Letter #3 (Dear Therapist)

I forgot to include the suggestion boxes last time. I assure you that was entirely accidental, and I really do want your suggestions! I went away for the weekend just after posting (only about 15 minutes later, in fact) and I wasn't able to correct the problem before a bunch of people submitted.

New? I suggest you start this series at the beginning here.

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Dear Therapist,

I'm not really in the mood to talk with you, right now. In fact, I'm not really interested in talking to anyone. I'm just in one of those moods, where I'd rather curl up on the couch with a book instead of doing anything productive.

(yesterday) Happy Friday!

My week was pretty stressful and tiring. I have to admit, though, I really enjoyed most of today (Saturday). I was finally able to go to the library as you suggested. A few times I became tense from all the people there. But, I did have fun browsing the books and reading in such a lovely space. I read most of Gentleman Corgi: A Memoir. I will try to make a trip to the library part of my weekly routine.

Evidence of library visit.

What is going well in my life? Huh...let's see...well, my job I guess. I've already gotten a few promotions, so I guess my bosses are pretty happy with me. This week I got a "thank you" from someone in the office as an urgent package came for them, but their name was smudged. I hunted them down, so the package was still delivered on time. Outside the office, I try to fill out some reports every evening. They don't pay me extra to do this, but it needs to be done.

Here's my journal from the end of the week. Thursday was a bit rough. I had utility box problems, and I couldn't sleep because of a rat making noises. So, I called the Landlord. When i finally went to bed, my neighbor started being noisy.

I was exhausted on Friday, so I wasn't very productive in the evening. I feel asleep on the couch, and on the kitchen floor! I didn't get to file reports or finish the laundry. :(

Dear Therapist (Letter #2)

I suggest you start this series at the beginning here.

Dear Therapist,

I have started implementing your suggestion to track my emotions. While I was looking up ways to track emotions, I uncovered this thing called a Bullet Journal. Have you heard of it? Anyway, it's like a to-do list, a planner and a regular journal. I'm using it to keep track of what I need to do, and my emotions. Like this:

Sunday Bullet Journal entry.

A lot of the Bullet Journals are very beautiful, decorated with stickers and drawings. I'd love to be able to do that, but I don't have the time or the talent.

You asked me about my dream job. Well, I really don't know. I would have loved to have done something creative...writing, painting, sculpting, music, but I have absolutely zero talent for those types of things. When I was a child, I really wanted to be a veterinarian. I'm definitely not smart enough for that, though!

View from my hallway.

Here are the other pages of my journal with my other emotion trackers:

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Yeah, Wednesday was a little bit stressful. The utility box has been acting up in my apartment. I keep losing power, and it keeps sparking. I think I also have a rat problem. I called the landlord, which was also pretty stressful.

Fried utility box and dripping pipes. UGH!!!

I got a promotion. I'm now an office assistant. I'm in charge of supplies, so I get to make important decisions like how many boxes of paperclips we might need in the near future.

Since things were pretty stressful, and I got a promotion, I rewarded myself with some pizza.

Pizza!

I'm an awful cook, so this was a pleasant change of pace!

Anyway, that's all for now, I'll write again soon.

I'm overwhelmed by all the people who want to help Kaye! This is going to be a wonderful experience, and I'm so excited! Thank you for participating. Every response means so much! <3

Dear Therapist (Sims Bujo & Self-care Challenge)

I suggest you start this series at the beginning here.

Dear Therapist, 

First off, I'd like to apologize. I have no idea what I'm supposed to be writing really. They just told me at the clinic that I should submit at least one entry to this address per week. I'm not even sure if I started the entry correctly.

The clinic assigned me this task because I've been feeling sick a lot recently, but they can't find any disease or anything. I was told it is because of my anxiety and depression. I have to admit, I'm a bit skeptical. I think I'm doing okay. Sure, life has been hard lately, but I'm managing. It's not like I've attempted suicide, or had some sort of mental crisis. I'm fine. But, I'm willing to try anything to make myself feel better. And, it can't hurt I guess.

