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One Month One World One Year Personal Challenge (Complete!)

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  • Karababy52Karababy52 Posts: 5,952 Member
    July - Day 11: "Just remember, that sometimes the way you think about a person, isn't how they actually are."

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    Notes
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    "Everything okay Kat? You seem a bit tense."
    "Yeah, I'll be fine. I'm just annoyed. Stepped out my front door to come here and saw someone had tipped over my trash can, again, and threw trash all over my lawn. I don't know if it's just kids doing it or some of the overzealous recyclers around here."
    "That's terrible!"
    "It's my own fault, I should put the can somewhere they can't get to it."
    "Good idea, we should do that too."

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    "Anyway, is there anything I should know other than what you've told me already before when I watched the girls for you?"
    "No, I don't think so. They should sleep until we get back."

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    "If they do wake up and they're hungry, they can have some of the Forager's Stew I made. It's in the fridge. Feel free to have some yourself."
    "Thank you, I just might do that. I had some of your Italian Meatballs last time. So good! You're a fabulous cook Josh."

    "He's the best! We should get going though."
    "I'm no Wolfgang Puck or anything, but thanks for the compliments ladies. Okay, let's go Beautiful."

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    "We shouldn't be gone more than a couple hours. If it looks like we might be longer, I'll call you."
    "Take as long as you need. I'm in no hurry to go back home to that mess."
    "Okay, cool. Hey, if you need any help cleaning up, just let me know. I'll come over and help. It's the least I can do since you won't take any payment for watching the twins."
    "Aww, that's so sweet! But you don't have to do that, I love watching your kids."
    "I know, I want to though. See you later Kat."


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    "Bye Josh."

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    After Essa and Josh left, Kat checked on the girls who were still sound asleep and then wandered into the playroom.

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    "AHHHHH! It's not fair, it's not fair, it's not fair!"

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    "Stupid dollhouse!" *GROWL*

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    (Man, I need to get a hold of myself. I better fix this or they won't ask me to come over anymore.)

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    (There. Good as new. They'll never know a thing. Nothing happened here, nope!)

    Kat went out into the kitchen and grabbed a bowl of Josh's stew. She took it over to the rocking chair and sat down to enjoy the meal while rocking, back and forth, back and forth, lost in thought.

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    Meanwhile at the Maker's Space, Josh was delighted to see a Fizzy Juice machine. He hadn't seen one of these since he was a kid. He was a bit rusty at it, but after loading it up with some apples, he got it going and then left the machine to do it's job. He'd come back later to check on it. There were a couple dumpsters out back so Josh headed out there to see what kind of treasures they might contain.

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    Essa was busy making some wall lights! A lovely lady she'd met as they were walking in had given her the recipe for them. Since they had Fabricators here, she thought it a good idea to use one to save energy at home. A celebrity she'd seen at the Starlight Accolades named Veera was looking around with her arms raised in joy.
    (I wonder what she's doing here. Maybe visiting someone? Or, wait, maybe she's a celebrity spokesperson for the place. That makes sense since I've seen her here before when it was just a dump.)
    "Look at this beautiful, new Maker's Space, isn't it wonderful? Everything you need to be self-sufficient and keep the neighborhood green! Reduce, Reuse, Recycle! Yes!"
    (Yep, spokesperson.)

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    One of Essa's former fans was here as well, a great guy named Bryon she'd met at her Meet and Greet in DSV. They had a chat and she found out he was a Master Maker and helped out mentoring others giving them tips and advice. In fact, he gave Essa a recipe for a couch! Thanks Bryon!
    (What a small world we live in!)

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    Sakura and Roxanne were here as well! I didn't see them using any of the machines and when I hovered over them, it said 'Fan' above their heads. I'm guessing they were here to see Veera since they kept whispering together with Veera's image in thought bubbles. My suspicions proved correct when I saw Sakura ask for Veera's autograph and then Roxanne screamed and fainted at her feet.

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    Finished making a few wall lights and a couch, since it was getting late, Essa walked over to see how Josh was doing with his search for treasures.
    "How's it going Babe? Finding anything? We should probably go, it's getting late."
    "Yeah...just...one...more...thing...if I can just grab...it...YES! Got it! Okay, let's go!"

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    "We're back! How's the girls? Everything go okay?"
    "Sorry we're a bit late."
    "Hi guys, hey, no problem. I don't mind. I'm a night owl. You know that."

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    "The twins are fine, they're in the playroom. They weren't hungry so haven't eaten yet."
    "Okay, cool. Thanks again for coming over. The girls love you."
    "Aww, I love them too! You've both done a great job with them."
    "It's so nice having you for a neighbor, and I hope we're friends now too. Since you won't take payment, I hope you'll at least let me give you a hug?"
    "Sure! I love hugs!"

    "So does Josh, you're in for a treat, he gives great hugs!"

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    "Oh man, you're right Essa, best hug I've ever had!"
    "Told you!"
    "You deserve it Kat, thanks again, we appreciate everything you do."

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    "Hey, it's the twins birthday tomorrow, would you like to come help us celebrate? Say around 6 or so? I made a Honey cake. I know the girls would love to have you here, and so would we, right Essa?"
    "Definitely!"

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    "Oh, that's so sweet! I'd love too...but, I better go now, let you two feed the girls and I need to clean up that mess. See you tomorrow."
    "Bye Kat, thanks again."
    "You're welcome Essa, bye now."

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    After Kat left, Essa fed the girls and had a bite to eat herself while Josh made some of his famous Italian Meatballs for tomorrow night. After playing with the twins for a bit and giving them baths, it was time for bedtime stories and sleep. With them tucked in safe and sound, Josh and Essa had some quiet time to spend together. I bet you can guess what they did. ;)

    (Last look at the twins as toddlers, they'll age up to children in my next update!)

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    Comments/replies on all your great updates coming up next! Hope y'all had a great day/night! <3
  • Karababy52Karababy52 Posts: 5,952 Member
    @permanentrose
    Ruby grew up into a beauty, love that hairstyle! She did very well with traits, character values too! Love the kitten! I had a black cat, coincidentally name Pickles, that looked very similar to Dill, right down to the white patch on her chest. She was the Mother of my beloved Squiffy. Adorable! Rowan is a little cutie! Love the screenshots of him with Pickles and Dill. The big eyes on Dill as he's holding him is hilarious! Have fun with the silly trait for him, Jessah has that trait and she's been very fun to play. :)

    I almost forgot toddlers could play in the rocking chair. Glad I remembered before they aged up! I think kids can play in it too though. :) Yeah, 7 in-game days just flew by! I'm excited for their makeovers too! I'm glad I saw Frank out there or he might've completely broken down and then they'd have a ghost robot. o.O Which might actually be cool to have, but not Frank!! You'll find out in my latest update what was up with Kat. :) Their ears are very subtle, probably why I almost missed it completely.

    @SoulGal7
    Whoa! Sakura is HUGE! No wonder her back hurts all the time, poor thing! :'( Gah! I hope their bills aren't that big in Port Promise! o.O Cool perk, didn't see that one. Good idea she changed her clothes and especially shoes! I can't imagine standing that long in heels when you're pregnant. That build looks very cool, excited to see the actual build they do 'rent' when living in EL.

    hehehe I see Josh isn't the only one that was worried about hurting the baby when they woo hoo! Guys can be so silly sometimes. :D Oh gosh, she went into labor on camera! Then keeps going!? Wow! Now that's dedication! Bummer Wolfgang probably won't make it in time, but at least Rosie is there to help! Yay! He made it there in time! Aww, Hello little Rennard, Welcome! Oh! YES! Twins! Yay! \o/ Welcome baby Kenji too!

    And she streamed the whole thing! Incredible. Great reasoning for the names, love it! I had to change Jessah's name after she was a toddler too. I'd meant to type in Jessah, but left off the 'h.' Opps! :D Love their little onesies! So cute! Love seeing them tending to the babies. They're going to be such good parents! Very cool they have Rosie to help too, at least for a little while. :)

    hehe So funny Wolfgang wanted the twins in the walk-in closet. Love that shot of Wolfgang wearing the Robo Arm feeding the baby with his eyebrow raised in confidence! Aww, goodbye Rosie, hopefully we see you again sometime. Congrats to Wolfgang for his promotion though! Congrats on landing the new job too with the bonus! Excellent!

    @Ellupelluellu
    I guess Mona doesn't like brown, she loves pink though. ;) I love that pic of Josee too! She's such a cute little independent girl. :) I couldn't believe Frank just immediately left like that! Maybe it's because he's a B-lister? I don't know, it was just weird. :D Once you read my last update you'll see why she was so mad. hehe

    Yay! Josh is still her Doctor! :) Glad there was no heart issue with the deliveries. ;) Welcome baby Mike and Melanie! Love those names. Oh man, that look Josh is giving Malcom! o.O hehe Malcom! Don't you listen? Sheesh! Awww, so sweet, they're sharing a hug again. I'm so glad they're friends. <3 Oh man, poor Sakura gets pranked this time. Dangit, you're trying to make me cry. That little pout on Mona's face is so precious. Awww, she wanted to be the only Princess, so cute! Love what Melody said to her and the sweet hug they share. :)
  • SkeilahSkeilah Posts: 1,762 Member
    July 7
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    Bryons Diary
    (Bryon) “Ugh, it’s raining once again… This isn’t my definition of a fun vacation…”

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    (Audrey) “Hey dad, what are you going to do?”
    (Bryon) “Chilling, on a lounge, inside… Because I can’t really do it outside, can I?”
    (Audrey) “Haha, okay! Have fun chilling inside!”

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    (Bryon) “Ah… This is also pretty nice… Zzzz…”

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    (Phone) *Bzzzzz* *Bzzzzz*
    (Randi) “Bryon, I think your phone is ringing.”

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    (Bryon) “My.. Phone…”

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    (Bryon) “Hello?”
    (Duane) “Hey! It’s me! Ehm… I’m sure you saw the continuous rain outside… I’m sorry for that… BUT! I have another surprise for you!”
    (Bryon) “Another surprise?”

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    (Duane) “Yes! Winterfest is around the corner, and my family owns a rental in Granite Falls. We go there normally around this time, but my grandmother is sick, so we can’t go. I’d like you to go there with your family and celebrate Winterfest together!”
    (Bryon) “Oh Duane… You really don’t have to do all that for us.”
    (Duane) “But I do! Please, accept?”
    (Bryon) “Sure, we’ll accept.”

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    (Kristine) “What did we just accept?”
    (Bryon) “We’ll be going to— …Why are you looking like that?”
    (Kristine) “Got hit by a lightning strike. Was just about to take a bath. But… Where are we going to?”
    (Bryon) “… Granite Falls, to celebrate Winterfest.”

