Doctor Who Sims

Hey, Everyone!

Remember last May when I made Batman's rogue's gallery in The Sims 3? Of course you do. Those were good times to be had by all! (Mostly me...).

This time I made Doctor Who Sims. (It was my birthday and I decided to take the day off & have fun!).

Click the "Read More" button below if you're interested in seeing a crap-ton of pictures.

--Lauren*
http://littlezotz.com

Sims - Rogue's Gallery

This is a VERY pic heavy entry.  I wanted to show the new Sims I made to my dad, but his e-mail address doesn't accept huge attachments...  So I'm posting them here!

Feel free to check 'em out.  I created these in The Sims 3.  I'll edit this entry in a few days to add which personality traits I gave each of the characters.  Ramiro helped choose the personalities.  :)

--Lauren
http://littlezotz.com

So Long! Don't Forget to Write!

Hey, Everyone!

I think the time has come to put this Blog, at least mostly, to rest.

It's time for me to stop writing about my life and actually start living it!

Not that I'm going to stop writing entirely. Of course not! I'm a writer! I'll still be making weekly (every Wednesday) updates over at http://littlezotz.com  I'll also still be writing for clients.  :)  If you like my writing style, there's going to be plenty of places for you to get your "fix."

Me writing. (Fortunately, my computer in real life is much better!)

I may write on here occasionally, but it probably won't be for a long time from now.  I definitely won't be making weekly updates anymore.  (Sorry, Amy!--I know you like to lurk...).  

 

Writing updates about my life is a fun, admittedly self-indulgent, activity--and it certainly made it easier for long-distance friends (which is, well, ALL of my friends) to keep up with me!--but I've become incredibly busy as of late and it became clear that I had to prioritize.  I need to put my clients first.

Don't be sad.  As I said, I'll still write on here "occasionally."  And, of course, if you really, really want to know what I'm up to, you can always write to me at littlezotz@gmail.com!

So, goodbye for now!  Ramiro, Robert, and I are off to live happy, wonderful lives!  :D  And don't forget to support my work (leave comments!!) over at http://littlezotz.com!

Until next time...
--Lauren*

Another Year Older

Hey, Everyone!

Now, you're going to say "You're late!" but I came prepared for that!  You'll notice, in my last entry, I didn't say WHICH Monday I'd be updating from next--just that it'd be in the future!  Ho ho!  Nah, I kid.  You're right.  I'm totally late on this one.

2012 has been a crazy year so far.  It's been tough on me physically (I've had to deal with food poisoning twice, and a very terrible flu bug!), but filled with exciting new opportunities.

It was my birthday on January 7th, but because of above-mentioned flu bug, I postponed celebrating it until the 20th.  Ramiro and I went to my parents' house and we ate this delicious sugar-free chocolate mousse pie:

Feel free to count the candles if you're desperate to know how old I am now.

In other news, I finally shelled out for a pay theme and a more secure structure for my website.  I updated my free theme the other day and it BROKE and my website disappeared (ironically/appropriately, it was on the 18th when most of the websites I like were gone anyway due to SOPA protesting).  So, for a short while, my website looked like this:

Awful, wasn't it?

Fortunately, I got that all taken care of and my website is super pretty now!  Go check it out at LittleZotz.com!  (Updates every Wednesday!)

I also gave a full-on makeover to the ReviewHat website.  Check that out too!  I shelled out good money for those themes--someone better look at 'em!  ;)

And, as long as I'm mentioning website makeovers, go check out Ramiro's website, RED MUSEUM (nsfw).  He did a total makeover on it this week and didn't have to shell out bucks 'cause he's got mad skillz.  I'm very proud of him.  <3  And there's even a few new comics up, so be sure to check those out!

 

That's about it for now, I guess.  I can't give you too many details about my work and I doubt you want to hear the gory details of my flu/food poisonings...soooooooo...yeah...

 

Until next time!

 

--Lauren* 

Happy 2012!

Hey, Everyone!

