The Show Must Go On....and then some

If you havent heard the exciting news and its not new news but Sons of Anarchy has been signed for another season which means comes this last episode of Season 4 (airing Tuesday December 6th, 2011 at 10pm on FX Networks) we will now be awaiting the so worth it SEASON 5 (#HELLYEAH) And with that in mind it means that our patience will wear thin trying to hold on for another 9 months before Kurt Sutter makes us pull out more hairs...but again SO worth it!!! That being said only 2 people have ever asked me what will happen with the crew once Sons of Anarchy has come to an end and that is a great question...I know it got me thinking?!?!
So lets see if I can answer it for those who like to inquire because even though only one of those 2 people might actually see this blog the same kind of question was approached in our Facebook crew because of my mentioning not creating an event for the Season 4 Finale. It was a personal choice not to do so because I would like to keep our events on a positive note and it just seems sad to have to remind everyone that our favorite show is getting ready to close curtain and prepare for another season (did I mention in 9 months from now? see how painful that is...)

My knowledge is this I personally would like to keep the crew up and running after Sons of Anarchy finally wraps up for good and no this is not my wish...my wish is that THE SHOW MUST GO ON for forever but I have to imagine even Kurt may think that might be a bit much...then again I could be wrong! We have very successful events that keep people in the know...as per our continuing support for Kurt and all he does...and whatever his next venture might be. The kicker is he might not do it right away whether a book a movie or another series whether a spin-off or something else talented he has plotting in that genius mind of his and so that will cost us some members both on Facebook and Twitter. I am willing to make that sacrifice because for those that stay it will be a place to remind us how we became friends/family in the first place. A place to say I have had a bad day even if not to put it out there publicly because your spouse/parent/sibling may not understand. A place to post music and get feedback or whatever it is that you need but it will be a place to still be YOU!
Tonight two of our Facebook members took the time to thank our VP our Junior VP and me for all we do...I wish someday that my crew will realize I was encouraged to do this...to rock SOA my way to stop clogging up my wall with the info I was so eager to learn and put out there for others to see! I did this but not without YOU...yes YOU whoever happens to be reading this blog and YOU are the ones that WE need to thank! Did I think it was weird the first time I posted breakfast for the crew or wished someone a HAPPY BIRTHDAY...by far YES! And I can even tell you I started to question my own sanity when our VERY first event was a virtual Housewarming Party for Kurt and wife Katey Sagal (aka Gemma), but I never wouldve done it without this crew. I assure you I havent completely lost it yet and would not have done that one on my own...but its been successful! We are currently rockin' 380+ members in our Facebook group...500+ on our Facebook page and 1700+ followers on Twitter...what more could a gal ask for?! I wish I had done this blog before Thanksgiving to let you ALL know how thankful I am to know each of you...to rock your birthdays...to share breakfast/lunch/snacks and holidays with...I am not just thankful I am blessed!
Now with that being said...what will happen to this crew when Sons of Anarchy has finally closed the curtain for good? Well let me ask you...what would you like to see happen?

What Its Like to Be: Drama Free

There is never a good title for a blog...nothing catchy that says it all but I really like the way that sounds What Its Like to Be: Drama Free...call it my poetic side...who knows?! Today we rocked another successful Link a Page/Group day where we share links from Facebook to let our crew members know that we as a crew support other Sons of Anarchy pages and groups. It gives our members a chance to check out those sites and see if they like what they have to offer...be it pictures or links or just plain info the point is we are not the only fan-based crew around and I think our job as a family as a crew is to show our support for others as often as possible. We do this once a month and it tends to drain me but today seemed quick and painless and for that I am grateful!
Cause as I have blogged about before there is always something happening behind the scenes you know in real life where I am mom and homemaker and many other things to the house I run as well as the crew! Have you ever stopped and wondered how these fan-based crews have come together...it is because of people like @jrtougas and @tuttles12 here on twitter as well many others (they run the SOAP Crew Massachusetts and SOAP Crew North Carolina on Facebook). The main credit goes to @sutterink ( Kurt Sutter ) because he created Sons of Anarchy for us to watch 13 weeks out of the year (14 this season)  and how would you define SOA? Is it an action? a drama? a sci-fi? or a real life story coming back to haunt you on your television...

