A modest proposal

So, in her email to me, Lindsay made the comment that it would be nice if Simon G. Jewelry gave us all rings, maybe not $10,000 rings. But wouldn’t it be great publicity for them?

I agree, but I don’t know if Simon G. would actually do that. People keep asking me if there are 2nd place and 3rd place prizes. The truth is, I don’t really know. The information about the competition is pretty vague, so I honestly don’t think there are any runner-up prizes.

After I told Addison about Lindsay’s email, he made the comment, “Then why doesn’t whoever win just split the $5K gift card between the losing two couples, that way they can each buy themselves at $2,500 ring.”

Sweet, idea. But I didn’t think anything of it.

But then I got an email from Stephen from the 3rd place couple. Stephen is actually the only person in this competition that I’ve emailed first. I emailed him before I got the email from Lindsay, wishing him luck and how I loved that our stories were similar (poor college kids need to stick together!). Without me saying Addison’s idea, he said that him and Katie had planned on splitting the $5K with the other couples who lost too if they had won.

You know, after all this stress and aggravation all three couples have gone through, don’t we all deserve a ring? I guess it’s easier to say that when you don’t have a 1500 vote lead, but I think it’s a legit idea nonetheless.

Besides, who needs $5K to plan the perfect proposal? I’d be perfectly content if Addison whipped out the ring when we were at a place that meant something to us.

So I’m throwing it out there to the world. Why don’t the three couples end the war and make it so we all win? Thoughts? Ideas? Email me: nikkiroberti@gmail.com

And don’t forget to vote for us! Addison and I really appreciate your support.

Silver lining

So I woke up pretty discouraged today. Yesterday because of an awesome article in the Watauga Democrat, Taylor Swift fans and Firefly junkies wanting us to honor Joss Whedon with our future baby, we got the most hits we’ve ever had in one day! I was floored and honored!

Upon waking up today, somehow the other couple managed to get back to their 1000 hit lead again. Total bummer, and at the brink of giving up, my friends really pulled through.

Jaclyn Miller, a friend and fellow PSU leadership team member added our blog to Stumble and made this beautiful pic/poster-thing. Funniest thing ever.

Everyone at the union has this nickname type-thing for Addison based on his mood (ie. if he’s happy- he’s Gladdison. If he’s upset- He’s Saddison. If he’s cool- He’s Raddison. You get the picture).

I was also really bummed I had to leave the University Writing Center staff meeting for another meeting. Talk about stressed. But as I left, Tara Moore proposed that the entire vote right then and there on the computer lab PCs we were all at. It really made my day a little brighter considering how sleep-deprived I am.

This contest has really shown me how great friends and family are. I also am completely in-love with my community here at Appalachian and the Town of Boone. I had no idea we’d be in the Watauga Democrat yesterday and next week we’ll be in the Mountain Times!!! Also, WASU’s radio station might be airing a segment on us either this Monday or next Monday.

So instead of looking at those votes and getting discouraged when I feel like I’m running out of people to ask to vote, I think about my friends and family.

Like Addison’s mom. She’s a rockstar. I think she’s one of our biggest campaigners right now and definitely a great blessing.

So thank you everyone! All your support is really heartwarming.

That being said, please please please don’t turn this into a war. Someone told me that somebody is going on one of the message boards of a different couple’s supporters. While I super appreciate standing up for us, don’t feel like you have to do that (especially since I’m afraid people will think it’s me or Addison impersonating someone). Just let them run their race. Let’s make our race about ourselves and about Addi’s and my relationship.

But thank you and please vote! And keep on spreading the word!

Why I think it’s FATE…

So, to avoid being discouraged by the fact that we’re over 1000 votes behind and that I found a message board of Lindsay & Christopher’s supporters talking about “crushing” us and how they are apparently able to use proxy servers to get hundreds of votes a day…. I’m going to talk about why I think it’s Fate that we will win (but don’t worry, I’m not delusional. If we don’t win, I won’t be too disappointed.)

First FATE cue (besides us catching to bouquet and garter in August) was how I found the competition.

I’m a journalism student and my minor is all about interpreting media across all mediums. This particular week we were discussing favorite magazine ads. Now, I have about 20 magazine subscriptions because I consider them study material, so when I was asked to find my “favorite” magazine ad, I knew exactly what company I wanted to do: Simon G. Jewelry.

I hadn’t been to their site before, but every time I saw their ads with the beautiful rings tied to a tag with a funny saying like “Compromise can come after the wedding,” I couldn’t help but laugh out loud. The night of the assignment, I went to the site and found the competition. I joked with a friend of mine that Addison and I should enter, but he’s so shy that I knew he wouldn’t want to broadcast over the Internet that we wanted to get married. After all, I don’t think he had mentioned it too much to his parents at that point.

Shockingly enough, he said “yes” and I started the voting process…not thinking much of it. Soon we were in the lead from the very beginning. People had started multiple events on Facebook and my Aunt in Japan was pulling double time getting the Eastern half of the world to spread the news.

Another reason I think this is FATE is because, if you haven’t noticed, every promotional poster they’ve made for the competition has been the ring that I picked out. The couples got to pick out their own rings, and ever week, it was always mine even though I don’t think anyone else in the Top Fives had chosen that ring.

Every week we were consistently in the top five, even though almost everyone else changed out every week. By the last week though, some random couple who hadn’t been there before shot ahead by 1500 votes. I was completely discouraged and just stopped campaigning altogether. I figured there was no way we could ever catch up (I didn’t realize the voting reset to 0).

Then POW! The final round came and somehow we still made it, even though we had stopped trying. And that’s where we are now.

So I won’t get discouraged, because honestly, if it’s meant to be…then it’ll happen. If Addison is meant to buy me a ring from his own pocket (sorry, baby), then that’s the way God intended it.

Please find it in your heart to vote for us! And spread the word.