Honey's Housacy Challenge Ch2, part 11

Continuing where we left off. It's a new day in Sunset Valley and Alisha is up bright and early. She feeds the cats and mops the floor, while Marshall relaxes nude in the spa. How nice. Lol. 

The cats happily tuck into their breakfast, eating side by side. 

Marshall has finished relaxing and now that he feels refreshed, is having a go of some exercise equipment. He had the want to exercise and one of his traits is athletic so I bought him this snazzy exercise machine. I think it is called a bench press but I might be wrong. Either way, Marshall likes it. Keeping in shape and keeping fit won't be a problem for this Sim. :) 

 

Alisha's at work again. This is one of her nicer makeovers. The Sim left feeling fabulous and we got a lovely picture to add to Alisha's growing portfolio.Just as a wee note, I've started keeping a notebook as of today, but I can't recall this woman's name so she shall remain nameless until further notice. Lol.

 

Coming home to be greeted by happy and excited pets is always nice. 

Alisha: "Did you catch that pesky fly in the kitchen while I was out today, Alabaster? I think you did. Good kitty, good kitty!" 

Hey don't forget about Dumpling, she wants some loves, too! 

 

Meanwhile, what is it that Marshall does all day, you might ask. Well, he...socialises, reads books, looks after the cats, tidies the house, and tinkers about with the science lab table. He doesn't have a job yet and he seems to be happy so I let him have the odd jobs and help out Alisha with things until we find one. He's new to the potions table, but he likes experimenting with it and has so far learned how to make a mood enhancer. Yay! 

Marshall: "Would you mind piping down a bit? This formula is tricky"

 

There was a large boom and a puff of smoke. Whoops! Ha ha. Maybe I distracted him.

Marshall: "Think I scared the cat! Argh, I'm going to find what went wrong with this potion".

You do that. And you might want to take a shower while you're at it. Gee, sims look hilarious when they've been blown up, lol.   

 

Marshall's turn to do the mopping. Seems like something in this house is always breaking and spraying water everywhere. But at least we now have clean floors. I always thought it'd be nice if 'mop floor' was an interaction, like when you click on the floor. And for grubby or lazy sims, they could do things like scuffle something into the ground with their foot or give it a spit and polish. Ew, Ha ha!

 

Now I know it looks like these photos are out of order, but they're not. Something else exploded in his face after the first cleanup. Marshall's been tinkering and playing with the chemistry set most of today, so it's no surprise really. 

Alisha: "And I like you no matter what state you're in, my mad scientist"

Marshall: "Aw, thanks sweetie. Don't worry I promise to clean these black soot marks off the white tiles" 

XD Good thing the Chemistry Set is in the laundry. I thought about putting it outside, but then it'd be inconvenient if it rains, snows, or is a really hot day.

 

 Alisha: "Get the rope, get it, grrr, grrrrr!" 

Ya, we are at it again; adopting another stray from the sanctuary! This time it's a cute little dog named Lucky. This newest addition crossed another number off Alisha's wishlist. She now only needs to adopt five more animals. It would have been four but when the glitch happened and I had to re-place her in the town, it didn't count Dumpling as a stray that had been adopted any longer. So the counter has restarted with Alabaster and reads 2/6. Since I plan on Alisha and Marshall having an heir and pets are counted as family members, I'm not sure we can adopt them all at once. But we'll get them all eventually.

 

Not wanting to feel left out and perhaps a tad jealous, our wee Burmese kitty is being a major suck up. Lol. 

Alisha: "Aww, hello Dumpling! I haven't forgotten you, girl" 

Nothing like a cat rolling all over your feet to make you feel loved and cherished. <3

 

Seeing as it's a sunny day and the weather is growing warmer, Alisha takes Lucky to the dog park for some fun bonding time. The fountain is refreshing in the hot sun and there's plenty of people to socialise with. Oh, and here's an easy way to get a close up look at our Lucky dog. still only a puppy and small enough to tuck under one arm~! Oh, and don't mind the sparkles. Alisha has the Eye Candy thing that she got with her points.  

