Sweet Marilyn...or not?

I kissed Marilyn, finally. However she ran home quickly afterwards. I'm not sure if she likes me, I wish she would be straight forward and say that she does or doesn't. I don't like being led around on a lease, waiting and hoping.

Little Shop

The Toy Shoppe is booming! We recieved a Best of the Best Award! I must say a lot of my ideas are awesome!

We now sell toys and nursery items! I ordered the new shipment of dolls and am negogiating a contract with the Power Bears book series to get the bears and the books into the store. That would be a great way to get more customers!

Scale Back

I am trying to get a bit more toned. It is depressing seeing my body on the tabloids and not looking the best that I could. I know I'm not famous, but my husband is and often there are award shows to attend and such.

Greetings

I went to visit my friend, Tatiana, today. She seems so happy. Her career is going well, I wonder if I should have stayed in the industry, but no, I like my life now.

We now have the twins from Simmerville and they are...interesting to say the least. Faith has been playing with them and showing them all around the hood, the twins and Faith are the same age so it looks like there will be lots of triple birthday parties.

My Goal

I have graduated and am now working towards my goals. There are ten simdays until the hood council is up for re-election. I will focus on building my skills and network and making strides in the downtown law office (Stern & Clerks). I doubt that any other resident will run against me, but I must be prepared anyhow. I wonder who will run for the Community Director seat?

Nite Out

Went out tonight to visit Tiki Joe's, I was a secret reporter for the newspaper. Wait until you see my article! It was nice getting a free meal though.

My Brother's Child

Astute is so much like my brother. He looks like him and even snores like him! I hate that Astaire is no longer with us, that stupid bus accident and all Astute recieved was a measly sum of simoleans. Not even enough for a college education if he desired. He is very much like my brother, he loves sports and always wants to play catch and run and is very active. Maybe he'll be a athlete as well.

Eating for Two...?

We're trying to get pregnant. As a result, I want to eat better and live better, so I went to buy some organic produce from the market. When I get pregnant, I wonder what we will have? My sister, Jodi, had twins. Mom and dad's first grandchildren. Now maybe I'll be next to have children.

Almost

Rebecca is almost ready to take over the shop, I have to teach her some more skills, but then she can take over ownership and I will step back into more crafting.

Right now she sells to customers and is making management decisions, while Ajani mans the register and creates the robots and I still create the toys. I think she will do well.

My Growing Family

Sandy and I can not wait to welcome our new little one, until then we're trying to spend extra time with S'Ahmisa to let her know that she's loved very very much. Teaching her how to walk will make things much easier once the baby arrives.

My Wife and Family

The season has been very nice and warm, so we are eating outside more often. Grilling fish and hot dogs and sometimes ribs for lunch and dinner. Talking about the future, the past and the present.

Talking about the sky and the moons and the stars. Simply listening to the songbirds and wind.

Little Family

Astute and Thomasina are so excited about "big kid" school. Clark thinks that we should buy them special backpacks for the new start, I think a new outfit will suffice, but we will see what happens. Especially with money being a little tight.

I wonder what the future holds for our family. Sometimes I wish I could see the future, look into that eye that sees beyond this simday. It's just something I like to think of when sipping coffee or during carpool.

Future Homemakers

I turned it over to Carmela today. We had a homemaker's outing to celebrate. The group went to the Farmer's Market for organic produce and then to the park for fishing and picnics.

I annouced that Carmela would be the new leader of the group and everysim agreed that it was a good desicion. Especially with her new pregnancy and the changes that she plans to make at her own home. Such a wonderful young sim. She will do well.

I am content and ready for elderhood to come.

Date

Marilyn and I went out on a date. We went to Tiki Joe's for skating and pizza. Well, they were sold out of pizza so we simply skated.

She confuses me to say the least. I mean, one minute I think she likes me and the next she's pulling away from me. She wants to cuddle and slow dance, but she doesn't want to dance close.

Promotion

Just when I thought about throwing in the towel, I get promoted. It was amazing actually. I went into my boss's office in order to resign and they were desperate for a fourth to round out a golf team for a tournament and asked me on the spot-well, the CEO was there and I couldn't say no. So I'm on the course, last hole and the CEO and I are tied to win. I could throw the game and allow her to walk away a winner or try my best. I decided, what the heck, I'm out of here anyway so I do my best and our team ends up winning the entire tournament! Then the CEO turns to me and says "I wish more sims were assertive like you, consider yourself the Vice-President of our Foreign Investments and take the day off."

So, now I'm the VP with a nice office, nice salary and I was prepared to walk. What a difference a simday makes!

Service

Mid Week Service went well, several sims appeared and afterwards enjoyed coffee and slices of cake. Nicole was so wise to suggest refreshments afterwards, it really builds the community. She's been having terrible nightmares, I am concerned. I've been having similar dreams as well, but I don't want to frighten her, I wonder what God is trying to reveal to us?

