one day, at Earthland Catering...

September 2082 (mini-update) - Summer Phoenix and Dallas Deppiesse are 18, Lucy Harris is 16.

One day, at Earthland Catering, Lucy lives vicariously through Summer's dating life. Summer and Dallas are supposed to be working (and Lucy isn't supposed to be loitering the way she tends to do), but instead Summer is telling them about her date. She says, "We went out for coffee, we walked around the market square, we threw a football around a little."

Lucy says, "What's his name?"

"Floyd," Summer says.

Lucy laughs. "Floyd? I don't like that. That's not a good name."

2082, we don't need no education

Whoa! Who the heck are all these kids??? Let's see who all is growing up this year.

domestic bliss

August 2082 - Cameron Gibson is 31, Bella Bradshaw is 26, Delilah Gibson is 9 months. Last update, November 2080. *Optional soundtrack, "Sex and reruns," by Matt Duke*

*** This is long ;) ***

She missed a recording session because he wasn't home yet. She hates missing work! It's the one thing in the world she's ever been competent at, and not many people actually get this chance she's gotten and she's not going to blow it because he's a flake!

"Where were you?" she says, her voice calm and cold as he walks into the living room.

"Working," he says. "Is Lila in bed?"

"Of course she is. It's nine-freaking-thirty!"

happy birthday to you...

August 2082 - Welcome to Lakeside Heights: Willow and Quinn!

Stephanie Day thinks she just might have been pregnant forever! Of course, that's not realistically possible, but it sure does feel like it. So when Stephanie goes into labor at 2:00 in the morning, she doesn't mind one bit. She just wants this baby BORN! But happy as she is that this is finally happening, she thinks maybe Jeremiah could smile just a little less. It's kind of annoying, given the pain and all.

one day, while Dallas is working...

August 2082 (mini-update) - Violet Deppiesse is 48, Lucy Harris is 16.

One day, while Dallas is working, Lucy needs somebody to talk to. She doesn't feel like she can talk to her own mother about this, especially because it's about Dallas. Her own mother "approves" of Dallas, but only in a necessary way. What Lucy needs is someone who really understands how great Dallas is, and who understands that better than his own dear mommy? So she climbs into the hot tub where Violet is relaxing, and Lucy pours her sweet little heart out.

one day, when the world is rapt to attention...

August 2082 (mini-update)

One day, when the world is rapt to attention, Madison Riley delivers a public address. "Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I want to thank you all for joining me today. Earlier this morning, world leaders made public the presence of a possible threat to our planet. We've known about this situation for some time now, and we've been monitoring it closely. I'd like to talk to you about how this will affect us on a local level."

Well, Madison has almost everyone's attention this morning. Clarice is supposed to be blogging the live news coverage, but instead she sees Blake in the back row and flashes him a flirty smile. She doesn't normally get to see her husband while they're working, so right now, she feels a little bit like a giddy teenager, passing by her high school sweetheart in the hallways.

Pay attention, Clarice, this is going to be important.

round 2082!

Welcome to round 2082! This round will last from August 2082 to July 2084.

prequel stories #4: the cutest couples never meant to be

Okay, so some of these ended up being much sadder than I'd anticipated. I should have anticipated it. It's about heartbreak, duh! ;) But some of them are happy as well, since you're not only seeing the endings, but in some cases, the beginnings of the relationships that were meant to work out.

These stories are a little more current, a lot of them taking place just before I started blogging about the neighborhood, and even overlapping with some of the early stories.

The cutest couples never meant to be, countdown style...

prequel stories #3: young loves

So I've gotten kind of carried away with these, lol! Looking back through two years worth of pictures, and I've found so many stories I'd like to tell! Most of those stories will have to wait for another time, but I've come up with three more, for now, and then I promise we'll start round 2082! And I want to start round 2082, because I have some good stuff planned, but I figure we'll get these out of the way first.

The "young loves" theme ended up being really huge, so I've broken it in half, loosely divided between the couples who worked out, and the couples who didn't. So part 2 will be prequel story #4: the cutest couples never meant to be. Which in turn inspired prequel story #5: what ever happened to Samantha Bradshaw?

But first, prequel story #3: young loves :)

prequel stories #2: baby pictures

Taking a break from my break, lol! Is that lame? ;)

But really, I had a neat idea while peeking through some old pictures, so I thought I'd throw something together. I've got another prequel I'll post in a couple days, and then we'll start round 2082 on Sunday or Monday, so I suppose I'm kind of done with my break anyway.

These are baby pictures from some of the Sims that you guys never got to see as babies. I know Sim-babies look mostly alike, but it's fun to see some of their parents when they were young, and I have some toddler pics in here too :)

Summer's place, continued, part 2

July 2082 (part 2 of 2) - part one here.

