Edith Walsh's Bullet Journal: Day 1

In the last post, I described my new Sims Challenge that I'm currently developing. The Sims 4 Bullet Journal Challenge involves making a journal for your Sim to plan out their activities in advance, helping them achieve a well-balanced life.

Here is our test subject- Edith Walsh. We are going to be following her life and her Bullet Journal.

Here is her week one spread:

The calendar currently contains her work schedule and her meal plan. Below that we have a small habit tracker (Breakfast, Workout, Writing) and a Quality Tracker (happiness, writing, social, work, yoga/wellness, finances, environment and learning. On the other side, we have her goals, her to buy list, her to read/watch list, places she wants to visit, house projects, and a section for notes and memories. Down the bottom is a mood tracker that she will use to track her mood three times a day (Sunday morning, Sunday afternoon, Sunday evening, etc....) 

Edith began her day by starting to write a story...a Children's story about a single blue shoe's epic struggle to find her sole mate. Edith had moved to San Myshuno to take a job as a writer's assistant. She hoped to someday be a published author herself. Before she began writing, she had begun setting up her office...desk, office chair, and computer. The walls were still blank and the room needed more light, but she'd fix those later.

Edith was greeted in the late morning by a welcome wagon of neighbors, Arun and Jesminder were a young couple from across the hall. It's possible that Jesminder is expecting. With them were two other neighbors, an elderly woman named Geeta and young guy named Raj. 

Edith was very anxious to make friends in her new city, so she welcomed them into her home.

They stayed and chatted for quite some time. 

After they had left, Edith went about reading the Lucas Dark series. It was on her to read list, and the prior owners had conveniently left it on the bookshelf! 

Later in the evening, Arun came to visit again...he was bored and wanted to hang out. They hung out for awhile, and then Edith went to bed.

Bullet Journal Updates: Edith crossed a few items from her lists and updated her tracker. She decided she had better try to workout tomorrow since she didn't do so today. 

The "If My Sim had a Bullet Journal" Challenge!

I'm developing a new Sims 4 challenge that combines the Sims with one of my other favorite hobbies: Bullet Journaling!

I know this challenge won't be appealing to many since you need to love both bullet journaling and the Sims. That's okay, though...it's mainly for me! But if you do happen to start your own, please let me know how it goes.

This challenge is in development still. So, there are no official rules yet, but I will update them as I go, in case you are a Simmer who wants to try it out.

This will also be written as a story, so non-Simmers might be interested in following along as well, I hope you do!

The Purpose:

I'm constantly seeking ways to give my Sims a normal, balanced, challenging life. I don't play with cheat codes, I don't build mansions, I seldom max out skills, and I never seem to be able to afford the most expense items in the catalog. My Sims happiness and needs are front and center in their daily life.

What if Sims had a Bullet Journal?

In my Bullet Journal, I plan events, list out mu goals, note tasks I want to do, track habits, and reflect on my happiness and well-being. I started wondering if that could be applied to a Sims life, and this is what happened (pardon the scribbling):

Not only would this be a fun way to keep a Sims life balanced and focused on self-improvement. But it also would help me record their lives better. I can set the page up at the beginning of the week. Take notes as the week goes, and have a good look at the Sims life for that week.

I can also decorate the page to reflect the Sims mood!

The Play Test

I've made my subject:

Meet Edith Walsh. She is a bookworm and a slob. She loves to hang out with friends, but she also wants a family. Edith needs help managing her career, her house cleaning, her club meetings, and (eventually) a family. 

She also loves patterns and bright colors (so clearly she is a washi tape girl!)

In my next post, you'll see the first weekly spread I'm going to make for Edith to help her accomplish all her goals!

Who Should I Play?

I'm getting a new desktop. With a new desktop, comes a new Sims story. Who should I play?

Jolene is creative and ambitious. Her ultimate goal is to own a mansion.  She loves the outdoors. Her career path will probably be as an art critic.

Jovan dreams of being a master chef. He is creative and family-oriented, but he is also a kleptomaniac.

Antonia wants to be a vampire, but a good vampire. She's a loner, active, and good-hearted.

