The 12th Day of Christmas

12 Drummers Drumming



I'm a bit sad that tonight is the last night. I have had so much fun doing this!

Tonights gift was a challenge to find - I have been looking for several days for a "drum" and kept coming up empty handed. I was running some errands today and stopped at the book store (looking for something else) and asked by chance if they had any "drums". I ended up finding 3 perfect gifts while I was there. A chapter book about a drum playing fairy, the little drummer boy movie and a sturdy book that plays music with the little drummer boy story. Then I found the three little drum decorations at Michael's (all 3 for less than a dollar).
Also included tonight was a card explaining why we chose them and revealing who we were.



Card:




Poem:

(Adapted from the above link)


Night 12 has arrived, and on this our last night, 

One dozen drummers would be a grand sight. 

But the noise of their drums would hurt your head, 

So enjoy these books and movie we bring you instead.

The 11th Day of Christmas

11 Pipers Piping



Todays gift was pipe cleaner craft fun
A Fuzzoodle Kit (fuzzy pipe cleaners & pieces you can attach
to build faces and stuff with)
& Extra pipe cleaners

Card:



Poem:

(Adapted from the above link)

The Eleventh Day brings the pipers and their pipes
Such talent they have with so many colors and types

Here are some twisty fun pipes just for you.

So you can join in and have lots of fun, too.

We simply can't believe this game is almost through. 

We've had a jolly time bringing these gifts to you. 

With only one more night, don't you wish you knew,

Just exactly who we are and why we're doing this for you?

The 10th Day of Christmas

10 Lords a Leaping



Todays gift was popcorn

The 10 lords where bringing it when they got caught in a snowdrift so we found some more with a sweet topping to share

Card:



Poem:

(Adapted from the above link)

Ten lords a leaping would be an awesome gift,

But they got stuck while jumping in a snowdrift.
As we watched, we saw their yummy popcorn fly

So we found some with a sweet topping for you to try.

The 9th Day of Christmas

Nine Ladies Dancing



Todays gift was 2 Christmas music CD's (for the Ladies to dance to)



Card:



Poem:

Nine ladies dancing would be too big a crowd, 

Besides their music is way too loud.

We have for you Christmas songs,

That you can listen to all season long.

The 8th Day of Christmas

Eight Maids a Milking



The 8 Maids a milking were new at there job.
Try as they may they just couldn't get the milk to come out right.
Instead of plain milk, they got chocolate milk and milk duds.

Card:



Poem:

With a few changes -

On the eighth day of Christmas, we're busy as a bee. 

While the Eight maids-a-milking, no where do we see. 

But thankfully there in the barn we spy a tasty sweet, 

Chocolate Milk and Milk Maid caramels, what a treat.

The 7th Day of Christmas

Seven Swans a swimming



Tonights concept was that the Seven swans were swimming and playing in bubbles before they flew south. Therefore, the gift was bubble bath.



Card:


Poem:

I changed the last two lines of the poem I found at the above link and came up with this:

The 7th day of Christmas and we are half way done,
Remember no peeking or you’ll spoil the fun.
On this day of Christmas, how nice it would be,
If seven swans a swimming your family could see.
When we arrived at the pond only bubbles were there
but the swans left a note saying they were eager to share

The 6th Day of Christmas

Six Geese a Laying



Tonight I made Chocolate Eggs that the geese left when they flew south.
I found the idea here

You melt white chocolate or Almond bark then add a yellow center to look like an egg. The above site said to drop an M&M in the center but I didn't get that it was only 1 until just now. I wasn't sure how you got the M&M's to all melt together smoothly. Also, thinking I used more than one on each "egg", I wasn't sure how many bags of M&M's I would have to buy to get enough yellow ones, so I just used yellow sprinkles instead. They turned out really cute. I forgot to take a picture of them before I packaged them up but you can sort of see in the above picture.

Card:



Poem:

Six geese a-laying -- an interesting sight.

One of them squawked and they all took flight. 

What they left in their nest, 
you'll just have to look, 

But with these you won't want to cook.

The 5th Day of Christmas

5 Golden Rings



Todays gift was a tin of butter cookies and some bracelets for the girls and a bracelet pen for the boy in the family.

Card:



Poem:

I decided to go with my own creation tonight because all the previous days had started out with "On the ____ day of Christmas" and Zac's poem tonight didn't. I was kind of torn though because I liked his poem but I didn't want to bother him to add to it since he was busy editing pictures.
So in the end I wrote my own.

