Do you realize that the British think all Americans sound like Valley Girls and Surfer Dudes? The truth is, we totally do. We’re always completely enthusiastic and definitive: “Awesome! Totally! Nice! For sure! Absolutely!” Youtube is full of videos of them making fun of us.  Take a look at this – although I have no idea why he removes his “knickers” (don’t worry, you don’t see anything other than his skinny bare chest. Seriously, this guy is built like Liam), the rest is pretty accurate. Again, skip to about 45 second:

Oh, we do love our ahhhhviatour sunglasses.

Now, this blog was originally supposed to chronicle Liam, and I’m hoping I will get there. For now, here are more obscure pics to document the happs in our home:

Andre's belly after his body rejected his internal sutures, and he needed a second round of surgery. Gross.

Accepting his two week Cone Head status.

Liam being a very American hipster.

*This is purely self-indulgent, so check out now if you aren’t in the mood to hear me wax on.

• Run a Marathon:Yes, totally cliche. I made a feeble attempt a few years ago when I signed up for a training program through Runtex. On day one, we started running the hike & bike trail for seven miles. I repeat, that was day one.  At one point, I veered off into the trees, waited for everyone in the group to pass, and walked in the opposite direction back to my car. We’ll file this one as “incomplete”.
• Perform on Stage (solo): Basically my biggest fear.  Acting, singing, speaking, any and all of the above. No can do. I withdrew from my required speech class in college three times before completing it, each and every time dropping the class the night before I was due to give my first speech. It’s fair to call it a phobia.
• Teach a Fitness Class: Whew! I was starting to feel like maybe I wasn’t making any progress. Completing Body Pump certification is probably one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done, partially because of the being-up-on-stage-in-front-of-people factor (refer to previous action item).
• Become Fluent in French: Or any language, but after eight years of french, I think it is the most attainable. During my sophomore year of college, N surprised me with plane tickets to Paris for Christmas (OH EMM GEEEE, I know, right?! I don’t remember what I gave him, but I’m gonna guess that it paled in comparison). At the time, I was minoring in French and knew enough to get us around without any problems  sans problèmes. N also recently got me some Rosetta Stone cd’s which are awesome, but it’s hard to find the time … again, work in progress. And super props to N for supporting my language skills.
• Be a (great) Mother: I’m trying. This warrants its own post, though.
• Graduate from College: Yes. Done and Done. There were pit stops in San Marcos, Mexican border towns,  Massachusetts (which I still can’t spell since it just got underlined in red), Montreal, England, Motherhood, and back to grand ol’ San Marvelous, but I finally got that dilpoma. It’s hanging on our “wall of achievements”. It’s a small wall. That includes Liam’s kindergarten graduation picture.
• Be 100% Healthy: This includes exercise, eating, and outside substances. Today is day eleven of no Cokes for me. Twenty Twelve just may be my year.
• Establish Proper Life Savings: I do have an account that is called “Life Savings”. That feels good. A twice-monthly amount goes into it. We had to pull from it recently. But it’s there and there’s something in it!
• Be Involved in the Community: I want to volunteer in some fashion, on a regular basis. There was a time when I would take L to Little Helping Hands, an organization that provides volunteer opportunities for childern. The idea is to foster a sense of community in the kids from the outset so they will be more involved later in their lives. Unfortunately, L hated going … this may reflect on my “being a (great) mother” goal. Regardless, I need to get involved and extend this to L, as well.
• Own a House and/or Land: We’re working on it, but the main question is where-oh-where do we want to live? Austin? The northwest coast? International? Hopefully, that’s in the cards within the next year or two.
• Travel to Europe: Yessiree Bob; remember those tickets N gave me for Christmas? I thought we were going to spend three weeks in different parts of France. Instead, on the night we were supposed to leave Paris, N surprised me, yet again, with different plans: Cinque Terre, Italy; Amsterdam, Netherlands; and Brugges, Belgium ==> it’s where Dr. Evil is from, you know.
• Travel to Galapagos Islands: It’s as close as we’ll ever get to visiting prehistoric times.
• Attend a World Cup Game: Okay, soccer is the only sport I pay any attention to, and it’s still a minimal amount. Every four years, however, I don’t miss a game. I basically pick my team early on, once I’ve gotten a vibe about which country has the best-looking players. Beacause I. Love. Soccer boys. For real. Last World Cup it was Argentina and Uruguay. I don’t know, maybe soccer players just look good in light blue? But I can’t think of any sporting event that would be more exciting then being inside a World Cup stadium. My sights are set on Brazil 2014.
• Do a Pull-Up: Checked this baby off, just yesterday! I did a single pull-up for the first time in my life. Upper body strength is not my forte.

And to finish this post with unrelated material, a few pictures to sum up our holidays:

L mining for gold in his Christmas pj's

With his new violin Christmas morning

Simply being cool.

Andre, post-surgery to remove the Nerf dart that was stuck in his intestine.

New Year's Eve 2011

Yep, that’s my son sitting bare-chested in my bathrobe, clicking through scandalous photos of his own mother. We’re currently saving for both college and therapy.

Now, I’ll admit that one of the main reasons I’ve been wanting this blog is to use a little technique a good friend of mine uses, where she cutely crosses out something and rewrites what she “meant” to say. Ohhhh A, that is just so clever, and I love it!  Another confession: a second blogger friend of mine refers to her friends by his or her first initial in all blogs, a la Gossip Girl-style. Another technique I plan to adopt. Thanks, E!

Step 2: Determine Blog Content

This will likely end up being filled with stories about Liam my son, L. He’s a true riot, and his antics need to be documented. Tonight, I simply need to roll the ball. You see that? Yep, we’re moving!