The Return of Prosperity Plains

So, did anybody miss me?

During April and May, I was sick on account of being pregnant. Then during June I've STILL been sick on account of being pregnant (second trimester does not live up to its reputation...) and I've started a BACC. It's a lot easier in terms of rules--I only have to check my print-out when I want my Sims to apply for jobs--but harder in terms of math. My BACC Sims will probably never hire a maid simply because I won't be able to figure out when the population is high enough.

Anyway, I have a so-far empty blog for that here, and I'm hoping to be posting more over on this blog. I've got a good 10 lots that I've played but not blogged, and I'm going to try to get through Round 7 at least by December, at which point I will have other things occupying my time. (BABY.)

Right now I need to get off the computer and go do laundry, though, so more later.

Round 7 Part 1: Kules Korner (2053 - 2057)

Brittanie Kules: 72 years old. Aspiration: Romance/Fortune. LTW: Own 5 Top-Level Businesses. (Fulfilled: Have 20 Loves, Woohoo 20 Sims.) Astrological sign: Aries.
Ryan Cho: 60 years old. Aspiration: Knowledge. LTW: Become Hand of Poseidon. (Fulfilled: Become Prestidigitator.) Astrological sign: Virgo.
Darius Kules: 54 years old. Aspiration: Fortune. LTW: Own 5 Top-Level Businesses. (Fulfilled: Earn $100,00.) Astrological sign: Aquarius.
Elise Kules: 54 years old. Aspiration: Popularity. LTW: Become the Law (Fulfilled: Become Hall of Famer.) Astrological sign: Leo.
Alexis Kules: 22 years old. Aspiration: Family. LTW: Reach Golden Anniversary. Astrological sign: Scorpio.
Silas Kules: 15 years old. Aspiration: Knowledge. LTW: Become Space Pirate. Astrological sign: Sagittarius.
Priscilla Kules: 11 years old. Astrological sign: Sagittarius.

Almost all of the members of the Kules family still live in this house, but Jaden lives across the street with his wife Gretchen. (You saw them get married in the last post.)

"Always"
narrated by Brittanie Kules

I guess if I start where Ryan left off last time, the first thing that really happened was that Alexis went off to college. I was kinda surprised by how much I missed her...we never got along too good until the last few years she lived her.

Ryan's all old and gray now, but as handsome as ever, and somehow or other the flames haven't died down yet for us. I've never been much of a one-man woman, but that man is something else.

Priscilla is a teenager now too. Her parents got her a drum set for her birthday. I'm glad I live on the other side of the house, is all I can say. She thinks about nothing but boys now--it worries her mother, but I was just like her at that age and I turned out all right, didn't I?

My oldest son, Darius, and his wife Elise have definitely settled down some. They aren't ready to retire yet, but sometimes I'll come upstairs to borrow a cup of sugar or something and find them sitting around in nothing but underwear, just reading or chatting or what have you. It's nice to see; Darius has always been a bit uptight. No idea how he came out of me.

They're good parents, too. Not too strict, but they make sure the kids don't go all wild either. Of course, Silas would keep his nose to the grindstone without anybody reminding him--he's like his father that way.

Though, come to think of it, he's pretty into that video game system Darius has. Maybe it's Priscilla who keeps Silas from getting too serious.

I suppose that's all a little beside the point, though. So, anyway. This whole time, with our kids growing up and getting married and whatnot, Ryan and I had a few talks about the future and where we wanted to go from where we were.

And then one day, well, Ryan took me out to the little pond we have in back of our place, and he started talking real serious. He said, "You've always been a puzzle to me, Brittanie, and probably you always will be. But after all these years I finally figured out that I love you and want to spend the rest of my life with you, and I need to know if you feel the same way or if this is just fun for you."

"It's been fun," I said in reply, "I won't lie and say it wasn't. Won't lie and say that wasn't what I was looking for, when I met you. But you were always...you were different somehow. Not just fun. Never could be just fun."

So then he got down on one knee and pulled a box out of his pocket and said, "Well, then, Brittanie, will you marry me?"

And, God help me, I said yes.

We got married just a few months later. I can't say I wasn't nervous--I had enough time to start wondering why I thought that after all these years I could say that I was going to stay faithful to one person forever and mean it. But it helped, being on Darius' arm on my way up the aisle. Sometimes you need somebody a little uptight to help you do what you know you've gotta do. He's been doing that for me maybe his whole life.

