On the phone with my mother last night, I was informed that when I visit her next month she's taking me a Black Sand beach with sparkling turquoise water, and shipfi – um – doplphins frolicking off-shore.

Yay, Baja Weekends.

It's not that time of the month, but it's the time just before it, which means I get horrible crampy aches in my lower back, and not even soaking in my decadently large bathtub helps. Ibuprofen takes the edge off, as does, strangely, caffeine.

I haven't had anything caffeinated, however, since my morning macchiato, so I've been kinda fadey since about 4:30. We came home, and I browsed through this jewelry catalog in which I found the only peridot jewelry that ever interested me. (It may be my birthstone, but no one said I had to like it.)

After a bit, we went out to Barnes and Noble, where I spent less than $100 for a change. Yes, , I did buy Jennifer Government. I'd been looking for a copy of the DVD Tortilla Soup but they didn't have it. Nevertheless, I now have that tango “Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps,” (or whatever it's called) running through my head in both English and Spanish.

I'm thinking of curling up in the bed with a book and a mug of cocoa, and reading for the next three hours, or until I fall asleep, whichever comes first.