Here are the two versions:

Zacs:

Five golden rings would be nice,
the way they shimmer in the light
But sparkly bracelets shimmer too,
and cookies just feel so right

Mine:

On the fifth day of Christmas we sing “Five golden rings”
So a box of golden cookies is part of the gift we bring
Also for the kids, we must insist
they wear these “rings” around their wrists

The 4th Day of Christmas

Four Calling Birds



Before the cell phone age, the gifts for this day were traditionally calling cards or cash for the pay phone but since that doesn't work now days, what to do for the 4 calling birds?

I liked the pen and paper idea I found in this poem .

The calling birds have all flown away.
They're visiting the South to see the view.
Instead of a call, they left these few things,
Some pencils and paper – their gift to you.

However, I didn't like that the lines of the poem didn't rhyme like the previous days did so I inlisted Zac's help again and he came up with this:

On the fourth day of Christmas, four things you will not miss
A bunch of calling birds and the mess that certainly comes with
Instead a pretty box full off paper and pens for all to share
A slightly boring gift I hope still manages to say, “I care”

I was slightly offended by his "boring" comment but in the end decided to leave it because it was something Zac would say and I want these gifts to be from all of us. This was part of his contribution. He also is the one who delivers the packages each night while everyone else is fast asleep in our beds. Zac just isn't wired to go to bed early so I know it is safe for him to make the delivery trip before he goes to bed.

Last night before I put the gift together, I was making chocolate chip cookies and didn't have any baking soda so I had to make a quick trip to the store. While there, I found this little box that had 4 birds on it "perfect"!
Ok technically it has 5 birds if you count the one on the ground.
But either way, I knew it had to make its way into this gift!



I filled the little box with several different pencil and paper gifts. The green and black pad in the back has a hole in it that you keep the pen in - I almost bought one of these for myself as well. Then for the kids I found a little box of paper, stickers and colored pencils and Cars pads that came with pencils as well. Also I added a little pad of paper that had a magnetic closure and was printed with ornaments and the word Noel on the front.

Don't forget the card:

The 3rd Day of Christmas

Three French Hens



Most of the idea I found for today were for chicken noodle soup, or cornish hens. But then I saw something about a coffee mug with french vanilla coffee mix. I loved this idea and wanted to find some sort of chicken/hen container or dish and a vanilla drink mix to combine some how.

I came across the above pictured tin at Hobby Lobby and knew it was perfect! But, what to put in it?
So I searched the drink isle at the store and found French Vanilla Hot Coca Mix. I then picked up a few packs of regular milk chocolate hot coca mix as well and added a bag of marshmallows to top it all off with. Then packaged it all up with some red tissue paper and the printed card.

Card:




Todays poem was challenging to write. I'm not know for being gifted in cleverness when it comes to writing. So after many attempts, I took my ideas to Zac who quickly came up with the perfect ending.


Poem:

Night 3 arrives, but we are not it France,
And three French hens don’t come by chance.
In fact in this gift, true hens there are not,
But what there is that is French is enjoyed while its hot.

The 2nd Day of Christmas

Todays secret gift was - Two Turtle Doves





I bought a little glittery green basket and filled it with Turtle Chocolates, Dove Chocolate Bars and some curly ribbon. Then printed a little card

Front of Card


Poem:
Tonight you have turtles & doves coming your way,
So relax, enjoy, and eat all the chocolate you may.
Because in your family you have quite a few,
We've left on your doorstep more than just two.

This glad Christmas season is so full of fun.
We're happy to share with your family, then run.
How grateful we are that you're playing our game.
You'll now find that Christmas won't be the same.

The 12 Days of Christmas - Day 1

Once again its been forever since I blogged. Most days I barely have time to check my email so the time dedicated to blogging gets pushed aside. But with today being the 1st of December, I'm more than ready to start my holiday giving and I wanted to share a project I'm doing.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Christmas - everything about it makes me smile - well except maybe the credit card bills :)

My tree has been up for weeks now and I've been listening to Christmas music for well over a month. Several weeks ago I was listening to the all Christmas music radio station in my car while driving to the oncologists office to have my port flushed. On the way there, I heard the song the 12 Days of Christmas for the first time this year. It immediately reminded me of how a friend of mine had given gifts to someone important in her life for 12 days in a row. My entire appointment I couldn't stop thinking about it. So on the drive home I called my friend to find out the details. Then when I got home I looked it up on line. I could hardly stand the excitement. I wanted to start that day but Thanksgiving wasn't even here yet so I had to wait.

