Daydreaming

Almost There (Sneak Peek)

2012-01-29T21:01:00.000-05:00

I have one more scene to shoot for the next episode so I decided to put up a few teaser shots. I had this one in the bag a few weeks ago but decided to go in a different direction. Hoping to have this up tomorrow or the next day so stay tuned.

Possible Reasons Why My Sims Turn into Dogs

2012-01-26T16:12:00.000-05:00

**X-posted @ Tumblr**

Since I lost the picture I was going to use for this, I will simply pose this question: Can a Sim turn into a dog? Yes? No? WTF? Well, maybe what's below can help us find the answer.

In one of my obsessive custom content searches I came across this article on MTS. The initial question posed was a good one: Is there a list of non-intuitive things NOT to do in a Sims game? A reasonable query, given that the creators of the Sims made a lot of things in this game more complicated than they should be as just a general rule of thumb. As I started reading further, my mere curiosity began to turn into unmitigated fear because I am guilty of so many of the Sims 2 "don'ts" that were mentioned.

I can't tell you how many times I've deleted Sims (especially Maxis pre-mades) out of the Sim Bin, I think I may have tried to get someone to play footsies with Mrs. Crumplebottom once or twice, and even though I have multiple sub-hoods attached to my main hood (and that is not counting the ones I've made and later deleted) I have never, ever used an anti-redundancy hack. All these unknown no-no's have made me wonder if this is the reason why my Las Vistas hood keeps crashing on me (inevitably). I've remade this hood from back-ups at least three times now, and after about 3-6 months it starts to act funky. Could these things be the reason why or at least part of the reason?

I probed further and found a tool called the Hood Checker that the article referenced. Well, when I ran it, it did come back with a lot of "errors" that had to do with some of the no-no's that were mentioned in the article, especially when it comes to deleting Sims from the Sim Bin. There were a lot of invalid memories of the deleted Sims and other Sims who may have breathed the same air for 5 seconds. According to comments in the thread, these memories have no source now and no where to go so they just sit there in the game and fill it up with broken crap. That broken crap seems to infect other elements of the game until your hood becomes corrupt and unplayable. Sound familiar???

My opening question is in reference to a "Sim" who was a very pretty female at one time that somehow morphed into a deformed upright walking dog that never even crossed her path or lived with her family. Her name even changed by itself as well from "Melora" to "DD." Since I didn't play with that family regularly I have no idea when the change happened. All I know is that when I sent Isabella out on a date with Nico one evening "DD" was Smustling it up with the two of them in all of his/her/its deformed glory. I had previously moved out one of the other family members and deleted him from the Sim bin. Shortly after "DD" appeared the entire family became corrupt with their bodies seeming to disappear underground with only their little plumbbobs blinking in mid air.

I've had other strange occurrences too, such as the infant that walked in mid air and spoke with a very deep adult male voice (another deleted Sim example) and this incident that still happens occasionally.

So could the very simple, seemingly harmless things mentioned in this article cause such arbitrary and incurable damage? I don't know, but as far as I'm concerned I'm not doing any of them again and at the risk of sounding paranoid....I think it's time for a rebuild.

Cheers to the New Year!!!

2012-01-10T08:30:00.003-05:00

First off, a belated Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!! I can't say that I am sad to see 2011 go. It was a rough year for me and I have resolved not to whine about any of it in 2012. Things happened the way they were supposed to and the lessons learned have been invaluable. One regret is that those challenges didn't give me much time to write, so this year, I'm just going to take the time to write any and everything I can.

I'm working on a new update and the pic above is one of a set I've posted on my Tumblr. This is the revamped LUSH Beach Club (yes I do mean that night club I mentioned 800 years ago in the first episode). My game is cooperating (knock on wood) and I was SO DAMN TIRED of shooting scenes at Isabella's house, so I figured some new scenery would be nice. I'm hoping to finish this new episode soon, so stay tuned.

Lastly, I hope that 2012 brings you every wish, every dream, and every need that you have. Remember to breathe, to sing, to laugh, and to really feel each and every moment that passes. We don't get to do life over so we might as well just live it, REALLY live it, right now.

New Site Launch!!!!

2011-11-16T21:46:00.000-05:00

It's been a long time in the making but I am finally launching the new Life, Love, & Lies website. I am hoping that beyond being more eye catching, this site can be more interactive and keep everything in one place rather than spread over several sites. This is an on going project so I would love to hear what you think; your comments, idea, etc. are always welcome. I am disabling the Las Vistas City Guide for the time being until I can get it up on the new site, but it will be back soon along with some of the extra character info that I haven't found a place for yet.

Also, since I had to create a sub-domain to get the actual story to show up properly, I'm going to ask that you update your feeds and readers again and use this link for updates: http://www.story.lifelovelies.com/. Well, that's all for now; nothing left but to click here to enjoy the new site

(p.s.: there is music that comes one automatically; the on/off button is in the top left corner.)

Major Announcement (sort of...)

2011-11-04T08:51:00.000-04:00

Before I forget....again. Should have made a formal announcement about this before, but Life, Love, & Lies has a new web address. Going forward you can visit www.lifelovelies.com to follow the story. The Blogspot address will automatically redirect you there, but if you want updates in Google reader you'll have to use the new address.

Also, there are going to be a lot of cosmetic changes going on with the site as I try to condense the number of related blogs I have for this story, so don't be alarmed if things look different or are completely gone for days at a time. I have no clue what I'm doing with this "domain" stuff so please bear with me.

That is all for this public service announcement. Thank you.

Thinking Things Through

2011-11-01T10:37:00.000-04:00

I've often wondered why people say "a penny for your thoughts." If you really wanted to know what someone was thinking wouldn't you pay more? Especially if those thoughts could determine the course or your life? Maybe it's just me.

I'm taking test shots and finishing the writing for Episode 27 and honestly wondering just what she is thinking. Maybe she's thinking about Nico, or maybe Blake, or maybe she's thinking about why she's stuffed up in this tiny little cottage when there is a big fat family compound across town. But then, she knows the answer to that last one: too many bad memories. Memories she will soon be revisiting.......that was a hint by the way ;)

Hit & Run (Episode Update)

2011-10-23T20:36:00.003-04:00

Been waiting to post this one for quite a while. It is one of many that I wrote long before I had the pieces to connect it with the rest of the story; just one of those moments that hits out of the blue, out of order that just has to be written. The strange part is that I've replaced a good portion of the writing with just pictures, but I think it all comes across anyway. I hope so at least.

Episode #26 - Close Encounters

P.S. : Life, Love, & Lies has a new web address: www.lifelovelies.com

Smallish Update & A New Face

2011-10-16T21:09:00.003-04:00

I've posted a new Las Vistas update. It is a short transitional piece that didn't seem to fit with anything else, so I decided to let it stand alone. This baby has nothing to do with it directly but she is mentioned in it, so I thought I would explain.

This is MacKenzie Gutierrez, Eden & Cyrus' youngest daughter. Somewhere between secret rendezvous' with his mistress, Cyrus managed to get his wife pregnant again, but that doesn't surprise me since these two can't keep their hands off each other. Every time they had a spare moment they were going off to "relax" somewhere. There are more pics of the expanded Gutierrez family over at my extras site on Tumblr.

Anyway, here is Las Vistas #6

Memories You'd Like to Forget (Life, Love, & Lies Update)

2011-10-09T21:29:00.003-04:00

The next episode of Life, Love, & Lies is posted. It is short but very pivotal to the direction in which the story and the characters lives are moving and a lot is revealed about how their pasts have affected their present lives. I've added a song link to this one because I thought it captured the mood of the piece quite well. Hope you enjoy it :)

Episode # 25 - Past & Present Pt. 2

Sneak Peek

2011-10-07T00:48:00.003-04:00

Getting close to having Episode #25 ready to post and thought I would share a little something from it. I'm digging deeper into Blake's past, illuminating some of the reasons for his flaws, and revealing a little bit more about the person on the other side of that headstone. Hoping to have this finalized by tomorrow (fingers crossed).

