Nick Michels - Simday 25

50 simyears old

Hindsight is always 20/20. Always. If I coulda-shoulda-woulda...things would be different. I'm in the business of money and finances. But I can't seem to grasp my own! It's a constant struggle to stay afloat, and I'm getting tired.

I'll be an elder in 10 years, and I feel like I haven't moved ahead much since college. I'm always trying to please the ones I love...redecorate the house instead of living with what we had, buy a dog that we don't really want, go to another city while Simmington Hills is struggling financially, invest in some stocks that proved to be a total failure. The list goes on!

Sabien cut a check to us. I know he made a promise, but I hate traveling. Whereas, my wife and daughter couldn't WAIT to go. To me, no amount of simoleans can truly make up for almost being poisoned to death. It wasn't the Hills' fault or Sabien's, it was Asya's fault! And she took the easy way out.

But, my wife has a different take on it..."Who the hell turns down $3,000 simoleans, Nick? We've got a chance to visit any SUN Hood we want! I did my research, and Riverdale has a new Florida vacation spot with Disney World! And, Keva won't be a little girl forever...blah-blah-blah." We should have turned it down..it was a bad time to leave. I knew that, but again...I was trying to please my family.

We went to Riverdale and we had a wonderful time, I'm not gon' lie. It was nice once we got there. The plane ride was turbulent most of the way because of the rain. I don't want to ever ride in a plane again. Twice is enough.

I think I enjoyed Riverdale's Florida vacation spot more than I did Riverdale, only because I was a little uncomfortable. I especially didn't want to talk about the Hills' finances, and was so afraid the subject was gonna come up. There was also a little tension between my wife and Mayor Snowden's wife. Who knows why? Women. I think Honey thinks she's a celebrity and she's not...don't tell her I said that.

But in Florida, we got a chance to let our hair down, relax and sightsee all the animals and swim with the dolphins. We really enjoyed the hotel there. Honey and I got the honeymoon we never had. We got to talk about our love of food and eat as much as we wanted. Honey was chill about it, too. Keva burst out of her shell and became this inquisitive, outspoken little girl! So the trip was worth it just for these reasons alone. Thank you Riverdale-Florida and Mayor Snowden for your hospitality!

Even on vacation, I couldn't help but talk about Simmington Hills' infrastructure. Sabien was having a hell of a time trying to figure out how to stay afloat. And here he was giving us $3,000 simoleans that he didn't have...and we blew right through it like nothing! We had just enough money to buy a souvenir for Keva, which was some Kawaii pillows for her bed and maybe $100 left over to bring home.

Keva loved her pillows, though. Anything to please my Princess.

Getting back home, Sabien and I had to brainstorm on what we had to do. He decided to raise taxes and cut off salaries. I nearly fainted. This would absolutely sink me.

We might as well put a For Sale sign out front of our house, and move to a shelter! I've never seen Sabien look so sick. He knew a lot of us would be in big trouble, but there was nothing he could do...until he called me up at 3:00 a.m. one morning. He had an idea to hold a Silent Auction.

I don't have to tell you the end of this story...the auction was a huge success. Needless to say, we were able to get paid this Period with no taxes, that really saved our butts! Or so I thought, mine turned out to still be in the mud.

We got a dog that Keva begged for, for days on end...her mother said we should reward her for raising her B+ to an A. Here comes Scrappy. Scrappy needs a place to bathe, we don't have a tub..."Oh honey, build a shed!" That takes money. But I built it. "Oh honey, the dog needs walking and it's too late to have Keva do it, can you take him?" At midnight or later, I'm out in the cold walking the dog. Now what if I get sick? Oh yeah, I paid the health insurance this period, too. But, we don't have the deductible if something were to happen.

Everybody needs new Winter clothes, it's getting cold outside. Honey felt she needed a basketball court to practice old moves she used to make while playing with the SimCity Llamas. She still got it, but not like she used to.

Do they think I'm just made of simoleans? They gotta get their hair done and their nails done, and Honey stays in the Shoppes buying jewelry and who knows what else.

I just wasn't expecting to lose my stock investments. BAM!! $3,900 gone...just like *snap* that! And I didn't even have the simoleans to cover my own ass. Honey had to pull all of it out of her bank account. The last few simoleans she earned from Suburb Sims, and it looks like that soap is not even running anymore. What the hell are we gonna do? So, once again, her money is bailing me out. I know we're a team, but it kills me to have her do this.

Even Keva heard me panicking in the other room, and went to dig out her little $200 savings! Daaaamn...of course I didn't take it, I'm not that kind of father.