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    (Kristine) “Oh, nice!! Gotta take that bath and pack my stuff!!”

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    (Bryon) “Well, Duane, I guess the family is pretty exited about spending some time in Granite falls!”
    (Duane) “Nice!! Don’t worry about coming back here immediately after Winterfest! You can stay as long as you’d like!!”
    (Bryon) “Thanks man, I owe you one.”
    (Duane) “In that case, we’ll have to go on a vacation together too once, right??”
    (Bryon) “Yeah, I’ll remember that!”
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  • SkeilahSkeilah Posts: 1,762 Member
    July 8
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    Bryons Diary
    We packed our stuff yesterday and today we arrived in Granite Falls. The entire city was covered in snow.

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    (Kristine) “There’s a Holiday Treeee!!!”

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    The kids (the teens are also kids, lol) immediately went to the tree and started decorating it, but all I felt like doing was nap on the couch. Driving all the way to Granite Falls was exhausting.

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    At least the kids had fun.

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    Maria befriended a bear.

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    (Kristine) “All done!! We did such a good job!!”
    (Alex) “We did.”

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    The evening fell, and we all knew what that meant: Father Winter was about to come through that fireplace (that was lit, hehehehehe). We all gathered around it to get the best view.

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    (Father Winter) “Ho ho ho!!”

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    He first turned towards Hana.

    (Father Winter) “I have a very special surprise for you… And your brother.”
    (Hana) “Oh, what is it?”

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    (Father Winter) “Just open, and see!!”

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    Hana opened the present, and suddenly two cribs popped up in the living room.

    (Hana) “Cribs? Oh, that’s so sweet of you, Father Winter. How did you know that our due date is coming soon?”
    (Father Winter) “I just know… You’ll probably need them earlier than expected…”
    (Hana) “What do you mean by…”

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    (Hana) “That...?????”

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    (Naoki) “Ughhh…. I know this pain…..”
    (Bryon) “Naoki? Hana?!”

    (Father Winter) “Ho ho ho!!! Happy Winterfest!!”

    Father Winter left some other presents under the tree, and then went off.

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    (Randi) “Maria, do you know what this means?”
    (Maria) “I know exactly what this means!! Off to the hospital!!!”

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    (Since babies can’t be born in rentals, I ended Naoki and Hana their vacation for now, and sent them to the hospital)

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    (Naoki) “Somebody, help us!!”
    (Doctor) “I’m right here! Both of you, follow me please.”

    And not much later, two beautiful babies were born…

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    Hana gave birth to a baby girl named Melissa, while Naoki gave birth to a baby boy. He’s named after the holiday he was born in: Noel (=French for Christmas).

    Naoki and Hana soon got green light to go home with their babies. They were exited to show them to the family.

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    Don’t be mistaken by their normal skin tone - they’re still full aliens.

    (Naoki) “Oh, Hana… Who would’ve thought they’d be born on the same day… They’re like twins…”
    (Hana) “Yeah… They’ll become the best friends for sure…”

    (They do have the same alien mother and practically the same genes, so maybe they’ll indeed turn out looking like twins!)

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    In the meantime, I kept myself busy making some baby onesies.

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    (Maria) “Congrats on becoming a dad once again!”
    (Bryon) “Thank you, and for you, congrats on becoming a grandma once again.”

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    (Randi) “I’m so proud… You’re the best Winterfest gift someone could ever give me, Noel…”

    (It’s not possible for babies to live in a rental, so I ‘fixed’ that by making a copy of the rental and put it in Willow Creek, since Willow Creek looks the most like Granite Falls, haha! The babies will stay babies until the end of Winter, and then I’ll age them up to toddlers so we can actually go back to Granite Falls. For the time being, Bryon will work on the Curator Aspiration in Willow Creek, hehe)
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  • SkeilahSkeilah Posts: 1,762 Member
    July 9
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    Bryons Diary
    The onesies are finished! Don’t they look super cute??

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    I decided to go outside afterwards and see what Granite Falls is like. Apparently it’s pretty easy to collect insects in Winter. I found some ladybugs…

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    Some… Super huge ants???

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    But also frogs!!

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    (Yep, this aspiration seems pretty possible during Winter. For the record, these pictures were taken before the twins were born, but I decided to flip some pictures around for story purposes, since I already found out I couldn’t do anything of the Granite Falls aspiration in Winter, and now it looks like they are still actually in Granite Falls)
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  • Karababy52Karababy52 Posts: 5,952 Member
    @Skeilah
    Ugh, Bummer about the rain, but looks like Bryon didn't let it deter him from getting milestone completed! ;) Gah! Poor Kristine getting hit by lightening! Aww man, Duane is just such a super friend to Bryon! Off to Granite Falls for Winterfest!

    hehe Your comment about Father Winter coming down the lit fireplace cracked me up! :D Very cool the kids enjoyed decorating the tree! What wonderful gifts for Hana and Naoki and so appropriate! Welcome baby girl Melissa, Congrats Hana and Welcome baby boy Noel, Congrats Naoki (and Bryon)! Perfect name for the little guy! Aww, the onesies are so cute! Good job Bryon! :)

    Nice job with the switcheroo, I never would've known if you hadn't said what you did. Good job with yet another aspiration milestone for Bryon too, he's on a roll! :)
  • permanentrosepermanentrose Posts: 3,789 Member
    Update 191 - Just another day :)

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    I added a bunch of toddler items to the lot. Rowan isn't so sure about the slide yet, but I think he'll enjoy it soon :)
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    I'm not in a rush to get this kid potty trained either, since he'll be a toddler for at least the rest of this month, so we have time. I do always find it amusing that toddlers have a bladder need like all other sims, but they are so clearly taking a giant dump every time they relieve that need :D
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    Ruby is being such a great big sis. She autonomously gave this stinky boy a bath :)
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    And it was Easter! So of course the Flower Bunny showed up. Fitting that Rowan got the "stranger danger" moodlet. I don't know many toddlers in real life who aren't terrified of the Easter Bunny.
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    And Jules, since she is now in the science career, has the option to take DNA samples from people.

    "Do you mind if I swab you for a sample? I'm just so fascinated to find out your genetic make up!"
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    The Flower Bunny denied her request. He's like, Lady, I don't even have a mouth for you to swab. Where were you planning to put that?!?! :D
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    Oh hey Dill, where are you running off to?
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    To examine this trashcan of course.
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    Oh dang, it's kind of big and scary...
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    Dill isn't so sure he likes Pickle just yet either.
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    Poor, perplexed Pickle. He just wants to be everyone's friend.
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    I did also open the store for a bit, but there weren't any interesting customers so I didn't end up grabbing any screenshots. Jules will start her scientist career in my next update! Trying to break my play sessions into smaller updates since I really am crunched for time these days.
  • sassytxbratsassytxbrat Posts: 225 Member
    Mia Patina
    July 12
    Week 11 Tuesday

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    ~Teresa~
    My Sims 4 Gallery // EA ID: TSmetana
  • SoulGal7SoulGal7 Posts: 3,627 Member
    edited July 2021
    Hi All: This is a bit picture-heavy because there is a house tour. Hope everyone is having a good day/night. Enjoy!

    July 9 - Evergreen Harbor - Arrival & House Tour- Saturday - Finale

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    It was Saturday afternoon when they arrived in Evergreen Harbor and it was snowing! It was the last day of winter, so, of course, it had to snow. It's just that Wolfgang and Sakura had laid out a house plan of where everything was going to go in the new house, and they had to make some changes.

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    Evergreen Harbor was divided into three neighborhoods, and each had a different eco-footprint. Grims Quarry, where Jeb Harris lived, was to the north, and was a quaint suburb near a historic quarry. This area had a green eco-footprint. In other words, the best place to live. Conifer Station,
    was a pretty area on the outskirts of the city, and it had a neutral eco-footprint. Port Promise, the area where Wolfgang and Sakura had moved to, was a smoggy old port, with probably the worst eco-footprint of all...an industrial footprint. Wolfgang and Sakura had their work cut out for them if they were going to turn this neighborhood into a green community.
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    Wolfgang had rented a pick-up truck when they arrived. He thought this was a good option if they were travelling to other neighborhoods and found something that could be recycled. They also had their bicycles, which they would use around the neighborhood, and Wolfgang conveniently walked to work from where they lived.

    Wolfgang looked around at the house: "Well, we're here! It looks like a pretty big house with lots of windows. My company provided us with a fabricator and a dew collector, and there is already a recycler on-site. There is one solar panel, another dew collector, and I saw a wind turbine on the other side. The whole house is off-the-grid, so nothing electrical, although with the wind turbine, that will generate power if we need it."

    Sakura: "I already put Ken and Ren inside in the living room, so they would be warm. We'll work on their room tomorrow and get everything organized."

    Wolfgang: "Let's have a look around and see what needs to be done first...."

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    This is a reno of a house I found on the gallery (see below for how it looked before). I got it down to $26,000, which would be the starting funds available to 4 sims starting out ($20K + 2K per additional sim). Before they left Del Sol Valley, Wolfgang got a bonus and Sakura got royalty payments from her various music tracks and vlogs. They have a lot of items in their personal inventory, and there are some items in their household inventory (career rewards and more plants). They have a laptop, guitar and violin in personal inventory and I might put that out when they get a bit more organized. But basically this is what they started with. Lot traits are reduce/recycle to generate trash, child's play and home studio so that the woodworking items that Wolfgang makes are higher quality. Sakura will eventually be doing woodworking, too, but for now it's Wolfgang as he has maxed handiness. I tried to choose "green" floor and wall coverings; however the container wall coverings are "industrial". This might have to be changed for Port Promise to become "green", but not sure right now. The pick-up truck is a debug item and came with the build.

    The house is basically three containers: The red container houses the bathroom, living room and the twins' room. The yellow container, which was accessible by a ladder, was Wolfgang and Sakura's bedroom. The separate green container was the kitchen. Beside the red container was a sheltered craft area which held the recycler and the fabricator. Near the pick-up truck was a pee bush. Outside of the green container was a dumpster.

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    On the left side of the house was the wind turbine.

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    At the back of the house, it looked like fruit trees had been planted. Between the red container and the green container is a pathway to the backyard and they have a bee box and an insect farm under shelter, as well as a vertical planter. [Note: These were the fruit trees that were part of Sakura's inventory, which I planted for them.]

    And let's tour the house starting with the upstairs yellow container, or Sakura and Wolfgang's bedroom:

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    Sakura set up a painting area on one side, which are basically items she received as career rewards. The bed came with the house. She knitted the rug and painted the painting. The only light is the oil lamp. She has a lot of photos and some of those will also go up later. There are doors leading out to balconies on either side of this container, but they have nothing on them right now. This is a very bright room and the bed faces a wall of windows. [Note: The plant is a debug zero simoleon item, which she had in inventory.]