I live in a small apartment in San Myshuno. I moved here recently when I got a job in the mailroom of Dewey, Cheatem & Howe. It's not great, but it pays the bills. I pretty much spend most of my time by myself sorting mail. I like not having to interact with strangers. I live by myself- no roommate, no pets, no boyfriend. It can get a bit lonely, but it suits me fine.

I don't have time for much of a social life. I don't know where all the time goes, but I always have things to do. On the rare occasion that I have some time, I like to read. 

So, I guess that's it for now. Oh, they told me I could send photos. I'm not sure what photos you'd want, so any suggestions for the future would be welcome.

This is me in front of the elevator at my apartment building.

And this is my hallway.

This is my living room.

And that's my kitchen down there.

Alright...that's all I have. Let me know what I should do next.

Thank you,

Kaye

A/N: The Bullet Journal will show up in the next post.

New Bullet Journal Challenge with a Self-Care Twist!

Because of my ongoing love for Bullet Journals, I've decided to do another attempt at a Bullet Journal challenge. Thanks to a lot of encouragement from the Sims 4 forum community and some readers, I've come up with a story idea that I'm super enthused about.

I'm going to take my original "If My Sim had a Bullet Journal" challenge idea and add to it a separate but related Self-Care challenge. As someone who has made a lot of progress in dealing with anxiety and depression over the last year, it is something that I am very passionate about.

Here is what I'm doing for this challenge:

1) I've created a Sim that has three traits that might cause her to become tense. For example, if my Sim had the "ambitious" trait she might become tense if she hadn't been promoted for a while. I'm specifically not going to tell you which traits she has. 

2) Next, I created a list of 10 rules that represent her anxiety and depression. These are self-imposed rules that she has established for herself that set unreasonable expectations. In my personal experience, a lot of anxiety stemmed from the demands I was putting on myself. Once again, I won't be sharing what exactly these are, you'll see why in a minute. 

3) In order to eliminate these rules, she has to earn satisfaction points (a mechanic already in the game). When she hits a certain level of satisfaction, she can spend the points to earn a reward trait (in game) and eliminate one of the rules that I set. 

4) With all the rules she has, earning any satisfaction will be very challenging, and that's where her online therapist will come in. YOU, my dear readers, will play the therapist. Each week, you will be encouraged to comment with suggestions on self-care activities my Sim can do. We will have a poll that will determine which self-care activity she explores that week.

5) Since you don't know the rules or traits, there is a bit of a mystery here in terms of what she needs to do. You can use the clues from her letters to you and her bullet journal to help you decide how to best help her.

There are SO many suggestions you can make for self-care! OH so many that are entirely doable in the game. Keeping track of emotions? Sure! Gratitude log? Sure! Day off? Sure! Adopt a cat? Sure! Writing out her goals? Yep! Travel? Of course. Spa day? Sure thing! 

You can also ask her questions to find out more information, and she'll address them in subsequent letters.

So, what do you guys think? I'm excited!

Edith's Bullet Journal: Day 28 (Saturday)

It's a day off for Edith! She is hoping to spend sometime with her boyfriend and her good friends today.

Edith had a weird dream.

She dreamed a vampire crept into her bedroom while she was still asleep.

He hypnotized her, and made her walk into her office (why she has no idea).

He bit into her neck and then disappeared.

Leaving her passed out on the floor.

Edith awoke a bit groggy, but didn't think anything more about her dream. She met the Avant Gardes for a group hangout at their favorite coffee shop.

They chatted in the main area while everyone ordered their drinks, and then dispersed.

Edith and Gunther went into the club room- a private room in the back of the shop designed for the meeting of clubs.

Yuki joined them. They read, and chatted about what they were reading. A nice pleasant afternoon.

