Slacking off at Work

Apparently I need to socialize more. Large graphic ahead!

Rainy Day People

Came across this song today. Wish I could take credit for the lyrics but I can't, I just felt like posting them.

Suffering from writer's block, not a serious case since I have a general sense of what I want to say but I can't get it out of my head. I'm not sure if it is the writing itself or the thought of how I will take the shots that is holding me back. Going at it again.

Lyrics for the song are below the cut and that's about it so if you don't want to read further, don't feel obligated.

Rainy Day People, ©1975 by Gordon Lightfoot

Rainy day people always seem to know when it's time to call
Rainy day people don't talk
They just listen til they've heard it all
Rainy day lovers don't lie when they tell you
They've been down like you
Rainy day people don't mind if you're crying a tear or two

If you get lonely, all you really need is that rainy day love
Rainy day people all know there's no sorrow they can't rise above
Rainy day lovers don't love any others, that would not be kind
Rainy day people all know how it hangs on a piece of mind

Rainy day lovers don't lie when they tell you
They've been down there too
Rainy day people don't mind if you're crying a tear or two

Rainy day people always seem to know when you're feeling blue
High stepping strutters who land in the gutter sometime need one too
Take it or leave it, or try to believe it, if you've been down too long
Rainy day lovers don't hide love inside they just pass it on
Rainy day lovers don't hide love inside they just pass it on

What's in Your Backyard?

Ever wonder who reads your work? I know I do. I get so curious about where they are, how they found my writing/blogs, what drew them and what makes them come back. You know, things like that. I thought it might be interesting to ask those same readers those very questions.

In that spirit, I would love it if those of you who read would post a comment about where you are be it big city or rural US, or anywhere beyond. Tell me about yourself, as much as you would like. Come on, don't be shy. Even you readers who don't post comments as a rule, I am really curious. I'll even go first!


I currently live in a very small Tudor house a block away from the railroad tracks (although I rarely hear them pass by) and a stone's throw away from the San Francisco Bay and international airport (on a stormy day, I can hear the jets fly over). I always wanted to live in a cute cottage so I guess this is about as close as I might get despite the fact that I don't have the meadow full of wildflowers surrounding it.

The house I used to own had been on piers and the bay would come right up to it before it was filled. Apparently it was a well known doctor's vacation cabin. Small and really poorly built but they didn't have a lot of building codes back in 1906 which is when that house had been built.

Now it's your turn! Tell me a little something about yourself and your surroundings!

~ Happy Mother's Day ~

A bit belated but heartfelt nonetheless. I had a lovely one thank you very much. My oldest and his roomies invited all the moms to Santa Cruz for a BBQ. I was extremely impressed. Chicken, grilled veggies, rice, and all kinds of tasty appetizers including an amazing artichoke dip (deliciously spicy), the usual salsa (very spicy) and guacamole and...wait for it...these are college students...baked brie! OMG it was to die for! I'm sharing the recipe with you all and there is a shot of it to follow. I swear these boys did not get their cooking expertise from me...thank goodness. Picspam follows along with the recipe and some random facts you probably don't need to know but hey, I'm a proud mom.


This is my middle son making some sort of fashion statement (according to him) however just look at those goodies on the table! Artichoke dip in the greenish bowl and the baked brie to it's right with the strawberries. He is a drummer/guitarist/vocalist btw. You should see that hair fly.


Another shot of the aforementioned brie in the foreground. You would have thought I would have taken a better shot of it but alas, no. A shot of my oldest son in the background. He cut his long hair off and opted for a tie to mark the occasion. He is a lead guitarist. Note the quarter pipe in the background. There is a trampoline behind it. I don't even want to know the reasoning behind that...


Apologizing in advance for the road kill on the windshield. This was the sunset on the ride home. Pacific Ocean, which you cannot see, is on the left.

I had a shot of my youngest playing foosball but I forgot to download it. *sigh*

And so for the baked brie, it is very simple. You make a pie crust, you plop a round of brie in the center, top it with strawberry jam and fold the crust on the top. Bake it for however long (until it gets brown and flaky I guess. I was into a couple of pale ales when I got the recipe) and drizzle some more strawberry jam for effect along with sliced fresh strawberries.

So I do hope all you mothers out there had as great a day as I did.