Ryan and I went off to Twiiki Island for our honeymoon, just the two of us. It was a real nice time, and I think it helped me remember why I wanted to marry him in the first place. Not because I think I ought to ('cause if I thought that, I'd've married him near 30 years ago). Not because he asked and I didn't have anything better to say but yes.

I married him because he's...well, because he's who he is.

Outtake: Um, Elise, this might not be the best time to strip naked and join your in-laws in the hot tub.

(Those 10 outgoing point Sims are something else...)

Notes:

Priscilla is a Romance Sim with a LTW of 20 Loves. Ugh.

Ryan rolled a secondary aspiration of Romance this round. Oh, and at some point he became Hand of Poseidon. Now his third LTW is to Woohoo 20 Different Sims. NO.

Darius and Elise both rolled Pleasure as a secondary aspiration. Hence the increased amount of lazing around in their underwear. They've worked hard for a long time; they deserve a little slacking off. 

If anything else happened, I don't remember it. Maybe I should try blogging updates less than 6 months after I play them. 

Round 7 mini-update: The Riedmayer-Kules wedding (2053)

Narrated by Gretchen Kules

Jaden and I got married in December of the year we graduated from college. I spent a few months bunking with Agatha at my parents' house, and Jaden stayed at his parents' and oversaw the construction of our new place.

We had a good-sized crowd at the wedding, between my family, Jaden's family, and our friends. The crowd included my niece and nephew, who were both right around three years old at the time. Jaden's niece Priscilla was 11, and she was perfectly happy to play with the little kids and keep them from running off instead of sitting still and watching the ceremony.

I could tell Jaden was really moved by the ceremony. His parents have never married and have a weird sort of relationship, so doing marriage "right" was very important to him.

I think I might have gotten a little choked up myself when he slid the ring onto my finger.

And then we were officially Mr. and Mrs. Kules.

After the ceremony we posed for some group shots while the rest of our guests rearranged the yard.

We didn't have a full meal; just cake and little snacks. Jaden was very polite about feeding me the cake, which is good because this dress cost more than anything else I own and I wouldn't want it to get stained.

Jaden's brother, Darius, was the best man and he made a toast that was very touching--he's a lot older than Jaden, so he remembers what Jaden was like when he was small.

My sister Annie was matron of honor and she made a toast too...with sparkling cider, since she was 6 months pregnant at the time.

Then we had a bit of dancing before everybody went home to eat their dinner.

More posed pics:

Here's Gretchen's family, just like the picture above but with the addition of Jackie's boyfriend, Ryker.

From left: Jill Smith, Agatha Riedmayer holding Andrew Riedmayer, Ryker Owens, Jacqueline Riedmayer, Jaden Kules, Gretchen Kules, Annie Dejackome, Gavin Dejackome holding Rivka Dejackome, Johnson Simpson.

Here's Jaden's family.

From left: Alexis Kules, Ryan Cho, Brittanie Kules, Jaden Kules, Gretchen Kules, Darius Kules, Elise Kules, Silas Kules, and Priscilla Kules.







The wedding party.

From left: Silas Kules (groomsman, nephew of the groom), Douglas Long (groomsman, friend of the couple), Darius Kules (best man, brother of the groom), Jaden Kules, Gretchen Kules, Annie Dejackome (matron of honor, sister of the bride), Agatha Riedmayer (bridesmaid, "sister"/cousin of the bride), and Jacqueline Riedmayer ("sister"/cousin of the bride).

And the ZZE class of 2052/3: Ingrid Riedmayer, Sarah Long, Douglas Long, Jaden Kules, Gretchen Kules, Jacqueline Riedmayer, Marion Landgraab, Margaret Landgraab.

Notes:

1. I am pretty pleased with how the pictures turned out, except I wish I had remembered to adjust my Sims' heights. Let's pretend the short people are wearing thick shoes/high heels. 

2. Custom content! Gretchen's hair is Rite of Passage by Almighty Hat and Sarah's hair is Hero's Sister, also by Almighty Hat. 

