and upwards....

3. What's on your list to do today?
Buying new pillows
Buying some summer clothes for my daughter
Laundry
Organising my giveaway gifts for mailing this week :)
Getting started on "Grey's Anatomy" Season 1 boxset that a girlfriend told me I must watch! Can you believe I have never watched the show!

It is a holiday Monday here so it's not a normal day for me.....and I have been enjoying my husband being at home....and trying to ignore the fact that my son was a complete monkey on our brief shopping trip!!!

4. What five snacks do you enjoy?
Crackers and brie - or cheddar
Carrots and houmous or taramasalata
Fresh bread with really cold French butter
Toast and honey or toasted bagels and butter
A cup of Earl Grey tea....not a food I know, but I do love a huge mug of hot tea...and maybe a slice of homemade cake too....

5. What would you do if you were a Billionaire?
Buy a home on the French Riviera, an apartment in Rome, an apartment in New York City, something in The Hamptons and home on the west Coast of Wales - and share them!
Pay off mortgages for friends and family
Travel A LOT! I have been lucky enough to live, study and travel abroad and I think being anywhere else apart from where you live is a wonderful opportunity.
Buy my perfect house - probably in the area we now live in, I wouldn't want to live anywhere else permanently, I do love where we are
Definitely give money to good causes....I am always looking for ways, however small, to make a difference so I know I could spend a large chunk of money doing this

I would share my fortune for sure though.....while I think money makes life easier, I certainly don't believe it always brings happiness. I'm not terribly materialistic and a bigger home is probably the only thing I could tell you for sure that I want today.