The Weekly Update: 10/29/17 + My Sims Dancing Like No One is Watching

 
 

Let’s see, what happened in the past two weeks… Well, I caved and installed The Sims 3 onto my current computer (I was playing it on my slow, noisy, half-broken laptop before, but now I’m using my grandma’s old desktop), which means I’ll now just end up wasting even more time playing since it runs better and all I have to do is click a button instead of hooking up my monitor to the other computer and all that.

Oh, I also tried The Sims 4 just to see what it was like. It has some cute stuff and a lot of realism in how the sims are able to multitask, able to have conversations without standing next to each other, etc., but there are a lot of things I don’t like, like how cartoony everything looks and how it doesn’t have the open world. So, as much as I hate to skip over an entire version of The Sims, I think I’ll save my money and stick to TS3 instead of buying a bunch of expansion packs for a game I probably won’t even like very much :-/

There was also an incident with a dead frog that I found in my shower. It was very small, only about the size of a penny, but I still would very much like to know how, exactly, it ended up in my shower, and why it chose to crawl into my shower just to die.

Also, exciting news! Disney Channel has their first canon gay main character, on the show Andi Mack! (Not the main character, but one of them.) I think Disney, especially Disney Channel, is great for a lot of reasons, and I’m not saying they’re perfect, but they’re at least trying to be somewhat inclusive of different marginalizations in their shows, movies, and ads. It makes me happy.


Blog/Bookish Updates:

At this point I don’t think I’m going to receive the book I won in a Goodreads giveaway like two months ago :-/

 

Books I Received for Review:

Juniper Unraveling by Keri Lake
Smoke City by Keith Rosson
 

10/22/17: Nothing.

10/29/17: Juniper Unraveling is from NetGalley. Smoke City is from Meerkat Press. I’m very excited for both of these since both are supposed to be somewhat dark šŸ˜€

 

Books I Finished:

Black Box Inc. by Jake Bible
Sleeper by Lexi Blake
Steel & Stone Companion Collection by Annette Marie
The Night Realm by Annette Marie
Fine Lines by Bella Roccaforte
Sketches by Bella Roccaforte
 

10/8/17: Apparently I’ve had a very urban fantasy filled two weeks! Black Box Inc. was fine, but I wanted something a little more unique. Sleeper was one of my most anticipated reads of the year, but it left me feeling disappointed.

10/15/17: I wasn’t sure the Steel & Stone Companion would be worth it, especially since I read the series over a year ago, but I’m so glad I went for it! The book was fantastic. The Night Realm was good too. I have also finally started my reread of the Deadly Dreams (formerly INK) series, after nearly three years, since the final book is coming out. I’ll have to get back to you on how I feel about it once I finish the series.

 

What I’m Loving:

This week, what I’m loving is…

Matthew’s and Elliott’s Dancing

I don’t know if I’ll be doing any more sims posts, so I have to share this with you here in my weekly update post. If you’ve read my sims posts though, then you know that our adorable little faerie, Matthew, LOVES to dance. But he has taken it to new levels recently. I honestly didn’t know sims could even dance this like this, and I fucking love it. (Dancing is a hidden skill in the game which means you can’t track the sim’s progress with it, but it improves some the more they do it, and apparently I’ve just never had sims do this much dancing before.) And the music in the video is the actual music that he was dancing to in the game, I didn’t add that in. It’s perfect, right?!

Link (in case the embed doesn’t work)

Link (in case the embed doesn’t work)

But don’t you worry, Elliott’s got some moves too! I think he’s been learning from Matthew. Who knew that kind of dancing could go so well with country music???

Link (in case the embed doesn’t work)

They’re just the perfect little dancing couple lol.

Link (in case the embed doesn’t work)

Stay fierce, Matthew!

Matthew Looking Fierce

 

In Case You Missed It:

10/08/17:
– I reviewed Shadow Rise by Audrey Grey, an intense YA dystopian.
– I shared some gorgeous black, white, and orange book covers.
– I reviewed Love Song for a Vampire by J.L. Aarne, a funny/intense M/M urban fantasy.

10/15/17:
– I reviewed Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice, a dark, atmospheric vampire classic.
– I did the Bump in the Night Book Tag.
– I reviewed Interview with the Vampire: Claudia’s Story by Anne Rice & Ashley Marie Witter, a gorgeous graphic novel adaptation.

