Sugah's Sim Antics

Sugah wrote:

I love the whole random tucking in thing this game has going on, don't you?

Me too!

I love the pool area you decorated for the Benoits, and I was admiring the pretty cat Lady Luv!

Nanny Karen looks like she is great to have around!

I think the Benedetto's are sure to be very happy in the new home you made for them! Beautiful decorating!  AND the teens get their own abode?  

How wonderful! So much activity in this thread!
Big shout out to Cher, Em and Sandy for visiting and for your wonderful comments!!!
Thank you, thank you, thank you, ladies! I love it!

Cher wrote:

Once again, we're on the same page. I have to fight my urge to play "fast" and just slow down and enjoy my families...
...I do, and now that I'm more willing to relax and see what happens, I get to see more of that kind of thing. A lot of the things involving kids are really special.

It's a challenge for me, but I'm working on it, Cher.
I get freakin' fixated on having everyone be ultra-studious so they can get to the top of their careers PRONTO.
So, I've been making a conscientious effort to be more laid back about that AND ...
To just let them "BE" more often ... Just let them "LIVE". You know?
Like you, I struggle with just slowing down, sitting back and enjoying my families.

Em wrote:

I either started this neighborhood (as I have most of mine) with a blank template or using the "deleteAllCharacters" cheat, so it does not have any of the defaults NPCs and townies, so she's unique to this particular hood.

Oh, I forget about that option more often than not, Em.
It makes sense now.

Em wrote:

And you must be very dedicated to do so every time! Copy and paste I can do.

Haha! It only takes seconds to pull up the names with the accents & special characters (like Désirée & Anaïs) to copy and paste 'em.
I rather like the fancy schmancy way they look, so it's worth the tiny effort. Call me "silly".

Em wrote:

I play with rotations, because aging sims, particularly siblings is important to me. That is one thing I am picky about. But this time I'm not. I'm just playing whoever I feel like. I started out trying to play everyone evenly, but then I quickly realized there was no need to.  

Interesting! I'm learning that more and more of you play in rotation.
I never really thought about it until some of you (namely Cher & Mac) starting discussing the subject.

Cher wrote:

I'm thinking I might dump this entire generation into Uni and play them, once they're all there, as if they were the same age. I think it might make it easier to see who they're attracted to. That's where I thought I might add Paloma, the extracted offspring of Toni's Jack and Sugah's Ella.

That's a neat idea, Cher! I don't play with Uni, so I'd be tickled to see your SP Offspring all off at college together.  

Em, did I see somewhere that you are wanting the offspring of the SP project to be teens simultaneously, too?
I have four teen daughters so far (they are the oldest of the Tres Lagos offspring: Désirée, Celeste, Isabella & Callista).
The boys are still toddlers, I believe (Zach & Dion), but I'm about to visit the Haeven family this evening.
If I play long enough, Celeste & Zach will both be teens together in the household.
I'm getting ready to have a few other long time residents in the 'hood advance in their relationships, too.
Some, I don't want to rush though. They still need time for a proper courtship.

Em wrote:

I actually prefer the name Orion to Celestino...

I think I do, too, Em. It's more "other worldly", don't you think?
I had to Google how to change a Sim's name, because I had forgotten how (Re: Spawn the Tombstone of L & D).

Ladies, I am like you (conflicted about moving Sims into a bigger place to accommodate growing families).
I am not a huge fan of building and decorating, as you may recall.
I fear I may be doing this for quite a few of my Tres Lagos 'hood residents with the recent population explosion.  
(To answer your question, Cher, I normally build my Sims' homes or, on occasion, renovate & decorate Maxis lots.)

Thank you for the compliments on the Benedetto's new abode, Cher, Em & Sandy.
Oh, and Sandy, their three teen girls don't get their own abode/apartment!
Haha! They aren't THAT spoiled!  
It's just a bedroom and bathroom overlooking the pool.  

Speaking of...
Here are some snapshots I took last night.

Sugah wrote:

Em, did I see somewhere that you are wanting the offspring of the SP project to be teens simultaneously, too?

Yes, that was my plan. I still want to keep a little bit of age difference between them, so I might send them in groups. I'm finding I have more boys than girls though, especially among the first born, so I may have to send them closer together than I originally planned. The first group of students were four boys and one girl. I went ahead and started adding the second born from some of my families (and some of the younger first borns) and ended up with 6 boys and 3 girls. I really don't want to send everyone all at once because I feel kind of bad leaving the parents so suddenly with a completely empty nest. I'm finding that some of my offspring have already started to pair off as teens. They already seem to know who they like and who they don't.