In the evening, Edith gave Anaya a call to see if she wanted to do dinner together.

She was game, and they met at a restaurant.

They had a wonderful time talking over dinner and drinks. It was nice to some one-on-one time with such a close friend.

After dinner, they ordered a chocolate cake. Why not?

Edith is now entering the middle portion of her young adult life. It's time to make some changes to the Bujo and reevaluate our goals. I'll be adding extra collections to this slowly over time.

So far, other then the cover page, we've setup a section to record memories, and we've begun a level 10 life spread.

Here's Sunday's plan.

Edith's Second Letter to Dove

You can read Dove's Letter to Edith here: https://insanesims.wordpress.com/2017/07/07/dear-edith/

Dear Dove,

It's seems like FOREVER since I have written to you, but it only has been a few days. Time is such a weird thing, don't you think?

How are you? How is your family? How did you meet your wife?

So...you live not too far from me. Have you met the weird very angry man that hangs out in the center of the neighborhood? I keep trying to befriend him, but he ends up just spreading his anger to me! It's so frustrating.

A couple days ago, I had my first kiss with Paolo! It has certainly taken us long enough!

Paolo, and my best friend, Gunther are getting along quite well. It makes me so happy. They often show up at my apartment at the same time!

I have mixed feelings about my neighbors. They are super sweet, and their son is simply adorable. However, they are frequently noisy at night and it's so frustrating when I am trying to write. Do you have any issues with your neighbors?

Tomorrow I have plans to get together with my good friend Anaya, whom I do not spend enough time with.

Here's a selfie of me and my best friend, Gunther, in my apartment.

Your pal,

Edith

Edith's Bullet Journal: Day 27 (Friday)

Work was on Edith's agenda for the day, but she has tomorrow off. Edith has been happy with her work situation but feels she needs to publish more works on her own in the future.

In this photo, you can see the list of royalties she is receiving for her book so far.

After work, Edith was surprised by a visit from Paolo and Gunther. Edith (and I) love how the two most important men in her life, at present, are becoming friends. In this photo, I feel like Gunther also wants to be in on the hug. Gunther would like to as the Sims 4 team at EA to add adult group hugs.

Why do we bother with the meal planning, Edith? She was supposed to have pan-fried tilapia tonight, but instead with have this meatball. And she ended up not even liking the meatball. Made it'd taste better if she got the gross half-eaten oatmeal off the table?

Okay, Edith, my dear. Let's add "clean the apartment" to our daily spread for tomorrow, k?

I'm not certain if this is a reaction to the meatball or the apartment cleaning plan.

Here's a stalker-like photo...peering into Edith's office. She's typing to her new penpal, and swearing at her neighbors because they are being too noisy again.

Pleasant dreams, Edith.

I'd love to hear your ideas about Edith's spread! Do you want to see more? A more detailed daily log? More journaling? Let me know!

Edith's Bullet Journal: Day 25 (Wednesday)

Edith's plan for Wednesday was to....work from 8am to 4pm, have a grilled cheese for dinner, and then do whatever she felt like!

So, of course, the evening involved hanging out with friends.

She invited the club over to her house for a change.

Edith isn't bothered by the dirty dishes in her home even when company is over. She's a slob...if other people take issue with it that is their problem.

Edith actively sought out the younger members of the group this time whom she hadn't really gotten to know well yet. There are two teens in the group, Yuki and Hugo.

Edith and Yuki had some deep conversations at the kitchen table. Edith even shared with Yuki the financial realities of adulthood (and how she hasn't even saved enough to buy a shower yet). 

Edith also had a great time chatting with Hugo (during the evening she changed out of her work clothes). 

She had a great time with the club...reading, chatting, and discussing dinosaurs in detail.

Yuki painted Edith a painting during the course of the evening. Edith treasures it, and is going to have it framed.

Tomorrow, we have the day off! Our main goal is to call Anaya, as we haven't spoken to her in awhile.