Strange and Ominus Post Ahead

2011-09-29T00:09:00.004-04:00

Taking a moment to think out loud. I've made promises I haven't kept, taken on things too big for my abilities in this moment, but I won't beat myself up about it anymore. Thinking of making some changes, good changes. Thinking of taking this thing to another level, but worried I don't have the time anymore. Trying, very hard, to get this all done, but mostly I'm just thinking. I am still here. Happy very early Friday :)

Life, Love, & Lies Update (Yay!!!)

2011-08-28T19:35:00.005-04:00

Okay.....so it's been months since the last post for this story (sorry) and I feel like I need to put some refresher links up just in case. Of course reading the last two episodes probably wouldn't hurt (see sidebar on Life, Love, Lies page), but you might also want to read this as well as what happens between Blake and Blair is referenced in this new episode.

My game crashed after each and every picture I took so there isn't much to look at in this one; a lot more tell than show. This episode is really more of an information dump that at the end of the day is well overdue and just plain necessary. There are much more thrilling things to come I promise you. But for now.......Episode #24 - Past & Present Pt. 2

At Long Last......An Update

2011-08-12T19:30:00.001-04:00

I've finally got a new update of Las Vistas; it's nothing earth shattering, just a transitional piece to set some things in motion. It is, however, my first post for the WeSeWriMo challenge and my first step towards achieving my goal #1 (you can check out all of my goals here).

Because it has been such a long time (and especially since I've left this particular story thread wide open for so long) I will suggest that you take a look at the last episode before reading this as well as Life, Love, & Lies Episode #9 - After Effects for a refresher/background.

Anywho, here's the update: Las Vistas #5

I'm Taking This Bull By the Horns!!!

2011-07-28T15:39:00.003-04:00

Okay, so it’s been a while again. I haven’t posted a story update in months and I feel so bad about it but hopefully, if all goes well, what I am about to say will make up for it. I’ve decided to sign up for WeSeWriMo and take on the challenge of posting a ridiculous amount of episodes (Life, Love, & Lies & Las Vistas)in the month of August. How ridiculous you ask? Well, here are my goals:

Goal #1: Write and publish 8 new episodes by Aug. 31 (a.k.a the semi-sane goal)

Goal #2: Finish writing and publishing the remainder of Season 1; 17 episodes (a.k.a the super insane goal)

Goal #3: Finish goals 1 & 2 and make a teaser trailer for Season 2 (a.k.a. the retartedly stupid crazy goal)

All of this is super ambitious for a person like myself who, to date, has posted an average of about one episode a month over the past two years (OMG!!), but it is a challenge that comes at fairly good time as things in RL are settling down and because I just need to get off my butt and do something with this story.

Do I really think I can get all the way to Goal #3? I want to, but realistically I’ll be lucky to get Goal #1 achieved. But the improbability of finishing goals 2 & 3 won’t stop me from trying. I’ve basically cleared my social schedule for the next 4 weeks so that I can give this my best effort and even if I don’t meet any of my goals I will at least put out a real update of some sort, so I figure I really can’t loose as long as I try.

Wish me luck (cause I'm gonna need it) and I hope to have the first new episode out by Aug. 1 :)

Where the Hell Have I Been???

2011-06-14T11:45:00.005-04:00

OMG!! It has been 2 months since I've posted anything to this blog and I wish I could say I have a story update to announce, but sadly.....no. I'm currently working on the next three episodes of Life, Love, & Lies and new episode of Las Vistas but I do have a little something to share in the meantime.

It's not much right now, and it's certainly far from finished but I've been working on this project for the last few weeks while rebuilding my hood. The Las Vistas City Guide is an expansion of my Las Vistas Cribs project going beyond a simple tour of the character's homes, and expanding the view to the entire city.

I'm hoping that it will breathe life into, what I consider, an important but overlooked character in my stories; the city of Las Vistas. You can explore the geography of the city, places to shop, hangout, work, and play, and of course there will still be intimate peeks into the private lives of the characters.

Blake Bolthouse is the latest cribs tour and you can check it out here.

Checkout the Las Vistas City Guide here.

It's Official!!!

2011-04-13T10:48:00.006-04:00

So....my Las Vistas hood is officially corrupt, or at least major parts of it are. Lots are crashing, the hood is crashing when I dare to let the camera idle for more than a minute, Sims are getting stuck at the few community lots that aren't regularly crashing. It's just a huge mess. I'm going to have to rebuild, which really pisses me off since I just (I mean JUST) got my downtown set up perfectly. I'm wondering if I can simply transfer that sub-hood to the new hood that I'll be building. That would be great if I could.

Anyway, this clearly means an update won't be coming anytime soon unless I can find some way to get the shots I need or I compromise on the way the shots look, which I really don't want to do. To make things even more complicated I can't even see if the hood will work well on my new computer because the graphics card is a piece of crap and new one I want is a little too expensive for me to order right now. All of this just really, really sucks!! *SIGH*

Okay, mindless whining session over. Please return to your regularly scheduled programing, already in progress.

Time Out

2011-03-30T09:03:00.007-04:00

I've been somewhat MIA recently. I'm behind on writing, and reading and commenting on the dozens of wonderful stories I love so much. RL has certainly been a factor as there is a lot going on at the moment. Now it seems that my game has decided to start crashing again and on the very lots I need to get into for my next update (coincidence??). I've been fighting all of this for the past few weeks, hoping it will work out, but I'm finally accepting that it's just not going to happen unless I just take a time out and really deal with the issues.

So...with that said, I will be taking a short break from posting any new updates until I get things "figured out." I really hate to do this now that I am finally getting to the meat of things in this story, but at this point I just don't think it can be helped :(

More Than 10 Things About Me

2011-03-21T20:36:00.002-04:00

Still working on the next update, which will be short and hopefully done in the next day or so. In the meantime, I've posted my interview over at Valley Sun Sims. Check it out here.

Aftermath - Life, Love & Lies Update!!!!!

2011-03-14T18:28:00.004-04:00

The fallout from the scandal begins, but it's far from over. Check out the new episode here.

When It Rains It Pours

2011-02-22T21:00:00.001-05:00

I know I said that this would be done last weekend, but at the last minute I had this briliant (stupid) idea to try my hand at some machinima to add some flare. Didn't quite work out and after a good old fashioned tussle, I got my ass handed to me by Photoshop and Premier, *shrugs*.

Ramping up the tension another knotch here. This if short but pivital and will hopefully answer a few questions about what Thad has been up to. Anyway, check it out here.

Extras, Extras!!

2011-02-11T02:30:00.001-05:00

(I really want to her smile again. I feel like I've tourtured her enough.)

Still working on the next update which I hope to have done by Saturday but in the mean time, I've been taking care of some small projects that are long overdue. Why is it that for the last few months I have forgotten to take care of this stuff every time (every single time) I've gone into my game? Then when you get out of the game you don't really want to load all of it back up just to take two pictures, so I guess that's why this hasn't gotten done until now.

I've done bios for Cross, and Bianca, and I've added mosaics for Isabella, Blake, Nico, & Sloane.

And, I've started a picspam blog over at tumblr 1) Because I have so many pics just sitting on my computer I figured someone should see them and 2) Because I love this particular layout on tumblr and really wanted to use it. Check it out here.

Okay...back to work.

Random WCIF

2011-01-29T12:44:00.001-05:00

Have you ever gotten in over your head? Saw something in your mind's eye that seemed so great, would be so cool if you could pull it off. So you set out to achieve this awesomeness. You've got a plan, you know it will work, you see it working, you go forward. You start on your task, you get to a certain point and you realize that all of your planning and plotting isn't so planned and plotted. You run into a snag, and then another, and another and you realize that you success with this endeavor all comes down to this one thing you never thought that you would need. And now, as you tirelessly search through clutter list after clutter list looking for this thing that you need to do something with, you realize that you are sinking below the tide and your vision is sinking with you. How could all that creative energy be thwarted by this one elusive stupid piece of clutter? How could this be?

I say all this to say...does anyone know where I can find a scarf that is strictly decor?

