After a few failed attempts, some computer problems, and being overwhelmed with work, I decided that the best thing for me to do was to try this Epic Challenge again.  So I would like you to meet my founder, Arabella Hatfield.  This is her story and the beginning of her legacy. And to make sure I became frustrated quickly, I chose to include the mini challenge of no fridge.  I built the house to the specs lined out in the rules found here. I am making this a matriarchy, so only the first female will be eligible for the role of heiress.  I will be keeping score, which I don’t tend to do.

 

Arabella was born to a very southern and wealthy family who expected her to be refined and genteel.  To escape the suffocating expectations, Arabella found peace in the gardens. She enjoyed being outdoors and the flowers gave her a sense of purpose.  She met a boy in high school and he introduced her to fishing and she found that she was actually pretty good at it.  For such an active sim, fishing was challenging enough to keep her physically satisfied.  On her 18th birthday, Arabella knew that she couldn’t stay in this little town with so many rules and expectations.  As soon as she graduated from High School, Arabella shook the dust from heels and bought the Bargain Bend lot in Willow Creek with her inheritance from her Grandma.

 

The first thing Arabella did before the ink dried on the deed papers was to go fishing behind the house.  She chose this lot because of the easy access to fishing, and spring is the best time to fish.  This was the first time she felt like she could breathe in her whole life.  She would worry about shelter and employment later.  Now she just wanted to fish.

After getting the fishing out of her system, Arabella turned her attention to figuring out what she wanted to do with her life.  Looking through the paper, she realized that she could actually make money by gardening, so immediately got a job as a gardener.  And then turned her attention to her homestead. She didn’t have much money, so the house was very small.  Just one room.  She couldn’t even put the bathroom stuff inside.  Of course, with no electricity or running water, it was best to have the old tub out in the yard so she had fresh water.  The chores were hard but she didn’t mind that so much.

A random stranger, Victor Feng, was just what Arabella needed to fill some needs.  Married?  Ack, who cares.  He was just very useful and that was about it.  Though he was very eager for a repeat performance, whenever Arabella called on him.  He came a’running every time.

And then it happened.  Too quickly, but whatever, these things happened.  The next generation is on its way.  Now for the strawberry marathon!

And now to tell the daddy…  He wasn’t thrilled, but he wasn’t upset, either.

Arabella took a break from fishing and gardening to visit the local bar, though she couldn’t drink.  And Victor and his wife showed up, and the stupid man couldn’t quit flirting with Arabella.  Wifey-Pooh was NOT happy about having his affair thrown in her face.  And an obviously pregnant mistress, at that.  Arabella is lucky the crazy b*tch didn’t throw down on her right then and there.

Arabella spent a great bit of time in her garden working on gaining skills and knowledge that would help her advance in her career.  But the one thing she just couldn’t wait to see grow up was the Cowplant.  She got so lucky when she fished the seed out of the river she found in the secret area through the magic tree down the street from her house.  Shh.  It is a secret place, and no one really needs to know it is there.  So let’s keep it our little secret.

While working in the garden one day, she felt a severe cramp in her belly.  Oh!  The baby is coming!!!  Just know, childbirth is not that much fun.  No doctors or nurses or even medicine to ease the pain.  Just gotta pop that sucker out au natural!  And it is a girl, and Arabella has named her Sima.

With the new baby, Arabella needed to add on a room for the little tyke.  So she got to work and built another room onto the house just for little Sima.

Time passes quickly when you are having fun.  Before Arabella knew it, Sima was becoming a toddler.  She grew up charming young toddler, too.  So precious.  Though the need to put sunglasses on a toddler seems a bit ridiculous to me.  Gotta change that.

Potty Training and all those other skills won’t learn themselves.  So Arabella gets right on it to help the little princess heiress.

What an adorable little girl.

Arabella split her time between her garden, fishing, her job, and her precious little girl.  A single mother has a rough life, but Arabella is up to the task.  And her precious little top-notch toddler becomes a child.

Time is just flying for this young family.  And during all of this time, the one thing Arabella cannot get the hang of is keeping the damn Cowplant alive.  She is now on a mission to keep one alive at all costs.  Even when they try to eat her.

Winterfest comes along and it is a perfect holiday.  They get everything they want and make some great memories.

Sima is a go-getter.  She completes her aspiration to become creatively gifted, and moves on to become a whiz kid.  Because that just wasn’t enough for her, she then becomes socially gifted.  In the process, she meets her future husband, Edwin and they become childhood best friends forever.

Because space was tight, Arabella decided to get a couple of the new murphy beds that were just invented for her and Sima.  And that is when tragedy struck!  What is to become of poor Sima?  She is just a child!  Will Social Services whisk her away, never to be seen or heard from again?

Ah, but no!  Sima is a charmer and with her social graces, she convinces Grim to give her mother another chance at life!  He agrees to this preposterous idea because he was just so charmed by this distraught child.

After that close call, Arabella and Sima grow closer and spend many happy days in the garden, painting (Sima’s passion was painting!), fishing, and living their best life.  And then one day, Arabella looked at her small child and realized that she was no longer a child but a teenager and starting high school.  Where does time go?  Edwin and Sima have only grown closer as time moved forward.  And then one day, they took their relationship to the next level.

His choice of hair style is hopefully just a phase, but Sima doesn’t mind it much.  They take pictures together because they are just so in love and can’t wait to grow up, get married, have babies, and live their best life together.

 

Though they are close and have been for years, they finally decided to make their relationship official. They are now boyfriend and girlfriend and have exchanged promise rings.

And what would be only natural is to finally have their first kiss as boyfriend and girlfriend.

During all of this relationship growing, Arabella got her promotion to level 10 of gardening, and finally unlocked the fridge!

And I cannot be happier with this development.  Not long after Arabella’s promotion, Sima became a young adult, graduated high school, and took a job as a painter.  She has to wait for Edwin to catch up.  He is about a day behind her on his age.  So just gotta wait one more day.

 

Points:

• Lowest Generation to become a YA – 2
• No Fridge Allowed – 1
• Randomize all Traits – 1
• Make it a Matriarchy – 2
• Each Unique Gnome – 3
• Total Gnomes – 3
• No Services – 1
• Skills Maxed, Gen 1 – 4 (Cooking, Gardening, Fishing, Logic)
• Skills Maxed, Gen 2 – 4 (If you count her childhood skills, which I will since that is hard work)
• Top-Notch Toddler – 1

Total Score:  50