 

Alisha lets Lucky down to explore and enjoy the fresh air, and goes to try and make a few new friends. Strange that there's not any dogs here, since it's meant to be a dog park but oh well, we'll take what we can get.

Alisha: "Hi, how's it going? Nice day isn't it? I'm Alisha, nice to meet you"

Purplepants: "Ooh, hi! Alisha as in...Alisha McLear? Oh my gosh, I've always wanted to meet you in person!! Ahh~!" 

Oh yeah, I almost forgot, Alisha has four celebrity stars; she's quite famous, so it helps her make friends wherever she goes. On the downside, it also means that sometimes all the sims want is an autograph, and that we get stalked to heck by paparazzi. Lol.

 

We're having fun and so we stay in the park till it starts to get dark. Lucky doesn't stray far from his owner but he doesn't really want to get too close to the strangers. Possibly it has something to do with the super spooky ghost story being shared right now. I had to giggle at the guy on the left, who looks like he's about to wet his pants. Lol. Must be some scary tale! 

 

Speaking of that guy, he's also a paparazzi member and when Alisha went home for the night, he followed her home and stalked her from outside. XD I don't know how many people have played or are familiar with the family but this is Leighton Sekemoto's son, Sam Sekemoto, all grown up. I think we could give him a neat makeover too. Let's makeover the whole town! Lol.  

 

Oh no. Something has disrupted Marshall and Alisha's morning soak in the spa. All right, who peed in the pool? 

 Alisha: "Wasn't me"

Marshall: "What, ew! Who would do that?!"

Everyone knows when the water turns green, its because someone peed in the pool. Sheesh! XD Nah, not really, but I think we definitely need to get that fixed.   

Oh, and if you haven't noticed, Marshall's in his Hello Kitty Pyjamas. Hehe. One of his little secrets that I'm sure he won't want the neighbours to know.

 

While the spa's being repaired and Alisha goes to work, Marshall is left at home with the cats. Seeing as Lucky got to go to the dog park the other day, I thought it might be nice to try taking the cats on an outing too. So off we go to the kitty park! 

If only there were a cat park where I live in real life! My cats are indoor pets but they absolutely love going out on their cat harnesses, but we never can take them far from the house because there's dogs, new people, cars, ticks, snakes, neighbors who set cat traps...etc. If there was somewhere like this made just for cats and we could take them to play there, I think it'd be great fun for them. Especially since we have one that loves riding in the car. Anyway, back to the story. Looks like there's a decent amount of Sims here today and the cats are eager to play. That's Dumpling running towards the doors, and Alabaster trailing behind near the footpath.  

 Both cats enjoy playing in the cat house. Looks like fun! I can imagine them calling out to each other from the balconies.

 

Alabaster has a nice time stalking for prey, which in this case happens to be a rather colouful lizard. 

 

And Dumpling joins in, going after a budgie. I hope that's not someone's escaped pet! 

 

While the cats play, Marshall socialises. Although, these are a different group than the ones Alisha met in the dog park. The guy he is talking to right now is one of the Goth family, which means he's a relation of Agnes and thus, Alisha. I did forget his name. Sorry! 

Everything was going well and then this happened; a little bit of weirdness in the form of a glitch. The umbrella was traveling through the ground like this. It moved to the sidewalk and a taxi appeared. The umbrella then vanished. I can only assume this was meant to be a Sim who turned invisible but I don't know for sure. Still it should make for a good story the next time someone wants to tell about the haunted umbrella. :D

Is it just me, or does our town have an inordinately large amount of vampires? There are two here in the cat's playground. Marshall had better not stick around too long. Although I'm sure Alisha wouldn't mind if he did get turned, seeing as his mother is also a vampire. We've finished talking to Mortimer Goth (I think that's who it was), so I send Marshall inside to make some new friends. He also has four celebrity stars, so that should make things easier.