New Las Vistas Update

2011-01-24T22:42:00.003-05:00

Finally getting some insight into just why in the hell this beautiful man is cheating on his wife. Las Vistas Episode #4.

Complications

2011-01-22T12:00:00.000-05:00

The title above is the same as the title of the newest episode of Life, Love, & Lies and it describes how things have been going for me for the past week and a half. From taking my mother to the emergency room (she's okay, btw), chasing after another mouse (he's okay too, unforturnately), trying to find a way keep my nephew from going to prision (still not okay), I've been spread a bit thin.

I am also terribly behind in my reading and commenting. I have skimmed a lot of things that I can't wait to read thoroughly so hopefully I can get that done soon too. Hope you (whoever is reading this) are having better luck in life, but for now I'm going to try and be thankful that for the things in my life that are gonig right. Now, what were they again?? :)

P.S.: Oh yeah.....Episode #21 - Complications

Accepting Fate (Episode Updates)

2011-01-09T02:38:00.001-05:00

What can I say....RL is sucking major ass right now. I'm in danger of loosing someone I love very much (not forever, but a few years can feel like forever) and there is nothing I can do about it. Its his own fault and he's just a kid (for another 2 weeks), but its still stupid, and unfair/fair, and stressful, and just plain sad. But again, I've done all I can do and its beyond my control so I'm working on the part where I accept that. Easier said than done.

Anyway, I've been keeping myself occupied with what I can control and so I have not one but two new updates of Las Vistas. The first one is pretty standard but the second one is an experiment of sorts. Its all pictures, no description, no dialogue, no writing of any kind. Its something I've been working on for a while and I think its pretty clear what's going on (at least I hope so), but please see for yourself.

Las Vistas Episode #2 & Las Vistas Episode # 3

Last Minute Gift (Episode Update)

2010-12-27T22:00:00.004-05:00

Season's Greetings!! I had a wonderful holiday and I hope you did too. As usual I am a late gift giver, but I figure, better late than never so here is a little goodie I have to share.

Episode #20 - Friends & Enemies

P.S.: There's a link at the end (in the author's note) to little a tidbit I thought might be interesting. Happy reading and have a fabulous New Year!

New Found Normalcy & A Song

2010-11-22T22:00:00.006-05:00

This a view from my cubicle at my new job. Looks like I'm entrenched in this big city doesn't it. Not really; just a small group of tall-ish buildings across the river from the "real city". I like the view though, and the fact that it represents my freedom from what I can only liken to four years in hell. I didn't realize how beaten down I was until I was all the way out and I haven't once regretted leaving. Everyone at my new job is really nice, helpful, caring, and at the least sane. It's not exactly what I'd like to be doing, but I feel safe here, able to breathe freely, and getting stronger everyday. For the first time in a long time I am actually happy about being at work.

I'm feeling so normal that I've already gotten back into some of my old "happy" habits like following the links all over iTunes. I start in with just one song and find 800 others that I absolutely love. Only had the money to buy about six tonight, but I've bookmarked tons more. I used to do this all the time, especially in the fall/winter; helps me beat the seasonal depression spells I go through. Surfing for new music almost always leads to me making new playlists from the music I already have and in doing so I ran across some playlists I made for Life, Love, & Lies. I put them together for inspiration for a certain scene or situation or even based on how I see certain characters; almost like a soundtrack to the story.

The music has helped me see the story in different and deeper ways and as I was listening to the playlists again I was struck by the fact that I've never bothered to share that aspect of things publicly. If I think the music enhances the story wouldn't it do the same for those who read it? I would certainly hope so, but what if it did the exact opposite? What if people took one listen and ran away screaming? Okay, maybe it wouldn't be that extreme but then again I have been told repeatedly that I have a "strange" and "eclectic" collection of music. The music I listen to means a lot to me, it's a part of who I am, it is a reflection of different and not so public parts of my personality, in fact only about 1% of the people I know have ever been allowed to see my music library. Put another way...I'm very sensitive and protective about this shit :)

But I'd like to start somewhere.....so here's a little something....inspired by Isabella & Nico

Looking In All The Wrong Places

2010-11-14T20:51:00.005-05:00

Yes, she's still trying to track Nico down and she's finding everyone but him. Worlds continue to collide. Episode #19 - Crossing Paths Pt. 2

Worlds Coliding (Life, Love, & Lies, Update)

2010-11-07T17:23:00.003-05:00

This is short and sweet but it is the begining of a series of events that are going to mean big changes for just about all of my characters. I was going to post one long episode but decided against it. I was supposed to post this on Tuesday, but I just couldn't get it together to finish the writing. Got stuck on one stupid paragraph that I couldn't or wouldn't finish. I guess I made something work here so....
Episode #18 - Crossing Paths Pt. 1

Procrastination Is a Disease

2010-10-31T12:16:00.003-04:00

This picture can easily sum up where I am right now. Running hard and falling repeatedly. I start my new job tomorrow and I'm excited and scared at the same time. Really trying not to bring my baggage from that other place with me, but its hard. I wanted to get a Life, Love, & Lies Update out today, but I don't know if that will happen as I still have a lot to do to get ready for tomorrow. It's all written and shot except for one scene that I can't seem to write to save my life. I might just go with what I have and stop agonizing over it; seriously need a creativty boost.

In other news, I am slowly (very slowly) opening my mind up to the possibility of getting the Sims 3. Thanks to some wonderful game shots from the lovely and talented Phoenix the new Late Night EP has me intrigued. Still trying to get used to the way the new sims look.

BTW, I've let Issy and Nico start tweeting. It started out as a creative exercise but I'm thinking of making it an extention of the story, just as a little extra. We'll see how that works out.

Okay enough procrastinating..back to work. Happy Halloween!

Announcements, & Updates, & Spinoffs, Oh My!!

2010-10-10T22:45:00.005-04:00

That's right, I've finally crawled out for under the rock I've been hiding under and managed to post not one, but two updates. Life, Love, & Lies is back and it brought a friend with it: my new spinoff, Las Vistas. Boring title, I know, but I couldn't think of anything better for the life of me. All of the storylines of my "secondary" charcters will play out there, leaving more room to continue Isabella's story in peace. All of these storylines will continue to intersect and there will be author's notes to keep the order of events clear.

With that said you should definately read Las Vistas Episode #1 first. In theory it happens a while before Life, Love, & Lies Episode #17. The two are not directly related but there is an element of the storyline that will be touched on in the continuation of Episode 18. Like I said, I'm going to try and do author's notes or I might do a TOC, not sure yet, we'll see how it goes.

Anyway, thank you all for sticking with me and have fun reading.

Small Status Report

2010-09-25T15:48:00.003-04:00

I've been working on an update (finally). Actually I've got about 3 in the hopper and I was really trying to get the first one out this weekend. That is probably not going to happen however given the necessary, yet ill concieved, idea I had to finally try to figure out what keeps crashing my community lots. Ever since installing the Fun With Pets Collection (should've never done that), my community lots either refused to load or crashed 5 minutes into loading. I was content to blame it on the new expansion pack, but more than likely it is a rouge piece of CC.

I've been doing the 50% method recommended by MTS and after testing, and testing, and testing, and hearing that damn APT life song a hundred times, I think I've narrowed it down to a folder with about three thousand files in it. At the same time, I thought it would be a great idea to try to compressorize my downloads, just to eliminate the possibility of this being a space issue. BAD idea. It takes FOREVER to compress this stuff and I've spent the last 24 hours alone doing that. I'd like to say that compressing things at least shortened the time it takes to load the game but....no.

Ugh!! Okay, back to testing. Just wanted anyone who reads this to know that I have not abandoned this blog or this story. I'm just in sims 2 technical hell at the moment. No biggie though.

Eating Vicariously

2010-08-26T23:07:00.002-04:00

I've actually posted something on my LJ page; semi-sim related but mostly RL stuff.

