The Post Before the Vacation Post

I'm coming at you with random updates today since I am still (okay, I only started yesterday) working on the vacation post. Here are some things I've had zooming around in my head the last few days...

In no particular order, brain dump:

• Someone tell me why it is taking me 5+ days to recover and fully function as a human being after vacation? I don't have a kid to chase around and I am not working yet... so why? Laundry is done, toilets are scrubbed, but I can't seem to touch my to-do list that I promised I would work on when we returned from our vacation. Riiight. I blame the 3,048 blogs I had to read in my Google Reader when I finally sat down to read them. Some of you posted a lot in 10 days. ;)
• I made this crock pot chicken last night and was thrilled with it. I don't eat chicken but seriously hate to cook it because I am still cooking meat for just one. Andrew would so be eating chicken with his dad if he were here. But let's not go there. Anyway, it made a bunch of leftovers and I plan to make enchilada casserole (layered like lasagna but same ingredients = easier) later this week with the leftovers.
• I have about 5 errands to run today and swore I'd leave the house by 10 a.m. It's 1:30. And the whole reason I'm not leaving is because the one address I needed to ship something to is in my car. Which is somewhere 15 miles away with my husband today. Good enough reason not to do anything productive or any of the other 4 errands, right? 
• I should realllllly be prepping for the course I start teaching in the fall (and spring!) but haven't. Tomorrow is the day. Probably.
• I received a call yesterday from a school I regularly sub at asking if I'd like to long term sub in an aide position from August 25 - September. Why? Because someone is on maternity leave, of course. I accepted because I can't sit on the couch all day and had no excuse otherwise. Plus, I'd be subbing anyway. And also, the more money I make on the side, the more justified vacations we're willing to take. 
• Happy Birthday to Nik Rohde who we forgot to formally call/email/text yesterday. We are terrible friends, but we love you!
• I was told my cousin is engaged. We love him and love his fiance who we met last fall when I was largely pregnant. They live in Chicago and are graduating college in 2012. And the first thing that came to mind was how much I hope to have a living, breathing, healthy baby by the time they get married. Because I'm already terribly awkward in social situations now and need some kind of gem to get me through a family event. Please oh please.
• My friend Brooke posted about two things that have changed grossly since losing her daughter Eliza that are completely true of myself as well. I'm not proud, but it's honest: I am way more anti-social, and my tolerance level for bullshit is significantly lower than it was. And this is true, my friends. All so totally true. 
• Leaving for vacation was the longest I left my son (who lives on a bookshelf). It felt strange and uncomfortable and foreign. I find comfort knowing he is with us at home. While it doesn't bother me to leave the house, it was odd not touching "him" for such a long period of time. I smuggled a small tealight and matches into our hotel room on August 5th. I lit the candle around the time he was born, 9:04. Eight months without my son. And the clock ticks on. Reality bites.
• Tagging this post with sad things like "stillbirth" and "baby loss mom" and also "fun" is totally my life. Loss and missing Andrew will always be a part of who I am. But I guess I'm also able to laugh about silly things because I really have no choice.
• I think we have a new mailman. Either our mailwoman has been replaced or she's on a temporary hiatus. Either way, this guy is antisocial and most likely won't be asking me about my dead child or anything of the like. Sometimes dealing with men is just so much easier.
• Speaking of postal workers, have I ever shared a picture of our former mailman (from when we lived at the beach in California as newlyweds)? OH, this one is a real gem my friends. Meet Tony:

This is what I received after handing him a Christmas present. Gosh, lucky me. Not sure what is more sexy, the velcro hightops, short booty shorts, shaved legs, fashionable belt slid to the side, the rolled up sleeves to show off his bulging biceps, or the 80's mullet. I also think his shoes have about 2 inches of height. Perhaps he couldn't reach the mailboxes without the extra sole.