The Jamiesons have left the Building....

I can hardly believe that our summer has ended, as quickly as it has started! It started with a week of dreaded goodbyes and then, when it happened this morning, we were all so tired from the wedding we had shot the night before, there were only a few red eyes but mostly, it was out of the tiredness...perhaps a few tears. I miss Brooke and the Lee's already...

We are on our first leg of our trip home. Tonight we are in Charleston, South Carolina. We left this morning after a quick breakfast with the Lee's (we spent the night at their home). 7 hours later, we were in Savannah, Georgia - enjoying some sights and sounds. Despite the fact that we were there for only a few hours, we were able to drive around the tour to see the mansions that the tourist bus goes to see, walk in a the Forsythe Park (which is an enormous park at the end of the mansion tour), and take in some sights and sounds of the Riverwalk area. A lot to do in a few hours but we got in a fair bit and felt like we really got the feel of Savannah. The only thing we missed was eating at the famous American chef (here in the south), Paula Deen's, restaurant - The Lady and Sons. It had only been open for brunch and closed at 5pm - half an hour before we arrived. Maybe next time we'll get some Paula Deen goodness!

Currently, as I said before, we're in Charleston. We're in an amazing hotel to which I had initially thought less of simply because it's actually a Holiday Inn. What Andrew didn't tell me was that it was actually a historical landmark where this hotel was and that Robert Lee, the famous (or infamous) Confederate general, watched Charleston burn down from this exact hotel. Wild huh? I don't think that even Andrew knew how historical this stay would be!

The only thing that I will complain about is the heat. Currently it's late at night (or early in the morning!) and it's hot...and sticky and humid. They say it'll be in the high 90's tomorrow - sticky and hot. Ah well...I'd best get to bed so I can wake up in the morning to enjoy the heat....great!

No longer one in the same....

Andrew has just informed me that we are no longer one in the same. As of yesterday, we were grouped in the same race (yeah, don't we look the same) on any given form. We were, "Asian/Pacific Islander". I am, obviously, Asian and Andrew is, obviously, Pacific Islander. So together, we were one. But today, that is no longer. Here is the email that Andrew received:

Fox is required to annually report to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission the number of employees in various Ethnic Groups as defined by the Commission. For the first time in decades, the Commission has updated the categories of different Ethnic Groups.

They have divided the “Asian or Pacific Islander” category into two separate groups:

“Asian”

“Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander”

They have also added the group: “Two or more races”

Due to these changes, we are providing you the opportunity to update for the Company the Ethnic Group to which you identify. This is completely voluntary.

It is a sad day for us...we are no longer one in the same. At least we're still married - which makes us one in the same.

5 more days in Florida...

One more week...one more week....

I can hardly believe that it's our final week here. We're finally like the tourists that come weekly to our condos and stay here for a week....except we've been here since June. And though I'm really excited to come home, saying goodbye, which I have never been good at, will be pretty tough. I already look at Brooke and wonder how it will be - we can't even talk about it. I guess after having seen each other daily for a better part of 2 months, you might be able to understand how we feel. What you should know is that we'll be together again in 2-ish months when Brooke comes to LA for 5 days. Hmmm....I can't wait!

Anyways, it will be a busy week. Maybe a little slower at the studio but Andrew will be going to Indianapolis and I'll be getting us ready for the wedding we're shooting Saturday as well as for our trek across the country. Hopefully the car will hold up since it will be a longer trip returning than coming. Our plan is to head to Savannah and Charleston first - and yes, we know it's driving the wrong way, but we've never been and I really want to go. From there, we're planning to head to Atlanta, perhaps Memphis or Little Rock. We'll probably stop twice in Texas to make it through that big, ugly state (sorry to those that I have offended). And lucky Andrew will also get to celebrate his birthday on the road! The good news is that I think we'll be in Sedona, Arizona by this point and we'll probably spend the day there, to celebrate. We should be definitely be in LA by August 9 - after one full week on the road. Happy to be off the road and most definitely glad to be home....

Old Florida Fish House

First, I have to apologize for not posting Andrew's post on his fishing experience....he has not finished writing it. I am tired of asking him for it - possibly because I fear that I am nagging him. If you'd like to see his writing debut, please ask him about it every time you talk to him. Maybe that will do the trick.

