Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Vacation 2006

Hey everyone! I hope that all of you are enjoying my attemp at this prosperity challenge as much I am. I really like these families and enjoy playing them, hopefully, as much as you guys do. You've probably noticed that I haven't posted in a while and this littls post is going to explain why...
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I had semester exams last week and really wanted to focus my attention on studying and maintaining my grade, which didn't really leave much time for simming. It was worth it though, I ended up getting all A's and a 4.215 GPA! When exams were finally over, I had a couple of days to sim and actually finished playing the next round of the O'Connor Family. I haven't had a chance to update though because I'm heading on vacation! I leave tomorrow, Dec. 21, at 5:00 in the morning and will, hopefully, arrive in Cancun at around 10:00. You guys probably remember me telling you my itenary so I won't go through it again, but the point is, I won't be back until January 24, 2007! Yeah, I'll be gone for a whole month! I probably won't have another update ready until early February though because I'll have to unpack and come back to make-up work in school, etc. I'm really sorry I'm kind of putting my challenge on hold, but boy, do I need a vacation!
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So now that you all know my plans and reasons for my lack of updates, I hope you'll understand that sometimes it is impossible to continue simming/posting when your life gets in the way, but once again, sorry! I just wanted to let you guys know the reason for my absense so you guys don't think that I'm not doing the challenge anymore and don't take me of all of your link lists. I hope to see all of you guys again in February, well, "virtually see" you.... See you soon!
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Monday, December 04, 2006

Round 2 - Score

Well, the time has come once again for me to post my score. But first, I would like to once again thank all of you fellow-simmers that take the time to leave comments at the end of every update. Like I said before, I really do like reading what you guys have to say so I really appreciate you guys for giving me some feedback. I plan on posting replies for all of my comments when I find I have a good enough of an audience, probably after Winter Break. I would also like to inform you guys that updates may become more scarce in the following month or so because of me going on vacation and all of the things I have to get done before heading to the beach. I'll talk a little about that later though, for now, here is my score for the second round in Prosperity Island.

Net Worth = $220,062 ( Up $77,185 ) --------------------3 points Number of Sims = 16 (+4 Sims/Pets: -3 Sims/Pets)----16 points Impossible Want Fulfilled = 1 (+1)--------------------------3 points

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Total
22 points

Sunday, December 03, 2006

Round 2 - Jacquet

Editor's Note: I am going to do something a little different this update and have the explanation for each picture before the picture, rather than below it. I'm just thinking that this way, the reader can read everything first and then get the picture at the end, rather than the picture ruining the ending. Please let me know what you think when you leave your comments.
The Jacquet Family
109 Lake Street
$44,951
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Title: Lonely Burning Sensation
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Lot:
Jacquet - Denise, Gilbert, Samantha, Andrea
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Hi everyone, this is Samantha again and I'm going to tell you everything that happened to me and my family this week. I found that living with Denise was actually pretty good, she was a great babysitter and would always take care of Andrea when Gilbert or I were busy.
Gilbert started working on his body skills a ton since he got a job in the athletic career track. I don't mind the least bit, who wouldn't want a hot, fit, husband?

Andrea's birthday was on Monday. We didn't get a chance to throw a party for her because...well..I'll explain a little later. Anyway, here are her stats.

Andrea Jacquet

Female Toddler-S1-Blonde Hair-Green Eyes

Libra / 1 Neat - 9 Outgoing - 2 Active - 6 Playful - 9 Nice

The reason why we didn't throw a party for Andrea was because me and Gilbert have been having some problems. We would disagree on stupid things like what to have for dinner and what show to watch and go on and on until he was frustrated and I would be crying my eyes out. Our marriage seemed to be going downhill.

I found myself spending nights sleeping in the couch over all of our fights. I was starting to think that our marriage had been a bad idea and that maybe we were too young to have married at such a young age. Denise would sometimes hear us fighting but she just seemed to ignore us. I thought for sure there would be no solution to our problems other than divorce until one night.

Gilbert had woken up to make himself a midnight snack. He put a slice of leftover pie in the oven and, while the slice was cooking, he had a sudden urge to go to the bathroom and left, leaving the pie unattended. While he was in the bathroom, it happened....the oven burst on fire.

