Jazzercise In Disney World/Lubbock Radio

So as I mentioned yesterday, I was in Orlando this weekend for Jazzercise's On Location Spring Break event. In addition to intense and fun workouts, I was featured as a speaker at the event: From The Backroom to the Boardroom. I have to admit that i was a little nervous about speaking at an event that where the everyone is there to workout. But Jazzercisers are wonderful and the speech went well.


What I loved about it was that it was my opportunity to thank Judi Sheppard Missett, Shanna Missett Nelson, and the entire Jazzercise community for supporting me throughout the entire Apprentice process. I shared my Jazzercise story and how Jazzercise tied into my Apprentice story. Being a Jazzercise franchisee absolutely prepared me for my experience on the show.

After my speech I visited with Jazzercisers and personally thanked them for their support.

When I returned from Orlando, I did a radio interview about my book with the Max, Jax, and Armen Morning Show on KZII FM in Lubbock, TX. Those of you who live in Lubbock can hear the interview on Monday April, 23.



I also did a book signing for Rare Magazine in Austin at Progress coffee shop on Tuesday. Good times.

Up next...I head to LA for The Apprentice finale. I will be a guest on FoxReality's Reality Remix hosted by Kennedy next week. Be sure to check it out.

-RXW

Jazzercise On Location: Spring Break

Last weekend I headed to Orlando for Jazzercise's Spring Break. Jazzercise Spring Break was a weekend of various exercise classes including a taping of the new Jazzercise routines. In addition to Jazzercising, I was speaking at the conference (I will tell you all about it tomorrow). I arrived on Friday ready to get an amazing workout. I was not disappointed. The event began with the taping of the new routines. We exercised for three and a half hours straight!

The new routines were awesome, I can't wait to teach them to my students. Some of the songs in the new sit include, John Mayer's Gravity (love it!), Joss Stone, Rihanna and Sean Paul, Corinne Bailey Ray, and more. By the time I left the class I was anxious for a little rest and relaxation. But I was at Disney World! My little sister Rochie flew in after her exams and joined me for the weekend. (More on that this week.)

The next morning I got up bright and early and took the Latin/Hip Hop dance class from Tim Roberts. Tim Roberts is an excellent dancer and choreographer. He has a way of breaking down a dance and teaching it parts...the next thing you know you have learned a whole routine while getting an amazing workout.

-RXW

Self Challenge Progress:

Workout Minutes:

0

1

1

0

6

Calories Burned:

0

7

5

3

0

What Rox: Looking for an alternative workout? Find a dance class in your area...take up ballroom dancing, hip hop, line dancing, or salsa. You can learn a new skill while having fun and burning off the calories!

Our Prayers Are With You Virginia Tech

I was sitting at my desk hashing out some projects with the television on in the background. All of a sudden I am glued to the television's breaking news about the massacre at Virginia Tech. I must admit at first I thought my ears were deceiving me. I was shocked silent. As I watched the news trickle out all I could do was pray and cry.

We have had a calm for so long that I think I was beginning to relax a little. My heart goes out to the families of those who lost their lives today. I also pray for the students, staff, and faculty of Virginia Tech. Their safe haven for knowledge has been shattered. I pray that y'all will heal as best as you can. Know that we are all mourning with you and supporting you.

God be with you...

-Roxanne

Text Messaging Is Not Your Friend

As y'all know (yes I say "y'all"...I live in Texas) I recently hung up my guyiatus (guy-hiatus) status in and replaced it with a guyiet (guy-diet). Here is a little progress report.

The guyiet status is going quite well. I am not taking it to seriously, but i am allowing myself to meet and get to know guys without getting distracted or derailed by them. But just because I have a sense of stability in that dating realm doesn't mean that I am suave by any stretch of the imagination. What I am about to tell you is simply embarrassing proof of this...

So for several weeks I have been emailing light banter back and forth with one of the guyiet guys. I see this guy, we will call him "Sanjaya," on a regular basis and we have good dialogue. I will admit that at first being new to the guyiet realm, I didn't even realize that these emails were anything more than friendly follow up. But then the emails turned into text messages along with outside validation, and I realized that there might be more to it.