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    Down to the main red container. This is the bathroom. It has nothing in it but an off-the-grid sink. Because of the weather, the bathroom is also housing some garden planters. This is the first room that Wolfgang will be working on. I actually change the wallpaper color when it is renovated on Sunday. {Note:The lights are debug zero simoleon items, which she had in inventory.]

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    The living room is very sparse. It has a rocking chair. There is a dresser, which she received as a reward when she aged-up to young adult. Sakura knitted the rug, and the chess table is an item she received as a reward for a gold weenie roast from her Scout camp. She painted the painting.

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    On the dresser are some knitted items Sakura made for the twins, and she has a small photo display on the wall. [Note: The plant is a debug zero simoleon item as well as the light, which she had in inventory.]

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    This is Ken and Ren's room which had to temporarily be transformed into a craft room. It holds a woodworking table and a candle making table. The lamp is an off-the-grid light. The heart wall hanging was made by Wolfgang, and the focused painting made by Sakura. Focused is the emotion they need to craft candles and woodworking objects. The outdoor sheltered area where the recycler and fabricator are located will be expanded to hold these items.

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    The green container, which is the kitchen, looks the best so far. This came with the house, but the appliances were changed to off-the-grid appliances. The upper cabinets were also changed for the Alpha Beta Phong Cabinets, from the Cool Kitchen Stuff Pack. They look like they are lit-up which will help with lighting and not add to the house bill. There were two island counters which I changed to the bar, which is where they can eat once Wolfgang makes some stools. Overhead is an off-the-grid rustic candle chandelier from the Jungle Adventure pack. There is also an oil lamp. The sink was changed to an off-the-grid sink. The sunflower vase is a career reward that Sakura received, and the other two items on the window sill are debug items. There is also a tea maker behind on the counter beside the fridge, which she had in inventory. She also has a coffeemaker that was a reward, but haven't put that out as yet.

    After the photo was taken, I closed off the entrance to the kitchen and added a door to it. I didn't want any sims just barging into their kitchen.

    Wolfgang: "Well, I think I am going to start with the bathroom and craft a toilet, bathtub and mirror. Then I am going to make some stools for the kitchen island, so we have a place to sit and eat. Then I will work on chairs for the chess table. And then go from there..."

    Wolfgang also got a pop-up from his job asking if he wanted to get a jump start. Well, since he had to make a toilet anyway, he might as well accept the assignment and do the upgrade on the toilet right away.

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    And Wolfgang went right to work and started building the toilet. Sakura planted the seeds in the planter box in the bathroom and looked after the twins.

    As the twins slept, Sakura went outside and met one of the residents of Port Promise and introduced herself. She found out that Susumu Hara was a freegan, a vegetarian and a recycle disciple. They talked more about recycling and Susumu told Sakura how she could find really "good stuff" in dumpsters. He also told her to check out the community voting board to vote on "green" initiatives. Sakura thanked him and he was on his way.

    sakura-has-met-someone-on-the-street.png

    Sakura then went to the community board that Susumu had mentioned and saw that there were already 4 NAPS in place. In order to vote, she would have to repeal one.

    checking-out-the-community-board.png

    naps-in-place-monday.png

    Sakura then decided to explore the neighborhood. She saw a dumpster and she took out her bike and rode towards it.

    travelling-to-dumpsters.png

    Sakura: "Sims always throw away things that can be used," she thought, "Maybe if I dive in that dumpster, I might find something."

    sakura-does-the-deep-dive.png

    And that is exactly what Sakura does, and she finds her first treasure. She wasn't sure of the condition, but she would take it home and have a look at it. She was pretty excited. She dived some more and found some recycled materials and a Gonk statue.
    sakura-found-her-first-treasure.png

    sakura-blends-so-well-with-the-trash-can-ev-sat.png

    She sees another dumpster in the distance and rides over there. This time she found a brand new Blarffy! Whoa! She would just sanitize this when she got home and it would be perfect for the twins. Sakura felt so pleased with herself with her finds.
    barfly.png

    And then she gets a text that she lost her music label with Maxis Music. Oh well, she wouldn't have been able to do any vlogs or tracks anyway off-the grid. Plus, those media items came with the house in Del Sol Valley. She may pursue that again another time.
    lost-music-label-deal.png

    Sakura is ready to head home, and she is stinky and dirty. Oh my! Sakura hopes that Wolfgang got the bathtub made because she definitely needs a bath!

    ready-to-go-home.png

    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

    Meanwhile, back at the house, Wolfgang had already finished the toilet, the toilet upgrade, the bathtub and the mirror. The guy was amazing! To be a true "green maker", however, Wolfgang had to recycle and then use the fabricator and get his skill up. Well, that might have to wait because a wee one had just woken up from their nap. [Note: I actually had Wolfgang craft the toilet twice as the first one wasn't excellent, so I had him make another one.]

    why-are-you-crying-if-your-not-hungry.png

    Wolfgang to Ken: "Why are you crying when you aren't hungry and don't have a stinky diaper?" Wolfgang could not figure out what was wrong with Ken and just cuddled him for a bit. Ahhh...Ken was just missing Wolfgang and wanted some affection. Ken is a very smart baby and will soon have Wolfgang wrapped around his little finger, I can tell. lol

    wolfgang-using-the-recycler-for-bits-and-pieces.png

    After cuddling Ken for a bit (Ren was still asleep), Wolfgang went out to do some recycling. He realized he had 16 trash piles in his personal inventory. Not sure why he was walking around with this, but it will come in handy now. He placed all the trash piles on the ground and scavenged for parts first and then rummaged through them. He found a treasure map, some upgrade parts and some houndstooth dye. He kept the upgrade parts and the dye, but recycled everything else.
    wolf-starts-recycling.png

    Wolfgang then went back to the woodworking table and started working on the next projects...two stools and two dining chairs. He also had to look after Ken and Ren while Sakura was out dumpster diving.

    taking-time-out-to-feed.png

    Um...yeah...it's Ken again...we can see which one is the needy baby.

    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

    Sakura had come home with her treasures and was so thankful that Wolfgang had finished the bathtub. She took a nice bath and then went to the recycler area. She discovered that the chair she had found was charred and was worth nothing. She would have to recycle it. She washed Blarffy and placed it in the twins' bedroom. She headed back over to the recycler and recycled the chair and some spoiled food she had found in her inventory. She also recycled some trash plants, which were not "green" but added to the industrial footprint.

    sakura-using-the-fabricator.png

    It was pretty dark by the time Sakura was done, but she decided to try her hand at the fabricator. After reading the instructions, she decided she wanted to purchase 1 each of all the dyes and then she wanted to make a bookshelf.

    Well, things didn't go exactly as she had hoped because this fabricator had a mind of its own and the darn thing sprayed her with dye. She would have to talk to Wolfgang about making some adjustments on the machine. Maybe she wasn't using it properly.

    she-gets-sprayed-withdye.png

    When she was done, Sakura stood looking at the fabricator waiting for her bookshelf to appear. "Where is my bookshelf? Come on...spit it out...oh...okay, I see it now..." {Note: I realized later that it was put in the household inventory.]

    where-is-my-bookshelf.png
    bookshelf-sakura-mon.png

    Sakura decides to check the Community Board one more time to see if anything has changed. It hasn't. So she heads home for another bath and to spend some time with Wolfgang and the twins. Sakura and Wolfgang felt that they had accomplished a lot on their first day.

    heading-home-first-night-eh.png

    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

    Notes:

    When they arrived in Port Promise, there was a snowstorm. This changed some of the plans I originally had for the house layout, so I had to quickly turn Ken and Ren's room into the crafting room temporarily. I also put a glass roof where the recycler was. The bathroom was also housing some plants temporarily, which were going to be outside. Because of his job, Wolfgang got a Store No More Home Fabricator and one Scrapper's Dew Collector free. He also got a drafting tablet in his personal inventory, which he needs for his job. The only downside of Port Promise is that there are no fishing spots in this neighborhood.

    Sakura will stay in the Painter career until she reaches the top of that career, Master of the Realm. She will then quit. I am not sure if she will join the Civil Designer Career, or just stay home and work as a Maker. Haven't decided what she will do as yet.

    Originally I had a dumpster on their lot, but it wasn't giving me any options to "dive for deals", so I just got rid of it and got another trash bin. I may try this again with some suggestions that @Karababy52 gave me to "seed" the dumpster or throw some garbage in it first. I'll try and see if that works. Their lot does have the reduce/recycle lot trait.

    I had two small glitches happen:

    1. Wolfgang had crafted a toilet on the woodworking bench and part of his job tasks was to upgrade and add a composting container to the toilet. He did that, it was ticked as done on the toilet, but in the job tasks it wasn't. So, I just bought the cheapest toilet for him to do this upgrade, and this time, it was ticked as done on the job tasks. The cheap toilet is in their house inventory in case he has to do any more toilet upgrades for job tasks and he doesn't get that tick for doing it on the woodworking toilet that he made.

    2. Sakura couldn't vote on the NAP as it was filled up with 4 NAPs already in place, so I had to have her repeal a NAP in order for her to choose another one to vote on. She did vote on the Maker's Community Space (Sunday), but she didn't get a tick for that in the Aspiration. So it definitely has to be a regular NAP that she votes on. She'll have to wait until Friday to wait and see if her repeal has worked.

    Thanks to this simmer for this wonderful build, which I modified. Hopefully Sakura and Wolfgang will get it looking like this (or better), again by the end of the month.
    eco-family-container-photo-credit.png
    Post edited by SoulGal7 on
  • SoulGal7SoulGal7 Posts: 3,627 Member
    edited July 2021
    Wow! So many babies being born and aging up! My! My! My! More comments coming...

    @Ellupelluellu -
    First off, while Melody was still pregnant, her boobs were REALLY huge. lol I mean probably wearing that uplift bra made them larger, but whoa! lol And congrats to Josh delivering the baby...um...babies again. Malcolm is early and in the delivery room already waiting on Melody. And she has twins! Congrats! And Malcolm does a buzzer on Sakura! lol I am going to call her family the "M" family, with two new additions, Mike and Melanie! Ahhh....congrats! Although when they get home, Mona isn't too thrilled to have some new siblings, but Melody quickly gives her a hug and all is fine.