Gretchen's dress is from the "Romantic English Regency" set by iamliz13 at Mod the Sims. The bridesmaids are wearing a recolor of the same dress from the "Regency Maxis-Match Gowns" set by oepu at Mod the Sims. You can't really tell except maybe in the toasting picture, but the dresses have a pregnancy morph, which is pretty much why I downloaded them, so Annie had some decent matron of honor wear. 

Round 7 Mini-Update: The Pons-Long wedding (2053)

Narrated by Sarah Long

Douglas and I ended up getting married just a month after I graduted from college. I managed to keep it low-stress by having a very small wedding with just my family and our closest friends. (Douglas' parents couldn't make it, but they sent their good wishes.)

The morning of the wedding, Ingrid came over and did my hair. I loved it, of course.

Meanwhile, my brothers helped Douglas set up our little buffet area.

Between one thing and another, the wedding started about an hour later than we had planned, but finally everyone was in place and we were ready to start.

Our ceremony was pretty traditional and basic. We said our vows...

exchanged our rings...

and had our first kiss.

My mom was so excited that she gave us a standing ovation as soon as we were done. Nobody else joined in, but she didn't seem to mind a bit.

Afterwards, we sat down for a sort of late lunch. It was an awkward time of day for eating, but I for one was starving...I hadn't had a bite since breakfast that morning.

Jaden was the best man, and he gave a very sweet toast.

My sister Jeannie was the maid of honor, and her toast was just as touching. I might have cried a little bit.

Then everybody backed away from the table a bit so Mom could get a good shot of us cutting the cake...Mom is a good photographer and it's amazing how many pictures she was able to get in the middle of spazzing out about her baby getting MARRIED.

After that we had a bit of dancing, but not much since it was already dark. My siblings all walked home so Brian could go to bed on time, and I think Ingrid and Marion and Maggie went back to their place to watch chick flicks or some such thing. They claimed to be tired of all the smoochy couple stuff, but I think they were just tired of walking on sand in their heels.

Finally everybody was gone, and Douglas and I were alone in our bedroom. I'm not going to lie, I had a bit of a nervous moment just then. I mean, thinking about being married and all that that entails is one thing; actually standing in front of your shirtless husband in a skimpy nightgown is quite another.

Douglas calmed me down by asking me about the book I'd been reading most recently.

Eventually we did things other than talking, but I'll leave those to your imagination.











Notes:

1. So, my first attempt at a fancy wedding. I am really sad that I didn't get posed pictures of the wedding party or Sarah with her family, but I ran out of time (both in-game and IRL) and decided to just call it a lesson learned and be more efficient next time. (You'll see the fruits of that in my next mini-update.) 

2. Sarah wore the same wedding dress as her mother did. It just seemed like the kind of thing she'd do.

3. Joan was the only one who stood up to clap because everybody else was still sitting in their chairs like I told them and not actually watching the wedding at all. (I had to eliminate a lot of photos that had speech bubbles in them...Gretchen and Jaden were having an involved conversation about food during the vows.) That is another mistake I worked to remedy the next time. 

4. Sarah and Douglas were both virgins on their wedding night, but Douglas had had a brief affair with Brittanie Kules (they didn't woohoo, but they did a lot of serial making out) so I figured he'd be more experienced and she'd be a bit nervous. Storyline-wise, he would have told Sarah about his dissipated youth, but in-game she has no idea. (Stupidly, it was causing major problems with Jaden and Douglas' relationship, but I managed to fix that at my next wedding too.) 

5. Sarah is already pregnant. Joan will be pleased. (Actually, Sarah and Douglas also have a baby want.) 

6. Custom content credit: Sarah's wedding hair is Spring in Your Step by Almighty Hat (scroll down) and Ingrid's hair is Melody of the Wind by Libitina. There was also shameless overuse of the Teleporter Cat from Simlogical (Pets version, because I don't have Apartment Life) to get everyone on the lot and make them go where I wanted them to go. 

Sim State University Class of 2052 and 2053

Class of 2052:

Douglas Long

Douglas Long
Major: Literature
GPA: 4.0
Honors: Zeta Zeta Epsilon Greek House member, Landgraab Society member, Big Sim on Campus award recipient

Douglas Long is the son of Ian and Amara Long, who reside in Indonesia and are employed as missionaries. Douglas plans to establish a home in Prosperity Plains and pursue a career in the entertainment field. He is engaged to Sarah Pons, a fellow SSU student who plans to graduate in 2053.