Traditionally the 12 days of Christmas begin on Christmas day and go through the 6th of January but there have already been plenty of presents given by then so most people do it as an advent starting on the 13th and going through Christmas Eve. I however couldn't wait that long and thought it would be fun to do it the FIRST 12 days of the month :)

So with today being December 1st, here is what was secretly left last night:




I got a little basket and filled it with little bits of garland (tree) then arranged on top 5 different types of fresh pears, Pear hand soap, Apple - Pear lotion and a little bird ornament. Then I made a little card with a photo I found here and printed the poem I found here

Front of card:



Poem:

Twas the first day of Christmas and all through your house,
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
'Cept suddenly some little souls did appear,
It is your Christmas friends, bringing you holiday cheer.

Tonight calls for a partridge in your pear tree,
But partridges are tough to catch, as we came to see.
So how bout fresh pears, and an ornamental bird,
These pears are quite tasty, or so we have heard.

Tonight's the first night, and this is where it all starts.
Know that each of these gifts comes straight from our hearts.
Now each night going forward, we'll bring gifts to your door,
The twelve days of Christmas, not one less or one more.

Beware of this warning- your friends will be here,
But you better not look , or we will all disappear.
Then all of your gifts that we've carefully planned,
On some other front porch they will surprisingly land.


Check back tomorrow to see Day 2 "Two Turtle Doves"

Blessings

Yesterday I was so excited to have the opportunity to experience a little bit of Zac's photography world. We dropped the Men off with my sister and headed to a friends house to photograph her almost 1 month old twins. It was the most fun I have had in a long time. I honestly don't even remember the last time Zac and I went somewhere together (with out the men). The shoot itself was a learning experience for us all and was fun and challenging at the same time. I got to help a lot and spent most of the time holding one or the other of the twins TRYING to get them to go to sleep and stay asleep for their photo session :)

I must admit that while holding them a itty bitty part of me longed for those days when my Men were little (well never quite as little as these two were) But this morning as I attempted to wake Gryphyn and Vahn up, I was overwhelmed with my love for them and the memories of their whole little lives. It has only been 5 years since I became a mommy. But SO much has happened, there are so many stories and moments and stories of how I have had a part in shaping who they are. I am amazed that God saw it fit to give me my two wonderful Men. Over the years, some things have changed drastically while other things haven't changed at all.

First to wake up is Gryphyn. He is NOT a morning person - never has been. So the process is a bit involved to get him to wake up in the mornings for school. As usual, he had migrated to our bed sometime during the night. Despite our efforts to get him to stay in his bed, he has always slept better snuggled up with Mom and Dad. As an infant, I would rock him to sleep then try and lay him in his crib without waking him up - usually unsuccessfully - so a lot of nights were spent cradled in mommies arms to sleep. He also, doesn't like clothes so he usually strips down to little pj shorts during the night which usually causes him to wake up cold during the night. Which conveniently provides him the perfect excuse to climb into Mom and Dads warm bed. Gryphyn has ALWAYS loved to be naked. However despite his efforts as an infant, he wasn't able to communicate this "need" to be naked to us. Looking back though I can see it. When I would wrap him up like "burrito" baby he would fuss and wiggle and squirm until he had his arms free then he would calm down and eventually fall asleep. He LOVED being naked and free - Bath times were always a great source of joy for him.
This morning as I sat on the edge of my bed holding him, rubbing his bare tummy and telling him it was time to wake up, he scrunched up his face and stretched his arms over his head softly moaning in protest. So much like when he was a baby - only now he doesn't fit in my lap anymore. As he finally opened his eyes, the first word were "I'm hungry" ~ Still the only reason in his mind to wake up.

