So what have we been up to? Well...

We have been super busy lately! I guess that's what summer is all about, right? A whole lot of nonstop busy and plenty of go, go go....but that's why I love summer!!! 

We had lots of family come down to see us this summer, which is always really nice....it makes moving away from home not seem so bad. 

Joe's sister and her husband & kids came in for their annual Galveston beach camping trip, so we took them out sailing 

one night, watched the fireworks and then hung out at the beach with them!!

These adorable lil'cuties {two of my nieces that I used to watch before we moved down here} came and spent one night with us on the boat! They loved it and we loved getting to see them!!

My brothers two boys came and spent two weeks with us on the boat!! Lots of swimming took place and their new favorite about coming to stay on the boat is, swinging off the bow and landing in the water! 

What else has been going on? Let's see, hubs has been working a lot and I have been looking for work. I applied & interviewed at a doctor's office where the dr said he had over 200 applicants for that one position. On the one hand I'm lucky to have had 2 interviews, but on the other hand it's tough finding a job when there's this much competition and even harder when most of the jobs require you to be bilingual. Ugh!! That's sorta discriminative, ya know....when you won't even be considered for a job (that you are well qualified for) on the sole purpose of not being bilingual, I call that, languagism! I thought we lived in America where we spoke English and got jobs because we not only spoke the language, but because we were qualified for them! But hey, what do I know? Well, other than another language!!  🙄

In other areas, we still can't decide on what sailboat we want next, so we haven't listed our current boat, yet. Plus, I told Joe that I want to try to wait until it gets colder to sell this one, because if there's a chance that we are homeless again (like last time) while in between boats and have to stay in a hotel I'd rather do that in the winter time. Besides, we are not cold weather sailors anyways and barely take the boat out, unless it's warm outside so it just makes sense. 

Although that being said, I don't know how much longer I can take. While I truly love our newer boat, there's nothing to be done on this boat unless we want to make improvements. Which I can't justify putting money into it if we already know we are going to sell it. Hubs and I are both project people! And while I don't really want to do a whole refit on our next boat, I do think we both would enjoy a boat that needs a little work done. 

It has been raining here for the last few days, and though I know we need the rain, I am having major sunset picture withdrawals. It is cloudy from the time I get up until I go to bed and that just doesn't bode well with me....I need my sunshine!! We did get a brief glimpse of blue sky the other day, but it was just a false  advertisement. It was back to all clouds in no time. 

Oh well, our life afloat is still pretty amazing, even on the cloudy days!!

Until next time.....

What made us decide to live on a boat? Part two:

If you missed part 1 of this story, you can read it here.

So, we had made the decision to buy a sailboat, now we had to narrow the search down to size, layout, and functionality. 

As a full-time liveaboard, we knew we would need more storage than if we were just planning on being weekenders. We really liked the layouts of Catalinas and they seemed to have the best use of space {for our budget, anyways}. After Joe searched 100's of different boats and more brands than I could count on my fingers & toes combined, our researching always brought us back to a Catalina. 

Of course we wanted {and still want} something bigger than a 30 footer, but at the time of purchase, and because we wanted it to happen quickly rather than waiting longer to afford bigger, we went with a 30' Catalina. 

Everyone says, you won't find a bigger 30 foot with any other brand than that of a Catalina sailboat. I know it sounds small, especially when we came from a 2,200 sq ft house, but any boat will sound small with that comparison. 

We kept close tabs on  the broker's websites and when a Catalina 30' {within budget} became available we made an offer and it was accepted! 

Now, was the hard part, for me anyways. I had to move away from my family and a job that I absolutely loved! Hubs was fortunate that he was able to transfer down here with his job, but that wasn't an option with my job. :/  I was a nanny for 2 of my nieces and walking away from that job was one of the hardest things I have ever done. It goes without saying, that I had become seriously attached to those girlies and their momma, {one of} my sis! Then there's my parents, whom I have always lived within a hour from. I don't think you ever truely realize how big Texas really is, until you can't just hop in your car and be at their house in 30 minutes......miss y'all every day! ;) 

Despite how hard we knew it would be to make the move away from family, friends, & my dream job, we knew this was to be the next chapter in our lives. So, we did it! We said goodbye to a life we knew and people we loved and moved aboard our Catalina! 

For just the two of us, Irie has made a great starter boat! And, we couldn't be happier with our decision and our new life afloat!! :)

Who knew I'd miss our tiny boat?!?!

I am ready to see my hubs & get back on the boat! Visiting with family and meeting my 1-day-old niece was great & I'm so glad I got to go, but I miss life on the water with my man!  

A few observations from being back on land:

1.) I still bump my head, though not as much as on the boat, it does still happen 

2.) toilet flushing is way easier on land than on a boat

3.) surprisingly, being in a big house that's fully furnished & decorated didn't make me miss my "things" like I thought I would....which is good, since we sold all our "things" 

4.) daily tasks are easier on land, but I wouldn't trade my boat for it in a million years