    @Skeilah - You have a few updates I have to read but wanted to comment on the July 8th one first.
    I have to say that I love Granite Falls, and the cabin they are in is gorgeous. I realized, too, that you can't complete the Outdoor Enthusiast Aspiration in winter, but, yes, Granite Falls and Mt. Komorebi are the perfect place to be for Winterfest. I love the decorating the tree animations and the tree looks amazing. And nice surprise that Father Winter appeared for them and gave Hana and Naoki the gift of the spellcaster cribs. And then...lol...I had to chuckle at this one...he "magically" induced them at the same time to give birth. Oh, he is a sly one that Father Winter. lol So, congratulations to Naoki on the birth of Noel (I love the name), and to Hana, his sister for giving birth to Melissa. Both little alien babies. Oh, and then seeing Randi there as an elder...oh...that kind of broke my heart. This was a really nice family chapter. I loved it.

    @permanentrose -
    I love the age-up looks of both the kids. Rowan most definitely looks like Emmett. And Ruby, wow, she looks so grown up. She is definitely a mix of Jules and Mario for sure. She is going to be a heartbreaker. Glad that they are best of friends...but we all know about those teen moods. And so sweet that she got a black cat, named Dill for her birthday. Dill obviously loves Ruby...but not so sure about Rowan. Had to laugh about the size difference between Pickles and Rowan. That dog is going to trample the poor kid. Lovely update and good traits for both kids.

    @sassytxbrat - July 12 -
    Oh my gosh! Ren proposes to Mia! And you said this was autonomous...you must have MCC Command Center then. But, yes! Congrats! Wow! Looking forward them moving onwards as a couple. Super happy for them, and I think Mia is too with that wonderful smile at the end of the update. :) I completed the Serial Romantic Aspiration in an "alternate universe" where Sakura "disappeared" from the real world and was taken to Sylvan Glade by Prince Oberon of the Fairies. So, yes, I am sure that you can be creative with this one. A lot of the other challengers also completed this one is odd ways while being in a relationship.

    @Karababy52 -
    Okay, I will have to read back on a few chapters and find out who Kat is because I honestly can't remember. Sorry :( But the woman is up to no good, I tell you, because she has her eye on Josh. Will comment more later on your updates and thanks for all the tips on the Eco Lifestyle pack. And I meant to ask you where the cute kitchen items came from - like the sink with the little drape underneath - that is nice.
  • sassytxbratsassytxbrat Posts: 225 Member
    @SoulGal7
    yep MCCC is installed and I was shocked when he did it. I have seen it happen in other people's challenges and stories but this is the first time it has happened in mine. Probably because my sims are generally getting married in a short time while this challenge they were just supposed to continue to play around with each other. Love it when sims do their own thing, though.
    ~Teresa~
    My Sims 4 Gallery // EA ID: TSmetana
  • EllupelluelluEllupelluellu Posts: 6,779 Member
    edited July 2021

    @SoulGal7 ,

    About your issue nro2, NAP being active.
    It will always be active for NPC voting, until you turn off the option from settings at very beginning of the new save. If you turn it off at some point later, then the first votings have already happened :) In this case all 4 first votings. So, it is not a bug, unless, you did turn NPC voting OFF when you first time started this save :)

    I'm a such control freak in my game, that I do not allow NPC voting by default, it is always off, I will turn it on for M group when they will live there, but not a moment sooner.
    I noticed right away that you had NAPs on already, just like at @Karababy52 's pics at the beginning, no trash around, all the finest decorations already placed, the place is already at it's best, not the junk yard what is is when first time played and NAP's off for NPC :) Still it has bad air, tho. At her case it was she had played that world before and voted.
    So when M group move to there , after Sulani (I may have to move Hollow for one month) , I need the place to be on it's trashiest state :)

    Sakura can cheat all those NAP's off , if you wish. :) I think Karababy took those naps off and all the trash came back, if I am not mistaken :)
    My love, my love, my fearless love, I will not say goodbye..
    Sea may rise, sky may fall, My love will never die..
    My heart, my heart, My drowning heart, Oh all the tears I've cried
    Oh I may weep forevermore, My love will never die..

    My Story:Villa Catarina
  • EllupelluelluEllupelluellu Posts: 6,779 Member

    @Karababy52 ,
    Thank you :) Yes Josh is now her best buddy after Malcolm :) And yes actually Malcolm is too his good buddy, as they chatted the other night a long time about fishing spots :D Both learned at least 2 new fishes :joy: . And no! Do not say "poor Sakura" HAH Sakura gave back to him just fine, that fine that Malcolm was having embarrassed moodlet when home, about loosing an argument of similar :p
    -- Okay, maybe just my imagination, but Kat there.. looks like she has sort of crush on Josh? I mean Josh himself in couple of pictures looks at her a bit more than friendly way, but I know Josh is not like that.. but I would not be so sure about Kat :p
    Ooopsies, sorry about Veera, well game made her as ECO NPC at the beginning of my main save, and that naturally went away after I made her playable, but it must of left some hidden traits I did not cleaned. As she will show up at every EL community lot in this challenge save too (tested that when renovated some buildings at EL world.
    Ooohh.. that last pic cannot mean anything good :/
    @permanentrose ,
    -- Lovely face from Rowan on that slide :) DILL!!!!!!! You better start liking Pickle or.. or.. or.. well something!!! Maybe starting a petition for changing your name to PARSLEY! :joy: S.. Dill, what would ya like about that, huh? :D:joy:
    @Skeilah ,
    -- Kristine, got hit by lighning , but still only caring about where are they gonna be going :D
    -- OH! Great Winterfest present :smiley:
    -- Haha those ants are huge!
    @SoulGal7 ,
    Thank you :) Haha, about Melody's boobs , yes that mesh does make them look like bigger, but pregnancy also :) I do use CC cleavage overlay , but that does not change the size of boobs, just how they look from front :) Oh Sakura gave back to Malcolm a big time :D Malcolm had embarrassed moodlet about losing an argument or similar :D M family is cool :D I will call them Mx8 soon ;)
    -- Their house is lovely container complex, and indeed Wolfie is a good dad, he sure is in my game :) Sakura looked really dirty at that one after dumpster pic :smiley:
    haha I was wondering why they had planters in their bathroom, before you told us why :D
    Ouch, Sakura got colored by fabricator too :D
    @sassytxbrat ,
    --I love that main pic <3

    My love, my love, my fearless love, I will not say goodbye..
    Sea may rise, sky may fall, My love will never die..
    My heart, my heart, My drowning heart, Oh all the tears I've cried
    Oh I may weep forevermore, My love will never die..

    My Story:Villa Catarina
  • Karababy52Karababy52 Posts: 5,952 Member
    edited July 2021
    July - Day 12: "Well...they certainly look like creative artistic prodigies, eh? o.O"

    AdrkMnv.png

    Notes
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    The twins birthday party got started a little later than planned because Jessah here hadn't quite maxed out her movement skill yet. But, Essa had previously found a stereo in the dumpster, so Josh repaired it and they all had fun dancing with her to help max it out.

    Kat soon arrived afterward and the party began. Jessah for some reason went outside and around the house to age up after blowing out the candles. I'd forgotten Sims are incredibly drawn to stereos, so of course as soon as Kat arrived, she made a beeline for it. She asked Josh to dance, so they both missed celebrating Jessah aging up. Dangit!

    5G8jswm.png
    Next it was Josee's turn to blow out the candles with Josh tearing himself away from the stereo to give her some help. Notice Kat is still behind Essa dancing away. I put the darn thing in household inventory after that.

    oSKGe0v.png
    Here they are after a makeover from those terrible outfits the game gave them. You didn't really think I'd let them keep those clothes did you? :D However, they both did roll the Creative trait and Artistic Prodigy for an aspiration. I tried to use EL clothes as much as possible. Josee's space buns hairstyle is from the EL pack as well. Unfortunately, the pointy ears are gone. *sigh* Oh well... They are very, very close to being identical with just slight variations. At least for now. We'll see what happens when they age up to Teens.

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    I usually don't let my Sims eat birthday cake, but since this was a special Honey cake none of my Sims had ever made before, I let everyone enjoy a piece this time. They all got a special moodlet for it that said something about the sweetness of the Honey being worth the trouble to get it. I neglected to compensate for Kat being there, so there weren't enough chairs for everyone to sit around the table. Jessah sat on a pouf in the living room by herself.

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    She didn't seem to mind though, she was just happy having a piece of cake.

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    Josee was happily enjoying her piece as well.
    "Mmm, great cake Dad, it's so sweet!"

    And then...

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    "Muwahahahahaha!"

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    *eye twitch*
    (Okaaaaay, what's that all about?)

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    Silence filled the room after Kat let out an evil laugh. Everyone was a bit shocked.

    (She's a vampire! How did I not know before now?)

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    "Whoa! Dad, did you see that? Kat's got two really, really long, pointy teeth, that's so cool!"
    Essa didn't know quite what to think about this new revelation. She didn't have a problem with vampires, but she knew very well from experience how devious they could be. It was a little disconcerting.

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    Kat offered to help clean up the cake plates, which Essa readily agreed. While she was busy using the kitchen sink, Essa made her way to the bathroom. She gave Josh a look.
    "What's that look for?"
    "Shhh, not so loud!" Essa whispered. "Did you know she was a vampire?"
    "No, I didn't. Does it matter? She's never hurt the girls, she loves them."
    "It's...fine. I just would've liked to be told rather than find out like this. Plus, all the vampires I've ever known never laughed like that. It sounded so...evil."
    "Oh come on Beautiful, she's not evil. She's very sweet...that laugh was a bit weird though."
    "It was. But, let's talk later. I don't want to make a big deal about it right now and spoil the twins birthday."

    eb1vqEn.png
    Essa went into the bathroom and Josh walked over to have a chat with Kat.
    "So, I'm curious. What was that laugh all about?"
    "Yeah, sorry about that. Sometimes I just can't control myself. The animal inside me takes over. It's something I struggle with because of what I am."
    "Daddy! Daddy! Look!"


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    "Look at what Sweetpea."

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    "Chicken butt!" Josee said and then burst out laughing. All the sugar from the honey in the cake was making her a bit hyper. She'd been a chatterbox all night.
    "You're so silly Josee."
    hehehe "I know, right?"

    eqDBbdf.png
    "Do you think you can control that laugh around the girls? It might scare them."
    "Oh yeah, I think I can."
    (Think? She better know, not think.)
    "We didn't know you were a vampire either."
    "Is that a problem?"
    "No, it's...fine. Some of our other friends are vampires. Essa's best friend is married to one. Just would've been nice to know."
    "It's not something I like to advertise."
    "Okay, that's cool."


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    (Oh great, that's just great Kat, you always manage to ruin a good thing, don't you!?)

    nvYg1nT.png
    *sigh* (Such a shame. I didn't want him to feel like this about me. Why is it never easy to get what I want?)
    "I should probably go now. It's getting late and I don't want to keep you up. I'm sure Essa has work tomorrow."
    "Oh, going already? Well, alright. But you're not going without a hug!"


