Fairly Warm

Peacar 2000 This winter has been fairly warm, no snow on the ground like last winter. I have grown out my hair and work with the hood council has been fine. With the return to the ancient SimLonic calendar we're debating changing the term of hood council members. There are not a lot of sims interested in the hood council, but who knows what the future holds...soon more sims might be interested. So we're sending out a survey to the residents to find out thier opinion on the issue and we're considering adding a poll to the website to see what other sims in other hoods think.

The hood council work is going well, a lot of new construction projects have started. Feedback with the new calendar has been fairable but I still need to keep my finger on the pulse of the hood.

Family life is going well, we finally adopted! A little girl named Serendipity and she is growing bigger everyday it seems. Meanwhile Antonio and I tend to find ourselves in the bedroom a lot more lately. :)

Hood Council

I am on the hood council! I am the new Community Director and it feels so good. Already I am trying to push my ideas for more entertainment options in the hood for teens and small children. With the recent baby boom, we are looking at a teen boom and if they don't have enough entertainment options...well...they could experiment with other "entertaining" actions that families may not desire. The homelife is going well, we are close to adopting a little girl to join the family...finally a little girl!

Holiday Prep

Whew! I spent just about all day in the cocina preparing meals for the holiday season. Spicy pollo con arroz, grilled fish stuffed with mango salsa and flan. I've also been stocking the fridge with other meals since I will be busy once the new baby arrives. We want to buy a nursery set from ATS2 online and we're getting the boys to help us prep the room with paint and cleaning the floors. I am nervous, it's been so long since we had a baby in the house. I still wonder about Blancita sometimes...she would be a teenager now, a few simdays older than Verde

These changes

Antonio has been more affectionate towards me, I wonder what caused this change? I'm not complaining of course, but I am curious. Before he would work for hours in his studio, only speaking to me over dinner regarding the children, but now...he's searching for me and leading me to corners of the house to be affectionate. Backrubs and caresses and much more. He even gifted me with a box of deluxe chocolates. The same kind I noticed in the window during our walk.

Last few days

The boys are trying to enjoy the heated pool before winter sinks its claws into the hood. The air is a lot cooler and there is the occasional snow flurry in the air. I am thinking about installing a fireplace...to be honest, I saw photos of the ancestoral Herendez home from TS1 days and it was an amazing house. I loved the stucco and large yard and fruit trees. I'll have to talk to Antonio about that. We could either do a very massive remodel or move into another house. I would like to do it soon, either right after Verde's birthday or before.

Thinking

I toured the Medical Centre today, overseeing the facility and thinking about any changes I would make if I won the election. Expand the gift shop probably to increase traffic, create more exam rooms and get rid of the rehabilitation room. Let some other resident open a gym instead.

Concerts

I attended the grand opening of Smokey Jane's

with Rebecca, the candidate for Financial Director. She's nice and we debated the merits of classical piano vs jazz piano. It was a lot of fun, I wonder if the Homemaker Society would enjoy a show?

Listening

I am very aware of the pulse of the hood, what residents want in thier community. The election is almost over and I feel success at the tips of my fingers. Residents are approaching me saying "when you are on the council, please remember..." I feel very confident.

I have almost convinced Antonio to buy a vacation home near Hacienda Bay. We are going to take a vacation and visit Hacienda Bay so the boys can see the home of thier ancestors and I...well, I can show them that I survived and that they can not keep me down. I escaped and so can they...maybe, maybe I can find information about my daughter...or maybe we can help a young girl who is in the same situation I fought and escaped from...we could bring her back, there is room. But that means telling Antonio what I went through...am I ready for that?

Brr...cold

Winter is fast approaching and finding appropiate winter wear is hard. I need to work fast since, can you believe it!, it snowed! Not very long, but a few flurries. Yikes! I wish we had a fireplace, not to mention the layout of our home is better suited for the tropics than for snow. We have to put on snowsuits to cross the entrance. I suppose we could wall it in, but then that ruines the view...maybe a temporary wall.

Party

I hosted the baby shower for three women and gave them gifts as well. It was fun and hopefully it will help my campaign a little bit. I am not too worried since I have a lot of experience-not with politics, but with the community aspect-and I am very involved. But we shall see, there are speeches soon, so I must prepare.

Time Alone

I've managed to get some time alone-which is rare. Bewteen cooking and cleaning at home, managing the Homemaker's Society and visiting with friends, I barely have a moment to simply enjoy my own company and think or ponder my life and it's direction.

Well, I was able to do just that and enjoy some yummy desserts at CupaJava when I did a secret review for the paper. I need some new clothes, it's getting cooler-in fact, the boys need new clothing as well. I need to go shopping.

My Loving Family

I love my family. I must say, that things are much much better now. I have a husband and he actually loves me...I think. Two healthy happy sons and a video game console to play the newest games. I can not believe that I never played a video game, but Verde and I played and it was great!

Homemaker's Society

One of the members is expecting her first child and it seems like the farther along she gets-and the other pregnant women in the hood-the more phone calls I get. Is it ok to crave cheesecake? Can I exercise while pregnant? Will standing on my feet for hours at a time harm the baby? I've become the unoffical baby expert!

Happy Homemaker

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I am back in the home, cooking meals, cleaning and teaching Rojo. I have to make Verde's lunches for school since the school doesn't have a proper cafeteria and lunch sim. It's hard planning his meals so that he doesn't have only deli sandwiches, but sometimes some authentic chili or baked fish. Every now and then I allow him to have a dessert for lunch, spiced cake or a tart. That reminds me, I must start taking Rojo off the bottle, his teeth will be ruined soon. I need to buy a high chair for him to have his meals with us.

Helping

I attended the Bridal Shower for Fiona. It was a nice event, I was able to help two women who had questions about babies. I guess they knew that as leader of the Homemaker's Society I would have the answers. I think it would be good to write an article and send it to be published somewhere like Simmerville. Maybe even have a parenting book! Wouldn't that be wild!

Night Out

I was invited to Li Yoo's bachelorete party this simday. It was very nice actually. I haven't had this much fun in simweeks! I drank plenty of Bebidas de Pina, danced and generally had a very nice time. All the ladies decided to surprise her by getting a very nice wedding gift. Guess who's in charge of buying the gift? Well, not me :(

Verde

Little Verde will soon have a new sibling. I'm not showing yet, but I can feel it, especially with my visits to the bathroom. I am pregnant. I feel the new life within me.

I browsed around the Toy Shoppe for something for my son and also something for the new baby. I am excited, I love children and my life is shaping out to be a bit better than I thought it would be.

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.

Salon

Business is better at the salon, I hired a cashier and I am thinking about expanding the salon to include a small massage parlor and tea room. That would mean at least one more employee but the revenue would increase as visitors would stay longer lingering over tea and then browsing through the clothes and artwork.

Review

I was chosen to review the Big Round Pizza, so I went there and ate for free. I can't say much since my article is in the paper, but it was fun. Antonio and I are discussing having another baby, I must say, I am fairly content with Verde. Maybe once he gets older.