Sunday, January 4, 2009

Reader Questionnaire

The Nebraska Family Times newspaper is for you! I want to include articles and information that is interesting, informative, and encouraging, to you! Please fill out the following short questionnaire, to help me know what you'd like to see in future issues of the Nebraska Family Times.

Please mail the completed questionnaire to: Shelly Burke, Nebraska Family Times, 42887 G. G. Road, Genoa, NE 68640. You can also e-mail your responses to shelly@shellyburke.net, or leave your answers in the "comments" section of this blog post.

Three questionnaires will be chosen at random, and the people who sent, or e-mailed, those questionnaires will receive a copy of my books Home is Where the Mom Is; A Christian Mom's Guide to Caring for Herself, Her Family, and Her Home, and What Should I Say? The Right (and Wrong!) Words and Deeds for Life's Sticky, Tricky, Uncomfortable Situations. Winners will also receive a FREE year-long subscription to the Nebraska Family Times! Thank you for taking the time to fill out the questionnaire!
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What is your age?
15-25 years old
26-45 years old
46-65 years old
66+ years old

Are the NFT readers in your home:
Female
Male
Both Male and Female readers

How many children live in your home?
0
1-3
4-6
6-8
8+

How old are the children who live in your home? (circle all that apply)
0-1
2-4
5-7
8-10
11-13
14-18
19+

Do you homeschool?
Yes/No

Do you have internet access?
Yes/No

Do you have a cell phone?
Yes/No

Do you work outside your home?
No
Part-time
Full Time


Regarding length, are the articles in general:
Too long
Too short
A good mix of long, medium, and short articles

What do you like most about the NFT?

What type of articles would you like to continue to see (or see more of) in the NFT? (circle as many as apply)
Health
Child Development
Education
Nebraska News
Religion/Inspiration
Book Reviews
Recipes/Household tips
Time management

Any comments/suggestions: ______________________

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I look forward to hearing from you! Thanks so much for your input!

NFT Plans for 2009

Since I feel like I'm getting a good handle on the actual publishing of the paper--choosing articles, cartoons, etc.--I want to spend the next few months making sure I am publishing a paper that is full of the information you, as readers, want to see.

Included in the January issue of the NFT is a brief questionnaire, and I hope readers will take a few minutes to fill it out and return it to me. It is designed to help me learn a little more about you, as readers, and your interests.

One of my goals is to provide you with articles that inspire thought and/or action. Some of the articles might just produce the action of inspiring you to think about an issue or topic . . . hopefully some articles will touch your heart or encourage you to make a change in your personal or family life. Maybe your action will be to laugh--but we all know how necessary laughter is to everyday life!

A major change you'll see in the February issue of the Nebraska Family Times is the addition of a new "room"--The Playroom! We all know the necessity of rest, relaxation, and recreation in our lives, so in The Playroom you'll find information that will help you do that.

You'll find book reviews for adult and teen books, jokes, funny stories, and more (like the reasons chocolate is good for you!)! Rather than recognize sponsors just by their addresses (as the sponsor pages, which will become The Playroom, do now), several sponsors will be profiled briefly in every issue.

What would YOU like to see in The Playroom (or any other area of the paper)?

I will post the questionnaire that will be published in the paper, on this blog, also. You can respond to the questions either via e-mail (to shelly@shellyburke.net), in the "comments" section of the post that contains the questionnaire, or via regular mail to: Shelly Burke, 42887 G. G. Road, Genoa, NE, 68640.

Three lucky people who answer the questionnaire will receive a copy of each of my books, Home is Where the Mom Is; A Christian Mom's Guide to Caring for Herself, Her Family, and Her Home, and What Should I Say? The Right (and Wrong!) Words and Deeds for Life's Sticky, Tricky, UncomfortaItalicble Situations, as well as a FREE one-year subscription to the Nebraska Family Times!

Happy New Year! Family Update

I hope you're all getting a good start on the new year. I like the feeling of a fresh start when the calendar turns over to Jan. 1st.

We didn't do anything special to celebrate the new year. Cody and Morgan went to friends' houses and spent the night. Tim was, I think, asleep by 10:00 . . . I stayed up to see the New Year as I was working on finding articles for the paper. I worked at my nursing job on New Year's Day--I had to take advantage of time-and-a-half pay!

Morgan's 15th birthday was Dec. 28th. She wanted to go shopping and take advantage of post-holiday sales and gift cards she received for Christmas. She took a friend along and we all had a nice day, which ended with supper at Applebee's.

Our family will travel to Denver, CO, for the National Western Stock Show later this month. Tim will be there for about 2 weeks, and Cody, Morgan, and I will be there for a little over a week. They have to be there early in the week to check in their cattle, but they don't show until the end of that week. I am planning to take along my scrapbooking supplies and scrapbook at the hotel for several days--it will be a huge treat to be able to do so without the at-home interruptions of having to clean the house, do laundry, cook, and so on. It is nice to have that to look forward to, to counteract the post-holiday letdown.

Cody and Morgan go back to school on Tuesday. I think they're kind of excited to see their friends and get the second semester started.