After I made Gryphyn breakfast, I went to Vahn's room to wake him up. He is my morning person and usually wakes up fairly happily and in a good mood. This morning, I sat on the floor next to his bed and pulled him in my lap. As I held him in my lap rocking and kissing him, I was overwhelmed by how innocent he looked. His soft long eyelashes and little perfect nose filled my heart with amazing motherly love and brought tears to my eyes. My little Man is growing up so fast. He is getting so big that I am starting to confuse him with Gryphyn from behind. He is so NOT a baby anymore. He has a huge vocabulary, and incredible yearning to learn about everything. He has a huge quest for knowledge and copies everything that he hears. I am amazed to hear the grown up things that he says. For a 3 year old the depth of his conversations blow me away. For example, instead of saying a simple NO, he will say something like "Actually I don't want to do that".
I'm pretty sure he can use the computer and Daddies iPad better than I can. He is such a happy little boy. He has always been the "easy" one. Although now, he is becoming quite stubborn and tests the limits on everything. He keeps me on my toes. He misses Gryphyn so much while he is at school and can't wait until he is old enough to go to school also. Till then we read and play a lot - he soaks up every moment of it. As do I.

Although, sometimes it seems like an eternity, I am reminded that my time with my Men is short.

Today, I am so thankful for my Men. Thankful that I have been given the honor of molding these two precious little lives. I have no idea what I am doing most of the time - everyday has new challenges - its a learning process for both them and I. But each day my love for them grows and I pray that I will be a good mommy and make the right choices that will mold them into great Men one day.

Gryphyn and Vahn, I love you beyond words. I am so blessed to have you!

Mommy

MANism Monday & Project 365 (Days 87- 93)

MANism = The funny crazy things my MEN say and do!

I was going thru my pictures in my folder for what I wanted to include in this weeks post and I came across 2 that I meant to include in last weeks post
- So I'm including them now :)

March 21st

Gryphyn took this picture of the leaf
- I love the placement of it on his shadow :) HEEE HEEE!

March 27th

Like Father - Like Son!
We were waiting for our dinner to come and Zac was editing pictures
on his phone and Gryphyn was playing games on mine!

March 30th - Day 87

Mom and Dad are getting a new driveway as soon as we have some DRY weather! The city came out and spray painted the yard and sidewalk marking all where all the gas, water, cable lines etc... were - now we have little flags all over the yard :)

MANism#03302010
Vahn got in trouble and I gave him a spanken.
Gryphyn said "Its good for you to spank him"
M~ "Why?"
G ~ "Cuz I like it when you spank him"
M~ "Why do you like him to get spankens?"
G~ "Because its mean"
M~ "You like me to be mean to him?"
"G~ "Yeah"
M~ "Thats not very nice. I'm not being "mean" I'm disciplining him."

March 31st - Day 88

A few of my favorite things .... "SNOWFLAKES that stick to my nose and EYELASHES"



Day 88-B
A Micro Geocache find!

April 1st - Day 89
No Photo

April 2nd - Day 90

Easter Eggs!

MANism#04022010
We were dying easter eggs and Vahn got blue on his hands.
I told him... "Oh no, you are turning blue!"
He looked at his hands and said "Me want to be white" then pointed to a clean spot on his hand and said "this color"


90b - Who wants to dye Easter eggs ........


90c - when you can EAT them :)

April 3rd - Day 91

I was eating dinner at Noodles (my new favorite restaurant) and realized I hadn't taken a photo yet - so this is my Passion Fruit Tea - because who can't use some extra Passion in their life ?

April 4th - Day 92

The Men reading books at the grocery store.

MANism#04042010
We were at church and Mimi was holding Gryphyn - He told her "I like your necklace"
M~ "Thanks! What is it?"
G~ "Its that thing God died on"

MANism#04042010-2
After looking for Easter eggs, Nana asked Gryphyn what the Easter Bunnies name was?
G~ "Santa Clause"

MANism#04042010-3
Vahn started screaming like he was hurt when I went to see what was wrong / what happened, he said "Gryphyn touched me" (with his cold hands)

MANism Monday & Project 365 (days 80 - 86)

I took a ton of photos this week but I still missed a few days. I'm loving my new camera and being able to carry it everywhere with me -but I'm still not use to having it. Like today, I took a photo with my phone and was thinking I wish I had my real camera with me - Oh yeah I do! DUH!

March 22nd - Day 80


The men were starting to look a bit scraggly so it was time for a hair cut - I refuse to pay the high prices when they never do a good job so I cut it myself. Here are the before and after photos.



MANism#03222010
Gryphyn threw a toy over the stairs and when he got in trouble for it (since it almost hit Nana), we went to apologize to her and said: "I'm sorry Nana for trying to throw my toys at your head"

MANism#03222010-2
We were out running around and stopped at the house for a few things. Nana was there and asked MiMi about Vahn "Has this one had N-O-N-A-P? To which Vahn quickly replied "Yep!"