 

The Sunday Post Link-Up:

Once again, I’m linking up to The Sunday Post at Caffeinated Book Reviewer šŸ™‚

 
 
 
 

Talk to me!

Have you found any good books lately?
If you play The Sims, what do you think of TS4? Or which version is your favorite?
Have you ever found any strange animals in your house?

 
 
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Your Thoughts

 

53 thoughts on “The Weekly Update: 10/29/17 + My Sims Dancing Like No One is Watching

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  1. Zeee @ I Heart Romance & YA

    I used to be obsessed with Sims 2! I played non-stop years ago but have since stopped. I didn’t even know there was a Sims 4! What I don’t like about it is that there are just too many expansion packs which make the game pretty pricey overall. sigh*

    1. Kristen Burns

      Yeah they just keep making new versions lol. But I agree, it gets pricey, and with TS4 I feel like they’re *really* milking it for all it’s worth, charging so much for every little thing.

  2. Wattle

    Oh frogs D: we used to get them in our shower/toilet all the time when we lived in one particular place, and even though we moved 16 years ago I still check for them lol perhaps it was searching for water or something?

    I hope the book does eventually show up šŸ™ I won a competition a while back and it took 4 and a half months for the prize to show up.

    Haha the dancing sims <3

    1. Kristen Burns

      See, I don’t normally get frogs, so this was weird for me lol. I’m just wondering how it got in.

      Thanks, I don’t want to get my hopes up if it never comes though!

      Hehe, I love the dancing šŸ˜€

  3. sjhigbee

    Oh my goodness – Matthew and Elliott’s dancing… And this comes in a game?? I can see I’m a tad out of date with Candy Crush:). Sorry to hear about the little frog – and somewhat disturbing. Do you have a window he could have climbed through? Otherwise he HAD to have come up through the drain… Glad you had a great week’s reading, though it’s a shame you are having to give up on your giveaway prize. Have a great week, Kristen. My Sunday Post https://sjhigbee.wordpress.com/2017/10/29/sunday-post-29th-october-2017/

    1. Kristen Burns

      Haha yes! The sims is an amazing game. Yes I more freaked out by the frog than anything since I didn’t even realize he was dead at first and was worried about how I was going to catch it. I’m thinking he must’ve come through the drain, even though I have a drain cover :-/ Thanks, you have a great week too šŸ™‚

  4. Lola

    That’s fun you can also play the Sims on your current pc as well. I have played the sims in the past, but not sure which version. I do remember they changed things with each version as I played at least 2 different versions.

    Poor frog. Also how did it even get in your house/ shower?

    I know that author Keri lake, but wasn’t sure if this book would be for me as it’s supposed to be pretty dark. Sounds like it might be a good fit for you though :). I am looking forward to your review and finding out how dark you think it is.

    I am pretty sure I heard/ read this week somewhere you could notify Goodreads if you didn’t receive the book you won in a giveaway. I just did a short google search and if you google “Goodreads giveaway book didn’t arrive” you’ll find an article on goodreads about it and how you can mark your book didn’t arrive.

    I know I saw the Night Realm on some blogs this week, the cover is pretty. Glad to hear it was a good one.

    That’s fun your sims actually get better at dancing and Elliot learned some moves from Matthew, lol.

    Have a great week!

    1. Kristen Burns

      It’s time consuming having to reinstall all the expansion packs, the custom content, the game files (so I could play my same sims), etc., but I think it was worth it! Yeah, each version is a little different.

      Idk, I’m still wondering how the frog got in too.

      I’ve never read any Keri Lake books. But that’s funny, you avoided the book cuz you heard it’s dark, whereas I’m reading it cuz I heard it’s dark šŸ˜›

      Ah, that was me who talked about the GR thing to notify the publisher lol. But I notified them 2-3 weeks ago and still have no book, so idk :-/

      Lol my sims crack me up. Thanks, you have a great week too!

  5. Sam@WLABB

    I haven’t found any strange animals in my house (thank goodness), but this morning, when I went up to the gym in my complex, I was a little early. So, I was waiting in front of the door, and this whole family of raccoons approached me and did that rubbing thing with their hands. I slowly backed away. That hand thing was making me really nervous.

    1. Kristen Burns

      Oh goodness I’d be nervous too! I’ve always thought raccoons were adorable, but, you know, don’t want to be attacked by them because rabies and all lol.

