Scholarship Searching

I've been praticing my kicks and blocks most evenings until way after the sun has set and sometimes in the early morning as well. I know university is a few simdays off, but I want to achieve a scholarship for soccer. It's a small scholarship, but every bit counts. I want to keep most of my money for my future businesses. I decided that I would open a sports bar first. A place to relax and watch games and eat good food. Then I want to open a sports park...maybe charge admission fee for usage of the grounds. It would be great for pick-up games of basketball. O! School is going ok, I'm on the honor roll-of course!-and Verde and I hang out a lot chatting about sports and playing soccer. He's going to try and get a basketball goal and then we could play basketball at his house!

Whew!

Sandy threw a small party and when I say small, I mean the Herendez couple came over. We occasionally spend time with them since our net worth is amoung the top in the hood and we're both business owners, but of course things are always hetic. Sandy brought a new "bubble blower" and we were all in laughing fits on that thing. I can barely remember much of the gathering, but we had a good time!

Finally!

I am finally a big girl!!! I will enter Junior High , yea! I can't wait! Soon I'll be off to college and doing my own thing. Ok, about me. I love the color brown! I know, it's weird, but I do. It reminds me of the mud under my soccer goal. I love sports! Especially soccer and basketball. Believe it or not, I love economics. Yep, I know what that word means. One day I plan on having several businesses, at least five! I already know that I could probably convince dad to leave CupaJava and Smokey Jane's to me, so then I would build three more businesses. *yawn* I'm tired and need to get ready for bed.

Back to Business

Whew, I finally have CupaJava back and running like I want it to be and now I'm focusing on Smokey Jane's. Yes, I revived the old jazz bar and hired Faith Humphrey to play the piano for performances. There's a nectar bar, but I'm thinking of hiring a bartender and getting a real bar. Maybe even selling a few items? I sold my third business right to the hood and we have a nice cushion of money right now. Sandy wants to move to a bigger house, but...there isn't any. So we brought a vacation home on Schatazweitzier Mountain instead. We figured that with our love of the old mountain (that's where we spent our honeymoon) and Si'Enya's love for nature, then the cabin will be perfect. We need to make a trip to furnish it and Sandy's already talking about renovating the cabin.

Yep, she's spoiled

After our trip to Schatazweitzier Mountain and S'Ahmisa's comment about the soccer goal, Sandy and I relented and had the backyard redone to make room for her goal. Now we can't get her back in the house, so we might have to buy Si'Enya that tent so her sister can sleep outside!

More Family Vacation

More photos from our family vacation to Schatazweitzier Mountain. The girls enjoyed Lumberjack Training so much that they begged us to take them again, so this time Sandy and I tried our hand at the skills and let me tell you, log-rolling is much harder than it looks, especially when you have a bit of a belly to work with. Sandy's in excellant shape, so she stayed upright most of the time while I hit the chilly water! Sandy and I decided to try and spend some quality time with each girl, so I took Si'Enya and did a little fishing. She is very excited about being in the Explorers Club and returning to Schatazweitzier Mountain for a camping trip. I hope they have a good time and she loses a bit of the baby fat clinging to her midsection, but I can't talk. My "baby fat" never went away!

On the last day we spent some time roasting marshmallows and sitting around the fire. The girls were very curious if we were rich now since the insurance checks came in before the trip and with the new business restructing in the hood, I have a surplus of cash. Sandy and I tried to explain that we're not rich, yet, but are more comfortably. S'Ahmisa asked if we were comfortable enough for her to get a soccer goal in the backyard...that child!

Family Vacation

After my mother's death, Sandy and I decided to take the girls on a vacation. It was Fall/Winter break and they needed a change of scenery after losing thier grandparents. We went to Schatazweitzier Mountain and stayed at the campgrounds. After a few days we took the girls to Lumberjack Training so they could try thier hand at skills that lumberjacks needed to have. They were too young to try ax throwing, but they excelled at log-rolling, especially S'Ahmisa. She's such an active child and naturally good at all things sportsy. We did the usual things like grill hamburgers and fresh fish that we caught in a lake. We also took the girls into town to the Alpine Village to do a little bit of shopping and try thier world famous flapjacks. Si'Enya loved the camping trip and sleeping under the stars. She's been begging me to buy a tent so she can sleep outdoors. I doubt it.

I See You

I see my husband everywhere, in the ball that my grandchildren play with, in the lights of the back yard, in the dent in his pillow. I didn't think I would be so sad...but I am.

That Si'Enya

That girl. I must admit, she is very much like her grandfather, always curious and stubborn. She was outside trying to catch insects-in her PJs!-when she messed with the wrong insect and was chased by a swarm of bees. I think the bees knew that she meant no harm since she wasn't stung at all, but now she is a bit more careful when she goes outside playing in nature. I have to let her since winter is coming and her outdoor days will soon be over.

Counting Days

I have been counting the days until I can join my love, until then I am enjoying my grandchildren and son. They are growing so fast, I am sad that I will not see them graduate, but then again, how many grandparents have that opportunity?

Night Club

Ok-I've thought more and more about the lack of entertainment options and decided to utilize the space above CupaJava by installing a nightclub. Only open on nights and weekends, the club will have a DJ booth, dance floor and maybe a bar-or two. Mom gave me some of the insurance money to build the nightclub. I think it's a good investment and lots of sims will visit...I hope.

It Finally Came

Finally the changes to the will arrived. I know, I know...I just wanted to make sure things would go according to plan, you can never be too prepared.

Insurance

The insurance company called and sent a check over. Darrel left us pretty well. He provided enough simoleans for the girls to worry only about half of thier tuition cost for higher education (if they go to PAG) and he left me a large sum, which I will be passing along to Sazo to go towards CupaJava.

