Sunday 23 September 2012

Intervention

  


Round 34: October 2039 (Spring)

Rebecca Kirby is 30 and Nathan Collins is 29. 
(Trent is 69, Emil and Megan are 67, Anna is 61, Aaron and Calvin are 36, Dominic and Susannah are 29 and Julia is 28)
Narrated by Rebecca Kirby

When Nathan and I first started house hunting, we considered a bigger places than this one. Occasionally, I wish we had more space.



Like when I realise that we have a barbecue, but not enough space to entertain many people with what we cook on it.


But I think the trade-off is worth it. Nathan and I are both neat freaks and limited space really helps us keep everything tidy.


We’re both a bit strange in that we don’t really mind cleaning. But it’s nice that we don’t have to do too much of it in this house.


It’s the smallest place I’ve ever lived in but it’s totally ours. I love it for that reason alone.


One day, we might want to move. Maybe when we have a family and need more than 1.5 bathrooms. For now though, we’re very happy here.


I don’t expect to ever make too much money in my field, though Nathan could make more than he does now, given a few years. Of course, he’d have to make a move out of family law to do that and right now, he doesn’t want to.


He could earn so much more money if he focused his attentions towards the corporate sector. These corporations always need legal counsel and they can afford to hire the best people too. I really believe Nathan could be getting a piece of that.



Corporate law doesn't really grab his interest at the moment though. He doesn't think he'll consider anything like that for a few years yet.


For now, he loves family law and feels fulfilled doing that.


He’s currently working with Aaron and Calvin Clarke, who I worked with when I was in social work.


This will be their third adoption and the second Nathan has handled for them. At the moment, they’re going through the screening process, looking for suitable birth parents.


When I worked with them, I really couldn’t fault them for anything, even though I was always very thorough with my home studies.


They’re the kind of people who should be parents. Nathan feels like he’s going to find somebody for them soon, which is great.


Nathan also organised Susannah and Sam’s custody arrangement when they split up a few years ago. She didn’t really think it was necessary at the time but Nathan is very persuasive.


She said she’s glad they got everything sorted out now, even if she didn’t see the value of it at first. She’s grateful for her pushy cousin.


I’d be grateful too, if there was a chance of Julia Gray getting her hands on my kid!


Susannah insists that Julia isn’t crazy. She says Zac seems to get along with her and is happy to go visit and that’s good enough for her.


Susannah never dated any of Julia’s exes though, which tends to be when her crazy truly comes out.


But then again, Julia walked past our house the other evening and completely ignored me, so maybe Susannah is onto something.


I still wasn’t pleased to come across her again though. One of my favourite things about moving here was not having to worry about running into Julia every time I walked out of my apartment.


But I have other things to think about these days, much more pleasant than Julia.


Nathan and I have finally set a wedding date, over a year after we got engaged. We’re looking at December 2040.


That felt like a long way away when we first decided but it’s creeping up fast! Especially seeing we still haven’t really planned much.


We’ve nailed down a venue at least. We’ve settled on First Grace Church, right here in Sullivan. It has an attached function hall, so we’ll be at the same place for the ceremony and reception.


We’ve booked it early enough that we had our pick of dates. We’re getting married in early December, before it gets too hot. And we got a great price on it too, which is very welcome.


Dominic has been pretty vocal about recommending it to us, always talking about what a fantastic place it is.


He and Leslie got married there, as well as Chloe and Zane, so we’ve seen it “in action” a couple of times already. It just makes a lot of sense for us.


Nathan’s parents were pleased to hear we’d set a date and that they’d actually been informed of said date!


Nathan’s sister Hope eloped a few months back and Anna especially was very offended by that.


Nathan has promised her that she will most definitely be at our wedding.


Anna is definitely trying and I can see why Hope went ahead and cut her out of the proceedings. Honestly though, we get along pretty well.


If she was my mother, I'd probably feel differently though! I have plenty of experience handling difficult mothers, given I have one of my very own.


As expected, Mum has already started sharing her opinion on everything to do with our wedding.


She is a little upset that Nathan and I aren’t getting married on the farm, like Claudia and Victoria both did.


She’s big on family traditions and she’s also a loudmouth (I had to get it from somewhere!), so I’m not really surprised.


I’ve threatened to run off and elope like Hope and Malcolm did if she gets too pushy though, and that seems to be working.


Nathan would never go for eloping but Mum doesn’t need to know that!