I can't say that I know Sanjaya well, but what I do know of him has been impressive thus far. Well Sanjaya's texts had somewhat of a recurring theme, "we should hang out...often, soon, again, etc." I guess I was feeling bold because that is all that can really explain my next move. And I have to take a step back because 'move' sounds like a game and that wasn't my intention. But I was growing a little impatient (which my mom has always told me I have a problem with) with the constant "we should hang out" and the nonexistent, "hey do you want to go out on X date, at Y time to Z? So when I received the text, "Maybe we should hang out soon!," I took it upon myself to respond with a, "It depends...are you ever going to actually ask me out? :-)" I will admit that when I hit send, I felt empowered. I felt like I was standing up for womankind everywhere and making a statement...If you want to go out with me, then ask.

My empowerment felt real but was short-lived. As I was sitting down for dinner the same night I sent my text for all womankind, I looked at my phone and realized that the text hadn't even sent. It said "failed." Zoinks! Even though I try not to believe in signs, I wondered if this wasn't a sign, a second chance, a note to Roxanne not to send this message! But defiant as I was, I resent the text. My Red Aids Awareness Razr tried as hard as it might, but then said again, "text failed...check the number...and try again." Rats! I am a persistent young lady, so my persistence prompted round three...again failed. Round four? text failed.

I switched to my Treo and gave up on texting my the Red Razr. I sent the text once and it failed and then sent it a second time. Sucess! Whoo hoo. If a tree falls in the woods and no one hears it does it make a sound? Likewise, if you send a poignant text and it just sits in your outbox, is it really poignant?

All of a sudden, Sanjaya replies to my Red Razr, "you have sent me abt 12 duplicate messages." Doi! And then my Treo lights up: "you sent me a dozen on from this phone too." NOOOOOOOOO!!! The wind just whirled out of my sails. No longer was my message a classic statement for the ages or a witty response prompting awareness. My message had become Chinese water torture. Ahhh...
I did what I could, I laughed at myself and the situation and simply wrote. "ha ha...I am mortified...all I can say is opps (sic)." Opps??? How about "oops" Roxanne. Even my response to the embarrassing moment was equally embarrassing.

When I called and told my friend Meghan, she verified that she too has received a slew of duplicate text messages from me. I don't know if it was a virus or my phone company choosing to have a little fun, but what I do know is that of all of my text over the last year, this was the one I least hoped would be polluting his inbox. Oh well. Bottom line: Text Messaging Is Not Your Friend--you don't know if they were actually sold, sent, who received them, how many times they receive it, and the list goes on and on.

My solution? You roll with the punches. I am not afraid to embarrass myself...maybe it is part of my charm. Yeah, that is it. ;-)

Have you done anything ridiculously embarrassing?

-RXW

What Rox: Life is too short not to laugh...lighten up.

Jazzercising for A Good Cause

Last September, I was sitting around thinking about ways to impact my community with my talents. During this thought, I happened to have a discussion with my friend Donna who also owns the largest Jazzercise center in my region. The two of us came up with the idea to do a Jazzercise event benefiting the local Susan G. Komen For The Cure affiliate. Two heads became four, and Dona, Judy (our district manager), Terri (instructor extraordinaire), and I soon were on a five week mission to pull of the Jazzercise For The Cure event. The event was a hit with, founder and CEO Judi Sheppard Missett and Kenny Harvey as our special guests and more than 350 participants raising nearly $50,000 for the fight against breast cancer.

This year we are motivated to build upon last year's events. We started meeting a few weeks ago, five months before the event as opposed to five weeks! Our first step was to focus on ways to improve the event. Once we made a list of improvements, we focused on who the event would benefit in 2007. This week we met with eight charitable organizations in our district and learned more about their purpose and impact on the community and the world. I was impressed and in awe of these organizations.

Choosing just one organization as the beneficiary of the Jazzercise event will be hard, but I am confident that we can't really make a wrong choice.

What I love about this event (and I will tell you more about the event and the planning process as we move forward) is that we really do capitalize on what Jazzercise embodies, fitness, friendship, and fun, to raise funds to help a worthy cause.

Look for our progress on Thursdays (aka service day).

-RXW

Book Tour: Austin Easter & Sirius

My Easter Sunday started nice and early. Before heading to church, I stopped by KXAN NBC in Austin for an interview about Footprints In the Boardroom with morning host, Jenny Hoff. KXAN is my hometown NBC affiliate. While I was on The Apprentice they followed my progress and covered my viewing parties. It was great to go sit down with Jenny and talk to the Austin community about Footprints.

Yesterday morning, I joined Lorri & Friends on Sirius radio. I spoke with Lorri and Scott about Footprints and the surviving the business world with your faith intact. The interview was live at 6:45 A.M. I honestly think that I sounded like my father sans the accent! It was just one of those mornings where herbal tea can't wake up your voice. ha ha.

