Administrative Professionals Conference

Last week I headed to Orlando for the Administrative Professionals Conference. Tammy, Charmaine, and I spoke on a panel called, You’re Fired, life after The Apprentice. The event was a treat because I hadn’t seen Tammy since we went to Rockstar:Supernova or Charmaine since the finale. I arrived the day before our panel discussion. After I got situated, I joined Charmaine by the pool. We caught up on our lives and reminisced about good times. Charmaine is not only über successful in Tennessee real estate, but she also launched her new company and realtor location website. Tammy arrived a few hours later and I met her for dinner. Tammy launched her company, Theresa Kathryn business handbag line for women this year and has been taking the handbag industry by storm. As Tammy updated me on her company, I updated her on my upcoming book launch, and my consulting company, RXW.


The next morning The Apprentice trio spoke to Administrative Professionals from around the world. Our moderator, the fantastic Lorinda Lewis worked the crowd with the microphone as the conference attendees peppered us with excellent questions about the show, business, women, and entrepreneurship.

As the panel wound down, three women came up to me beaming—they were from Trinidad and Tobago, where my parents are from (side bar, my parents moved to the States when my mother was pregnant with me). The ladies were like family. They brought me Trinidadian delicacies: bitters and tamarind balls. Too sweet!

My first visit to Orlando was a quick trip—there and back in 24 hours—but a good experience. The next time I head to Orlando, I hope to see more than the resort.

-RXW

Baylor v. UT: Bears Victory

So this has been the best college football season of all time. My teams Michigan and Baylor are Rockin’ it! Michigan is #2 in the country roaring towards #1 with an Ohio State upset next month (you watch!). And Baylor is on it’s way to having the first winning season since we entered the Big 12.

My Bears played UT in Austin a couple weeks ago, and I had the pleasure of attending the game with my friend Sarah, compliments of a diehard UT fan, Joe. My requirement for a “good game” was Baylor getting on the board . . . in both halves. (Last year we were shut out 60ish-0.) The game started with the national anthem, the UT fight song, and the Good Ol’ Baylor Line. I stood up in a sea of burnt orange with my bear claw and sang the Baylor song. When I was done, the UT fans surrounding me clapped and gave me props for supporting my team. I bowed and said, “Thank you, I will be here all night.” And here I was. The first team to make it on the scoreboard was Baylor! We scored first. When the referees put their touchdown there was a complete hush in the stadium. Even Baylor fans were astonished. Suddenly the fact that we scored hit me and I jumped up in jubilee. As Baylor continued to lead, 10-0, and then fell behind, I was happily rooting my team on.

In the end we lost the game and I lostmy voice, but we performed like champions and earned the respect of the UT fans—putting fear into their hearts during the first quarter will do that. It was a sweet victory of sorts.

I am proud to be a Baylor Bear (and a Wolverine).

-RXW

Reunited and It Feels So Good . . .

Reunited and it feels so good
As most of you know, I sent my sweet Yorkie, Bear to stay with Grandma in Arizona. My travel schedule has been so busy that I wanted Bear to have a stable environment. But I missed little Bear every single day. As my trip to Phoenix for my high school reunion was looming I was excited about seeing my little girl.

Bear (and my mom) was waiting for me at the airport. It was at that point that my thoughts were confirmed. There was no way I was getting back on a plane to Austin without her. Although Bear had a great time at Grandma’s, tormenting the Chihuahua named Sonny, and charming the humans, Bear and I are a pair.

Bear picked up some great habits at grandma’s house—she now knows how to use a doggy door and loves to do her business outside. So now Bear and I go on walks outside. Bear is also up to her old routine of greeting all of my Jazzercise students and hanging out with the ladies at the boutique. As for my travel? I still travel, but instead of sending Bear to stay with people, she is has a sitter who stays with her. So Bear’s environment is intact.

-RXW

Texas Conference For Women

Earlier this month I spoke at the Texas Conference For Women (TCFW). Life is amazing: two years ago I was an attendee at the conference watching The Apprentice’s Amy Henry speak and admiring her ability to compete with the “big dogs” on The Apprentice. Last year, I missed the conference because I was in New York shooting The Apprentice. And this year I was a speaker at the conference.

The night before the conference, my mother, who ran my exhibitor’s booth, and I attended a speaker’s reception at the Governor’s Mansion. I especially enjoyed the green and gold decorated room. I call it the Baylor room.


Martha Stewart, Nancy Brinker, and Yolanda Adams were keynote presenters at the conference. When I arrived in the speakers lounge that morning, I had the pleasure of meeting Martha Stewart. I must admit that I was a bit nervous about our meeting given the Donald Trump v. Martha Stewart Apprentice feud, but I wasn’t going to pass up an opportunity to meet Martha Stewart. Martha was gracious and engaging. We chatted about our Apprentice experiences and the Women’s conference.

I also had the honor of meeting Nancy Brinker, the founder of The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. As a board member of Komen Austin, it was an honor to meet Nancy and hear her speak about the strides we have made toward finding a cure for the second leading cause of death among women.

