The X Factor

Are you TOO Single?

2009-05-12T12:12:00.001-07:00

I have been single for 30yrs. I guess only 10 of those really count, but regardless, that is a long time. And I must admit that if you go through your 20s single and especially without a roommate, you tend to get get fixed in your ways.

The same thing happens if you are divorced and wait a while to be remarried. My father has been divorced since I was 12. After 18 years you know how you like things and no one else really comes into the equation. It makes it harder to find someone because that daily compromise concept is not fully explored.

I hadn't really thought about this in relation to ME until I came across this tidbit:

If you've been single for a really, really long time, you might be at risk of being too single. While there's nothing wrong with being single, it does come with its share of risks.

1. Inflexibility -- Without anyone else to plan around, people who are too single do what they want, when they want. They become inflexible.

I am not totally like this, but I do have a friend that is. She will remain nameless...

2. Less Maintenance -- With no one to impress, those who are too single can go days without doing their hair and weeks without shaving their legs.

So the humidity was bothering me and I didn't do my hair for a week, until today...reading this motivated me.

3. Super Independence -- Super singles can get to be super independent. They take care of EVERYTHING. Having an "I can do it" attitude is good, but doing it all might be keeping someone who's too single from finding someone. (Being a damsel in distress can actually be a GOOD thing when looking for a guy.)

So maybe I should have leaned on a guy to help me with my toilet (see below), but on the flip side, I figure if I am going to be single for the rest of my life, which is always a possibility, I need to be able to take care of myself. Right?

That said, I am going on a date tonight, and maybe the TOO SINGLE thing is part of my motivation to get out there...

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Pimple be gone!

2009-05-08T08:21:00.001-07:00

Pimple be gone!

It has been coming all week. I felt it, even saw hints of it. But now it is here! I have a pimple! An obvious pimple on my face between my chin and lip. Isn't there some rule that when you turn 30, you no longer get pimples? Should there be if there isn't.

I rarely get pimples, but when I do, they are big and noticeable. I mean it's a white spot on my otherwise dark skin!
I have been diligent about NOT popping them. I read enough girl magazines growing up to know that is the worst thing you can do.

I remember numerous times over the years when my mom would urge me to pop it. "Just pop it Roxanne!" She would say. She would even try to pop it when I wasn't paying attention. Of course my mom NEVER had a pimple until she was in her 30s. She has amazing skin. I digress.

But last night and this morning, I desperately wanted to pop this thing. It is all I see when I look at my face. I mean seriously, go away already...

(My pimple at 4:45am today)

Do you pop your pimples?

Pop it Baby!

No, let the pimple ride it's course.

Select your option and vote!

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The Smell of Love?

2009-05-07T08:14:00.000-07:00

I will admit I am a classroom girl. I thrive in school. Give me a textbook and I will master a skill. Give me directions and I can put a bookshelf together. Let me figure out the formula, and I can figure out a logic puzzle, like Sudoku.

Maybe this is why I find romantic relationship dance so frustrating. I mean I am yet to find a set book of 'rules' that I can pick up and apply. And I am all about seeking experts to give me guidance, input, or advice on how I should handle a relationship with a specific guy. But honestly when you are dealing with two people and all that comes with it, the best expert can't forsee what will be. Yet I still try to find the program, procedure, guide, that will make it all a little less wobbly.

So naturally when I came across this article, I was intrigued. "Two companies, Basisnote and Scientific Match, are developing technology to match couples based on the genetic components of the human immune system -- and their odor."

Apparently people are attracted to those who have an opposite "histocompatiblity gene" then them. What that means? Not really sure, but I think it means what my girl Paula Abdul has been saying for quite some time, "Opposites Attract."

Here's how it works, you order an online test that arrives a couple days later. You swab your cheek and the sample is tested in a machine that tells you a code. Based on that code, the 'experts' know if you are compatible with a person.

Ok seriously? I am pretty sure that if you ask the guy you are dating for a cheek swab, you might as well admit you are on the deep side of coo-koo. Or can you imagine being paired with a guy that a computer told you, you were genetically matched to be with?

As much as I am not into the guessing game, (And I know what those of you who are married are saying right now, "that is the fun part." The guessing game is only fun in the rearview mirror, but we can talk about that another time.) I think I will pass on the DNA sampling.

Back to the drawing board for me...

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I do not wanna Rock and Roll All Night...

2009-05-05T23:16:00.000-07:00

Final four baby! And the theme is rock. I think this is a bit of a bummer. When you are down to the last four, I don't think there should be such a polarizing theme. But of course no one asked me. Slash from Guns n' Roses is serving as the guest mentor. He is apparently coming out with a solo CD, which answers Gary's question as to what he knows about vocals. Not sure about the week, but here goes!

Whole Lot of Love – Led Zepplin
It was good rock performance I suppose, but I am sooooo tired of hearing him scream. Seriously. Enough already. I a ready for Adam to go home. My ears hurt.

Cry Baby - Janis Joplin
She did alright. It was solid, but it wasn't the most memorable performance. That said, Allison is coming into her own. Kudos to her!

--
So they are dong something different this week. Duets! First up: Danny Gokey and Kris Allen
singing Renegade.

Loving it already! Great harmonizing!
--

Come togehter - by Rolling Stars
He was quite the rocker. It has the rock influence but still the bluesy feel. I am proud of Kris. He was true to himself but still rockish and let's face it, adorable!

Dream On - Aerosmith
Surprised that Danny chose this song. He wants to perform. Let's see if his voice matches his desire. Lower register sounds good. Here comes the high note, "dream on!" He did it! Screaming, high note, etc. Showing that Adam isn't the only one who can do that! It was so not his thing, but he went for it.

Duet two:
Slow Ride - By Fog Hat.
Allison and Adam. I think this song is pretty easy (except on the game Rock Band. Ha!) They sound great together.

All in all tonight the rockers proved to be the rockers in their own realm. Kudos to them. Hard to say who will go home tonight. I am thinking Danny or Kris. Sad, I know. Should be Allison, but she is a rocker, so it won't happen.

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Untitled Crawfish Boil

2009-05-04T08:25:00.000-07:00

Untitled had its 4th Annual Cinco de Bayou.
It's New Orleans (since Jazz fest is was this weekend) meets Mexico (think fajitas to compliment the crawfish)

This is a close as I would get to them to my mouth...