Dustin loves collecting anything and everything. Dustin prefers the Ze/zir pronouns. Ze is a loner, a vegetarian and loves music.

Bradford wishes to become a Master Vampire. He's a total dance machine and love art. Despite wanting to be a vampire, he's also very squeamish.

Who should I play? Leave a comment! 

Vincent has Maid Problems

If you haven't read any of the Vincent Donaldson, I recommend starting here.

Vincent has been continuing to work on his publishing career, but kids and work make that sort of a difficult endeavor.

With so many kids (four now!). Vincent decided to take out a loan from the bank so that he could build an addition on their house (a new bedroom for the kids).

Thankfully, some of the kids were getting old enough where they could start to occupy themselves and each other, for periods of time.

Time moves so quickly, and soon it was time for Lillian to age up. 

Her transition to elder would mean she would not be able to have any more children.

The Donaldson's hired a maid to help get the housework done. Even with Lillian retiring, the four children and the housework were more than she could handle. 

Unfortunately, the second maid spent most of his time sitting down or watching television. At the end of the day, the house would still be a mess. 

Lillian tries to give each of the children individual attention so that they feel loved.

Now he's reading a book instead of working. How many breaks does this guy need a day?

Things were getting too cluttered in the old nursery, and Lillie would soon be old enough to need a real bed. They really needed to get the new nursery built soon.

Eventually, Vincent and Lillian gave up on the old made and hired a new one. This guy handled all the major problems, and then organized the books. I think he's a keeper!

Vincent Forgets to Pay the Bills

If you haven't read any of the Vincent Donaldson, I recommend starting here.

Vincent and Lillian has too much going on in their lives between careers and children, so they forgot to pay the bills.

The repo lady showed up and took a lamp in the nursery, and the toilet paper!

Finally, it was Lillie's birthday! They had a small gathering, but thankfully it was pretty mild compared to Vincent's birthday. Notice they have yet to replace the kitchen table that Vincent's cake burnt.

Lillie likes to make a mess in her high chair.

Here's Lillian eating leftover birthday cake for breakfast, while Edwin naps in the swing.

Lillian became pregnant once again. It was clear they needed more space in their house. However, no houses for sale in the neighborhood were bigger but affordable. Vincent decided to take out a loan to build an addition on their home.

Lillian cleans, while both the kiddos eat...(Edwin is hiding behind a chair). Sadly, on the evening of Edwin's birthday, Vincent and Lillian didn't get around to organizing a party until it was too late, and people couldn't attend. He transitioned without much celelbration.

Both Lillie and Edwin are learning to walk and talk. 

Edwin and Lillian enjoy playing blocks together at the play table. 

And playing peek-a-boo together in the playpen.

Vincent sets his Birthday on Fire

If you haven't read any of the Vincent Donaldson, I recommend starting here.

#parenting?

With two infants, two careers, and not much money, life has been very busy and challenging for the Donaldsons. For days, Lillian never actually went to sleep at night...she survived on micronaps whenever both of the children managed to be sleeping. Vincent helped when he could, but he had recently gotten a promotion at work that required him to be on call. Frequently, he'd have to go into the hospital in the middle of the night, but still have to get up the next morning to go in. Life was rough.

Fortunately, Lillian is able to save them money by being able to fix all of their old and cheap appliances. They break often, so this is important!

Vincent's birthday rolled around and they had a party. 

They invited all their neighbors and coworkers in the hopes that they could get to know some of them a bit better. They hadn't had time to make friends with anyone besides each other.

They provided the birthday cake and the pizza, but a few of their guests brought dishes such as lobster thermidor and stu surprise.

As Vincent was blowing out the cake, he managed to catch the kitchen table on fire.

Much to the shock of his guests, Vincent also caught on fire. The fire department was notified immediately and Vincent attempted to extinguish himself.

Lillian took a moment to admire the very attractive firefighter amid her concern for her husband.

The fire was put out and Vincent was safe. The table and cake were ruined, though. Interestingly, the insurance company also covered the cost of the destroyed birthday cake.