Thank God for Dad! He’s just excited for the wedding, whatever we end up doing.


He’s a welcome counter to Mum, that’s for sure. He’s so laid back about everything.


Almost everything, anyway. He's already very excited about the grandchildren he’s expecting to come after the wedding, which is kind of scary.


Nathan is totally on board with starting a family as soon as we get married but I’m not quite there yet.


It’s a full year away though and I may well feel completely differently about it then. It’s strange to think of myself with a baby in the not too distant future but I’m definitely not ruling it out!

Notes:
  • Title is from Intervention by Arcade Fire.
  • I HATE this new Blogger editor so much. Everything about it is fiddlier than the old editor. As I was writing this, my pictures kept changing justification every time I'd add a line break. I think I fixed them all but I don't know. If this update looks a bit weird, blame Blogger. Blogger is also the reason the pics are so damn big. 
  • Anyway, onto more interesting things! I finally set a wedding date for Rebecca and Nathan! How about that? It'll be this round, but not until the very end. I'll add it to the play schedule when I'm not quite so pissed off at Blogger. ;)
  • Aaron and Calvin's cameo is a hint of things to come. Not in the next update but keep your eyes peeled.
  • Julia walked by on her own, which I found kind of funny. I was expecting her to kick over the trash can or something but she was quite civil. She tried to brag to Rebecca...about being enemies with Jack! This is apparently what she feels is the crowning achievement of her life. Julia, that's probably not going to make Rebecca think you're all there in the head but I'm glad you're still just that little bit nuts.

26 comments:

  1. Yay, finally a wedding date, can't wait to see what they plan. Kudos to them for makin the home work, I have a family of five living there but my simmies are used to small spaces (even so, my version is 2 tiles wider than your version, which makes a big difference )

    ReplyDelete
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    1. I'm quite happy to have another wedding to plan. I haven't had three weddings in one round in quite a while.

      LOL, you're a master with small spaces. I actually think this place will be fine for Rebecca and Nathan unless they have more than two kids. I'm not sure how many they'll have yet!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

      Delete
  2. I know I keep repeating myself, but I just love your pictures! The ones taken at the office look so realistic, you have such talent for decorating and furnishing the rooms where you play, and incorporate what your Sims seem to be "wanting" and "thinking" so well into your stories.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. I'm so glad you enjoy the pics and stories! This office building is probably one of the oldest lots still in my game that I haven't changed too much since the beginning. Eventually, I want to have separate offices for law, office and journalism but for now, I shove them all into this lot. Too many ideas, not enough time!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  3. Can't wait for all these weddings! Hopefully Rebecca and Megan can start to see eye to eye about the wedding. The house looks fantastic! Will we be seeing a tour at all? I love the wallpaper you used. I would be so stuck with that in my game but it looks perfect.
    I am so excited to see more of Aaron and Calvin and hopefully baby number 3 will be with them very shortly!!

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    1. Oh, the chances of Megan and Rebecca seeing eye to eye about anything is fairly slim. It'll just have to be a matter of Megan deciding to let it go, for the sake of peace. ;) She's a little mellower now than she was when Victoria and Claudia were younger.

      I did a lot tour of this house here, though it looked a little different then. I did some colour changes when I moved Rebecca and Nathan in. :)

      I can't say when anything will be happening for Aaron and Calvin but things are moving along. ;)

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

      Delete
  4. I LOVE that picture up in their dining room! (It's plainly visible on the picture of Rebecca smiling on the phone for those who missed it). I think it fits these two so well, though I can't imagine Megan was too impressed by it while she came over.

    Anyways, cheers for another adoption and wedding and all that fun stuff!

    ReplyDelete
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    1. LOL, no, Megan would hate that picture! But Rebecca had it up at her old apartment the whole time she was living there, so Megan would have voiced her disgust, Rebecca would have ignored her and Megan would have had to move on!

      Lots of happy things going on in Sullivan at the moment. :) It's nice.

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  5. I was just thinking about Rebecca and Nathan and when their next udate was going to be, and just like that, I check and it's here! Now to wish for some others...
    I'm glad they've finally set a date for the wedding. Wasn't expecting Anna and Rebecca to get along, but when you don't have too much interaction you're bound to feel differently than if someone was in your face all the time.
    I feel weird thinking about Rebeca as a mom too; I can't get over the fact that she's 30!

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Ha, you must have some kind of Sim ESP!