    CfyQSRL.png
    "Ohhh, Josh, you're such a lovely man. Thank you so much for inviting me and for understanding. Please don't worry, okay?"
    "It's cool. We'll talk again soon. Bye for now."


    "Happy Birthday Sweetheart, I hope you like the bed I made for you!"
    "You made me a bed? Wow! That's so cool! Thanks Mom!"
    "You're welcome Sweetie!"

    i46opNF.png
    "Happy Birthday Darling girl, I hope you like your bed too!"
    "I will, can't wait to sleep in it...well, I mean, I can wait. I don't have to go to bed yet do I?"
    "No, no you don't. I have to go make some things for work tomorrow though. I'll come tuck you in when it's time for bed."
    "Yay! Okee dokee!"

    YgfQQVo.png
    dcYbwMX.png
    (I blew it. I bet they'll never ask me to sit again.)
    (You don't know that. They said they don't have a problem with vampires. It'll be fine.)
    (Yeah, but what people say and how they feel aren't the same sometimes.)
    (Just keep it under control, and it'll be okay.)
    (Yeah, sure. Easier said than done.)


    R3DokAa.png
    Josh gave both girls hugs and wished them Happy Birthday again the same as Essa.
    "Alright, I have to go finish making your presents now. You and Jessah should maybe take a look at your homework the school gave us for your first day Wednesday, okay?"
    "Ooo, you're making us presents!? Sweet! What is it?"
    "It's a surprise, sorry I didn't have them ready for the party, but you'll get them tomorrow morning."
    "Aww, it's okay Dad, can't wait to see it!"
    "I'll come tuck you in with Mom when it's time for bed."


    rp9LpEV.png
    "What do you think Dad's making for us?"
    "Hmm, I don't know. But I bet it'll be cool whatever it is!"
    "Maybe it's a swingset or, or an easel!"
    "Or a puppy."
    "A puppy!? Are you serious? You can't make a puppy."

    hehehe "I know. I just wanted to see your face when I said it."

    Jessah just shook her head and laughed, rolling her eyes.

    kpZx5wo.png
    The gifts Josh had been working on for over a week now were child size violins. He would've had them finished sooner, but there always seemed to be something else that was urgent, such as fixing the wind turbines and other stuff around the house. Or just taking care of the girls was a big job by itself. He hoped they liked them. Josh also had plans to write each of them a book, a very special book. If he had time.

    After a couple hours, he had to stop to help put the girls to bed, but he would finish them afterward, even if it took all night.

    In other news, Essa received notice that another concept she'd drawn up had been approved. She'd had an idea for a Hydroponic Planter and submitted it for approval. She was also given a bonus! Essa couldn't wait to make a prototype and test one out.
    Post edited by Karababy52 on
  • Karababy52Karababy52 Posts: 5,952 Member
    *Updated my July 12th post above! Comments/replies coming up next! :)
  • miss_eulenaugemiss_eulenauge Posts: 250 Member
    edited July 2021
    So while I really didn't have time to write, this PenPal thing had me feeling really inspired, so yay for all of us and another post! (After this, the babis will age up, so that's great too.)

    Just a note for clarity: There is an amazing "Pen Pal Project" for the Sims games. This is not part of that project, but I did heavily lean on their application questions and some example applications for inspiration... Thank you a lot to the folks over there!
    If you're interested, go check it out! :)

    To prevent confusion, I have elected to put all "not-application-Text" in italic font. I hope that actually makes it less confusing, not more confusing... :D We'll see.
    last update | Overview post&rules

    Interlude: The Application

    IeYLY5m.png

    Letters around the world - PenPal Application
    Early the next morning, Miles got up and sneaked back to the computer. If he was gonna do this, he might as well do it while the others were still asleep and he was able to have a little peace.
    Now, how does this thing start... Name? Hm... I don't think I want to give this thing my real name. Internet safety and such. Hm... Wait. Oh, I've got it!

    PXQLFfS.png
    Name: Astra. Of course that’s not my real name. But, you know, it’s dangerous to ever tell my real name, age, adress or anything on the internet. Especially as a kid.
    Astra means "star". It comes from the Greek word ἀστήρ (aster), and I like stars, so...

    Next step. This is easier. And Mom gave me the form already...
    Age bracket: 10-15
    [Please get your parent or guardian’s permission to participate in this project. We will provide a form that your parent or legal guardian has to sign. Please attach a photo or Scan of it at the end of this application. If you don’t know how that works, you can ask your parent, guardian or a librarian.]

    Profession??? This is weird. Well, perhaps that's just how these Applications have to work.
    Profession: Well - I’m a kid, and kids don’t work. But I guess school sorta is work, you get tasks and have to go there every day. Although it’s often boring. Is it even a “profession” to be a student if I don’t do it just because I want to, and if I don’t get paid money for doing that?

    Ok this form is really weird. Perhaps this is about... what was it... LGBTQ again. Is that one of the "weird questions" Mom once told me to stop asking? If, should I just not answer, or tell her about it...? Nah. I bet it's just one of these regulations, like how in packaging they have to say "the bowl and spoon are not included" or else they could get sued...
    WhGrSDM.png
    What are your pronouns, and who or what do you identify as? Pronouns? Well why do you even ask? This is a weird question. When I was little I wanted to know about the difference between girls and boys. Mom said that was just something we’re born with, just like I’m a boy and have a thingy, and she’s a girl and can have kids and feed them and all that. And that I had to accept that and stop asking weird questions.
    I still think about it though. Why do we even have to sort Sims into Girls and guys? For example, I like to play with both girls and boys at recess. The others often tease me about that. But I mean, what’s wrong with that?!
    Once, we played Dressup. Mark was a bodyguard and talked about his Muscles and about his beard stubbles, and Sophia made some comment about him “feeling manly now”. I don’t know exactly what Manly is, but I think it’s being a “real man” or what the boys say at school. I don’t know if I want that! The boys at school are just mad. Sophia was a princess, and had a pretty dress and lipstick, and was acting all elegant.
    I asked her if being a girl always was like this, and she said something about “sometimes it was fun and sometimes it wasn’t, just like being a boy”. Then, we were interrupted by Connor. But I got thinking - when is it fun being a boy? What does that even mean, girls and boys? Is that what we have down there? But I mean, Mark wasn’t showing off his thing to be manly, he was showing off his muscles. When Sophia wants her “Friend” (haha) to call her “my beautiful girl”, she isn’t showing off her stuff, but she’s using makeup, and wearing nail polish, and a pretty dress... Why are muscles and suits manly, and dresses and makeup “for pretty girls”? Why can’t everybody get everything, and play with everyone?
    This doesn’t make any sense. I don’t like it.
    I don’t know at all what the second part of the question means, but my teacher says that sometimes it’s better to not say anything than say dumb stuff, so I’ll just leave that blank.

    Oh boy, this could get long... I mean, we're eight, and each of us is unique already... Do you think I can ignore the "few sentences"?
    Hm... Should I attach a photo of all of us -minus babies? Hm... I think I won't, for now. After all this is just the application, who know who'll see this! Once I have a penpal I can always send him a Picture. Connor is gonna have to help me with this.
    Right. Save. I have to save regularly or the computer is gonna start smoking and I'll have to re-start...

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    Describe yourself and your family in a few sentences: I suppose I should start off with my family, they’re quite a big part of my life. The thing is, we’re six kids. Like, Six! Just imagine.
    When Mom and Dad were young, when they finished school, they liked each other a lot, so they moved into a small house together and had a baby. Or rather, babies - Sophia and Mark. Sophia is a girl, and she sometimes wears a dress like Mom. She wants to try to have flowers or something, but it’s winter, so she can’t. She got a bit angry about that, but where would we keep a plant indoors? Mark is a guy, and he has muscles. He often shows them to me. He hangs out with his friends from school a lot, goes fishing, and meets with a girl - They snuggle! Can you imagine?!
    Then, Dad stopped working in a business and learnt programming. I don’t exactly know what he does - he won’t explain. That just means that he sits at his computer all the time and needs to concentrate, so he gets angry when we’re loud. My Mom takes care of all of us. She cooks and does Mom stuff, and if Dad’s salary isn’t enough, she also makes paintings for movies and ads and such.
    Then they had more kids - me, and Connor. Connor always says that he wants to travel the world, and Mom says that he’ll have to find a sack of money in a tree stump before he can do that. So for now he runs around the neighborhood, exploring that (and hoping for a sack of money). He also likes to take photos. I’ll ask him to lend me his camera to send you some pictures along with my letters.
    And just a year ago they had even more babies, again twins: Amelia and Rachel. Amelia is nice, and I like to play with her. Mom mostly cares for her when she cries, but she never cries, so she’s just in her bassinet. I think that must be really boring. I hope she’ll learn to walk so she can explore stuff herself and not be bored anymore. Rachel is nice too, but she’s really loud. She cries a lot. Mom says that is because she doesn’t understand the world yet and is scared of all the stuff she sees? Either way, she cries a lot. I wish she wouldn’t. At least Dad isn’t annoyed by her crying. I bet he would be mad at any of us if we had cried that much as babies. But with Rachel, he isn’t. He just goes and cuddles her, even when he tells us that he doesn’t have time to play because he needs to work. I think Mark is really mad at him because he says that. I don’t mind as much, playing on my own is fun too… Kinda…
    Anyways. So we live as six kids in a three-bedroom-house. One room for the toddlers, one for older kids, and one for my parents. And a living room with a kitchen. I don't think this was ever built for eight people, but alas, here we are. (My engish teacher would be proud - I used one of the fancy words she likes!) We also have a small backyard with a table, a swing and a science table. Somehow everything we need fits in the house, except for space to be alone and do stuff. Like, we have to do our school projects in the front yard in the walkway because that’s the only space available. I wish there was more space, so I can be alone if I want to, and think better.
    Perhaps that’ll get better in our next house. Next house? Yeah. We got some kind of big important letter from the city. Most of it was adult stuff, but apparently our house is too old, so the walls aren’t stable enough. So the city said that we have to move someplace else while they fix this so we don’t get crushed when it collapses. I hope we won’t move to a dump. I guess you’ll find out once we keep exchanging letters. I can send you a picture then, too.

