We're Done!

So we managed to finish this crazy experiment and what we are left with is a collection of tunes we can be proud of. I think it has exceeded our own expectations in what we're capable of and it definately shows off how much we've improved over that wedding CD we did. There is still a lot we could have done with the songs and so much we should have done but since "time can't give you back the years that you've been missing" pretty much sums up the theme of the album, I'll be eating my own words if I dwell on it too much.

Unfortunatly the RPM site no longer lets you upload your songs once the challenge is over so you'll have to keep bugging us until we send you a copy if you want to hear it. Maybe it'll appear in the RPM Jukebox once they recieve the album (it's currently in the mail), who knows.

Anyways, we hope you'll get the opportunity to listen to it soon and tell us what you think.

Weight loss, workouts, and what to eat

March 1st. Hard to believe that the first two months of 2009 are over.

As most people know, I have been on an exercise/eat better/quit smoking plan since November of last year. In that time I have lost roughly 25 pounds (maybe more as I never did know my weight going in) and I have gained some amount of muscle mass.

As it is the beginning of a new month and tomorrow is the beginning of a new week, I think it's time to try a few more changes.

For one, I am going to eliminate diet cola. That's going to be hard, as Dad drinks it himself and besides water that is usually all that is around here to drink.

(As a side note; again as most people know, I am living at home, and with freelance work coming in slowly and inconsistently, moving out on my own is not really an option at the moment. So, that obviously presents several challenges. I have to ask for certain things when Dad makes a trip to the grocery store. Now these are things that neither Mom nor Dad will eat/drink, etc. Its not easy or cheap to eat, let alone eat healthy. But so far Mom and Dad have been very understanding and supportive of these changes. But I digress...)

In place of diet cola I will try and drink more water. I also am going to try & drink Crystal Light (comes in handy 500ml pouches). I'll still have my daily cup(s) of tea. Not nearly as many as Dave Penney though!

As for food, I have to make a better effort to eat more fruit. Vegetables as well. I have made some very small strides in that area, as I now eat tomato & lettuce on subs (something I never ever used to do).

Another area I am going to work on is snacks, especially late-night snacks. Now this is an area I'm sure people will differ vastly on. Not only over what you should eat, but when you should eat.

Being a night owl, I am usually up until at least 2am. That's pretty much my TV time; watching re-runs of House, The Simpson's and Family Guy. And when I watch TV I like to have something to munch on. No reason it can't be fruit I suppose. But as much as I want to lose weight, I am not going to totally deprive myself of food I enjoy.

To that end I've been trying to replace chips with popcorn. And it's worked for the most part. I still have too many lapses though, and before I know it I'm halfway through a bag of chips. (Ketchup are usually my favorite flavor). Along with the popcorn, I'm trying whole grain nachos and salsa. As I said, no need to deprive yourself.

It's all about moderation.

As for exercise, my weight training with Jason (aka BG [Baby Gibblets], aka BAG [Baby Audio Gibblets], aka BUG [Baby Uncle Gibblets]) is going really well. Where I am falling down slightly (still!) is with cardio. So starting tomorrow, and on that advice of BG, I am going to try to increase my speed on the treadmill.

I figure if I can get these elements all together I'll see some more weight come off in the next month.

One can only hope!

More Vitamin N!

Hey everybody. Sorry I haven't been contributing in a while, but we've been busy with the RPM project. Very recently, and quite last minute, we've made a new addition to our group. He's Trevor Barker, an old work friend of Terry's. He's an amazing pianist and he also plays a little bass, so we're looking forward to having him on board. Of course we left it until the last minute, but that's just how we work. Sometimes I wonder how we ever get anything done but we always manage to somehow.
Anyway, we'll be busily strumming and singing away this weekend to finish up the album, because the deadline is the end of the month. So wish us luck and we'll post it all as soon as we can.

We're Baaaack

Hey everyone! It's the new sensation sweeping the internet nation! It's a new podcast from Paul and Sandi! We can promise more random topics of conversation, like who we would take to the Oscars if we were nominated, cats driving stock cars, and Battlestar Galactica.

Paul seems to have tried a new idea in this one: a music track running underneath the chatting. Weigh in. Music or no music?

Also, we do appreciate comments, whether it's "You guys are awesome. You're revolutionizing the way I get information on the internet." or "You guys suck worse than Two and a Half Men." We can take it.

Click here for all the hilarity and useless factoids.

Returning to school?

Not 100% sure about it yet, but I may be going back to school over the summer, and I am looking at this program as a possibility.

So far my career has been stalled, as there are not a whole lot of writing jobs here in NL. So I figure return to MUN over the summer to complete these courses and see what happens. I think more education will mean more opportunities.

The novel and hopefully some freelance work with Water Werks will continue.

I've got until March 30th to think it over.

Album Progress!

Hey there Vitamin N fans! I just wanted to update everyone on the progress we've been making on the album. So far we have about 7 new songs written and about 3 and 1/2 recorded. I also have a pile of "backup" songs I can polish up if we don't make the quota. You can check out the new blog post as well as two new tracks over at the RPM website. We've also created an album cover using a pic I took in Toronto's Union Station a lifetime ago which is also posted there.

Only 5 days left, pressure's on!

Keep rockin'

-T

Let the novel begin!

Well today I took the bull by the horns. (A cliche! Kathleen Winter is going to kill me!) I've been saying that I want to get started on writing a fictional account of Mom's family growing up on St. Brendan's. Recently I started a very rough draft of the opening of the book. Today I actually sat down (with pen and my leather-bound notebook, what with me being a professional writer & all) and started asking Mom about some of her memories.

There are a lot of directions this book can go. But what I think I want to emphasize is strong character development and good physical descriptions of the landscape. I have a lot of this mapped out in my head. Now it's just a matter of putting it to paper (and to Microsoft Word).

As its a snowy day here in good old St. John's, and I have no work pressing, now is as good a time as any to do just that.

Wish me luck!