The Liebster Award

I've been nominated for the Liebster Award by Carla at Sullivan Sims and Emma at Around Aleaton. I never expect these kind of things, but it's always nice to get them though.
Thank you both for nominating me, it is much appreciated!

 So here are the rules:

1. Put the award on your blog
2. Thank the blogger who nominated you
3. Nominate 5 to 11 other blogs
4. Answer the 11 questions that were asked
5. Then ask the people you nominate, 11 questions.



I would love to nominate others, but to be honest the once I follow and would nominate have already been nominated multiple times, so I think I'll skip the nominating and just answer the questions.

I'll be answering both sets of questions in this post.

Emma's questions:

1. What do you find most gratifying about sharing your Sims’ stories?

Realising that people like reading about my sims, and seem interested in what I do with my hood. Thanks to those people I also try to follow my rules strickter. Before I would make rules, and follow them, but I would easily drift. Now I follow them more strickt because otherwise the story wouldn't be right.

2. What’s one thing you’ve always wanted to do in the Sims but never got around to?
I would like to have a family with different generations. At the moment some of my families  are in generation 3, which I think is the furtherst I've ever gotten, but I would like to see those familytrees get bigger.

3. What’s one thing you’ve read that has changed your way of experiencing or understanding life?

I don't think I've ever read something like that, even though I do read quite a lot.

4. How do you manage to keep up with reading all the blogs that you read?

I don't actually... I usually read blogupdates in the morning before work, but I don't have time to comment on those moments. And afterwards I never got to it, because of lack of time.

There are weeks where I'm able to comment, and the next time it takes me 3 weeks to comment!

5. What’s your favorite part about blogging?

Seeing my hood progress. Looking back at where and how SimsVille started and then looking at how it now, sharing my sims' stories (the one I make up in my head) with you guys, ... 

6. What is your favorite Sim game (1, 2, 3 or 4) and favorite expansion?

Without any doubt TS2! My brother-in-law keeps telling me that it's outdated and that if I ever buy a new computer he'll refuse to install it, but it's my favourite!

As for favourite EP, I don't know actually. I think having them all makes the game to what it is, to what I like so much about it. But if I really had to pick one I think I'd go for Seasons, because I love the seasons so much, I love the effects they put into it. I sometimes get cold when I hear a snowstorm in my game, and the rain and thunder, ... I just love those things!

7. What music inspires you?

I'm not much of music-person. I usually have the TV on when I play, just to get some sound, and if I don't fnd anything interesting to 'watch' I'll put on the radio, but it's not like it inspires my in my game.

8. What do you hope to express in your Sims stories?

I'm not a writer at all, so I'm glad when I get my point across, especially since my motherlanguage is Dutch and I have to speak and write French at work.

I just hope people like my sims/stories.

9. What’s one of the funniest things that has happened to you or your Sims while Simming?

I can't think of one at the moment, but if I think of one before I post this, I'll share it with you guys!

10. What inspires you to continue Simming and blogging when you think about stopping?

I've never thought about quitting, I love sharing my sims' stories too much. I want my hood to progress, I want to see my sims age and go through life, I want to see new babies in my hood (allthough it's been a little bit too much lately), I want to see next generations start a family, and I want to share this with you all!
There were times when I didn't feel much like playing, but most of those times I've had a backlog of posts to write, and writing those always gets me in the mood to play again. And if the game is loaded and a family doesn't inspire me, I start redecorating my sims' homes, adding new buildings to the hood, .... I keep myslef busy, and I like it.

11. What else would you like to share with us that I haven’t asked?

That I have an insane amount of CC, and that my CC folder is kind of a dump? That I'm kind of a little bit too lazy to do something about that? That, right after I've rebuild SimsVille, I did something stupid and by doing that added quite a lot characterfiles to my game, but that I didn't feel like redoing the hood once again?

I know I'm terrible...

Carla's questions:

1. What was your first Sims game and what version(s) do you play currently?

I've bought TS1 when there were already 2 ep's out, and have played untill TS2 came, where I've counted down the day untill it's releasedate. I've tried TS3 but it never got to me the same way TS2 got to me, and so I recently uninstalled it all. I've played the TS4 trail, and I do think it has potential, but there are just too much things missing for me, toddlers, pools, .... plus I have an old computer which I think would have trouble running it. 

And I love TS2 too much, so I'm still playing that version!

2. Do you write outside of the game or do you only write sims-related stories?

I only write about SimsVille.

3. Do you do anything creative, apart from writing?

I've never considered myself as creative, I don't play any instruments, I don't draw, ... I do however love to bake, but I lack patience to decorate cakes, so it all tastes very good, it just doesn't look so good, thanks to my lack of patience and creativity.

4. If you could create any mod for the the game, what would it do?

Hmm, this one is hard, I think I would like one where sims could multitask, like in TS4, but that's all I can think about, and I know the game isn't perfect at all!

5. What made you decide to start blogging about your game?

I used to have a website, back when the community around Simmerville was still active, but due to school I had to give that up. Some time late  I read  Fortune Shores (the old one), and that one inspired me to start my own blog. Later my big inspirations became Sullivan, Millwood, Apple Valley, ...

6. Are any of your sims or storylines inspired by people you know in real life?

I don't think so, my sims write their own stories, and if not, I come up with stories for them, but I don't think I take 'stories' from people I know.

7. What is your favourite thing about simming or blogging?

I've already answered this one, see #5 above.

8. What is your least favourite thing about simming or blogging?
Pink flashing, and crashing problems!
And sometimes I'm having a hard time coming up with stories for specific families. I don't want to tell the same kind of thing over and over again, but sometimes coming up with a nice story is hard. That might be why I have so many playbla NPC's, because I don't write updates on them. And it's seem I need a balance between the 2 things, because I don't think I could do without blogging...

9. Do you plan your updates or just play and see what happens? Or do you do something in between?
I think it's something in between; I plan things, like taking my sims to the park or any other community lot. But I also consider their wants, and that might mean I'm throwing my notes out of the window and I'm starting over because of my sims' wants.

10. Is there any "ritual" (for want of a better word) you have to do before you sit down to play or blog? Making yourself a particular drink, turning on some music, making sure you have some quiet space?
Maybe that I always play when the TV is on, or the radio. I need some sound in the background, but that's about it. Oh and I don't start playing a family with an idea in my head. This may change when I play them, but I need something before starting.

11. What's one thing you've never seen in your game or done with your sims/hood that you wouldreally like to?
I've already answered this one, see #2 above.