Monday with the Shanleys

Since I’ve been rushing through these last generations of my Legacy Challenge family, I decided to do a slightly different kind of post tonight. I played for a bit last night but let the Shanleys go through a full day — well, almost a full day — completely autonomous. Yes, I stopped being an evil Sim dictator for awhile and just let the Shanleys do whatever they wanted. And every hour or so I snapped a picture of whoever was doing something mildly interesting. “Interesting” being relative because most of the things Sims do on a daily basis are pretty darned mundane!

Anyway, without further ado, I bring you…Monday with the Shanleys!

Scottie makes her bed
6:07 AM
In the half-dark of early morning, little Scottie Shanley is already wide awake and making her bed. She has taken over her mother’s old bedroom and seems pleased with its orangeness. She especially likes to make the bed, then jump on it for hours on end, just as her great uncle Tristan did when he was a boy.

Cort and Lennan talk
7:08 AM
It’s finally light out, and Shanleys all over the house have awoken. Cort (7G) and Lennan, Scottie’s twin, aren’t really in a rush to get going on their day, so they linger upstairs and talk about ocean liners.

(When Cort became an adult, the long hair didn’t suit him anymore, so I got rid of it. His new look is more geek chic meets…Elvis?)

Pao holds Cleo
8:10 AM
While the other Shanleys were snoozing the night away, little Cleo Shanley was playing with her blocks in the nursery, so when they awoke, she was ready for bed. Her step-great-grandfather (or is that great-step-grandfather?) Pao picks her up and carries her to the crib.

(Look at those EARS! They look cute and tiny from the side, but they are like mini-Shrek ears from the front. Otherwise she looks mostly like her human dad, Gary.)

Gary and Pao
9:06 AM
While Cleo sleeps, Pao and Gary, Cleo’s dad, chat nearby. Just before this, Gary had insulted Pao, so they don’t have a very good relationship. That might be why Gary looks completely bored with the conversation, though Pao is trying his hardest. A few minutes later they were out in the living room arguing. This is why I have to keep an eye on those Grouchy Sims!

Cort makes breakfast
10:15 AM
Cort gets tired of playing video games and decides to make some breakfast. For the first time I notice that the Social Bunny is on the milk carton! How long did that take me? Six months? Sheesh.

Cort is currently unemployed, but his family is loaded, so he doesn’t have to work. He can just stay home and play video games all day! Or not, since I’m an evil dictator and will force him to build skills instead. Mwahaha!

Cort flips his omelette
10:48 AM
Cort is still making breakfast.

Pao cleans the counter
11:16 AM
Cort made such a mess in the kitchen that Pao has to clean up after him. Or maybe Pao just likes to look at the pretty bubbles. He’s always cleaning.

Gary feeds Cleo
12:14 PM
Cleo is finished with her nap and wants her bottle! Like a good dad, Gary obliges. Of course, he had to give her a bath first.

1:30 PM
I thought I had a picture for this one, but I can’t find it! It was basically of Pao cleaning the toilet while Cort stands there with Cleo, waiting for Pao to move so he can give Cleo a bath. Even though her dad had already given her a bath and her Hygiene wasn’t low at all. D’oh!

Cort plays with Cleo
2:31 PM
Since Cort couldn’t give Cleo a bath (even though there were two other bathtubs, both available for use), he decided to play with her in the main living area. For HOURS. They had a daily relationship score in the 90s before the day was over! Just think, if I weren’t such an evil dictator all the time, my Sims would probably have better relationships with each other.

Scottie gets home from school
3:12 PM
Scottie and Lennan return home from school. They both have mediocre grades (first day at school) so nobody runs around cackling and waving their report card, thank goodness.

(continued on Page 2)

18 thoughts on “Monday with the Shanleys

  1. Great update! I love your family, so amusing! Hehehe well good look with this whole stay away from mouse thing…I will never be able to do it!

  2. What a great idea Jen! It was very entertaining. I’ve never seen a ghost jump into a lamp and shatter it. How cool. You’re family rocks, keep it up! Until tomorrow!

  3. hey Jen, great update… you always keep us entertain with even the simpliest things like a day w/your sims. ;)
    Who will be doing your next heir portriat? Also i wonder if your ghost are especially mean to your Cleo b/c of her being an alien?

  4. Awesome update. A great idea for a short break from the hectic going ons of the Legacy Challenge. Keep it up. Love Dustyn.

  5. This is an interesting change from the standard Sims2 blog. I liked the relaxed pace and the funny everyday happenings. When you leave the sims alone their personalities really come through, which can sometimes be a pain, but it’s interesting all the same. :)

  6. It’s incredible how much can actually be written about one sim day, huh?
    This was a great change of pace! It’s fun to see how sims’ minds work without being directed to do anything. Even if they don’t handle it very well on their own. Amazing how their individual personalities (especially Cort’s, in this case) can be identified from just a single day. Seems a bit… Distraught, doesn’t he? Actually he reminds me of a younger, lazier version of Liam.
    And hey… Did Nia get jealous of how far er legacy’s gotten? That could explain the wrecking thing. Heh.
    Good luck, and keep up the good work.

