Tuesday 16 August 2011

You are a light

Round 31: October 2034 (Spring)
last update/next update

Tate Benton is 64 and Zelda is 59.
(Josie is 32, Troy is 31, Charlie, Jack and Audrey are all 22, Grace and Everett are both 4 and Jude is 2)

Narrated by Tate Benton
This year, the Grub Hub climbed another business ranking and finally reached Level 7.

It's about time! I know I'm a little biased but I really do think we serve some of the best food in town. I was glad to get that recognition from the critics.

Fortunately, there were no critics around the day one of my waitresses dumped a bowl of salad onto a customer's head. I don't know if we would have been so lauded then.

Not long after that, she decided waiting tables wasn't for her and I hired someone new. She's working out well so far - very enthusiastic.

I'm very proud of this place. It was such a dump when I bought it originally and I'm sure people thought I was crazy. When I bought it, Josie was only 10, we were in the process of adopting Jack and we didn't even know Zelda was pregnant with Charlie. Now all three of our kids are finished with college and out in the workforce.

Eventually, Jack will take over the restaurant. I'm dreading that day, because I really do love it. But there's bound to come a day when I just can't manage it any more.

I know it will be in good hands with Jack, at least.
Right now, Jack has his hands full with his new job. I guess it's not exactly new any more, seeing he's been there all year but they're piling a lot of work on him right now.

He's still the new guy, so any jobs no one else wants to do tend to fall to him.

It's made it hard for Jack and Audrey to see each other during the week, so when we have our family get-togethers on the weekend, she's usually comes along too.

But then, Audrey visiting has never been an unusual occurrence here. We've known her since she was 8 or 9 and have liked her for just as long. She's always welcome in our home.

Charlie is working for the fire service. It's not anything I pictured him doing but I'm just happy he's doing something stable and that he's enjoying it.

I haven't yet heard any talk about becoming a magician or whatever it was that Charlie had in mind a couple of years ago.

He's got Grace and Everett to think about now and that means he has to put them first.

I was once very worried about Charlie, back when the twins were born. But Charlie has matured a lot and I'm very proud of him. He and Camilla have done such a great job with Everett and Grace. They're wonderful kids.

It's unbelievable looking at Everett. Sometimes I could swear I was looking at Charlie.

And Grace is just a total sweetheart.

We have a special bond, because she's the only one in the family who is truly interesting in listening to me talk about food all day.

Not that I'm playing favourites! I love all my grandkids equally.

Jude is just getting to an age where we can see what kind of person he's going to turn out to be and Zelda and I are having lots of fun with that.

It's been so nice having little children around again. We both missed that stage, once Jack and Charlie started school.

Or maybe we're just forgetting the not-so-enjoyable parts of toddlerhood.

I hope those not-so-enjoyable things aren't enough to convince Josie to stop at one child. I know Josie enjoys motherhood in general but she hated being pregnant and she hated maternity leave.

Troy is pretty keen on another one, so I'm hoping that means we might have another grandkid on the way soon.

I'm certainly not going to start hinting! Josie and I get along very well but she doesn't take kindly to anything that could be construed as nagging! I'm just going to be patient.

I was very keen for us to move house a few years ago but Zelda managed to convince me that we should stay.

I started to see what she meant about all this space being good for our grandchildren. We installed a sandpit in the yard and Grace, Everett and Jude all love it.

We also put in some play equipment. Jude is too young for it right now but if Grace and Everett's reaction is anything to go by, he'll get a real kick out of it when he's older.

So we're staying put and Zelda is thrilled about it.

I wasn't quite as thrilled, until Zelda suggested we compromise and do some redecorating. We've hardly bought any new furniture at all in the roughly 20 years we've lived here.

It's not like we've never had the money for it. We just kept ourselves busy with so many other things that we never bothered.

We've done a couple of rooms so far, so it's only the beginning. It's coming along really nicely.

It only seems fitting that we change our surroundings a little now that all our children are out of the house. I can't wait until it's all done.

Extras: Just some other angles of Tate and Zelda's new bedroom. I really love it. :)


Notes:
  • Title is from You Are A Light by Pavement.
  • I know not everyone follows my Pinterest but I wanted to draw your attention to this awesome Variable Servings Mod. I had 10 Sims to feed (not including Jude) at the barbecue and Tate only had to cook once, because of this mod. I think it allows for cooking between 2 and 20 servings. It's a fantastic hack.
  • I still like Tate and Zelda's house a lot as it is but I'm getting a little tired of it. Plus, it was decorated before I assigned favourite colours and styles to my Sims, so I don't see it as very Tate-and-Zelda, if that makes any sense. It should be totally made over next time you see them. They have well over a million dollars, so I might as well use it for something.