Between meeting Martha Stewart and Nancy Brinker, I spoke to entrepreneurs on the Joy and Pain of Being You Own Boss. I was impressed by the amount of women who own or are in the beginning stages of owning their own business. I can’t wait to see what these amazing women accomplish.

TCFW also has a young women’s track for junior and senior high school students. I had the pleasure of speaking to the students on Maximizing Your Potential.

I was delighted to be a part of this year’s TCFW and cannot wait for next year.
-RXW

Jury Duty 2.0

All my life I have longed for Jury Duty. Yes, my love of the legal system spans beyond being an attorney or a judge—I want to be a juror. It would be fascinating to see cases from a juror’s perspective.

Yet, everyone I know but me has been summoned for jury duty. While I was at Winstead my secretary had jury duty at least twice. My friends in law school had jury duty, college friends had jury duty, my teachers had jury duty, my Jazzercise students had jury duty, my father had jury duty, my mother had jury duty when she wasn’t even a citizen of the U.S. Everyone had jury duty but no one wanted jury duty but me—the wannabe juror.

So imagine my surprise when I returned from an out of town trip and found a jury summons in my mailbox. The time had come for Roxanne to serve on a jury. But, of all times in my life to have jury duty, this is the worst. I am traveling around the country at a moment’s notice which makes it hard effectively serve on a jury.

I was scheduled to report to jury duty the day after I returned from my reunion. As I was scrambling out the door I noticed that I could report for duty online. Yes that’s right, I said online. How wonderful. I turned around in my heels headed to my computer to report for duty on ijury. Apparently Texas is one of a handful of states that has online reporting.


I took the time to fill out the application. The application consisted of giving information about my education and information about my schedule. Reporting was easy as pie. Too good to be true—right? Maybe. Here is why . . .

A week later, I received an email from ijury telling me that I have to be available from December 4 to 22nd!! That is more than half of a month. My question is whether I would have had to be available that long if I had reported in person. My hope is that I will serve on a day I am actually in Austin! Sigh . . . Bottom line, be careful what you wish for because you never know what form it will come in.
I will keep you posted on my jury duty debacle.

-- RXW

Rox's Reunion

It is official! Ten years have come and gone and it was time to make the trip back to the promised land known as Dobson High School. That’s right, I went back to the Phoenix area for my high school reunion. I would venture to guess that I haven’t seen 90% of my class since graduation, and in the last five years I have seen less 1%. Moving out of town right after graduation makes it hard to keep in touch. Yet walking into my reunion was like walking into at time warp where time stood still.

For some reason I have been programmed into thinking that reunions are events where you dress up in a prom gown—like the whole event is prom with older people. Forutnately, our reunion was held at Rustler’s Rooste on Saturday night and continued on in the form of a picnic the following afternoon. I decided that I was gong to attend the night event and skip the family picnic the next day in favor of hanging out with my own family.

I arrived at the reunion all alone hoping I would see someone I knew soon. My hopes were answered immediately. As I was walked to the end of the registration line, I saw Richard Joos, or Juice as we would call him. Juice and I have known each other since I was six! We used to swim together on the Tempe Swim Devils. I caught up with Juice as I waited to get my nametag. When I actually entered the banquet area (a tent in the back of the country themed institution), I was relieved to see so many familiar faces.

(BTW, I have fond memories of going to Rustler’s Rooste with me family, sliding down the indoor slide that was still there, and taking turns two-stepping with my dad. Good times.)


Honestly there were only a handful of people I didn’t recognize. Names were a bit tricky bu the faces were familiar. Sure, some people had put on the beer belly or had gotten married and had children, but for the most part everyone looked about the same.

Toward the end of the night, our Senior Class President, Stacia, gave out awards. I was the recipient of, The Most Interesting Job Interview Award—consisting of a certifplaque (plague meets certificate) and Donald Trump’s Art of the Deal. Too funny!


The best part about the reunion was reconnecting with people that I spent over a decade of my formative years with. Now that I have reconnected, I hope to keep those relationships rekindled for a lifetime.

Baby Willem

Last weekend I headed home to Phoenix for my 10yr high school reunion. But before I met up with my old classmates, I spent time with my family. My little sister Rochelle made an impromptu trip to Phoenix that weekend as well, so it was a complete family affair. I am not sure how it happened, but somehow Rochelle, my older sister Rhonda, and my dad arranged for Rochelle and me to baby sit our nephew Willem for a night giving Rhonda a break. Willem is my 10-month old nephew and the family’s pride and joy.

So Friday night, Rochelle and I babysat Willem. It was predetermined that Rochelle would be the main caregiver. No one ever stated our roles, but it was pretty much a given. I have never spent the night as an infant’s caregiver. Willem slept through most of the night and woke up once early in the morning from hunger. Rochelle and I both woke up, but Rochelle new exactly what to do. Rochelle fed Willem a bottle and he went back to sleep.