Backstory

2010-08-23T23:17:00.002-04:00

Still working my way out of the dark. I've been looking at the backstory for some characters (I have an obscene amount of it) and decided to take some pictures as inspiration. Trying to figure out how much backstory is enough, too much, irrelevant, or absolutely necessary. So many things to pull forward to enhance the present but I don't want to polute it with flashbacks or over the top expository writing. So many pieces of the puzzle to put together. Anyway, here are a few shots of Isabella way back when. (Note: there is a small, very minor, spoiler in the last picture. Probably not even worth mentioning, but I figured I'd do it anyway.)

Isabella dancing with her mother before her parents go out on the town. Note that this is proof that she is not a natural blonde.

Issy and her brother Chaz and sister Eva

Issy and Nico as teenagers. My favorite shot of them.

Issy and her father in his office on her first day at work. (This could be looked at as a small spoiler since I've never shown his whole face before).

In Recovery: Back to the Start

2010-08-15T18:53:00.004-04:00

I've been holed up in the house for the last few days recovering from oral surgery; all four wisdom teeth got pulled. Was it necessary? Yes. Painful? Yes! Have I been watching the Cooking Channel 24/7, living vicariously, trying to smell the food through the screen because I can't eat it? Guilty! Pudding, applesauce, and ice cream only go so far towards being satisfying. I've moved on to semi-solid foods and right now I'm eating mashed potatoes and a piece of meatloaf so thin it should be classified as shaved. This part of the recovery is going quite well really.

The other part....is getting...... better. It's been a year since my first post of Life, Love, & Lies, hard to believe, but it's true. Milestones (if you can call this one) are always difficult for me. I tend to freak the hell out and start realizing all the things I haven't done that I wanted to do before X date. True to form, that is what I've been doing for the past month. Actually even before that things were getting a little hairy.

After hitting several road blocks that I somehow managed to get past I decided that after this last episode I was going to stop and take stock of where I am as opposed to where I want to be. That was the best and worst idea I've had yet. It was good because I really needed to do it to see where I've gone astray, things I've missed, things I need to let go of, things I need to expand upon. But bad because I took freaking out to whole new level.

I don't like whining. I've done it here way more than I wanted to so I just decided to keep it all to myself this time. Suffice it to say that after a lot of doubting, crying, screaming, yelling sessions with my unofficial "story advisors" (BFF & hubby), and several attempts to just give the hell up, I've come into the calm after the storm. I'm wiping the tears, the hyperventilating is subsiding, and I'm able to see clearly for the first time in weeks.

I am no longer fighting the direction this story and these characters are going in, in favor of ploughing forth with what I had planned. I'm getting my ass in the back seat and letting them drive before they throw me in the trunk. Hell, when I moved my Sim self into a new house Isabella even came by in the welcome wagon and chewed me out about it. I swear, she argued with me as soon as I said hello. I can only assume she's not pleased with my stubbornness either.

Lesson learned...letting go is hard. Lesson #2 picking yourself up and starting again. A serious work in progress but I'm getting there. I'm hoping to get the kinks ironed out and post a new episode soon. We'll see.

Just Because I Love Him.....

2010-07-23T13:46:00.003-04:00

Since I am at work, bored as hell; since I'm stuck inside for lunch, because it is hotter than the white heat of seven suns outside today; and mostly because I just love this guy and wanted to write about him... 10 Things about Nico De Santos.

1. His childhood dream was to be a race car driver. He still loves cars, especially old 1970’s models and running an auto body repair business was more than just a cover for criminal activity; it was a hobby turned profitable.

2. Nico hates physical violence and only uses it when he has no other choice. His father was abusive towards his mother and he found himself forced to break up their fights.

3. His first name is actually Nicholas. His middle name is Castillo (his father’s first name).

4. Isabella is the first and only woman he has ever been in love with.

5. He was a serious momma’s boy and she could do no wrong in his eyes. He visits her grave regularly and has fresh flowers sent every week, without fail.

6. The only person who intimidates him is his daughter; though he would never admit it. He is accustomed to having people follow his orders without question, but the stubbornness she inherited from him makes that an impossible task for her. He is terribly concerned with what she thinks of him and no matter how hard he is on her he would do anything to make her happy.

7. He feels much closer to his adopted brother Rider James than his biological brother Rook. Given their age difference he thinks of Rider more like a son than a brother.

8. Nico never set out to become a criminal, but rather fell into it. When he was working as an assistant at the garage he now owns, he walked in on a private meeting between his boss and another drug dealer. Faced with either having to kill him or recruit him, his boss decided on the latter and taught him the business from the ground up. When his boss was killed in a dispute, Nico took over the business.

9. Nico and Reese Prescott were best friends as children. That friendship deteriorated during their teenage years when Nico stole Reese’s girlfriend, Isabella. Their opposing career paths have only widened their rift.

10. While having more children has never been a priority for him, Nico has always wanted a son to carry on the family name.

To Tell the Truth: Life, Love, & Lies Update

2010-07-18T16:48:00.003-04:00

This poor girl has fought tooth and nail to get to this point, as did I with trying to get this update done. But now we're both here. No thanks to serious writer's block, blogger's contant shenanigans, and a virus scare I've finally gotten this posted. And no thanks to her father, she's about to get a rude awakening and nasty dose of the truth.

Episode #16 - Truth Hurts

Tagged Again - 10 Things Character Study

2010-07-12T16:34:00.006-04:00

Because they both have psychic powers and somehow knew I really needed to do this for these characters, Phoenix tagged me for Sloane and Gayl tagged me for Cross. Again very, very difficult and interesting results:

Sloane Stevens

1. When she was 16 years old she was violated by someone she saw as a father figure. The incident left her severely emotionally damaged.

2. She blames Isabella Monacco for the aftermath of this traumatic incident, a fact that is painful and bittersweet for her. She and Issy were more like sisters than friends when they were growing up. The rift between them has left a huge void in Sloane’s life that she has been unable to fill.

3. She owns her own public relations firm, S. Stevens & Associates, and is one of the top agents in her field. Her company does business with business moguls, fortune 500 corporations, and many entertainment industry power players.

4. She is the only child of two very rich and very self-absorbed doctors, both retired now (her father was an oncologist and her mother a cardiothoracic surgeon). They opted for a civil settlement rather than filing criminal charges against the person who attacked her; a devastating slight she has never forgiven them for. She is estranged from her parents and has not seen or spoken to them in over a decade.

5. Sloane loves animals and donates a large portion of her income to various rescue organizations and regularly volunteers at animal shelters.

6. When they were in high school and while he was dating Isabella, Sloane kissed a very drunk Nico De Santos at a party. She has never told anyone and he has never indicated that he remembers it, though for some reason she is certain that he does.

7. As vicious as she can be Slone is a very caring and compassionate person. The strong and confident façade that she wears is just armor to protect the wounded soul inside of her.

8. She has never been in love and has only had one crush in her life (Isabella’s older brother, Chaz). She has made a game of attracting men, using them up, and throwing them away; a twisted form of revenge for the men in her life that have hurt her.

9. She is generally a social butterfly and life of any party, and is regularly seen out on the town and featured in society columns. Her recent covertness is due to her obsession with getting Isabella to leave Las Vistas while remaining above suspicion.

10. While she looks like a high maintenance debutant, sneaking up on her in an alley would be a foolish move. She holds a black belt in karate. She doesn’t wrestle, she beats bitches up.

Dominick Cross

1. Since his release from prison Cross’ mission in life has been to win back his girl (Ivy), reclaim his position in the criminal underground, and exact revenge on the man he believes engineered his downfall; Nico De Santos.

2. He and Nico have had bad blood between them for years and Nico holds him partially responsible for the death of his daughter’s mother.

3. He has two siblings that he knows about, one of which he has never officially met but has watched from a distance for years.

4. The scars on his right check are the result of an altercation with a drunken foster parent who used a fork for more than eating his dinner that night.

5. Cross spent most of his childhood in foster care after his father left him alone in their apartment for a 3 week stint in Vegas with a girlfriend. He survived quite well for a kid until he accidentally set fire to the couch while trying to light a candle after the power got cut off. A neighbor got to him just as he was about to jump out of the window to get away from the flames.

6. As horribly as he has always treated Ivy she is the first and only person he has ever had an emotional connection to. Though the definition is warped beyond belief he would readily call what he feels for her love.