No matter how you define it I can tell you that according to what I know its classified as a drama and most certainly adds its very own definition of that to our lives no matter what the genre is that it comes from...but that doesnt mean that its drama should leak out into what we are trying to create for the fans! A place to seek information on what is happening if they cant tune in... a place to seek refuge and feel at home because they know there will not be any spoilers and while we speak of home yes a place to call those other fans that are in those very same crews FAMILY! Its very important to have this because after all for those 13 weeks we watch the cast of SOA do the same...from Charlie Hunnam to Katey Sagal to Ron Perlman...they are similar to us in that light...they arent just actors they are a family! (and not just on TV in real life too)
Do they bicker like they grew up in the same house? I imagine that behind their scenes there is such drama but we dont get  to see it and I will speak for myself by saying I am glad that I dont...I wanna think of them only as HAPPY! The reality is that they have bad hair days and their own behind the scenes to deal with and we get to just live in the world Kurt created for us...where we scream at the TV throw Reese's pieces at the reaper and grow more gray hair with each season...and yes I am about to make my point...IF YOU DONT HAVE ANYTHING NICE TO SAY DONT SAY ANYTHING AT ALL! Spoken like a true mother dont you think?! LOL When you enter a new page/group do me a HUGE favor and play nice...be respectful and remember that there are REAL people with feelings behind the screen...devoting their time to bring you something special....
That is the coolest thing is seeing what the individuals mind can do with the information they receive...for me I am connected to the best sites but I dont have pics like other pages/groups so I fill the void by rocking virtual events. I am followed by some of the cast/crew but I dont have the inside scoop without following Kurt (@sutterink) and I fill that void by celebrating birthdays. And this is the crews first holiday together so I am even creating a Christmas Card List so that these family members can let others know they are thinking about them during one of the toughest times of the year...and on that note on the off chance I dont blog before the holidays let me take the time to wish ALL of you the very happiest of new years ahead...May the Reaper Guide You to the Happiest of Days! #HELLYEAH

*Raise Your Glass*

It is no secret that Kurt Sutter was aiming for 66,666 followers on twitter (@sutterink) and within the past couple days he achieved that....CONGRATULATIONS to a man deserving of those followers and hopefully MANY more to come! With that being said the realization that he gained 4,252 followers in less than 20 days like WOW its not only well deserved but thanks to his honesty to keep his followers/fans informed and real! The crew now hopes to aim for his original goal of 100,000 followers! But on top of that he has managed to take his plight with DirecTV to twitter about them dropping FX and give DirecTV a run for their money. I cannot begin to comprehend what kind of slack their customers are giving them...I mean have you met these Sons of Anarchy fans? We are die hard to the core DONT MESS WITH OUR FAMILIES fans...we are not crazy or addicted we are dedicated and true!
With that being said if you remember in our last blog we were talking about Helping Support Kurt Sutter and the measures we have taken to do so which included a twibbon called #HelpSupportKurtSutter (http://twibbon.com/join/HelpSupportKurtSutter-2). Well the crew is at it again thanks to Kurt's latest blog FOX VS. DIRECTV (http://sutterink.blogspot.com/2011/10/fox-vs-directv.html) the crew has created another twibbon called #NoFX #NoDirecTV (http://twibbon.com/join/NoFX-NoDirecTV) to help twitter and facebook fans alike spread the word that they are not happy with losing the ability to see the last 5 episodes of Season 4! I know I would be livid so much so I wouldnt care the cost to chuck those buttheads to the curb and pick up with a company that gave a damn about what I do everyday supporting my love for Sons of Anarchy!

Now on another note I took a personal blog that I told my crew about last night on Facebook that I would blog about today...I have Zero Tolerance for Spoilers (https://www.facebook.com/groups/SOAPcrew/doc/228117820585840/) in our crew at the Sons of Anarchy Pennsylvania Chapter. We are NOT just PA-based and that means you HAVE to be respectful to those who are not...PERIOD. Now that being said if you happen to read that DOC I created you will note that on twitter (@theSOAPcrew) it is more than likely you will receive spoilers because we follow Kurt (@sutterink) and because we run the page previously blogged about Bring Kurt Sutter Back (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bring-Kurt-Sutter-back/261226470560142) so lemme apologize if you are following the crew and we have spoiled something for you...but I do promise that we try NOT to...I know I would not appreciate someone spoiling the best show in the world for me!
I hope everyone is enjoying their Hump Day and now that  I have made time to blog today lets hope I have the time to do our Weekly SOAP Crew Update I know I have been slacking the last couple of weeks! OH and how could I forget to mention that the SOAP Crew officially now has two chapters SOAP Crew Massachusetts (https://www.facebook.com/pages/SOAP-Crew-Massachusetts/218646358167572) headed up by our very own @Jrtougas and SOAP Crew North Carolina  (https://www.facebook.com/groups/soapncc/) headed up by our very own @tuttles12! This is very exciting news for everyone that is part of the crew both on Facebook and on Twitter! Thank you ALL for your continuing support!
#HELLYEAH

