Keara’s New Home

As soon as her mother reached level 10 in the Athletic career and became a Sports Legend, Keara decided to move out of the house and start on her own.  I downloaded a fabulous house from the Sims 3 Exchange, added it to the town, and put some finishing touches on it to make it perfect.  It’s a very contemporary design, which I love, and it’s decorated in white, black, and red.  I added a pool with a bamboo island in the middle, expanded the outdoor entertaining area, and put in a place for a garden.  It really is lovely.

Here’s Keara driving and arriving at the new place.

The first breakfast of waffles was truly horrifying, so they went into the trash and she’s having pancakes instead.

She was quick to invite fiance Sam Sekemoto over for a nice Autumn Salad dinner.  That hair will really have to go after they get married.  And let’s hope that he goes through with the wedding after needing three proposals to finally say yes.

 

Here’s Keara taking a quiet and peaceful dip in the bamboo island pool.  She loves the solitude.

Meet Keara

I recently did a walkthrough guide on the Lifetime Wish of Become a Superstar Athlete for Carl’s Sims 3 Guide.  My characters were Kristi and Bret Yamaguchi and their daughter Keara.  I got rather attached to little Keara and enjoyed having her grow up through the Child years and then the Teenage years.  She’s a Young Adult now and I’m finished with the LTW guide, so I think I’ll take Keara out on her own.  She only ended up with four traits.  The game sometimes doesn’t accept a trait for some glitched reason.  Keara is a Loner, Artistic, Brave, and a Genius.  Her Lifetime Wish is to be an International Super Spy, but I don’t think that’s going to work for her because of her Loner trait.  She gets really stressed when she’s around too many people.  I think she’ll be much better focusing on artistic pursuits such as painting, guitar, and perhaps writing.

Keara Learning to Talk

Getting Help With Homework From Dad

Watching TV with Boyfriend Sam and Superstar Mom

So that’s Keara.  I’ll try to post about her life regularly.  Wish me luck!

 

Homes in The Sims 3

I’m a pretty solid Sims 3 player.  I’ve played through a lot of challenges, Lifetime Wishes, and families.  I can answer most questions that our forum visitors ask.  I’m not an awesome player, but I’m solid.  The one thing I simply cannot do is design and build houses.  For the longest time, I truly could not even build a square box of a house.  At least I can do that now and add onto it as needed.  It’s still boxy and unimaginative, though.  I can modify an existing house.  And I can even decorate somewhat nicely.  But build a stunning house from scratch.  No.  Just…  no.

My answer is to browse through the Sims 3 Exchange and download houses and families that other people build.  It doesn’t always work because the houses aren’t always furnished, for example.  Or they aren’t laid out realisticially for someone who actually plays the game.  Sims need a certain amount of space to maneuver around.  It’s always hit and miss on that stuff.  Plus, I can’t see the interiors until I install the house into my game and go take a look.  Many a house gets the bulldozer right after installation.

Tonight, as I was browsing, I stumbled onto a builder named Bex.  She apparently doesn’t play the game at all.  She just builds.  And wow…  her houses are stunning.  Most of them are modern designs, which is what I really love.  I don’t like country styled designs at all.  Hate them.  No, Bex’s houses are just glorious.  I downloaded many of them and will do some installations soon.  The ones I really want to try out are expensive and I’m not one to use the money cheat, so the Sluder family will have to build up their wealth a little more before they can move.

Until I can get my game situated into one of these houses, click here to view the forum thread featuring Bex and her work.

Alice and Kev

My first experience with The Sims 3 was the Alice and Kev blog written by roBurky.  I kept going back to read the updated story, fascinated.  It led me to watch a couple of Sims 3 videos on YouTube and that was that.  I bought the game and have been loving it ever since.  The story of Alice and Kev came to an end with Kev’s death from old age.  The author decided that was a good time to let the story go and left it open for Alice to accomplish anything.  He was even kind enough to upload Alice and her lot to the Sims 3 Exchange.  I downloaded it and started playing Alice as a young adult.  If all goes well, I hope to tell her story here.  It will be just one of thousands of stories for Alice, I’m sure.  I hope I can do it justice.