7. While he has a good idea of how old he is Cross does not know the exact date of his birth. Poor record keeping on the part of Child Services and the lack of a birth certificate, or social security information prior to his alleged 18th birthday make it impossible for him to ever know for sure. His father told him more than once that he was in the middle of raking leaves when he found out his mother was in labor, so for legal purposes he was given a birthday of September 22, which is generally the first day of Fall.

8. He has a vicious temper and is prone to violence. He has been diagnosed with a variety of psychological and personality disorders and has often been referred to as being a border line sociopath. He has never received treatment of any kind.

9. Woody Woodpecker is his favorite television show and he watches it religiously. It is one of only a handful of good memories about his childhood.

10. During his time in jail – his second stint of incarceration – he wrote a letter to Ivy every month for 7 years. Each one was returned unopened.

I've Been Tagged - Ten Things About Isabella

2010-07-10T21:36:00.000-04:00

So, S.B. tagged me to do this meme about Isabella and I have to admit it was a lot harder than I thought it would be. Ten facts sounds easy but, just like with real people, figuring out what is true and what is just a front with characters isn't always so cut and dry. This was really challenging and extremely helpful and I will probably do it with all of my characters at some point. Well, here it is 10 things about Ms. Isabella Monacco.

1. Her favorite food is marshmallows.

2. She is essentially estranged from her older brother, who hates their father and joined the peace corp to get away from him, and her younger sister who is away at boarding school

3. Isabella is actually quite impulsive by nature, especially when it comes to matters of the heart. Her reserved approach to her life now is an effort to control her inner passions.

4. She is a closet tomboy and has a mean game on the basketball court.

5. While she loves both of her parents her biggest fear is inheriting their most destructive weaknesses. In a lot of ways she feels as if it is already too late.

6. She has a persian cat named Zsa Zsa, whom she spoils rotten.

7. People who flaunt their wealth have been a constant in her life and have always made her sick. She's often felt guilty about coming from a wealthy family.

8. Her childhood dream was to be a concert pianist. She still plays a little here and there.

9. She never leaves home without the her mother's diamond and sapphire pendant necklace. Whether its in her purse or around her neck, its always on her.

10. If it meant that she could be with the man she loves forever, she would give up everything she has in a heartbeat.

Tagging:

Phoenix - Alana
Gayl - Cadence
S.B. - Cruz
Lachesis - Kai
S@ndy - Luisa

5am Epiphany.....NOT

2010-07-10T04:54:00.005-04:00

Haven't been to sleep at all and it's already 5am and stangely, I'm not really tired. Still working on the next episode and thought I would try to do things a bit differently and use some test shots as my inspiration to get this scene right. Still stuck and scared I don't know these characters as well as I thought. Read a few pages of a book about character dialogue and feel more lost than ever on what these two should be saying to each other.

Maybe I'm afraid they'll say the wrong thing, would certainly be easier if they didn't say anything at all and just let the emotional gap get wider. Can't do that, they have to talk, he has to tell her the truth and more importantly, those of you who read this story deserve to find out. And I have to let myself off the hook for taking too long to get here; gotta shake it off, it's okay. Really it is.

Back to work....no more posting while sleep deprived.

Paved with Good Intentions

2010-07-05T21:45:00.003-04:00

Well....today was the last day of my "vacation" and I didn't get anything I wanted to accomplish done. Guess I just needed the time away from all the craziness to relax. I really wanted to get the next episode up, but instead I made excuses for why I needed to rebuild my whole Las Vistas hood. I didn't really need to (even though most of my community lots keep crashing on me) and I eventually gave up, but I realized that I'm just really afraid to write this next part. I don't know how to start and the scary part is that I can't even see what I want to happen. That's never happened before. I suppose I do see a little something, but I don't like it and I'm afraid to commit to trying to go that way. I may have to reorganize some things, have some things happen before I wanted them to, or even just cut out other things entirely. I'm still really upset that it has taken me this long to get to this point in the story; feels like I keep digging a big hole I can't get out of. Rambling....anyway, I'm also behind on reading, something else I feel a bit guilty about given all the leisure time I've had, but will hopefully catch up soon. Okay, officially taking off my cloak of self-pity. Haven't even started the week and I'm ready for the weekend.

Getting Somewhere (Life, Love, & Lies Update)

2010-06-16T07:51:00.003-04:00

I just realized that it's been almost a year since I started this story and I am just now getting here. And I still have so far to go, but I guess I'm getting there...slowly. Once again no one looks happy here so you know what that means.

Episode #15 - Reflection

It's Monday Again.....

2010-06-14T10:23:00.001-04:00

I made a promise to myself that I wouldn't keep whining about my work situation, so I've decided to laugh about it instead. I believe that I have found something that completely captures how I feel about coming into this domicile of the damned perfectly. Press play to see what I mean. Or go here is the video is being a jerk.

In other news, I'm planning to shoot episode 15 tonight (and possibly tomorrow). Would’ve been done this weekend if I hadn’t decided to show it to my husband. He read it and took serious issue with how I had written for Nico in an argument that he and Issy will be having. He said that Nico wasn’t “Nico” enough. He had the nerve to say he sounded bitchy. Of course I defended my work tooth and nail until he read it out loud, and I have to say there was some bitch going on there. I spent the last two days rewriting it and it sounds much better, much more Nico. Lesson learned: sometimes husbands can be good for more than washing the car and cutting the grass. Sometimes.

Back in Business

2010-06-03T00:15:00.002-04:00

It's been a rough two weeks with work issues, personal issues, and a nasty virus that took over my computer, but, somehow, I've managed to eek out an episode update. This one is going to set a lot of other events in motion and begin to answer an important question that has been put off for way too long. Not being able to access my sims for a while forced me to look at all the storylines I have going and I realized that I have a lot loose ends flying around and it's high time I started tying one of them up. I'm still working on the pacing for this story, so please bear with me. I'm trying to get it just right.

Anyway, here is Episode #14 - Inquest

It Sucks Right Now.....

2010-05-26T10:20:00.003-04:00

Warning: I'm whining here so turn away now if you're not bringing gifts to the pity party. I know that it could always be worse than it is right now, but I feel like wallowing in it for just a moment. I'm still at this job from hell. I've had to contact HR yet again and now they are bringing in the "big guns" from headquarters to talk to us. We'll see how that goes tomorrow. My guess is it won't go well, but I'm holding up my last grain of hope as an offering to the powers that be that I am wrong. I'm just tired, drained, and ready for all of this to be over. At this point getting fired would be a damn relief.

Secondly, just as I was about to finish shooting my next to last scene for the next update I log onto my laptop only to find that it has a virus . You know, the annoying kind that opens a million windows, won't let you get into any programs, and cripples your internet access. Yes, I let the anti-virus lapse, yes I clicked on something I shouldn't have by mistake, and yes, my laptop is utterly fucked because of it. Luckily my husband is an IT person, so hopefully he will have it fixed by the weekend.

The only "bright" note I can think of at the moment is not really that bright as it has cost a life. We finally caught the mouse that has been terrorizing my kitchen for the last two weeks. I wanted him to just leave the way he came. I didn't want it to have to come to what it has. I have respect for all animals but he just had to go. I don't think he felt a thing or even knew what happened and I hope he is in a better place. I just couldn't have him on my counter top another day.

So I think the title of this post really sums it up. It really sucks right now. That's all I've got. If you've read this I hope things are looking better for you.

Sleeping with the Enemy (Episode Update)

2010-05-10T12:21:00.007-04:00

Contrary to what I should be doing, I've added yet another character to the mix of an already complicated situation. This handsome devil is Dominick Cross, known to his friends and enemies simply as Cross. He also as ties to both Nico and Ivy, as you'll see in this latest update.

Episode #13 - Dangerous Ground

Why Does This Keep Happening???

2010-05-03T22:10:00.003-04:00

I'm seriously at a loss about this. Above is a picture of Pierce Covington (Sloane's cohort in crime) with his wife Carleigh. That's right I said his wife, as in a woman, as in a female, as in someone who should't be wearing a mens suit or looking like a man. She was a woman in CAS because that's how I exported her from SimPE and that's how I kept her when I remade the two of them after reinstating my back-up. I remade them in CAS finalized them and as soon as I went to put them into their home I realized she was wearing a suit and not a dress. Now somehow she has magically turned into a man.

