{"id":12016,"date":"2016-03-21T03:51:24","date_gmt":"2016-03-21T07:51:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/verastic.com\/?p=12016"},"modified":"2016-03-20T23:53:04","modified_gmt":"2016-03-21T03:53:04","slug":"journal-14-february-2016","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/verastic.com\/site\/personal\/journal-14-february-2016.html","title":{"rendered":"Journal #14: February 2016"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Welcome to March!<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12021\" src=\"https:\/\/verastic.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Journal-Verastic.jpg\" alt=\"Journal - Verastic\" width=\"750\" height=\"500\" srcset=\"https:\/\/verastic.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Journal-Verastic.jpg 750w, https:\/\/verastic.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Journal-Verastic-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>By the end of March, we would have exhausted the first quarter of 2016. Isn&#8217;t that crazy? So, how was February for me? If I have not said it before, let me say it right now: being a business owner is HARD. Operating Verastic as a side gig is a completely different journey from operating it as a business. I have never known that as much as I know it now. There are times that I am giddy with excitement about the future, and then, there are other times that I am one disappointment away from lying on someone&#8217;s couch and sharing all my problems. This is my reality. Anyway, here&#8217;s a breakdown of my February:<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Believe mail to my Sweet Potatoes:<\/strong> Speaking of business-owning being difficult. I woke up one day in February and was incredibly sad and frustrated because I had received an email that was not encouraging. After I cried, I decided to send out a heart-felt mail to the Sweet Potatoes who were subscribed to my newsletter (this is not the same as being subscribed to receive blog posts). I got so many positive responses back from that mail that I decided to share it on the blog, too. \u00a0You can read it <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/verastic.com\/personal\/11813.html\" target=\"_blank\">HERE<\/a><\/strong>, Meanwhile, if you are not subscribed to my Sweet Potato Mail, then what are you waiting for??? Subscription box is at the end of this post.<\/p>\n<p><strong>CNN:<\/strong> I was quoted in a CNN article for the third time. This time, it was about Hillary Clinton and why more women and millennials are not supporting her. I gave my two cents on why I am still undecided about who to vote for. You can read the article <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2016\/02\/08\/health\/hillary-clinton-women-voters-generational-divide\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\">HERE<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Disappointment:<\/strong> In the month of February, Igwe and I were quite disappointed by someone we thought was a friend. We had literally put all our eggs in this someone&#8217;s basket and when it came time for this person to do the promised part, there was nothing. We&#8217;ve moved on. But it was an apt reminder that\u00a0men are not God.<\/p>\n<p><strong>My class launch:<\/strong> I launched registration for my blogging class. This is something I&#8217;ve been wanting to do but have been stalling on. Is there enough interest for this class? I don&#8217;t know. What I do know is that I have done the math and I have done the work. I&#8217;m really excited about the class. It will be held right here in Baltimore on Saturday, April 9th 2016. I know that online classes and webinars seem to be the bread and butter these days, but a girl&#8217;s gotta try! You can read more about the class (and find out how you can even attend for free) <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.verastic.com\/class\" target=\"_blank\">HERE<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ask Me Anything is officially a thing:<\/strong> I mentioned in <a href=\"http:\/\/verastic.com\/social\/verastic-10-years-old-ask-anything-big-announcement.html\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>my anniversary post<\/strong> <\/a>that I wanted to make Ask Me Anything an official segment of the blog because <strong>(1)<\/strong> I love answering your very random questions, and <strong>(2)<\/strong> It gives me a way to incorporate more video. You can watch my video response to the first episode below (and don&#8217;t forget to subscribe!). And keep an eye open for the second episode!<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/K9r8a87UPzo\" width=\"750\" height=\"422\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>The Listen To Your Mother Cast:<\/strong> Aaaahhhhh yes!!! I&#8217;m still a little too excited about this one. I auditioned to read at the Listen To Your Mother [Baltimore] event next month, and I actually got accepted. I have not gotten over it, and of course, my mommy had an interesting reaction to the news. <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/verastic.com\/personal\/omg-im-in-the-cast-of-listen-to-your-mother.html\" target=\"_blank\">READ HERE<\/a><\/strong>. \u00a0If you&#8217;re in the Baltimore area on April 23rd, please come and watch me (and the rest of the ladies). I&#8217;m pumped! Tickets are only $16. <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.brownpapertickets.com\/event\/2513890\" target=\"_blank\">Purchase here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Okay, that&#8217;s it for February. As usual, I am pleasantly surprised at how much I did, and I&#8217;m raising my glass of milk to an even better March in Jesus name. Amen.<\/p>\n<p>How was February for you?<\/p>\n<p><strong>P.S.<\/strong> I started typing this post on the first day of March. I don&#8217;t know why it has taken me this long to complete and publish it. It must be a spiritual attack. Ha!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Welcome to March! By the end of March, we would have exhausted the first quarter of 2016. Isn&#8217;t that crazy? So, how was February for me? If I have not said it before, let me say it right now: being a business owner is HARD. Operating Verastic as a side gig is a completely different<a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/verastic.com\/site\/personal\/journal-14-february-2016.html\" rel=\"nofollow\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":12021,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"twitter_14738191_14738191":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[561],"tags":[1155],"class_list":["post-12016","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-personal","tag-journal","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.2 - 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