THINGS to do :)

In case you missed here...here are the things for you to focus on while I drive like mad this week :)

1.  You get to ask me a question about SR...anything you have always wanted to know about it...from the 14 year history.  OR if that is not what triggers good questions, then think about it this way...what would you like to know about 14 years of SR that would make you love it even more than you do?  There is a good question for you all!! :)

2.  Keep working on the chain story and refining how you all learn to write together from far apart.  I am going to post the next one of the story starters soon...but make it more about SR...only so you all can then pratice writing about SR...prior to starting working on the "chain book".

3.  Work on the FB project and now that Ben figured out how to remove pages, get those other ones down please!  YAAY...sooner the better on that!

4.  Finally, update each other on how you are doing on your Tick Tock beats and what speed you are up to...I would like to hear about that myself!

Hope that is enough for now :)

BAD NEWS (kind of)

You have to love technology.  I just copied Kelli's great answers for the member of the week into my blog box so I could post that...I am running WAY behind today since the weekend was not quite what I expected (I drove from Kansas City to Watertown on Sat...that only took 6.5 hours...not bad...had a great practice).  Came out of there to a BAD storm...and had to drive back to Sioux Falls...that should take 1:15...took me 2:30 hours to get there and many cars went off the interstate since it was ice the entire way down.  Glad the Kleba family made it...they helped me out that day, in addition to Watertown members.  Regardless...that was awful :(  Then, got up Sunday, and it was STILL bad out...and the 6 hour trip back to KC took 8.5 hours and by the time I got here, after that much snow/ice driving I was wiped out and did not do the work last night I should...watched a movie and went to bed early instead...and now...I have to check out in 30 min and have SO much work that needs to be done.

So, I wanted to just copy and paste...and somehow, the blog will NOT accept the document...since it is Word.  I am not sure why...but after 3 tries, I guess we need to convert it to text...but then, the pretty colors on it AND the formatting will not work.  SO...I will have to look at this again tomorrow if I can (though tomorrow is a show and practice and then Wed is psycho...we drive KC to my Moline to exchange the rental car (5 hours) then to my house to pick up taxes to drop off at the accountant (3 hours), then back to my house to repack (30 min plus repacking) then to LaCrosse, WI to be ready for Eau Claire school show and practice on Thursday (another 5 hours)...so that is 13 hours plus all the stops...meaning...I may actually not be doing much on here until FRIDAY...so you guys...HMM...are going to have to hang on for Kelli's answers if I cannot figure it out in the morning really fast.

This also puts me behind on answers to your questions to me...though there were not a lot of them...so perhaps everyone else missed that question buried in the text...so I will make it a separate post.

For now, know that another storm is coming today to drive in...so keep those safe travel thoughts and prayers coming.  I will repost the question for now, and then let you guys keep working on all the things we  have going for now...you do that well...and I will get more new fun things for you as soon as I can.  At least hang onto this thought...next week is not nearly so travel-packed!!

Bonus Fun !!

One more thing...I would like to enlist the help of as many of you as want...to assist Kelli in finishing a happening Official SR Facebook page so we can get it up and posted.  Additionally, in case you are still holding onto one of the "other" SR Facebook pages, please know we are wanting those removed...not because we don't like them, but if we are going to Succeed at using FB as an additional recruitment tool for kids preferring to connect with us that way, we need to have only ONE place for them to go...not 10 :)

So, if you have yet removed your page...PLEASE do so.

If you want to help Kelli get an Official Page done...complete with happening videos, photos, information, and connection tools (that we have to figure out WHAT those will be)...please contact her RIGHT HERE and she will be in touch ASAP to get this project completed.  My goal is to have it go LIVE March 1st...HINT HINT :)  I want it to be AT least as good as Cobra would do!!

Speaking of Cobra...btw...I have a chance to meet them and talk to them later this spring...I AM PUMPED! 

SOOOO...please note...Today you have TWO new posts to read...so you should make sure to:

1.  Go back to the Chain Story and continue
2.  Read today's MAIN post
3.  Read THIS post...


Mucho to do in the snowy weather :)

Member of the Week ready to go...Today's Question

Thanks to Dee, I have a TERRIFIC Member of the Week thing ready to go.  It has 53 GREAT questions...so that means that each time you "get" to be the one to do it...well...you will have PLENTY to do...answer...write about...but this will allow people in other SR sites to really get to know you well!  