    Yeah, actually, how am I? Am I cool in any way? I guess not, if you believe the kids at school... But I'm me, and that's enough. I hope.
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    Describe yourself, your hobbies and interests: Mom says I have to describe myself with my name, age, appearance… (except I shouldn’t do that… because this is the Internet. Duh.) Also, my character, hobbies, Interests, Blargh.
    My character and interests: I’m a bit shy and lonely. Sometimes I get sad when I think about the kids at school. For example, they tease me about my favourite T-Shirt (with an Unicorn! Isn't it cool?) and about my purple glasses and long hair. I like it though!
    And I like to think about weird stuff, like girls and boys. Or Aliens. I actually started researching about Aliens after a school project. There’s so many stars and planets out there… Do you think that on one of them, there’s Aliens? What do you think they would be like? Would they have girls and boys too like us? Once I grow up, I want to search for them and then try to visit them.
    Honestly though, isn’t this whole form meant to show my personality and describe me? I feel like it does, so I’ll just go to the next question now.
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    Start small, right? That's what they always say... And I don't even know if even one person would want to write me. Nah, this is fine for now.
    How many pen pals are you interested in acquiring? One? I guess? I don’t know? It’s super busy and hectic at home, and I’ll have to fight for computer time as it is, so...

    I mean - Being nice also means not being picky and liking your friends as they are. Just like nice people in books. What do you say about this?
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    What qualities do you seek in a pen pal? I’d like to write to someone about my age. Don’t you know anything about Internet safety? They taught us not to talk to adults we don’t know, especially on the internet. You should to be nice and not laugh at me even if I think about weird stuff. But I'll be nice too and won't laugh, so that's good for both of us. You’re very welcome to help me think, and I’ll help you think about stuff you’re interested in. Otherwise… I mean I’d like to find a friend, but that’s not a requirement. You don’t suddenly -poof!- have a friend. You get to know each other and then after a while you’ll maybe have a friend.

    Well meeting a kid I can think about stuff with would be cool. But a kid I don't know that could just be another bully? Nah, thanks, I'm good... Also where would we even fit another kid? I don't think that kid would appreciate being thrown in our chaos. Well, I guess I'll have to figure that out once it happens.
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    Do you have a desire to meet your pen pal face-to-face? Well, in that workshop about internet safety they said not to meet with strangers from the internet. But I guess if we both brought our parents and got to know each other well it wouldn’t be bad?
    Of course we’d both have to want to. I guess I’d like to - if they’re nice, it could be cool. I could show them all the special spots around the neighborhood, the skating rink, the swing in our back yard...
    Oh. I guess the other pen pal might have to visit me… I don’t know if I could travel somewhere easily, unless you’re just a bus ride away. I don’t think Mom would be able to buy a train ticket just for me to visit a kid...

    Do I just say "because Mom wanted me to and I think it doesn't hurt??? I guess that would be impolite and the people from the project might not like it. Hm... Well I'll try to be polite... ok?
    Please describe, in as much detail as possible, your reason for wanting to join the pen pal project: My Mom told me about it. She says she’s concerned because I don’t play with other kids after school and hang around alone a lot. She says that she had a pen pal as a child, and that her pen pal was great to talk to about problems, thoughts, just everything… And that she hopes that it’ll help me too. I don’t have an opinion yet.
    But she also said that it’s like in my favourite book, “Land behind the Mirror”, where Prince Falorian and Jonah write to each other through the magic well - only without Magic. Jonah didn't like the kids from his school either, but Falorian was nice to talk to… That sounded cool. And when I thought about it some more - Letters are just like a Diary - only that a nice person is on the other side and answers, and helps you figure stuff out and not feel lonely... Right? At least I think that’s how it works, and that might be nice to have. And if the other one wouldn't be nice, I’ll just stop writing and forget all about it. Should be easy enough since I don’t see the other one at school every day.
    But I’m sure that it will be nice, and cool, so I’ll come back to check on this in a few days, when the computer is free again… See you then!

    [After you have reviewed your application and made any necessary revisions or corrections, please click “Submit.” Only click once. Do not click “Refresh” or the back button on your browser.
    Thank you for your wishes to participate in “Letters around the world”, and happy writing!]
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    The Full, Submitted, Application without the comments and pictures can be found here.

    Characters, Lot, Gallery
    Gallery (Sims and houses): Hashtag #onemonthoneworldoneyear, Name "One Sim - Fam. Britton". My gallery name is Noctuara.
    Parents: Sarah and Greg Britton. They live on the 20x15 "Comfy Cubby" in Bridgeview, Newcrest.
    Kids: Sophia & Mark (Twins), Miles, Connor, Amelia & Rachel (Twins)
    • Greg Britton - Greg is an adult who has a strong interest in Gaming and Computers and is quite a Geek. Unfortunately, he also is a bit slobby and mean. Due to his history, he is a bit troubled, has Bad Manners, is Irresponsible, Argumentative and Insensitive. But he can be nice as well... if he tries his best... (and I help him by x-ing out all his autonomous mean&mischievous interactions from the Parenthood traits) He was working in business, but hated it. So he enrolled for a Programming course and is now a freelance programmer listed with an agency. On the side, he participates in Novice Tournaments.
    • Sarah Britton - Sarah on the other hand wants to be the best parent possible. She is very neat, good and loves being with her family. She found a job as Freelancer Artist to try and keep her family afloat. After six babies, she went into early menopause and is now infertile.
    • Sophia Britton - The firstborn, and the twin of Mark. She is a teenager already. She continues to prefer doing things alone, mostly being outside gardening.
    • Mark Britton - The secondborn and the twin of Sophia. He is a teenager as well. He likes being outdoors at the river catching some fish, or taking a nap to recover after all the work fishing is.
    • Miles Britton - The thirdborn. He is a child already. His fun-loving personality is overshadowed by some gloom, and he aims to uncover the secrets of simkind at his science table.
    • Connor Britton - The fourthborn. He is very energetic and outgoing. Connor wants to travel and discover the world when he grows up. In preparation, he likes to take photos and write his pen pals.
    • Amelia Britton - The fifthborn and the challenge Sim. She is a very easygoing baby who often gets lost in the shuffle of this crazy household.
    • Rachel (Rae) Britton - The sixthborn. She is a very needy babie who cries a lot, firmly claiming her place among all the other kids. Greg dotes on her, partly because he got to name her after his very first video game heroine - Rae.
    others:
    • Gary Whelan, a friend of Greg from high school. Lives on "Oak Alcove", 20x15, Bridgeview. He is a Bro, Geek and Active. He works as a Game developer.
    • Fam. Aldrich, the neighbours and friends of Sarah. They live on the 30x20 "Fernpark" in Bridgeview. Elderly Pamela lives here with her Grandchildren after both parents died in a plague at young years. Pamela loves to Garden, cook at spend time with her Grandchildren. And if she had the time (and I the money), she'd love to learn to knit. Readhed Alexia, already a Young Adult, is the image of her mother. She loves to paint, channeling all her emotions on the canvas. She feels heavily responsible for her younger siblings, Tessa and Joey (twins). Tessa loves to make crafts like her big Sister and is very creative, while Joey has a lot of Energy and is very much into sports.

    Schedule (subject to change)
    This schedule still seems like a good idea, but I have to post noteably less due to RL constraints, so we'll see. I might try to get the Challenge Sim aged up until the 14th-20th of June, then use the rest of June and the whole July (?) for the toddler stage and see how it goes. The MCC settings will be adjusted as I feel neccesary.
    I am planning to play for 14 months ingame. 4-5 days as baby, 2 weeks as a toddler, 1 1/2 months as a child, 3 months as a teen, 3 months as a Young Adult, 3 months as an Adult and 3 months as an Elder for the Main Sim.
    For all others, I will use these MCC settings, starting on 1st of June, so it roughly works. (Combined, the Teen, YA, Adult and Elder stages are exactly 365 days right now).
    • Pregnany: 5 days
    • Baby: 7 days
    • Toddler: 14 days
    • Child: 45 days
    • Teen: 90 days
    • Young Adult: 93 days
    • Adult: 92 days
    • Elder: 90 days
    This might change when I get a feeling for the challenge. I will possibly extend this for a next Gen, or extend the YA and Adult stages, if I get Brindleton Bay and subsequent other worlds. And if I manage to stick around that long.
    I will start playing in Bridgeview (Newcrest) with a big family and the Baby No. 5 as main sim. I will move neighborhood each month, alternating the worlds. This starts as soon as the Main Sim turns teen.
    I want to work on roughly two aspirations per month with my Main Sim, or, better said, on about 3 goal sets of the "Master Simmer" challenge to try and get all achievements - mainly because with my current packs there are 38 goal sets - 3,1666 per month. (See Rules).
    I think with normal play, I'll never get there! But with so much time to stretch out the skilling, it might work. And it will definitely keep me from getting bored. ;)
    Post edited by miss_eulenauge on
    | Amelia Britton - A Lifetime of Sims || Louise Aldrich - A Year-Long Challenge |
    time zone: Berlin, Germany - EA Gallery ID: Noctuara
  • Karababy52Karababy52 Posts: 5,952 Member
    @permanentrose
    Ewwww! Big stinky dumps... :D Nice of Ruby to give Rowan a bath. Ugh, the Flower Bunny creeps me out just for that very reason, it doesn't have a mouth! o.O Gah! Oh, oh Dill is SO freakin' cute! Look at how little! So adorable! Man, you're making me want a kitten now. Must.Resist.Urge...

    @SoulGal7
    Oh gosh, bummer the snow foiled your plans. I really, really like their house though, very cool how it has separate containers for each area. I think my favorite room at the moment is the living room. It looks so cozy! Love that painting, I don't think I've ever seen it before. Be careful with the composting toilet if you ever decide to use it instead of keeping it in household inventory. Those can catch on fire unless you empty it into a bug house.

    Ah, you had NAPS already implemented, that happened to Essa and Josh too, as explained by @Ellupelluellu. She has a very sharp eye and I'm glad she noticed it in my save, and now yours too! You'll need to turn on testingcheats and then there will be an option to remove those using the mailbox. Don't wait for a repeal, and yes, it needs to be a NAP, not the community space to count as a vote for the aspiration.

    Putting trash in a dumpster on a residential lot is the only way you are able to dive for deals in them. They won't generate trash on their own. The Reuse and Recycle lot trait just allows you to 'rummage' in trash cans, trash piles, etc. on the lot. You can also empty trash from trash cans into the dumpster instead of an outdoor trash can, just don't have an outside trash can and your Sims will empty the indoor trash cans in the dumpster. Things like plates, cups, bowls can be put in the dumpster to generate dives too. I'm sorry if I didn't explain that very well before.

    Kat Cave is a Maxis premade vampire available on the Gallery. I modified her appearance, just hair, make-up, clothes etc. and then placed her on a lot in Essa's neighborhood to be their babysitter. So you think she has designs on Josh eh? Kinda looks like she does. Hmm... Oh, the sink with the drape is from the Country Kitchen kit. :) The sink with the drape in the bathroom is from Outdoor Retreat as is the shower.