  7. Hahaha…one of my ghosts jumped into a bedside lamp and made it float in the ari, before jumping back out. It’s funny to watch. LOL!

  8. Aww, how adorable are Cort and Cleo? But it’s odd that her Dad doesn’t seem to interact with her much, unless you just didn’t bother with pictures of that! I’ve never seen a ghost shatter something before, I’ve seen chairs wobble and puddles be made, but never a shattering. I should really stop going out so much and play on my sims more and pick up on these details ;) Nice post, and I completley understand the evil dictator thing, I never let my sims do anything until all their needs are in full green! :D

  9. Jen, not only is your blog good, but I am very proud of your posting abilities. The worst thing is when you get hooked on a blog, and then the author simply ignores it. >_< bah! So, good job, and keep on going! Please! Oh, in case anyone reads this and is willing to help a poor poor almost-but-not-Sims2 playing person, please read the next post and help....!

  10. Bah, got cut off (I’m VERY good at html…not). I was saying that you should keep on going (yay, please!?) and that Rose is a good name *wink wink*. Oh! And I have a question. I am an almost-playing-but-not-Sims2-owner. I bought the Sims 2, and my computer should work with it, but…well, it doesn’t. The game is almost always done loading and then…an error message pops up saying there was an error with my graphics or somethin and then I have to restart my computer. Tis most annoying and I don’t know what to do. I clutch the Sims 2 box and hope that some day…that little blue bar will finish loading…
    Wow, sorry. Ok, so if anyone has any suggestions please post. AND I LOVE THIS BLOG!

  11. Vivi: The reason it is saying that is because either you have the wrong graphics card or your card does not have the most recent graphics driver.

    Jen, great update, I love reading about your Sims. Good luck on reaching the end of the challenge.

  12. Thanks Bitsy! I’ll see if I can figure out what my beautiful special and o so wonderful graphics card is up to. Ya, I have Intel Extreme Graphics. I tried downloading the newest driver, but it still doesn’t work. Ay…how much are graphic cards!?
    Um, Jen? I’m sorry for using the comments like this. Sorry! I just had a question. Be happy!? Ya. I promise I’ll stop.
    Keep up the good work with the blog!

  13. Looks like I came a bit late ;_; Sorry Jen! This was a creative update, what a great idea! I think it’s cute looking at what each of them does when you leave them micromanaging themselves. Great job. I’d love to see more of this kind in the future! ^__^

  14. I hope I’m not getting annoying on this post. *Angelic Face* I just wanted to wish everyone a late Happy Presidents Day! Hey, I have nothing better to do (evil evil graphics card), and I am ofically hooked to this blog (thanks A LOT, Jen…just kidding)! I hope I am not in the end talking to myself. That would be depressing. Not new, just depressing.
    Well, someone post soon!
    And… BE HAPPY!

  15. Hi Jen! I’ve never commented before, but I just wanted to tell you how great your blog is! I’m a mac user, and so I have a while to wait, but I am already addicted to Sims 2 and your blog helps me soothe my obsession. I read a lot of blogs, but I think yours is my favorite. Your pictures are so beautiful and your captions and stories are all so entertaining. I’ve read through all your archives. I was wondering, when you finish your hectic Legacy Challenge, do you think you will be designing any more houses? I love to look at houses! (and I can’t wait to design my own). Oh, and hi Vivi! I know it’s you! *poke*

  16. Thanks for the comments! This was a fun change of pace for me, just to sit back and watch my Sims do their thing for once.

    Lindsey – Hey, I left a comment on your site, nice start so far!

    Mary – I’ll probably have Gary paint Tebby’s portrait since he’s a Knowledge Sim and has his Creativity maxed already. Or maybe I’m thinking of Tebby…maybe she can do a self-portrait? Heh. So far I haven’t noticed the ghosts being mean to Cleo — they pretty much scare everyone, though they like to pick on kids and new family members the most — or maybe it just seems that way!

    Vivi – Hi and thanks for your comments! It stinks that your Sims game won’t work. I don’t know much about graphics cards, but you could try going to The Sims Resource Forum and doing a search on “Intel Extreme Graphics”. I searched on that forum when my GeForce card wasn’t performing up to par, and I found some good info! Hopefully someone knowledgeable there can help you. Let me know how it goes. :-)

    Lena – Thanks! I will definitely be creating some houses when I’m done with the Legacy Challenge. I have the urge to build! And I hope you Mac users get your Sims 2 soon!!