Okay, what in the world? Did none of these sims get potty trained properly? After a few hours it seems like everyone needs to pee  and they kept doing the potty dance. And now sims have started peeing wherever they stand. I am seriously thinking of putting some amenities into this place using edit town, because nearly all the sims here had to go. Some of them went home, while others would just wait until the last minute and flood the floor. o_O That's pretty gross, in my book.  Especially when other sims keep standing in the puddles, as though they're oblivious. Oh Marshall, you might want to wash that shoe...

 

Ah yes, another thing about peeing sims - the puddle appears a little way off from the er...source of it's appearance. Lol. Teleporting pee! What next? 
I just hope somebody cleans this place really well. And look whose by the back wall - it's our good friend, Sam Sekemoto, the paparazzi who commonly stands outside our house all night come rain, snow or hail. 

Marshall: "So...uhh, you like cats?" 

It's a little hard to have a serious conversation with a sim who just peed themselves but Marshall is trying his best. Lol.

 

A few days later, summer is in full swing. What better time to enjoy their beautiful pool than now, when the weather is perfect? :D Makes me want to go swimming just looking at it. Must be nice.  

Marshall: "It's great. I'm on my twentieth lap" 

Alisha: "I'm going to try out the diving board again!"

 

Alisha also visited the cat park and I'm happy to say it was a better experience than the one Marshall had. Might be an odd place to hang out if you didn't like cats, but it makes a brill place for an outing with feline friends, both four pawed and two legged. Alisha gets to know a new furry pal while Marshall chats with some of the townies. I think Alabaster and Dumpling were outside somewhere.

 

 Oh, I don't know if I showed anyone yet; Marshall has his own room in our housacy home, since he and Alisha aren't married yet. I like the black leopard spot covers and the matching lamps. It's one of the nicest rooms in the house so I just thought I'd share it. Simple yet it works. Haven't decided if it's going to be turned into the baby's room later on down the track. 

 

Marshall and Alisha sharing breakfast together. Which miraculously, is NOT burnt! Yay! :D Nice work Alisha. 

Alisha: "Practice makes perfect, as they say. These are pretty delish" 

Marshall: "They look edible, at least" 

Alisha: "You can always make your own"

Marshall: "No, no this is fine, really. Looks just like the ones mum makes" 

 

 After breakfast, it's laundry and SCIENCE!! Lol. Marshall never gets tired of wanting to do stuff with the chemistry set. Let's hope he doesn't blow himself up this time. 

Alisha: "Or the laundry. How would we do the washing?"

Good point. Marshall, make sure you don't blow up the laundry.

 Aww, looks like Lucky hasn't quite got the gist of puppy training yet. Lol. He went outside, but not on the grass. Oh well, it's a tiny puddle, hopefully will clean up fast. Hmm, I just realised, there's lots of mentions of pee in this chapter, ha ha. Guess it's a fact of life. Poor Alabaster is getting outta here as fast as he can. I believe he's been practicing his hunting skills. Also, see that ball toy inside? I couldn't figure out how to use it. There appeared to be no interactions for it. Until later on in the game when Lucky grew up; dogs can play with it, and only dogs, but they have to be adult or elder.

 Another thing that took me some time to work out - instead of inviting sims over to use the makeover station, she should be practicing her skills using the drafting table, so I sold Alisha's old station and replaced it with one of these. Drawing on the drafting table not only helps her level up, it adds to her portfolio too. I lost some precious time while I had the makeover station in here, so Alisha has a bit of playing catch up to do. 

Alisha: "But I don't mind, really, this is fun. It doesn't feel like work at all"

Spoken by a true stylist. XD She'll have her portfolio filled in no time. 

 

Ever wondered what to do with those critters your cats bring home and leave on the doorstep? Well in this house, we buy cages and terrariums and give them new homes! Alisha and Marshall now have a pet budgie and a pet chameleon from Ala and Dumpling's forays into the wild. Lol. The budgie's name is Preen, but I forget what we called the lizard. Having more things to look after and play with will hopefully be good training for later on when we have a mini sim to look after.

Alisha: "You mention that a lot lately. You know, we have to have the wedding first. Step A, then step B, okay? I already have enough to juggle".

