Musings on Life and Living

I can't remember if I shared with my friends and family here what I am doing with my hair these days. I have shared it on Facebook, I have shared it on my teaching blog, and I have shared it on the blog that is tracking the awesome project that involves my hair. And because this blog is meant to be a chronicle of the things Gretch and I are doing, I figured I'd post it here, too. Besides, I think there are some friends and family who don't actually use Facebook or follow my teaching blog, so there's that, too. I last got a my hair really cut back in March when Gretch last cut it. In early August, I got my hair trimmed and shaped, but that was all. At that time, it had reached approximately 8 1/2 inches in length. It is now somewhere around 9 1/2 or maybe even 10 inches. I haven't measured it lately to verify, though. I do know that when I straighten it out and come in straight back, I look like something that crawled out of the 80s. Gretch, who had been busy

Many of you are aware that Gretch and I have been undergoing the process of vitro fertilization (usually called IVF). This process has been the culmination of a year and half of treatment for infertility. After a failed intra-uterine insemination (IUI), our doctor got us approved for IVF. There were a handful surgeries between getting approved and finally meeting with the IVF specialist who works out of Indiana. We met with him for the first time in September and had plans made for IVF at the end of November. There was a huge period of concern at the very beginning of the process because of issues with Gretch's cycle going all crazy for the first time ever. Fortunately, things started on the last possible day and we got started with the month-long process of subcutaneous injections to prepare for IVF. This involved a daily dose of a drug called Lupron that inhibits the process of ovulation. Then there were the daily doses of Menopur and Bravelle, which stimulate the development o