      I never really expected Anna and Rebecca to get along either but that was all game play. They get along really well. Hopefully that will last after Nathan and Rebecca are actually married!

      I know, I had to double check Rebecca's age, lol! Even though I had no trouble believing Nathan was 29 and I know Rebecca is a year old than him. Still had to check!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  6. Wow, I just realized when I read this update that when it comes to mother-in-laws, Rebecca and Nathan have both hit the jackpot! I'm glad Rebecca was able to get Megan to back off so that she and Nathan can have the wedding they want.

    It was nice to get a little update on Aaron and Calvin's adoption process. I can't wait to see their third child!

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    1. Yes, Anna and Megan are both quite special. Anna seems more interested in meddling with her own kids than with her in-laws, though she's not a grandmother yet. So that might bring out more pushiness!

      I'm so eager to go into to Calvin and Aaron's house and let them make that adoption phone call! But it's not time yet, so I'm waiting. :)

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  7. Another wedding to expect--can't wait!Anna looks too happy when Nathan informed that she would be at wedding.She initially can come across a bit pushy, but I sort of like that she wants to be super involved in her kids wedding, but to a lesser extent, ofcourse.

    It's nice to see them so happy and content, even though neither of them are in very high paying jobs, especially Rebecca.But they seem like a great match.

    Rebecca's facial expression with her mom are priceless.Rebecca looks like she wants to explode,while her mom seems looking at hRebecca like she's being ridiculous, when she only wants to help her daughter plan her wedding.Hopefully, she backs off, though she doesn't have much to worry about with Nathan being against eloping.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Anna is indeed pushy and wants to be in on everything. It's probably not much to ask that a mother be in on her kids' weddings, so hopefully she will be able to step back a bit with Nathan and Rebecca.

      Nathan and Rebecca do okay but they're not earning over $1000 a day like some of my sims are! Though if Nathan gets promoted, he'll get a nice little pay bump with that. I like him in family law for the meantime though, so I've frozen him with the Job Stopinator.

      Megan's relationships with all of her daughters are a bit difficult. There's a lot of genuine love and affection behind it but she just doesn't know when to shut up sometimes. There is literally no danger of Nathan and Rebecca eloping but I think the threat was probably enough for her anyway! ;)

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

      Delete
  8. Yay for a wedding date for these two. I love that Rebecca acknowledges that she's a loudmouth, and that she got it from Megan, LOL.

    I also love that most of your young couples get a starter home, and then graduate up to a larger home (like in real life). I always forget to think of things like that and I just try to get them into a larger house...

    :)

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Rebecca is more self-aware than some of my other sims, Megan included! She's a psychologist, so she'd have some insight into her behaviour, I guess.

      I don't use money cheats and I avoid loans (the interest rates on Monique's computer are so high!), so starter homes are really the way to go for a lot of my sims. Moving them again later on just gives me another house to decorate. :D Which probably isn't quite as appealing to everyone as it is to me!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  9. I love what I've seen from the house! It looks very nice and modern, and it really suits them!

    I can see why Anna is a little bit nervrous about another one of her kids excluding her from their wedding, but I do hope she learned from last time! Rebecca already has her own mother to worry about I don't think she could handle both Anna and Megan trying to 'help' her with planning the wedding.

    I've always loved the view from Nathan's office! With the park and the playground in the background and all those houses!
    Those streets really look amazing! I tryed them once, but I think I did something wrong because they didn't show up on hoodview.

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    1. I'd already decorated this place for N99 and it seemed a shame not to use it. So I just changed the colours and a few of the furnishings to better suit Rebecca and Nathan. And I had to bring Rebecca's paintings from her apartment over. ;)

      Anna has reason to be nervous but ultimately, Nathan couldn't do it to her. So Megan is safe too! Rebecca and Nathan will end up with a pretty normal wedding, in terms of family being there but Rebecca's going to be making sure neither mother intervenes too much. Anna has learnt her lesson, I think, but Megan might still get a little pushy!

      I like Nathan's office view too. When I get around to doing a separate lot for Law, I'm going to have to make sure the view is just as impressive. :) I love the lot views in this game, even if they're not as crisp as TS3.

      You should try the streets again! They've been improved since CuriousB first uploaded them. There are also, if I remember correctly, a few different files for upload and you need to download at least two (one for the hood view and one for the lot view). You may have downloaded the wrong one, or just missed downloading the hood view one.