Helping Support Kurt Sutter

Back in April this year the man behind Sons of Anarchy Kurt Sutter tweeted that he was seeking 100K followers on Twitter and 250K "likes" on his Facebook page (http://www.buzzfocus.com/2011/04/09/showrunner-kurt-sutter-sets-social-networking-goals-for-sons-of-anarchy-season-4/) before the Season 4 premiere in September! Sooo the crew put together something awesome an event called Helping Support Kurt Sutter which would take place every month on the 14th (there is no significance to the date...it was randomly chosen by none other than ME) where the fans would share his Twitter profile (@sutterink) and/or his Facebook page on their Twitter accounts and/or Facebook walls. This was to remind everyone that HE is out there tweeting and sharing with the fans keeping them updated and joining us as part of the social media scene! The highlight of running this event was that WE (the crew) were acknowledged and thanked personally for the brilliance of this idea...(I still have the email saved). For 5 months we (the fans) did everything we could to get Kurt there unfortunately came July we got the heart wrenching news that Kurt's Facebook account got hacked and he would no longer be there where the crew started at the Sons of Anarchy Pennsylvania Chapter or as the MANY other fan pages/groups.
I was approached about what to do..and the answer was simple create a petition to help get the word out and the signatures we needed to let Kurt know via Twitter that his fans wanted him back on Facebook but we wouldn't stop there. WE (the crew) created an event called Help Bring Kurt Sutter back to Facebook which would include the link of the petition and help raise awareness about Kurt's fans no longer having him on Facebook. But we still didn't stop there we also put together a Facebook page called Bring Kurt Sutter back (currently still active (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bring-Kurt-Sutter-back/261226470560142) that would keep his fans updated. Then even more heart wrenching news came in August when Kurt made the ultimate decision to also leave Twitter and as my daughter says *sad face* I remember it like yesterday I literally sat at the computer crying...OMG really Kurt?! I had just received my copy of Hot Bike Magazine with  a 7 page interview with this brilliant man who said he enjoys tweeting and loves interacting with the fans... WHY OH WHY WOULD HE DO THIS?!?!? The answer was simple to keep his sanity because hes honest and other social medias were getting whim of his tweets and twisting what he had to say but that didnt mean I was happy in fact now my plight for him to come back grew stronger!

This day in history made me realize even more how much faith my crew has in me because I was approached again about what to do...what to do?! Let me just say for the record this time the answer was not so simple cause how do you manage to get a message across to a man who has now become virtually impossible (no pun intended) to reach. So now the crew changed the name of the event to Help Bring Kurt Sutter back to Facebook and Twitter we updated the information on our Facebook page to let his fans know and now had to stay daily tuned to Kurt's blog (http://sutterink.blogspot.com/) in hopes to hear from the mastermind. While doing so...the crew came up with one more thing to help get our point across we created a #HelpSupportKurtSutter twibbon (http://twibbon.com/join/HelpSupportKurtSutter-2) now don't be fooled by the name a twibbon is a little picture that can be added to your Facebook/Twitter profiles to signify your support of many causes and the idea was simple get anyone and EVERYONE who wanted Kurt back on Facebook and/or Twitter to rock this twibbon! In his blog he upped the ante and let his fans know he would come back to Twitter if he reached 66,666 followers and this added fuel to his fans fire as we would strive to help him make this goal as best as we could...WELL WORTH EVERY EFFORT however...
After the premiere of Season 4 which hit an all time record in FX's history as well as Sons of Anarchy history and got a whopping 4.94 million viewers and to Kurt's fans surprise HE CAME BACK TO TWITTER... (OH #HELLYEAH)! And he promised to never leave us again! So now this delightful news PLUS the fact that he made the decision to come back to Facebook (SutterInk  https://www.facebook.com/pages/SutterInk/233280133388699) well the crew decided to pick back up our efforts to Help Support Kurt Sutter and as of last month before we started blogging are now getting ready to host our monthly event still happening on the 14th of every month (https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=282217011796776). He still hasn't achieved the amount of followers he wants in fact he is 4,252 away but our hope is that by running this event again we help him achieve his goal and THEN SOME! My personal hope is that we get his Facebook page back to the numbers they were at before he got hacked which was 82,000+ and get him the 100,000 followers he so rightfully deserves (and his original goal that he had set) So if you are a part of the crew and are wondering what the hype of Helping Support Kurt Sutter means now you know...so share the event...invite your friends and LETS DO OUR PART!
P.S. Kurt has not acknowledged our twibbon but to say he wasnt aware he needed support but WHO DOESN'T?! The crew is currently proud to announce there are 1,265 twibbons out there being worn by Kurt Sutter fans EVERYWHERE!
#HELLYEAH!!!

