The Man Cave

The Man Cave

• 11.17.2011

Bron's birthday and Christmas came a little early this year.  I surprised my hunk of a man with a full-blown theater system!  We are now the proud owners of a Samsung 46" LED Smart TV (blah blah blah), blue ray player, and surround sound speakers.  It is FANCY PANTS!!!

Bron has been dreaming of a nice tv for a while now.  But with the purchase of our home, it just kept getting shoved down the priority list: we needed a refrigerator, we needed a couch, we needed a washer and a dryer.  Needless to say, our savings account has pretty much been depleted.  Still, Bron wanted a tv; it's the way he unwinds in the evenings.  Plus, it's football season and he was missing out!  He talked about getting a new tv a lot.  In fact, a few weeks ago, he mentioned how cool it would be to come home and have it all set up for him.  I took that as permission to get 'r dun!  And to get it done right!  (You see, it would be so much less stressful for Bron if he never saw the price tag and just got to sit down and enjoy it.)

I had a tech from Best Buy come out to the house and give me a bid on exactly everything I'd need.  Then I went into the store and changed some of his suggestions--like a slightly smaller tv ("on sale") and Klipsch speakers over Bose speakers--and cut his estimate nearly in half.  Yes, I spent A LOT of money anyway!  I left the store feeling sick to stomach.  What had I just done?     

The week long wait was excruciating!  It was so hard not to say anything to Bron!  Yesterday, the tech from Best Buy came out to the house and installed the entire system in one afternoon.  He plugged in the movie, Cars, to test it.  The picture and sound were INCREDIBLE!  How many times have I seen that movie and not noticed the scratches on Lightning McQueen's paint or not heard how Sally's engine purrs?  I was over the top EXCITED!!!  Bron couldn't get home soon enough.  I waited and watched and waited.

Finally, Bron arrived home.  I had him follow me into the living room to see all the {Christmas} decorating I'd gotten done.  Then I asked him to come see the work I'd done on the den.  Bron saw a speaker in the corner.  I saw his mouth turn halfway up.  Then he saw the tv and exploded in happiness!

Mission Accomplished: Total and Complete Surprise!!!

Bron didn't stop smiling all night long.  This kind of home entertainment is totally new to us.  We rented our first blue ray dvd and couldn't believe how SHARP the picture is!  We feel so spoiled!  I don't think we'll need to or even want to go to the movies ever again.  (Except for Breaking Dawn, of course.  I can't miss that!)

 We will definitely be inviting some friends over soon for food, fun, and a movie!