Wednesday 10 November 2010

Jewel box

Round 29: January 2030 (Summer)
Tate Benton is 60, Zelda is 55 and Josie is 28.
(Troy is 27, Jack and Charlie are both 18 and Camilla is 17)

Narrated by Zelda Benton

Tate and I currently have Josie living back at home with us. We're holding the wedding here and Patience and Claudia both moved out of the house they shared together, so it just seemed to make sense.

She's sleeping Jack's old room and has done her share of complaining about the decor in there. But really, she's only going to be here for another few weeks.

Once she and Troy get married, they'll go on their honeymoon and then move into their own place.

That will be a lot easier for them now that Josie's agreed to accept the help we've offered them. Tate and I have more money than we need and if we can help the kids out in that way, we want to.

Josie can be very independent though and was set on saving their own money for a house and anything else they wanted.

I think Troy had something to do with Josie changing her mind. I have a feeling he'll want to start a family pretty quickly and he knows Josie won't, unless she feels like they're financially secure.


And she secretly loves that arcade machine Jack has in there anyway.

It might as well get some use, seeing Jack isn't around to play it right now. He moved into the dorm about a week ago and is having a great time on campus.

Charlie is liking the dorms a lot too so far, but he hasn't been spending as much time there as Jack.

We've seen almost as much of Charlie over the past week as we did when he was living at home.

Charlie has obligations here at home that Jack doesn't have to worry about.

I wasn't sure what would happen with Camilla once Charlie went off to college but so far, he's been very good about coming home and being there for her.

Charlie has also looked into housing for himself, Camilla and the babies.

The university has special accommodation for students with babies and they might even have some new ones ready by the time Camilla is ready to start classes.

Charlie seems very confident that things will work out now that the housing situation is sorted.

I've told him though, there's so much more to raising babies than having adequate housing. Tate and I were thrilled Charlie arrived so soon after we adopted Jack but having two babies at once was so hard. And we weren't 18, completely inexperienced and trying to get through college at the time.

Camilla's not quite as upbeat as Charlie is. She's been asking me a lot of questions about childbirth and babies and all sorts of related matters.


I've told Camilla that Tate and I are available any time she might need a hand. Her parents are being very supportive too but she and Charlie will need all the help they can get.

She was very appreciative of that. I'm really glad I've been able to foster a good relationship with Camilla over the last few months.

Even if she and Charlie don't stay together, those are still my grandchildren she's carrying. I can't think that being friendly with their mother is anything but beneficial for all of us.

Tate thinks Charlie should propose to Camilla. He's got it in his head that now that Camilla is pregnant, getting married is the "right" thing for them to do.

I just couldn't disagree more and I've asked him to please not say anything to Charlie. They're 17 and 18 years old! They've got themselves into an adult situation but they're not really adults.

Tate just wants what's best for Charlie, as I do, but we just have different ideas of what that is right now.

Tate agreed not to put any pressure on Charlie about marriage but he has been at him about choosing a major.

Or to at least start thinking about choosing a major.

Charlie isn't too sure what he'd like to study. All the classes he's signed up for are the general education type.

He says he'll have it sorted out before the start of his second semester.

That's probably a good plan. It will be doubly hard to start a new area of study once he's living with Camilla and two kids. The sooner he gets settled into a major, the better.

Thank God all the planning for Josie's wedding is done. I don't think I could have taken this stress with Charlie and Camilla on top of Josie. She was a bit of a nightmare.

Tate doesn't think she was that bad but what does he know? He was at work for most of it.

I work from home and Josie was working nights then, which meant we were home together all day. So I heard it all.

Every argument with the florist, every delay with the dressmakers, every quibble over prices with make-up artists and hair stylists. And there wasn't much I could do but stand there and listen.

Now that all the wedding stuff is done and Josie's back on a day shift, she can relax a little.

Her friends took her out the other night to celebrate the end of her single days.

Nothing too crazy - just a few drinks. But it's good for Josie to do things like that. She gets too wound up about things sometimes.

Without Josie at home during the day, I've even been able to get back to my writing. Getting some uninterrupted time to myself has been fantastic.

My latest book has been my best-selling novel yet and I'm so happy. I've been working at this for a long time and felt like I was stagnating a bit but I finally feel like I'm moving up in the world.

If only that was the end to all this stress! Tate and I are really looking forward to the wedding but Camilla will give birth about a month later, so we're going to be run off our feet for the foreseeable future.

Extras:


(click to enlarge)
This really was Zelda's best-selling novel ever! I've never hit the 4000s before, with any of my Sims. I'm planning on getting Xavier (he's a Film & Lit Sim) started with novels in his teens and see what kind of money he's making by the time he's Zelda's age.

A now rather outdated family portrait! Tate, Jack and Charlie are all older now and I suppose it'll soon be even more outdated, with the twins' imminent arrival! I took this way before Camilla even got pregnant.

