The First Four Days of Sharing the Bliss













Friday, October 9, 2009
I received my Hershey's "Share the Bliss" prize package at work around 10:00 a.m. The FedEx package contained the 16-carat necklace, a copy of The Necklace by Cheryl Jarvis, and three bags of Hershey's Bliss candy (I thought I was only getting two!)

At work, I happily shared the bliss of the necklace with my co-workers by letting them all try it on. (Well, actually, I was the first one to try it on!) We took photos of each other and had a blast with the necklace. It is really fun to watch people react to wearing a necklace worth $32,000.

Friday night, my wife Monica and I visited our high school as part of our high school reunion weekend (we went to high school together). She wore the necklace under a heavy coat and sweater since we sat outside in the cold to watch the homecoming football game. I grabbed all of our friends' attention at the game and proudly told them about the Share the Bliss contest. I ended the story by shouting, "and Monica's wearing the necklace right now!" So, of course, we made Monica unbutton her nice warm coat and pull the necklace out from underneath the sweater -- and everybody ooh'd and ahh'd as soon as it hit the light. Boy, did that necklace sparkle!

Saturday, October 10, 2009
Monica and I went to the more formal part of our high school reunion together on Saturday night. It was at Macy's in downtown Chicago. Of course, Monica wore the bling, which complimented her dress perfectly. The necklace was a huge hit. Did I mention how much this thing sparkles?! Photos don't do it justice.

Monica looked fantastic in the necklace and, once again, it was very fun to watch everybody's reaction after learning about the necklace.

Sunday, October 11, 2009
Monica plays soprano saxophone in the praise band at our church -- what goes better with a saxophone neck strap than a 16-carat diamond necklace?! Monica was wearing the necklace while she played, and after the service, a lot of people came up to ask her about it because they saw my last blog post about winning the contest.

Necklace Details
I have studied the necklace a lot in the last four days and I thought I'd share some information about it with you:
  • The necklace has a total of 129 diamonds on it (yes, I counted them). 22 of the diamonds can be removed from the back of the necklace to make it shorter. That's how Monica wore it on Friday and Saturday nights.
  • The necklace is really, really sparkly. I just can't say that enough.
  • The diamonds on the necklace are smallest in the back and biggest in the middle front. The biggest diamonds in the front are probably somewhere around 1.5 carats each.
Four Days Down, Ten to Go
It has been an exciting first four days with the necklace. I can't wait for what's next with it. I still owe Monica a nice night out with it. And I promised my co-workers that I'd bring it back into work. I'll post more photos soon!

Pictures
The top photos are of Monica and me at our reunion and of Monica at church. The bottom photos were taken of us at work.

Comments

  1. Patti ChannerOctober 18, 2009

    Congratulations Nick & Monica on your winning story. By way of introduction, I am Chapter 2 of "The Necklace", the book that inspired the Hershey Corporation to create this fabulous contest. We were honored to collaborate with Hershey's in this promotion since much like our experiment in sharing, Milton Hershey took what had once been a luxury for the rich (swiss chocolate) and made it possible for all to share in the bliss. I am certainly enjoying your journey and look forward to meeting all the grand prize winners in New York next spring at the "In Living Pink" - YSC Annual Gala. We have a public group website on Multiply where you can follow our journey. Our next exchange is October 28th when "Jewelia" will be passed to me and we'll embark on our 6th year of sharing!
    Blissfully yours,
    Patti

    ReplyDelete
  2. Nick SOctober 21, 2009

    Thanks so much for writing, Patti! And thanks for signing my copy of "The Necklace." This experience has been so much fun and I am so thankful that I was able to share so much bliss with so many people. I am sorry that I will not be able to meet you in NYC, but I wish you all the best there.

    Thanks again for writing. It means a lot to me.

    - Nick

    ReplyDelete
  3. Jonell McLainOctober 22, 2009

    Dear Nick and Monica,
    Patti shared your comments with me... as she shares everything. It's so gratifying at this point in our experiment to see how fully people embrace the idea of sharing. Thank you for including us all in your adventures as you bring a shine to so many lives. I know you will find as we did that this is a life changing opportunity to embrace others and enjoy together the real diamonds in life.. friends, community and your wonderful marriage. It makes a meaningful difference to everyone it touches.
    With warmest affection,
    Jonell McLain
    Chapter 1

    ReplyDelete

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