Bianca becomes a toddler.

The next few days were pretty routine.

Early Monday morning a rather strange woman stopped by and bought the newly painted dresser. She paid $257.00, that with her maternity leave pay allowed Alice to build a tiny bit of wall and attach a toilet to it. No more peeing in the brambles. She ended up getting too much on herself doing that and she stunk until she had a chance to shower. While fishing, that evening, she pulled up a box in which she found a sleeping Gnome McNutly figure. She wondered why it was called sleeping when the figure was obviously standing up and waving. She set the figure out by the apple tree.

Between pulling brambles, tending to the baby and fishing she had little time for other pursuits but each night before she fell asleep she did manage to get in a little reading.

Tuesday was Bianca's birthday. Alice had also run out of food. She decided to throw a party for Bianca and invite a couple people. Alice ordered pizza and cleaned the trash out of the yard. Gage Briody showed up which was a surprise since she barely knew him from the gym. Molly French had stopped by the lot a few times recently and while not good friends they were developing a friendship. Zedadias did not show up. Alice was disappointed but not surprised. Gage and Alice chatted for a while. Gage was quite flattering to Alice, but he couldn't stick around long since he had to get to work. Molly seemed to be in a mood and left early. The party really turned out to be a flop, but at least Bianca did have a party. Alice had spent a little money on a new toy, a potty chair and some new clothes for Bianca.



Wednesday when that mornings mail came, the mailman threw the mail down on the ground and stomped on it. Alice could not figure what she had done to anger him and figures it was probably left over hostility towards her father. Alice was delighted to find a deed to the lot in the mail. Evidently the judge had granted her squatters rights. Alice was due to return to work that day. She couldnt see paying a babysitter 75 a day when she only made 90. Since she now had a legal address she decided to look in the paper to see if she could find a REAL job.



There wasnt much available, a test subject however was well paid and did not require any skills. And since it was for the good of the community, Alice signed up and got the job immediately. She then called the grocery store and quite her old job.

Later than evening she ate more of the pizza not realizing it had gone bad in the hot sun. She spent the evening throwing up and in general not feeling well. Bianca spent the evening throwing one tantrum after another. Alice was just too tired and too sick to care. She did feel a little guilty about it though.

Thursday dawned a little too early. She had barely enough time to ring a sitter up before heading off to work. Being a test subject was alot more stressful than she imagined it would be so she stopped at the gym on her way home from work for a shower and a cup of Chai tea. When she got home she learned that a man who called himself the REPOMAN came by and stole Bianca's toy. After the baby sitter left she tended the tree, ordered a new toy (this one a block toy) and then tended to Bianca and went to bed.



In the wee early hours of the morning Alice heard Bianca crying, but it sounded off. Bianca hadn't cried like that since she was a newborn. Alice got up in a hurry to find out what the problem was.

Simmers Notes:
Monday: actions; workout, tend garden, fish; cash $111, lot value 3406
Tuesday: actions; call for pizza delivery, recycle newspapers, invite people to party. Cash 57 lot value $3441
Wednesday: potty train Bianca, find job, potty train Bianca (I forgot to record values here I think cash was 86)
Thursday: Call babysitter, shower, tend tree. Cash $222, lot value 3410.

Sunday, a day of rest.

Sunday



After tending to Bianca, Alice spent the morning painting the crib. She had enough paint left over she painted the benches, table and dresser also. While waiting for the paint to dry she passed the time hand-sewing a new canopy and sheets for the crib.




That afternoon she went to the gym for a much needed toilet break and bath. She asked one of the men working out to keep an eye on Bianca while she took a bath. He was fine until the baby started crying. He freaked out, but refused to pick her up. All she wanted was a little comforting.



After the gym they went to the park. There was a neighborhood grill-a-thon in progress. Alice ate her fill of hot dogs. She declined to participate in the cooking event itself but enjoyed the food and the people watching. She watched a young boy give his father a hug then chatted with his father like they were best friends.





She thought back to her youth and the horrible time she had, with her father yelling at her all the time.



What a contrast to the scene before her. She quitely ate her hotdog while listening to the conversation between the boy and his dad. She felt a determination rise up in her that she would be the best mother ever to Bianca. Maybe life isn's so bad after all. Maybe just maybe she could do this.