Notes:
  • Title is from Jewel Box by Jeff Buckley.
  • First of all, I'm having terrible trouble spelling today, for some reason. I was making typos with every other word. I ran a spell check but I might have missed some, so apologies in advance, if necessary!
  • Tate's reaction to Charlie's situation is based on the fact that as soon as Tate aged to elder, he wanted to see a relative get engaged. Josie is already engaged, so I'm interpreting that as Tate wanting to make sure his son does the "right" thing. I've always thought of Tate as more conservative than Zelda (and more conservative than his brother), so it was interesting to me that Zelda didn't roll any kind of want like that. Later on in the session, Tate also rolled the want for a relative to get married. That will be satisfied when Josie gets married but I have the engagement one locked too. Eventually, either Charlie or Jack will get engaged to someone, so I might as well get the points for it. ;)
  • Zelda wanted to be friends with Camilla (and vice versa), which was sweet. Everyone seems to be looking out for her.
  • Charlie's wants panel is filled with wants for Camilla, so he does seem quite committed to her. He's a little naive (I'm loving this traits thing - totally added that one for Charlie after I finished this session!) but once the babies come, he might be in for a reality check. But more on Charlie in the college update!
  • I decided to let Josie take some of her folks' money for a few reasons. A) It seems realistic to me that wealthy parents would have money put away for their children, B) Tate and Zelda have waaaaay too much money and C) dammit, I feel like decorating a house without worrying too much about the budget! I'll probably reserve this kind of set up for my super-rich families and will probably work out some kind of wealth distribution system. But I'm a bit lazy for that right now, so I'll probably just give Troy and Josie $100,000 or so.

17 comments:

  1. Wow, I wish my family could give me $100,000 or so :P

    I can't wait! The wedding and then the babies, so exciting.

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  2. Apple Valley, Tate and Zelda have $1.7 million, so $100,000 is a mere drop in the ocean to them. It'll be a huge help for Josie and Troy though.

    I'm very excited about the wedding too. I'm in the middle of a play session with Rose and Joanna now but the next session after that is the wedding! Crazy!

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  3. Camilla is huge! I would be off my feet every moment of the day. Good for Charlie on not shirking his responsibilities, college can be distracting.

    Congrats to Zelda on making the big bucks!

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  4. Oh, I didn't know you added traits!!! Now I'm gonna have to make my way through all of their profiles and see what you gave them, lol! I love the ones I've read for this family so far - all very appropriate!

    It's adorable that Charlie is being so responsible with Camilla. I wish them a lot of luck! I'm anxious to see how they'll both feel after the babies are here, and after she starts college too. They've got a lot on their plates!

    Oh wow, lucky for Josie and Troy! Though I can't really disagree, since both of my Riley girls got a good $50,000 or so to put down on their houses, lol! It does make sense that they'd get some help from their parents.

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  5. CHa-Ching! LOL Josie is in da money. But it does make sense, and I'm glad she's finally taking her parents help. I so cannot wait for the wedding!!!

    Charlie, I'm loving him. I just hope he doesn't get cold feet once the twins are born!

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  6. The Juarez family in Laurel Crossing is very wealthy as well, which is why as soon as they hit childhood a trust fund is opened in their name (child because they have access to online banking on monique's computer). I'm sure by the time they reach 21, their money will be doubled or even tripled.

    Try getting your wealthy families to donate to the university (or to the local school system) to help get rid of the money and have the new dorm named after them.

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  7. I can't believe it's *almost* finally here!! The wedding in the making for ... how many years? A lot! I'm excited for the wedding, and the babies, and to see what house they get. I'm glad that they are getting some money from her parents, makes sense to me.

    I'll miss the glory days of Patience, Claudia, and Josie in their little house in the middle of the sticks. They were a good group. I really liked their going out she-bang, they are all getting so old.

    Charlie is such a sweet kid, and how great that Zelda and Camilla rolled to become friends. I hope things keep going good for these two, and so relieved they don't have any of the troubles Victoria did, cause C & C will need all the help they can get.

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  8. Heredon Cove, ha, I know, right? I'd be putting my feet up for sure. Unfortunately, Camilla is trying to finish her last year of high school so she doesn't have the option to laze around too much.

    Laura, yeah, I haven't added them to everybody but when I think of them as I'm playing/writing, I'll add them in. I've had some of them in LSB for months and am only just getting around to adding them in.

    Charlie is a good kid. I hope he stays on the track he's on right now once the babies come. They'll be much more work than he's anticipating.

    Ah, I think I remember you saying something about your Riley girls and their $50,000! But yes, it didn't make sense to have my rich kids struggle as much as the my kids from poorer families. It's not really the way it works in real life either.

    Riverdale, LOL, yeah, she totally is! I might get Kendal to throw $20,000 or so their way as well - Kendal and Lake are also loaded!

    Oooh, I hope not either! Charlie's stuck around this long though and not all boys would. Especially after learning about twins!

    Laurel Crossing, yeah, I had a trust fund system figured out at one time but ended up abandoning it before I actually paid it out to anybody!

    Donations are an idea to think about as well. I've only done that as part of an ROS before, and it was to an individual, instead of a community project.

    Maisie, LOL, yeah, I think Troy and Josie got engaged about two years before Nick and Sarah and they've been engaged a year now! So yes...this has been a LONG time coming!