Will I ever get my act together? GameTime Sports Bar is sorely missed. At least I could count on bringing in extra money. At least I could get away from the house and from the bank and go have some fun. It wasn't real work, you know? I got $15,000 for opting out of it.

$10,000 went towards my bank loan. I owe $-127,400 on my bank loan, and its growing every other day. The other five thou. went into re-decorating our house and driving our cars...did you know that vehicles and taxis cost money here in Simmington Hills? It's true! I don't even want to mention the $5,000 added onto each bill we get. And since my wife raked leaves too early in the morning, we got hit with another $2,000 fine...hell.

Oh well this is life, right? Sound too much like your own? Well, sorry for that. We all go through it, I guess. At least my true friends understand. Can you believe I'm calling Sergio a true friend? We've been kicking it ever since we made up. No big news now. He came by after we got back from Riverdale to see how I was holding up from all the scrutiny in the papers. We tossed a football to get some fresh air and get out from under the ladies in the house. heh-heh.

I thought this was a nice gesture, one I won't forget. I really needed someone to talk to and he put a smile on my face.

Honey still knows how to put a smile on my face, too...she corners me in the bathroom almost daily. heh.

I'll just keep on weathering the storm, the road'll smoothen out one of these simdays. I just hope it's before the old Grim Reaper comes to claim me.

Honey Michels - Simday 25

50 simyears old

I've been thinking and thinking on how we can get out of this debt we're in. Money is not coming in like it used to. I'm not playing for the SimCity Llamas anymore, I left the team as an MVP. I'm trying to get further up the chain in the Athletics career, but I can't play basketball forever. I'm hoping for a coaching job. Thanks to my husband, I'm still able to practice on the new court we put in.

I also don't know my fate on Suburb Sims. The last I heard, Anthony Troy the producer of Suburb Sims, had died.

Paul Yates, my agent, sent me an email telling me that I could possibly get a renewed contract with them. That was over a year ago. I've gotten paid, $3,150 for each show I've appeared in. It's been our saving grace, so far.

The way it works is, I've already filmed all the shows I was gonna appear in, but if there is a reason for the show to cancel, then all that time goes out the window. Time I spent away from my husband and daughter. What's done is done now. I'm gonna email Paul and see where we stand. If I was to get extended on the show, I'd be making $4,050 per episode I appeared in. But again, I'm not sure about the longevity. I need to take matters into my own hands.

I've still been going about my life as if everything is alright. I feel that it's necessary if you have kids, to still treat them and reward them for doing well. You can't panic. Things have to go on as normal in front of your kids.

(It's nice when someone recognizes me from the show.)

Next period we're really gonna have to get in gear, if we're gonna send Keva to college. I have some ideas that might work. I might try out for Pahala Shore. ? I don't know, I'm getting up in age now, but before I get too old-looking, I need to get out there.

When we were re-doing the house, I found this green lips painting to put in my bedroom. It's kind of playful and sexy, since Nick is Pleasure and I'm a Romance Sim, it was perfect for us. A few simdays passed of me looking at it, and it suddenly reminded me of an organization in Simmerville.

Have you heard of the Green Lipz Organization? It's all about the environment. It was started by this young teenaged girl, I think.  I went and bought a magazine to help me understand more about the environment, and possibly how we can save it, and save some money in the process.

With this new deal Sabien signed, we could buy some solar panels for the house, to cut down on our bills. I don't know how much they cost yet. I've also tried my best to keep my garden looking decent, to avoid getting hit with that $2,000 Garden Maintenance fine, but I can never get the timing right. The leaves in the Fall are neverending. Sabien shouldn't even fine us for leaves!

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I regret buying a dog for Keva. That's one thing I do regret above all the other money I've spent. She was all hyped up over getting a puppy, and then when she became a teenager, she lost all interest in having a pet. I should've listened to Nick. None of us like animals. It was a hasty move, but you never know how things will turn out. I'm always scolding that dog to stop tearing up my stuff.

We might just sell Scrappy, he's learned two commands..Stay and Come Here, that should be worth something. Then again, I don't know. He's working as a Security Dog, so he's bringing in some cash. Truthfully, I'll be glad when a breeder moves here. If I could sell Scrappy to a breeder, some other family could benefit. The new shed I had Nick build, could be used for something else, like a massage table. I could set up my own home business! My biggest dream is to earn $100,000 in my lifetime. Is it too late to start now?

One thing Nick and I agree on, is everybody in this household has gotta hold down a job! *smiles* That means Keva and Scrappy, too.

We'll see what happens. I'm thankful that things aren't worse. There could be all kinds of mess going on. Don't think I haven't had those urges us Romance Sims are inclined to.