#SonsofAnarchy "A2Z" Game & Club Name Trivia Winners

As the crew might know we dont do many giveaways...my lovely VP and I have problems coming up with ideas for great giveaways for the crew! Sooo for our last month of our twitter #SonsofAnarchy "A2Z" Game we gave away 4 copies of the October edition of @HotBikeMagazine with a 7 page interview with Kurt Sutter (@sutterink). CONGRATULATIONS to Stacey Hayes aka "Classic" (@classicangel) Crystal Hamaker aka "Struckgold" (@CrystalHamaker) and Caitlin Weaver (@catiekat3715) for playing along! We plan on doing the "A2Z" Game again this coming summer!  Our 4th winner I cant seem to find on twitter but she deserves her props too for doing such an awesome job!
So this brings us to our crafty idea to instead of doing a Sons of Anarchy trivia like you see floating around on many sites via Facebook/Twitter nowadays to test our FB crew and their Club Name knowledge! Our FB crew was given 3 weeks to get their lists in and today we declared a winner...CONGRATULATIONS to Rhonda L. Rowan aka "Pink Ice" (@AVON67REP) for coming up with 78 wonderful rockin' Club Names!!! Be sure to visit our FB Crew at the Sons of Anarchy Pennsylvania Chapter (https://www.facebook.com/groups/SOAPcrew/) to check out her awesome list! She is also now the proud owner of the October edition of @HotBikeMagazine! 

You all continue to amaze me for your loyalty to what the crew has done and I personally cannot thank you enough for your support! 

What is R&R?

The phrase R&R means Rest & Relaxation but it also means to take a break...breathe a sigh of relief...OR kick back and RELAX! Today I approached the Facebook crew about our Weekly SOAP Crew Updates and to my surprise the crew is ACTUALLY reading them! Every Wednesday I sit and figure out how many members we have...who has patched in...what events are coming up...and the most interesting part is I search the IMDb.com (Internet Movie DataBase) for where and when the next Sons of Anarchy cast member will be appearing on our televisions for the week ahead! It is exhausting!!! And surprisingly after bringing to the crew the decision to NOT do these weekly they showed their true support and said whatever is easiest on me...well after I dont know how many comments I shared that it wasnt about making my job easier just less time consuming. So tonight as I sit in front of the computer with ABSOLUTELY nothing to do...I am not jamming via YouTube doing my apps and oddly enough barely tweeting but this is EXACTLY what I needed was room to breathe! Thanks to this awesome crew I was able to do that then I realized I was also looking for less obligation to do something we agreed on 7 months ago! (WOW has it really been 7 months since we started our Crew Updates?!) I truly did a *sigh of relief* tonight and I could not be more thankful to all of those who support my daily efforts to do what I do for the love of something so near and dear to each of us! For sticking with the crew through our S.O.A craziness #HELLYEAH!!!

PS... I do have to say what is also nice is that I have more time to focus on the walls of my friends and those who are near and dear to me! Daily I find out that someone lost someone (yes sadly) or that a crew member lost their job OR that they just arent feeling themselves and I am the first to admit that I get lost in the crew (it comes so easily) so now I can make more time for YOU!