What is the stuff that is inside them when you crack them open?

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Innocent Love

2009-04-30T08:29:00.000-07:00

This is the cutest, most innocent video I have seen in a long time. Seriously, I am going to leave it at that. It is a much watch!

Ah! His reaction when she names him is absolutely adorable.
[Back story on the end: The clip was done for Malaysia where racism between Chinese and Malays is still an issue - The boy is Chinese and the girl is Malaysian, hence the line about color blindness of kids.]

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Matchmaking at All Ages

2009-04-20T08:35:00.000-07:00

You may have heard The River's "Dating Game" on air the last couple weeks. We were setting up our web guy, Zac with a River listener. Susie, is quite the matchmaker. You voted on the final six and Larin, won. The two are going on a date tonight!

Well I spent Saturday evening with my precious 8th grade girls from church. They were having a slumber party and although I opted out of spending the night, I went to see 17 Again (LOVED IT!) with them, have dinner, and hang out.

As I walked into Brooke's house (headquarters for the night), they sat me down at the dining room table. They wanted to discuss something with me. (I felt the ambush coming on, but I didn't know what it was regarding.) So I sat down, and they asked me:

8th: Roxanne do you have a boyfriend?

Rox: No

8th: Good! Because we have the guy for you.

---
Apparently Brooke's softball coach is my age, single, good-looking, upstanding guy...
They showed me a picture on their itty bitty phone. What I could see looked pleasant.

They were going to call him and have him come over to surprise me, but Brooke's mother saved me and told them no.

However, Brooke's family is having a crawfish boil next month...the girls invited me, told me he would be there, and told me, "don't worry, we will be there too!" Ha ha...

Love my girls...I guess women 'matchmake' at all ages.

Does Matchmaking actually work?

Roxanne Wilson Does matchmaking actually work? Have you been set up? Any success stories out there?

6:44am ·

at 6:47am April 20

[We] were set up by our friend, Megan. It was an instant connection, even from long distance. Never saw it coming, but I'm so glad it happened when it did.

at 7:00am April 20 via Facebook Mobile

[We] were set up by a friend in college. We always say if we have a girl we think that we might name her after our friend.

at 7:02am April 20

My husband and I were a blind date-we will be married 24 years on the 4th of July

at 7:59am April 20

Ok, no success story, but why not girl? Life is short, have fun!! :)

at 8:34am April 20

I set up Megan and Randy! You know how that ended!

at 9:20am April 20
IJL rocks![We] could be the poster children!

Let me know about your matchmaking stories! Roxanne@theriver1023.com

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Ahhh to be 17 Again...

2009-04-17T08:38:00.000-07:00

With the new movie "17Again" coming out today, it got me thinking about what I would do differently if I were 17 Again...

When I turned 17 I was at the end of my senior year and ready to begin college at Baylor. I was pretty much a goodie-two-shoes...but I do wonder at times what life would be like if I had done things differently. Like go to a different college, after all I left everyone I knew in AZ to head to Waco, TX. Or what if I pledged a sorority instead of an all guys fraternity (another story for another time). But when it came down to it, I couldn't think of anything monumental I would change at age seventeen. That said I am glad to be 30.

Much more interesting than me...Here is what you had to say...

Roxanne Wilson 17 Again the movie is coming out this week! (Zac Efron & Matthew Perry) If you were 17 again what would you do?

at 6:47am April 16

Better hair, drive on the freeway, and take a dance class (The Dobson High School Dance Company seemed liked they had so much fun).

at 7:04am April 16 via Facebook Mobile

I'd do the same only love harder and breathe in every moment like it was my last!

at 7:13am April 16 via Facebook Mobile

I'd break up with my boyfriend (sweet though he was) and date more. And I'd get less angry at my parents; it is hard work raising a kiddo!

at 7:22am April 16 via Facebook Mobile

I would concentrate more on grades, volunteer work, faith, friends, and less on boyfriends! High schoolers are not equipped to have serious relationships, what were we thinking?!?

at 8:27am April 16

I would actually listen in class and do my homework. :)

at 8:42am April 16

I would have focused MUCH LESS on my high school boyfriend! Nice guy but I think my world revolved around him... at 17 that was just nuts. I would have also appreciated my parents more! They knew so much more than I ever thought.

at 8:54am April 16

Go to the University of Virginia instead of my "other" choice. But the things we do for men, even at 17!!!

at 9:01am April 16

I'm seeing a trend here....wish I knew some high school girls to advise!

Roxanne Wilson at 9:08am April 16

Oooh, what a good sum up. I actually am going to be hanging with my 8th grade girls this weekend. Think I know what I wisdom I will look to casually impart.

at 9:30am April 16 via Facebook Mobile

I love all the comments... Isn't it funny how wise we get and we still don't know anything!

at 10:21am April 16

I think we could all say better hair! I would also add some changing of some things that went down with close friends senior year. Sad stuff. I would also have made smarter choices in relationships.

at 11:33am April 16

I would to go to school abroad! And focus on traveling more while the responsibilities are still minimal.

at 12:05pm April 16

Oh, add to my list what [the person above] said. I'd have planned (not just dreamed) of studying abroad.

---
What would YOU do if you were 17 years old again. I want to know...
email me at roxanne@theriver1023.com

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No Makeup Day

2009-04-15T08:40:00.000-07:00

So this morning I wok up a little late and didn't have time to put on makeup as I was rushing out the door. I grabbed my make up bag figuring that I would have time to apply my make up at some point that morning. By about 7am, I decided, I was just not going to put on any makeup. I mean I had made it two and a half hours, why not go the whole day? And besides anyone I might want to impress would hopefully see me with no makeup and still think I am beautiful...right?

I tweeted and facebooked a declaration that today was "Roxanne Wears No Makeup Day." Kind of liberating. I even went as far to take a picture. Ha ha I got a lot of online support, and also a heads up that "No Makeup" is becoming a trend...who knew?

It seems that the French version of Elle magazine is doing an entire issue featuring women with no makeup AND no airbrushing...and here I thought I was being original. Read the article here.
The article challenges US magazines to get on the no make up train.

I second that. Why not?

And for the record, no one looked at me funny. I had meetings, talked to people who I held in regard, and it didn't really phase me. That is until after I was done...each time I left a meeting or stopped talking to someone, I remembered that there was no makeup on my mug. But it really wasn't bad.

Try it; I dare you...