Cher wrote:

I'm having that same conflict right now. My families are getting too big for their starter homes, but some of them aren't even as fully furnished as they should be.

My sims seem to get by with very sparsely furnished (and even less so decorated) homes. Then by the time I actually take the time to make an effort to decorate, I've realized they've really outgrown the place anyway. It wouldn't be a problem if they weren't apartment dwellers. They would be find if I could just add on a room or two or build a couple of walls to subdivide the larger than necessary rooms.

The kids' bedrooms are so cute! It's nice of the girls to make an exception to the "girl's only" rule to let their brother study with them. I really like the huge living room window overlooking the pool. Nice idea!

Em wrote:

I'm finding I have more boys than girls though, especially among the first born...

The same thing is happening in Cher's (Sugah's) Pleasantview.
For awhile, she had ALL boys, just like I had all girls initially.
Hopefully, things will even out for all of our SP Offspring Project 'hoods!

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I really don't want to send everyone all at once because I feel kind of bad leaving the parents so suddenly with a completely empty nest.

Awww!  

I think that's why I am not in a hurry to have my Tres Lago's teens grow up and move out.
All of these families are so close and dear. And I REALLY love them all together.
I'm hard-pressed to separate some of them for awhile.  

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They would be fine if I could just add on a room or two or build a couple of walls to subdivide the larger than necessary rooms.

I hadn't thought of that issue with apartments, Em.
There's no adding on. Moving out and starting in a new place is the only option with your growing families.
It is a time consuming, not-necessarily-fun and tedious business for me. Is it the same for you?
So, I really have to be in the mood to build & decorate all new abodes (which isn't often).

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The kids' bedrooms are so cute! It's nice of the girls to make an exception to the "girl's only" rule to let their brother study with them.  laughin I really like the huge living room window overlooking the pool. Nice idea!

The girls also make an exception to letting Orion in their private space when he is itchin' to make their beds.
Smart girls are they.  

Sugah wrote:

Check out the top (little) sign: Wear your seatbelt! It makes it harder for the aliens to suck you out of your car.  

What a cute room!!

I love the kitchen dining and livingrooms! You say you dislike decorating your homes, but every time I see your handiwork, I am so impressed!! I love the cute rooms of the Brainy Benedetto's-love all of the pink and your comments about the man of the house!

Sugah wrote:

Check out that living room view of the pool. Nice, eh?

 I love it too!!

Sugah wrote:

Some, I don't want to rush though. They still need time for a proper courtship.

Yea! There should be a lot of great photo ops there.

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To answer your question, Cher, I normally build my Sims' homes ...

I wish I did more of that. I usually download lots, often without the CC, and then renovate them. In Sugah's Pleasantview, I'm forcing myself to play the lots (redecorated of course) already there. I can add on to them or build new lots as the population expands. I have built maybe a dozen lots over the years, pretty much all from floor plans or my memory of a house. I did most of my building when my nieces were playing and would ask me to build a certain house for them. I do have more I want to build, but I'm in playing mode these days.

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The Brainy Benedettos

They really are, aren't they?! That's funny about Orion the neat freak. I really like his room, too, especially the X Files poster.

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A typical Saturday morning at the Benedetto abode.

I love the family meal! I also see nothing wrong with a little pizza for breakfast. That dance party looks like a lot of fun.

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And may I just go on record as saying Anthony is a REAL man who has NEVER feared PINK.
He raised two girls all on his own (a widower) until he met his beloved wild & crazy KimberLee.
Mr. Benedetto is confident in his masculinity and, in fact, adores being surrounded by so many women.
"Pink walls & decor", you say? "Bring it on!!!", says Mr. B!

Go Mr. B!

I like your take on this family so much, Sugah.

Sandy, thank you for your generous compliments about my decorating skills.
You truly flatter me.  
I look at others' work and feel my minimalist abodes pale in comparison.
I don't like to take a lot of time & rarely have the inclination, so my Sims never have extravagant, fancy, big-time-done-up homes.
(This old lady was not granted the patience or energy for such a huge endeavor.   )
But your positive comments mean so much and I thank you, most sincerely, for them.