But the Computer People Cant Hear You

Its been a few days since I last blogged and upon reading my last blog I realized that I didnt include the amount of events that the crew runs both on/off-season to keep ourselves busy! We host a summer event on Twitter called the Sons of Anarchy "A2Z" Game on the 3rd of the month (July/August/September). We run the Helping Support Kurt Sutter event on the 14th of every month since April when he asked to see his numbers of "likes" and followers to grow on Facebook and Twitter and we just started back up with this event since he has now returned to both social networks! We host a day (without an event) called Link a Page/Group Day on the 19th of every month where we share other awesome Sons of Anarchy pages/groups (there are over 100 of them) run by those that continue their support for the crew! We host our Promote the Crew Day which is similar to Helping Support Kurt Sutter just by sharing links for the crews page/group/twitter on our FB walls or Twitter profiles this happens on the 23rd of each month. And last but certainly not least we also host our Invite a Friend Day on the 25th of every month where we encourage the crew to add someone to our group (Sons of Anachy Pennsylvania Chapter) so that they can join in our SOA/Birthday/Patched-In/Snack Time mania!

So what does this have to do with the Computer People not being able to hear me...well I came to blog today because I had the time and because Facebook is at it again! They are making changes that I personally cannot stand so I came here to find some sanity and express to those following this blog that unless Facebook changes back you may just find me blogging or tweeting more cause the "new" Facebook gives me a headache just thinking about it...! Now all of that being said you should also know as previously mentioned that we do a Weekly SOAP Crew Update on Wednesdays and today is that day and I am hoping to catch a nap before then because between my mommy duties and my normal late nights with the crew...I am one tired lady! Hope today is a good one for you ALL! #HELLYEAH

Busy Busy Busy

So far since I started blogging I have said HELLO and proceeded to tell you what I am doing on the days of the week...so why stop now? Monday I am busy bumping at our Facebook crew Tuesday but of course I am prepping for one hour of some R&R in front of the boob tube for some Sons of Anarchy  and here it is the moment you have been waiting for...on Wednesdays I am making our Weekly SOAP Crew Update also on FB...! As much you may see the crew tweeting their hearts out on twitter we run on a PC and daily run with 10+ tabs open just to keep up but for some reason we are able to...so if all seems quiet on those days now you know why! Wanna know what Thursdays are for me? A BREATH OF FRESH AIR! I get to chat...jam via YouTube on FB send Hugs Hearts and Kisses via apps...clear out my email...its ACTUAL me time...cause come the weekend I post snacks and breakfast for both our Facebook AND Twitter crews...we are always celebrating birthdays...needless to say I am quite the busy bee...did I mention that I am also the mother of 3? Yeppers! So according to some I am the Mother of Insanity may you know I happen to run The House of Insanity *inserts evil laughter* and I plan to take you all with me...WELCOME HOME and thanks for keeping me busy!

Sons of Anarchy Tuesdays

Today is none other than the airing of the 2nd episode of Season 4 of Sons of Anarchy and this crew has been utterly loyal to everything we have done as a crew...a family! So today I remind you that Kurt Sutter needs our support whether by sharing his Facebook page SutterInk https://www.facebook.com/pages/SutterInk/233280133388699?ref=ts or following @sutterink on twitter! The crew has also started back up our monthly Helping Support Kurt Sutter event https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=198932456839892 so if you happen to be around Facebook/Twitter on the 14th of each month please help do your part...for today I ask that if you are on Twitter you log on and hashtag #SonsofAnarchy to help make Kurt Sutter proud that it trended two weeks in a row! Keep rockin' and thank you ALL for your support! HELLYEAH!

Bumping Mondays

Every Monday for awhile now I take my time on our Facebook group to bump posts. You can do it too to in any group take an older post that you like and comment the word "bump" and magically it goes from being an older post to a newer post though the time stamp for it remains the same! So if you ever wonder where I am on Monday nights I am doing some bumping at our Facebook crew but feel free to continue tweeting @theSOAPcrew or commenting I swear I am closer than you think! This is what I do for leisure to keep my crew up-to-date and informed on whats happening besides Sons of Anarchy Tuesdays...so tonight when you don't see me jamming via YouTube or tweeting as much (you all know they love to throw me in #twitterjail) now you know where I am...Thank you so much to those now following the crews blog...stay tuned for more!

Giving Blogging a Try

I dont know what all of the hoopla is about blogging but I figured it was about time I try it so here goes nothing...AND it may just save the crew from my never ending DOC's! Guess only time will tell! So I sit here and realize you should probably have SOMETHING to say if you are going to blog preferably something of interest but at this particular moment I have got nothing. Mostly because this is my first time blogging and I feel like I am talking to myself at the moment so if you thought I provided Sons of Anarchy craziness via the crew...watch out world now I am a blogger too! Now its time to find out how interesting this really is by adding an image and sharing it with the crew...I cannot thank you all enough for being with me and this AWESOME family! Keep rockin'!