This is what she looked like before the back-up (small picture I know but it's all I had).

And again here "she" is as a man. She's still got her make-up and her female voice, but she's a dude now. What the hell?

This is not the first time this has happened and at first I thought it was because I had accidentally chosen a male oriented skin tone for one of the previous victims but that's not the case the Carleigh . So what's the deal? Has anyone out there ever experienced this before? Am I doing something wrong? Is there some transgender hack I might have acquired accidentally? I'm really puzzled.

Edit: Okay, I just went back in the game to try to get this woman to stay a woman and was about to make another character I needed since I was in CAS and this is what I get.

I was trying to make man and as you can clearly see from the screen cap the male symbol is highlighted but he is clearly wearing a female default outfit. This keep getting stranger and stranger.

Aaaahhhhh......

2010-05-02T19:17:00.007-04:00

I've been MIA this weekend and for a very good reason. I have to say that I have one of the best friends in the world. She sent my husband and I on a much needed weekend away to a beautiful golf resort and spa.

Of course things started off with a healthy dose of junk food.

A lovely and cozy room ......

...with a beautiful view

Nice bathroom too.

Then some champagne and truffles. (note: I had to explain to my husband that we were getting complementary chocolates and not rare and expensive mushrooms. LOL)

And I couldn't help myself...a little simming as well.

And it was all topped off with an amazing hot stone massage. It was my first one ever and I think I'm addicted. Sooooo relaxing. (note: of course that's not me and I wasn't in the desert, but you get the idea).

All in all it was a wonderful and much needed break from my RL. I hope everyone who happens upon this had a great weekend as well.

Do I really have to go back to work tomorrow????

Screaming Neon Pink Elephants

2010-04-25T17:07:00.005-04:00

If that title above sounds crazy it might make sense if you read my previous entry. And if these two don't look happy, it's because they aren't. All the kissing and hugging and quickies are finally catching up to them. Time to talk about that elephant in the room.....at least one of them.

Episode #12 - Reality Check

Battlefield Report

2010-04-22T11:27:00.004-04:00

The Good News: I've worked out my issues with the "conversation" from my previous post, made the necessary changes and am quite please with what I've got. I've mapped out all my poses, figured out wardrobe and sets (though I still might have to build a little one), and am finally ready to shoot the new episode.

The Bad News: My damn game is outright refusing to load; a problem that I'm blaming on corrupted user files (totally my fault for trying to delete a sim using the insimenator incorrectly)or the ridiculously huge lot I downloaded that I had to have. I sat there and watched the title screen sit for almost an hour last night and nothing happened...nothing. I'm in the process of reinstating a back-up from Feb. which is great because it's not too old, but sucks because I've downloaded a ton of crap, made at least 15 new sims, finally got my revised downtown set up the way I wanted it, and created a whole new subhood for Bypass between then and now :P

With that said, my already late episode update is going to be pushed back even further, but it's pretty short so hopefully I can get it done sometime this weekend, along with a small tidbit I'm working on for Sim Haven. We'll see. Fingers crossed.

P.S.: Did I mention that I am doing all this at my desk at work...right now. Totally inappropriate.

And please ignore the "Read More". There's nothing else after this, I just don't know how to get it out of the post template.

Update: The back-up was successfully reinstalled and the game works fine. Back in business!!

Does It Make Sense???

2010-04-16T11:49:00.001-04:00

I put this up the other day, but took it down because I thought I had it figured out. But I'm putting it back up because I'm curious to get alternate opinions. My scenes for the next episode are written (long since written), but I'm hesitating. I was planning to take the shots for it this weekend, but a disturbing thought keeps crossing my mind. Something doesn't make sense. I have a conversation coming up between two characters that is long overdue about a difficult and important topic. The catch is that they also need to have a conversation about something else that is equally as difficult and important. The topics are mutally exclusive yet they are linked in some ways and now I can't see how they can talk about one without the other at least coming up in conversation. Is it plausable for them to talk about one without talking about the other? Can you have a discussion about one elephant in the room while totally ignoring another, especially when the other one has on flashing neon pink lights and is screaming at the top of it's lungs? Just wondering. Afraid I might have to completely rethink what I was going to do.

A Blast From the Past

2010-04-08T22:49:00.002-04:00

Guess who that is. That's right, it's the very first version of Isabella. I was playing around in iGoogle today and stumbled across my Picasa album (totally forgot it existed). In it I found a lot of pictures that I thought I had deleted. Old pictures. Bad pictures. Pictures of the first version of Life, Love, & Lies.

At first I cringed when I saw them, but then I had to smile because if it weren't for those pictures, that story, I wouldn't have what I have now. I decided to embrace that season of my creativity, kindly snicker, and be thankful that things have gotten better. I also decided to post a few of those pictures here. Okay...here they are...try not to laugh to hard.

This is the first version of Blake. What was I thinking giving him that hair. And he wore that sweat suit.

This is their first meeting. In game they couldn't keep their hands off of each other and they still can't.

Here they are again. Isabella has some better looking hair. Blake is still in that damn sweat suit and once again they're all over each other.

This is Waverly Graham; gold digger and subsequent black widow.

< She married and later killed Brad Graham....in the hot tub.

This is Issy again when she got engaged to some random townie. I didn't understand how to get the ceilings to show at that point. Damn headlines and plumb bobs everywhere.

I think you get the picture. I have to stop now. I just can't bear to post anymore. Thank goodness for creative evolution.

A New Look & A New Episode

2010-03-29T21:43:00.001-04:00

If you're reading this than you can clearly see that some changes have happened around here. I've changed colors, added some links, and just done some much needed beautification. I'm branching out a little from Life, Love, & Lies and doing some other things so I decided to make this blog a home base for all of my projects. Speaking of other things, I recently joined Sim Haven on Live Journal and posted a little something; you can check it out here.

Other than all of that the only thing new is Episode #11 - The Spider & the Fly.

Questions from an Inept Photoshop Peon

2010-03-23T11:14:00.005-04:00

Okay, so...I'm going to be making some changes to this blog in the very near future and I really need a new banner. I love the one of have but it won't serve my new purposes so it's going the way of the Dodo bird. I've gotten quite a few compliments on it, but the funny thing is it was created by pure accident. I was just playing around in photoshop and got lucky. Same thing with the banners on my other pages; dumb luck. I have real trouble with changing the image sizes to make things look right. The banner on the Life, Love, & Lies page was a real challenge. I literally had to cut and paste Isabella from one pic to another so she wouldn't look stretched and crazy. How do you expand the size of a pic to make a banner with out it looking like a taffy pull? Was the cut and paste method correct? Am I doing something fundamentally wrong when changing the image size?

Also, I've lost my self sim. I made her after the dreaded SEPTEMBER back up and accidentally deleted the corrupt back-up that followed it before I got her out. Really pissed about that as she was (probably still is) going to be a part of the new banner. I know the answer will be yes to my next question but if you feel like indulging my denial feel free. When you delete something from the an external drive or the recycle bin is it gone forever???

It's About to Hit the Fan....

2010-03-19T07:49:00.006-04:00

Just a warning...I'm might whine a bit here. Things at work have taken a turn for the worst. I've had to go to HR to report my boss. She's going to shit a brick, and probably, all over me. I was out on Wed. and my admin told me it was absolute torture while I was away (she made someone cry and was yelling all day). Yesterday was more of the same. I've had enough. I had to call in the big guns. Both I and my admin. called HR and found ourselves crying like babies about what we've been through and when we stopped to add it all up (my 4 years and her 6 months) there's almost 5 years of misery.