~ Devlin Shaun Holloway ~

Meet Devlin Shaun Holloway
Born: January 26, 2009 ~ Aquarius


He has Stevie's green eyes and Shaun's hair and skin tone. Most likely he will grow up to be as buff as his dad since he has that telltale birthmark.

Shaun wasted no time hanging a bass guitar in his room and Stevie slipped in a cute little baby drum set for when he is a bit older.

Devlin gets his first bath. Stevie was a bit nervous but she definitely has the hang of it.

And of course Shaun was there for moral support. He is one happy, adorable little tyke!

Trick or Treat !

The Internet Gestapo

I received an email this morning that one of my YouTube movies was blocked for copyright infringement. This isn't the first time this has happened but I have to say I am very frustrated by it once again. There are so many videos on YouTube that are blatant theft. Not one single bit of original work at all, like people recorded something and shoved it up there (cartoons, music videos, concert footage, etc). All I did was make a stupid Sims 2 movie and use a song as accompaniment. No one "out there" will explain why people like me are penalized when this is going on.

So...and I have considered this for some time now...I will probably be pulling my videos off of YouTube soon and just sharing them with friends who are interested in seeing them. I don't know what else to do. I have a few ideas running through my head for videos I want to make, but I just don't know now.

Damn, and Double Damn!

How could I be so unobservant? I have been chomping at the bit to go see Appaloosa when it came out and checked today thinking I might try and see it tonight...and it was released a month ago? The closest theatre I could see it in is San Francisco at the Metreon (an IMAX theatre so that would be a bonus) but there is no way I will go to SF by myself to see it.

This just figures...

*throws things around on her desk at work*

Chomping at the Bit

I am thinking that Viggo Mortensen, Ed Harris, and Jeremy Irons in a western is going to be one film I will definitely fork out hard earned money to see in a theatre. I saw the trailer for the movie Appaloosa...gasped loudly when I saw my fave Viggo in cowboy duds once more *remembers Hidalgo* If there is one man that could mount a horse and look damn fine doing it, it's Viggo.

Apologizing for the advert before the Preview

If It's So Simple, Why Can't I Do It?

I will confess I am quite the download junkie. I can't help it. Really. I can't. So when I download a hairstyle and someone "Nouks it" I get what they are doing to a point. Sort of. But not really. So my question is this...what exactly does it take to use a texture from one style on another? I tried and failed. Multiple times in fact. To that end I have been on a quest to find a color and style that will match and work. Hence the ever growing downloads folder. OK that is not the only reason it is so huge but it contributes.

My dilemma and the reason why I ask...Professor Walker has long hair. She wears it up except on weekends when she let's her hair down so to speak. The creator of her hair makes long versions that will compliment her style EXCEPT in the color on the good professor's head. Stupid in my humble opinion. Obnoxious reds are oozing from the CC sites but this ONE hair that I HAD to use and NOTHING else would do evades me. Another creator has used a similar color but it isn't quite the same and the style would be wrong.

Same with my self sim's hair color which I manipulated to get the color that closely matches my own. Like an idiot I didn't write down what I did to change the color. Not that it would matter much considering I could use the same colors and not have it look the same on a different texture. But as in real life, I would like to change styles without changing the color that much. Maybe it's a little anal, but I don't care. And I would like to maintain the hair color on the professor and any other character who decides they need a new style but not a new color. Most of the time that isn't an issue but sometimes...well, it is.

Long story short, is there anyone out there who can tell me how to apply a texture to a hair? I know it's a copy/paste thing but it is not that simple. I've tried and while I am not the brightest bulb in the box when it comes to this, it can't be that hard can it?

Passing Time

I have about 3 or 4 story threads warping through my head in light speed and have not been able to focus on any of them so I spent the better part of today creating and decorating for Wyatt's university years. Since the next chapter of Rising Above will focus on the beginning of his education, I thought there should be some new students as well. I am going to introduce a few in this post. They may or may not appear in the next chapter. I still need to write it! I will eventually post bios for them although I intend to post the Savage, O'Malley and Whitney bios first.

Meet the ladies...friends through high school and as close as sisters.