Class of 2053: 

Jaden Kules

Jaden Kules
Major: Literature
GPA: 4.0
Honors: Zeta Zeta Epsilon Greek House member, Landgraab Society member, Big Sim on Campus award recipient

Jaden Kules with parents Brittanie Kules and Ryan Cho.

Jaden Kules is the son of Prosperity Plains residents Ryan Cho, a marine biologist, and Brittanie Kules, a party consultant. He plans to return to Prosperity Plains with his fiancee, fellow SSU grad Gretchen Riedmayer, and apply for a job with the Sim State Historical Society.

Jaden Kules with fiancee Gretchen Riedmayer.

Margaret Landgraab

Margaret Landgraab

Major: Philosophy
GPA: 4.0
Honors: Zeta Zeta Epsilon Greek House member, Landgraab Society member, Big Sim on Campus award recipient

Margaret Landgraab (second from left) and Marion Landgraab
with parents Beata Riedmayer-Landgraab and Malcolm Landgraab IV.

Margaret Landgraab is the daughter of local businessman Malcolm Langraab IV and retired general Beata Riedmayer-Landgraab. She plans to set up a household with friends in Prosperity Plains and possibly pursue a career in journalism.

Marion Landgraab

Major: Economics
GPA: 4.0
Honors: Zeta Zeta Epsilon Greek House member, Landgraab Society member, Big Sim on Campus award recipient

Marion Landgraab is the daughter of local businessman Malcolm Langraab IV and retired general Beata Riedmayer-Landgraab. She aspires to pursue a business career and will be living with friends in Prosperity Plains.

Sarah Pons

Sarah Pons

Major: Psychology
GPA: 4.0
Honors: Zeta Zeta Epsilon Greek House member, Landgraab Society member, Big Sim on Campus award recipient

Sarah Pons with parents Joan and Greg Pons.

Sarah Pons is the daughter of Greg Pons, a senior military officer, and Joan Pons, a renowned artist and journalist. She plans to reside in Prosperity Plains with her fiancee, Douglas Long (SSU Class of 2042), and pursue a career in law.

Sarah Pons with fiance Douglas Long (Class of '52).

Gretchen Riedmayer

Gretchen Riedmayer

Major: Literature
GPA: 4.0
Honors: Zeta Zeta Epsilon Greek House member, Landgraab Society member, Big Sim on Campus award recipient

Gretchen Riemdayer (second from right) with aunt Jill Smith,
cousin Jacqueline Riedmayer, and father Johnson Simpson.

Gretchen Riedmayer is the daughter of Johnson Simpson and the late Quinton Riedmayer. She hopes to pursue a career with the Sim State Historical Society and will be residing in Prosperity Plains with her fiance, classmate Jaden Kules.

Ingrid Riedmayer

Ingrid Riedmayer

Major: Biology
GPA: 4.0
Honors: Zeta Zeta Epsilon Greek House member, Landgraab Society member, Big Sim on Campus award recipient

Ingrid Riedmayer with mother Edith Riedmayer
and stepfather Thomas Dai.

Ingrid Riedmayer is the daughter of Edith Riedmayer, a retired member of the SCIA. Ingrid will be living with friends in Prosperity Plains while she pursues a career in medicine.

Jacqueline Riedmayer

Jacqueline Riedmayer

Major: Political Science

GPA: 4.0

Honors: Zeta Zeta Epsilon Greek House member, Landgraab Society member, Big Sim on Campus award recipient

Jacqueline Riedmayer with friend Ryker Owens (Class of '46).

Jacqueline Riedmayer is the daughter of Jill Smith, a member of the SCPD, and the late Elwood Riedmayer. She aspires to a law career and will be living with a friend in Prosperity Plains.









Notes:

1. I loved doing these graduation portraits because I got to compare my Sims to their parents. (Except, you know, the ones who were adopted or are estranged from their parents or whatever.) I was surprised by how much Jaden looks like his mother--he has Ryan's nose, but otherwise he's all Brittanie. I was also surprised how much Ingrid doesn't look like her mother...she has Edith's eyes, nose, and mouth, but Corbin's overall face shape, and it makes a big difference. 

2. Custom content: The base game OSMPs from here. I used normal Maxis poses, because I'm lazy, and used boolprop to make visitors controllable and force the students into their graduation gowns at non-automatic times.