Hi. My name's Chubby...

Do you remember pretending to be "Chubby" and telling those stories? You know, maybe one like this... You squish your face together and say,

Hi! My name's Chubby! My mama's chubby, my daddy's chubby, even my baby sister's chubby. Anyway, the other day my cousin took me on a motorcycle ride. He asked how fast I wanted to go. I said, "Faster, cousin, faster!"

"This fast?" he asked.

"No. Faster, cousin, faster!"

He went faster and asked, "This fast?!"

"No! Faster, cousin, faster!!"

So he went even faster and asked, "This fast?!?!"

(Here's where you un-squish your face and pull it back instead...)

"TOO FAST, COUSIN! TOO FAST!!"

The end.

We're talking Pulitzer Prize winning, folks. Well, I hardly need to even squish my face together anymore. I'm there. I've grown into the stories I used to tell aka chubby. And now I need to grow back out and fast! Unfortunately, there are no long-lasting shortcuts so I'm going to do this the old fashioned way. But you know what? I've already started and am already a believer. I've challenged myself and a few friends to a "Healthy Lifestyle Challenge." (Original title, I know. But it gets the point across so I am completely kosher with it.) Here are the rules:

1) Weigh yourself on Monday and again on Saturday. Report weight loss.

2) Exercise (aka cardio) for at least 20 minutes at least 5 days during the week. Report successfully completed workouts.

3) Participate in a weekly challenge. Report "grade" earned. (Flawless execution receives an "A" and so on.)

4) Rest on Sunday and start over on Monday.

There is no penalty (other than being disappointed in one's self) and no reward (other than the natural side effects). The main goal is to enter into a healthy lifestyle. My friends and I are doing this for four weeks starting this week, but I went ahead and started last week and am very excited. It has been hard to workout almost everyday, but it's worth it. I can feel the difference. And I'm doing this for me. No one else. I'm pretty convinced of that fact considering that I've been fighting being sick, been extremely alone this week, and haven't once succumbed to old habits. So I may be lonely, but at least I'm healthy and happy and on my way to bidding adieu to Chubby.

It has been far, far, FAR too long...

Hello world. I would say that I am back, but that would imply that I went somewhere whereas the truth is that I've simply been doing other things and haven't put my blog anywhere near the top of my priorities list. So after a verbal slap on the wrist from a dear friend who says she checks my blog every week to see if it's updated (you know who you are), here I am. Very much alive and as apologetic as ever.

I'll bring you up to date with the main going-ons in my life in a later post, but right now I just want to address the near year and the goals I am making.

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Post to my blog at least once a month.

The world will be a better place, right?

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Write a new song every month.

I am more than at liberty to write more than one a month, but if I write 2 in February I still have to write one in March.

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Read every issue of the 2011 Ensign cover to cover.

I did this two years ago but not last year and I could definitely tell a difference. This is modern day scripture folks. Words from the prophet and apostles. Why would I NOT make this a goal? However, sometimes time management is an issue. So I am taking up a trick I learned from an old roommate: keep a copy in the bathroom. 'Nuff said.

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Get my album on iTunes.

Check. Yup. I'm on iTunes!

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Lose the weight I've never been able to.

When a friend, not a parent or a sibling, tells you they think you're great the way you are but they know you want to be more fit and they tell you they think you could drop 5 to 10 pounds easy if you just did at least 30 minutes of cardio 5 times a week... and this friend is a guy... Let's just say something snapped and I am on it.

Rest assured this list will be amended, but for now... it will do. Nothin' but love for ya!