Would you go to work for a day without makeup?

Absolutely not! I won't leave home without it...

Yes! A day without makeup would be refreshing!

Maybe...it would be scary but I might try it...

Select your option and vote!

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Jelly Beans in your nose...

2009-04-13T08:42:00.000-07:00

My big sister Rhonda called me last night (Easter) to have my nephew Willem wish my happy Easter. Bless his heart, he fell asleep before I could get on the phone.

So instead she told me about his Easter. Now I don't have pictures quite yet, but apparently Willem had a first. While they were at Easter dinner with family and friends, Willem walked up to my sister and said ,"Mommy I have a jelly bean in my nose. She looked in his nose, and sure enough there was a little jelly bean in there.

As Rhonda tried to pull it out it started going up. So she asked a grandparent an 'expert' as she called it, how to get the jelly bean out of his nose. Well the expert, walked up and popped it out in one quick swoop.

She turned to Willem and asked him how the jelly been ended up in his nose. His response? "U don't know, it just got in there." Love him!

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Flossing while driving...can I get a ticket for that?

2009-04-06T08:43:00.000-07:00

I have been vigilant about my dentists all of my life...well until lately. I admit I have gone past the 6mos mark. EEK.

So last week I made the appointment and on Monday I headed to my doctor's office.

I should mention, that I have never had a cavity. For a girl who is bowl legged, flat-footed, (was) near sighted, and had buck teeth, it is remarkable that I wasn't born with a cavity.

Before I left for the dentist I ate popcorn. Why did I do that? It wasn't like I had my toothbrush with me in the car. But what I did have was my floss. I keep my floss in the car and typically floss at the red lights. I decided I would floss the popcorn out of my teeth as I was getting there.

I got to my appointment and they began by taking x-rays. These days you can actually see the x-rays come up on the screen immediately. I kept looking to make sure there were no dark spots (aka no cavities). I was pretty sure I was in the clear.

When my dentist came in and started doing the check up, looked at my teeth and asked me, "do you floss." I proudly said, "yes, in the car." Then she told me, I needed to move the flossing from the car to my bathroom, where I could take the time to really see what I am doing. "If you don't floss after you brush your teeth, then you haven't brushed your teeth."

What? Rats! And here I thought I was being resourceful by taking care of business in the car.

The good news: I didn't have a cavity. Thirty years and counting...

Your thoughts:

at 3:41pm April 6

Let's hope so. Think of the insurance premiums.

at 4:03pm April 6

No....I have 2 containers of floss in my car right now. You just never know when you might need to floss!

at 4:11pm April 6

I'll let you know if that's a record after my next appt. oh, wait, you're older than me. ha ha.

at 4:24pm April 6

I'm a car flosser too!

at 4:43pm April 6 via Facebook Mobile

I've never had a cavity and I'm older than you, I win! :)

at 5:43pm April 6
ditto - I'm +30 and none on record. :)

at 6:11pm April 6

Um, I carry it in my purse and am a habitual car flosser.

Roxanne Wilson at 7:40pm April 6

Well see apparently I need to do it more than just in the car. And I guess I can't call guiness. Liz and Jaime trump me...

at 11:02pm April 6

Better than waiting until the next morning, of course the day you floss at the red light, Mr Right will be in the lane next to you in a schmancy expensive car. I'm just saying...

Roxanne Wilson at 11:10pm April 6

You are so right. No more flossing in the car until I have my Mr. Right...aka no more flossing in the car EVER...HAHA

Do you floss in the car?

Absolutely...it is a good time to get it done

No! That is gross

I don't personally, but I know someone who does *wink wink*

Select your option and vote!

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Wedding Time (No Not Mine)

2009-04-05T08:46:00.000-07:00

This weekend I went to my girlfriend's, Erin wedding in Geronimo, Texas.

Erin and her now husband, Shane met seven months ago, got engaged on Christmas day and now are on their way to Hawaii for their honeymoon.
Quite the whirlwind.

So my bud Aimee and I drove out to parts unknown. The wedding was outside on the ranch under two oak trees as we sat down on hay bales covered with burgundy blankets.

Sitting waiting for the wedding to begin...

Aimee, me, and the Bride/Groom: Erin & Shane

Having fun at the wedding as Jason Mraz plays (on cd) in the background

Roxanne & Julie at the wedding reception

So funny story, I am sitting at the table eating BBQ at the reception when this adorable couple sat down at the table: mom, dad, two girls and a little boy. We started talking about the wedding and how we know the bride. All of as sudden, Aly, the mom stops and says, "Wait, you aren't the Roxanne on The River are you?"
"Why, yes. I am."

Turns out that Aly was listening Saturday morning when I was talking about weddings. I have a theory:

There is no longer a wedding season. People are getting married whenever they feel like it.

I personally have been to four wedding since January. I mentioned that I was headed to the New Braunfels area that day. While Aly was driving with her family to the wedding she turned to her husband and said, "I wonder if Roxanne is going to Erin's wedding."

Aly and her sweet family...

Small world! I was going to the wedding and Aly and I ended up meeting each other.

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You Can't Please Everyone...sigh

2009-04-03T08:48:00.000-07:00

So I have been having this conflict at Jazzercise. There is this student who doesn't like me, hasn't for years. And honestly I am not sure why. But she has stormed out of my class before, complained to my class managers, and pouted during class. Fortunately she has managed to avoid me lately by simply going to other classes.

Well this week, another instructor, was sick, and I taught three of her classes. I walked into the first class, on Saturday morning and the student, we will call her Betty, was in class. I was teaching and all I could think about was that Betty can't stand my teaching...it influenced my entire class. She walked out when we switched from the aerobics to strength training and I was finally able to exhale.

So on Tuesday I taught again for the sick instructor, and Betty was there. As she walked in I greeted her and tried to make small talk with her, she barked at me and went inside. As I started the warm up, she stood, barely warmed up and pouted. Then as the second song started, she crossed her arms, walked to the side of the gym, picked up her things and walked out.

I said, "Betty, are you leaving already," and she just frowned and stormed out.

At first I was stunned, and then I realized that class would be better without her there. And it was. It was awesome. I let the instructor I subbed for and the owner of the center know what had happened. Good thing I did, because Betty sent a complaint to corporate and local Jazzercise about me...but get this, she sent it about my dog, Bear. "Roxanne's little dog has no place," at Jazzercise.