  6. Evelina @ AvalinahsBooks

    A… dead frog in your shower. This sounds like some starting line to a horror novel šŸ˜€ how did that even happen??? Poor frog, of course. Jeez.

    Hm, maybe you should try telling the publisher you haven’t received your Goodreads prize? There might be a way to notify them… I wonder. It’s been a while since I’ve won anything on there, don’t remember these things anymore.

    Has the weather been cooling over there too? It’s been freezing here. Literally šŸ˜€ we reached zero! (32F)

    Have a great week šŸ™‚

    1. Kristen Burns

      Lol. I have no clue how it got in except maybe the drain??

      I notified them through the GR thing, but that was like two weeks ago, so idk :-/

      We’ve had a couple nights that were like 59F, but that’s about it, not that I’m complaining (I hate the cold). Yikes, 32 sounds awful!

      Thanks, you too!

  7. Karen Blue

    I dont know anything about Sims, otherr than it is a computer game. Glad to see you are enjoying it. The dancing characters are funny.
    Have a great week!

  8. Becky @ A Fool's Ingenuity

    Dude, I’m still stuck back Sims 2, I tried Sims 3 but it was too open world for me, I could never concentrate on more than one sims so they never ended up having a family or anything, great careers, though, and enjoyed following their wants. I’ve tried Sims 4 a little bit but not much, I spend way too much time creating a sim and then I don’t fancy playing them. I love how much you can customise, though. I think I’ll give it a chance at some point.

    The frog thing is a little weird, maybe it was headed toward water and just didn’t quite make it? It’s strange and sad.

    Hope you have a good week and happy reading.

    1. Kristen Burns

      Lol if you like TS2 best, there’s nothing wrong with that! Personally I love the open world though. I love being able to have one sim at one place, another sim somewhere else, etc. all at once. Oh I totally forgot to mention, I love how you can customize gender in TS4, but other than that, I actually found TS4’s create-a-sim really difficult and annoying :-/

      Yeah, I really don’t know what the heck happened with that frog.

      Thanks, you too!

      1. Becky @ A Fool's Ingenuity

        I know what you mean but I suppose my issue is I am a terrible multi-tasker, I get way too focused on sorting out one sims need and it all goes horribly wrong. I do love that you can customise so much in TS4, especially gender and gender preferences and identity. It’s very cool, I do find the create a sim a little fiddly but you can change things way more which is really cool. I hear the build screens are easier as well, you can amend so much more but I’ve yet to fully investigate that.

        1. Kristen Burns

          You know you can pause the game, right? šŸ˜› That’s how I keep track of sims, lots of pausing lol. And sometimes it’s actually funnier when you kinda forget about one sim and go check on them later and see what they’ve gotten up to. Idk, I feel like you customize more in TS3’s CAS (I mean, not gender, but the face/body). Then again, I also have bods that allow me to customize a lot more. I have seen some videos of building though, and that does seem like the one things I’d really love since you can move entire rooms and stuff I think. Building is so hard for me because of how you have to plan everything so perfectly right from the start.

  9. Jenea's Book Obsession

    My daughter was telling me about Andi Mack, and I think it is great that Disney is going to do this in this show. My daughter friend has had a hard time with the comments at school and her family right now. So, I am happy to see a show for this age group that will deal with it.

    I just picked up The Night Realm, and I am pretty excited to read it. All of your books look great. Juniper Unreaveling’s cover is gorgeous. Happy reading.

    Jenea’s Book Obsession’s Sunday Post

    1. Kristen Burns

      I think it’s great too! I think it’ll be helpful for a lot of LGBT kids.

      I hope you like The Night Realm! And I agree, the Juniper Unraveling cover is gorgeous!

  10. Karen

    Those Sims are so hilarious.

    I’ve heard from a lot of people that they never got their Goodreads books. I’ve only won one giveaway there and it was an ebook so I didn’t have a problem.

    We had a (live) frog in our shower and a dead one in our bedroom. We also had a huge Cuban Tree frogs outside on my front door and apparently they are super invasive – clogging pipes, power outlet boxes and killing all native lizards/frogs. Fun times.

    For What It’s Worth

    1. Kristen Burns

      My sims crack me up, haha.

      That sucks that so many people never get their books :-/ I’ve won a few GR giveaways, and I’ve gotten the books the other times at least.