Kelli, I think I will let you be the FIRST Member of the Week!  I think it is best if I send you the questions, let you answer them all and send them back to me, and I will then post them on the blog.  Also, I will add one additional question...Question 54 will be...YOU get to pick the NEXT member of the week.  For now, we will pick them FROM THE BLOG followers.  Can you all see them all?   This will be another incentive not just to read the blog, but actually become a follower AND check in often.  Later on, we will find a way that one Member of the Week can be drawn at random for a prize...or something like that...Whatever It Takes to make sure we get MORE and MORE SR members connected through the blog...because everyday it seems to get MORE exciting!!

SO, Kelli, go ahead and fill this out at your convenience and get it back to me.  I will NOT have a chance to post again until Monday, so don't hurry too much :) 

For everyone else...it is YOUR turn to ask ME a question...so that is today's question!!  Your topic this time is:

What is something you have always wanted to know about SR and its 14 year history that you have never had a chance to ask/find out about?

You guys have fun with that...and I will post those questions and answers sometime next week.  

Also, KEEP GOING on your creative story...that is FUN to watch develop...and learn more about each of your writing styles and imaginations!!

Finally, as we complete some of these things we have started...or at least get them going...we will start to think about the actual SR book and how we can start to pull that together.  Jovanna, I will talk with you more about it at practice on Feb 13th (that is if you are brave enough to come that night...SNAP!!)

Must head out and snow drive AGAIN today...URGHH...enough already this past 2 weeks...I want to put my winter driving skills away for at least a few days.  Tomorrow is a huge drive up to Watertown from Kansas City for me...but worth it...since it is a follow up practice with all of those wanting to truly join SR from the mass-shows of 2 weeks ago.

SR Team Chain Story 1

Tom has taken on the assignment of starting the first SR Story!  His directions are on yesterday's post in the comments.  Read them THERE.  Then, once you know what to do, you may start your additions to his beginning...which I have reposted here to make it easier to find.

I will add more tomorrow...not time to write today, but at least I can assist with this :)  I will be VERY excited to get up tomorrow morning (after battling weather again tonight...2nd time this week...URGHH).

I will get back to all of your questions about assignments, etc...tomorrow.  Story below.

---story---
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES!
I awoke this morning full of life, in great spirits and ready to take on the world. If I had any idea what the day had in store, I would have stayed in bed, but then again, I would have missed out on the most amazing outcome imaginable. I had breakfast, knowing of course, that it is the most important meal of the day. Good thing I did! On my way out, I almost abent-mindedly checked the mail. AND THERE IT WAS!

Well...it IS your blog :)

Sorry all, no new question/topic/brainstorm today...I am running late trying to get all done at my house before hitting the road for the Sutherland show that is rescheduled for tonight due to the big storm 2 weekends ago...AND realizing that we had better finish a few things before we go further into new, exciting, deep-thoughts territory!

DEE...I am going to give you an assignment...aren't you happy!  I would like you to go back through all of the answers to the additional questions-idea for the Member of the Week thing and compile them into one email for me...and send it my way (Steve@sheltered-reality.org)...can you do that perhaps even by Friday morning for me?  Not sure how long that will take you...but if I had those by Friday morning, my next actual work time, then I could get that project cleaned up and ready to go for the weekend.

BEN...I have an assignment for you...go ahead and put together the questions you would like to see for a quarterly Site of the Quarter (or Site of the Month) blog...so we can start to work towards that.

KELLI...I have an assignment for you!  Have Mary send back to me my list of SPS questions because we are going to use those via the blog for sites that have not yet done that AND as a way to start to share bits and pieces of that...and I have found out those questions did NOT make it to my new computer :(

JOVANNA...I have an assignement for you!  The BOOK about SR...we are not quite sure how it will look, but it will be the entire 14 year history, the many stories about how we have changed the world, things that have worked, things that have not worked...all put together in a great package...that will include many pictures, press, etc...about us...and I will be wanting contributions from EVERYONE on here about this...(of course I will be helping on things about SR that happened before your times...you can not create what you did not live through!)...but guess what Ms. I Want To Be A Writer??  I would like you to be the final editor of the thing when it is done :)  How would that strike you as a way to help hone your writing skills (of course you want to do fiction and this will NOT be fiction, but still, it is writing a book!!!)