    @Ellupelluellu
    Aww, that is so cool! I'm glad Josh is friends with both of them! Not surprised they talked fishing, Josh loves to do that. hehe Oh Wow, Sakura talked back to him eh? Well, good for her! :D Oh, you might be on to something there with Kat, yep! ;) As for Josh? Well, he just appreciates the female species and Kat is attractive. That's all it is, you're right, he's not like that, he loves only Essa! No worries about Veera, I'm getting a kick out of her showing up all the time. I had fun making her a Spokesperson for the Maker's Space as an explanation. :) Last pic looks a bit stalkerish eh? o.O
  • sassytxbratsassytxbrat Posts: 225 Member
    Mia Patina
    July 13
    Week 11 Wednesday

    2021-07-04-10_04_16-The-Sims%E2%84%A2-4.jpg?resize=1024%2C555&ssl=1
    ~Teresa~
    My Sims 4 Gallery // EA ID: TSmetana
  • SoulGal7SoulGal7 Posts: 3,627 Member
    edited July 2021
    July 10 - Evergreen Harbor - Day 2 - Sunday

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    It's the first day of Spring and the snow that fell so heavily yesterday is melting. Maybe now they can place all their plants outside. Wolfgang has to work from 9am - 4pm today, but he will choose the work-from-home option because there is still too much to do. Plus, to get a promotion, Wolfgang has to reach fabrication level 6 and there are no skill books for this! So, it's hands-on to get the skill levels up.

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    Sakura is in the living room knitting another rug while Ken and Ren nap. [Note: I moved her Artiste Supply Taboret from the upstairs bedroom to the living room, so she could gather inspiration from it to get Very Inspired. She needs to be inspired to knit legendary items. I also went into debug and got 2 birth certificates (zero simoleons) for the twins. Let's just say these were mailed to them.]

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    Wolfgang was outside and he's in love with a bug...yes a bug...it's a grub from the insect box. He is nurturing the little grubby bug. Wolfgang actually used the compost from the compost recycle container from the toilet upgrade and put it in their box. They seem to like it. Eventually, Wolfgang and Sakura will have all the insect boxes. From the grub insect box (and all the insect boxes), you can get bio fuel, which can be used to power generators without causing pollution. From grubs, you can get grub meal, which is a food item.

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    They had some visitors come by. The first one was Knox Greenberg, who told them about the voting board and voting for green initiatives. Wolfgang chatted with him for awhile and then Knox was on his way. Wolfgang also got a visit from Bess Sterling who wanted to tell him how to make simoleons. They are both neighbors and Bess is also one of Wolfgang's co-workers.

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    Sakura decided to try using the candle making station, and she makes a wonderful candle. Sakura was so excited, that she placed the candle on the dresser. [Note: Candles melt, and at the end of the day, it was a lump of wax. There is a cheat to not have the candles burn down, but I did't want to use this. They have off-the-grid lighting anyway, so it's fine.]

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    Wolfgang decided to try his hand at candle making, too, which is also part of the fabrication skill. Ouch! Well...um...Wolfgang might not be making more candles anytime soon. Hot wax burns!

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    But even with burned hands he looks rather proud of the one little white candle stick that he made.

    Wolfgang: "Sakura, where is the first aid kit? I...um...burned my hands a bit. Did you know that melted candle wax is really hot? Oh...you did? Yeah...okay...just making sure you knew..."

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    And if it's not enough that poor Wolfgang burned his hands on that hot wax, he got a nasty call from Essa, from The Plumbobs band. Essa! How could you?

    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

    Wolfgang's job task was to draft an eco-invention concept blueprint on the drafting tablet. And he also had to craft an eco-upgrade part on the fabricator. In no time at all, he was done both of them. For the rest of the day, he could continue working on the woodworking table and also do some fabrication.

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    One thing that Knox had talked about when he was visiting was the Community Space. He told them that right now it was rather run down, but that they could vote on improvements through a Community Space NAP. A lot of the residents were hoping for a community garden, while others really were pushing for a Maker Space, so that they wouldn't have to purchase their own fabricators. Still others wanted to turn it into a marketplace so they could sell their finished products. Knox told them that right now, the Community Space was just an empty building with dumpsters overflowing with trash.

    Sakura thought that she would head over there and look around and try her luck in that dumpster.

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    When Sakura arrived, she headed over to the Community Voting Board and saw that indeed there were 3 NAPs that could be voted on. Sakura then voted on one. [Note: For the Eco Innovator Aspiration box to be ticked, they have to vote for a neighborhood NAP.]

    Sakura spoke to the sim she met and they told her that to be able to vote on a neighborhood NAP, she would have to repeal one. Sakura looked again at the 4 neighborhood NAPs. They all sounded so good....Foodies Unite...Self-Sufficiency...Green Initiatives and Modern Development in Port Promise. Was Modern Development a bad thing? Which one should she repeal? She decided to repeal Modern Development, because self-sufficiency and Green Initiatives were good and she wanted to keep those. She wasn't sure about Foodies Unite, but it did reward sims with influence points for cooking.

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    To repeal a NAP, she needed to get 5 signatures. Well, it seemed this derelict building was a good place to stay as sims tended to congregate here. She spoke to a sim and got her first signature.

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    And it was relatively easy after that, and soon she had all 5 signatures that she needed for the repeal.

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    While Sakura was there, she might as well do some dumpster diving and see what she could find.

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    And it looks like the paparazzi have followed her from Del Sol Valley, but it's fine, and she poses for them.

    Paparazzi: "Sakura...why did you and Wolfgang move to Port Promise? The smog and living conditions here are really not too good for raising those twins of yours."

    Sakura posed: "Wolfgang and I wanted to live a more sustainable lifestyle, and we want to help improve Port Promise. With some small changes, such as using recycled materials, we can change the eco-footprint and the environment here. If you saw my Charity Live Stream, you will know that I feel that the children are our future. So, Wolfgang and I are, in fact, helping Ren & Ken by working hard to make Port Promise a better place to live."

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    Sakura was suddenly hungry and grabbed a piece of fruit from her personal inventory. A paparazzi snapped her photo while she was eating.

    Sakura: "Oh gosh! Now everyone will think I am eating garbage from the dumpster. They will think that I have fallen so low from Del Sol Valley," she thought.

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    Sakura stood proudly, all filthy and stinky, "Let them think what they want. I am proud of what I am doing here," she thought, and then about gagged when she caught a whiff of herself. Maybe it was time to leave and go home and take a bath.

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    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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    After a nice bath, Sakura decided to make another item with the fabricator. There were some more choices available, so she started work on a dresser. Well, that evil fabricator was on the fritz again and pulled Sakura right into the dye pit. Look at her with her fists in the air fighting that machine. It was not going to win!

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    And then suddenly it threw her out...Oh my gosh! Why was it that when Sakura used this, she always had problems, and when Wolfgang used it, he was fine. The fabricator hated her!

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    But, she did end up with a nice finished dresser! Oh, look at this! She made this! And together, Wolfgang and Sakura put it up in their bedroom.

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    After finishing that, Sakura and Wolfgang moved and rearranged the household (See renovations below). Sakura then made some grilled cheese for dinner. And she and Wolfgang sat outside at their brand new dining table and chairs, which Wolfgang had made. Ahhh...this was the life!

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    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

    House Renovation Up-Date:

    ~ Outside ~

    So, with it now being Spring, I decided to do a little renovation on their house. First, I expanded the front outdoor sheltered area and placed the candle making station and woodworking table in there. I also moved the focused painting and placed it on the wall. The death flower is also in here. The pot it is in is a pot that Sakura has had since the start of the challenge. She actually has 4 of them, but Wolfgang or Sakura will make some hand-crafted planters on the woodworking table and the plant will be transferred into that.

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    In the back yard, I created two "anchors" for their yard. Each has a tree and some flowers. One side has the bee box and two insect boxes (I purchased another one - one has grubs, the other has crickets.)

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    The other side is an exercise area. I deleted some of the fence to look like the other side. The punching bag was in their house inventory. The lights are debug lights which Sakura had in her inventory. All of their fruit trees have been moved and planted near the wind turbine. One of Sakura's easels is set up and there were several blank canvases in both Wolfgang's and Sakura's inventories. I will have her finish them, unless they were Rosie the Robot's who didn't finish painting them, then they will be scraped. The cardboard underneath is the free dance floor that Sakura received for reaching level 3 in the dance skill. I just changed the shade of it to look a bit more grungy. This area might become a little glassed in extension area for Ken & Ren's room, to make it sort of a toddler playroom.

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    At the side of the kitchen area, I built a covered greenhouse area. Wolfgang or Sakura will make another planter for this area. The UFO plant that Wolfgang found in space has been planted in one of these planters.

    ~ Inside ~

    Now that some items have been moved outside, two rooms got a renovation.

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    As mentioned before, I changed the wallpaper color in the bathroom (no cost). I also felt the bathroom was too large, and sliced off a section for a home office. That area is empty right now, so nothing to see. There is a 1/2 wall separating the toilet area from the tub area, so hopefully no-one will get that embarrassed moodlet when the kids age up. The rug is a career reward that Sakura got when she was briefly in the Entertainment career. I purchased a Moonlight Lantern, which is an off-the-grid light and hand and bath towels (the bath towel is on the 1/2 wall opposite the tub}. Also a toilet paper roll. The debug lights on the floor are ones Sakura had. They still need some rugs, shelving and artwork. It's still a work in progress, but it looks better than when they moved in. I might change the layout again.

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    Ren & Ken's room got a nice make-over. The dresser that had been in the living room was moved in here, as were Ren and Ken. A mirror that Wolfgang made is on the wall. The bookshelf that Sakura made holds their toys. The Blarffy that Sakura found is in here, too. I just changed his color. The little bear with the heart, Sakura got as a gift. Bought another Moonlight Lantern, some drapes and blinds for the room. I added a window to the room, which had been in the original build to look out to the garden. Sakura put the little potted plants that she had received as a gift from Lucas in their room. Debug free plant in corner, and the painting on the wall is one Sakura painted. Sakura still has another rug to knit for in here, another toy, and two pouf chairs. I was really happy with how this room turned out. This is going to be their bedroom when they are babies and toddlers. Not sure if I am going to age them up to children while they are living here. I want to make sure they get all their toddler skills before they age up. They will age up to toddlers in one week from when they were born, so Friday.

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    Just these small outdoor renovations have changed the eco-footprint of Port Promise to "Neutral." Wolfgang and Sakura are indeed making an impact. So proud of them.
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    Notes:

    I am going to plant all of their plants outside, except the death flower, and not worry if they are in or out of season. I also noticed that there is a soy plant near where they live. However, the soy plant only blooms in summer, and they are doing Evergreen Harbor in the Spring, so they won't get the soy that way. They can harvest the wax, just not plant the soy beans. I did read that by buying the upright planter fruit seed packets, that it would have it in there. I will try that. They do have a bee box, though, where they can get wax and honey from, so I am not going to worry about it too much.