Love the Babies

I’ve discovered that I absolutely adore the toddlers in the Sims 3.  Mostly the girls with their cute longer hair and little dresses.  I’m the reigning queen of the baby challenges at the moment, although some are trying to de-throne me.  Heh.

An odd thing is that I’ve recently started having lots of triplets.  I played for weeks and weeks without ever getting any at all, even with both parents having the fertility treatment.  Now, suddenly, they come all the time unless I don’t have room in the house for three more kids.  Three are definitely a handful, and six is nearly unmanageable.  But they’re just so dang cute!

January Osmond

February and March Osmond

Lily, Rose, and Daisy Dreamweaver

 

Osmonds: July, August, September, October, November, and December

Falcon Dreamweaver

 

Hawk Dreamweaver

I could go on and on, but I think you get the idea.

Outtakes and Deleted Scenes

I recently wrote an article for Carl’s Sims 3 Guides.  I did the walkthrough for the Surrounded by Family lifetime wish, which really was a blast for me.  If you haven’t read it yet, click here and have a look.  The official pictures are great, but the ones I didn’t publish are even better!  See for yourself!

Lessa’s face while in labor says it all.

Toddlers like to hide in their toy boxes, chew on doll heads, have tantrums, and eat.  Behold the Benden toddlers.

Someone looks just like her daddy.

And someone is also grumpy and tired and refuses to go potty.

There were puddles.  Lots and lots of puddles.

There was even a fire.  Lessa got it under control, but not before Billy blasted one of the kids with the fire extinguisher.

The best reason NOT to add mods for cool hair… your teenage boy could age up to look like this:

Lessa’s beautiful twin daughters whose birthday aging up to teenagers granted their mother her lifetime wish to be Surrounded by Family.

Thanks for visiting!

Meet Trinity

I just started playing the Centurian’s Solo Challenge.  The rules were posted on Carl’s Sims 3 Forum.  You play just one Sim for 100 days.  Your score is the total of net worth (house value plus household funds) and happiness points.  I created Trinity for this challenge and for a change of pace, she lives in Riverview.

Trinity bought a very small house and furnished it herself.  Her favorite color is purple, so there’s a lot of it in the house.  A couple of items needed to be updated, like the shower and kitchen appliances.  No need for cold showers and unevenly cooked food if you can help it.  Trinity is a Natural Cook and cooking is her hobby.  Her Lifetime Wish is Culinary Librarian.  She’s also a Bookworm and Computer Whiz, so a Journalism career is the thing for her.  She’s also Charismatic and will be able to successfully interview people.  Being Ambitious will also help her climb to the top.

Like I said, her house is small, but it will suit her for now.

Check out the junk car sitting next door.

A couple of neighbors came by to welcome her to the neighborhood, Billy Caspian and Yuri Ivanov.  I was surprised because this is the first time anyone has ever come to visit one of my Sims.  Trinity was glad to meet them, but it was back to the computer to start her first novel as soon as they were gone.

My Real House

When I first started playing Sims 3, I wasn’t very good at building houses.  I’m not very creative with designing them, for one thing.  And I had trouble just figuring out and using the various building tools.  I started off by just expanding and upgrading existing houses.  Like moving walls and adding a second story.  Then when I started the Legacy Challenge, I had to build my own.  It worked out perfectly because I only had to make it one room with four walls, gradually adding to it as money allowed.  Now I finally feel like I can build a decent house from scratch.  I recently built a replica of my real house.  It was challenging, but lots of fun with Hubby helping me get the design right.  It’s very close to being perfect except for a couple of small things that couldn’t be helped because the building tools in Sims 3 just won’t allow certain things.

Here’s the outside of the house.  It’s almost identical to the real thing.

The view from the back showing a patio with chairs and a grill.  Plus our one little tree named James T. Kirk.  The real yard is actually a lot bigger than the replica.

I’m not going to bother with a bunch of shots of the interior.  Just this one of the living/kitchen/dining which is eerily almost identical to the real thing. 