Keva Michels - Simday 25

11 simyears old

My Mom bought me these red butterfly earrings..she said she had an experience with a butterfly once and it was really special to her. It reminded her of her best friend, Asya...like a reminder that she was here. I can tell my Mom misses her a lot. That's a weird situation, 'cause I know Asya tried to kill my Dad. I'm glad she's dead and not him.

You ever just watch a butterfly - fly? It's so beautiful and graceful. That's why I like butterflies. They're like dancers. I've caught some really pretty ones recently for my bug box. So I think I'll hang onto these earrings, not because of Asya, but because they remind me of dancers. That's what I want to be when I grow up.

Speaking of dancers, I saw a lot of them at Disney Florida in Riverdale. Fire dancers. Yeah, real dangerous. I couldn't wait to get to Florida. I remember being excited to leave town, but my stomach hurt so bad, I couldn't go to sleep the night before. We had to go on a plane and I was pretty scared. My Dad didn't help much, so I turned to my Momma to make me feel better. Turns out, flying in a plane was the most fun ever! It actually felt like a roller coaster! I couldn't stop talking about our trip even once we got back home.

I wanted my Mom to make my face over like a tiger, like they did in Disney. I still have that picture in my room, too. I wanted to scare SayJ with my tiger face. Arrrgh!

SayJ Cunningham used to be my closest friend, and my enemy as well. LOL! We're not as close anymore since I became a teenager.

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Which brings me to my next issue. Everybody's fussin' about this dog! Let me explain about Scrappy, ok? I love Scrappy. I just don't have the time anymore to play with Scrappy like I used to. He was the cutest little puppy I had ever seen. He had these cute reddish-brown eyes. Somebody scared of him, like SayJ, could think he was a wolf or something. I don't know.

I wanted him so bad, 'cause I got tired of SayJ coming over here bragging to me about his cats. All I could do was brag to him about all the bugs I had collected.

Well, when Ms. Wise called to check up on my school project and I told her it was finished. 5 insect specimens! She said I was the first to complete my Fall School Project, and now I could pass to Secondary class!

But SayJ Cunningham wasn't so impressed. He said I was gross, and that I loved bugs more than I do animals. He was just jealous, that's all. But I still wanted to get a big dog to scare him. My parents got Scrappy for me, and I was happy.

Scrappy grew up and so did I. Therefore, SayJ wasn't hanging around anymore to get scared. All the excitement disappeared. LOL!

I started helping Mom out around the house more. She's big into the environment. Everything's gotta be recycled or composted.

Scrappy got a job and I got one as an Aerobics Instructor down at Magnolia Ballet Academy.

Even my Mom works for extra simoleans at home on her days off, writing sports articles for SimCity.

Dad...he's the CEO of the bank now. I hardly ever see him. He does something with the home owners about affording their houses, or something. So that makes some extra money for us.

There's no free rides in our house.

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Age correction was made for this family to match up with the new time relevance for the next update. Keva is a teen but she should be 11 years old at this time.  Please overlook my mistake.

Seth Guthrie - Simday 20

35 simyears old:

Alright. I have to forget my hesitation about opening up my life for everyone to view and judge. Here goes...

I'm in love with an over the top, eccentric kind of woman, and her name is Marisa Bendett. I want to marry her, but I'm not sure she wants to marry me. Sometimes I really wonder if we're gonna make it; if she's just too big a butterfly for me to capture. Sometimes I wonder if I can provide the kind of lifestyle she wants to live.

There. I got that off my chest.

Some Sims say she's tacky, some say she's got a mouth like a sailor, I just say she's unique. She's real. She doesn't care who you are, she's gonna be herself no matter what. You can take it or leave it, and that goes for anybody...including me.

She's been known to strike out and punch somebody just for saying the wrong thing to her. In all truth, I was surprised that Maxine Wise left our apartment standing last night. LOL! It was rough for a minute, let me tell you. I'm not sure Maxine realised who she was talking to. LOL! It was certainly not my intention to start a war when I originally invited Emerita Valdes over to meet Marisa, as a surprise.

I only wanted them to get to know each other, and maybe Marisa could be invited to some future parties. But, the night turned out real well for Marisa, despite herself. I was proud of her.

I wanted to take her to the park the next day, so we could just shake things off and relax; enjoy the summer and get out of that apartment. I saw her laying out in the sun, looking so peaceful. I surely didn't want to disturb that, even though Tomika had come to shoot some hoops with me and talk about the jail situation.

