Contestant Blogs
This Week's Contestant
Job & Lauren I.
| Theme: | Sandals Romance Week |
|---|---|
| Hometown: | Crossville & Maryville, TN |
| Week of: | 06-25-2012 |
POSTED 6/30
We got to the studio early that morning and met some of the other contestants. They went over the rules, gave us a chance to practice spinning the wheel...which was very heavy!
They were getting the set together as we took turns practicing. They told us which couples we would be playing against and since they filmed the entire week in that one day we drew numbers to see when we would film. Job was the last to draw and he got the last slot. We watched the other shows from the audience, and in between we went to the contestant room. I'm glad we didn't go first because I would have been so nervous. While we were waiting we got our make-up done, even Job! When it was our turn they put on our microphones, touched up our make-up, and gave us last minute tips.
Once we got up there it went by so fast, I couldn't believe we were finally there! It is definitely different from playing at home, the lights are bright, and the puzzle board is so big! Job won the second toss up so that helped us feel more confident. We discussed our strategy but once we were playing we forgot everything we talked about. When it was our turn on the prize puzzle Job said "We'd like to solve." I was shocked, I had no idea what it was...as he was saying his answer he realized one of the words was wrong. We are those people who yell at the TV when people say things that don't fit in the puzzle...now we have empathy for them. Job was very upset he even bit the WILD card out of frustration. The couple right after us solved it and we were kicking ourselves as they announced where they were going on their trip.
We were pretty discouraged after this, but Pat was very encouraging and told us not to let it get to us. We won another puzzle and then the last one...I didn't even realize but that put us in the lead. We went to the bonus round and I finally got to spin the wheel, the big one was too heavy for me but I could spin the little one. Job picked the letters he decided were best and we had one extra because of the WILD card. We got enough letters and Job knew it right away!
Our total winnings were more than either of us make in a year...we were thrilled!! It was such a fun, surreal opportunity and we are so thankful for the experience. We plan to use some of the money to go back and visit the children at an orphanage in Guatemala where we spent a few months when we first got married. We are going to use the rest for a down payment so we can finally buy a house!