And this one of the master bedroom and bathroom, where you can also see the hall bath and the two smaller bedrooms across the hall.  Ok, That’s the last one.  Really.

Back In The Flesh

Summer’s part of the scheme to bring Cari back was to prepare the Ambrosia. 

Cari’s ghost found it in the refrigerator and sat down to eat it.

What an amazing experience to be brought back to life in the flesh.  Cari didn’t quite know what to think.

Cari went to the family graveyard and mourned her long dead children.

While getting to know their famous ancestor, the family began hatching another plan.  Why not bring back Cari’s descendants?  She could see her daughter Venus again and meet the entire bloodline that brought about the current 10th generation.  Perfect!

Cari Comes Back Home

The Dreamweaver ladies have a plan.  The 8th and 9th generation are working together to bring back their ancestress.  Now that the 10th generation has been born, they are released from their duties and obligations for the family line.  They all agree that Cari should be brought back from the dead to see what her family has accomplished over these centuries.

Summer and Winter are feverishly working on their cooking skills so that they will be able to make Ambrosia.  Emerald and Garnet work tirelessly in the garden to make sure there’s a good supply of life fruit.  (Sadly, Emerald died while tending the garden, but her contribution will always be remembered.)  And Sapphire went fishing every waking moment until she could be skilled enough to catch the elusive Death Fish.

But first things first.  Cari Dreamweaver has lain in the family cemetary for so many generations.  Her grave is in the middle of the graveyard next to her husband’s and surrounded by rose bushes.  It has been in that same spot for hundreds of years.

It was Sapphire, of all people, who showed up at Cari’s grave on a bright afternoon.  Sapphire, who never had any children and had never been married.  She spent her life pursuing a career as a Star Journalist.  She got it, too!  Now she’s retired and spends her time fishing.  Ah…  now we know why she fishes so much.

One minute the grave was there.  The next minute it was gone.  *poof*

Sapphire immediately jumped into a taxi and took the remains to the Dreamweaver Science Lab for them to try to restore Cari’s ghost.

Yes!  When she came back out, Cari’s re-animated ghost was with her.

Sapphire made her most charming introduction to her great-great-great-great-great grandmother.  Cari was very stressed out and felt miserable.  I guess being dead for 250 years and then brought back to life will do that to a person.  Sapphire quickly brought out her handy Moodlet Manager and soothed Cari’s troubles.

The two then enjoyed a quick game of catch before heading home.  Back in Cari’s time, they couldn’t afford the luxury of a baseball.  She’s going to be in for a big surprise when she sees the family home.  Is that a smile I see on her face as she heads straight to the kitchen for some leftovers?

While Cari was eating her first meal in…  how long?  That’s right.  250 years…  her namesake was upstairs aging into a toddler.

Cari’s next stop was to see the little precious girl.  She picked Carri up from the highchair, changed her clothes, and kissed the baby as she put her to bed.  It seems Cari hasn’t forgotten how to be a loving parent.

Finally, exhausted from the day’s events, Cari found the new bed that had been made up especially for her and crawled in.

Sleep sweetly tonight, daughters of the Dreamweaver.  Mother is home.

Next time…  Will Summer and Winter be able to hold up their part of the deal?  Will they gain enough cooking skill to understand the recipe for Ambrosia?  Will one of them have the ability to cook it?  Will they even want to?  They must!  They simply must!!

Does She Know?

It’s both a very happy and a little sad moment.  The 10th generation of the Dreamweaver family has been born, thus marking the end of my Legacy Challenge.

It was mostly an uneventful evening at the Dreamweaver Mansion.  Winter watched some of the Cooking Channel with her mother.  She invited baby daddy Jacques over and waited in vain for his arrival.  He’s elderly now, so maybe he just forgot.  Then she ordered a pizza and went to bed exhausted.  Labor started not long after she fell asleep.

The pain eventually became delight with the twinkly magical birth.

And at last, little Carri Dreamweaver was born.

Her mama’s tummy went flat again and all was well with the world.