Vincent's transition proceeded after his flames were extinguished.

Poor accident-prone Vincent, in the center of attention!

After the excitement was over, the guests were able to laugh it off and move on. They did manage to form a few friendships before the evening was over.

Vincent has a Baby

If you haven't read any of the Vincent Donaldson, I recommend starting here.

Lillian continued working on her handiness while pregnant. She fixed the plumbing at the local diner for extra cash while on maternity leave.

Before we knew it, the baby was on its way!

Vincent was a little concerned she was going to have it in the middle of the living room (and possibly ruin his couch). 

Vincent was very excited to have Lillie in his life.

He also managed to make a plates of waffles without burning any, so it was a really good week!

Lillie was a pretty good baby, though they did have a lot of challenges getting enough sleep.

Lillian started exercising during her maternity leave to get in better shape to return to work in law enforcement.

When she did finally go back to work, they hired a sitter for Lillian.

Immediately after the birth of Lillie, they became pregnant again. Lillian soon gave birth to a baby boy, Edwin.

Vicent Gets Married

If you haven't read any of the Vincent Donaldson, I recommend starting here.

In my last post, Vincent went out on a limb and proposed to Lillian.

Lillian said yes!

Since neither of them had families, or even close friends, and they wanted to get started on their family right away, they got married the old-fashioned Sim way.

Right then...in the middle of the kitchen...with the smell of burned waffles in the air...and Lillian in her pajamas.

As it turns out, Lillian shares Vicent's lifetime aspiration. What she wants more than anything is to have a family of her own.

Getting started on the baby-making immediately was critical. As it turned out, Lillian was *much* older than Vincent.

While Lillian napped, Vincent attempted to make yet another batch of waffles.

Very quickly, Lillian was pregnant and in need of some trips to the local spa for back massages.

This is probably because she took an interest in repairing things and becoming handy. Vincent has the habitat of breaking things...particular faucets. Lillian has been learning how to fix them. She even took a class at the military base (while pregnant).

Vincent is still working on two careers...the dream writing career, and the career that will pay for his future family (medical). He decided to work on his logical thinking skills in order to increase his chance of getting a promotion at work, so he purchased a telescope.

Vincent Asks a Question

If you haven't read any of the Vincent Donaldson, I recommend starting here.

Vincent has been pursuing his alternative career as a science fiction writer by going to the library whenever he can.

Vincent started dating Lillian, the firefighter. Their first date was at the beach. 

They chatted and took a swim in the ocean. They got along very well and had a great time.

And they had their first kiss on the beach.

They continued to hang out. While they got along great, Vincent had a hard time getting Lillian to open up. (We couldn't figure out her traits!). Also, she was very hesitant at times...shy maybe?

Eventually, she did spend the night. Still, Vincent knew very little about her, and Vincent was hesitant to move things forward.

Writing classes were available at the local office downtown, so Vincent signed up for one to improve his writing. 

Vincent and Lillian went to the movies together on another great date. Vincent was quite convinced he was in love, and that the love was returned, but he still found her to be quite the mystery. He couldn't discern her traits or her aspiration.

Vincent invited her over to his place on another night for a home-cooked dinner of Goopy Carbonara. Sadly, he burnt that too, but he didn't care.

In the middle of his kitchen floor, the smell of burned food lingering in the air, Vincent took a chance and just asked Lillian to marry him. Vincent was sick of waiting and knew Lillian was the one.

Vincent Starts a Fire

If you haven't read Meet Vincent Donaldson, I recommend checking out that post first.

Vincent really wants to become immersed in his new community. He tries to attend community events, such as the chess tournament that took place at the bookstore.

He also received a phone call from City Hall (at 11:00pm!) asking if he'd write three books for a charity drive. He readily agreed. He hasn't published any of his work yet, and he thought that this could be a motivating opportunity.

I was excited when Vincent finally expressed an attraction to a Sim he saw at the library. Sadly, River was a bit too young for him.

Vincent has attempted to make waffles on three different occasions. Twice he burned them beyond the point of being edible.