Cher wrote:

That's funny about Orion the neat freak. I really like his room, too, especially the X Files poster.

Who needs a maid with Orion-the-he-ain't-heavy-he's-my-alien-brother-the-neat-freak in the house???  
Don't tell me you're a big fan of the X-Files, too, Cher? If you mentioned that awhile back, I'd forgotten.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE the X-Files and am so tickled they're doing 6 NEW episodes later this year.

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I also see nothing wrong with a little pizza for breakfast.

Thank you, Sandy and Cher, for stopping by and taking the time to comment, as always.

~*~

I was able to play the Haeven family for awhile last night.
I shared (in my SP Offspring thread) a photo of young Zach Haeven as a child (in comparison with his older sibling, Celeste).

I took this close up snapshot of Celeste & Zachy's mama.


Well, it appears the Haevens have outgrown their humble abode.
I may have to spend this evening knocking down walls & renovating the place to accommodate the four of them & Sunny.
Both Zen and Evie have been wanting another baby (off and on) for awhile now...
So, a bigger home is definitely on the very near horizon for this growing family.

Lady S wrote:

Who needs a maid with Orion-the-he-ain't-heavy-he's-my-alien-brother-the-neat-freak in the house???  

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I LOVE LOVE LOVE the X-Files and am so tickled they're doing 6 NEW episodes later this year.

I don't think it's come up before, so you didn't forget anything I said. I faithfully watched every episode. If I remember correctly, the new episodes will be on Showtime, right? I don't get that channel; I'll have to see if I can get my neighbor to record them for me.

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Look at Sunny's expression!

 My brother's first wife had a cat that looked like Sunny, except it was mostly gray. Whenever he talks about it, he talks about how you had to force affection on him because he wasn't a very cuddly cat.

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I didn't know toddlers could be fascinated with fish tanks.

I didn't either. That's a cool picture you got of him; looks like it's through the glass?

I thought I recognized Maddy McMew! It's great to see her again.

So cool you're an X-File fan, too, Lady C.  
I was thinking they were set to do six episodes of the X-Files and it'd be on Fox, but don't quote me.
I hope you're wrong about Showtime, because I don't subscribe to that channel either.  

Yes, I snapped the picture of toddler Zach from the opposite side of the fish tank.
I kinda liked the effect, too.

Thank you for visiting my thread and for your comments, as always, Cher.

...

Well, just when the Haevens decided to sacrifice their basketball court, build on another bedroom for Zach and do some redecorating ...
All hell done broke loose in the household!

Both Evie and Zen got their wish for another child ... in duplicate! Yes, TWINS!
Oy vey! I certainly wasn't expecting that, but I must admit, I'm rather tickled in a strange, maniacal, masochistic sorta way.  

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I hadn't thought of that issue with apartments, Em.
There's no adding on. Moving out and starting in a new place is the only option with your growing families.
It is a time consuming, not-necessarily-fun and tedious business for me. Is it the same for you?

I wonder if there are any cheats I can use to at least build extra walls within the apartment or add windows. I knew I cheat that would let me access build mode in dorms, but I don't think it worked with apartments.

Yes, it's the same for me, absolutely! I often just want to jump into playing and not take the time to furnish or decorate more than I have to and the sim days start to get away from me.

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The girls also make an exception to letting Orion in their private space when he is itchin' to make their beds.
Smart girls are they.

Who could say no to that!

Zach and Sunny are cute. I can see Maddie knows exactly what is expected of her!

Yay for twins! I hope the Haevens can keep up with the building and remodeling necessary for their expanding family.

Sugah wrote:

I hope you're wrong about Showtime, because I don't subscribe to that channel either.

I am wrong. It's Twin Peaks that will be on Showtime.

Zach is going to be a fantastic older brother! Maybe he can help Evie so she won't be so exhausted with those twins.

Em, I've done a bit of research and I believe I haven't found any safe, working cheats for occupied apartments.

Have you seen these?

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Try one or all the following:
boolProp aptSubLotSpecificToolsDisabled false
boolProp aptBaseLotSpecificToolsDisabled false
boolProp apartmentBuildBuyRestrictions false

But I most certainly can't say if they work or if they'll bonk your game, ESPECIALLY if the apartments are inhabited.
I'm not brave enough to give any of those a whirl & I'm thinking it might not be worth it, Em.