Next week I will be doing a book signing in Austin at Progress Cafe sponsored by RareMeet/Rare Magazine. If you are in Austin, come out and join me from 6-8pm!

-RXW

What Rox: You can listen to my interview on Lorri & Friends here.

Time For New Shoes?

It's kind of funny...as a Jazzercise instructor I am always getting new exercise outfits, but I often forget about my exercise shoes. If you are like me and you exercise indoors, your shoes look as pristine 5 months down the road as they looked the first day you got them. Because exercise shoes don't look old, it is easy to forget that they can wear out.

Worn shoes don't absorb the shock of exercising and can cause the majority of weight-bearing injuries to the ankles, knees, hips and lower back. If your shoes are soft of squishy, it is time to replace them. If you exercise 3-4 times a week, you should replace your shoes every 3-4 months. Less active exercisers should replace shoes every six months.

Don't forget to check and replace those shoes, your lower body will thank you for it!

-RXW

Seder

When I was in law school at Michigan, my friends invited me to a Seder meal. At the time I didn't even know what a Seder was. Unfortunately, I had a prior commitment and couldn't make it. Since then I have always I wanted to participate in a Seder. Four years later, I got my chance. On Good Friday, I went to a Seder meal put on by the Sunde's, the leaders of Untitled the young professionals group at Riverbend.

A Seder is an interactive retelling of the enslavement and subsequent Exodus of the Children of Israel from Ancient Egypt. Each step of the Seder has symbolic meaning and the ceremony is for all ages. During the Seder, we recited several prayers, sang, and took of the following elements from the Seder plate:

A small bowl of salt water
Parsley sprigs
Three Matzah
A bowl of kharoset (a paste like substance made by combining nuts [walnuts], fruit [dates, apples, bananas or any others in any combination] and some fruit juice or wine)
A bowl with a scoop of horseradish.
Four glasses of wine

Also present on the Seder table were:
A hard boiled egg
Lamb Shank
A candle
Bowl of water
A cloth

The entire experience was amazing from the perspective of the meaning of Passover, all that the Israelites endured, and how it all plays a part in the history of Christianity.

Participating in a Seder meal two months after visiting Egypt made it even more meaningful. I just climbed Mt. Sinai, touched the burning bush, saw the Red Sea. To actually read and participate in the retelling on that story with the vivid memories of Egypt in my head was surreal.

If you have the opportunity to partcipate in a Seder this year or in the future I highly recommend it.
- RXW


What Rox: Interested in having a Seder? Check out 30-Minute Seder.com.

Open Mic Night

Have you ever been to an "open mic" night? I went for the first time this week. My friend Nate recently moved down to Austin to be the guitarist in Riverbend Church's Resonate Band. But Nate is also a singer/songwriter and typically has gigs throughout the week. Until he gets gigs rolling in Austin, Nate goes to open mic night to perform. So I headed to BD Reilly's to hear him sing.

No I have heard that open mic nights are hit and miss, but I can attest to it first hand. I mean it is like American Idol for songwriters! Some are really good and some would not make it past Simon's wrath. The first guy who played thought he was quite the musician and would not stop singing. Typically each person sings three songs. But after song three, Bucko (that's what I called him) started singing a fourth song. Painful!!


Nate was up next. And he was great! He can sing, which is a plus. But I am bias so whatever you can listen for yourself. Click here.

The next guy kind of sounded like Seal which was a nice surprise, but he kept telling us how great he was...that simply isn't endearing. Sigh. He sang a Coldplay song. So it was like Seal singing Coldplay while telling us how awesome he was. A jumbled mess. He should have just sang Kiss From A Rose and kept quiet. Oh but wait, that would have been karaoke. And suddenly the line between Karaoke and "Open Mic" night became very thin.

Before the line was completely crossed, a young lady got up and sand. She was brought us back to where we needed to be, Jewel-like guitarist with her own songs. Phew.

Overall I would highly recommend going to an "Open Mic" night near you, they are entertaining and more importantly it is great to support your local artists. For all you know you may see the next Alanis...

RXW

What Rox: Here is a list of the Top 10 Open Mic Nights in the country. Click here.

Spring Cleaning = Service

Spring is the time of year that we all get enthused to clean! Lately when I look in my closet, I get frustrated because it is so cluttered. So this weekend I am going to go through my closet and get rid of the clothes I don't need. I want it out of there...and I want to do something meaningful with my belongings.

