The dishes

Laura is laid up, so I'm doing the dishes while she takes a much deserved break. How often do i do them?

Well....

More baby pictures.

I know that all babies look the same to disinterested parties. But some people get a kick out of seeing the babies time and time again.

By the way, I had fun trooping into the hospital with five girls in tow. People everywhere were stopping to stare. I can say for certain that at the Shin's Woman's Hospital in Uijongbu, I am the only American who has had their sixth girl there.

Ah, perhaps I can write "Cheaper by the Dozen: the Vasel version" in ten years. I sincerely doubt "cheaper" will be in the title, though.

Ruby Rose Vasel

Ruby Rose Vasel was born today at 11:41 AM, March 18, 2009.

She was 3.33 kg (which is about 6 pounds, 10 ounces).

Both the baby and Mom are doing fine.


Six girls! Hooray!

Enough is enough!

I'm joining this guy's campaign.

Someone I hate.

See this guy? I hate him.

All right, perhaps hate isn't the right word. Maybe "loathe" or "detest" or "wish he would fall off a tall mountain" would be a better descriptor.

Yes, I know we shouldn't hate people. Jesus certainly taught against that in the Bible. But I feel no shame in this regard, and that's because this gentleman isn't real. He's part of the Wii Fit program, something I bought last week in an effort to lower my weight. I've already cut my eating habits, cutting my daily consumption by at least 40%, but I knew that dieting is only half the battle, so I wanted something that was fun.

Because for me, exercising isn't really that enjoyable. The only exercise that I've found fun was climbing up the mountains - and then only because of the awesome views from the top. And I've always wanted to prove people wrong who insisted that video games made you fat and lazy.

Now I know that the Wii Fit is not the ultimate training program, and that I could go to the gym or some other program for something better. But the Wii Fit is fun, and more importantly - the only person who watches me wobble around and gasp for air is my wife, daughters, and the Wii trainer.

Speaking of which, I'm convinced that the main feature of the Wii Fit is entertainment. Not for the person who is actually working out, but for the folks who watch the person working out. When doing the balancing excersises, as I topple over I could continually hear the peals of laughter from my wife behind me. It's good encouragement, believe you me! And Violet and Clara, the youngest (until tomorrow!) come and stare at me wide eyed as I look at them sadly as I'm gasping and grunting. Everyone gets a kick out it, I guess.

But let's get back to the Wii Trainer. He's calm, he's peaceful, and I want to silence him as he continually in a nice way reminds me of how fat I am. Thanks, Wii guy, I hadn't realized that. He'll say "you aren't very good at this excersise, are you", while smiling at me condescendingly. Thanks a lot, that's why I'm doing it in the first place!

And yet I still do it every day. I wake up early, and for one week - at least, I've spent thirty or so minutes a day stretching, running, boxing, and other strange poses for the system. Have I lost weight? Well, not really - maybe a pound or two. Do I feel more in shape? This is a higher possibility, although the first couple of days I hobbled around as my leg muscles cursed me for using them for once.

I wake up early, and grab the balance board and get to work. I'm determined to do this for at least two months straight, to see what happens. I wake up early, and even though I don't feel like it - I get up and run, walk, and stretch. My motivation is currently strong, and I want to please the Wii trainer, electronic dictator that he might be.

I bet some of you see where I'm going with this.

I want to be less fat. I want to be in shape, so I wake up early to excercise.

I could say I had no time. I could say that it's too hard. I could say that it's just not a high priority. But I've made time, I work despite the struggles, and I've made it a priority.

Do I do the same with reading the Bible? Do I make time each day to do that? I can use the same excuses that I just wrote - and many of us do - and yet am I willing to put more effort into my physical body than my spiritual one?

I really don't hate the Wii trainer, and I'm feeling better about myself - because I'm starting to see some progress in my muscles - and only after a week! The excersises are getting harder, and I'm determined to get better at them.

May I apply this same determination to my time in the Word of God.

Vaselology

OK, I've never done one of these before in my life. I think they're stupid. But yet, my sisters haven't proven themselves to be stupid, and they both did it, so maybe I'll do one and see what happens. But I'll also be nice and not tag anyone. For those of you lucky enough to have never read one of these, it's a bunch of random questions that people answer so that others may learn more about them.