The third time, he set the oven on fire. Vincent watches the cooking channel, and has read one instructional guide. Yet, he still causes destruction in the kitchen. He did end up panicking and running away from the fire, but I like how he took a minute to look at the camera and give me a "Really?" face. I'm not sure if it was a "Really? Again. I thought 'third times a charm'. Why can't I'm making these fr*gg*n' waffles," or if it was a "Really? You are taking a photo while I'm running for my life?"

While waiting for the fire department to put out the fire, we discovered the bath tub was broken...again (Vincent has already repaired it once).

Vincent stopped complaining when he met Lillian the firefighter, though. Apparently, he likes a girl in uniform!

They had a great conversation about a lot of different things...music, books, families...It was clear that she was really into him as well.

She stayed all day, and even for dinner. Vincent stuck with making a nice autumn salad (no need to make her work more!)

My Sims 3 Revival

This is a companion post to Meet Vincent Donaldson, as well as an update on A Sims 3 Experiment. 

I'm very much enjoying my return to The Sims 3. I had forgotten all the little things that make the game more interesting (and I've only been playing the base game!). I think I'm falling in love with the game all over again.

My plan (if I have enough patience) is to install a new expansion (there are 11) when the first Sim of a generation reaches their lifetime wish. If a second Sim achieves it, I'll install a bonus stuff pack. This will hopefully allow me to explore each expansion fully and appreciate the changes in the game. When any Sims has an age transition, I'll install some content from the store (it's smaller and I have a lot of it). I'm adding a new mod each real life day that I play up until I have all the ones that I want.

Vincent was a randomly generated Sim that I tweaked ever so slightly. The name, his traits and favorites were also randomly generated.

As usual, I'm letting my Sim run the show. Fortunately, Vincent is not boring. He immediately had the desire to get married, which I locked. He has also has had wishes relating to writing, reading, and logic. 

Vincent is:

• friendly
• a bookworm
• unlucky
• family-oriented
• a couch potato

He loves salmon, latin music, and the color yellow. His lifetime wish is to raise 5 children from babies to teenagers.

Meet Vincent Donaldson

Vincent grew up in a foster home as one of many children. His foster mother was kind and did her best to provide Vincent with food, clothing and shelter. Vincent liked her well enough, and he couldn't complain. His childhood was fine.

On the other hand, Vincent's foster mom was a very busy woman and much of her attention was diverted to other children who had more complicated issues. Vincent was quiet and helpful, and often went unnoticed in the background. 

Vincent worked and saved enough money to buy a small home in Sunset Valley when he was old enough to leave. His deepest desire in life is to have a family of his very own. A close-knit, loving bunch. He can't wait to get married.

Sunset Valley was a perfect little town, in his mind. Nestled between grand mountains and the beautiful coastline. It was far different from the city he was raised in. 

On his first day in Sunset Valley, Vincent visited the park, and witnessed the most beautiful interaction: an elderly couple enjoying a picnic in the middle of the park. They had even dressed up for the occasion. True, perhaps they were on their first date, but Vincent had a hunch that they were married. 

While out exploring his new neighborhood, Vincent stopped to play chess while in the park. He knows improving his mind is an important endeavor. Honestly, though, he'd prefer to be sitting on the couch at home- he's a bit of a couch potato. But, he's excited about his new town.

Vincent took a job at the local hospital. He didn't really know what he wanted to do, but he likes helping people. He also knows doctors make good money. Money will be important for starting his new family.

He did have another idea, though. See, Vincent loves books. What if he could write them as well as read them? In his time off, he headed down to the library to borrow their computer to work on his writing skills.

A Sims 3 Experiment

For the last several months (maybe even longer), I've had a hard time completing Sims challenges that I start. Yes, I know I've never been good at seeing the challenges through, but I feel I used to be much better at carrying them on for a decent amount of time. I've also tried playing without a challenge or a goal of blogging, but that doesn't work either.

I has assumed it was because of my mood. For the past year or so, I've struggled to keep my spirits high as some life challenges (not the fun kind) were presented to us. We navigated a lot of them, and while they aren't all gone, we have more resources (both time and financial) to tackle the rest. My spirits have been on the rise. However, I find myself unmotivated to play the Sims 4.