Antonia Pirelli (descendant of the Pirelli Tire family, History major)
Star Sign: Sagittarius
Active and playful

Lorrah McNee (Jett's redhead from the Pizza Palace, Economics major)
Star Sign: Leo
Extremely outgoing

Helena Abercrombie (requisite blonde, Drama major)
Star Sign: Scorpio
Active and neat

Chloe Xie (homage to a fan, Philosophy major)
Star Sign: Capricorn
Outgoing and friendly

The Mitchell Toddlers

EDITED 7/12/08: Checked in simsPE and Jason's hair is actually binned as black even though his hair is a dark brown. I am chalking that up to the blend of his mother and father's hair. Also posted their bios.

Chloe asked me about Jason's hair and it got me to thinking I never really did show them at young ages so I am going to post a toddler shot of each of them. As I mentioned in my comment to Chloe I did nothing to change their appearances except changed Cadie's hair when she became a child. And I may have changed her eyebrows...I don't like default eyebrows much and I can't recall if they changed on their own when she grew since I don't know if the game remembers there aren't toddler brows for some of the CC.

Jason~First born


Jett~born 9 months and 5 minutes after Jason (figuratively speaking)


Cadence~the baby and only girl

Sorry...I've Just Been Giggling All Night

EDIT 7/10/08: Added Part the Second this morning. Here is the link: Bookends, and Morsels, and Cake...Oh My!

Also added the prologue to Rising Above which is Wyatt's story. Access it here: Overture

Had a really crappy day at work. It's so hot in my house I could advertise it as a sauna and charge admission (not a bad idea really) so I have been playing around with Cadie's birthday shots. I have managed to post Part the First of Completely Cadence on my photo blog. And that is why I am laughing so much. That girl is so precocious...if you ever want to snap out of a crappy mood, spend some time with Cadie is my motto.

Most of the shots were free will...you can tell which ones were posed. I am working on Part the Second as we speak.

"Just so you know, it's all about me so you simply must read it. Did I mention this blog page looks goofy?"
Gee...thanks Cadence...thanks so much...
"When you start my blog, I plan to choose all the colors. Mommy is an artist you know..."
Not happening in this lifetime Cadence, not happening...
"We'll see..."

The Other Side of the Stage ~ Update!

Before I get to that I want to ramble a bit about my Saturday. My oldest son will be attending school in Santa Cruz which is on the California coast. I went down to see where he was going to live (along with taking a care package and my expertise at setting up a wireless router) and decided to drive along Highway 1 which runs along the Pacific Coast. It did not take long for me to remember why I love living here so much. From the drive through an incredible tree lined highway, passing pumpkin patches, Christmas tree farms, wineries, nurseries, and ranches to the blanket of fog as I reached Half Moon Bay where the ocean is a pale grayish blue.

Along the highway there were many sand dunes and drifting sand and you can literally pull over and step into the ocean in some spots. When I finally hit the Santa Cruz county line at Pidgeon Point, to the right is Big Basin Redwood Park and the fog lifts turning the Pacific a brilliant combination of sapphire blue and emerald green. Amazing. I did not have my camera but I grabbed a couple of shots with my cell. If they look remotely decent I will upload them.

Surfers, wind sailing, kites speckled the coast and I could smell the fresh salt air. I can't recall a more relaxing drive or day. And yet another reminder of why I love living here. The house he will share in Santa Cruz is 2 blocks from the Pacific and the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. Lucky boy.

I remember when we were remodeling our house that we lived in my grandfather's house in San Francisco in the Sunset District which is 4 blocks from Ocean Beach. On winter days you could see the most amazing sunsets over the ocean and although the beach was dirty, cold, littered with broken bottles, trash, and the occasional used syringe we would walk down there on nice days, usually November or December. The best summers are winters in San Francisco, they say. But the beaches further down the coast are cleaner, some public and some state beaches, but all inviting.

Sorry for the walk down memory lane and that rather lengthy ramble but I've wanted to write that since last night. For those of you who made it through without hitting your drowsy heads on your keyboards, here is the link to Chapter 22 titled Dischord.

EDITED: Adding pathetic shots from my cell. It does not do the place justice but this was a treat all the way down to SC. The speckles in the sky are kites and in the ocean are a couple of surfers and many windsurfers.

The Deep Breath

Getting reacquainted with my world in South Beach this evening was eye opening. I took some family portraits, chronicled a few things. I snapped away during Wyatt's last night at home and subsequent arrival at college. It really helped to move him to his college home along with Jason and Jett. I believe some creative energy was released as a result and hope to have something up very soon.