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  10. Oh Julia.

    I like their new place. That wallpaper is really bold.

    I love that Aaron and Clarke are adopting again. They're such good parents.

    Congrats to Rebecca and Nathan on finally picking their date. I can't wait to see what it looks like.

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    1. That wallpaper is one of those ones I got with a house download and have been dying to use ever since. Nathan likes black and this was a good way to use it without painting the walls solid black (which can be a bit much).

      Aaron and Calvin are great parents! It's going to be a tight squeeze in their house with three kids but they're very happy to be adding to their family. :)

      Ha, me either! I haven't started planning Nathan and Rebecca's wedding yet, because I'm still getting ready for Jack and Audrey's!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  11. May I ask what pose Nathan and Rebecca are using at the beginning?

    I have to laugh at Rebecca saying that a small space is nice because it's easier to keep clean. My husband and I live in a 600 square foot apartment and it's always messy. I guess we don't have ten neat points apiece. :)

    I think your depiction of interfering mothers is spot-on; at any rate, it's giving me flashbacks to my own wedding. Too bad none of our siblings decided to elope so we could use that as a threat. :)

    And lastly, Blogger's new editor is indeed evil. Your post looks good as usual, though.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Well, I'm having crashes right now, so I can't guarantee when I'll be able to go in and check that box for you! I can picture it in my head and I know it has something to do with "model" or "modelling" and that I'd recognise the name when I saw it. But I went through the big list on GOS and it definitely doesn't seem to be on there. :\ So I have no idea. :(

      A small space would probably go much the same for me but like you and your husband, I don't have ten neat points! Rebecca and Nathan would have no compunction about throwing things out, which is probably my biggest problem!

      Nathan and Rebecca have really got the perfect storm going on with their mothers. Most of my couples have two sweet mothers or one interfering and one sweet but Nathan and Rebecca have hit the jackpot with Megan and Anna!

      I've started to avoid this editor entirely and am typing everything up in KompoZer. I may have to look around for something else though, because it is extremely tedious putting pics in with KompoZer, which is the most time-consuming part of my updates. I write 99% of the text while I play, so that's already done by the time I'm ready to blog.

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  12. Awwww, Nathan is such a sweetie. I can't see him being cut-throat enough to do corporate law. I could see how it could bring it money, though!

    LOL at the mothers in this. I guess I got lucky. My mum had little or nothing to do with my wedding at all. :D And my MIL is too flaky to really be pushy.

    I'm so glad they've set a date!

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    1. I don't see corporate law as something Nathan would be really happy in either. I probably wouldn't call him sweet but I definitely don't see him as cutthroat either. I'll let him move along eventually but I'm definitely going to keep him where he is for a while.

      Yeah, I'm not married but I can't see my mum interfering too much if I got married. She's just not the type. From seeing friends get married though, there are definitely mothers out there with a completely different attitude!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  13. Funny that Julia went traipsing by, I think that alone might be a little crazy, seeing they aren't friends, and I'm assuming don't live next door to the old apartment building. That's great that she bragged about enemies, haha, crazy old Julia. ;)

    Their new place looks adorable, and these two are a cute couple. I can't believe how much she looks like her Dad though, that last picture totally makes me think of Trent. Love her threatening her Mom to elope, when she just promised Anna she wouldn't be doing that! She's never been very close with her Mom though, so it makes sense that they aren't just BFF still. Hopefully in time though they can come to appreciate each other.

    Looking forward to another adoption though! And when the time comes for Rebecca to have a baby too! I can see her being the type to wait it out a little bit and just enjoy married life.

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    1. LOL, yes, I did have the same thought! No, the new house isn't next door to Julia and Sam's place and there's really not much reason for Julia to be on that side of town! All the community lots are in between this house and hers. And with the bragging about enemies, she's obviously still a tiny bit crazy!

      Rebecca was a really, really cute toddler but since she was a teen, she's pretty much just looked like her dad in drag! Poor girl, lol! I think there will probably always be some tension between Megan and Rebecca, though I can see Victoria and Claudia softening with her a lot (and they probably already have, really). She's less patient than her older sisters!

      I think Rebecca would definitely be the type to wait a while, though I don't know that Nathan is going to be willing! He's keen for a baby NOW! And by the time they get married, Dominic and Leslie's twins will be born, as well as Zane and Chloe's baby, so he'll be surrounded by little ones. That's probably going to make him even more keen!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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