Bear is my 'JazzerDog' she has come to class for 4 YEARS now and is such a hit, that students request her presence. She greets students before class. Sits in her bag and looks attentively during class, and then says goodbye to the students as they leave.

It honestly wrecked my day...I was totally bummed. But rather than responding I took a moment...I prayed about it, went to Jazzercise and taught another class and got my frustration out.

This is what I sent back in response:

Thank you for your informational email regarding Bear's attendance at Jazzercise. I just received your email today and thus I am responding to you the same day. As an attorney and a Jazzercise instructor, I take liability very seriously and will take your email counsel under advisement.

On another note, I am glad you took the time to write because I actually wanted to talk to you, but you left during the second routine yesterday and I naturally couldn't stop class to address you. I wasn't sure how to handle this, but as I discussed this matter my radio show this morning, I found some clarity.

I want to ensure that you have an enjoyable experience at Jazzercise. It is obvious by your actions (disgruntled looks, ignoring my overtures to engage you, walking out of my class, and negative comments to my class managers, to name a few) over the years, that you do not like me as an instructor and possibly as a person. I respect that--not everyone meshes. I came to terms with the fact a long time ago that I will never have the abilities you desire in an instructor and as a human being to please you for even an hour (frankly if yesterday's class in any indication, I irritate you within seven minutes). And I want you to know that I empathize with you.

In fact I was impacted by your presence in class on Saturday because I knew my very presence on stage would make your Jazzercise experience less than desirable. Unfortunately we are all human, and instructors do get sick and havec conflicts from time to time. Rather than cancel class, a sub must teach.

I value you as a Jazzercise student and I want you to have the experience of an awesome workout, fun, and if you desire friendship with fellow Jazzercise students, class managers, and instructors. Please share with me your thoughts on a mutually feasible solution.

Thanks again for your concern for me and Jazzercise.

Best,

Roxanne Wilson
Certified Jazzercise Instructor

---
So now I just wait to see her response. Stay tuned...
Honestly, I am a sensitive person. It always bothers me when someone hates me. Especially when I didn't do anything wrong.

I was talking to a friend about an issue they were having about people dumping on them. And I realized something, the day that you are not bothered by someone who hates you is the day that something is really wrong with you. Just don't let it steal your sunshine.

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Bracket Bet

2009-04-02T08:51:00.000-07:00

So Ahmad Brooks, who is on our sister sports station bet me that he would do better on the NCAA bracket predictions than I would.
If Ahmad won, I would have to wear burnt orange and say 'hook 'em for the day. Sigh...
If I won, Ahmad would have to wear my Baylor Line jersey that says "Foxy Roxy" on the back. Understand that Ahmad used to play football for UT.

Well the Championship game isn't even set, and the bet is over....see who won...

Ahmad on-air and not enjoying his attire...

Never underestimate a woman's ability to win an NCAA bracket...

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Cooking 101: Happy Hour Fare

2009-03-30T08:54:00.000-07:00

So my time at The River is slowly becoming: The Domestication of Roxanne Wilson. Susie has vowed to get me married off and has a timeframe, I did my own hair (see the Maxiglide blog below), and I have been dabbling in the cooking arena. Yowzah!
----
So on Friday I had my girlfriends Carrie and Liz over for happy hour. We initially were going to go out, but it morphed into my place.

I guess all this talk about the River recipes has been rubbing off on me, because I decided I was going to cook! Or as some call it, 'prepare'.

I headed to the grocery store after the show on Friday got a few little nibbles:
Meatballs
Artichoke and Cheese pastries
Cream Cheese wontons

All were frozen.

Check out what happened when I cooked the Meatballs with my secret ingredients...

Oops technical difficulties. What can I say, I am a one-woman operation here...

Meatballs cooking! Check. Now onto the spinach & cheese bits

All done and happy hour is about to start...

Whoo hoo! I did it!

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As Seen On TV

2009-03-29T08:56:00.000-07:00

So in the days of cutting back I am conscious of some things that could go. My hair appointments. I typically like to go to get my hair done once a week...before you raise an eyebrow, let me tell you that I am HORRIBLE with hair. To the point that my hair breaks off and falls out or just looks bad, if I don't get professional help.

But I am all for cutting back and honestly if I could take care of my hair on my own, that would be awesome.
So my mom told me about this "As Seen On TV;" product she found. The MaxiGlide (which i realized on air yesterday I called it the Maxiplus. oops!)

Apparently it is supposed to work on all hair types and get the hair straight like a professional.

Knowing that my mom has amazing hair and is good at taking care of it, I was skeptical, but when she told me there was a 30-day trial, I decided to try it. So I called and ordered it. It came four days later...not bad.

So I got the MaxiGlide and I was ready to try it...

Here's the before

Here's the during

Not bad, but I am not completely sold. I will definitely use the 30 days to think about it.

If you have used the MaxiGlide, let me know at Roxanne Wilson

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My desk is decorated!

2009-03-25T08:57:00.000-07:00

So one of my coworkers took a picture of me at my desk and posted it on Twitter .
Since then I have gotten tweets (messages) on my Twitter account concerned for my lack of decoration.

For example:
Girl, get some pictures up in your office... do I need to come decorate your desk like I did my husband's?11:24 AM Mar 24th from TwitPic

-----
Thanks to all for your concern, but have no fear...it was just the angle at which the picture was shot. In the five months since I started at The River, I have indeed started decorating...

Join in on the Twitter fun. To see Roxanne's Twitter page click here.
To see The River's page click here.

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SXSW weekend on $15 or less...

2009-03-24T13:05:00.000-07:00

So SXSW was last week, and after my birthday, I wanted to be a part of the the action. I am a single girl....SXSW is not in my budget. So my mission: To experience SXSW on a shoe string budget--aka No Badge & No Wristband. No expectations, just an open mind, and an empty wallet...

Jackson Walker? Are they related to Jerry Jeff?
Day 1: Wednesday March 18

A buddy of mine from my lawyer days works at Jackson Walker and invited me to their party. The food was awesome: 34th Street Cafe Catering (part of 34th Street Cafe). Spinach Artichoke dip, Asian salad served in little Chinese takeout boxes with chopsticks, and more!
Highlight: Meeting two River Listeners who were also enjoying the party.

Running Total:
One Band
34th Street Cafe Food
Drinks
Total: $0.00 So far so good...