This first shot I could not resist posting. Talk about a fashion faux pas. Jason (in front) was none too happy with me for it I will say. Jett couldn't care less (notice the garb). Things just don't phase him and he is not as sensitive as his brother who is nine months and five minutes older than Jett. Wyatt seems to be channeling Grandpa Eric. Not for long however...

Here is the studly young adult looking very much like his father's son. Julia's eyes and brow but the rest is all Cooper. I must say he grew up quite well.

While you won't get the grand tour just yet, I thought I would share a few preview shots. Also want to mention that Beth completely designed the decor in Wyatt's humble college residence. Cooper needs to give her a big bonus for the fabulous job she did. I know the boys are thrilled with the comfortable space they have. I'm sure they'll get a lot of...studying done. They promised. I would have given you a preview of the Mitchell boys after they changed clothes but the game crashed. So much for reinstalling to rid yourself of those nasty gremlins...oh well.

Nearly done setting up the blog that will host Wyatt's story so stay tuned ~

Chopped Liver

Don't ask...

I have bits and pieces of things in my head right now and no clear path as to where I am going. I have an intro to Corinne's piece, 1 scene complete and 1 scene started for Dark December (not sure if these two scenes will even be posted together) and a complete story in 3 parts written but no energy to build the sets for it. It seems as though my creative energy is on permanent vacation.

On a positive note, the graphics card is in and working. It did solve some but not all my PC issues and quite frankly, I don't have the resources to deal with it right now. So it is slow and steady and we will see where it goes.

The neighborhood is back together, the relationships seem to be in line again, and the phantom characters have been sent back to the chasm. So what is creating the wall that is keeping me from finishing anything? Hell if I know.

Let's see...how about a random shot of the young veal (Karen, I am just loving that expression so much) just prior to leaving for college...

Time in a Bottle

I really enjoy adding threads in my stories. It keeps it interesting to me and after all, they may be supporting characters but they still have lives. Unfortunately in focusing on one thread and its culmination, I let another one get skewed in terms of the ever-ignored-by-me time line. Bonni was pregnant during Cooper and Beth's wedding and I completely left her hanging there while Cooper and Beth welcomed a pretty baby named Rayne who you can see here.

So with that in mind I spent some time with Bonni and Slim and they have welcomed a handsome son named William. Here he is looking very much like his mama right now. You will see him toddling around in Chapter 20 if I ever finish it!

Please click on the images for a closer look. I haven't gotten around to modifying my blog as of yet.

Road Block

I had hoped to have the next piece for Dark December posted this weekend. Some real life distractions along with some major technical difficulties in hardware and software prevented me from finishing. I needed to build a complicated set and shoot one long scene that was problematic in both cooperation from the players and my pc being a brat. Let me just say that I make my living providing hardware and software troubleshooting...I really don't want to do it on my days off.

While I won't bore you with the technical aspect, I can say that I expect to have it up in a day or two. I hope. I am nearly done with the shoot. The two most difficult scenes are out of the way so with luck, and assuming I don't fall on the floor in a heap from fatigue, I am shooting for Wednesday. Or Thursday. Assuming I don't need to upload my screencaps one at a time. Again.

Stay tuned...

And because he was a good boy and cooperated, I am featuring Wyatt in this post. It will make him feel really good if you comment and tell him how hot he looks.

New Addition

We are thrilled to announce the birth of Nicolas Anthony Taylor. A sweet baby boy with his father's unique diamond eyes and charm and his mother's coloring. He already has his parents wrapped around his tiny fingers.

Music to my Ears

Those who know me well already grasp the fact that music is very much a part of who I am and my creativity. For the last year I have wanted to make a sims movie video and although I started and stopped so many times, I am finally biting the bullet and giving it a go.

My problem has never been conceptual, it has been technical. Grasping the art of filming in the game. Thanks to a good friend who emailed me some tutorial links, I think I might actually get it. I have made and edited music videos that were live, (my sons; I made them dvds of their performances with my Mac) so the editing aspect should be easy (famous last words there)

No guarantee it will ever see the light of day publicly and I have been practicing at filming but if it works, then I hope many more will come.

In the meantime, I decided to embed some holiday music on this blog as well. I don't know how many of you turn on your audio when you browse but one of my sons' original songs plays on Dark December. So crank up the volume and enjoy "Carol of the Bells" performed by the Trans Siberian Orchestra and featuring...*drumroll please*


...Metallica!