I really want to play the Sims. It is, afterall, my favorite game of all time. However, I seem to be on this cycle of: being super excited about a new challenge, planning/dreaming about it, finally getting the time to play, and then not being able to commit for very long and stopping play altogether.

Then, I had an epiphany. As someone who has championed the Sims 4 from the start when confronted with the naysayers, it hadn't occurred to me that I might be trying to play the wrong version. I had firmly believed that the lack of content was because it was a base game and that I had felt exactly the same when the Sims 3 came out. The Sims 4 has been fine...it is a good game. It runs 10 times better than the Sims 3. The emotions are interesting. It's smoother. Lots are filled with more Sims. But something is missing...or maybe several somethings. My passion and enthusiasm for my favorite game of all time doesn't carryover to the Sims 4.

The realization of my problem came in two steps...first, the next expansion for the Sims 4 was leaked. City Life....meh. I'm sure it'll be GOOD just like Get to Work and Get Together were GOOD...but I'm a family player. My favorite expansions were Generations, Seasons, University and Pets. I want to play a realistic life story...I do not care about wealth, clothing, stardom, or parties. The current expansions would be fine if we had some of the other things the game is lacking. But they are continually producing content that I'm just sort of excited by. In the Sims 3, I was obsessing over some expansions. Also, toddlers are the cutest thing in any version of the Sims.

Next, I watched this video from the Lazy Gamer, which describes my feelings almost exactly.

After that, I started wondering if The Sims 4 is my problem. I headed over to the Sims 3 forums only to find a super active community with other simmers who had the same experience I did. They are all loving the Sims 3 again. I also found out the the Sims 3 store is still open.

So...tonight I'm going to be installing the Sims 3. I'm going to start with just the base game. At the suggestion of some other Simmers, I'm going to make a release schedule for myself with the additional content. That way I will have a constant trickle of new and interesting content, while not being overwhelmed (by content, loading time, or download/install time).

Of course, I will be blogging this experiment. And I'm certain I'm not done with the Sims 4. Who knows how long this will last, and if I still have any readers left, LOL.

I recall with great fondness Dumpster Dan and Brady the Mooch....I long for a revival of those good ole days.

Edward Gracey Meets the Neighbors

If you have not read Edward Gracey before I suggest starting here. 

I tried. I put forth a dragon-sized effort to befriend the local peoples of this land that is apparently where I live but is not my real home. I inquired as to their favorite form of local entertainment, and made quips about Mac n' Cheese. Nothing pleases these people.

Sometimes they were polite, or even nice, but I had the sinking feeling they were just humoring me. "Good lad", pat on the back, "Run along home then," is what it felt like they were saying. 

One red-haired creature began doing some form of exercise right on the sidewalk while we were having a conversation. And what on this holy earth was she wearing? Pajamas? A Swim suit? Surely not something to be worn outside.

This place is strange. Tonight I shall play the piano to console myself.

---

In addition to being gloomy, Edward is also self-assured and materialistic. 

The Appearance of Edward Gracey

I'm uncertain as to where I originated from, but I'm inclined to think that it was not from here. As of this moment, I am only aware of today. My first memory is showing up on the doorstep of this home. A home that is mine, apparently. I know this for certain, though I have no idea why I know this. I know many things, in fact. My name is Edward Gracey and that I am a musician by trade, for instance. I knew the recipe for fish tacos, which is unfortunate since I apparently have not mastered the actual cooking of them.

However, I don't have any memories until today. I don't know where I'm from, and I don't know anyone. I'm a complete stranger in this land. I feel totally out of place. 

I am an artist...I play music. I enjoy paintings, sophisticated food and beautiful architecture. My home should have paintings, a fireplace and overstuffed chairs. This does not look like any home of mine Alas, I have no money. It is going to take quite sometime to remedy this situation. I'll need to settle for these simplistic furnishings and the appalling foodstuffs in my fridge.