Music and Mammograms
Day 2, Thursday March 19:
Free Music at the Pita Pit

So it turns out that some of the musicians from my church, Riverbend, landed a gig during SXSW playing at the Pita Pit on 6th street. So I cruised over there and met up with my buddy Aimee before the Mammo Gram Mixer, drank a smoothie and listened to them play. I actually found out they are playing regularly at Uncorked Wine Bar as well...
Check them out on MySpace
Miranda Dodson
Bob Barney
Chase Gassaway
Nathan Hubble

Self-taken pic of Aimee & me...she was my partner in crime for a lot of this experience.

Really bad pic...I know

Running Total:

Four Bands
34th Street Cafe Food

Drinks
Smoothie

Total: $3.49 Not bad...

Then I headed to the March Mammogram Mixer for my station 102.3 The River. There was a great group of ladies there and we had fun getting to know each other.

After the mixer, I headed home to take a taxi and head back out to the Parish to listen to Hotel Cafe Tour featuring Meiko, Sara Barielles. Need I say more? But I didn't want to deal with parking. Hence the taxi. Forty-Five minutes later...still waiting on that taxi.

I decided that it wasn't meant to be and went to sleep instead.

SXSW or Bust!
Day 3 March 20, Friday

Well at this point, I was determined to make sure that I made the most of my Friday...SXSW would be over before I knew it...after Family Friendly Mornings, I headed home. My brother (not by blood) Daniel, met up with me and we walked to Sixth Street from my place. We were down there by 11am...And that is when the night got interesting...more to follow. ;-)

As we were walking, we stopped by the Convention Center to find out if they had tickets to any free shows. That's when we found out that Ben Harper was performing later. Exciting! So we got tickets and then headed to Sixth Street.

We stopped by Maggie Mae's who by the way gave away a recycled bag with a cd, guitar pick and more inside. We listened to a few of those bands and ate complimentary queso before we left.

Running Total:
Six Bands
34th Street Cafe Food
Queso

Drinks

Smoothie

Total: $3.49...Staying Strong

What band are you in?

As we were walking around Sixth Street, taking in the music, we saw a sign for SPIN Magazine on the door of Old Pecan Street Cafe. Daniel suggested we go over there and we did. Apparently you had to have a gray wristband to get into the party. Well Daniel did so they shooed him in and assumed that since I was with him, I needed a wristband. So they gave me one. When we walked up the stairs, we were in another world.
The world of musicians. It was an artist party complete with free drinks, free food (catered by Wahoo's tacos), and free swag! Allow me to describe: there were white draped partitions, like when you go to a trade show. One had sunglasses in it, the other Airwalk shoes,
and the final one had Tommy Hilfiger clothes. This was in addition to the free samples of Calvin Klein cologne, as well as all sorts of other goodies around the room.

And get this, all of the swag was there for the taking. A rep assisted you in trying it on and you could have what you wanted. I got two pairs of shoes: flip flops and tennies. I didn't have the guts to take any of the Tommy Hilfiger stuff...although they made a point of telling me I could have anything I wanted, but I was an imposter, so I couldn't. I passed on a beautiful leather purse and an lovely leather jacket. Sigh.

Running Total:
Six Bands
34th Street Cafe Food

Drinks
Queso

Smoothie

Two Pairs of Shoes
Three Recycled Bags
Five Perfume Samples
One Ipod Case
Regret of not getting the leather jacket

Total: $3.49...

Who is Gomez anyway?
Anyway after the party, we met up with my friends David (he is also one of my pastors at Riverbend) and Aimee, and headed to the free concert at La Zona Rosa - Gomez was performing.
I recognized one of their songs, and the rest were unknown to me, but they were good. They are a British band. With a name like Gomez, I thought for sure they would be anything but British.

After the concert we walked from La Zona Rosa (which is near Whole Foods) all the way back to the Convention Center to see Ben Harper. We stood in line for about an 40 minutes (the line was extremely long)...to ensure that we got in. Naturally they passed out more tickets then there was availability...not to worry. We were early...

Running Total:
Seven Bands
34th Street Cafe Food

Drinks

Queso

Smoothie

Two Pairs of Shoes
Three Recycled Bags
Five Perfume Samples
One Ipod Case

Regret of not getting the leather jacket
Tired feet--La Zona Rosa is a tough place to stand in

Total: $3.49...

Ben Harper at the Bat Bar...aka room in the Convention Center

Ben Harper was awesome! He sang songs off his upcoming CD, so I didn't know any of them, but I liked them. I mean it's Ben!
Here is some poor quality video I took on my phone...But maybe you can feel like you were there...

Short people have....reason to live

Okay but let's get serious for a moment, something was bugging me enough to facebook about it right there...

Roxanne Wilson
Being 5'3 & some change is not advantageous when you are standing @
Ben Harper's concert...tall peeps have no concept of their size. Like
small dogs.

March 20 at 5:46pm

Jill likes this.

at 6:06pm March 20

Not cool man...not cool. What would you like us to do? I'm open to suggestions. PS I love Ben Harper!! xoxox

Roxanne Wilson at 6:08pm March 20 via Facebook Mobile

Ben Harper love you too. I would like you to stand in the back. you can still see... hee hee

at 6:22pm March 20 via Facebook Mobile

Um yeah try being even SHORTER like me. Oh well, rock the cute factor.

at 7:31pm March 20

Yeah, pretty much be cuter than the tall ones. That's MO.

at 7:45pm March 20

You're all cute! :)

at 10:54pm March 20

yea! ben harper!

Running Total:
Eight Bands
34th Street Cafe Food

Drinks

Queso

Smoothie

Two Pairs of Shoes
Three Recycled Bags
Five Perfume Samples
One Ipod Case

Regret of not getting the leather jacket

Tired feet--La Zona Rosa is a tough place to stand in
Great Facebook dialogue: Short v. Tall

Total: $3.49...

Feed me Seymour

Next stop? Slight detour for a Surprise Birthday Party @ 219 West.

The great thing about this detour is that it was more like an EATour.

Being on my feet for eight hours called for sitting and eating. If you haven't tried their shallot fries and mini burgers and corndogs at 219, you are missing out. No lie!