Marisa never turns down an opportunity to meet with, or be seen hanging out with the social elite. I knew she'd kill me if I didn't tell her Tomika was there.

She ended up laying out in the sun too long, getting sunburnt, but she told me that any color is better than no color. Excitedly she said, "It looks like I've put pink rouge all over my body!"

I just shook my head. What else can I say to that? It had to hurt, though.

The little kids at the park were running from her. It didn't bother Marisa one bit. In fact, she laughed and acted like she was chasing after them. She even slid down the pool slide after one little boy who kept screaming "Lobster Lady!" at her.

That's when I whistled for her to come over, I didn't want her drowning the little guy in the pool. LOL! She rushed right over to greet Tomika. She even managed to invite herself over to the Magnolia Mansion. That's my girl!

Our day was cut short when the skies darkened and the lightning started. One thing I know for sure, when the weather gets bad nowadays, everyone in the Hills gets worried that another hurricane is about to hit. We had walked to the park, and had a long walk ahead of us...but fortunately, Keith Dalton was able to call us a cab home.

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I was fighting mad when I went to City Hall to look for a new job. That's not something I had been prepared to deal with.

All of a sudden my life was uprooted. I had to find a new place to live, because the old SH Police Department was destroyed by the hurricane. That's how I ended up in the cheapest studio apartment I could find, and it is the pits! The walls are like paper thin...it drives me insane almost every night.

At least I still had my job, or so I thought...turns out the new Willow County Jail couldn't open because the Administration has no money, based on what Tomika had told me at the park. They're trying to keep that fact hush-hush, so Sims won't panic. I'm writing it here because the budget is about to be released anyways.

I only had $486 to my name when the news hit the paper about the lack of funding at the jail. My rent is $785! I owed a ton of money to the bank...I had to do something quick! Now you know why I opted out of my business. I needed cash quick. I just didn't know how long it was going to take to get it. You ever had this kind of stress?! It's not easy.

Thank goodness it came only a few days later!

SimCity Government paid me the Business Value of Seth's Barbershop! $25,000!

You would think this money would put me back into the swing of things, a lump sum like that. But, it didn't. It put me ahead of the swing, in my opinion. I couldn't bring myself to tell Marisa how much money I had gotten because she would wonder what happened to all of it, so quickly. She kept asking me and asking me...I kept her distracted with kisses and whatever else I could think of.

The truth is...I had a $20,400 Bank Loan against me. When would I ever have this kind of money again to pay it all off? I didn't want to be paying on it for the rest of my life, accruing interest. It was the smartest, most painful thing I've ever had to do. I had $4,600 left over to save for a bigger place, maintain part of the rent and household bills with; buy me and Marisa some new clothes, get me a couple packs of cigarettes, etc.

My whole summer was a distraction, because believe me...Marisa asked me how much that check was, every single simday. I couldn't tell her the truth because she would've never agreed for me to pay the whole loan off at once. I know her. She would've wanted to move to a bigger apartment first. She would've wanted to buy something...the list goes on. I am, in essence, delaying what I know will be the worst cursing out I've ever had.

I took her to the Willow Co. Library for a movie night.

We went fishing at the new Spencer Farms Fresh Market. I wanted to show off my 1st Place Gold Trophy-winning fishing skills, and believe me I was talking smack the moment we left the apartment all the way over to the store...but she managed to out fish me that simday. My mojo was off.

I took Marisa back home to clean the fish. I left to go buy a cell phone. I didn't want to get stuck out somewhere again without being able to call for a cab. When I called home to give Marisa the number, she told me that Sabien had called and needed to talk to me. I called him right away. He told me that I've got my old job back!! Bluewater Village has agreed to provide the jail with prisoners and funding!!

I was so relieved, you can't imagine! At the prison, I'm in charge. I make the calls. This job means a lot to me.

Sabien said he'd meet me over there the next simday, so we could meet the new Resident Prison Cop (RPC), Earl Grainger.

He's a great guy; composed, easy-going.

I think he's perfect for the job. We've got a well-run jail, if I do say so myself. Tomika Cunningham is the Governing Officer in charge, even though she's in Law Enforcement. I'm next in charge, as the Prison Guard-Senior Officer, and Earl is the RPC.

This ain't no cake walk, either. We've got a tough bunch of guys in there. These are not your everyday chump criminals...these guys have killed, robbed, stabbed, and extorted money by force. You name it. They've done it.

We've got 4 prisoners, currently. 5 cells, and 10 beds. If you do something illegal, you'll find yourself in here, too.

My job is to rehabilitate these prisoners; to make sure that no one gets past these walls without an adjustment to their way of thinking. And I take my job very seriously.