MANism #03222010-3
MiMi told Gryphyn that if he didn't "________" then she was going to "drop the hammer" Later that day, we heard G tell Vahn that if he didn't do ______ that "MiMi is going to drop the hammer"

March 23rd - Day 81
No photos :(

MANism03232010
Vahn once again got up much earlier than I wanted to - after a few minutes in my bed of him squirming around and insisting that he was thirsty while I tried to ignore him and sleep. I gave up and as I was prying myself from the bed I told him "your a bedhog" to which he replied "No, me a kid"

MANism0323010-2
Vahn was looking at the front of his pj shirt (that has an elephant on it) and asked "Why animals have one eye?" Once I figured out what he was talking about, I told him "the other one is on the other side - you just can't see it in your picture"

MANism#03232010-3
We were driving and Vahn pointed out the window and asked "what those birds doing?"
M~ "I don't know, I didn't see them. What do you think they were doing?"
V~ "They looking for food. They hungry like me!"

MANism#03232010-4
Vahn got upset that his pee wasn't yellow. I tried explaining to him that its not "suppose to" be yellow. To which he replied "Me like it yellow" - then went on telling me how he was going to drink some water so it would be red and green! YIKES!

MANism#03232010-5
V~ "Mes play with Gryphyns neighbors?"
M~ "They are YOUR neighbors too."

March 24th - Day 82

MANism#03242010
I was driving Gryphyn to school when he pointed out the window towards a factory and and asked what it was. I told him it was some sort of factory and that we should go check it out to see what it was
G~ "Yeah, cuz its cool! Its making all the clouds!"


"Cloud" Factory

March 25th - Day 83
No photos :(

March 26th - Day 84


Vahn tends to roll out of his bed at night - good thing its on the floor - this is how I found him when I went to check on the men before I went to bed!

MANism#03262010
I got Gryphyn a watch out of a Geocache yesterday. This morning Vahn put it on and was asked what time it was - I looked at it and told him it was 7:31. Then he looked at it and said "it says 39 - 1- 12" Since then, he has been staring at it and every time it changes he asks "what it say now mama?"

MANism#03262010-2
The Lil Men and I went for a walk along the Jordan River Parkway. The Men were riding their bikes and Gryphyn went really far ahead of us. Vahn was getting tired so when I couldn't see G anymore, I made Vahn sit on a bench on the side of the trail and ran after Gryphyn. When I finally caught up to him, he had taken the seat off of his bike and was sitting on it on the ground next to his bike. I asked him what he was doing and he said "ohh just taking a little break!"

March 27th - Day 85

We spent the day at Antelope island - while there, Gryphyn found this Cache totally on accident. We kept telling him not to open or touch thing. He found this in one of the side bins of an old wagon.

Here is the photo that I took:


And the one Zac took - sigh he just sees things better than I do!


MANism#02272010
While climbing on some rocks at Antelope Island, I thought Zac had the men and he thought I did! We couldn't find Gryphyn anywhere! Of course we freaked out when he didn't answer our calls. I headed back toward the car with Vahn while Zac searched the rocks. About 1/2 way to the car I spot Gryphyn with an arm full of rocks.
M ~ "why did you run away"
G~ "I was on a mission"
M~ "You have to stay with Mommy and Daddy at all times - stay where we can see you so we know you are okay!"
G~"But it was a "kid" mission!"


85b - Zac off doing what he loves - capturing great photos!

March 28th - Day 86
No photos :(


March 29th - Day 87

Vahn sitting in his toy box -singing about "sitting in the toy box"

SPEECH

I had to give an informative speech today in my communications class.
If you know me, you know I'm NOT a fan of writing OR public speaking
- but I thought this speech turned out well!

Well at least the written version of it, the getting up in front of the class and trying to run a slideshow on a PC while talking- Not so much!

Since this is MY blog and I can post what ever I want :) I though I would share it here - cuz I think its funny :)



Have you ever been to a friends house for the first time and asked where the bathroom was? Have they ever said jokingly back to you, after pointing it out, to just leave a quarter on the counter or back of the toilet? We laugh at this and don’t really think anything of it. Well, I didn’t either until the first time I left the country with the Military.

I was in the Air Force for 7 years. In Sept of 2003, I got orders to Korea  and lived in Kunsan South Korea for 1 year.



