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Brad talked about taxes and the trouble he had with how long to keep the old records. Last year I did the absolute worst job keeping track of our bills and papers. I didn’t even try to file them or keep them in the same spot – I’d just set them down in one of four areas and would say, “I’ll get to them later”.

Well, tax time is nearly upon us and we’re probably going to have a problem. In past years I’ve recycled an old accordion file from 10 years back or so, but this year I needed two – one for 2011 and one to get it in gear for 2012. I found one from 1996! Zowie – 16 years ago!

It was fun looking through the papers – I found out we used to have a Visa card that I have no memory of owning. We had receipts from stores in Seward that don’t exist anymore: Hinky Dinky (a little grocery story), Pamida (a discount store) and the old little Wal*Mart that used to sell boxes of Kleenex for 62 cents. 62 cents, I tell you!!!

I was at risk of being lost in memories, so I bagged the papers and receipts up and am looking forward to a date with the firepit sometime in the future.

Back when Lloyd’s dad was in the hospital, one of the nurses was telling us a story about a patient who had back surgery, and needed to keep his wound/sutures dry when he took a shower. Someone told him to cover the area with that Glad Press-N-Seal wrap that has thousands of tiny, sticky dots on it. He did, and it worked!

Pffft – a story like that is an old wive’s tale until it’s been tested.

Hey, wait – I’m an old wife!

Test away!

Verdict? It works! Wrapped up & watertight. It doesn’t even rip the hair off your arm, which I worried mightily about once I wrapped my wrist. (Whew.)

So, train travel is incredibly inexpensive, and if you’ve got the time, it is totally, totally worth it. I bought tickets for Lloyd and I and even upgraded to the littlest sleeper car room for 3/4 of what one last-minute plane ticket would be.

I was so excited!!!! A tiny little room that would meet all my tiny-house expectations! I poured over internet videos and the Amtrak site during the whole week, endlessly imagining what the ride would be like.

So, with that said, here are photos, because these are the things I wanted to know before I got on the train.

Yes, there will be room in the ‘closet’ for your 2-liter bottle of pop. Our second train had a different closet set-up, though.

Yes, there is only one power socket. Bring an adapter if you have other things to plug in.

The room is small. Smaller than you think it is after you’ve looked at it on the website. Sitting up is very comfortable, though.

When Lloyd has a cold, he will sleep a lot.

This is idea that I’m quite proud of: If you are travelling in winter, bring along a pillowcase for each coat. You won’t have to find a place to store your coat – you can stuff the coat inside and use it as an extra pillow!

There is room all the way under the seat to store your stuff.

There is a coffee and juice station at the end of the rooms. Yay for free drinks!

So: ‘Yes’ to train travel! ‘Yes’ to the sleeper car!

I scream, you scream, we all…. ok, I’ll stop.

Last Friday my student teacher helped the preschoolers make Freezer Bag Ice Cream – the stuff where you combine milk, sugar and a flavoring in a zip-loc bag, then put that bag in a bigger bag with ice and sugar and shake away. The kids loved it, and I was a little sad I didn’t make some myself.

So, what are you favorite ice cream combinations? Myself, I like a mini Heath Blizzard, or good vanilla ice cream with a drizzle of chocolate syrup, or a scoop of rainbow sherbet.

Mmmmmmmm……. now I want ice cream……

A long time ago I made a post about Citrus Magic, the amazing orange spray that makes your bathroom smell like candy, even after unspeakable things have occurred in there. Well, sometimes unspeakable things occur outside the home, and I thought I could do something about it.

At work, the main deodorizing spray is cinnamon-scented, and while it does a fairly good job, I am beginning to associate the smell of cinnamon with poop. I’d like to try the Citrus Magic, but it’s a little pricey. Instead of taking my whole precious supply to school, I’m going to sneak some in and see if this product can take on six toddlers who are toilet-training.

I’ve had this perfume atomizer for years, and have no idea where it came from. I’ve never had a chance to use it, but now this thing finally has a noble purpose. Go, Citrus Magic!