Edith's First Letter to Dove

Dear Dove,

Arg! I had my whole entire letter already written, and then I had computer issues! You think being a professional writer, I'd have a better habit of saving my work often, LOL. Oh well, here's a fresh letter just a bit later.

Hi there! How are you? I'm doing very well. Thank you for agreeing to be penpals with me. I'm super excited to get to know someone new. I love meeting new people. In fact, hanging out with friends is one of my favorite activities....it's right up there with reading and writing. I spend most of my time doing those three things.

As I mentioned, I'm a writer. I'm a self-published Children's author, and I also work at a newspaper. Up until this past Monday, I wrote their advice column, but I've recently been promoted to regular contributor where I can write stories more interesting to me. Most of that will be serial short stories. I hope to someday be able to support myself and a family on just my author's salary.

I love reading and dancing. Sometimes I watch movies or TV, but I usually get bored with those pretty easy. For awhile, I was into fitness/wellness, but I admit it's been a little while since I've been to a gym! :) I like cooking, but I also love eating from food carts. Whenever I can be home, I try to cook a meal, but often I find myself out with friends at dinner time....Monday night I had french fries at the bar for dinner.

I hang out with my friends all the time. I'm in a club called the Avant Gardes for others who like to read and write. I hosted a meeting at my house last night. We had a great time, and one of the younger members made me a gorgeous piece of art! The day before, my best friend Gunther was at my apartment already when I arrived home and we hung out for awhile. And on Monday, my friends through a party for me at the nightclub for my promotion. And whenever I'm not hanging out with them, my neighbors are also great companions.

I wanted to get more photos for you before I sent this letter, but I haven't had time. I promise to have more next time. Here's a selfie I took on Monday night at the nightclub! It's with my crush Paulo!

I'm going to wrap this up with a few questions for you....What do you like to do for fun? What do you do for a living? Do you live with any family?

Talk to you soon!

Your new pal,

Edith

Edith's Bullet Journal: Day 24 (Tuesday)

Welcome back! 

Tuesday's plan was to work from 8am to 4pm, have dinner (garden salad), work on her writing, and then call a few friends.

When she arrived home, Gunther was there. He always knows when she's having a bad day and shows up for some fun after work! Edith and Gunther played some chess for awhile.

After which, he kept her entertained while she made dinner. Despite the fact he had no plans to stay for dinner.

After Gunther left, Edith took a shower. She relaxed with some television (the classics station).

While she was watching, she called Paulo and they chatted before she went to bed.

Wednesday is more work with Grilled Cheese for dinner, and her plans are to do whatever she feels like doing.

Edith's Bullet Journal: Day 23 (Monday)

Before we check in with Edith today, I just wanted to thank everyone who stopped by my website thanks to the link in the Bullet Journal July Newsletter. I appreciate you checking on my Sims challenge, and I hope you continue to check in. Also, if anyone has any spreads that they'd like Edith to try out, please let me know! We are Bullet Journalers so tweaking is always happening! Should she have more detailed spreads? More actual journaling? More collections?

Edith's plan for Monday was pretty simple...work, dinner, writing and some phone calls. Of course, we've already seen how those plans can go astray!

At work, Edith was promoted to Regular Contributor at work! So, of course, the Avant Gardes took her to the nightclub to celebrate!

After sharing some fries with Maaike at the bar, while they waited for everyone else to get there, they spent the evening dancing. 

Edith ran into Paulo, her newest crush! They took a selfie together. When are these two going to start dating?!

Edith's Bullet Journal: Day 22 (Sunday)

Sunday, the beginning of Edith's work week.

Edith started off with a healthy breakfast of oatmeal.

Her weekly royalties were also deposited into her account. She's starting to go quite the impressive collection. Not enough to become an independent author, but it definitely helps with the bills.

Fish tacos for dinner.

Edith finally met her neighbor's son! We thought she was pregnant when they first met.

