The Other Woman

Every year, my husband is a judge for a regional programming contest. It's a whole year of planning and a really big month-long push at the end. We call it "the other woman".

It's a pain in the butt and has really impacted my writing this year. I was on a self-imposed deadline that whooshed right past me. I think the wind is still whistling in my ears. Sigh. He took off early this morning. Luckily for me, he took our drama teen with him this year...she's to help and will be able to earn a little money depending on how much assistance she provides.

I have "the boys" for today and tomorrow. It's our yearly junk-food binge. So far, we've had McDonald's for lunch and we're ordering in pizza for dinner. The boys will probably have McD's again for lunch tomorrow while we're on the road...but me, I'm stopping at In and Out Burger.

There's also a few other perks to the "other woman." Tomorrow, after the boys soccer game, they boys and I will drive a couple of hours to join the contest in session. We'll stay the night in a historic haunted hotel (soooooo cool!) and eat a nice dinner (not fast food, but someone else is cooking, so I can't complain). On Sunday, we'll hob-nob with the other judges for the closing breakfast. It's a small vacation away from home.

As a bonus, we'll also get to do some early Christmas shopping and I may get a little writing done. That's a big MAY. But, it's all research for me...especially since the best part of being involved with 'the other woman' is that we're on tap to go to Stockholm for the international competition this coming spring. (Can you say whoot?!!!?).

So, I'm off to finish the laundry and do a little packing. I'm taking the camera in hopes of getting a few ghostly photos or at least some lovely holiday shots of downtown Riverside, CA.