Does this tiny girl have any idea how special she is?  Or that if her aunties have their way that she’ll meet the first Cari Dreamweaver back from the dead?  Probably not.

Grim Crashes

Poor Amethyst (in the purple dress).  It’s just not a real party unless one of your co-workers suddenly dies in the middle of a conversation…

The Grim Reaper shows up and crashes the party…

Then stays for a chat and a game with the Virtual Goggles. 

Thanks, Grim.  See you next time.

She’s On Her Way!

Diamond went on to live a a long time, well past her normal 90 day lifespan.  She was athletic and healthy and finally overcame her terrible bad luck.  She died peacefully of old age and Grim Reaper took her with respect.

With Diamond’s death, there was room in the house to bring in the 10th generation.  At last, it is time for Winter to fulfill her legacy duty.

Winter met a nice guy named Jacques at the library.  They chatted and visited a few times, then took the relationship to the next level.  Even after asking Jacques to go steady, he was reluctant to become intimate with Winter.  Probably because he had just gotten a divorce.  But the next time they were together, he was ready. 

Winter soon started feeling ill and had to stay close by a bathroom. 

The first person she saw after realizing she was pregnant was her old auntie Emerald.  Winter excitedly announced the long awaited pregnancy.  Emerald, who has no children of her own, eagerly felt Winter’s tummy.

After much thought, the family made a decision about their legacy.  They have been so careful to follow all of the rules set down by the founder and the family has thrived and grown to be quite impressive.  After all, they live in an $850,000 mansion, have $3.5 million in the bank, and own all the businesses in town.  The ancestors have been kept close by in a private family cemetary across the street.  Their ghosties come out every night.

Once the 10th generation is born and the Legacy has been fulfilled, they will bring Cari back to life.  She will see the Legacy Child and will live in the home her family built over all the generations.  It’s only right.

A Very Special Winter

The 9th generation of the Dreamweaver Legacy family is moving into adulthood and will soon bring in the long awaited 10th generation.  The choosing of heirs has been mostly random, depending on which offspring was best suited to raising a family.  Now, in the 9th generation, the heiress has made herself known.  Winter Dreamweaver will be the one chosen for the honor.

She has a very special gift.  She looks almost identical to Cari Dreamweaver, the founder of the Legacy and Winter’s great-great-great-great-great-great grandmother.  Here’s a picture of a young and pregnant Cari, just starting out and ready to bring in the second generation.  Cari was very poor and didn’t have money for makeup or nice clothes, but she was a beauty nonetheless.

Over 250 years later, Cari’s descendent bears an eerie resemblance to the family’s Founder.  You can even see Cari’s portrait on the wall over Winter’s shoulder.

 Cari would be so proud.

Diamond’s Death – Or Not

Diamond Dreamweaver is an 8th generation member of my Dreamweaver Legacy Challenge family.  She hasn’t been a favorite because she’s got the evil trait.  And also because she’s got her father’s huge nose and lips.  Heh.  But she survived a lot from me.  She spent enough time in the family garden that she failed high school, but she turned herself into a level 10 gardener at a very young age.  She’s also becoming successful as a thief, with her Lifetime Wish to become a Master Thief.  She’s at level 8 Bank Robber at the moment.

Well, Diamond wanted to repair the broken stereo.  She only had Handiness at level 1, but I put her on the task.  She was electrocuted and killed immediately!  I’ve lost two others to electrocution, but they got singed first and only died when they went back to attempt the repair again.  Not poor unlucky Diamond.

The Grim Reaper showed up to take Diamond’s spirit and she turned into the yellow ghost that comes from electrocution.

Poor, poor Diamond.  Unlucky to the end, not even reaching old age.  But wait.  It seems Grim had a change of heart.  With these words, he restored Diamond into her body. 

“Diamond, your constant misfortune amuses me and those around you.  It would be a shame to take that priceless entertainment from them.  I’ll take you some other day.”

Diamond, of course, went immediately to play with the virtual goggles. 

Welcome back, Diamond Dreamweaver.