I felt like I needed to tell you about our waiter from tonight. After our evening shoot, which were both "challenges" as we like to call them at Beachside, (the little girl that Brooke shot was nearly blind and couldn't see her so that was hard and I was shooting a 4 and a 6 year old - do I need to say more?) Brooke and I decided we needed to treat ourselves to a nice dinner. So, we picked up Andrew and off we went to the "Old Florida Fish House". I think we were meant to go tonight especially after we met our waiter, whose name was Nicholas. He was really friendly, totally ADD but I could tell, he was a genuinely kind person - the type of person you aspire to be. By the time we were finished with dinner, Nicholas's shift was nearly over and he came over to talk. At first, you could tell that he was semi-hesitant to share the personal part of his life but soon enough, we had connected on the fact that he was in love with San Diego and since we're from California, Nicholas became more than willing to start sharing. He told us that he was living in Santa Rosa Beach (which is in the area that we live currently) and he told us that living the gay lifestyle (which we had guessed when he started to do a little jiggle to a still popular 80's song which came over the restaurant) was not a choice that he would have chosen for his own life. Living in a small town is not conducive to being gay and he shared that he doesn't want to be known as Gay Nicholas but as Nicholas, the person who wants to be a CPA and who is an amazing person.

I don't know why I shared our encounter with Nicholas but tonight, he really touched me. I feel like one of my callings in life is to love on people but in particular, people who are gay. Andrew says I have a gift but I've never seen them as people who are gay but people who are genuinely loving and kind - which a majority of the gay male population that I have encountered are. I feel like it's my ministry to show them is not to press what I believe in but to love them as I know God does too!

Anyways, Nicholas and I have exchanged numbers and we plan to meet up next week. Even though we're here a little over 2 weeks more, maybe I'll make a difference...and maybe it's the start of a great-new friendship!!!

A week has passed....

So, a week has passed and I have realized that I've begun to slack...especially since both my mom and my father-in-law mentioned the lack of a blog in our conversations with them...so here's our update. I will pass this onto Andrew as soon as I'm done so that he can fill you in on his fishing trip...as promised.

I've really realized that we've slipped into a normal routine lately. We wake up and Andrew gets to work. I'll hang around until Brooke calls and then I'll head into work. Brooke and I usually pick up Andrew for lunch and then drop him back off afterwards so we can all get to work. Brooke and I (and sometimes Brittany) will leave on our shoots at about 6:30 and I'm home at about 8:30. Before you know it, a week has passed.

This weekend, we spent some time down in Rosemary and Panama City (which are about 20 and 40 minutes away, respectively). The unfortunate thing is that when we arrived in Rosemary, it started to rain heavily and didn't stop until we decided to turn around and come back home, and even then, it was still raining! Unfortunately the past two days, we've been rained out of our shoots. Hopefully tomorrow, we'll successfully shoot our morning shoot (5:30am...heavens no!) and evening shoot. I guess the most exciting thing this weekend was seeing Michael Cimmarusti - a chef we know from one of our favorite restaurants, Providence, featured on the Food Network show, "Iron Chef". It brought back memories of home and had me looking forward to our return to LA in a few weeks.

Since we were rained out this weekend, I also had some time to rest and to experiment in the kitchen. I made a key lime pie (don't worry Mom, I plan to give most of it away!) just because it sounded appropriate for the state that we live. And, it's sort of fun to cook something easy when you have the time! It actually was pretty good (even if it was a tad too tart) and I know so because Andrew scraped his plate clean!

And before I knew it, the weekend was over...and the new week has arrived!

Happy 4th of July!

Fourth of July has come and gone but it was an incredibly exciting weekend of events for us! I'm going to tell you all about it....