    After reading the comments from @Ellupelluellu & @Karababy52 and watching an on-line video on NAPs - I went in and did a minor cheat to remove one of the neighborhood NAPs on the community board; however, Sakura had already started her repeal on it (I had played a few days ahead). And I also fixed everything in their world so it is now trashy again. I think when I started this save back in January I wasn't sure how to turn those NAPs off, and did it a month later, so that is probably why all the NAPs were filled up.
    Post edited by SoulGal7 on
  • SoulGal7SoulGal7 Posts: 3,627 Member
    edited July 2021
    @miss_eulenauge - Just wanted to comment on one item - I was part of the Pen Pal Project when it first started years ago. It was how I started my first blog. lol It was a lot of fun. Have to read your last 2 updates and then will comment more.
    That is one long application. Glad that Miles is getting involved in this and perhaps he will be able to communicate better on the computer with another kid. Way to go Miles!
  • SoulGal7SoulGal7 Posts: 3,627 Member
    @IllusoryThrall - Just catching up on your story and wanted to say how sorry I am that you had all those problems with the relationships in MCC Command.
    Great chapter. I always feel sad when you have to age kids up in-game, but I guess it happens. So Pierce is leaving the club, and Elsa wants to step down as leader. So, Jaz will be the new leader and Jaz asks Penny to be part of the club. And Colin is feeling inspired by Jaz and thinks he might "come out" soon as a trans. This was really a feel good chapter. Happy for Jaz.
  • permanentrosepermanentrose Posts: 3,789 Member
    edited July 2021
    Update 192 - Jules the Scientist

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    It was Jules' first day at her new job! She had interviewed with the lab where Sofia worked, and Sofia had clearly put in a good word for her since she got hired on the spot. She was looking forward to exploring this new career, and it would be nice to have Sofia around to show her the ropes.

    But before Jules heads to work, let's check in with some other family members.

    Dill was eating some kibble the size of his head.
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    And poor Pickle. This glitched plate looked like it fell on his head. He just can't win these days.
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    And it was also Ruby's first day of high school! She was running a bit late, but she doesn't look too fussed.
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    Well someone is feeling confident about her first day :)
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    She immediately found Sofia and greeted her.
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    Sofia told her she could start off by following some instructions to make some synthetic food to practice using some of the lab equipment. She told Jules she could bring it over to her and test it once she was done. Sofia stayed for a minute to supervise but then went to attend to some of her own tasks.
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    So Jules got to work.
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    "Is this supposed to happen??"
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    Well, it all seemed okay so she brought her concoction over to Sofia.
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    "Nicely done!" Sofia praised.
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    Next, Sofia sent Jules to construct a SimRay. (Even though Jules already has one, it was on the list of tasks for her to invent one, so I went with it to boost her performance.)
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    Once she had constructed it, she gave it a few enhancements as well.
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    "Thanks, Bot. We make a great team."
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    Time to test out this thing's new ability to transform objects.
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    Well, the other chair matched this lab's aesthetic more, but at least it works :)
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    She also went out to find some metals and crystals to use for several of her experiments. She found an extra ruby, and decided to send off to a jeweler to have it refined as a little gift for Ruby.
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    And a few more experiments later, her work day was done.
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    It had gone by so quickly - she definitely loved having this new job. Both her previous careers as a journalist and a chef/mixologist had often left her tense and drained, but she felt invigorated and excited at the prospect of coming back tomorrow and seeing what else she would discover!
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    Sorry guys I am just too worn out to do comments tonight - just know I really do want to, and I will catch up in some capacity over the next few days. I honestly barely even made it through posting this update since I'm so exhausted, but I was determined to push through and make this post since I already had some screenshots :) I hope everyone is having a good week though! I definitely miss having the time to be more active here!
  • EllupelluelluEllupelluellu Posts: 6,779 Member

    @Karababy52 ,
    Okay, I am glad she (V) is not bothering that much :) I so totally forgot to remove her hidden traits too :p
    -- Oh! girls look very pretty as kids :smiley: Hey! Josh, not good at dancing with Kat while your girl ages up!

    KAT! Oh my, why you had to laugh?? Josh! Come on! You at least went to questioning her about it! Yes I also get Kat's point.. I would not either introduced myself to others like: "Hey, I am Ellu, I am an evil vampire!" :joy:
    Why is it never easy to get what I want?

    Kat? You want Josh?? hmm.. well that should of been clear.. but why? He loves Essa, and Essa only.. you shuld see that.. or you don't. (note: These aren't real questions, why I adressed these to Kat, not you, so I am not asking any spoilers, hehe)

    Girls are having great time, so funny the puppy comments :D

    Oh! Violins, a great gifts!

    @SoulGal7 ,
    I am glad you got all the trash back :smiley: And that sounded weird :joy::joy: Only in sims... lol.
    Haha! So funny that Sakura is posing proudly there, all dirty from dumpster :D
    Their house looks great! :)

    My love, my love, my fearless love, I will not say goodbye..
    Sea may rise, sky may fall, My love will never die..
    My heart, my heart, My drowning heart, Oh all the tears I've cried
    Oh I may weep forevermore, My love will never die..

    My Story:Villa Catarina
  • EllupelluelluEllupelluellu Posts: 6,779 Member
    @permanentrose ,
    You were posting while I did comments :)
    -- #Team Pickle!! Come on, poor doggo :cry:
    Great that Jules is liking her new job :) About that career, the planters will never spawn plants without a mod, if I recall right, so , here:
    https://modthesims.info/d/625263/scientist-career-graveyard-shift-and-gardening-fix.html
    it changes the working hour so plants get to grow :) Just in case I post that as it just popped to my mind :)

    My love, my love, my fearless love, I will not say goodbye..
    Sea may rise, sky may fall, My love will never die..
    My heart, my heart, My drowning heart, Oh all the tears I've cried
    Oh I may weep forevermore, My love will never die..

    My Story:Villa Catarina
  • Karababy52Karababy52 Posts: 5,952 Member
    edited July 2021
    July - Day 13: "Gifts and Juice and Sunflowers, Oh my!"

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    Notes
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    "Here's the present I promised you'd get this morning. I hope you like it."
    "Yay! Thanks Dad, I'm so excited to see it!"


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    "Oh...it's a violin. Uh, cool."
    "You don't like it do you?"


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    "It's okay, I guess. I just don't think I'll be any good at it."
    "How do you know unless you try?"


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    "Yeah, I guess that's true. I'll try it. Maybe you could help me?"
    "Of course, Mom's just as good or better than I am, she can help too."
    "Okay, thanks Dad. It really was nice of you to make it for me."
    "You're welcome Sweetpea. Don't worry about it. If you decide you don't like playing violin, that's perfectly okay. Everybody has things they like or don't like. You just need to try lots of things to find what you do like. Okay?"
    "Okay, I'll try it."
    "Good, that's all I ask."


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    "Here you go Honey, I hope you like it."
    "Ooo, gimme, gimme, gimme! I'm sooooo excited!"


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    *Gasp* "It's just like yours Daddy. WOW! My own violin! It's so pretty!"

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    "I can't wait to play it. Maybe I'll get really, really good at it like you!"
    "Mom plays too you know."
    "Oh yeah, I know, I've heard her play. I wish I could play like that."
    "Practice a lot and maybe you will, or even better!"
    "You think so?"
    "I know so!"


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    "Thanks Daddy, you're the bestest Daddy in the whole wide world."

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    "I love you so much Daddy, thank you, thank you, thank you!"
    "You're welcome Sweetheart, I love you too! Happy Birthday!"


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    Josh and Josee spent a few more minutes telling each other jokes and laughing together.
    "Chicken Butt!"
    "HAHA! Stop, stop, I can't breathe! Okay, why don't you go see if Jessah wants to play. I think she's waiting for you. I have a few things I need to do."
    "Okee Dokee!"


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    Josee found Jessah playing with one of the knitted toys Josh made for them. There was only one Yarny so Josee played with one of the little teddy bears Essa knitted. They had a great time together pretending Yarny and Teddy lived in the forest with the bunnies having adventures.

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    Not long before Essa would return home from work, Josh called the girls into the living room to read them a story called 'My Pizzi-cat-o Polka' about a cat named Fiona. She loved music and swayed her tail to the beat whenever her owner played the piano. Whenever Fiona is misbehaving, her owner plays this pizzi-cat-o. The girls loved it!

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    Essa came home with another promotion! She's now an Eco-Tech Scientist! Congratulations Essa!

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    They had dinner together and then Essa went upstairs to finally make the Hydroponic planter prototype. Josh spent some time a block away dumpster diving.

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    While Josee made some drawings on one of the craft tables Kat had given them for their birthday, Jessah went outside on the back deck to try out the violin. She really was not getting into it though and cringed at the scratchy noises coming from the instrument. Maybe she just needed more practice. Or...maybe the violin just wasn't her forte. She decided to keep trying though and ask one of her parents to help next time.

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    The next morning the girls had their first day of school and Essa had another day of work. Josh was on his own for a few hours. He upgraded the Recycler which took some time and then went to the Maker's Space.

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    When Josh walked toward the Fizzy juice machine, he couldn't believe what he saw. The batch of apple juice he'd began a couple days ago was still in the machine. Would it still be any good? Only one way to find out. Josh bottled it up to take home.

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    He loaded the machine with Lemons this time and then ran over to check out the two dumpsters around the side of the building while he waited for the juice to finish. This time, he remembered to bottle it up and took that home with him too when he left to greet the girls home from school.

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    The twins did their homework and Josh got started on making dinner while they all waited for Essa to return home from work.

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    Essa couldn't believe her eyes when she got home. The Modern Development NAP had been implemented while she was at work. All the trash was gone, the streets were decorated with sunflower designs and the sidewalks with trees in planter boxes painted by the children of a local school. It was absolutely beautiful.

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    Essa changed her clothes and came down to join her family for dinner. Josh pulled her toward him and gave her a sweet kiss on the cheek.

    "I made your favorite, Chicken Stir Fry!"
    "Oh yum! Thanks Babe. I'm starving!"

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    They all sat down to have dinner together and talk about their day. Essa told Josh about a project she was working on and Josh told her about the juice he'd left at the Maker's Space. They would try a bottle of it later after the girls went to bed.

    Annnd, that's where I'm ending this update. I'll have more about the rest of their evening and more in my update for today.
    Post edited by Karababy52 on

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