*** optional soundtrack, "Not As We," by Alanis Morissette ***

He's been lounging around the house lately deep in thought. You'd think he might be giving up the gaming industry to become a philosopher or something. But he decides this morning, just as she's leaving for work, that he'll finally wake up and come bounding out to the garage to stop her and say, "Hey, Summer, wait up a sec'."

Summer's place, continued, part 1

July 2082 (part 1 of 2) - Micah Phoenix is 59, Sophie is 60, Hayden is 32, Summer is 17, Ryanne is 11. (Tyler Jackson is 18). Last update, November 2079.

*** notes: Just a warning, this first part is sad, but the second part made me bawl like the sappy dork that I am, so, if you're that way inclined, maybe don't read these in public ;) ***

*** optional soundtrack, "Not As We," by Alanis Morissette ***

The shop has been closed for almost three years. Summer hasn't even stepped foot inside except for once or twice in that time, and she finds herself surprised at how much it still smells like woodchips, and a little bit like dust. The shelves are still stocked with stuffed teddy bears, and a wooden toy firetruck remains on the front counter, right where her mother left it. She doesn't know what she thought would have happened to them in her absence.

And she doesn't know why she expected to magically find the light switches she was never able to find before, because she doesn't. Not at first. It's a lot to take in all at once, and she finds herself stalled here as the last evening light fades from the day. This front store room is a place stopped in time.

these kids

June 2082 - Jeremy Nova is 66, Alice is 60, Jeremiah Day is 25, Stephanie is 22. Last update, February 2080.

"He's barely any more than a stranger," Jeremy says, and he means his daughter's surprise husband. Stephanie called a couple months ago, to say she was pregnant, and that they needed to come back home for a while. They've met Jeremiah about a handful of times before the two of them ran off on spring break and eloped two years ago. But Alice wouldn't care if Stephanie was bringing home big foot, because she just wants to see her daughter again, and meet her soon-to-be very first real grandchild!

This wouldn't be the first time Stephanie didn't think things through. Moving back home with her army-deserting husband, and where did she think they would live? How would they work? Of course, the answer being that her parents would take her back home, and that who knows how they would contribute to the household. Who knows how Jeremy would explain to his brother-in-law, Captain of Police, Micah Phoenix, that they were hiding an army-deserter in their home?

Stephanie broke her poor mother's heart, you know. Alice prides herself on education, and Stephanie dropped out of college after just one year. And then she goes on spring break, gets married, and never comes back? But still, what do you do when she calls and asks to come back home, with her delinquent husband and soon-to-be baby, but say "welcome back?"

not my idea

June 2082 - Chad and Riley Hathe are 30, Liza is 13, Shaun is 4. (Phoenix McCullough is 42, Fiona is 14, Robbie is 11. Hayden Phoenix is 32.) Last update, February 2079.

*** Part gameplay notes on the Bluewater Animal Shelter ***

(quick note, just to set everybody straight, lol: these names get confusing, I would imagine - I have a Phoenix McCullough, friends with Hayden Phoenix, whose brother is Jackson Phoenix, and whose daughter is dating one of the Jackson boys, lol - half of those are Maxis names, so it couldn't be helped. I don't even know how I'm going to narrate this scene, but I'll try, lol ;) In the narration they'll be called by their first names, Chad, Hayden, and Phoenix, though Chad calls Phoenix "McCullough" in dialogue. Anyway...)

Chad is fully enjoying his work as the owner of this cozy little gaming club. The Gamer's Den is ranked 4 now, and he enjoys the company of his favorite regulars. Funds have been running low lately, which might be because his wife's animal shelter is housing SIX animals right now, and those dogs eat a lot!

Another hundred bucks will help, but unfortunately that means cleaning Hayden out. "I'm done, Hayden says. "You guys ran me dry."

"McCullough, aren't you broke too?" Chad says.

"Not that broke," he says.

lost and found

May 2082 - (2081/82 school year update)

*** note: there are a LOT of kids in these school updates, so remember to use the database and school enrollment page if you need it ***

"You can get pregnant! And you, and you, and you!" Jodie points to each one of them. Liza Hathe shivers, shakes her head and says under her breath, "Eeew!"

Given a recent surprise baby boom in Lake County, Jodie Larson has been asked to give a talk on birth control to the junior and senior high school students. Even though the trend is mostly happening with grown women who should know better, these are the next generation's grown women, so they figure maybe they'll educate before they get that far.

Jodie says, "Having a baby is kind of like a jail sentence, at any age. But having an oops baby when you're young is like death row! Your life is over, ladies!"