Happy New Year!! :)

Did everyone survive the holiday season?

I'm thankful to have made it to 2012.  Last year was a tough one and will go down as one of my Top 10 Least Favorite Years (along with 2007 and 2009).  I have high hopes for this year!  Hopefully there will be a little time to relax--while still making money!  (Unemployment/lack of clients wouldn't be very relaxing!)

Ringo: Master Relaxer.

I didn't do anything especially awesome for New Year's Eve.  I had food poisoning (2011 had to be a jerk just one last time!) and spent a good chunk of the day in the bathroom.  I spent New Year's Day and today ("New Year's Day Observed") working.

Around/on Christmas, Ramiro and I visited with my parents, my mom's brother, Steff, and Danielle.  We also saw my friend James at the supermarket.  That was cool.

Robert made out really well with Christmas "loot" this year:

Licking his catnip pillow from Danielle

Chillin' with his llama from Steff

It looks like Robert doesn't really like his llama, but you're wrong.  He's just tired.  I took that picture after he wore himself out playing with it.  All the other pictures I tried to take of Robert + llama ended up looking like this:

Yikes!!

You might notice there's another llama/alpaca plushie on the bookshelf behind Robert...  That one's mine!  I got it in September and Robert kept trying to steal it.  Fortunately, now that he has his own (thanks, Steff!), I no longer have to worry about that.  :)

Anyway, thanks again to all of you who visited, gave gifts, sent cards, and shared your general good wishes in our direction.  Much appreciated!

Time to get back to work!

A picture of me at work (with my "esteemed colleague," of course!)

When I write here again, I'll be another year older.

--Lauren*

http://littlezotz.com

Rashad Remembered by the Clark Chronicle

A while ago the Clark Chronicle contacted me and interviewed me about the death of my friend Rashad.

Here's the finished article:

http://my.hsj.org/Schools/Newspaper/tabid/100/view/frontpage/schoolid/2702/articleid/485803/newspaperid/2726/Clark_alum_commits_suicide.aspx

If anyone's interested, this was my full "official statement" to the press:

From what I knew of Rashad, even in his high school days, he was an extremely sensitive young man. He was like Atlas--but instead of carrying the world, he tried to carry the weight of the world's problems.  He cared about you.  Yes, YOU!  Even if he didn't know you, he cared about you.  Even more than he cared for himself.

Rashad's moods varied greatly.  When he was happy, he was really happy; when he was sad, it consumed him.  He struggled with his dark days, but did not believe in medication or even therapy.  Personally, I think that, if you need help, there's no shame in asking for it.  But Rashad never wanted to help himself.  He was all about helping others--and trying to make them laugh.

Rashad wanted to be famous--for anything.  Comedy was just one of many attempts at a spot in the limelight.  I truly wish that he had been successful.  He had so much potential for greatness.  But, he chose to jump off Suicide Bridge in Pasadena for a very specific reason: It was his last attempt to be famous.  And I think we need to respect that and not try to brush it aside or, worse, cover it up.  I realize it's a difficult issue to deal with--especially for the loved ones he left behind--but if we ignore it, then we disrespect him, his memory, and what he was trying to tell us.

For me, and many of the mutual friends who knew him, Rashad's death told a tale of wasted potential.  His life was cut short too soon.  Our dreams might not always come true right away, but that's no reason to stop dreaming.  And, if you need help, it's never too late to ask for it.
***

I thought it was nice that the Clark Chronicle chose to write a tribute to Rashad...  Our class graduated over 8 years ago now.  No one going to that school remembers him or even knows who he was.  But he was a Clarkie.  And they wrote about him.  That's kinda sweet.

Sure hope 2012 is better than 2011 was.

See you next Monday!

--Lauren*

Thanksgiving Weekend 2011

Hey, Everyone!

This is my 140th post on this Blog.  :)

First up, I'd like to mention that Ramiro premiered the first few pages of his new comic today.  You can read it here (NSFW).  And, don't worry, he's got it all finished and ready to go!  He's updating on a schedule, but you will be seeing the whole thing (it's done).  Enjoy!!

