What's the story (morning glory)

Here we are again.  Another try on day 16 of my current cycle. The last one broke the day before mothers day and I'll admit there were some sensitive moments over that weekend.  The last couple weeks have been pretty tense on account of one of my rare anxiety attacks - triggered by work stuff I wont go into here.  The long and the short of it is that I'll be staying where I am for the foreseeable future.  This is why I haven't posted for a while.  That and that we've obviously had a lot of talking to do.

After long discussion (and much ice-cream) we've decided that we're ready for a change of scenery; and with that in mind, we've expanded on our plans for 'the Grand Venture.' The land in Peru is well and truly ours now and features a smart new security fence thanks to A's father and her younger brother.  We're currently putting together plans for the first floor and getting estimates for building work which hopefully should begin towards the end of the year (late spring in Peru) but it will be a while before we have finished all we need to do in Europe and are ready to move on.

In the interim period, we have decided that we would like to get onto the property market in Spain - most likely the southern coast - whilst there are still bargain prices to be found.  We want to do this for a number of reasons, the main ones being for the change in lifestyle and as an investment opportunity (maybe for funding or as a source of income) when we do eventually move to Peru.  We estimate it will take us a year to build up the cash for our deposit and the various necessities of purchasing (taking into account the other ventures money is being set aside for) and in the mean time we are researching locations, with Almeria being our current favourite.

We haven't come up with an appropriate project name for this try yet (just something we've taken to entertaining ourselves with) but the summary so far is that we discovered it was time last night, when we were out celebrating my birthday. I turned 29 on Friday but between shift changes and wanting to spend more time with A, Saturday night was the only time this week we could do it.  We went to a local restaurant with a couple of close friends and then on to a local gay bar that A and I favour (although that might change now that it no longer serves cocktails) During a stop to freshen up, I spotted ewcm and as soon as I got back to the table, signalled in code to R that he would be needed ASAP.  It was a little amusing trying to get the message across without alerting anyone else at the table (Though one significant glance at A and she figured out what I was trying to say. Eventually she pulled R away on a pretence to fill him in)  Thankfully, R and I are both working this evening and had time to do what we needed to this morning.

Quick update

So it's been relatively calm this go-round. We insem'd on Thursday and again on Friday, no schedule clashes but we did cut it pretty fine on Thursday, when we both had the evening shift.  I had spotting and cramps on Friday, which felt an awful lot like an early period (two week cycles are not unheard-of for me) and R started getting a little overprotective at work. He basically told the guys I was working with that I was still weak from a bad cold (only half an untruth, as I had had a cold and was feeling pretty crappy) and he indicated that I should spend the evening with my feet up whilst they took care of the physical stuff like bringing in the delivery.  Being good lads, they all put their shoulders to the grindstone and kept me away from the heavy lifting, watching me like hawks for anything that needed doing and even topping up the tea on my desk each time one of them passed by.  Whilst I guiltily stayed away from the heavy lifting, I was touched by how dedicated my boys were and I'm proud of all of them.  I left a box of choccy on the desk for them all and made sure everyone had some.  Thankfully, there's been no further bleeding and I suspect it may have been caused by the mechanics of the insem - something we'll have to look into should there be need for further tries.

In other news, we're still waiting to hear back from the jobs we've applied for.  The closing date for applications was Thursday just gone, with prospective employees being contacted this week for basic numeracy and literacy tests.  After that, should we be successful we will need to apply for up-to-date CRB checks and then paid training, hopefully starting work in June.  The fixed schedules would be very good for A especially, now that she has classes four days a week and it would allow me time to pursue my Spanish academically.  I think just applying for these jobs is doing wonders for reducing my stress levels at work - like I can relax a little now that I'm taking steps to get out of there.

And on the land front, we're still waiting to hear confirmation from A's father that new ownership has been registered with the municipality.  Apparently, this can take up to several weeks.  In the mean-time, a security fence has been constructed around the perimeter of our new property.  Things are beginning to happen and it's providing us with plenty to keep ourselves occupied during this cycle's long wait.

(Part Two) The Holiday

Our much anticipated holiday went surprisingly well, considering how much pressure was riding on the first few hours after introductions were made.

Travelling was the first hurdle.  Though A and I have always been close and communicate easily, traveling together seems to bring out the worst in us for some reason and long-haul flights with transfers wasn't something we were looking forward to.  We managed to get a day to ourselves before traveling which gave us plenty of time to reconnect after a week of clashing schedules and to put into place our contingency plans for dealing with the inevitable tensions that would come up during the long journey ahead.  Thankfully, we made it to Peru without incident: our flights were on time, our baggage was easy to re-check and we were able to locate our way around the large international airports with little difficulty.