Simmers Notes:
Actions: workout (painting furniture & sewing), Goto with... gym, goto with... park I will admit I almost chose not to give her that last action to go to the park because it would use up all my actions for the day and I was afraid the baby would get lost in the shuffle. Alice did wonderfully and did not loose the baby :D.
Cash on Hand $53
Lot value $3421

On a side note, Alice is a mature adult now. Seeing as she only has four traits it seems that a mid-life crisis might allow her to discover that hidden fifth trait so that she might realize her true potential. Suggestions are appreciated.

Alice's Birthday

Saturday dawned a little too early for Alice. Alice woke up twice to quiet the crying baby. The second time she just stayed up. She fed Bianca, changed her diaper, and snuggled with her. Bright and early they went shopping for all the baby things Bianca was going to need. After the cost of formula, diapers and incidentals Alice has only enough money left to buy a used crib. She does scrape together enough to buy some new fabric and paint but that will have to wait until Sunday. At least now the baby has a bed. Alice did spring for a bed with a canopy on it since the crib would not fit in the tent.




Alice gave Bianca her treasured childhood friend, her teddy. Bianca slept peacefully as Alice continued working on the brambles.



After Alice was too tired to work any more she very carefully lined up the camera so the crib would not show in the picture and took a picture for the courts. She just hoped it would show enough progress that the courts would allow her leniency to finish cleaning the place up.



Alice called her boss to explain that she needed some additional days off. To hire a baby sitter would cost 75 and since she was only making 90 a day it did not make sense to continue working while caring for a newborn. Her boss totally misunderstanding the situation replied all in one breath; "Uh, well Alicia, I uhm didn't even realize you were pregnant, you hardly gained any weight at all, but then I thought you looked too thin to begin with. Well congratulations, of course you can take the time off, but I am afraid we cannot pay you for today and tomorrow because you would have been off those days anyway. I am sorry I cannot budge on that matter. You will of course be paid for your normal workdays. Well good day and have fun with the new baby. See you back on Wednesday." Alice just stared at the phone for a bit as the dial tone rang through the lot. Listening to the tone she realized today was her birthday. Yet another birthday had passed without a cake or a party. About that time Bianca started crying again. Alice was feeling a tad bit overwhelmed emotionally and burst into tears. She trudged across the lot while wiping her tears.



By the time she had reached Bianca she had composed herself. She tended to the baby then gently tucked her back into her crib. She whispered, "It will be ok, sweetheart. We will make it. I will take good care of you."



Simmers notes: Actions; pay bills, workout (bramble pulling)
End of day
Cash on hand 65
Lot Value 3463

A Baby in the Brambles

Shortly after midnight Alice woke to the screech of tires as someone sped away. In the silence that followed Alice heard a weird noise. Exiting her tent to identify the noise, Alice discovered both to her delight and horror a baby had been abandoned on her lot.



Alice couldn't just turn her back on the little tyke. Alice knew very little about babies but figures this little girl must be a newborn. Alice named her Bianca after a heroine in one of her favorite books.



Don't worry Bianca, I will take care of you.

Simmers Notes: Bianca; Brave & Excitable, She likes Chinese Music, Goopy Carbonara and Irish Green.

Clean-up time.

WARNING sorry this post is kind of on the boring side, I considered just skipping posting about these days but I wanted to keep track of the lot value and document my no more than three actions a day. Feel free to skim or skip this posting.

Assuming of course anyone is actually following my story.

Wednesday

Since she had gone to bed so late the night before Alice slept in until 10 in the morning. She spent two hours working on the bramble bushes before stopping for lunch and then she headed down to the gym for a shower. She had decided to try and clear the area around the benches first. She was quite pleased with the progress she made.



As an added bonus to the cleaning up she found some various items that amounted to 20 simoleons when she took them to the pawnshop to trade in.

After the shower she spent a bit of time on the treadmill before heading to work. After work she harvested some fruit from the apple and lime trees in the park. When she finally arrived back home she went fishing even though she was almost asleep on her feet.