      Yikes, you really have a frog problem! I remember once in college my parents went out of town for a couple weeks, and of course the very first night they were gone, I found a giant toad in the garage and didn’t know what to do lol. But yikes, those tree frogs sound bad.

  11. Joanne

    lol I’m not a gamer but I can relate to losing time to one’s …joys (but hey, in life, there must be play). Seeing your book interests (and comments re diversity) for some reason I’m inclined to rec you the Vampire Huntress series by the late L A Banks. Anyway, here’s wishing you a work of solid pursuits and gaming fun.

  12. Samantha

    Bummer you didn’t love Sleeper. I am just getting started on that series. I hope you don’t find any more dead amphibians in your bathroom. Thats creepy!

    1. Kristen Burns

      Well, are you starting with Steal the Light? Because that’s still one of my absolute favorites. It’s just this spin-off series with the new MC that seems to be changing into something that’s maybe not for me. Lol thanks, I would also like to not find any more dead—or alive—creatures in my bathroom šŸ˜›

  13. Laura Thomas

    I haven’t played Sims in so long. I just don’t have the time for it. I do play some games with my son. He usually plays those impossible War games and I stink at them, so he doesn’t ask often. LOL Happy dancing and enjoy your books. I feel a need for some urban fantasy too.

    1. Kristen Burns

      Thanks! It does get pricey :-/ I got most of the games as gifts growing up, and then I let myself splurge on some of the Sims 3 packs since I needed something to destress with, but yeah, I just don’t want to pay all that money for TS4.

  14. Let's Get Beyond Tolerance

    Aw, the poor dead frog. But so weird it ended up in your house! I get frogs in my pool but that makes sense. LOL

    Boo to not getting your Goodreads giveaway win. I’ve had giveaway wins not come to me but never through Goodreads.

    -Lauren

    1. Kristen Burns

      I mean, we have a pool, but my bathroom isn’t that close to it, so it’s still weird lol.

      Yeah, it’s just disappointing since I was looking forward to that book!

  15. Geybie's Book Blog

    Thanks for sharing the videos. I loved them. Sorry about the GR giveaway. Oh it sucks I know. I donā€™t use GR much so I donā€™t participate in lots of groups or giveaways. Anyway, I hope you enjoy your new books and have a wonderful reading week. Happy reading.

  16. chucklesthescot

    I haven’t been reading at all recently which has been strange for me. I think I need to finish my Goodreads goal and take a bit of time to get myself organised as the books won’t read themselves…Strangest animal? A big ugly centipede which scared me worse than any spider did!

    1. Kristen Burns

      Sometimes I just don’t feel like reading at all, those kinds of slumps kinda suck. Hmm, I’ve had small centipedes in the house, but eww, I wouldn’t want a big one!

  17. La La in the Library

    Aww… poor froggy. I hope it wasn’t a Frog Prince! ?? I am in love with the cover of Smoke City. My taste in book covers has definitely been changing as I get older. Have a wonderful week. ā˜ŗ

    1. Kristen Burns

      Ugh. I made the mistake of reading comments on an article and just couldn’t even deal with the bigoted parents complaining about how the show is going to corrupt their kids or some ridiculous crap like that.

  18. S. J. Pajonas

    Lol. Your Sims are the best. I love hearing about them! I don’t blame you for skipping the version if you don’t like it. I’ve done that with other games.

    1. Kristen Burns

      Lol I’m glad you like them šŸ˜€ It’s not that I feel obligated or anything, it’s just, I’ve been playing since the original, I’ve played Sims 1, 2, and 3, so it just makes me kinda sad that I won’t be playing 4, that I won’t know about the expansion packs, that I won’t get the jokes. But that isn’t enough motivation for me to spend that kinda money.

  19. Dragonfly @ Our Familiarium

    oohhhh a dead frog in a shower sounds very witchy!!! perfect Halloween’s prelude . Juniper Unraveling sounds good! I LOVE anything resident evil šŸ™‚ Can’t wait to hear how you liked it šŸ™‚
    Unfortunately I can’t watch the sims dance from this computer. I’ll have to try at home šŸ™

    1. Kristen Burns

      Lol. Wait, was it YOU who sent that frog to my shower with your magic?! šŸ˜› I’m curious what I’ll think of Juniper Unraveling too!

      Aww, darn, I know how much you like Elliott šŸ˜›