At Riverbend, the young professionals group, Untitled has been focusing on the ryhthm: "Have two. Give one." What better time to implement this rhythm than in the Spring? Instead of giving our items away, (which I do year round and strongly believe in), Untitled has been selling the items on Craigslist/Buffalo Xchange/etc. With the money that Untitled has raised we will find meaningful ways to directly impact the lives of those in need.

I am a little behind, only now being home to go through my closet, but I am determined to do it. Better late than never right?

So we are halfway through the process and by the end of this month, I will let you know what the impact has been on those in need and those in Untitled.

- RXW

Book Tour: Houston & Austin

I rolled into Austin to serve as keynote speaker of the Baylor Women's Council of Austin luncheon (held at the Austin Country Club). The Baylor Women's Council's general mission is to connect promote fellowship among its' members. But more specifically, the Council which just celebrated its' first anniversary, is working towards an endowment that will go towards scholarships for Austin college-bound to soften the costs of tuition. The first scholarship was presented to a young Baylor student at the luncheon.

After the award presentation, I spoke about Baylor, The Apprentice, Footprints In The Boardroom, and where I am headed now. After the presentation, I signed books and caught up with friends I hadn't seen in quite some time.

Next stop? Houston...well sort of. I appeared on Mark Dildine's, "The Friday Show" on KAFR Houston. Mark and I talked about Footprints and the blend of faith and business. Congratulations to Jack, Leonard, and Tommy, who were the eighth caller (each hour)
and won a signed copy of Footprints.

-RXW

Workout Outdoors

Ah Spring is finally here and unless you are up in Michigan, snow is a thing of the past. Now is a great time to add some variety into your workout routine by enjoying the outdoors.

For me that means running Austin's Townlake. Running is not my favorite way to exercise, but with the weather as nice as it is, even I can't resist spending time outdoors. So I run alone or with some friends around Townlake and enjoy the fresh air, the wind, the scenery (no I have never seen Matthew Mcconaughey running Townlake, although everyone and their mother has) and center myself.

I challenge you to find a way to exercise outdoors this Spring. Whether it's running, biking, hiking, water skiing, canoeing, etc., take advantage of the weather. Besides, running outdoors is much more challenging than running on the treadmill.

Don't forget the sunblock!

-RXW

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Self Challenge Update to date:
Workout Minutes: 00681
Calories Burned: 03910

Have you been logging your workout minutes?

Easter Through a Grown Up's Eyes

Christmas is holiday I think I have always understood. I just got it. Maybe it was because every year we would have a Christmas Program (I was often in charge of the program ;-) where each of us would sing, play the piano, or act out songs we had prepared exclusively for the program. The night would culminate with my father reading the Christmas story out of the Bible. Then we would pray and begin the gift opening. All of the festivities were fun, but they also helped me understand what Christmas really means.

Easter was also a big deal in our family, but it was celebrated differently. When I was young, my mother used to sew our Easter dresses. I remember watching her each night work on our dresses. I so looked forward to trying on a sleeve or being measured for the skirt because I couldn't wait for Easter to be here and my dress to be made. I remember a yellow polka-dotted dress in particular. I loved colors so my mom sewed a little rainbow patch right at in the middle of the sailor collar. I loved that dress. I loved the Easter egg hunts, the patent leather shoes, and looking at hats that all of the women would wear. And although I think that somewhere in all of that, I knew we were celebrating Christ's resurrection and our salvation, I mean after all we would say, "He is Risen." "He is Risen Indeed," the magnitude of Easter hit me in a different way.

I don't know if it was because the Easter musical we were singing in choir really spoke to me or what, but it was like a reminder of the heart of matter, or rather the depth of the matter. Maybe it was because I was older and closer in age to Christ when he died than I had ever been. At the time the song The Glory of the Blood by Avalon hit it home for me. The heartbreak that Christ's followers and really the world felt when he was crucified, and the jubilation felt when he rose are things I have tried to but do not think I can possibly fully comprehend. But I try to. I try to imagine what it must have been like for all involved.

And that is how I connect with Easter...it is easy to get caught up in the eggs and the hats and the Easter dresses, but somewhere in all of that, just try to imagine what it must have felt like to be there. And try to remember that because of Easter we have been set free.

Happy Easter!

-RXW


What Rox: If you are in the Austin area, I invite you to visit Riverbend Church this Easter season. Good Friday: 8:00PM The Shadow of the Cross --Musical performed by Riverbend Choir. Easter Sunday: Services at 8:30AM, 9:45AM, and 11:15AM.
Hope to see you there.