20 comments:

  1. I wish I had the patience for redecorating. When i do something, I usually get too lazy to change it. Besides, I'll need to download furniture; my game already takes 20 minutes to load from splash screen to lot, and I don't want to bog it down anymore. Although I love what you did with their bedroom.
    You did a good job with the empty-nesters. I remember back in the beginning when they were driving you crazy. :)

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  2. Fini, thanks! My game takes way longer than 20 minutes to load - closer to an hour! I'd rather have a ton of downloads than a short load time but that's just me.

    I still struggle a little with the empty nesters (though I'm struggling more with my next update than I did with this one) but I'm getting better with them. Glad you enjoyed Tate and Zelda's update. :)

    Thanks for reading!

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  3. I enjoyed the update. And looking back at when Josie was 10. Talk about a blast from the past! lol It's really been a long time.

    I love that food serving mod. I've been using it a lot in my houses. I've linked to it too on my Pinterest account as well.

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  4. I love their new decor! Their bedroom looks great. I'm glad the Grub Hub is doing so well. He really has fixed it up nicely over the years. I can imagine it would be hard for him to let it go one day since he put so much work into it.

    I love the picture of Josie holding her nose, lol. A very fitting Josie reaction to those parts of motherhood. ;)

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  5. Love the update and thanks for the review of the VMS mod.

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  6. I'm glad Tate's restaurant is going so well. I really liked the "flash-back" and seeing the place when he started it!
    I can imagine it being hard on Tate having to hand the place over one day, but at least it will stay in the family, and who knows, maybe that day is still far away :)

    I like that you're redecorating their house, and I raelly can't wait to see more of it! I love the bedroom and bathroo so far :)

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  7. Riverdale, Josie was such a cute little kid. Even that long ago though, her personality was just about fully formed!

    That food serving mod is what I've been waiting for for years. Can't believe it took this long for someone to do it!

    Thanks for reading!

    Shana, I'm already so much happier with this house, even though I'm not even half done. And I always have more fun playing my Sims if I'm happy with their houses. I actually kind of want to fix up the Grub Hub as well. But I'll see how I feel next time.

    I almost used a different shot of Josie and Jude but that one just made me giggle!

    Thanks for reading!

    Apple Valley, you're welcome! Thanks for reading!

    Tanja, the Grub Hub was kind of a dump and I actually just noticed this round that I still had a few "dumpy" decor objects round the side! I never did do up the exterior. ;) Maybe Jack can do it when he takes over.

    I'm hoping to have the whole house done by next round. I'm happy with it so far too. :)

    Thanks for reading!

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  8. The makeover is looking great, I'm glad they are staying in their home. It has so much space for all the grandkids and holiday parties. The Grub Hub is looking great, geez I remember when he bought that place, look how young all the kids were. I'm glad it's going well for him, and that Jack will take it over eventually.

    Grace and Everett are super cute, and aww Jude with his stinkiness, and Josie kinda freaking out about it. I can see Josie just having one kid, she really didn't like the pregnancy aspect, and it might be a hard sale for a next one.

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  9. Aw, it was so nice to link back to the first beginning of the restaurant! It's totally fair that the restaurant works so well nowadays.
    You're right, Tate and Zelda's bedroom is lovely!
    And how cute to see the grand-kids! :)))) I'm totally in awe with Everett!

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  10. Maisie, yeah, I really like playing this house, so I'm happy for Tate and Zelda to stay put for a while yet. A makeover always revitalises my interest in a lot.

    True, Josie was no fan of being pregnant! We'll see if Troy can convince her. ;) My other aspirations don't seem to roll the want for a baby, so I just have to imagine whether another kid is something they'd go for. I have to admit, when I have a Family Sim who wants a second and the other Sim doesn't, the Family Sim usually wins out!

    Thanks for reading!

    Sandy, Tate worked hard on that place (though I think it needs some touching up!), so its success is definitely well-deserved.

    Aw, Everett...yes, he's a cutie! There's some strong genes in this family. Everett looks very much like Charlie and Charlie looks very much like Josie and Tate! Grace is more of a mix, but also adorable.

    Thanks for reading!

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  11. I can't believe how fast this family's grown up! I suppose all the families have, but I remember Josie being this trouble-making kid! Heck, I remember when Tate was a kid!