Some great news. The twins are going to be joining our family soon. This is all very exciting, but Nicole and I are keeping things a little quiet. We told Faith that our family may be growing soon and she is curious about it of course.

Never having this kid

I swear, I've been pregnant for ages. I'm never having this baby it seems. Like it wants to stay in my belly forever! Sazo says I'm being unreasonable, but he should try carrying this weight, sitting on your bladder and throwing up. Ugh!

Shopping

With more sims stopping by the church, I need to buy more coffee and sweets to feed them. Hopefully things will get better at the church, we're thinking about closing the gift shop and only opening it seasonally or even once or twice a simweek, but that means I'll be at home fishing and cleaning more...which honestly is boring. I would like to work, perhaps as a barista or even the local cemetary.

My Daughter

My daughter is so active, every simday she wants to play baseball or even run around the yard. I am glad that she is active, and very neat as well. She helps around the house without asking, she thinks it's fun to make up beds and clean toliets.

Birthdays

The children are well...children. Astute and Thomasina celebrated thier child birthday with little fanfare. We ate cake, lots and lots of cake, they recieved presents from thier grandparents (toys and money) and we sent them to bed to prepare for school the next day.

Grilling and More

Work is going well, there are rumors that the company will start laying off sims, I must retire before then, but then what happens next? I can not sit at home, watching the sun rise and set. I must stay active, keep my mind healthy. Perhaps I could study and learn all there is to know!

Archives/Technology Note: Historical Society

Clark Grey

The Historical Society met concerning awarding Historical Preservation Awards. These little plaques can be mounted outside the local for all to see.



Eligibility for Historical Preservation Award:
This award will recognize the best work in protecting a threatened historic property in Apple Valley. The historic property may be a building, structure, object, site or district. Commendable community and individual efforts such as advocacy, fund raising, creation of a protective ordinance, physical stabilization, and repair will be recognized.



Historical Preservation Award Criteria:
Nominations will be evaluated by the following criteria:
-The degree to which projects have overcome a significant, tangible threat to the historic resource (the type and degree of the threat to the property should be identified)
-The degree to which the project has successfully protected a historic resource from harm
-The degree to which efforts have been made to ensure the future protection of the property through fund raising, covenants, reuse, and rehabilitation plans or other measures

I'm in Charge!

I'm in charge! I will soon be the owner of Toy Shoppe, but of course my parents still have so much to teach me. I have many new ideas and will sell custom toys. Teddy bears and dolls, maybe toy boxes and blocks. I could gain recognition as a famour toy designer!

Julio and I will marry soon, I am excited a bit. I haven't had time to plan a wedding much, mom isn't much help. She says it's my day and to have it however I want. I have my dress, thank goodness. It's A.Pentrignani's Alvaro. I still need to plan my hair, I want some flowers to be in it-or maybe a nice ribbon surrounding my bun. But we still haven't decided on a location, there's the botanical gardens, but Jolie recently had her wedding there and then the vineyard but that celebrity couple had thier wedding there.

We could do a destination wedding, maybe go to Kimikura, mom and dad said that it is beautiful there and we could probably marry at the Lucky Temple. That might be interesting. I could invite Jolie and Jorge (Julio's twin), that would be a nice holiday. Yes, that does sound wonderful.

Things

Things are going well, the hood council is moving along nicely-we still have about ten simdays left in the term. That would give Fiona plenty of time to prepare for her campaign. I wonder if we should decrease the amount of time served on the hood council? I must do research.

Love

I love my wife so much. I can't keep my hands off of her. She's the light of my life, the sun in my sky, the ying to my yang. I love her so much! How can I show her?

The doctor said that fat around my middle is dangerous and can lead to bigger health issues. So now I am exercising and watching what I eat. It's so easy to gain weight, to overeat a little bit here and there and not be active and then you're stuck with extra pounds.

Community Director Note: Party Areas

Rayne Wilsonoff
Residents are complaining about the lack of places to marry and throw parties in the hood. I propose that we install a wedding arch at the ballroom at The Centre and truly renovate that space to be a nice party facility. Currently the ballroom only occupies the second floor, but with the demolition of the courthouse, I believe we can turn the ballroom into a very nice amenity and many brides and grooms will love to visit the place and make it thier own. We can make it a two story venue, with the alter and wedding area downstairs (the layout can be moved into various ways-round, alter, etc) and the reception area upstairs (buffet tables, piano, DJ booth, tables and chairs, dance floor, cake & champagne table)

Trying

Carmela and I are trying for another baby, perhaps a little sister for Verde. Mariposa would be a nice name,

Married

We got married in the Temple of Lucky Blessings. We wore traditional attire and sealed it with a kiss. Very nice indeed. We didn't see much of Kimikura, we mostly stayed at the hotel and well, things that newlyweds do ^_^

What Next?