How can it be that I've endured this for this long? How have I never said anything before? What have I ever done (or not done) to deserve to be yelled at, cursed at, and threatened like this? The answers, respectively, are 1) I don't know; 2) I don't know; 3) Absolutely nothing. I spent last night with a knot in my chest and a lump in my stomache dreading today. Today HR is going to call her and she is going to go ballistic. She's going to point fingers and want names and just be more of a raging bitch than she already is. So have I really solved my problem? I guess we'll see. I really just want run away; run away and never return....just like Simba from the Lion King.

I'm rambling...wasting time.....trying to defer the shit show. I might update this (possibly more for legal purposes than anything else) or I might take this post down, who knows. I'm just so sick (literally physically sick) of this situation. AHHHHHHH!!!!!

Update: Work is eerily quiet. I was greeted by a humble demeanor and concerned words. She actually asked me if she made my life miserable. Of course!!! Duh!!! I've learned that this is only a smoke screen. The shit will come. Can't even relax when all seems well; have been duped too many times by it.

Update 2: Now she is trying to bribe me with the false promise of an office when we relocate in the fall. Doesn't matter cause I won't be here anyway. Unbelievable.

Moving Things Along - Life, Love, & Lies Update

2010-03-10T21:06:00.001-05:00

After a lot of waffling I've finally finished this update. It's only two scenes so I'm quite proud of myself in the spirit of trying to make things shorter. No explosions or eath shattering revelations here, but it moves the story along and starts to fill in some holes that were seriously bothering me. So here it is....

Episode #10 - Warning Signs

Writer's Block and Real Life

2010-03-04T10:07:00.003-05:00

I don't share much RL stuff here, but I figured I might as well, it's my blog. I've made casual mention of the fact that I hate my job but in truth I am more miserable than I've ever been in my life because of it. Big difference there. I work for a psychologically unstable emotional vampire who makes the work environment professionally and physically toxic. I suffer near panic attacks when I know I have to come into the office, I've taken more time off in the last 6 months than I have in the past 10 years, and I am suffering the physical effects of all of this stress (random infections, weight gain, thinning hair, etc.). After years of trying to make this work I've given up, I can't and won't do it anymore, so I am in the process of looking for another job. That effort will take time and unfortunately eat into the time I use to create this story. So I've resigned myself to the fact that I have to change the way I do things.

I have always hated the fact that I have large gaps between my updates (my own ridiculous standard of perfection) and have tried to fix that to no avail unfortunately. As I write this it has been almost a month since Episode 9. One problem is that the episodes are way too long and I've succumb to the fact that I just have to keep things shorter (I've been told many times to do so, but I'm hard headed). I just want to give so much with each one that I guess I over do it. I find myself thinking there's not enough content so I add more which means more pics, more shooting time, new sets, new pose combinations, etc., etc. I end up biting off more than I can chew in the time I've allotted myself. I've got to scale it down, so that's what I'm doing. I'm working on Episode 10 and I am forcing myself to make it shorter; three shorter scenes at the absolute max.

The other problem is that I've been suffering from writers block. Not that I haven't been able to write, but that I haven't been able to see how what I have written falls into place together. One thing works here but if I do it now something else won't work later on. I've been dodging it for a while but now I have to deal with it and I think I'm finding my way through that. I'm hoping to have this next update done by Sunday, but with a necessary but short road trip on Friday....we'll see. Anyway, if you've read this to the end I thank you for listening to this mini rant and hope to have something for you this weekend.

A Valentine's Gift

2010-02-14T21:19:00.004-05:00

I was bored, it's Valentine's day, and I haven't done a thing with my little side project for the real estate directory so I decided it was time for another installment of Las Vistas Cribs. This is the first V-day Issy and Nico have had in years so he decided to make it a good one. Take a look at the Monacco Residence.

Oh yeah, Happy Valentine's Day.

Digging Out & A New Episode Update

2010-02-06T13:58:00.007-05:00

To say that it snowed last night would be an understatement. There was a blizzard here and we are burried under two feet of snow. Remember the before pic of my patio table? Well here's the after.

Here too is the after of my work space.

It's funny what a lot of snow and huge cup of mint tea and cookies can do for the creative muse. It got me through a long night of tedious shooting to get to the finished product......Episode #9 - After Effects.

Dangerous Super Storm !!!

2010-02-05T14:21:00.003-05:00

That's what my weatherman is saying about the snow that's about to wallop the city.....again. That means that I'll be stuck in the house for a few more days. I've been home sick (sinus stuff) for a few days; a.k.a I hate my boss and I don't want to be around her right now.

There's still snow on the ground from last week and I'm really just ready for it to stop, but I thought it would be fun to do a before and after. Not just of the snow, but of my writing progress as well. For example:

This is the before of the patio table on my deck:

And this is the before of my make-shift "production area":

Both are barren now (one of snow & the other of ideas), but hopefully in a few hours they will be full of fresh snow and creativity respectively. The one thing that is full right now is this big black notebook. Are all of those pages pearls of creative wisdom that I've slaved over for months? No. That is my obsessive collection of posebox pictures from every posebox I've got. All in color, categorized, and alphabetized for convenience. Yes, I know, I'm totally OCD and I'm okay with it.

I'm shooting my last scene for the next update and I should have it posted this evening....hopefully. Here's to hoping it goes well and that my house doesn't get buried in snow tonight :)

Thirty & Flirty & Thriving??

2010-01-23T13:31:00.003-05:00

Well it's finally here, my 30th b-day. I don't feel any different and I really thought I would. I thought I would wake up with a good portion of "all of it" figured out. Nope. But maybe that's the trick, realizing and accepting that you may never have it "all figured out."

I wanted to have a pic of my sim self throwing a few back at the bar but I can't find her all of a sudden. I think she might have gotten lost when I reinstated my back up game. Speaking of which I am still having issues with that hood. It keeps crashing so I've had to separate everything into different hoods so that they don't get overloaded. I've got a new downtown, my main Las Vistas hood, and I'm working on a shopping district hood for everything else. It will take a while but I plan to keep updating while I work on it all.

I've also had a strange thing happen where new sims I make change gender once they are finalized or placed in a house. Strange stuff. I made a female adult sim that changed into a young adult male sim with make up on. Then today I was making a sim in CAS and when I finished her and was about to finalize the family she changed into a male sim with female hair. Crazy!

Anywho, I'm off to the mall with my the hubby and then dinner. I hope to post an update soon :)

In the Immortal Words of Tim Gunn....Make It Work

2010-01-10T23:27:00.005-05:00

Okay, I had a little melt down last week, got a little mad, but things are finally okay with the game. Though I wasn't able to salvage the hood and I had to use the back up from SEPTEMBER, I still have all my sims, all my lots, and all my CC so I honestly can't complain. I've got a ways to go before I get everything back to the way it was but enough is in place for me to do an update so here it is...... Episode #8 - Say Anything.

WTF!!!!! (Caution: Major Rant Ahead)

2010-01-03T21:02:00.007-05:00

Mad is not the word to describe what I am right now. I am far beyond that. All day to day (I do mean ALL DAMN DAY) I have been trying to get my neighborhood set up properly. It's a tedious job that I have been putting off for a long time. Placing lots, placing decor, fighting with terrain levels to place beach lots, etc. So I think I'm on the right track right....CRASH!! The game crashes, and crashes, and crashes...and crashes. FIVE TIMES!!!

So after redoing what I've done FIVE TIMES I gave up, realized that I have zero space on my hard drive, raced to Best Buy to get a portable external drive to move some things around. I move all the back ups, unneccessary dowload archives, pics, etc. I load up the game, enter my main neighborhood, then attempt to enter my sub-neighborhood that I was working on, and guess what........CRASH!!!!! Didn't even get into it. The damn thing is corrupt.

Well I guess it's a good thing I have a back-up right...not really. I haven't backed up since September. SEPTEMBER??!!! I've made new sims, new lots, downloaded a shit load of CC, moved stuff around, gotten rid of stuff, ahhhhh!!!! I've done way too much to think about having to do it all again. So yes, I'm really, really, REALLY mad right now.