Simmers notes:
Action 1 was to work out, this simulates the bramble removal. For every half hour she works out I am removing one bramble bush. If you have ever had to remove a bramble bush you know that it is hard work and will leave you dirty and sweaty. Bramble bushes sell for 5 simoleons. This will give her more money in her pocket but it will lower the property value (lol glad that is not the case IRL) Her second action was to take a shower. Third was harvesting fruit.

End of day
Funds 180
Lot value 3210

Thursday

Alice got caught up in her bramble pulling and there wasn't enough time for a shower before work so she planned to take one after work. However after work she went to the park to cook some hot dogs and while at the park she found an apple seed and picked it up. She never even thought to go to the gym.



Simmers Notes: Actions for day workout, sell fish, pickup seed
End of day
Funds 339
Lot value 3180

Friday

Alice started the day by planting the apple seed she had found. After a long morning of tearing out bramble bushes she headed to the gym for a desperately needed shower before work. She was both looking forward to and dreading the weekend. With work she had little time to do anything other than working on the bramble bushes. But work also provided toilet facilities and a meal every day.



Simmers Notes: Actions; plant seed, workout, shower.
End of day
Funds 458
Lot Value 3153



That night Alice thinks about what she is going to buy for her modest little lot. A grill maybe? The cheapest she has seen is $150. She would love to have a little refrigerator. In clearing the bramble she found she had hookups for both water and electricity. The cheapest fridge she could find was $375. Alice toyed with the idea of a shower but at a whopping $425 Alice decides the gym will have to be ok for a while longer. It would also be nice to have a toilet on the property. She can get a bargain john for 250.

Stayed tune to see what Alice spends her hard earned money on.

Arrested!

The day started out pleasantly enough with a little fishing. Little did Alice know this would be the worst and best day of her life, a true turning point was to come her way.

After her morning of fishing she went to the market to sell her days catch. When she arrived back home she decided to catch a little nap on the bench, she had so long called her bed. That was when she was noticed by a policewoman who happened to be driving by.

While the officer was kind enough to her she was still arrested for vagrancy. Why this had never happened before was a mystery.



She was embarrassed and humiliated by the experience, but while in jail a young court appointed attorney was assigned to her case. After talking at length the attorney advised her to plead not guilty. He told her that she had established a residence at the lot. Her stay there had been long enough that "Squatter's Rights" were in effect. He advised her to have the place cleaned up before her court date. This meant removing all the brambles and debris from the lot. If she was willing to put in the time and energy to clean the place up and present the pictures of before and after to the judge, then the charges should be dismissed. Even if she couldn't get it completely clean if she made significant progress then an extension might be granted. He also mentioned that the gym had shower facilities available for use. While technically they were for member use only, no one would say anything if she were to use them occasionally.



A nice hot shower without people thinking she was being inappropriate was a very nice feeling. Buoyed by the thoughts of actually being a landowner, of having something of her very own cheered her immensely and made all she had been through that day worth it. While she was thoroughly exhausted by her long trying day she couldn't sleep as plans and dreams filled her mind. She decided to fish for a while until she could hardly stay awake any longer. Tomorrow was looking bright indeed.



Simmers Note: This scenario involved quite a bit of behind the screens finagling to get the appropriate pictures but in general I will not give Alice more than three directives a day. I have will power set on high and we will see what happens from here on out.

Goodbye Zedadias

Just a few days after her father's death Zedadias announces his plans to marry Shirley Lin and move to the big city.



He knows how bad off Alice is and brought her a tent to sleep in. He told her that he found it while he was packing things up to move and thought she might make better use of it than he would. He also brought along his fathers old fishing pole and tackle set. Maybe she could make use of those too.



Her only friend will be leaving. She is bound and determined to make new friends. With her father no longer around to keep tearing her down she is starting to feel a bit optimistic. Fishing really helps to keep her spirits up, especially as she found out she can sell them at the local market. Her sales of fish that day and her paycheck allowed her enough money to send a donation to the Toilets for Tots fund.



Simmers Notes:
End of the day funds $77. Lot Value $3241.
I wanted to write the friend out of the picture. I also see no reason a tent cannot be purchased without having to go on vacation so I had her friend provide her one.