They start with something like this:" Tag- You're it!!! Let others know a little more about yourself by re-posting and tagging your friends. Repost note as your name "ology"

Hmm, "Tomology" sounds dumb, so we'll go with "Vaselology" I'm one of the last Vasels in existence, anyway - and with my slight tendency to having girls, will probably stay that way.


What is your salad dressing of choice?
Well, whatever I'm in the mood for at any given point. Tie me down, and it's probably Red Wine and Vinegar. I am partial to good creamy Ranch, though.

What is your favorite sit-down restaurant?
Anyone who has ever been to Shady Maple does not ask this question. There is honestly no competition. Shady Maple is the best - period.

What food could you eat for 2 weeks straight and not get sick of it?
I once would have said tacos, but now I think I'll say nothing. I love tacos, but probably would get tired of them after the tenth day.

What are your pizza toppings of choice?
Taco topping (thank you CiCis!), but of the "normal" toppings - jalepeno peppers, cheddar cheese, and chicken. Although shrimp, scallops, and squid is a good combo. And what about bacon, cheddar, and onions? More than one topping, that's for sure.

What do you like to put on your toast?
Garlic salt and a special blend of spices I have.

How many televisions are in your house?
One, and that's probably one too many.

What color cell phone do you have?
Black, and who cares?

Are you right-handed or left-handed?
Happily, I'm right handed. Since most stuff in the world is geared towards those who are right handed, I'm happy to be in the majority.

Have you ever had anything removed from your body?
A mole. But it grew back. A mole. But it grew back. A mole. (I'm about to give up)

What is the last heavy item you lifted?
My gigantic body on and off the Wii Fit.

Have you ever been knocked unconscious?
No. Probably plenty of people have thought about it, though!

If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die?
Would I live differently? I hope not - I want to serve Jesus Christ every day, and if I acted differently knowing the day I would die - I would be a hypocrite.

If you could change your name, what would you change it to?
Tom is a cool name, and Vasel (other than the myriad of people who spell it wrong) is pretty nice. Le Hatte de Vanache is pretty cool, but I don't think my wife would go for that.

Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1000?
Pish posh. I'd do it for $50. (As long as we're talking normal hot sauce).

Last run-in with the cops?
I keep out of their hair.

Last person you talked to?
In person - my wife. I try to make this a general habit. And what did we talk about? When the baby is coming, of course!

Last person you hugged?
My wife. This is going to be my answer 70% of the time. The other 30% is spread amongst my girls.

Favorite Season?
Summer. By far. Then I like Fall and Spring. Winter I hate. And despise. And hate.

Holiday?
Christmas, because of the wonderful cheerfulness that is in the air. But Easter is really the best holiday - I wish it got the same treatment as Christmas.

Day of the week?
Sunday, although I'm partial to Mondays, as I catch a quick break after a busy Sunday.

Month?
June.

First place you went this morning?
In the house - to the stupid Wii Fit.
Out of the house - to school.
Boy, this is exciting - aren't you glad you're reading this?

What's the last movie you saw?
Hmmm, not sure, really. A Walk to Remember, probably.

Do you smile often?
I do quite often. But not very much at the Wii Fit.

Do you always answer your phone?
Yes. It's rude to ignore people calling, and you never know when it's an emergency!

It's four in the morning and you get a text message who is it?
Someone from church.

If you could change your eye color what would it be?
Fluorescent lime, or perhaps rainbow. Or again, who cares?

What flavor drink do you get at Sonic??
What is this Sonics you speak of?

Do you own a digital camera?
Now days, only the Amish don't.

Have you ever had a pet fish?
Had? How about have? I think we have about 16 right now, all of which have lasted almost two years!

Favorite Christmas song?
Joseph's Lullaby

What's on your wish list for your birthday?
Nothing. Why make a wish list when no one buys for you? But if I'm pretending, I need to get a new iPod to replace the one that was stolen. About 100 good Christian books would be nice, also.

Can you do push ups?
None of your business! Only me and the Wii Fit know.

Can you do a chin up?
See last question, except for the Wii part.

