- - - Update 7.3.2010 - - - After we have checked on Daniel's wellbeing at college and made sure he has successfully mastered his first year there, we get back to the Bells' house just in time to catch Hannah preparing large quantities of Grandma's Comfort Soup. She is planning to give some to her friends who, not being Family Sims, can not prepare the useful dish themselves. How thoughtful of her! Some Sim or other always seems to catch the flu, and we all know that this special soup has healing properties.
With Daniel having left for college, his friends do not count as family friends any more, and so, all of a sudden, Issac finds himself in need of FIVE friends in order to get his next promotion. He starts to work on this immediately and calls as many acquaintances as possible in his spare time.
But he has to leave for work soon. Sharon and Hannah decide to stock up on groceries while at the same time meeting some other New Maximilianians.
They arrive at the Pentameter Parkway. To my knowledge, this community lot has been part of our game since the first day of Sims2.
While Hannah does the shopping...
...Sharon meets and greets those Sims who also live in the neighbourhood. Like ALL female Sims, she has three bolts for Beaumont DeBateau, the only zombie living in all of New Max.
The sisters find the day far too beautiful to head home immediately and head over to the One-Twenty Five Café. (This community lot came probably with Four Seasons)
"My treat, sis," Sharon smiles when her older sister Hannah wants to pay for their espresso.
While they sit in the sun, sipping their coffee, Guy Wrightley stops at their table, obviously very impressed with Sharon!
Inside the café, Sharon talks to Johnny Smith, who she has two bolts for. She has two bolts for a lot of men!
Back home, Hannah rakes the leaves in the vast yard.
Sharon comes home from work and finds guests: Armand DeBateau and his daughter Tara. "Are you really as rich as they say?" she asks Armand. Sharon, we know you are a Romance Sim with the fortune-related aspiration of earning 100.000 Simoleons - but do you really have to be so blunt?!
Hannah's efforts of keeping the yard clean are made futile when Blossom Moonbeam walks by...
...and has nothing better to do than jump right into the pile of leaves! (I simply love watching the Sims do that - that and the pillow fight are some of my favourite things in the game!)
Issac really wants to be more attractive for his beloved wife - they have only one bolt for each other. She loves a fit Sim, and so Issac makes an effort and works out vigorously.
With visible results!
Sharon contemplates her life while having a mug of coffee.
On Saturday, Issac is finally promoted to Media Magnate - he is now, at 59 "years" of age, on Permanent Platinum just like his wife.
He immediately retires.
And if that is not a reason for a toast with the bubbly stuff, I don't know! :-)
Finally, Issac has leisure to read his favourite cuisine magazine.
He has been painting lots (Sharon always gets to sell the paintings to help her towards her lifetime want of earning 100.000 Simoleons) and is rewarded with a special plaque for maximum arts enthusiasm.
For Hannah, I choose a secondary aspiration: Grilled Cheese. She has so many rewards points that she can now paint Grilled Cheese. I quite like the slightly meksercized kitchen - now the colours match better than before, and the Grilled Cheese painting looks good, don't you think?
Sunday evening, Sharon returns from work...
...and instantly has her age transition. Welcome to Elderhood, Sharon!
With their guest Samantha Ottomas, the Bells and Sharon celebrate the end of a successful week with a delicious meal of turkey and champagne.
And on this festive note, we leave the Bell household, casting a last glance at the pavillion in their garden, decorated for the Christmas season which has begun for them today. We will be back when it is time to play the "W" households - Sharon Wirth is still here, after all. Is she ever going to get near her lifetime want? No idea - but I hope so!
For the Sims living in this handsome house, the third week in New Maximiliania is about to begin - but, sadly, due to the Sims2 Exchange uploading problems we had back in May 2009, the reports about the first two weeks do not exist anymore. So, who lives here?
Let's start with the youngest household member: Daniel Bell. While we wait for him to get dressed, let's have a look at his aspiration and lifetime want: he is a Popularity Sim and wants to have 20 simultaneous best friends. His very first best friend turned out to be (apart from his parents) Bottom Summerdream, one of his class mates.