Running Total:
Eight Bands
34th Street Cafe Food

Drinks

Queso

Smoothie

Two Pairs of Shoes
Three Recycled Bags
Five Perfume Samples
One Ipod Case

Regret of not getting the leather jacket

Tired feet--La Zona Rosa is a tough place to stand in

Great Facebook dialogue: Short v. Tall
Shallot Fries
Mini Corndogs
Mini Burgers
Total: $13.32 Dinner did me in...

If at first you don't succeed...

So I mentioned earlier that the Hotel Café Tour was going on but I missed it on Thursday because I couldn’t get a taxi and didn’t really want to walk in the dark. Well we found out that the group of musicians from Hotel Café were doing another performance @ the Ale House---a club located in the alley behind sixth street. So David, Aimee, Thom (our newest community pastor at Riverbend) decided to go check that out.
When we walk over to the Ale House, the SXSW volunteer at the door enlightens us that this performance is Badges/Wristbands only aka people who paid money. Sigh. We weren’t giving up so easily.
Well known fact about the Ale house…it is connected to Shakespeare’s pub on sixth street. The only thing that stands between it is a gate. I will credit David with what happened next. We walked over to Shakespeare’s to see if we could get in.

David & Me @ my birthday...David gets credit for what happens next

We walk up and all go in, or so I thought. Sweet Thom left his ID in his car…’rookie mistake’! * Sidebar: Thom and his wife Anita just moved from S. Dakota. Bless his heart, he hasn’t been carded in years, so naturally he had no idea that he needed to walk around with it in ATX (Austin, Texas). So Thom headed back to 4 ½ blocks to his car to get his ID. Thinking that his free spot by the post office was too far, Thom decided to drive closer…on a Friday night, during SXSW, in ATX. Needless to say he drove around for forever and then gave up and headed home. Poor Thom! Lesson: If you find a free spot in downtown Austin on a weekend, keep it!

Back at Shakespeare’s I am somehow elected to take the
lead and sneak through the unlocked gate. I head toward the gate as a
waitress is walking through. She stops me and I ask her if the ______’s
(insert name of owner) is in there…(I know a lot of people in Austin).
She says yes and that the Ale House is SXSW. I shake my head knowingly,
and she lets me through. David and Aimee scurry in behind me.
Eureeka!

Running Total:
Eight Bands
34th Street Cafe Food

Drinks

Queso

Smoothie

Two Pairs of Shoes
Three Recycled Bags
Five Perfume Samples
One Ipod Case

Regret of not getting the leather jacket

Tired feet--La Zona Rosa is a tough place to stand in

Great Facebook dialogue: Short v. Tall
Shallot Fries

Mini Corndogs

Mini Burgers
One Rejection
Risk of being kicked out
Adrenaline Rush
Total: $13.32

You never know who you will run into in Austin, Texas

As we are standing there enjoying the music of Tyrone Wells (who was awesome, and by the way is the son and grandson of pastors…tres cool), I glance at the door and see what I think is a mirage. It’s a man with sunglasses, a full head of hair and a familiar face. Could it be? No, yes! As I look to Aimee to tell her, her mouth is mouthing the words that are in my head.

I will let my Facebook post tell the rest of the story....

Roxanne Wilson Matthew Mcconaughey just joined me @ hotel cafe tour sxsw. Baby momma is here too. They are standing right next to me. In my almost 6yrs in ATX I've never seen him. I turn 30 & bam.

March 20 at 11:19pm ·

at 11:24pm March 20 via Facebook Mobile

Love it!

at 11:25pm March 20

is he wearing a shirt?

at 11:30pm March 20

Does he stink?!?

at 11:37pm March 20

OMG I AM SOOOO JEALOUS! I've wanted to meet him sooo bad.

at 12:50am March 21

WHO??

at 12:51am March 21

OHHHH... M.Mc. and his woman... I get you now. AWESOME! Tell him to find a beach and do some push-ups. :)

Roxanne Wilson at 2:46am March 21

They stood right next to us, bumping into us the whole time. Oh and they made out like crazy. I also talked to Sara Barielles!

Roxanne Wilson at 2:47am March 21

I didn't smell him. He was clothed and wore sunglasses.

at 7:48am March 21 via Facebook Mobile

Why was I not with you last night???uggg!!! Glad your having fun!

Roxanne Wilson at 8:08am March 21

Lady that is a good question...we need to remedy that.

at 8:46am March 21

I told you 30 was good!

Yes indeed, Matthew walked into the Ale House and then stood right next to me with his baby momma (aka mother of his child). He had an entourage of at least ten people hanging out around us. All of them were tall and dwarfed me. Matthew and baby momma kept bumping into me as they danced to Roco Deluca and I just stood their laughing to myself. How surreal. I loved him in "A Time to Kill" and "The Wedding Planner," not to mention many other movies. And there he was.

Running Total:
Thirteen Bands
34th Street Cafe Food

Drinks

Queso

Smoothie

Two Pairs of Shoes
Three Recycled Bags
Five Perfume Samples
One Ipod Case

Regret of not getting the leather jacket

Tired feet--La Zona Rosa is a tough place to stand in

Great Facebook dialogue: Short v. Tall
Shallot Fries

Mini Corndogs

Mini Burgers

One Rejection

Risk of being kicked out
Matthew Mcconaughey sighting
Dilemma of whether to ever wash the right side of my body again (KIDDING)
Total: $13.32 Now this is a bargain

I'm not going to write you a love song..
By now the place is crowded, and as I am looking up at the stage (or trying to because I am so short), I see this woman that I recognize. River Artist, Sara Barielles! She sings "Love Song," and my personal favorite, '"Gravity." By know I am feeling fearless, what with Matthew and baby momma (who is a model) by my side. so I tap Sara on the shoulder and say, hello and tell her that I am excited about her performing on Tuesday (for our sister station) She was sweet as pie, and asked my name. After she walked away, I turned to Aimee and David and said, that was Sara Barielles. Both of them looked stunned and bummed.

We spent the rest of the night there and after 2am headed to Aimee's car (David left a good hour before...). We couldn't stop talking about what a great day it had been.
Off to bed...Tomorrow Racheal Ray's Party

Running Total:
Thirteen Bands
34th Street Cafe Food

Drinks

Queso

Smoothie

Two Pairs of Shoes
Three Recycled Bags
Five Perfume Samples
One Ipod Case

Regret of not getting the leather jacket

Tired feet--La Zona Rosa is a tough place to stand in

Great Facebook dialogue: Short v. Tall
Shallot Fries

Mini Corndogs

Mini Burgers

One Rejection

Risk of being kicked out
Matthew Mcconaughey sighting
Dilemma of whether to ever wash the right side of my body again (KIDDING)

Sara Barielles meeting
Total: $13.32 I could be done now!