I must make changes to my will and insurance and start spending more time with my son...before it's my time to go.

Dead

Darrel is dead. It came so quickly! I hadn't thought about how old we were getting... and we never got to take that vacation he so wanted to! I feel awful! The love of my life is gone! We had begun to renew our romance, he was taking an interest in cooking competions and now he's gone. I feel like I am not too far behind him-especially if I keep tinkering with the microwave.

Simple Things

That talk with Cassandra has had me thinking about the simple things in life. Things that Elda and little Thomasina will never see. The falling of the leaves, the crisp chill air. I helped Si'Enya today. She's learning how to walk. It's taking her quite a bit of time to learn the skill, so I wonder if something might be wrong with her brain. I could feed her some of that patented formula, the research says that it helps facilitate in the formation of stronger brains. S'Ahmisa had it as a toddler and she's fine. In fact, she's been busy trying to train the cat.

Revamping CupaJava

We have an exclusive contract with Pennelson Publishing to provide their titles to the residents of Apple Valley. They will ship the books and we'll sell them. In fact, my baker has signed a contract for a series of cookbooks centered around baking. So we're hosting a book signing at CupaJava for her.

With the new changes, I want to revamp the store. CupaJava is a three-in-one establishment (bakery, bookstore, coffeeshop) and I want them all to blend seamlessly, also I would like to install a small cafe so patrons can snack on desserts. I found a cart to have the desserts displayed on (the buffet wasn't working to my pleasure), but I still need to do some rearranging. Perhaps set up zones for the store, with a bakery/cafe zone for dining on desserts/coffee and choosing desserts to take home; a bookstore section with stacks of the newest titles and a register area of course. Yea...I like that set up better, might cut down on some of the traffic around the bakery stands and best of all-no simoleans spent.

New Life

I was shopping this simday at The Centre, checking out investment options for the granddaughters and I ran into Cassandra Grey. She was going on and on about her daughter's wedding and how excited she was to gain a new son-in-law since her sons are both dead (tragic, dead so young). I know her pain since her son married our daughter, Elda and together they (along with our grandchildren) died in the storm. It was exciting listening to her go on about the newness of life. She said that we should consider donating to the church fund and having one of the pews dedicated to our children. I wonder if that would help us grieve.

Scoping the Crowds

The election is coming soon and I put my name in the hat for Financial Director. I wondered what was on the resident's minds, so I grabbed some simoleans and walked to the Green Tables. There I played the card tables (and lost quite a bit to Li and Tobi-I still think they cheated, but you can't accuse the Security Director of cheating and expect to be dealt with lightly) and picked the brain of my fellow residents. I am developing my platform and it seems like most of the residents have complaints about the lack of entertainment options on the isle. Since the FD is in charge of builds and real estate, perhaps I could give incentives to area businesses to add more entertainment. Heck! I have an empty upper level at CupaJava, I could build a nightclub...or sports bar for after hours. It would require more employees and perhaps some shift work, but it could work...hmm...

The Little Ones

My granddaughters. They are a bundle of joy. S'Ahmisa is learning how to play softball, I wonder if she would try to play professionally. If she did, she would have to leave the isle. I would miss her a lot, of course. But you can't hold children back. She seems to have her mind on seeing new places and traveling. I want to make sure that she has the opportunity to go. Elle and I are taking our own vacation the next simday and this simweekend (once Si'Enya is a child), the family is going to take a joint vacation...I'm not sure that I'll be around that much longer. My body seems much older.

Busyness

What a busy time. Sandy wanted to throw a party and since the big game (Llamas vs the Rabbits) was on, we threw a sports party. Lots of sims showed up, including the new resident. Sandy seems intrigued with her, I guess since they both immigrated from big hoods and now they're living in a teeny tiny hood. To keep the children occupied, we allowed S'Ahmisa to invite a friend and even they were struck with sports fever, talking about the vollyball competition on North Shore.

Granddaughter

My granddaughter is so smart, if you could see her intelligence, it would radiate like the sun. She picks up on things rather quickly, already her blocks are much too easy for her and she's playing very simple songs on her keyboard. All by herself! She'll be a smart one, for sure!

My Growing Family

Sandy and I can not wait to welcome our new little one, until then we're trying to spend extra time with S'Ahmisa to let her know that she's loved very very much. Teaching her how to walk will make things much easier once the baby arrives.

My Wife and Family

The season has been very nice and warm, so we are eating outside more often. Grilling fish and hot dogs and sometimes ribs for lunch and dinner. Talking about the future, the past and the present.

Talking about the sky and the moons and the stars. Simply listening to the songbirds and wind.

Grilling and More

Work is going well, there are rumors that the company will start laying off sims, I must retire before then, but then what happens next? I can not sit at home, watching the sun rise and set. I must stay active, keep my mind healthy. Perhaps I could study and learn all there is to know!

Love

I love my wife so much. I can't keep my hands off of her. She's the light of my life, the sun in my sky, the ying to my yang. I love her so much! How can I show her?

The doctor said that fat around my middle is dangerous and can lead to bigger health issues. So now I am exercising and watching what I eat. It's so easy to gain weight, to overeat a little bit here and there and not be active and then you're stuck with extra pounds.

Working

Work is going well, we remodeled a bit and customers have said that the change is good. I am glad, especially with our custom coffees to sell and yummy baked goods. Sandy and father were right about the free samples, they have increased sales as residents taste the goods and then want to take them home to families.

Semi-Retirement

With my days at CupaJava numbered, I opt to spend them baking in the comfort of my own home, visiting local sights and doing shopping. This simday I went to the market-hihi, this little sim went to the market :P