Ending the Suspense

I really hope I didn't build it up too much...our little surprise. I wasn't trying to. I have just been waiting for the confirmation which I kept thinking was coming but wanted to be really really sure first.



Let me back up a little. Last summer, my friend Carol (her blog is listed on the side I believe) shared that she was a part of a program through Panasonic called Living in HD. When she announced it on her blog, she encouraged us (her readers) to apply to be a Living in HD family too. I started to and stopped it a time or two...then did. I was kind of hopeful but with each passing week (not that I was counting the days or anything, just thought about it when it crossed my mind), I just figured that we hadn't been chosen.



So at the end of February, I came home from school and saw something in our door. It was an envelope sent via Fed Ex. It looked really important. I immediately figured it must be for Mark (for work). Then I noticed it had my name on it. It looked so official, I got a bit nervous. I opened it and saw the words, "You are a potential winner..." We had a lot of paperwork to fill out, get notarized, and send back in immediately (I think we had five business days.)



The first person I called was my friend Carol. She was a bit surprised (and a lot excited I think :) since I hadn't told her that I had actually applied. Then I called Mark. He was surprised too. I think I had mentioned once that I was thinking about applying but hadn't made a big deal about it when I did. When he came home, we went through the paperwork. The next day we had our security system installed which took much longer than we expected, so we didn't get the paperwork sent until the next Monday. That about killed me...I wanted it done right THEN. But funny enough, it still got to New York in plenty of time with a couple of days to spare. :) Nothing like all of that fretting for nothing. :)



If I hadn't known someone participating in the program, I might have been skeptical. Basically, you get a lot of fun "toys" to experience life in high definition. Then you share your experiences with others (via word of mouth as well as the Internet, like the site above). However, since I DO know someone doing it, I know it is legitimate. And she (and her family) has had a lot of fun with it.



Anyway, after we sent in the paperwork, I kept thinking there would be an official "announcement"...after all the wording of the paperwork said "potential winner". My friend Carol kept saying "You are in...you really are...". But I am the same person who took seven pregnancy tests when pregnant with our firstborn (and still didn't believe it until I saw a little body kicking on that ultrasound). Anyway, last weekend (the one prior to our trip) I received a survey from Panasonic. I started to fill it out and started wondering if that might be my confirmation when the survey asked questions like "Where will your new t.v. go?" When I read that, I wondered, "Hmmm, maybe I really did win?" But as is my style, thought I should wait for a little further confirmation...



Well, when we were in DC, I checked our messages and heard a message from someone named Greg. I had heard of him through Carol. He is the one who is responsible for setting up all of the new "toys" from Panasonic. Anyway, I found him on Facebook (via Carol), sent him a message, and finally talked to him tonight. His first words were "Welcome to the family..." which was finally my confirmation. :)



So I am sitting here a couple of hours later, head spinning. We are going to have to figure out how to set it all up (as in where everything will go), probably get new furniture, then we will call Greg back and set up a time for him to come (from New York) to get us all set up. He was hoping for mid-April, but it will more than likely be in May. Then we will be living in HD too.



So that is it...hope that wasn't too disappointing. We are excited...we really aren't really up in the technology department, so we will have some fun with new things I think. I think we are even going to graduate to DVR rather than our ancient VCR. We don't watch just tons of tv but even when we do, we wait to watch a lot of it until the kids are in bed (they have their own things they watch...Hunter for instance likes to watch the world news :) Mark asked tonight if I was ever going to post this...he thought people might think we were having another baby. That thought just makes me go faint. :) Nope, no baby...just "toys". So that is our news!
Reba

PS The Living in HD contest is on-going. I would encourage any of you to apply. You fill out an application on-line, share a couple of pictures (one being your family, the other showing where your entertainment system likely will go). And you write a short essay on why you should be a Living in HD family too (like how you will use the technology in your life)...never know. You could be next!