    Anyway, I'm glad to see that the whole family's stable in their lives. And I can't wait to see the new makeover! I've just finished assigning favorite colors to my sims; I'm redecorating all their homes right now to fit them.

    How many times do I have to say that Grace and Everett are the cutest little simmies alive!?

    Anyway, great update! :)

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  12. coolkat2, geez, I barely remember when Tate was a kid - you're good! I remember what he looked like but approximately nothing that happened to his family! I think Marcus Lane is looking to take over Josie's title as Sullivan's chief head-kicker, based on the last time I played with him. ;)

    I'll probably keep making over this house bit by bit. Sometimes when I don't have time to really play, I still want to play a bit and that's when I tend to decorate. It should be done by next time we see this family, I imagine.

    Thanks for reading!

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  13. I love the new decor. It makes their house look all new so it's like they've moved even though they haven't.

    Tate's restaurant looks amazing. No wonder he dreads giving it up but he's still quite young so hopefully it'll be a few years before Jack takes over.

    All the kids are so cute. You know I'm such a sucker for family reunions so I'm always happy to see everyone enjoying their free time together.

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  14. Sari, that's the theory I'm working on! A change is as good as a holiday (or a move, in this case!)

    Yeah, I think it will be a good few years before Jack takes over. Tate is still pretty active and Jack is still establishing himself in his own career. I don't think Jack will take quite as involved a role as Tate has though.

    I love a family reunion too, especially when there are so many cute kids around. Awww!

    Thanks for reading!

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  15. I'm glad the Grub Hub is doing so well. Man, they've had it for a long time and it was cool looking at pics of Josie when she was a child again. It seemed like ages ago! I love how Tate, Charlie and Everett all look the same. It's great that those features aren't disappearing. I really enjoy seeing all the kids and grandkids together. Everytime I see yours and other bloggers mini family reunions, I wish I could just push the fast forward button on my hood so I can enjoy those times in my own game, too. Well, pushing fast forward wouldn't really help because what I really need is actual time to play lol.

    I really love their new bedroom and bathroom and a great idea to change up their surroundings without actually moving them to a new place. Hopefully the makeover will make it more enjoyable to look at and play. I have a bunch of households that need the same thing but not all of them have the money.

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  16. Danielle, memory lane, huh? I remember Josie pulling that unimpressed face when the car pulled up and I thought "yeah, I know!" But it was such a Josie thing to do!

    And LOL, yes, I love the strong genes in this family. Tate's eyes are from his dad and the rest came from his mother, so it's interesting that basically his exact look is being passed on the way it is. I don't know if that makes any sense at all.

    Family reunions are fun but they are definitely more fun for me now that I'm playing more slowly (as opposed to when I was pumping out three updates a day at the beginning of this thing). You get to know your Sims more, you get to think more about their actions and relationships - the waiting is worth it. :) What you need is to be able to pause real life. No work, no family responsibilities - just some uninterrupted Simming time!

    Yeah, some of my other households could do with a makeover too but none of them have nearly as much money as Tate and Zelda. I can just go nuts with this house and they'll still be loaded. There's no way I could spend all their money.

    Thanks for reading!

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  17. You make me realize that one of the things I never did in TS2 was get a business up to level 10!

    Jack will be the perfect owner for the restaurant. And Charlie is so cute with all the kids. Awww!

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  18. Lunar, oh yeah? I have a couple - the diner and the farmer's market. What I've never done though, is get a business to Level 10 with no motives cheats. ;) And I probably will never try!

    Jack will be a good owner, if not as involved as Tate. He'll make sure it's run the way Tate would want. I love Charlie and his kids - he had a shaky start with the whole responsibility thing but you could always tell how much he loved them. It's sweet.

    Thanks for reading!

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  19. Is this the first time we've seen Charlie with shorter hair? He looks so different!

    I love the redecoration! I think it is realistic for some of your Sims to move to smaller dwellings and others to stay in the big family homes when the nest empties, so I like the idea of them staying. :)

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  20. Rachel, I think this is the second time since birthdays that Charlie has appeared with his shorter hair. He had his short hair in the uni update for 2034 as well. :)

    Yeah, that's how I'm trying to decide on who moves and who stays with my empty nesters in the future. Tate and Zelda seem like the types to stay put for a while; I can't imagine a couple like Anna and Emil doing the same thing, so I'm glad I moved them.

    Thanks for reading!

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