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I can see Maddie knows exactly what is expected of her!

She's truly crazy for cats!  

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I hope the Haevens can keep up with the building and remodeling necessary for their expanding family.

I think they MAY be okay with only one possible issue: 6 Sims & only 1 bathroom.  
I can put both boys (Ezekiel & Zach) in one bedroom & the two girls in another (Celeste & Chloe).
But I'm not sure if there's room to build on another bathroom.
Gonna explore that more today, if possible.  

Cher wrote:

Zach is going to be a fantastic older brother! Maybe he can help Evie so she won't be so exhausted with those twins.

I'd forgotten how very helpful teens can be when there are little ones in the house, Cher.
Celeste and Zach were always holding the babies & getting them bottles.
They changed plenty of their wee siblings stinky diapers, too.  

Thank you, Cher & Em, for stopping by my Sim Antics thread, as always.  

~*~

I was able to play for quite awhile last night, but some of the snapshots I took, I can share in my Offspring Project thread.
Several Tres Lagos kiddos have blossomed into their next phase of life. So, I'll post there next.  

It's always so cool when you have something in your head about a Sim's life or future...
And they decide to take the ball and run with it before you, the OOOGS ( Love it, Em!), direct them to!!!

This is just one of those occurrences.
When Zach was a child, Callista was a teen, but they became friends.
I thought they'd make a lovely couple and couldn't wait for Zach to become a teen to see.
Well, just as I was about to direct Zach to check Callista out (they have one chemistry bolt so far), she flirted with him on her own!
I don't know exactly what she did, but next thing I know, she's got hearts comin' out of her!
He gave her one squeeze and the rest, as they say, is history.  

Now this is interesting, because Callista is a Capricorn (not very outgoing) like Em.
And Em, do you recall how your Simself was always quite the flirt & social butterfly, which was rather unexpected considering your sign???
How cool is that? Callista, born of your Will, & my very first Capricorn in Tres Lagos (after you ), takes after your Simself in the "opposite sex department"!!!
She decided she wanted Zach & she made the first move (assertive in love just like SimEm)!
Love these "meant to be" moments, don't you?
Look how happy they seem together!!!

Sugah wrote:

Look how happy they seem together!!!

Love when that happens!! Lovely pictures! And I am glad to see Crazy Cat lady maddie is still around

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She decided she wanted Zach & she made the first move (assertive in love just like SimEm)!
Love these "meant to be" moments, don't you?
Look how happy they seem together!!!

I do love those moments, and Callista and Zach look like a great couple.

No, I hadn't seen those cheats. There is a really similar one for dorms that I've used in the past, but it didn't work on the apartments. The dorm cheat I actually used to use on community lots so I could access the build catalogue while visiting. If I tried them, I don't think I would try to add on outside of the apartment, that seems like a bad idea, but I might be brave enough to try changing things within the apartment. Thanks for taking the time to look that up and share it, whether it turns out to be useful or not.

A shortage of bathrooms seems to be a problem in my hood as well.

Yes, I find that teens are very helpful with the younger siblings! Things definitely get easier in large families once there's a teen in the house.

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Now this is interesting, because Callista is a Capricorn (not very outgoing) like Em.
And Em, do you recall how your Simself was always quite the flirt & social butterfly, which was rather unexpected considering your sign???
How cool is that? Callista, born of your Will, & my very first Capricorn in Tres Lagos (after you I love you ), takes after your Simself in the "opposite sex department"!!!
She decided she wanted Zach & she made the first move (assertive in love just like SimEm)!

That's too funny! Sounds like she's a girl after my own simself's heart. (Unlike real life Em, who is definitely NOT a social butterfly, flirt, or assertive in love. At all!) I remember Ari's simself was the same way.

Callista and Zach make a very cute couple!

Sandy wrote:

And I am glad to see Crazy Cat lady maddie is still around.

Yes, she's still with us, Sandy.
I rarely let my elder Sims pass on, since I'm especially fond of the seniors in game.
Besides, she just found love with Taavi Mikkola (Suvi's dad).
Taavi (of SimFinland ) is her first and last love.
For all of her days, she's never been interested in extending love to anyone or anything other than her 5 precious furry purries...
Until Taavi came along.

Em wrote:

...but I might be brave enough to try changing things within the apartment. Thanks for taking the time to look that up and share it...