As we entered arrivals, A's father came up to meet us and, I admit, I actually felt pretty nervous at that moment.  Based on what I had been told about A's father, a conservative, traditional man, I had pictured...well, I'm not sure what I had pictured but it came as a pleasant surprise when he came right up to me and embraced me with a hearty sincerity. And so I came to know Peru. A slightly conservative country still, with a big heart. Everybody I was introduced to that day had a warm hug and kiss for me.
After breakfast, we started in on unpacking the suitcases in the room that was to be ours for the month.  A explained that she used to share it with her younger sister and regaled me with stories from their mischievous teen years as we worked.  It was a pleasant morning and after a while, some of the family came to keep us company.  Her younger brother, who I had already met back when he was living in Spain, came in to tell us that he was getting married the following Saturday afternoon.

So the first week we were there was a flurry of organising for the wedding and A and I did very little exploring.  There wasn't much need to stray far in the first few days anyway, with the market just around the corner and fresh cooked food available on almost every street corner.  The food in Peru is a rich and satisfying cuisine with native dishes originating from the Incas as well as others influenced by Spain, Italy, China and Africa. A's mother is a great cook and continued to amaze us with traditional Peruvian dishes.  She made papa a la huancaina several times during our visit, once she knew it was a particular favourite of mine.  The day after we arrived, A's father went to visit his mother in the sierra for a week and on his return, proudly presented us with two fresh cuy (guinea pigs) which A's mother cooked and served to much fanfare (suffice it to say, it does not taste like chicken)  There were some short excursions that week.  We took in a couple of harbour boat tours and saw lima by night with a local tour bus company.

The wedding ceremony and reception were held in the restaurant next door to A's parents' house (which is space A's parents are renting out to the business) and lasted till after sunrise.  A few days after the wedding, the new couple announced they were expecting. I got my period that evening, We had a low period at this point and this was probably a large influence on what happened next.

Whilst we were there, we had been looking at different areas of Lima with regards to moving to Peru in the future.  Its a vibrant city and we found lots of positive points for each of the areas we considered; Miraflores, for example, has a large ex-pat population and would be a great place to set up a little English style cafe (quite easy to do with how informal things are there) although it´s also the ´tourist´ area of the city and so the most expensive. Barranco is probably our favourite area; the architecture and parks are beautiful. Not to mention that it´s a stone´s throw from the beach.  A few days after the wedding, just before Christmas, A's father took us to view the land he's building a house on.  It's right by the sea with beautiful views of the surrounding hills and an expressway just a few streets away. A and I enquired how much it was for a plot on the other side of the industrial park and well...we bought a plot.

Because everything is so informal there, we had to pay cash for the land, notary, etc and A's parents helped us with a cash loan.  The plot we chose is in the middle of a street and almost the highest row on the side of a tall hill.  We are in love with the location.  Behind us, there's a road, a row more of houses and then it gives way to trees and the higher slopes. We can't wait to start building. The area is more advanced than where her father's plot is located - water is already available and we hope to have access to electricity within the first year - and the best part is we are also lucky enough to have A's father around to help, both with labour and contacts, as he is a builder by trade.

So this year, we'll be saving hard to pay A's parents back and to start building work when we move.  To this end, A and I have been taking a serious look at our finances.  We've both applied for jobs where we stand to increase our income and I'm investigating piece work in the area.  It's all go this year and the effort will be worth it; not only does it give us something else to focus on but it also gives me a way out from the job that seems to generate it's own stress and back luck on a daily basis, which can't be good for TTC.  This is part one of our Resolutions for 2014.  

Part two is diet.  Whilst ours aren't especially bad, there is still room for improvement.  A and I have made separate specific resolutions in this area.  Mine are to give up chocolate and reduce the number of times a week I skip meals.  Both are fertility necessities that I've struggled to keep to before.  I brushed up on Low Gi foods after the PCO diagnosis and stopped keeping guilty treats in my locker at work but due to the demands of shift work, I have found it difficult to stop and eat a regular meal whilst I am at work.  The treats have started sneaking back into my diet.  A normal evening shift for me usually involves biscuits snatched from a pack I keep on the desk as I fly past, in lieu of breaks. The salt intake alone is wreaking havoc on my attempts to maintain a decent weight.  In the last couple of weeks though, I've implemented a do-not-disturb policy on my break times, managing to get in a good twenty minutes to eat before something pressing comes up. And whilst I haven't had a chocolate free week yet, due to the products already in our cupboards when we got home, the intake has been reduced to bare minimum and once it's finished (which will be soon) I will be going without *sigh*

And there it is. The Grand Venture 2014