Hah...I do not believe my misfortune. I have boxes upon boxes of this stuff called "Mac n' Cheese". Ghastly.

Sigh. I'm becoming quite lonely, if I'm honest with myself. I think I'm going to need to introduce myself to some of the inhabitants around here. A few of them came to the door this morning, but I ignored it. I needed to express the hollowness of my existence with my violin. I hope they did not take offense at this. I just couldn't deal with anything more in that moment.

---

Edward was created as the founder of my Completion Challenge. His traits consist of one that I chose (gloomy) and two randomly generated traits. His aspiration was selected by me, and I created his appearance. The idea for Edward came from a very particular things that I love, which will not be obvious to very many. You are welcome to guess (I know some of you will get it; and future happenings may give you more clues).

The Return of the Completion Challenge

Dumpster Dan from on of my Sims 3 challenges.

One of my favorite challenges for the Sims 3 I didn't discover until close to the end of my time with the Sims 3. I found the Completion Challenge by Robin in the Sims 3 Challenges group on Yahoo!. The Sims 3 had a LOT of content and I was overwhelmed by it. My normal play-style doesn't often let me explore all the content (as my Sims are often poor). The Completion Challenge provided clear goals for investigating all the random things that expansion packs and stuff packs added.

A couple weeks ago, I found myself in a similar place with the Sims 4...too much content, not enough time. The Sims 4, in addition to the base game, has two expansions, three game packs, and EIGHT stuff packs. Here's a very small fraction of the things in the game I have yet to do:

• Visit an alien planet
• Reach the top of ANY career
• Be a scientist
• Own a retail establishment
• Own a restaurant
• Use the DJ Skill
• Use the Dance Skill
• Use the Herbalism Skill
• Explore the spa treatments or wellness skill
• Make ice cream
• Carve pumpkins
• Make popcorn
• Use the Wishing Well
• Have a puppet show
• Play with Voidcritters
• Use the water slides
• Have a bird feeder

And the list goes on and on. So...I searched for a Sims 4 Completion Challenge...none existed. I searched for a similar one...nope...asked on the forums for a similar one...nope. Finally, I contacted the creator of the Sims 3 version, Robin. She said the Sims 4 one did not yet exist, but that I was welcome to make my own. She even volunteered to help a bit (she's been busy with a new set of (real life) twins). 

Sims 4 Players...if there is anything you'd like to see incorporated into the challenge, please leave a note in the comments. I will definitely do all the standard stuff (every aspiration, all the ghosts, all the careers, etc...) but if you have anything in mind that I might not think of...particularly small details (like different places to Woohoo!), I'm interested in hearing your ideas!

The Bowling Legacy: Episode 14

For episodes 1 through 12 of Martin Bowling, go here. For episode 13, go here.

Here's a quick refresher: Martin Bowling is the founder of my current legacy challenge. We were following his life and the creation of his social club- the Martineers, who eat cake, dance, play games and be nice to others. Martin married someone unexpected. Together, they had children. Their life, thanks to a low combined income and many mouths to feed, was challenging and didn't turn out the way they had planned. Still, they had a happy family. In our last episode, Martin passes away.

Isaac tried to be sociable, like his older brother, Benjamin. But, it was difficult work being in the cool kids club.

The cool kids just sort of hung out...talking, watching TV, playing on their phones, making fund of adults, etc...

Isaac definitely wasn't as happy as his twin sister, Raelyn.

While Isaac tried to fit in with his peers, Raelyn spent time by herself in her room reading, or outside fishing with her friends- many of whom were adults.

The Bowling family was treated with a surprise visit from a special guest...Martin's ghost!

Jade was a bit nervous at first, but as soon as they started chatting, Jade felt so much better.

She invited Martin inside and they had a great time hanging out. Just like old times! Martin couldn't stay long, but promised he'd be back again.

Raelyn likes to spend her time with the Garden Gnomes club. She particularly enjoys fishing.

The next Martin appearance was at a dance party Benjamin was hosting.

Dance party? One of Martin's favorite activities! He made sure to bring along some of his ghostly friends!

