here comes the bride?

September 2080 - Paul Gallagher is 30, Charlotte (Centowski) Gallagher is 26.

Whether or not Charlotte Centowski actually makes it down the aisle this month is anyone's guess. Marisa made the trip back into town this week to be her maid of honor.

"Don't make that face," Marisa says. "It looks beautiful."

"I don't know," Charlotte says. "Something's not right."

"Well, if you would stand up straight, it might look better."

"What color did I tell you, for your dress?"

"Pink," Marisa says.

"I said pink? Why on earth would I say pink?"

"That's what you said, so that's what I bought!"

2080, we don't need no education!

Another school year starts in Lake County!

not a second to spare

August 2080 - Brady Lind is 66, Meadow is 65.

Meadow Lind has had a busy month this August, just as the 2080/81 school year starts! Brady is also working as a public official this term, but his workload has been wonderfully light - so light, in fact, that he actually has time for a nap! He would like to state, however, that he told Madison that 20% tax rate would be too high. But you know, you can't really tell a woman anything, can you?

you're doing it wrong

August 2080 - Orion Deppiesse is 47, Violet is 46, Dallas is 16, Delphie and Dakota are 10. (Lucy Harris is 14.)

Dallas Deppiesse just turned sixteen this month, and finally got his drivers' license. The Deppiesse family might live on Lakeshore Road, but they are deceptively not wealthy. Maybe it's having three kids in private school? But his parents do the best they can for Dallas. Orion says, "I got you a car!"

Dallas says, "That's not a car."

"Sure it is, when you're done with it," Orion says. "You're a smart kid, I'm sure you can figure it out."

round 2080!

Welcome to round 2080!

blissfully clueless

May 2080 - Carly Cook is 26, Piper Wilson is 25, Jodie Larson is 24. // Jason Larson is 29, Amelia Bradshaw is 24. // George McCarthy is 25.

Piper Wilson leads a simple happy existence, working as a Flag Capturer in the gaming industry, making little money, but having a lot of fun, showing up at her friends' parties, fliting from one non-relationship, to another, to another...

She doesn't figure there's anything wrong with her, that she knows of, but just considers herself picky. She isn't lonely, as many friends as she has, as busy as she finds herself. She's torn between a strong desire to settle down with just that perfect man, and raise an adorable baby or two, but also indulges herself in life's great frivolous pleasures.

fresh start, loaded history

July 2080 - Phoenix McCullough is 40, Brooke is 38, Fiona is 12, Robbie is 9, Connor is 2.

It's just one of those things where none of them noticed it getting bad until it already was... all of it. They have a house they can't really afford, a house that ended up having all the hardwood floors pulled because of termites. Robbie wants a car for his birthday, and Brooke says, "No you can't have a car, you're only turning ten!" Phoenix hugs his kids because Brooke will barely talk to him. They don't even know what they're fighting about, but somehow they'd managed to lose that spark, when they didn't even know they were in danger of losing it. They have three kids and no time left in the day, and are still so very tired from trying to keep up with the Lakeside Heights lifestyle. Phoenix is working full time and managing a successful freelance photography career. Fiona is a big help, not because she's generous or anything, but because she thinks the state of their lives is so epically gross that Miss Priss cleans things up herself - she'll be sure to rag on her parents for that later.

a very curious little girl

June 2080 - Cabe Deppiesse is 38, Ashlee is 40, Natalia is 10, and pet cat is Sake.

Cabe and Ashlee Deppiesse were surprised to see that their family was one of the richest in Lake County. They were also surprised to find that in the ten years since moving into their first home, the gorgeous lakefront home next to Ashlee's restaurant had now become within their price range.

(beach house here, by zaxis @ MTS2)

LCU, packing up, moving on

LCU, spring semester, 2080

It's early one spring morning when Keri's sister calls, and this phone call is a warning. Mariah says, "Bella's coming over to see you. Just so you know."

Though Bella Bradshaw graduated last year, it hasn't been exactly unusual to see her finding her way back onto campus. What what is unusual about this is that she wants to see Keri. Keri's older cousins hardly ever give her the time of day, unless they want something. And Keri is sick of the way Bella thinks she's the center of the entire universe!

playdates

April 2080 - Jackson and Nessa Phoenix are 30, Patrick Nova is 28, Lara is 26, Raine is 18 months.