Yum-O
Susie and I had the pleasure of getting VIP passes to Rachael Ray's SXSW party. Racheal's husband is in a band called Cringe. And she throws the party with great food and performances by Cringe as well as others.

I have to tell you how tired I was. My body didn't want to move from walking all over downtown yesterday, but SXSW calls.

We tried to get an interview with Racheal, but it wasn't meant to be. We ate food though... ;-) We are working on getting a recipe however for the River Cookbook. Stay tuned...
Here is the skinny on the party:

The food:

The review:

After the party, I went home and laid on my couch with little interruption from 3pm until 2am! Exhaustion!!!

Running Total:
Thirteen Bands
34th Street Cafe Food

Drinks

Queso

Smoothie

Two Pairs of Shoes
Three Recycled Bags
Five Perfume Samples
One Ipod Case

Regret of not getting the leather jacket

Tired feet--La Zona Rosa is a tough place to stand in

Great Facebook dialogue: Short v. Tall
Shallot Fries

Mini Corndogs

Mini Burgers

One Rejection

Risk of being kicked out
Matthew Mcconaughey sighting
Dilemma of whether to ever wash the right side of my body again (KIDDING)

Sara Barielles meeting
Rachael Ray's food (see above)
Rachael Ray sighting and almost introduction/picture

Total: $13.32 Now this is a bargain

My conclusion:
SXSW CAN be done in THIS economy for next to nothing. I only paid for dinner Friday and a smoothie on Thursday! And I had good, clean fun...bonded with my buddies. It was priceless!

I highly recommend trying it out next year. We are gifted to have such a major even right here in town every year. Next year I want to add on the film part...Yeah Baby!

Bday Celebration

2009-03-19T08:59:00.000-07:00

So my birthday was on Tuesday. Also St. Patrick's day. As a St. Patty's baby, I happily embrace the union of both holidays. It has always been great to see the world celebrate my birthday. Green is the theme.

I turned 30 this year. Wow how time flies. And I don't think that has totally hit me...
But I did decide to take the green theme to a new level for the 30th.

So I wore a leprechaun outfit. No lie...

It's the one day of the year that I traditionally dress up, so why not go the extra mile right? Too fun. Thanks for all of the birthday wishes...it's a new year and I am thankful for you, my family and my friends.

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I had Lasik!

2009-03-09T09:02:00.000-07:00

So I did it. I got Lasik from Mann Eye Institute.

I was totally nervous, but from going in for the consultation and beyond, the Mann Eye team has been AMAZING (and patient).

If you want to learn more about Mann Eye, click here

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Book Tour: Tampa/CTN

2007-07-04T10:45:00.000-07:00

Last week I headed to Tampa, Florida for the first time. My purpose for Tampa was to appear on The Herman and Sharron Show, and The Good Life with CTN's founder and president, Bob D'Andrea.

I started my trip the night before around my appearances. I arrived at the airport for my 6:30pm only to find out that my American Airlines flights had been canceled because of the bad weather in Dallas (I was flying from Austin to Dallas to Tampa). So I hopped on a Continental airline that was flying through Houston to Tampa. When we boarded, they announced that the flight was delayed...this would be fine except that my connection was tight. When I got to Houston, I rushed off the plane hoping that my new flight to Tampa hadn't left without me. It turns out that the crew for that flight was stuck in JFK, so the flight was delayed. Thank the good Lord. We left at 9:40pm...I got to Tampa after 1:00am. After picking up my rental car and driving around lost, I arrived at the hotel and got to bed by 3:00am. Did I mention that it is humid in Tampa? Humid but beautiful. Even driving at night I could see how the water glistening.

My call at the CTN studio was 10:30am. Eek!

Fortunately I got up and to the studio in time plenty time. I started with The Herman & Sharron Show. Herman and Sharron have been on CTN for twenty-eight years and married for much longer. Herman, who reminds me of Regis in every way, was a riot...he wore a Donald Trump shirt to commemorate the interview. We talked about Footprints in the Boardroom and how my faith influenced my experience on "The Apprentice."

After we completed the show, I met Bob D'Andrea, CTN's founder and the host of The Good Life. As we sat down to do the interview, Bob mixed things up and asked me about my "boyfriends". Ha ha. I have been asked a lot of questions during interviews but I can tell you that the question I would never have expected from Bob D'Andrea was about my "boyfriends." Those of you who visit my blog know that the part of my life I have figured out the least is the "boyfriends." Ha ha...Bob didn't let up either. He wanted to know what I looked for in a boyfriend. You will have to watch to find out how I responded.

All kidding aside, I had the opportunity to share with The Good Life viewers about the importance of faith and prayer in their daily life.

After the tapings were over, I headed back to the airport and left fair Tampa without any flight delays, cancellations, or weather issues...

Happy Fourth of July!!

-RXW

What Rox: Watch The Herman and Sharron Show on 7/12/07 check your local listings (The Herman and Sharron Show airs on CTN, SkyAngel, and INSP digital). Check back for information on The Good Life's air date!

5 Tips To A Healthy Lifestyle

2007-07-03T09:41:00.000-07:00

As you know last week I spoke at The 50 Million Pound Challenge kickoff in Austin. I had a great time meeting the State Farm employees and sharing with them in their commitment to Give up the pounds. Not the Fight!

I applauded the participants for their dedication to a healthy lifestyle and shared with them my tips to maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
Here they are:

1) Food is all about moderation! It is okay to eat the food you love but eat it in moderation.
When you go out to restaurants, split your meal in half. Ask the server for a to go box and immediately put half of your meal away for later.

2) Exercise is meant to be fun! Find something you love.
Don't put any extra obstacles in your way. If you don't enjoy it, if the location is too far way, intimidating, etc. don't do it. Keep it fresh. Mix it up from time to time.

3) Have an accountability partner!
If you don't feel like working out on a certain day your partner can be there to push you. It can be a local or cyber partner. Be creative.

4) Journal! How will you know how far you have gotten if you don't know where you started?
I blog (obviously) but you can journal or write about your struggles, accomplishments etc. Take pictures as you get smaller and smaller.

