Yesterday was a rainy cold day so it seemed like a perfect time to finally attempt chicken pho soup.

I spent yesterday afternoon buying the ingredients. And in the evening I put together the broth for the basis of the soup.

I couldn't find chicken necks/backs/etc... so I bought 2 chickens. One I chopped up to make the stock and one was cooked to make the chicken meat for the soup. The one that made the stock was falling apart tender at the end, and it's waiting in the freezer to be transformed into chicken noodle soup or egg noodles and chicken.

Today I finished off the broth by skimming the fat and pouring it through a sieve to strain off all the spices and what nots added for seasoning.

Then I put together the bowls of soup. Rice noodles in the bowl. Top with chicken, cilantro, diced scallions, and pepper. Pour 2 cups of broth in the bowl. Basil, mint, limes, diced chili peppers, fish sauce, and chili garlic sauce on the side to add as desired. Yum.

Ever go to Wegmans looking for fresh herbs and wonder at the cost of them?

Go to An Chau International Market, a Vietnamese grocer, on Niagara St.

Get a large clump of basil in a baggie for $1.00.

Get a large clump of mint in a baggie for $1.00.

Get a bag with 20-25 thai serrano hot peppers for southeast asian cooking for less than $1.00.

I started a new family and I acted with slightly more moderation.

I had my Lady Sim, Sienna, procreate twins, which are still a lot of work since they tend to want to be fed, played with and diapered both at the same time. So I forced a new person to move in with us to be the twins care taker. My house is a gigantic gothic house complete with attic. So the twins' nanny lives up stairs in the attic.

I still needed some extra help around the house so I called for the Maid service. Then I made the maid a permanent addition to my house so she does all the cleaning up and meal preparation. I moved her up into the servants quarters as well.

Having servants isn't all I thought it would be. It's actually quite demanding to boss them around all day. You have to constantly stay on top of them. The maid isn't very self directed so I have to direct her in her cleaning all day. And I swear that nanny just leaves the babies lying around wherever. I even have to remind them to use their designated bathroom/shower instead of the good bathrooms and to take their meals and their rest after the family is taken care of.

It's hard life for Sims rolling in the Simoleons.

6 babies is 6 too many in the Sims world.

The problem with conjuring 6 Sims babies with the cheat code is they are all named "baby girl" or "baby boy". They all look like the same wriggling lump of Sims baby flesh, so it's difficult to remember what you did for which baby.

I bought a gigantic new space to house all the babies. And I had three adults to take care of the babies. Three adults were not sufficient to take care of the babies. The babies all cried for attention at the same time; needed fed at the same time; and needed diapers changed at the same time. By the time you got through the cycle of care, it was time to do it all over again. With maybe a few split seconds to run to the bathroom or stuff your face in the fridge.

It only took a few minutes for the cries of 6 babies to irritate me. So I scrapped that family.

My experiment with large Sims Families just got a lot more interesting. I LOVE CHEAT CODES.

I just discovered how to make new babies without even having a pregnancy. You do the cheat code and a new baby just shows up on the floor. So, as you might imagine, I quickly conjured up 6 new babies for my family of mom, dad, and 4 kids for a whopping total of 10 family members.

I also used cheat codes to force my oldest daughter to grow into an adult early. That's what happens in large families, right? The oldest grow up quickly to help take care of the youngest.

Then I used the cheat code to give myself $350,000. Normally, I don't care for using money cheats. I like to earn money the old fashioned SIMS way...by working. But as you might imagine, the house was busting at its seams with babies. I need space for 6 cribs. I'm thinking the social workers will take the babies away if I just let them lie on the floor. I guess there is only one way to find out though!