*end psycho tantrum*

Everything Comes to an End

2009-12-29T23:30:00.002-05:00

Being that it's Dec. 29 this will be my last episode update of 2009. I had a personal goal to get ten episodes done before the end of the year so I am a bit disappointed that I have failed to meet it, but the joy that creating this story brings me far out weighs any of my shortcomings (read: gross procrastination). I have needed this creative outlet more than I ever realized and I want to thank everyone who has read, commented, and helped me along the way. You are the best readers a girl could ask for.

The picture is not from this episode. It is a symbol for me of where I started and where I am now at the end of the year. It is also a metaphor for what I see for the future of this story. Much like Isabella I'm looking out at the wide world of possibilities trying to decide exactly where to go next. The creative voice inside of me changed a lot of what I thought this story would be and I'm fighting with it a bit because sometimes I don't think it knows what the hell it's talking about. But then again it has rarely been wrong in the past. Who knows...it might be right this time too. Either way I know I'll figure it out.

This year has been a challenge and while I have learned a lot about myself and life in general, I am in no way sad to see it go and can't wait for 2010. I hope you all have a wonderful new year as well :)

Here to the last hurrah..... Episode #7 - Breaking Point

Happy Holidays

2009-12-25T23:30:00.006-05:00

I know this is late but I just wanted to put something up here to acknowledge the holiday season. I caught the Carlyle family at a moment when Thad and Sienna weren't trying to kill each other so I thought I would use this isolated incident to show that the joy of the season can be infectious. Although Thad still look a bit angry here.

I also come bearing two small gifts. A new reader, Sinclair, asked me what the deal was with the rivalry between Rook and Rider and, while certainly not indepth, their bios, might begin to shed a small bit of light on the root cause. You can see them here and here.

I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday!

The Morning After (Episode Update)

2009-11-28T11:14:00.006-05:00

Okay, so now that Isabella and Nico have finally gotten the hell over themselves and....you know; now comes the hard part. THE TALK!! That's the funny thing about people (and in this case sims), they always act on emotion before hashing out the details. The dirty work is always left for later. But these two have a lot to work out, so here is Episode #6 - Afterglow.

Sim Self & A New Bio

2009-11-20T19:17:00.009-05:00

See her? That's me, well not exactly me, but my "sim self." OF COURSE.... I took some liberties here because I could, I guess. No I'm not that thin, my hair does NOT always look that neat--but in a nutshell that's me. I wasn't going to make one at first, but as time has gone on I felt like I should to kind of give myself a face even though its not actually my face...ya know? But anyway here she is.

I've been fighting off a wicked sinus infection so I've been home the past few days which has given me time to pursue my favorite addiction...custom content. I've downloaded quite a bit and I'm still looking for more. Mind you I haven't used about 80% of the CC that I already had so... I have at least been a bit productive in working on the first scene to my next update (there will only be three; one of which is literally going to be one picuture or so). Hoping to have it done by Monday at the latest.

Finally, I've gotten around to posting a bio for Sloane (a.k.a Queen Bitch) you can see it here

Now back to the dreaded booty site :@ *gasps in horror*

Falling Off The Cliff ?? (New Episode Update)

2009-11-04T01:30:00.001-05:00

When I first introduced Nico he was sitting in his car spying on Isabella. At the end of the last episode he was sitting in his car headed to see Isabella. Here he is again....sitting his car.....at Isabella's house. I think he is becoming a bit of a stalker ;)

I left a bit of a cliff hanger at the end of the last episode and I vowed to follow up on it in a timely fashion. So here is Episode# 5 - Fanning The Flames.

Learning Curves...Finally Another Update :)

2009-10-24T02:41:00.001-04:00

The more I do this the better at it I get (I think, anyway). But there has been a steep learning curve as I get more creative with The Sims 2. Even with all the hacks, poseboxes, etc. there is no substitute for proper planning.

To that end I just want to know who the hell it was that decided Blake Bolthouse should own a club? Who told him to have a huge ass opening and invite the whole town? Who's idea was it to have 20 plus controlable sims on one lot at the same time, all of whom were hell bent on doing the exact opposite of what I wanted them to do? Who also decided to summon them all there at the same time rather than in small groups? Who wrote a series of long ass scenes that all centered around being at this club with all of these damn sims in the first? ...........that would be me :)

Thankfully, after several game crashes and a few attempts to jump out of a window, everything turned out well and I am happy to present Episode # 4 - Keeping Up Appearences.

The Art of Procrastination

2009-10-03T15:17:00.008-04:00

I've been trying to work out this last scene in my next episode, but I just can't seem to get it the way that I want. It either sounds silly, contrived, boring, or a host of other unsatisfactory adjectives could apply. So in the meantime I've decided to feed into my procrastination and creativity at the same time.

I've finally gotten something up on my Resident Directory site - Las Vistas Cribs. It might sound strange but I always find myself wondering about my favorite characters and what they are doing when they are not "having stories told about them"; like when they are in their "regular lives." Not sure if this will make sense but it's what I do, so I decided to showcase that part of my characters "private lives." My first attempt at this is with the Gutierrez family (Eden, Cyrus, and little Zoe).

Gutierrez Residence

Oh, and yes I have changed the look of this blog as well (I just couldn't take the old one anymore).

Life, Love, & Lies Update

2009-09-27T11:46:00.004-04:00

This is my favorite shot from this episode. It just captures everything beautiful about Isabella and Nico when they were young and in love. I've been trying my hand at actually enhancing my shots instead of just throwing them out there only slightly photoshopped. This shot wouldn't have been possible without the great tutorial by Mao. Though it is still too long to me, this episode is shorter than the previous two...so enjoy.

Episode #3 - Exposure

A New Approach & New Bios

2009-09-10T00:29:00.005-04:00

I'm in the middle of working on my next update and am making a strong effort to cut it much shorter than the first two. Baby steps though... so we'll see what happens. I already have six scences, two of which are long as hell; lots of editing to do.

In the mean time I have posted three new bios for the members of the Carlyle family (Thad, Sienna, & A.J. ). I really wanted to do these bios as characters are introduced, but right now there is no way I can post all of the hundred or so that I introduced in the last update :). This will certainly be an ongoing project that I will try to get to as I can.

Finding My Way

2009-09-03T01:05:00.003-04:00

After more time than I ever wanted, I've posted my next episode of Life, Love, & Lies. I swear anything that could go wrong did, from issues with Flickr to my Photoshop acting crazy, to some crazy glitch with the new Explorer not letting me paste anything into blogger. If it stood in my way of getting this out...it happened. The whole thing is making rethink my process of putting episodes together. It's taking way too long for my liking so, something has to change; I just don't know what yet.

Anyway, this episode is loooooong (to me), but I couldn't see anyway to break it up into two sooooo...... here it is.

Episode #2: The Best Laid Plans

Finally!!

2009-08-09T23:30:00.003-04:00

Well it's done. Finally done. My very first post of Life, Love, & Lies, my Sims 2 Saga. I hope you like it and I welcome comments, critiques, etc. Enjoy.

Episode #1 - Homecoming

The Best Laid Plans

2009-08-08T23:33:00.002-04:00

Well....... Is it Aug. 7??? No. Aug. 8??? Yes, for the next 30minutes....and still.....no story......yet. I could say that it's because I was kidnapped by aliens, held captive in a castle tower, or even a bad case of amnesia; but none of those things are true. It is simply life getting in the way.

Anything, anyone, everyday, has found a way to get in my way of finishing my first post. Every time I turned around there was something new I just "had" to do for someone, or someone who was doing something that I just "had" to do with them. But now, right now, as I type this I have nothing else to do, but finish my first post and get it up. I've got two more scenes to put together so here's hoping that I will finally.......finally........FINALLY get this done on Aug. 9, 2009.

Sun Breaking Through the Clouds

2009-07-26T22:43:00.009-04:00

After over a year of reworking my story, gross procrastination, and a tumultuous user file corruption I am finally seeing the sun peak out from behind the clouds. I have given myself a firm deadline to get my first story post up by August 7 and I intend to meet it...come hell or high water. In the meantime you can follow the link to the right to some character bios I have posted. Stay tuned :)

City Shots

2009-07-07T03:51:00.002-04:00

Downtown Las Vistas (Business District)

Fountain Park

Palisades Drive (Shopping District)