Edith read him a story. That out fit. Those sunglasses! What a little charmer!!!

Here's tomorrow's game plan!

Edith has also started working on a bookshelf collection in her Bujo!

Edith's Bullet Journal: Day 20 (Friday)

Friday was a day off, but after last night, Edith had planned to take it easy.

Here is Edith's plan for the day.

Edith journaled about her experience last night.

She was inspired to do some writing, but Jesminder and her husband were being noisy, so Edith was getting frustrated.

Later in the day, Gunther came over to play chess, and Jesminder popped over for awhile as well.

After Gunther left, she took a nap and followed that up with some reading and telephone conversations.

Her final bujo summary.

Sorry about the fuzzy quality of the last photo, it was taken in haste.

Thanks for reading! Please leave comments, questions, and suggestions for Edith. I love chatting about the Sims!

Edith's Bullet Journal: Day 19 (Thursday)

Edith thought Thursday was just going to be a typical workday, but she was pleasantly surprised....

She started off the day by getting inspired before work. She played around with the lump of clay she keeps in her apartment to get her creative juices flowing.

She made a lovely statue.

After work, she practiced a bit of chess....

...and did some painting.

She made the Pho she had planned to have for dinner that night. After dinner, she planned to read and go to bed early.

However, Maaike invited her to go out to a club in Windenburg. Edith was in a good mood and she was off of work tomorrow, so she agreed.

She ran into Marcus and he introduced her to some of his friends including this guy Paolo, whom she immediately hit it off with. They all chatted outside the club for awhile before heading inside.

The Avant Gardes had a great time hanging out with Partihaus. Edith danced with her crew.

Despite being excellent dancers and a bit intimidating, the members of Partihaus were actually very nice and welcoming.

Edith kept her eye on Paolo the whole evening.

They chatted inside, as best they could...despite the short time they were together, they were starting to form a deep connection.

Edith felt super confident and had an amazing time.

The club was just so energetic and vibrant. She stayed there as late as possible before heading home and crashing.

The completed daily bujo.

Tomorrow's plan.

The Penpal Project: Edith's Profile

Author's Note: I'm signing up Edith to get a penpal through The Penpal Project a place for Sims to be connected with a penpal! This is her application.

Name: Edith Walsh

Age Bracket: Early Young Adult

Profession: Advice Columnist, Author

Number of Penpals: One or two to start. I may write to more if I can find the time.

Interested in meeting face to face? Maybe. If we develop a close friendship, sure, but it isn't necessary.

Reasons for Joining: Making new friends! I love forming close friendships with other Sims. I also really enjoy writing.

Anything else?

Let's see...I don't have kids yet, but I hope to in the not too distant future (as soon as I find a partner). I'm a city girl. I'm a mess, but I don't want to be. I love reading, bright colors, and being creative. I ramble. I'm super excited for this!

Edith's Bullet Journal: Day 18 (Wednesday)

Edith had Wednesday off. 

She had plans to do some writing, yoga and clean her house. She was going to focus on taking care of herself today.

Gunther didn't let that happen. He showed up while Edith was cleaning and still in her pajamas. She didn't mind the company, though.

Jesminder smelled Edith's delicious Mac n' Cheese and popped over to ask if she could join in.

Edith also invited Anaya to join them.

There was laughing, storytelling and eating.

They all spent most of the day there.

After deepening her friendships with each of them, Edith said goodbye.

She then got busy writing a new book= a collection of short stories for young adults.

Thursday was a worked day, so promised to be very mundane....Work from 9am to 5pm, a bit of chess and Pho for dinner.

Little did she know...

Edith's Bullet Journal: Day 17 (Tuesday)

Edith's Tuesday plan:

She had another simple day planned, which was a good thing given how busy she's been the last few days.

Reality caught up with her. Upon arriving home from work, she passed out on the couch. She woke up and showered.

