I got a new job!!!!!

Yep, without looking I got a waaaaay better job than I currently have. Chris was looking at jobs and saw one looking for a Clinical Research Assistant so I applied on a whim. 12 hours later I got a call for an interview. I had the interview that morning and received the offer of employment that afternoon. As a Clinical Research Assistant I will be doing data entry of the findings from drug studies (patients stats, side effects, etc...), filing, and regulatory duties (acting as a liason between our company, the sponsors which I am assuming are the pharmaceutical companies, and the ethics board). I actually am the only one given the regulatory duties as the VP was doing them and no longer wants to as she has other things she needs to concentrate on. Yep, that's right, I'm doing 1 of the jobs of the VP! So I will be making more money (score!), getting full benefits (score!), and this will look awesome on my resume and could lead to some great opportunities (score!). As well, the company is expanding and the VP told me the possibilities are endless for someone with my science background (she's already talking about me completely running Phase 1 trials). Only downside is it's in Newfoundland and we don't plan on being here forever. But at least it's a step in the right direction and closer to my education and what I'd like to do in the future than what I currently am doing.
I will still be working at the doctors' office 1-2 evenings per week - it's only 3 hours per evening clinic and since it's within walking distance of our home I'd be silly not to do it. It's extra money in our pocket.

Happy Anniversary to us!!!

June 10, 2009 marked our 3 year wedding anniversary. I can't believe it's been 3 years already. For our celebration we're going to see Cirque de Soleil but they're not in St. John's yet so we can't go until June 28. However, on the day of our anniversary we had a nice (meaning expensive) dinner at The Keg. It was delicious!!!

We've come to the realization that every anniversary has been spent in a different city; year 1 was in Paris, year 2 was in Toronto, and now year 3 in St. John's. We're hoping to spend our 4th anniversary in London, England.

So to commemorate the occassion I thought I'd post our wedding vows, a wedding photo, and a photo from this anniversary. Our vows still say perfectly how I feel about Chris.

I love you! You are my best friend, my love, and my future. I pledge to be true and loyal to you, to support your dreams, and offer you courage through all your endeavors. I promise all my heart's devotion and a hand to hold in yours through each tomorrow. You are my hope, my strength and my inspiration, and I promise to be yours. From this day forward, you shall never walk alone. My heart will be your shelter, and my arms will be your home.

Toronto trip

I finally was able to go back to Toronto to visit my family and friends from May 30-June 7/09. That meant that I got to celebrate my birthday with them, which was an added bonus. That also meant I got to go to my favourite restaurant for my birthday, which is a long-standing tradition. The trip was great, it was awesome to see everyone again. With my friends it was like I never left, it was great! I sure missed joking around with them. I loved spending time with my family, and seeing how much my niece (Maya) and nephews (Zachary and Oliver) had grown. Maya is turning into a beautiful girl who loves ballet (she kept asking me to make movies of it), Oliver is huge compared to when I last saw him (he's now almost 1 years old), and Zachary talks up a storm. I missed talking with everyone, and just enjoying their company. As if spending oodles and oodles of time with my friends and family wasn't enough, Soula's baby decided to enter the world 2 weeks early so I could meet him! He is such a sweetie, and so very adorable!! Thanks Milan for arriving early so Auntie Bambie could meet you when you were 2 days old. I also got to meet Milan's 6 week old cousin, Maria. That family definitely has good genes because both babies are soooo cute!! My trip was definitely the boost I needed to keep me going. Hopefully it's not long before I go back, and hopefully then it's for good!
Birthday dinner with the best friends ever!


When did they get so big? (Zachary, Oliver, and Maya)


Zachary very proud of himself for wearing Aunt Bambie's shoes


Family photo (missing a few key members)


Me holding Milan at 2 days old - I think a baby looks good on me.

Same cause, different city

On May 24 we will be participating in the MS Walk. It's our 2nd year participating, and we intend on participating every year until there is no longer a need. This is a cause that's close to our hearts because Chris' mom suffers from MS. Your generous donations can help find a cure! To donate online simply go to one (or both) of our websites:

Chris: https://msofs.mssociety.ca/2009walk/Sponsor.aspx?PID=1064094&L=2
Bambie: https://msofs.mssociety.ca/2009walk/Sponsor.aspx?PID=1064626&L=2

Thank you for your support!

Really???

It is the middle of April.

Yesterday was 8°C.

Today I woke up to snow on the car. What is going on????? There's nothing on the ground so it's not much, but it's still snow!!! Just plain gross!

Iceberg straight ahead!

We saw our 1st iceberg!! It was really cool. I get emails that tell me where icebergs have been sighted, and finally there was 1 close enough for us to drive and see. So last night after work we headed north, along the coast and spotted one. It seemed so close to the shore; it was right behind people's houses. Could you imagine if that was the view out your window everyday. It was truly beautiful. We hope to see many more!

The crazy things Newfies say

Chris isn't exposed to Newfie lingo as much as I am seeing as alot of the people at the university are not originally from Newfoundland. I, on the other hand, am inundated by language I don't understand on a daily basis. There is acutally a Newfie dictionary to help decipher what they're saying. We contemplated buying it when we first moved here. Here are some terms I've heard, and what I believe them to mean.

Smothered = have a cold, all congested. The 1st time I heard this a mother said to me, 'my children are smothered' and I was shocked! I said, 'what????' and she responded, 'you know, all stuffed with a cold". I thought she was smothering them and I thought, I'm not the person you should be calling right now.

Straightened away = taken care of. An example is, "there's something wrong with your MCP #, call us when you have that straightened away".

B’y = I'm not too sure what this means, I think it has a number of uses. It's kinda like 'eh' which I must admit, I say A LOT! I've actually been teased about it a couple times here. But I hear a lot of 'yes b'y' and 'tell me about it b'y'.

Contrary = in a bad mood. As in, he was contrary.

Savage = angry, mad. A sentence I've heard this used in is, "oh, he was right savage".

Right = very, I think. See example above.

Shag it = screw it. "Ah shag it".

Where you to? = where are you? I don't understand this one. You're not 'to' somewhere, you 'are' somewhere.

What a sin = what a shame. "Oh, what a sin".

I'm sure there are a ton more, but that's all I can think of off the top of my head.