It's a girly season

OK, it's official: I am now into American Idol. And unlike recent seasons, where the end turned out to be a duel between male contestants, I predict this year it will come down to two of the girls. Here are my early favorites:

• Young Katie, who sang "Put Your Records On"

• Lilly Scott, "A Change Is Gonna Come," my favorite the second week in a row

• Paige Miles, "Walk Away"

• Siobhan Magnus, "Think"

Spa, ahhhh!

This is the Spa of Colonial Williamsburg. I will be there in a mere 32 days, and one of the treatments I will enjoy is the Hot Stone Massage, which, according to the good people at Boston.com, "draws on the 17th-century Powhatan Indian practice of using sweating to eliminate aches and pains. In the modern interpretation, the body is warmed by hot stones then wrapped in herb-infused, steaming linen to encourage the release of toxins. The experience concludes with a full-body, hot stone massage using oil containing lavender, cypress, juniper, and rosemary."

There are those who would probably advise me not to go. After all, how sensible is it to run up a tab for a spa getaway and stay at a premium hotel when I haven't even paid for my last vacation to Key West yet? If you look at the "Watch me reduce" counter on the right, you will not be impressed by my money managing skills thus far this year, and the ground is certainly not very firm under my feet here at work.

But I counter all that reason with a bit of wisdom I got from my mom: "There's always a reason not to do something."

Besides, I have been in pain since January 24. I flourish with alone time in a new place and I need a fresh perspective to decide what I want to do next with my career ... job ... whatever this is now. I have never been to Colonial Williamsburg and I've wanted to immerse myself in this period ever since I "discovered" Abigail Adams through books and the HBO miniseries on her hubby.

So I'm going. And today, when things could be a little better, I'm sending my mind there in advance.