Em, you are welcome.
I will be interested to learn if you do try the cheat for moving walls, etc., in apartments.
I hope it doesn't mess up your game, as I said.
I haven't read many positive things about the attempts to redesign occupied apartments thus far.  

Em wrote:

Sounds like she's a girl after my own simself's heart. (Unlike real life Em, who is definitely NOT a social butterfly, flirt, or assertive in love. At all!)

I knew you'd appreciate that about Callista, Em.  
The fact that the real (Capricorn) Em (shy, rather introverted & not assertive in love) is nothing like (Capricorn) flirty, forward SimEm is such a hoot!
And (Capricorn) Callista seems to be following in your SimEm's footsteps ... Love it!

I've been rather focused on growing up my current Offspring teens (while giving all the families quality lives, of course ) lately.
And like some of you, I am really enjoying this project.  
Also, I've been pondering which new Sims I'll be moving into Tres Lagos to be fruitful and multiply.
The possibilities are endless & it's not easy to choose!  
(Like Cher, I'd prefer to use Sims that haven't been chosen yet, but that's not etched in stone.)

In the meantime...
You may recall my Suvi Mikkola & Jacob Roarke (and his Wonder Dog Rico).
Suvi and Jacob fell in love and were engaged (back in February or March) before the Offspring Project.
And though I am wanting to match up different creators' Sims, these two darlings truly wanted to participate.
They are such sweethearts (married now, ready, willing & able   ). How could I say no?
I haven't taken many pictures for some reason , but there should be more later hopefully.

That's a great picture of Rico riding shotgun. He's so eager to go to work.

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... expecting their first child very soon.

I can't wait!

Cher wrote:

That's a great picture of Rico riding shotgun. He's so eager to go to work.

Which is more than I can say for the grouchy-arse human next to him, Cher!

Added on Saturday 5/30 @ 10:45am:

I was able to play for a little while late last night, so here's the latest with the Roarkes: Jacob, Suvi & Rico...


Update on the Roarkes:
Jacob has been promoted to a Draftsman and Suvi has been promoted to Lieutenant.
The happy couple were blessed with a new family member just before midnight last night.  

Do follow me HERE to see a pic of their wee new addition...

sugah wrote:

Look how happy the pittie is to be going to work

He Does look happy!

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I like how he's looks up at Suvi (often) while she's bathing him.

He is so cute! Also, Jacob looks happy on the trampoline! I love that object-the Sims love it too-it's a good thing that they can get fun at the same time as body skill/fitness!

Sandy wrote:

I love that object-the Sims love it too-it's a good thing that they can get fun at the same time as body skill/fitness!

You know, I've not been able to fire up my game in so long, I'm worried I've forgotten most of my Tres Lagos families and their lives.
Good thing I have index cards made up on all the key players.

I'm feeling inspired to play again, upon catching up in Sandy & Cher's threads (though I have so much more catching up to do in both our Game Antics & Experiment in SP Genetics threads ).

I'm hoping things will slow down soon, so I may finally be able to get back to some of my favorite SIMfams.

I have been gone so long, I'd forgotten how darling some of the families I'd been playing are.

But imagine my surprise when I discovered all of my Photobucket images showing up again!
What happened? Was there an outrage against the phenomenal membership fee Photobucket was demanding?
I can't tell you how happy I am to find all our our site images back in place.
When I came on the last time, all of mine were gone and I couldn't bear to re-upload every last one to a new file storage.
The thought of doing so was absolutely overwhelming to me!

Hey Sugah! *hugs* As I understand it, they released some kind of 'fix' and other servers just had to deploy it and it would restore the ability to share photos from there...not sure what prompted them to change it, but once the server here had deployed the fix people who hadn't already moved to other services, their images came back.

Welcome back Sugah!! You have been sorely missed! Hope you are well

Timster wrote:

Hey Sugah! *hugs* As I understand it, they released some kind of 'fix' and other servers just had to deploy it and it would restore the ability to share photos from there...not sure what prompted them to change it, but once the server here had deployed the fix people who hadn't already moved to other services, their images came back.

Tim, I can not tell you how GREAT that is to hear!
The idea of replacing all of my/our images for every single download, etc., etc., was just too exhausting to think about.
I do NOT think I could have dealt with such an endeavor...AT ALL!
What a relief it all worked out.