Willem woke up again around 6 a.m. for the day. At that point, I changed Willem’s diaper and then Willem was ready to go. For the rest of the day Rochelle and or I took care of Willem. Let me tell you that was work! Willem wore me out playing, needing to be fed, he was feeling very particular, and making sure he was okay. He is a crawler and can move at lightening speed!


The most precious moment was when Willem fell asleep on me. I was at the computer working and Willem was sitting in my lap playing n an extra keyboard. Suddenly I felt this weight on my chest and I realized that Willem was out for the count. Too cute!

We had a good time together. For me it was the perfect dose of a baby—long enough to have fun with them, but short enough to avoid the responsibility of taking care of another living being. After babysitting Willem (with Rochelle mind you) I absolutely admire my sister Rhonda even more than I already did.

-RXW

Pink HAAM

Last Tuesday was event filled. Clear Channel was kicking off Breast Cancer Awareness Month and their partnership with the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation with a Pink Party: Pretty in Pink for the Komen board and Komen volunteers.

Tuesday was also the night for the HAAM Appreciation Party hosted by ME Television. The Health Alliance for Austin Musicians (HAAM) provides low-cost primary health care services for uninsured professional musician in the Austin-area. I also had a Jazzercise for the Cure meeting that evening in preparation for our October 22nd event. All three events were scheduled within three hours and I wanted to do them all.

My good friend Meghan and I headed over to Clear Channel’s office for the Pretty in Pink party. In fine breast cancer awareness month fashion, everyone had some form of pink on. It was great to meet the Race for the Cure volunteers and thank them for there time and efforts for the Cure.

Side bar: The Melting Pot catered the party and I found out that they signed a lease for a new location in downtown Austin next to Houlihan’s (across from the convention center). That is going to be awesomely dangerous.

I also met the Pam McKay, the new director of Clear Channel Austin. Pam recently moved from Houston’s Clear Channel offices. Pam is committed to the fight for the Cure and to Clear Channel’s involvement in the fight.

After the Pink Party, Meghan and I headed to the HAAM Appreciation Party. ME Television is located on South Congress in an old theatre. This was my first trip to the studio so Meghan and I took a tour of the whole building including the rooftop patio with an amazing view of downtown Austin. The event included live music by the legendary Marcia Ball.

Side bar: It turns out Marcia was Meghan’s piano teacher when she was a little girl. Unfortunately Megs did not become a legendary musician. Heh heh, but she is an extraordinary pr guru.

Meghan and I danced, well really kept the beat to Marcia and co and enjoyed the event. Then it was off to my Jazzercise for the Cure meeting . . . October, 22nd will be here any minute.

-RXW

Jazzercise For The Cure

This month is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. As a member of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Affiliate board, this month represents the culmination of a year of getting the word out about breast cancer including, early detection, treatment, and finding a cure.

But this October, I wanted to do something more than I have in the past. My desire turned into Jazzercise for the Cure. On October 22nd, Jazzercisers in Texas will come together in Austin for a half day of Jazzercise, shopping, fun, and fighting for a cure. Each attended must raise a minimum of $100 for Komen to participate in the event. It is our way of helping out our sisters (and brothers.

Four Jazzercise franchise, Judy (the District Manager), Donna, Terri, and me, came together at the beginning of September to put together an event in October. Short notice, I know, but it has been going well. With the help of sponsors such as The Hyatt Regency Austin at Town Lake, Presidia, and Armadillo Clay, we quickly found ourselves on the way to an excellent event.

Judi Shepard Missett, the founder and CEO of Jazzercise will be our special guest along with Kenny Harvey from Jazzercise, Inc. and me. Kenny and I will MC the event, and I will teach the opening routine.

I will keep you posted on our progress. October 22nd will be here before you know it . . .


- RXW

Rare Magazine Photo Shoot

I recently did a photo shoot for Rare magazine’s Winter issue. Rare is known for its creativity. Every page of the magazine is artistic and original. My photo shot was no different. I don’t want to give away the concept, you are going to have to see it for yourself, but I will say that my shoot was one in a themed series.

The photo shoot was at Volitant, a fairly new gallery in Austin. Martha Bell, stylist at Anna Maria’s boutique dressed me for the shoot in fun and flirty attire. So picture me in a gallery taking photos for a concept that I can’t reveal just yet.

Whenever I do a photo shoot I try to channel my inner model. We all have an inner model don’t we? I figure I have read enough magazines and watched enough America’s Next Top Model to have a little bit of model in me. So basically I am a dork. I walked in with my sunglasses and Starbucks, chai tea soy latte with a shot of vanilla, and chunky bag. Then I quickly took the sunglasses off smiled and was back to Roxanne. But for the 20 seconds it took to walk from the car to the gallery, I felt like a model. Ta ha.

As soon as the magazine goes to print, I will fill in the blanks, but until then, here are some pictures of me getting ready for the shoot until then. ;-)
Vague I know but the pay off will be worth it.

- RXW