I wouldn’t say that it was complete culture shock because I lived on a military base that was very “American” However, there were many times that I went off base, exploring or on sight seeing trips with friends.
These were the times that were strange.
You don’t realize the things that we take for granted in the US.
Probably the most appalling thing that I saw - or I should say smelled was the open sewer lines. The smell was horrible!
I think the Koreas must be use to it - but I never did.

Then there are the bathrooms themselves. I just assumed everyone in the world had the same type of facilities. Boy was I wrong!

There is nothing like opening the door to find this 



No, its not broken or missing!

This is called a squat toilet. In Korea, the “toilets” originally, were just a hole in the ground. - these evolved into a porcelain hole in the ground that you are suppose to squat over.




They are supposedly pretty easy to use. I didn’t want to take the chance of not being coordinated enough to use one of these so I never did try.

Squatting is quite common in Korea. I remember doing it as a kid and my kids do it. When exactly do Americans out grow that???? Well, Korean don’t.
I remember seeing old women squatting in the market place selling fish and other things and wondering how they could sit that way??? 



Apparently, squatting is the best way to empty your bowels. When you sit, you pinch your colon.  This diagram is taken from the toilet related ailments website they say that you can not completely empty your bowels in the sitting position because this muscle pinches. And that by squatting, your leg muscles press against your intestines helping things to naturally move along. Check it out if you want more information on all that. You can even get plans on how to retrofit your home toilet with a platform that allows you to squat - I’ll be passing on that one!

If I were to ask you how many of the pictures I already showed you in these slides had trash cans in them, I bet you wouldn’t be able to tell me!
If you were in a Korean bathroom however, you would not be able to miss it.  The smell would give it away!



That trash can in the corner - THAT is where your used paper goes - this one actually has a lid - most do NOT!
YEP, sorry, you may NOT flush your used toilet paper.
The sewers can’t handle it.

Thankfully, there are many Western style toilets available
When in doubt, look for the McDonalds!

I never was stuck in a position where I had to use a squat style one - although now, I’m kind of wishing I would have tried - just to say that I did.

So, you finally found a “regular” toilet to use. Where you can sit and flush your toilet paper (still not recommended - but quite common in these toilets) but wait - where is the toilet paper???

You mean after all that you forgot to BUY your toilet paper?
Thats right, TP is NOT free. Pack some in your bag or look for a tp vending machine outside the stalls. 

This photo is of a tp vending machine in Japan - I couldn’t find a Korean photo - but its quite similar to the Korean ones.

OK, now that you never want find yourself in Korea when you need to use the bathroom, Lets move to Germany.



I arrived in Germany in Sept of 2004. Where I was stationed at Spangdahlem AB for 3 years. During this time I lived off base in a town named Biersdorf AM SEA - which means “beer town on the sea (or lake) - Right about  here on the map.

After Korea, I thought I was prepared for anything.
No one else would do strange toilet things - would they?

Oh -Yes they would!

In Germany, Whether you are a "Damen" - Female or "Herren" - Male
Look for these signs:



W.C. is the most common - it stands for Water Closet
Here are a few other examples you might see:



Upon locating the WC In Germany, you will be pleased to find that,
it is now okay to flush your tp and sit.
Which is great for us girls. However if you are a guy,
You probably won’t be so happy to find stickers like this:



Thats right - please don’t stand up to pee!

Why? Because the Germans have a crazy toilet design that makes it pretty impossible to pee standing up with out splashing everywhere!

While the typical american toilet is shaped like this:
The German one is like this:



With a shelf! WHY WHY would they do that?

Apparently, Germans are in the habit to checking out their waste to make sure they don’t have parasites. I’m perfectly fine NOT doing this!
If I don’t feel well I’ll see a Dr. thanks!

So yeah, its a bit odd but not too bad - when you flush, the water washes from the back and pushes the waste down the small hole in the front.

Just make sure you use the brush after you flush, sorry to say, you probably will need to unless there is great water pressure - which is unusual. - and YES you can flush your TP. All for free!

Well almost! Don’t be surprised if you are out at a restaurant or at a fest and see a little table with money on it in the bathroom.

Thats right, you are expected to PAY to use the bathrooms.

At least you know its clean - since there is usually someone there cleaning it - which yes you will have to wait on sometimes. Which can make the line take even longer!

So as you can see, bathrooms around the world can be a bit awkward. Whether you sit or stand, don’t forget to keep some change in your pocket, you never know when you might be required to buy your tp or even to be allowed access!
But if you have an open mind and do a little research ahead of time, everything will come out all right.