TOM...I have an assignment for you!  I love the idea of you guys starting a fun-online-story...where someone posts a sentence and then others post from there.  Guess who gets to start that?  YOU :)  Go ahead and decide how each person will know when it is their turn, decide what you want as a first sentence, and post it here...then we will let you all take turns (you decide how that needs to be done)...so that a nice little story is waiting for me say by the weekend?  Is that doable?

See, when I say the blog is about YOU guys...it IS :)  (and hey, when I am pressed for time, what better way for you all to work together then this way!!)

I will assignments for others to do too...but for now, let's start here.

Will look forward to Friday on this one!!

Faith Comments for you All

I am back!!  At last...what a crazy weekend...driving from Omaha to North Platte to Rapid City to Faith to Rochester to Home...something like 10,000 miles later (well, not quite!)...we are here.  For those who heard me, I finally have most of my voice back, and thankfully, I had it yesterday when I needed it!!

Anyhow, I want you all to know that we WILL be proceeding with the idea of putting together a book about the Story of SR.  We will have to lay the ground work for this over the next few posts and think about what we want that book to look like, represent, etc.  We also need to think about how much text we want vs how much press stuff we want...since we have 14 years of that kind of stuff (newspapers, other articles, other pictures, etc)...boxed up and stored.  So, be thinking on that.

For now, this post is simply to update you all about our AWESOME site in Faith, SD.  We just had practice there and the group was doing awesome.  Their in-between practices have been great, and everyone, of every age, simply rocked on the songs they have learned so far!  Then, we worked on some of YMCA and the stuff for my new song (which is called If I Had You, so you have a title to associate with it!)...AND THEN, we talked about the blog...all before finally telling them that we have many, many sites working on helping them get drums.  We also had ordered the 2 sets of drums provided by our Minneapolis members...and they were there for them, already set up...but everyone in Faith assumed the sets were Rapid City drums.  It was such a great way to do it, and thanks to all in Rapid for helping pull the surprise off!  So many hugs, tears, smiles, and great, wonderful SR family energy...because once again, the world had changed, in a great way!  So, without asking (and Jennifer and Elizabeth, I hope it is OK to post your comments on here!)...these 2 emails go along with the kind things that Drew and Alex Vance commented on the last Steve-post...read those there, and read these here...and this is your post of the day...talk about how these things make YOU feel as part of SR and then talk about how you know people's lives will be FURTHER changed in Faith, because of the drums.

And, at the same time, all of you who are at a site working on this project for me...remember...due date is my birthday (Mar 4th) AND keep up hard work so we can order even more drums to help them out.  If you have not learned of the entire Faith, SD story, I will be sharing it at your next practice with me.

Enjoy...and another post tomorrow...so look forward to that!!

Hey Steve-
I'm still in disbelief of our "surprise"!!! I'm so greatful for the support that the SR family has given us! And I thank YOU so much for your belief in our group!!! We all were very overwhelmed and humbled by your generosity. It's amazing how we wanted to start an SR site to, among other things, make a difference in other people's lives but I think that right now, SR is making the most difference in OUR lives. I don't know if you know how much it means to us to have almost the whole SR family helping us out. It's amazing and I shake my head almost in confusion every couple hours just thinking about it. I still can't fully put into words what this means to us. THANK YOU SOOOO VERY MUCH!
 
We decided to send the drums home with David and the Haines girls. David was actually jumping up and down with excitement. It was awesome. Lenae and Allison practice everyday, so they were an obvious choice. We will probably rotate them around. What a blessing! Boy, what will they think when we actually bring drums to a basketball game? LOL
 
Should I get the Minneapolis info from the SR database? Who is the Site coordinator? We are so thankful! Wow!
 
All I have to say is....Boy did you surprise us!!!!! Thank you again and again!

Til next time-
Jenn Stomprud

Hello,
How was the drive to Rochester?  With my dad being a trucker he can drive threw out the entire night and then I crawl in the sleeper and take a nap.
Thank you so much for coming out to Faith.  This is so important to me.  On Sunday my grandma was upset with someone else and then was mad at my mom, sister and I for not being at home (we live 1 mile away from her and on the same ranch).  She has kind of indicated a couple of times that she doesn't like it, but she just has no idea
 
Also thanks for helping us with everythig that we need to be an SR site.  We wouldn't have been abled to do it.
Thanks again,
Elizabeth