Hey, guys. Thanks for all the great comments on the teaser. I had a blast setting it up, and Maude always enjoys having her say. Unfortunately I’ve hit a snag regarding the continuation of the story (and no, the snag isn’t OFB — my copy should be arriving today, though!) — so it’s on hold until I work things out. In the meantime, I figured I should finish the other updates I started a long time ago. Since I have both of them partially written, I thought I’d ask you guys what you’d like to see next. Here are your options:

The Ravelos – The girls are sophomores at ALT, and it’s Misty’s turn to tell you all about it.

Annabel Island – Flora the Housekeeper continues to make trouble at the DeGroff house while the DeGroffs join the Braytons and Loves for Christmas.

And next week, perhaps a Shanley update — I think Ruby and Ginger the Fortune Gals would be great candidates for starting up a business…

Looking for something fun and creative to do with your Sims? Then zoom on over to Promptu, a new site run by Bitsy and Jessica, and take a gander! Promptu is a collab, which is something I had never heard of before, but it sounds really really cool. What it basically means is that every month, Bitsy and Jessica will post the prompt for that month’s project, and anyone who wants to participate can do so. The first project is a Sims Tarot Deck. They don’t expect to collect a full deck, but even a few would be awesome, just to see how different people approach creating their pictures. It’s a very creative and clever idea, and I’m looking forward to working on a card of my own. If that sounds like fun to you, take a look!

Hey guys, just wanted to let you know that my Mt. Geneva template went wonky all of a sudden, so I’ve switched to this one until I figure out what’s going on with it. I thought upgrading from WordPress 2.0 to 2.0.1 might fix the problem (I seemed to have a corrupted file for awhile there), but no dice. I’ll just have to putz around with the CSS and do some research to see if I can fix it. In the meantime, this template, while not perfect, will just have to do! Happy Simming and all that good stuff. :-)

Delores Cromwell didn’t know what she was getting into. Her first thought when she found out her Aunt Cerise had died and left her a house was, “Cool! I have a HOUSE!” Actually, her first thought was, “Poor Aunt Cerise!” but “Cool! I have a HOUSE!” was the very next thought.

The house was a shabby, old-fashioned shack with peeling wallpaper and grungy tile, but it sat on a nice piece of property in a scenic little town called Northcliff. The only other inhabitants of Northcliff were a group of scientists and their families who were participating in some strange experiment called “The Prosperity Challenge.” They all commuted to Sim City for their jobs, and Delores figured if they could do it, so could she.

The only rub was that she had promised some college acquaintances that she would be roomies with them once they all graduated. But would they want to live in the hinterland of Northcliff? She wasn’t sure, but she approached them with this idea: they could live in Aunt Cerise’s house rent-free if they helped her fix it up.

Since the alternative was to sleep in cardboard boxes in a Sim City alleyway, they accepted Delores’s deal without hesitation. The day after graduation, they moved into Cromwell House.

Here they are on their first day at the new house, chatting excitedly about life after graduation. Their futures hold so much promise! They seem so happy! They have no idea.

In case you’re wondering who’s who, I’ll give you a run-down: in the bandana is Benjamin Labelle (Pleasure) talking to blondie Johnny Garnett (Family). Johnny seems to be fixated on Delores (Knowledge), who is wearing the blue stripes. Delores speaks with perfect indifference to Sheila Ireland (Fortune), the only person on the lot with a Niceness score of less then 5. In the foreground, we have long-haired Steve Charlton (Romance) chatting up Eleanor Dutcher (Popularity), who apparently thinks the best way to win friends and influence people is to wear one’s hair in a side ponytail.

Continue reading →

Hey guys! Hope you all had a great Valentine’s Day. Did you download all the cool Maxis stuff from the Exchange?

My sincere apologies for the lack of updates the past few weeks. I’ve been busy and all that, but I think the main reason is that I’ve lost my focus as far as the Sims go. I play on a fairly regular basis, but keep jumping from family to family. And when I sit down to work on an update, I get distracted or bored with it all too quickly. I have two updates that are half-written, and I don’t know when or if I’ll finish them. A few new ideas are in the works, but I want to see if anything sticks inspiration-wise before I post about them. So there you go — my Sims frustration in a nutshell.

To be honest, I really miss the days when I had just one family, and I was having so much fun with them that I’d go home, play for a few hours, then write a quick update before bed. Now my brain is just too fried, and my families just aren’t interesting enough. Could it be that I’m burnt out on the game? It’s a definite possibility. But I don’t want to give it up yet. I dunno. Is anyone else in a Sims slump?

OK, enough of my whining. I want to say thank you to those of you who left comments on my last post. And a hearty YAY! to Katie and Channe for starting new Sims sites. It’s always great to have new Sims stories to read.

Take care, and Happy Simming. :-)

I’m excited to announce that Amy, the creator of The Heiress and the Legalos Legacy, has an interview in the February issue of Simming Monthly! In it, she talks about the Legacy Challenge and her awesome Legacy family, and there’s also a link to the Heiress’s wedding story, which is gorgeous. If you haven’t read The Heiress from start to finish, then get on over there and start reading! There are some great Sims stories on the web, but The Heiress is my favorite, for the humor and for the emotional chord it strikes. I can’t praise it enough. And once you’ve finished reading The Heiress, make sure you go to the wedding! It will make you laugh and maybe bring a tear to your eye.

Congratulations, Amy!