Instead of the taco casserole she had planned, she ate a microwaved pastry. She went to bed feeling very unsatisfied, but too tired to care. 

Here's Tuesday's completed entry.

Some more scribblings from Edith.

And, finally, the quickly written plan for tomorrow.

Note: I made a spreadsheet with a way of calculating crushes based on a variety of factors. Travis wouldn't be my first choice, but he is winning for Edith which is why he is our prime target.

Edith's Bullet Journal: Day 16 (Monday)

Here was Edith's plan for Monday.

She had a fairly simple and quiet day planned...work, dinner, whatever she felt like doing, call one of her friends...maybe call Travis, maybe do a little writing and then bed.

She got home crazy late on Sunday evening thanks to the promotion party, and when she got home she really wanted to bathe before going to bed. Just after midnight, Don called with his own offer to celebrate. Edith was too tired and had to work in the morning, so she declined.

She was pretty stressed when she came from work on Monday. She was pleasantly surprised to find Gunther waiting for her at her place. He let her vent for awhile, he's quiet an active listener.

When she started feeling a bit better, they watched a movie, "Simder". 

It was a total snooze fest for Edith, but between the movie and chatting with Gunther during it, she was distracted enough to start relaxing again.

After Gunther left, Edith purchased a Chess table. 

The night was still young and she was a in great mood now, and she totally forgot she had to work on Tuesday, so she went out for a night on the town!

Edith went to the karaoke bar that's right across the street from her apartment. She met one of her coworkers there, and enjoyed her favorite cocktail while chatting with her and some other people she didn't really know.

Travis showed up and they had a great time conversing about a wide variety of things, and they even flirted a bit. After he left Edith was even more confused.

So she belted out a pop song before heading home.

Here is the completed Monday daily spread.

And below it, we have some doodling as Edith tries to figure out what the deal is with Travis and if she should try to pursue a relationship.

And finally, a plan for Tuesday!

Edith's Bullet Journal: Day 15 (Sunday)

Sunday was another work day for Edith. She had a simple plan for the day.....

But that plan had changed by the time she got home that evening. She was promoted to "advice columnist". And her co-workers wanted to celebrate her success by taking her out to the Oasis Dust Bowl.

Her promotion also came with a new chair for reading.

Gunther was the one to coordinate the celebration and met her outside the bar.

She enjoyed some dinner while chatting with all her co-workers.

Edith's co-workers!

Edith was pleasantly surprised to find Travis at the bar. After their meeting at Singles night, she was developing a crush on him, and she new he was on the market which increased the appeal. She was under the impression, after their great conversation the other day, that they were on the same page. She did a bit of playful flirting and then asked to exchange phone numbers.

Rejection.

We were both so shocked, that we forgot to take a screenshot!

Luckily, Gunther was nearby ready to swoop in and take some silly selfies!

Sunday's recap.

Looking towards Monday!

Edith's Bullet Journal: Week Three Setup!

Here we have Edith's filled in Week 2 Checker Life Check. Green is the best category, so she did quite well in week 2.

Here is her Week Two spread at the end of the week. She experienced a lot of happiness this week, but was also uncomfortable and tense more often than we'd like. She needs to seek out new ways to feel inspired, since that didn't come up often and she's trying to be a writer!

She improved her charisma, cooking, fitness, wellness, writing and dancing! She also learned many new recipes.

She has a new financial spread. She is trying to save up $900 (in addition to her regular savings goal) to purchase a shower/tub combo...so she has the option of taking a shower or a bath, instead of just a bath.

Here is her Week Three setup. I didn't write down all her work times yet, since I think she'll be getting a promotion on Sunday. Her goals are very similar to last week but with her total whims and total savings higher, obviously. She also wants to turn one of her friends into a "good friend" this week.

And finally, here is our plan for Sunday!

If you have any ideas for spreads that you'd like to see included please let me know!!! If you'd like to see more information, more journaling, etc...we can expand!

Thanks for reading!