Thanksgiving went well.  It was a work day, but Ramiro and I still celebrated it the best we could.  It was our first Thanksgiving where we didn't go anywhere (it was just us) and we kept it simple.  We cooked a whole chicken in the oven, boiled a butternut squash, and had potato salad on the side.  For dessert we had sugar-free pumpkin tarts and sugar-free cherry pie from the Slender Sweet Shoppe in Montrose.  Here are some pics:

 Yesterday, Ramiro and I saw Twilight: Breaking Dawn (Part One) in theaters.  We've seen every Twilight movie thus far and always look forward to them.  They're absolutely terrible...but unlike a lot of bad movies out there (and we've seen a LOT of bad movies--more than our fair share, I'd say), they're also terribly entertaining.  This one was especially bad (to the point that Ramiro has been referring to it as Twilight: Breaking Wind because it "stank" so bad), but was also especially fun.  Seeing it with an audience and hearing their reactions, is what really "made" the movie for me.  I wouldn't watch these movies at home, but in the theater they're an extra special treat/experience.

 One of the least creative posters we've ever seen...

I liked that the opening scene of the movie was Jacob ripping off his shirt.  It's like they just gave up and said "Well, here you are, Ladies. We know what you're really here for." 

This happened literally 10 seconds in.

The movie was very, very faithful to the book; but much easier to sit through.  I've read all of the books (and I've read segments of them aloud to Ramiro) and that last book was a chore to get through.  Especially in its second half.  I will say this though: They did NOT wuss out on the birthing scene.  Edward [SPOILER] eats the baby out of her just like he does in the book [END SPOILER] and they did a great job on Bella's make-up/effects to make her look gross and horrifying.  And they did an equally good job with making her look ultra gorgeous for the makeover sequence at the end.

I was also amused that our ticket stubs were pink (they're usually gray).

Other than that, not much has been happening other than "the usual" (writing, health problems, more writing) in real life.

In my FAKE life on my Nintendo 3DS, I ended up getting married in Harvest Moon: The Tale of Two Towns.  Man, I love that game.

Here's a pic from my wedding:

 I'm playing as a boy.  My name is Lame.  I always name nameable characters Lame. (It's a long story going back to Pirates Gold! on the Sega Genesis).  I married Reina, the botanist chick.

After you get married, your spouse asks you what you'd like to be called as a pet name. I picked "Sir" as a joke and now feel horrible every time she says it.  *sheepish laugh*

Then, on the last day before I had to get back to work, I busted out Sarahe's copy of The Sims 2 again and made Sims of Ramiro, Ray, and myself.  The rest of this entry is just going to be pictures from that.  Look if you're interested, if not, I'll say goodbye to you here. 

Here we are as Sims:

I chose the "fat" body type for my Sim and she was still thinner than I am in real life! How depressing...

 Ramiro as a Sim

Ramiro and me discussing a poster we mutually enjoy.

Sharing our interests apparently ignited our passion... Actually, I mainly took this picture because I just noticed during this scene that the mirrors in The Sims 2 actually work!  I know that that's "old" technology now, but it still amazes me.

 Then Ray came by.  He seemed to be having trouble with his genie lamp.  Ramiro looked concerned...

 Nope. Guess not. Ramiro called "BS" on Ray and they had a minor tiff, but then...

...It was all good. They started playing video games while my Sim wrote in her journal.  (JUST LIKE REAL LIFE!)

They got really into it.  Not sure why they're sitting so far apart though.

I guess they won?  (That's my Sim making sandwiches for everyone in the kitchen)

I left off when we all sat down to eat lunch.

The way I "play" The Sims 2 is a bit unusual, I guess.  I mostly just like to build the houses and then, other than encouraging them to learn how to cook (so they don't set themselves on fire!), I just sit back and watch what they do.  *shrugs*  They usually get up to interesting shenanigans. 

See you next Monday!

--Lauren*
http://littlezotz.com