What will I do next, after serving my time with the military? Jolie thinks I should join a local business, but what? I could be a tour guide, but honestly, I wouldn't mind being a personal trainer. I am fit and in shape, very healthy and attractive. I could help at the Medical Centre's Rehabilitation Unit twice a week and still bring in a nice salary. Maybe even three times a week once I get enough clients, but who would my clients be? Maybe I could look into massage therapy. That would bring in some good money.

Church

Cassandra and I attended the midweek church services. It was ok, the pastor is a good speaker, however I was so tired from work that I wanted to fall asleep. Thank goodness there was plenty of coffee.

President!

I am now the leader of the Homemaker's Society! Cassandra passed the reigns over to me! I am so honored! I can't believe it! Antonio and I have been discussing the fact that now Blossom Salon brings in more business than the art gallery and perhaps he should look at running the salon and I would be able to stay at home with the children until they started school.

hurry

Little S'Ahmisa grows older and my belly grows bigger, ugh, hurry up baby why won't you!

New Kitchen

We had some extra cash due to recieving the Owner's Association Award for the Toy Shoppe. We used the money to make the shop better, take a vacation, add an addition to the house and finally-get a new kitchen. Rebecca will be taking over the house and the store soon, which means one of us can stay home and "retire", unfortunately it wouldn't be a very relaxing retirement since Rebecca only has some basic levels in her sales and cashier badges and none in her toy making.

Homemaker's

The homemaker's club had an outing at the park and we went fishing. My dreams are becoming more and more intense and it's scaring me. Lyndon says to pray about it and my prayers have only increased the details of the dreams. Is God trying to speak to me? About what?

The Honeymoon

Our honeymoon and wedding was so nice and perfect for us. We stayed a few days at Kimikura, enjoying the...well, the hotel. I manage to meditate and it felt as if everything was lifted off my shoulders, I was light as a bird. I couldn't help blurting the news of our marriage to anysim that would listen.

Financial Director Note: Budget

Ka'Obi Sweeny
Should we publish the budget? Time moves by so slowly here in the hood and we keep a budget for each simweek. I suppose publishing it won't hurt-it will help residents realize where the money is going and how much things cost. That would help residents be more trusting of the hood council and our desicions to better the hood.

Community Director Note: Dyanamics of Hood

Rayne Wilsonoff
The hood is changing, it's getting smaller as more sims decide not to return after college, emigrate to other hoods or simply leave. Also residents having fewer children. This change is not a bad thing as the hood wants to stabilize and focus on the charm of small town living. Many other residents have applied for emigration and are currently waiting on external things-like promotions, children reaching certain ages and such before they leave.



With the population decreasing, do we have a need for multi-family housing? There are still sims that desire the convenience of living on McIntosh and walking to work and entertainment areas-they don't want the traditional single family homes. But is multi-family living the way to go? Or should we encourage the building of single family townhomes. The Apple Valley Boarding House is still empty, there haven't been any boarders since it's existence and that lot is 3x2, perhaps it can be converted into a series of flats, but under what surname? Perhaps simply building a 2x2 home for downtown living is best and it can be rented-perfect for those just starting out. Except there are not too many sims just starting out (especially with the surname law). Most families are pretty well off and stable in their finances, there are only a few that have a lower income. Is our hood becoming elitist?



To counter-act the possibility of becoming elitist, I propose that we tear down the Apple Valley Boarding House and create a nice multi-sim living community. With 3-4 units, community gardens and direct access to the Celebration Park behind the lot, this multi-sim lot can be very beautiful and desired amoung younger sims returning from college, but not ready to move home yet due to circumstances. We'll have the surname be the name of the community (McIntosh Parque Place or simply Parque) for easy transmission of funds. We'll limit each unit to 2 sims each and limit the rental period to one season (6-7 simdays). Rental fees would cover garden maintaince and home maintaince. The rent would be low, less than $1000 each simweek (or $1000 the entire rental period).



The current townhome on McIntosh will be rebuilt into a single family townhome and then placed on the market for those sims desiring urban living, yet have more than 2 sims in thier family and desire to put thier roots down.



This would help out a few college graduates and sims that desire to stay in the hood, while their family desires to move elsewhere.

Working

Work is going well, we remodeled a bit and customers have said that the change is good. I am glad, especially with our custom coffees to sell and yummy baked goods. Sandy and father were right about the free samples, they have increased sales as residents taste the goods and then want to take them home to families.

Semi-Retirement

With my days at CupaJava numbered, I opt to spend them baking in the comfort of my own home, visiting local sights and doing shopping. This simday I went to the market-hihi, this little sim went to the market :P

Busy and Tired

Work is so busy lately, managing updates and back-ups and keeping things running behind the scenes technically is very hard. In addition to maintaining records and the historical society and the library and the newspaper!

Yikes! I needed a break! So I took the day and spent it browsing through CupaJava. I ate a snack, had some coffee and even saw the new shipment of books from Pennelson Publishing. I feel refreshed now.