(Spring Break 2072 - This bunch was a fun group of college kids, back in their day! Probably as much fun as the Bradshaw cousins are at LCU now. The girl in pink is Patrick's high school sweetheart - oh how he broke her heart when he met Lara! Carly and Joseph are still around the neighborhood. They actually started dating during this spring break trip. Carly works for Aurora Miguel at Jolie, Jolie, and Joseph used to DJ at Maxwell Shaw's club, and Stephanie (Nova) Day had a crush on him for a minute.)Jackson Phoenix was always closer to his cousin Patrick than he was to his own twin brother Hayden. Even though they shared a womb, they looked nothing alike, and shared almost nothing in common. Jackson and Hayden led completely different lives, Jackson excelling in school and going to college, and Hayden getting himself into just about every kind of trouble imaginable. Maybe there has always been a little bit of resentment on Jackson's part, for Hayden being the one always getting their parents attention... even now that they're thirty years old. So how ironic that Jackson would be the one to pull Hayden out of the swimming pool?

save the world, save a wedding

April 2080 - Matthew Watts is 29, Leila is 24, Felicity is 18 months, pet dog is Skip.

It's April now, and finally warm enough that Leila and Felicity can play outside while Matthew finishes planting the spring crop. Felicity is eighteen months old now, and just perfecting those baby steps.

stretching skeletons = continual aging :)

Stretching skeletons has been around since the base game, so this is not really a new concept here - but just something I'm finally getting around to trying. And I can't believe I never tried this before now, because it's really fun! :)

You might notice in my next update (will post tomorrow, maybe) that Matthew is taller than Leila. I'm basing the default adult Sim height at 5'9", and have set Matthew to a value of 1.02 (5'10") and Leila to 0.98 (5' 7 1/2"). I'm testing this out with just a few Sims for now, and if it works out for me, I could implement varied heights throughout the whole neighborhood.

tax day, 2080

*** Disclaimer: This post will very likely reveal what an absolute math nerd/control freak I am. I was an accounting major for two years in college, so be prepared, lol! ***
Tax Day, an Easier Way:

I've tried the whole Sim-economy thing before, where you charge your Sims taxes, and set up a town budget for everything. I always gave up because it took so long to load each household, and get the money to the right person. It was hardly fun, and fun is the point of playing a game, you know? ;)

Maybe everyone else has already figured this out, but why not use teleportation??? :)
First, over a few play sessions before tax day, I made note of each household's net worth, from the neighborhood view. This is pretty quickly done, and the net worth includes property value and the cash bank balance. (I'm doing property tax, but if you're doing income taxes, you can skip this step.)

You will need: Monique's computer, Mind control mirror, Inge teleporter, (mortgage/loan shrubs optional). All links are in the sidebar.

First I set up Madison with a little home office to operate from. All of the household funds in the Governor's estate are public funds and will be used for community projects - Madison and Bryson have to keep all of their personal money in bank accounts for the entire period they live in the Governor's estate.

Once her office is set up, tax day begins!

how it's done

March 2080 - Maxwell Shaw is 33, Valerie is 38, Angelo is 9, Devon is 3. (Nina Shaw-Gothier and Benjamin Gothier are 63.)

Angelo knows his dad owns a nightclub, but he has a feeling that isn't all there is to it. Angelo says, "That's funny, Dad, you're not really a bank robber."

"Sure, kid," Maxwell says. Angelo is too young to know what his father really does for a living anyway. Best to joke about it now, while he's young, so that it's less of a blow by the time he's older. Heck, he might even figure it all out on his own, if he's a smart kid. And Angelo is working on figuring things out.

LCU, spring break 2080

2080, LCU, spring break

Stephanie comes home from spending a weekend with her family, and she is so excited, she can't even contain herself! "The cabin is mine! It's really mine! We should totally go see it!"

Keri agrees, not that Stephanie had given her any real choice, and they inform the guys of their plan. They order their tickets, and pack up some bags, and Justin and Jeremiah say they have a few things to tie up before they go.