Does the future make you more nervous or excited?
It depends what we are talking about

Do you have any saved texts?
I delete them all (I hate texts!!!), but I do keep one with a password on it.

Ever been in a car wreck?
No, praise the Lord.

Do you have an accent?
Everyone has an accent. Mine is mostly PA Dutch, but I have picked up a few Southern bits, and a few Oriental twangs, also.

What is the last song to make you cry?
A really bad rendition of Happy Birthday. But maybe they were tears of laughter.

Plans tonight?
Setting up a new computer, and cleaning a room, and playing with my kids.

Have you ever felt like you hit rock bottom?
I have. But Jesus is always there, and it's not that bad.

Name 3 things you bought yesterday?
Computer, Hard Drive, Flowers. I gave one of these three things to my wife. You guess which.

Have you ever been given roses?
I have! It seems odd, but all teacher's get flowers on Teacher's Day here in Korea.

Current worry?
Will the Wii Fit trainer make fun of me tomorrow?

Current hate right now?
Wii Fit trainer

Met someone who changed your life?
The pat answer (and the correct one, really) is Jesus Christ. He is the ultimate life changer. Other than that, Laura, Rex, Rich, Joe, Sam, Matt, and Rod have all been big influences. And pastors - Pastor Kelley and Pastor Sliger especially.

How did you bring in the New Year?
The same way I always do. With a board game. Time's Up this year.

What song represents you?
Only a Sinner, Saved by Grace

Name three people who might complete this?
People who have WAY too much time.

What were you doing 12 AM last night?
snoring.

What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up?
Is the Wii Fit trainer going to be annoyed at me?


Hmmm, maybe a lot of Wii Fit talk here. I think that will be my next post. OK, I've finally done one of these lists. Hopefully that should please people for the next 5 years.

Top Ten things I saw in Malaysia

Well, it's been a while since I posted - which is due to two things. One, I went on a trip to Malaysia, and two, I was sick for a week or so after the trip.

On the trip back, I was just starting to get sick, so I foolishly checked my carry-on onto the plane. On it was my digital camera and my iPod, and both were "mysteriously" missing when I got back.

So gone are the 800 or so pictures and videos that I took while there. But I wanted to tell about my trip anyway, so I figured I would do so in the form of a top ten list.

We went to Kota Kinabalu, in the island of Borneo in Malaysia. Malaysia is still my favorite country to visit, because it's a whirlwind of colors, languages, cultures, and more. Not only that, but there is a very high class city feel, right next to the jungle. Beauty and more. I love going there for so many reasons. This time I was going as the sponsor of the senior class at our school. While it was fun going with the kids, I really am looking forward to going there with my family sometime. So what did I enjoy?

10.) Banana Boat: I've not ridden one of these before, but it wasn't that expensive, and everyone assured me it was a lot of fun. So me and five of the boys loaded up and off we went! And everyone was right - it was a tremendous amount of fun. I sat in the middle, confident in my life jacket until suddenly a swift turn by the boat driver landed all of us in the water. This was actually pretty funny (except for the two boys behind me who suddenly had 250 pounds of man fly right through them). Then I realized that we were out in the bay, and I had to climb back on the stupid banana boat. So eventually (after a great deal of tugging and pushing by the boys) I got back on. The jerk of a driver dumped us once again in the shallows, where it was easier to get on board, and then once again out in the middle of the bay. The third time I was literally screaming at him to not be a jerk and dump us again. Falling was fun, climbing in was not! And the third time, I just could not get back on the banana boat. This is certainly a tip that I need to go on a diet (which I'm on for ten days now!), but also that I should improve my upper body strength. Everyone was good sports about it - except for the evil driver, who laughed and laughed - and this picture shows us right after we got back to shore (I road in the boat on the way back).

9.) Fireflies: As a kid, I loved to stay out after dark and chase the fireflies (or lightning bugs). On the last day of our trip, we road a boat down a river to look at monkeys in the trees. This was pretty neat, and I had a good time. But the best part was after dark, when they drove us down the river at night. Fireflies landed in the trees by the thousands, providing natural Christmas lights. It's one of the coolest things I've ever seen, and I'm certainly glad we went. It was a bit odd travelling down a dark river with no lights on the boats, and my mind wandered to thinking about snakes and more. But nothing happened. Maybe next time someone will get swallowed, and then I'll have a story to tell!