Then there is his aunt, Sharon Wirth. She has her own bedroom and bathroom on the ground floor of the Bells' house. Sharon is a Romance Sim who has the rather unromantic lifetime want of earning 100.000 Simoleon. Therefore, I let her keep her job in the dance career, where she started out as a Jazzercise Instructor when the game began. She is now an Interpretive Dancer and member at My Muse II - Art Studio (not at the Music & Dance studio, note!).
Sharon's brother-in-law and Daniel's dad is Issac Bell. Sorry, folks - I am still convinced that this is a mis-spelling. There is, to my knowledge, no such thing as "Issac"; it should be Isaac, shouldn't it? Anyway. Issac is striving to become a Media Magnate, his aspiration is Popularity.
On Monday, he makes his way up the career ladder one step further by becoming Sports Columnist.
His wife, Daniel's mother and Sharon's sister, Hannah Bell, shares Issac's lifetime want of becoming Media Magnate, but not his aspiration: hers is Family. Hannah is a step ahead of her husband and already works as an Investigative Journalist.
On Monday, she is promoted to Magazine Editor.
Daniel - don't you think you're a bit young to be talking like that about well-known heart throb Chastity Gere? Or do you intend to become one of the 20 names on her list of Sims she had woohoo with?
Issac is willing to help his sister-in-law to reach her lifetime want and tips her 100 Simoleons every time she plays the violin (it does stay in the family account, after all!).
On Tuesday, Daniel and his auntie Sharon become best friends - for Daniel, this means he has now reached half of his lifetime want, because Sharon is no. 10 on his list of best friends.
Issac is promoted to Investigative Journalist, filling in the position his wife has vacated when she became Magazine Editor.
Daniel is not only quite a handsome boy, but also a good dancer.
This is the first time I see a Sim doing that - reading a book while walking around the house! I suppose Issac can only do that because his enthusiasm for literature has reached a certain level.
Daniel is at it again - talking to one of his many friends about Chastity Gere!
Shortly after Tuesday turned into Wednesday, a burglar sneaks up to the house.
There is no burglar alarm, but amazingly enough, all the burglar takes is this painting from Hannah's and Issac's bedroom - I never liked it anyway and simply left it there because I couldn't be bothered to meksercize the house :-)
On Thursday, Hannah receives her membership card to the My Muse - Arts & Crafts Studio.
Issac is now on the same career level as his wife: he has just been promoted to Magazine Editor, too.
While he studies cooking for his next promotion (because he'll have to "cook up" stories for the magazine), he is given his membership card to Sue's Secret Kitchen.
Finally, Sharon is promoted as well - she is now a Tap Dancer.
And that's her in her Tap Dancer outfit. I like the glittery tights!
Friday sees not another promotion for Hannah, although she does look very pleased with herself when she and Issac return from work. Actually, it should be her husband being so pleased - he has been wise with a chance card and earned himself a 37.000 Simoleons bonus, boosting the household account to just over 88.000 Simoleons.
On Saturday morning, Daniel can't wait to see his parents go to work - he has something in mind to do which he is not sure he wants them to know about just yet.
He invites one of his best friends - Kimberly Cordial, an atrociously evil witch, hoping that she will teach him magic. But... much as he tries to persuade her, she refuses, and after some friendly rounds of "red hands", he says good-bye to her. (I thought teenagers can become warlocks and witches, too? Was I misinformed?)
On Saturday afternoon, Hannah reaches permanent platinum - she has just been made Media Magnate!
Sunday morning, Daniel leaves for college - if he would not have left today, he would have turned into an adult at 6.00 pm.
Auntie Sharon is going to miss her nephew! Bye-bye, Daniel, I hope you'll make many more best friends at university!
Sharon has, by the way, just received her special plaque for maximum enthusiasm in arts.
And at 6.00 sharply, Hannah starts to glow... and spin...
...and turns into an Elder! Her being on Permanent Platinum, I hope she's in for many "Golden Years".
At the same time, Issac has made his age transition - not yet on Permanent Platinum, but I hope he will reach that next time we visit the Bells, which should not take us too long, since their surname starts with a B (we have been playing this Sim-week here because of the "W" in Sharon Wirth's surname). Of course, we will also be checking in on Daniel at college.