We had no fire alarm in the house because it had broken down a couple of days before. Gilbert had taken it down and said he was going to fix it, but he never did. Since we were all asleep, we didn't know about it until Gilbert came out of the bathroom and started yelling. I grabbed Andrea and Mocha and ran out with one of them in each hand. But since Denise's room and the bathroom are so close to the kitchen, Denise and Gilbert were trapped by the flames. Gilbert attempted to extinguish the flames but was engulfed in the fire in a couple of minutes.
Denise tried to extinguish Gilbert but got too close to the now raging fire and also caught on fire. I tried to get to the phone and call the fire department but the phone was engulfed by the fire also, there was nothing more I could do but try and extinguish the flames.
I saw that I could not fight the fire alone and ran to the Morawa's home to call the fire department. Unfortunately, when the firefighters showed up, it was too late. Both Denise and Gilbert had been engulfed and neither of them made it through that night. Mocha also suffered the same fate when she tried to help Denise, her owner from the fire. This is all that is left off Denise and Gilbert. I didn't have the funds to pay for a large funeral so I just had a small private funeral in our backyard. I guess it's just me and Andrew from now on.
I thought I would go crazy without Gilbert in my life. Even though we had our difference, I still loved him and loved him until the day he died....I still love him. Thankfully, I had Andrea. She gave me a reason for wanting to live, I don't know what I would have been without my little girl.
My dad, Edward, and brother, Adam, came over for dinner the day after Gilbert's death. They assured me that everything would be fine and told me that they were there to support me if I ever needed money, a place to live, or even someone to talk to. We talked a little about my lack of funds and Dad suggested I start buckling down and focus more on work and family.
Whenever I felt lonely and depressed I found that spending time with Andrea, teaching her skills and playing with her, helped me focus on something other than our recent tragedy. Here I am teaching my little girl to walk.
Andrea's transition into childhood was Friday morning. I was too tired from work and taking care of a toddler to throw a party, so I just baked a small cake and had a small celebration, just me and my little girl.
Here is Andrea after her birthday. Isn't she adorable? I think she favors Gilbert's family more than mine, she even has his nose. What do you think?
Seeing my baby grow up into a wonderful little girl made me think about our future. I realized that Gilbert was gone forever and that I would need to work hard to make a life for both me and Andrea, I needed to give Andrea a mother to be proud of and someone to love...
I began painting on my days off for money to solve our economic situation. I began averaging about $500 a painting, it definitely helped with our income and paying the bills.
I also worked harded to get promotions, even if that meant spending all of my evenings skillings. I even sold my first masterpiece for about $600.
Gilbert's ghost made it's first appearance Saturday morning. It was sometime around 5:00 a.m. and I had woken up early to finish a painting from the night before. All of sudden, it jumped out of the canvas and nearly made me wet my pants! I guess it isn't too happy with me, probably because of all the problems we had while he was alive, we was actually nice to Andrea though, and never frightened her.
I got a call Saturday afternoon from Gilbert and Denise's insurance company. They explained to me that Gilbert's family had owned a bakery in a neighboring town and that since Gilbert had no other family, it now belonged to me! I was so excited... the bakery was worth around $30,000! I was a little confused about what to do with the bakery but after a couple of hours, I decided that the best idea for Andrea and I was to sell it. I realized I couldn't really handle managing a business our going in and out of town for that matter, so I sold it to Landgrabb Industries that very same evening.
With the money I received from the bakery, I decided to add on to our house. It's nothing huge, but after all, it is just me and Andrea. This is the exterior view of our new home.
And this is the exterior. It consists of, from left to right; Andrea's bedroom, the kitchen, the dining room, my bedroom, the living room, and the bathroom. Not too shabby, huh? By the way, pay no attention to the paper girl at the bottom of the picture, she somehow wandered into our picture.
Did anyone catch something different in the previous picture? No? Right next to the farthest up cabinet.... a dog bed! That's right, we have a new member in our family. We decided to get a puppy because the house was starting to get awfully quite and lonely. We adopted our puppy on Sunday and decided to name her Snowball.
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Well, that's all I have for you guys this week. As you can see, this week has definitely been hard on the whole family. Hopefully next week will be much better. Make sure to come back and see Andrea transition into a teenager and Snowball grow up. See ya'
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-Changes this Round-
Net Worth - $55,809 ( Up $10858)
(-2) Sim Deaths - Gilbert and Denise Jacquet
(-1) Pet Death - Mocha Jacquet
(+1) New Pet - Snowball Jacquet

