Little Indian: My Brother's Potty Partner

I don't know much about urinals. I know that there's a magical round thing in them that somehow keeps them fresh and clean. I know that if I see a urinal, I have just opened the wrong door! I also happen to know that at least one men's room at Adventureland has (or had) something more like a long trough for the boys to use. I don't know how common that is or what it is called. I know about it because TJ once came out of there with a really weird look on his face. A little boy had taken one of the first steps to become a man by going into that men's room all by himself. He found a spot at the trough next to TJ. Unfortunately, the boy was too short, and he sprayed straight up into the air. And he was unable to stop the flow.

My brother, Ryan, knows how much I appreciate a good bathroom story, so this one is from him. Ryan explained that the urinals in his office have automatic flushers. I have to be honest right here. I did not know urinals flush. If they don't have an automatic flusher, do they have a flush handle on the side? Or do they have a flush pedal? Maybe I don't need to know that.

Have you ever accidentally gotten on the same bathroom schedule as someone in your office? It's an awkward situation that no one likes to talk about. (Except me. I love to talk about stuff like that. I even have a name for it. It's your potty partner.) You might decide to adjust your schedule, but you never remember to adjust it until after you are in the bathroom and you run into your potty partner. Again. Well, Ryan has a potty partner he calls Little Indian. There are three reasons for this nickname:

1. Little Indian is short.
2. Little Indian is from India.
3. Ryan doesn't know Little Indian's real name. HE DOESN'T EVEN KNOW HIS POTTY PARTNER'S NAME!

It's going to sound like I'm bouncing around here, but I promise it will come back around. It's important for you to know that the automatic-urinal-flusher sensors work just like the sensors in the ladies room. They sense when the person has moved away from the target. The automatic-urinal-flusher sensors are located just above the urinal. It works well for all of the urinal-users in the office with one little exception. Little Indian. Little Indian is so short that the top of his head is barely in line with the automatic-urinal-flusher sensor. So he stands there, trying to do his business with his urinal flushing like crazy. It's like the urinal is screaming, "Hey, everybody! Look at me! I'm in use!" Ryan said it's best to keep your eyes on the ceiling in order to keep from laughing. It's gotten somewhat better because Little Indian has learned to reduce the constant flushing by standing on his tip-toes and holding his head very, very, very still. Apparently it's still entertaining.

I like to include at least one photo in my posts, so I googled "urinal trough". It appears to be the correct term. I apologize in advance for leaving you with this image, but I just didn't know what else to do.

Potty Princess - Attack of the Chihuahuas

How many of you love Taco Johns? All of you, that's who! There is a Taco Johns conveniently near my office that I visit whenever I need a quick taco. It's on Laporte Road in Waterloo for you local folks who are interested in visiting. Most of the employees are older ladies who take their job seriously and are noticeably friendly. I thought they deserved a treat today!

Enter: The Potty Princess!

I wanted to stick with a Mexican theme, even though Taco Johns is only Mexican in an American sort of way. Have you noticed that you don't see too many Mexicans in Taco Johns? At least not in the one in Waterloo. Side note: Last week I went to a hibachi restaurant where the Japanese chef makes a big show of cooking on a hot grill in front of you. Our chef's name was Fernando. And he didn't have too many tricks up his sleeve.

Back to Taco Johns. I printed out pictures of ceramic Chihuahuas and placed them in 5" x 7" frames. Thank you very much to my friend, Alisa for donating the frames! They fit nicely in my purse, along with some Command hooks that won't damage the walls. Bah-dah-bingo!

Here are the images I used. You're going to want to scroll down because they are just precious!

I think this is a cookie jar.

This is for sale on ebay.

This poor pup has super short front legs.

This one is pure genius and appeals to nearly everyone.

Oh! And the most exciting part is that I sent my kids in to check on the bathroom 8 hours after I decorated it, and the pictures are still there! Success!!

To the nice Taco Johns ladies: 

You're welcome for your surprise!

Much love,
The Potty Princess (P.P.)

P.S. Here's a link to the first adventure of the Potty Princess. 