    I loved playing those girls in their little house. I think they were probably my favourite roommate group so far. LOL, don't say they're getting old - Claudia's my age!

    Camilla and Charlie have been really lucky with the support they've received from both sets of parents. If their luck continues, they might adapt fairly well to parenthood but I guess that remains to be seen.

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  9. I'm so looking forward to those babies, and the wedding, and the honeymoon, and I'm dying to see where Josie and Troy will live.

    I'm with Zelda on the whole propose-thing! I don't think it would do Charlie and Camilla any getting getting engaged this young, they still have to figure things out, before they can do this!

    I love the whole traits thing. I don't think I will introduce it in SimsVille soon, but some of my sims already have some trait, but that's in my mind, and kind of makes their character.

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  10. Aww I really like the family shot at the beginning. Tate looks so cute. I'm excited for the wedding! It's so close :). Glad that Josie finally gave in to taking her parents money. If I were Tate and Zelda and she wouldn't take the money, I would have just deposited it into their account and see how long it would take them to notice it LOL. But that's a VERY generous wedding gift.

    I'm so glad Charlie is going to be there for Camilla and their babies. She looks so cute pregnant. I can't wait to see what the babies look like. Camilla's very lucky that she has so many people around her to support her.

    Very cool that you're doing traits. I'll have to remember to pop into profiles once in a while to see who has what traits. I have some written down for a few of mine but I'm going to wait awhile before posting them.

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  11. I'm glad Charlie's there for Camilla and that both families are supporting her. They're gonna need all help they can get to make it work.

    Congratulations to Zelda for writing such a successful novel. None of my sims have ever gotten so much money for one novel.

    I love the traits! I'm gonna check out the profiles to see what traits you've assigned to your sims. I've been thinking about adding them too but that'll have to wait until I've cleared out some of my to-do list.

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  12. Can't wait for the wedding, you throw the best ones! Wow on Zelda getting that much for her novel. Kimber Henderson is my only author and the most she's gotten so far is about $2500. I hope Charlie continues to be there for Camilla. And it's cute that everyone seems to be behind them.

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  13. Tanja, it's crazy, I'm doing the wedding as soon as I get home this afternoon! I've had all the details picked out for so long and it feels like it's taken forever to get here.

    I also agree with Zelda. Charlie and Camilla don't need to be thinking about marriage right now! As long as Tate keeps that to himself, as Zelda has advised, then Camilla and Charlie can just get on with what they need to do.

    I had some of the traits in my mind for a long time but I finally decided to type them into LSB and now onto the blog. It helps me remember things if I have them typed out.

    Danielle, I love that picture too. That "embarrassed smile" overlay is adorable.

    Ha, my mum probably would have done that! She's done it with smaller amounts that I've told her she doesn't have to pay back - just slipped it into my handbag when I wasn't looking! $100,000 is a very generous gift but they could give her $500,000 and still never have to work again. ;)

    Camilla has been very lucky so far. Getting pregnant when she did was probably a good thing seeing that means she'll have the babies at home with her parents for a while. It might let her get into the swing of things before she gets out on her own.

    I seem to be thinking of at least a couple of traits for one Sim or another every day! I'm not sure when I'll be done but most Sims have at least one up now.

    Sari, Charlie and Camilla have been really lucky that both of their families took the pregnancy as well as they could expect. It's going to make a big difference, I'm sure.

    This was definitely the first time I've got that much for a novel! I wasn't even sure that you could get that much!

    LOL, that ever-growing to-do list! Mine is so long!

    Mizzgin03, aw, thank you!

    Zelda's written probably at least 10 novels by now, so it's about time she started getting some good money for them!

    I have my fingers crossed for Charlie and Camilla. I think he is genuine, but I'll say more about that in Charlie's uni update this round. :)

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  14. I've been thinking about distributing some of the money from my wealthier sims, too... I've been paying a bit of attention to the bank balances because I've had to hack them back to what they were, in my new hood, and its like, how did they get THAT much?! :) It does make sense that the kids of wealthier sims would have a bit of financial help from their parents.

    Charlie is sweet - I hope things work out for them.

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  15. Blackcat, I hope so too. I had Camilla at Josie and Troy's wedding yesterday and Charlie wouldn't leave her alone!

    I was hoping when I moved Josie and Troy out of the Benton house that they might throw me a bone and take a reasonable amount with them. But no, they took over $700,000! I had to fix that up once I moved them into their own place.

    But if I lost my hood, I'd honestly have no clue how much money most of my Sims have! I should probably start keeping my tax notes. I often scrap them once I'm done.

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  16. Awww, Charlie! It's so nice to see him being so committed. It'd be easy for him to just forget her and only roll wants for term papers and homework, lol.

    And Josie, ha! Poor Zelda. Planning a large wedding can only be stressful!

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  17. Lunar, very true! Although, I hope he rolls the occasional want for a term paper because I wouldn't mind him actually finishing college! He's Pleasure/Family, so I don't know what my chances are there. ;)

    From experience (as a bridesmaid, not a bride), large weddings are a huge pain in the ass! I'm amazed more people don't elope under all that stress.

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