Monday, November 27, 2006

Round 2 - Zarko

The Zarko Family
107 Lake Street
$42, 125
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Title: Birthdays Galore
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Lot:
Zarko - Edward, Adam, Amanda, Evan
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Hello everyone, I'm Amanda and I'm going to tell all of you how my family's second week here in Prosperity Island went by. Let me warn you ahead of time, there are tons of birthdays in this update, so get your singing voice ready....
I continued teaching Evan all of the basic skills he would need as he grows older. Adam would usually paint for extra money while I taught Evan his skills. There's other good news...I'm pregnant! I'm so happy, I didn't think that Adam and I would have another baby so soon! I can't wait for our new baby! I had been a little worried about Adam being more interested in making money and that he wouldn't spend time with Evan but he turned out to be a great dad. He sometimes even tucks Evan in before going to bed. Edward, being the knowledge sim that he is, continued working on his skills. He wants to learn everything there is but I'm a little worried that he won't have enough time to accomplish his goal before he goes to that big luah in the sky. He doesn't seem to find his age an issue and even maxed out his mechanical skills on Tuesday. I found my pregnancy to be more difficult than what it was with Evan. I always seemed to be tired and hungry, and sometimes even grouchy. I was so tired that I even fell asleep in my lunch on Tuesday. Evan had his birthday on Tuesday. Edward and Adam were both at work so I just baked a cake and celebrated along with him. Here he is after his birthday...isn't he so cute?!?! And those chubby cheeks of his....he's adorable, and no, I'm not just saying this because I'm his mom! It turned out that Adam not being home for Evan's birthday actually had it's benefits because when he came home from work that day, he made his first $10,000. He was estatic, he's slowly making his way to accomplishing his life-long goal of making $100,000. On Wednesday morning, Adam and I were making our way around our property, we were looking at expanding our home and adding a few new rooms. and I went into labor! Right out there in the front lawn, the mailman was even there! I thought it would be a breeze since this wasn't my first but it was pretty brutal, I had forgotten how much it hurt!
I gave birth at around 11:00 in the morning. As I held my baby in my arms I suddenly felt another sharp pain in my stomach. It was so intense that I had to hand our new born to Adam. The pain got worse and worse and I realized the pain to be another contraction, but how? All of sudden I knew why these pains were coming, I was having....
TWINS!
I was actually having another baby! I had always wanted twins and I was so happy to be going through this experience, best of all, I felt one step closer to my life-long dream of having ten children.
The first baby born is a little GIRL. She has my brown eyes and red hair but she has Adam's light skin tone. We decided to name her Lauren.
Our second baby was another baby GIRL. She's a little different than Lauren in that she has blonde hair, but she also has my brown eyes and Adam's light skin tone. We named our second baby girl Lindsay.
We built our new house the very next day. This is an exterior view of our new home. It doesn't contain all of the windows yet because of lack of money, but the basic structure is set.
This is the first floor of our house. To the right you can find our garage and living room. The bathroom, kitchen, and dining room are to the left.
The top floor consists of (from left to right) ; girl's room, study, Evan's bedroom, foyer, bathroom, and master bedroom. As you can see, he haven't added furniture to most of the top floor, which is also due to lack of money, but we plan on getting all new furniture by next week.
Why is Adam so happy you may ask? Well, during a museum "trip" at his criminal job, he decided to use a crossbow to get to a diamond rather than go throught light beams and..... he got a $20,000 bonus for his great idea. The money really helped out with decorating our house but you won't see that until next week, when we are all finished.
I found taking care of twins was way more difficult than what I had expected. I found myself waking up every hour or two to feed them or change them, it was definitely tiring.
In no time it was time once again for another birthday, actually, two birthdays. Lauren and Lindsay become toddlers Thursday evening. First was Lauren, isn't she adorable? I think that she resembles Adam quite a bit...anyway, here are her stats.....
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Lauren Zarko
Female Toddler-S1-Red Hair-Brown Eyes
Aries / 6 Neat - 9 Outgoing - 6 Active - 4 Playful - 5 Nice
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And this is Lindsay, which I think, looks more like me ( without the blonde hair) We actually did throw a small party for the girls with their Aunt Samantha and their cousin Andrea, but I was so excited that I forgot to take pics. Anyway, here are Lindsay's stats......
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Lindsay Zarko
Female Toddler-S1-Blonde Hair-Brown Eyes
Pisces / 6 Neat - 3 Outgoing - 10 Active - 6 Playful - 10 Nice
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I thought the twins were difficult as infants, but boy, that was nothing compared to what they get into as toddlers. They're always running up and down and playing in the toilet, I get tired just thinking about running after them all day! Thankfully, Adam helped out and even taught them a couple of skills, like walking.
Edward, as I mentioned earlier, continued working on his skills. One night, while he was out jogging and working on his body skills, came upon a stray. Edward has always like dogs and pet and fed the dog, it's just that there's something strange about it.....It's eyes are a weird yellow color and they seem to glow! Edward says it's just a dog, but I think it may be something more?
This is just a cute picture of the girls I found. You can see that Lindsay is working on her piano skills and Lauren is busy working her logic skills. They're just so cute!
Just because we've been paying so much attention to the girls doesn't mean that Evan is forgotten... we tried to spend as much time with him on our days off and Edward taught him all about painting and playing the piano. Evan seems to be a natural at painting because he sold his first masterpiece this week, at the age of 9! We're so proud of him!
Sunday made way to yet two more birthdays! This time was Lauren's and Lindsay's transition into childhood. The girls seems to be growing up so fast! We didn't throw a party this time because both Adam and I had work and Edward is too old to be running around town making preparations. Anyway, this is Lindsay after her birthday.
And this is Lauren. I'm actually thinking she favors me in the looks department as she grows older, contrary to what I thought before. What do you think?
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Well, that's all I have for you guys this week. As you can probably tell, there have been a lot of changes in our family since last time you visited. Make sure to come back next week and see our finished home and Lindsay, Lauren, and Evan all transition into teenagers...Adam and I will definitely need to buy some more aspirin and pain relievers with three teens in the house. See you soon!
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-Changes this Round-
Net Worth - $77,525 (Up $ 35,400)
(+2) New Sims - Lauren and Lindsay Zarko