Benjamin didn't mind the extra guests...they made the party more exciting! Benjamin was glad his guests were having a good time. Throwing amazing parties is one of Benjamin's life goals.

But then he saw her...

....and was totally distracted from the rest of his guests. Who was this angel?

Refresher: Bachelor Challenge 4.3

Whew...it's been a long time since I've been able to the play the Bachelor Challenge. I'm all caught up in posting, finally, and this new site has solved my storage problem. I've really been in a Sims mood. Which is fantastic since I seem to only be able to play the Sims when I'm happy. There's finally a light at the end of the tunnel, and things are beginning to change for the better. Hopefully, this summer is filled with more Sims postings. :)

Anyway, as I sat down to play Bachelor 4.3, I realized I had NO idea what was going on in that challenge. I figured if I can't remember, neither can you, so before I begin playing again...let's do a quick refresher post!

Our quest was to find the perfect match for this guy....Dalton Montgomery. He loves guitars, gardening, sports, and learning new things.

Karissa made the best first impression.

Dalton: “All of these women are gorgeous and amazing. I’m excited to learn more about all of them. I’m very hopeful that my future wife is in this house. However, the woman who impressed me the most tonight and who I definitely want to see make it to the next round is Karissa. I definitely felt the chemistry between us, and I really want to explore that relationship further.”

Dalton overshared during his first one-on-one date, which was with Simone.

We were a little surprised that he sent the unique and interesting Ansuya home.

We learned that Dalton only eats grilled cheese when it's raining during a quick one-on-one that Sabrina earned after the workout challenge.

Dalton took Sabrina on the next one-on-one date, and then there was a costume party.

Raven was the next one to be sent home.

Penelope embarrassed herself a second time by trying to make a romantic move on the Bachelor before he was ready- but he did seem to appreciate her efforts.

Erica excelled in the gardening challenge earning her some one-on-one time with the Bachelor.

Karissa continued to be the leader player when she landed the first kiss from the Bachelor on their one-on-one.

The next party was a weenie roast where they chatted around a campfire.

Dalton said goodbye to Simone- they didn't have enough in common, and the chemistry just wasn't there.

Four potential partners for Dalton remain- Sabrina, Erica, Penelope and Karissa. In the current round, they had gone to bluffs for a swim. Karissa was a bit mopey that she had to share Dalton with three others.

Up Next: A one-on-one date at a bar, and a black & white dinner party.

Martin Bowling: Episode 13

I've moved! All of my future Sims posts will be at crazycatnerd.com. I'll also be importing over some of my older blog posts as well (mostly those related to the challenges I'm continuing here).

As someone suggested on my blog, I've decreased the quality of the screenshots- let me know what you think. I think maybe I want to go a bit bigger as the text seems difficult to read.

Here's a quick refresher: Martin Bowling is the founder of my current legacy challenge. We were following his life and the creation of his social club- the Martineers, who eat cake, dance, play games and be nice to others. 

Martin married someone unexpected. Together, they had children. Their life, thanks to a low combined income and many mouths to feed, was challenging and didn't turn out the way they had planned. Still, they had a happy family. 

In our last post, the kids were getting older and starting to pursue their own interests- Raelyn is interested in outdoor activities and Benjamin in throwing fantastic parties. Martin had to fix a toilet and was wondering if there would ever be enough money for them to hire a plumber.

Martin's children remain average students. They do their best, but their lives are busy. The lower quality of their home means it takes more to improve all their needs.

Jade had worked very hard to get promoted to assistant manager, but it finally happened.

Oh no...looks like the Bowling family will need to purchase a new stove soon. It never ends!

Martin wasn't feeling well and came home in the middle of the day...and then the moment we knew was coming finally arrived...

Martin passed away on the sidewalk outside of his home with a housekeeper and neighbor watching.

It was too soon. He didn't achieve his life goals. Hopefully his children will have the opportunities poor Martin never had.

The Grim Reaper stayed to catch a show on TV.

The entire family was devastated. Martin was buried in the backyard so the family can visit him often. 

Everyone is very sad, but at least they have each other for support.