Mrs. Fuzzy Toilet O'Topper

This is how the potty started. Earlier this year, I stopped by a Kentucky Fried Chicken in Madison, Wisconsin on my way through town. In the bathroom, I saw this.

Do you see the fuzzy toilet cover on top of the toilet? I named her Mrs. Fuzzy Toilet O'Topper. Here are some of my unanswered questions.

• What thoughtful person followed through with bringing Mrs. Fuzzy Toilet O'Topper to KFC and place her on her throne?
• I can't remember the last time I saw a fuzzy toilet topper. Do they even make them any more?
• Is she sanitary? How is she cleaned? (She didn't look clean.)
• What is her purpose? Are you supposed to put your purse on her? Is she merely a decorative focal point?
• How long has she been there?
• Why is she the only piece of luxury in the bathroom?
• When employees clean the bathroom, do they make a conscious decision to keep her in place?

After taking this picture and thinking about the above questions, I started noticing other public restrooms where people were going the extra mile. I'll share more pictures in another post. And please, if you have them, send me more. It eventually led to me decorating my first public restroom...see my post called The First Mission of the Potty Princess.

Well, last week I happened to be driving through Madison around lunch time. I decided to check in on my old friend Mrs. Fuzzy Toilet O'Topper. I was giddy as I entered the restaurant and headed over to the restroom. Guess what! It's been SEVEN MONTHS, and look! She's still there!

She's a little cockeyed, but Mrs. Fuzzy Toilet O'Topper is still hanging on!

She's a little dirtier. But I guess that shows she's being used...for something.

Mrs. Fuzzy Toilet O'Topper was dangerously close to the flusher, so I was careful not to touch her.

I should be going back through Madison in a couple weeks, and I have formulated a plan. Stay tuned!

The First Mission of the Potty Princess (The PP)

I started noticing public restrooms that were unexpectedly decorated about a year ago. I'm talking specifically about public restrooms in places where you wouldn't expect them to be decorated, like a convenience store or fast food restaurant. It makes me giggle to think about an employee or owner of a convenience store or fast food restaurant bringing in decorations. You don't get much more thoughtful than that! I started an album on my facebook page of some of my favorite public restroom finds. Some of you have already seen them, but I'll probably blog about them eventually. 

But, hold onto your hats! I have a special treat for you! I decorated my first public restroom! Oh, yes I did! I snuck in with some second hand decorations and sticky hooks. Just like my mama always taught me, I left that bathroom looking better than I found it! I didn't tell anyone who worked there what I was doing. I wanted to surprise them! Maybe they were having a bad day, and now they're not. Because maybe they were amazed that some mystery person would care enough to make their potty a better place. Or maybe they think it's just weird.

I have been searching for the perfect public restroom, and I finally found it tonight. I wanted a one-room potty for maximum privacy, a counter area and a blank or ugly pallet. I found everything on my wish list at the Pizza Palace in Traer, Iowa! We met my parents there because it's about half way in between our houses. We love their BLT pizza with mayonnaise! Yum! 

The Before

The walls may look like marble, but it's just that plastic stuff you'd expect to see in a 1970 trailer home bathroom. It needed help!

The After!

And now the fun part! I started by adding a ceramic flower, pink glass vase and some silk greens to a counter by the sink.

I added a lacy wood shelf and a cute little bunny. The shelf was raw wood when I got it, so I spruced it up with some white spray paint. I was careful not to get the spray paint on my car (lesson learned). The bunny was a dusty rose color from the 1980's when I got it. There was some actual dust on it, too, so I brightened it up with some craft paint.  

I added a banner above the full length mirror that I made out of ribbon and paper doilies from The Dollar Tree. I also made a longer one that I'll save for another bathroom. (I have my eye on the Waterloo Walgreens. Shhhhh!)

Here's the focal point! Two princess painted canvases! The one on the right has a round mirror so YOU look like the princess. Clever, right?! I used Command hooks so I didn't damage the walls and everything can be removed if they aren't 100% thrilled with the new look.

Isn't it fun to think about how the employees will react when they see their new decorations!? I hope they appreciate it, and I would love to see everything up the next time we visit The Pizza Palace. It was so much fun!