Andrew and I woke up on the 4th, ready to go! We ate breakfast, watched the traditional Lee family (that is my parents and myself) "Breakfast at Wimbledon" and waited for the call to head out to Destin. When we got the call from Brooke, it took us a few trips home (my brain is elsewhere these days...I kept forgetting things like my swimsuit ect.) and then, we were off. By the time we made it to the Lee home, everyone was excited for the fun afternoon on the boat. We were going out with Brooke, Brittany and Britt's boyfriend, Erasmo, who had just arrived from Hawaii a day earlier. So we all trooped out onto the boat - with a cooler full of yummy snacks and drinks to satisfy everyone's choice. And then, off we went, to spend a marvelous day on Crab Island. And a marvelous day it was! There were many boats scattered in the area and unlike Billy Bowlegs, our first boat outing, it seemed slightly, and I do mean slightly, less crowded, and this time, there were some young children, also enjoying the outing. We scanned the area and finally found a place to anchor. There, we jumped in the water and just enjoyed the great sunshine and the fun tunes. We saw different types of boat this day but I think the most interesting was the boat that could fly. Have you ever seen such a thing? Well, now I can say I have! It truly was a fantastic 4th of July. We motored around a bit and spend some time with Brooke and Brittany's cousin, Kristin, who was also on Crab Island for the day. Soon enough, Kristen and her friends joined our boat and we had a good 'ol dance party, in the water. It was a fun afternoon!

Before we knew it, it was time to head back in and there, we found a delicious feast waiting for us. Mr. & Mrs. Lee had outdone themselves. They had slow cooked ribs on the grill and served it with baked beans with bacon, coleslaw and potato salad. It was a true Southern, 4th of July meal...delicious. As soon as the last rib had been eaten, we headed straight back onto the boat to watch the fireworks over the Destin Harbor Bridge. The lights were amazing and I suppose the only excitement, besides the fireworks, was the faulty headlights on the boat that refused to turn on. Fortunately the boat police let us go with a warning to head straight home. To that...we said, "Yes Sir!" and left for home as soon as the show was over.

Our fun continued onto Saturday and Sunday. Given my cold, we haven't been able to run and so Andrew and I decided to take a walk so I could get exercise. We walked from Seagrove to Seaside and into Water Color. In Water Color, we decided to stop at our local Starbucks, get a treat to relax and then explore the area that we live. We walked through Water Color, into the beautiful neighborhoods with their unique houses to a park and then a lake. Andrew and I headed to the beach on our way home and jumped into the water to cool off. All in all, it was a 4+ mile walk. It was a lot of fun....and after we had returned home to eat lunch, I headed to work while Andrew stayed at home in laundry-domestic bliss.

Today, Sunday, Andrew had a really interesting day. He woke before the sun came up to go deep sea fishing with Mr. Lee, Brittany and Erasmo. Brooke and I were scheduled for a shoot so we got left out of the fun....but at the last minute, the client ended up canceling and rescheduling so we met them on the dock as they were motoring in. I'll have Andrew write the next blog and tell you all about it but all I know is that he caught the largest grouper of the day as well as the largest red snapper. I am as proud of him as he was when he showed me the fish he had caught. He seemed to have had a really fantastic time and is already fast asleep - the aches and pains of an old man (according to my sweet husband, not my own words) have caught up to him. But at least he had a wonderful time...and is dreaming of fish tonight instead of sheep.

I need to complain....

I am still sick...stupid cold...if you hear sniffs and loud nose blowing, very unladylike of course, as you read this, don't worry, it's just me. Andrew has pretty much recovered but I on the other hand, have spent most of my time resting, indoors and totally bored - while sniffling, sneezing and blowing my nose. Not pleasant at all. Andrew, however, has been away on a business trip to Minnesota and has just returned so I should give him some credit...but it still feels good to complain!

Otherwise, not much to report. I'm really looking forward to the 4th of July - sadly, the first we won't be spending with our friends at our dear friend, Richard Henry's home. Each year, Richard throws these amazing 4th of July parties - filled with an amazing bbq with all sorts of meats (despite the fact that Richard is a vegetarian!), fishes and side dishes. This is the first time Andrew will miss this party - he has been going yearly since he arrived in the US 6 years ago. And since Andrew and I have started to date, I have also joined in the fun. I'll really be missing Sandra, Tom, Aaron, Mary and Richard this year....and making our yearly movie. But, before you start to feel sorry for us, we'll also have a great 4th here in Florida. The plan is to spend a majority of the day on the Lee's boat which we plan to motor to Crab Island for the day. Crab Island isn't really an island...it's submerged. Maybe put it down to global warming - or more likely, hurricanes past. It's basically a sandbar and the water depth varies from waste deep to almost head high. There is always a large selection of boats surrounding it and on the 4th, we'll be there! It should be a really fun day...so long as we remember the swimsuits (aka togs) and sunscreen and I can get rid of this terrible cold. Go away cold, go away!!!