 

Like, throwing a pool party! :D It's summer, it's hot and it's a good way to keep relationships up with all our Sim friends. The balloons are set up, there's music on the stereo and the guests start arriving in their swimwear. Although, I'm not sure why so many of them are elders.  Never mind; you're never too old to have a pool party. Ah, and please don't mind the grid; Pretty sure I switched over into buy mode when I took the picture. Sorry.

Everything's ready, we even got a new lounge set with matching umbrella for our guests to lounge on. Alisha's making some BBQ food and between the chess, telescope, pool and music, there's plenty of activities for the sims to enjoy. Hopefully this'll give our party a good rating.

 

Alisha: "Aw...are they supposed to look like that?"

Whoops! I hope our guests like their food well done. Ah well, you tried your best and that's what counts.

Alisha: "More for me, I s'pose"

 

Sims are playing in the pool and spa, or lounging and chatting on the loungers.  Looks like we're off to a good start.

Marshall is keeping himself and his guests entertained in the spa. And someone brought their portable radio along. Neat! >w<

 

I forget these two ladies' names, but I think the one on the left is Marshall's sister. The lady on the right...well, she's looking fabulous in that red swimsuit. It's actually a custom content from either The Sims Resource or Mod the Sims. I can't remember where, but those are the two sites I download stuff from.

 

Now I'm not sure who invited these ladies but it was probably by accident. The one on the left is Marshall's mother, I am pretty sure and the one on the right is one of the Bunch family. Judy, I think. Probably was a bad idea to invite them seeing as they have to stay out of the sun. They wound up watching TV in the living room for most of the party. Sorry about that you two. But at least you have Lucky to keep you company. Just don't turn him into a vampire. Hehe. 

 

Marshall: "Alisha....Alisha...it's happening again..." *whine* 

Alisha: "Oh, for crying out loud!" 

This seems to happen a fair bit with these two. I guess that's part of the risk when half your guests are eldersims. LOL. 

 

Marshall: "He...he's here...he's here! The evil has come!" 

Alisha: "Marshall, pull yourself together, it's not like you've never seen a ghost, and don't be rude to the Reaper"

Marshall: "NO! Don't say his name!"

Grimmy: "I'm standing right here you know. I can hear you. Ah, looks like a nice party. And is that a barbeque I can smell?"  

Marshall: "It was a nice party..." *mutter till-you-got-here mutter*

Grim: "Bwahahaha! Scared of me, are we? Don't forget I'll be coming for you someday toooooooo~" 

Lol The Grim does seem to put a bit of a dampener on parties. Or, generally whenever someone dies at a party, it tends to change the whole mood. :P

Looks like the ghost sim was ready to go and was able to greet death as an old friend. 

Grimmy: "It's always nice when they do that. I don't know why everybody has to get so depressed, really"

Alisha, you're not one bit afraid? 

Alisha: "No way. Plus it's nice and cold here, I can feel waves of misted air rolling off him, it's really quite nice" 

Marshall: "How can you say that?! Am I the only one whose scared?"

Apparently so. The other sims seem more concerned with saying goodbye to their dearly departing friend than with whom he's going to the afterlife with. XD It would have been better if we could have this happen at a Spooky Day party instead, though - the atmosphere is entirely changed from carefree summer.

 

Marshall: "Why? Whyyyyyy???" 

Grim: "What do you mean, why? And why do people always ask me that? Don't ask me, I'm just the collector, I don't call the shots" 

Marshall: "No, I mean, why did someone have to die in my spa poooool?" *sobsob* 

 Poor Marshall, his party is all but ruined.

 The grim reaper disappears, along with the ghost of our elderly sim friend, yet it seems the trauma's not over for Marshall Decker. Looks like Alabaster thinks he needs a nap. And I'm not too sure what Marshall's thinking. 

Marshall: "What if that old man died of food poisoning from Alisha's cooking?" 

Checkered Swim Trunks Guy: "Man, this guy is such a pansy!!" (lol) 

 After that bit of theatrics, Marshall hits the deck. Alisha has seen it enough times to know he'll be fine. 

