You Guys, You Guys, YOU GUYS!

Yesterday the following relatively minor but still awesome things happened to me:

• So, you know how I really have a special interest in pens and all things stationery/office supplies?  And you know how I have massively gushed about my love of online retailer Tokyo Pen Shop?  Well, I emailed Kimberly, the shop's owner, and asked her if she would give me some Hi-Tec C pens for a blog giveaway, and she said yes!  You guys, this is kind of huge for me, because this is my first time pitching a company, and I was so excited to get a positive response!  Especially from a retailer I love so much!  Anyway, the giveaway will have 5 pens, and when we work out the details of what colors they will be, I will put up the official giveaway post.  This is not the official giveaway post.  You won't win anything from commenting on this post, although of course I still love getting comments.  And also, if you have input on what colors you'd like to see in the giveaway, speak now or forever hold your peace!
• Speaking of giveaways, Yankee Candle is sending me a sample pack of their upcoming product line, and I will be doing a giveaway for that, too.  I don't know at all what is in the sample pack, so again, the official giveaway entry post will have to come later.  You won't win any candles commenting on this post either.  But you will win my appreciation!
• As unrelated as you could possibly get from the topic of blog giveaways, I had my annual physical at the doctor yesterday.  Last year he harped on me for being overweight, and I was afraid I would get harped on again this year because I still am overweight.  But, he commended me on my loss of what he called "a tremendous amount of weight," which I think was a bit of an exaggeration because I was 19 pounds down from where I was last year.  But still, as you probably guessed from yesterday's post, I really needed some weight-loss encouragement.  Honestly, that compliment from the doctor buoyed my spirits into the evening, so that I was still a responsible eater for the rest of the day (i.e., I did not reward myself with food for being done with an annoying checkup).  
• I finally finished assembling the desk and coffee table!  You guys, I am the worst at assembling furniture.  I aspire to reach a level of personal wealth that allows me to exclusively purchase already-assembled furniture.  I always laugh because at Ikea they have a picture diagram, and it goes from a panel where the person is standing there with a box, to a panel where people are sitting around on the assembled furniture, smiling.  Did many hours pass between the assembly and the smiling, so that the family has forgiven each other over the fight that inevitably occurred during the frustration of the furniture assembly?  Or in Sweden do they actually send families a government-appointed furniture assembler?  Anyway, I had some screws and things left over from the desk assembly, which ... may not be a good thing.  But, whatever, it's a desk.  It's not like somebody has to sit or sleep on  it, so it's not exactly a safety issue if there are a few screws missing.  Here's a photo of the assembled desk and coffee table:

And an equally-boring side view:

As you can see, it's kind of a work in progress.  We don't have chairs yet, the walls are bare, and that big white thing is the bed that we still have in there.  As I am kind of a "let's get it done now" kind of person, I don't like having a work in progress.  I kind of hate home decorating.  

•  My kid went to sleep in his own bed, BY HIMSELF!  I fully admit that we achieved this awesome feat because we imposed both a threat, and a bribe.  The threat was that he wouldn't get any screen-based activity the following day if he got out of his bed, which was a threat I was reluctant to impose because it did seem like he was legitimately scared in his room by himself.  (Also, never give a punishment that actually punishes you.)  But when I saw that he could easily go to bed by himself when a babysitter was here, it dawned on me that he was probably just pulling this "I'm scared" crap for me.  So ... enter the threat.  But I also like to put a positive spin on things (that is, I am a big fat softy), so when he asked if he could have an incentive chart for going to bed by himself, I said yes.  But then I asked him what he wanted for his incentive, he said cash.  So now I am literally paying him to stay in his bed.  The going rate for staying in bed is $2/night, but I made it clear that we are only doing this for 5 nights in a row and not that I'll be cutting him a $60 check on the first of every month.  I think with the five-day cap I am still keeping it in the realm of "a positive reward for a temporary period where we're enforcing a new behavior" and not "my kid is so spoiled and/or I am so desperate that I'm paying him for something he should do anyway."  Right ... RIGHT?!  And besides, at least it's a bit of a money lesson for him.  RIGHT?!