8.) Board Games: I can already hear some of you screaming about my playing board games while in one of the most beautiful places on earth. But first of all, I only did it for a few hours, and secondly, I love meeting boardgamers from all over the world. The folks at CarcaSean (an obvious play on Carcassonne) were very friendly and nice - they knew who I was, and we even managed to trade a few games. It was a great time, and I plan to go back and visit them next time I'm in Kota Kinabalu.

Games played included Time is Money, A Castle for all Seasons, and Dominion. I won only one game, but had a blast - and everyone was excellent in both attitude and strategy.

7.) Shopping: While I don't consider myself a shopper (although this is NOT true when I have money and am in the Youngsan Electronics Market), I do like to find unusual and interesting things to buy - and Malaysia is full of them. Although I vacated one open market when I saw rats that were the size of cats (I kicked at a cat I saw for not doing it's God-given job), I had a great time hunting around. I bought a lot of spices, but I'm most impressed with the Malaysian teas - they have a very good flavor.

6.) Orangutan: I had to look this up to see if I spelled it correctly, and I didn't. Big shocker there, but I did have a great time hunting these fellows down (in my camera's viewfinder, people!) The resort we stayed at had an attached Orangutan reserve, and I spent an hour or so looking at them eat and swing through the trees. It was very neat, and I was impressed by the keepers telling me honestly that it was the best job they had ever had - some of them had been there for twenty years.

5.) Sea Diving: I road in some kind of "Scubadoo" device that allowed us to go around one of the reefs and check out the fish. It certainly looks dorky (and isn't cheap!) and I was very undecided as to whether I should use it or not. But once I was down there, with literally tens of thousands of fish swimming around me, I couldn't believe that I had hesitated. One of the neatest experiences of my life - this was absolutely amazing, and I'm glad I went. Feeding the fish, seeing the "real" Nemo, and doing almost no work in the process, this was incredible.

4.) Snorkling: Now snorkling is not as amazing as going under the sea, but I put it up a point simply because it's free, and therefore I did it longer. Just going out about twenty feet into the water with a bag of bread crumbs will bring hundreds of tropical fish around. It's like swimming in an aquarium. I had a great time doing so, and headed out deeper and deeper, until I felt something nip at my ankles. Screaming like one of my girls, I soon found that it was simply some of the fish, but it was certainly unnerving. It didn't keep me out of the water, but I did dance around like a puppet while feeding the fish. I would gladly do this again.
3.) Pool: Now I will admit that I've scoffed before at the idea of a pool right next to the ocean. Why go swimming in the pool when you can jump into the waves. Now I know. While there's something wonderful about feeling the tidal waves wash over you, water that contains neither sand nor salt is just relaxing. I spent quite a bit of time in the pool, and if my ears are sunburned a bit, I don't care. It was an amazing time, with amazing views. I have been won over to the idea of the resort.



2.) Food: Without a doubt, Shangra La hotels make the best breakfasts in the world. Being able to go to the cook and order a custom double-meat, double-cheese, extra of everything else omelot is one great way to start the day. I never missed breakfast while there, and enjoyed the wide range of foods three or four times a day. Malaysia is amazing because they have restaurants and foods from all over the world, yet for rock bottom prices. A McDonald's Meal, for example, is about $2, and I went to eat at a fancy seafood restaurant with plates and plates of food, for only about $18. I ate and ate and ate and ate. And yet I still think I lost weight, if only from falling off that accursed banana boat!

1.) Speed Boat: I've ridden in boats before, but never a speedboat in bay with the sun beating on my back. We road out to islands, to docks, and more, and if they had refused to allow me to leave the boat, I think I would have been quite content. I can't believe how much fun, and how relaxing it is, to have the spray of the water hit you while driving at 60kmh out on the bay. It's something that I've thought about, and wished I could do again - easily making it my favorite activity. When I retire someday (at age 80, likely), I think I'll get a boat and drive it around every weekend. This is amazingly fun!

And that's about it. I could talk for much longer about the fun we had, and the silly stories that happened from our time there, but why not save those for anecdotes in the future?