Marshall: "Is no one going to help meee?"

 

And he's out. Looks like the party is over too. What a bummer. Guess that's all the fun over for one day. Do not fret, Marshall, we shall restore your reputation and celebrity status to their former glory.

Autumn comes a few days later, or maybe it's been here a while. I tried to only take screenshots when something of interest happened so I may have skipped some of the more mundane things. Alisha's gotten another promotion! I think using the drafting table is really helping her. 

Green Tunic: "Unicorns are real, lass. Don't let anyone tell you different. I saw one with my very own eyes."

Alisha: "Yeah, I know. Up on the hills where the waterfall is?" 

Green Tunic: "Yes, yes! That's the place! And did you meet the white one? He's pretty friendly, took an apple straight from my hand"

Alisha: "That sounds like it all right! You know, I do have a soft spot for animals..." 

Looks like we may have made ourselves another friend. ^_^  

 

 And here we also have Marshall's sister. Alisha offered her a makeover but I'm not sure she agreed. Oh well, we can always try again next time.

And this...well, I guess I just wanted to know what the paparazzi see when they're looking into the house, ha ha! XD Not really. It's just, I've barely taken any images of our living room and I felt it was somewhat neglected, so Marshall napping on the couch was a little moment of opportunity to show it off. I like the swirly patterns on the couches. Oh and that's the lizard tank under the window

Puppy play is always fun! Lucky is getting older every day will be a big doggy soon. This is still my favourite interaction with him. Just so CUTE! >w<

Gotta keep the romance alive. It's a lovely night, so why not enjoy it? Actually, I've been trying to get their relationship to the level where Marshall can propose to Alisha. The interaction still isn't available no matter what I try. Even on romantic nights like this. Come on guys, what am I missing? We chat, we flirt, we giggle, we have fun...why is Propose Marriage just not on the list?! D: D: D:

 Still, it's just as nice to sit and watch the stars together. I love how this pic turned out. It would have been even better without a bit of plumbob floating over our heir's head. Lol.

Ooh, it's somebody's birthday! This is both a happy and sad moment for us. Happy because Dumpling's been well cared for and been with us all this way but sad because she's turned into an elder and we don't know how much time we have left. 

Alisha: "Happy Birthday, Dumpling darling!"

We got noisemakers, cheering and even some fairy sparkles. Here we go...

 

3...2...1....POOF! Congratulations, Dumpling, you are now a treasured senior! <3

Alisha: "Good kitty! We'll celebrate with a nice gourmet cat food and lots of play time and cuddles" 

And we did exactly that.  

The days are going by so fast and no amount of kissing, flirting or sweet talk seems to be helping our cause, so we plan a surprise trip to China. I know it's drastic but this is a legacy and sometimes, drastic measures are called for.

Finally...Marshall gets down on one knee. 

Marshall: "Alisha McLear, will you be my one and only and become my bride?"

Alisha: "GASP! Is that what I think it is???!"

Alisha: *sniffle* "Oh, Marshall! Oh my gosh, oh my gosh...yes...YES!" 

See? Now this is what I wanted. Don't know why they couldn't do this overlooking the ocean or the sky filled with stars. >.> Guess that's sims for you.

Marshall: "And let's get married looking over the endless sea, which will represent our undying love for each other" 

Took the words right out of my mouth.

The ring is fitted and the plans are set in motion. 

 Looks like we're going to get our generation three after all. Well done you two. Now we can continue the legacy. Go relax and enjoy the rest of your time in China. <3 After all, it's a beautiful country with lots to offer.

 So they did just that. :) Unfortunately, trying to make friends with the locals was a little tricky. Everyone seemed to want autographs. Still, we added some new faces to the friends panel.

And now I shall end this with another happy event - Lucky's birthday! He is now a fully grown and rather strange looking dog, but a nice dog all the same. If you've read this far then thanks, and if you haven't, well I can't blame you. It's more fun to play the game sometimes than to read blogs that other people make about the game. Still, I'm having fun so I don't care. Bye for now! Honey.