5) Reward yourself for the little things!
Don't wait until you meet the big goal, delight in the small moments i.e. fitting into your skinny jeans, walking up the stairs without getting exhausted.

Special thanks to Arcillia Smith and her committee for their dedication to The 50 Million Pound Challenge.

Click here to listen to the speech.
-RXW
What Rox: The 50 Million Pound Challenge has already reached 287,010 pounds and counting. To join The Challenge or to see when the kickoff is coming to your area, go to http://www.50millionpounds.com/
Keep those pounds coming!

Intimacy

2007-07-02T08:59:00.000-07:00

I am a creature of habit...especially on Sundays.

A typical routine on Sunday includes going to Untitled at 9:45, service at 11:15, and lunch with friends right after. This Sunday my typical "routine" was modified. I was asked to speak to the Singles (over 40) ministry. I have to admit that I was a bit nervous. For some reason I can speak all over the country, but speaking to a group at my own church, Riverbend, can be a bit intimidating. Their topic for July is prayer and I was entrusted in kicking it off. Pressure! Additionally, my Sunday routine was officially out of whack...how could I possibly have a meaningful Sunday experience?

So rather than going to Untitled at 9:45, I went to service. I wanted a little inspiration before I spoke...the part of the message that hit me was intimacy...intimacy in your faith. After service was over, I rushed over to the Singles ministry.

As I was speaking to the Singles ministry about prayer and how prayer is simply a conversation with your maker, I realized that the topic of intimacy was in my message as well. I spoke on prayer and read some prayers I wrote in Footprints in the Boardroom and we talked in depth. And established that we all have certain routines when we pray. We pray at certain times of the day in certain ways.

But the one thing that I hope reached that group was this:

We spend so much time in life giving our relationships a shot of energy: married couples go to counseling or take vacations to rekindle the relationship; friends go out to the newest place or take dancing lessons.
We change up the way we communicate in relationships: phones, letters, texts...it keeps it interesting, current. And by changing up the routine those relationships become a bit more meaningful...intimate.

So why don't we do that in our faith relationship?
Why do we always go for the routine i.e. my Sunday routine?
And why do we always have the same conversation with God?

There is no reason to be afraid of changing our routine. We may find that praying at a different times of the day, in a different way leads us to a deeper understanding...intimacy.
Interestingly enough, my Sunday routine was totally our of whack this week, but the meaning was deeper...more intimate.

-RXW

Supper Underground Shhhh!

2007-06-29T08:35:00.000-07:00

Have you ever been a part of an underground club? Let me guess, you would tell me but then you would have to kill me right?

Well fine, but I am going to break the silence and tell you about underground club I was fortunate to experience this weekend. It is called Supper Underground and it is exactly what it sounds like. Supper...Underground...well not underground, but on the hush hush. As it says on their vague website, "Supper Underground is a fusion of the intimacy of a dinner party with the ease of a restaurant. It’s the opportunity to experience delectable cuisine and meet new people in a unique and constantly changing setting. Supper Underground is a monthly dinner party that takes place in a different Austin location with different participants each month. Supper Underground guests enjoy a brief “cocktail hour” followed by a four-course meal with wine provided."

My friend Daniel stumbled upon Supper Underground last year and has been lucky enough to go to three of them now. So I was Daniel's guest at this month's Supper. When Daniel picked me up, the first thing he said was, "Okay Roxanne, there are rules to Supper Underground. Rule one: Don't talk about Supper Underground." I thought he was serious a la fight club, but considering the fact that in the year and a half that Supper Underground, which was started by a lovely woman named Hannah, has been in Austin the mailing list had grown to 700 people, I think I can talk about it.

We arrived at Progress Coffee whose owners Joshua and Sarah were kind enough close their coffee shop so that it could be transformed for the event. Each Supper consists of no more than 25 people, so the feel is quite intimate. We dined on food prepared by the resident Supper Underground chef, Tasso and his longtime buddy. Our four course meal consisted of:

Chilled Roasted Corn and Avocado Soup
Asparagus Salad with Shaved Parmesan and Lemon Vinaigrette
Crab Cakes atop Purple Potato Puree with Wilted Greens and a Saffron Cream Sauce
Espresso Creme Brulee

Okay now I want to leave the experience to your imagination so that you will be compelled to find an underground supper club in your area (and yes they are everywhere...Google underground supper clubs and you will be amazed by the amount of results). But I will say that I don't even eat crab but I absolutely loved the crab cakes. It was definitely a meal to remember or the food and more importantly the community. I want to tell you more, but you know, then I would have to kill you...

Bottom line, Supper Underground is the greatest event in your city that everyone is not talking about. Experience it for yourself.

-RXW

What Rox: Don't have an underground supper club in your area? Then start one.

Resale Shop

2007-06-28T20:11:00.000-07:00

It is official. I completed my provisional year of The Junior League. Your provisional year in the league is very much like pledging--it gives you an overview of all that The League does to improve the community through effective action and leadership of trained volunteers.

Now that I have learned about The Junior League I am placed into the community as a volunteer. My placement as we call it is at the Resale Shop. I am quite excited. As a provisional, I spent a lot of time in the Resale Shop working. Now as a member on The Resale Shop committee, I have the opportunity to learn more about the what goes on behind the scenes to make The Resale Shop such as success. The Resale Shop sells gently used clothes the community. But before you turn off, let me add that the Resale Shop isn't just another thrift store. All of the proceeds made at the Resale Shop go back into the community by funding the various grants that The League awards to groups like The Ronald McDonald House, Easter Seals, Family Eldercare, Habitat for Humanity, Austin Smiles, and the list goes on and on.

In addition to that, every month the resale shop gives foster parents credits to alleviate the costs of things such as clothing and shoes. You would be amazed how much foster parents can purchase for their foster children with the credits. [If you know of a foster parent in Austin, send them our way!]

I am excited about serving at the Shop. I can tell this will be a great year and an awesome placement. If you are in the area, come by and support the community.

What Rox: Sale days at the Resale Shop--Every third weekend of the month (Thursday through Saturday), clothes and sometimes more are half off at the shop...quite the steal and for a great cause.

Women and Money

2007-06-27T06:56:00.000-07:00

Do you watch "The View?" I do. Yes it is true, I do. I have watched "The View" on and off since it started--through the trials and tribulations. And I have to admit that it has been pretty flat since Rosie left. But yesterday was a nice surprise. Financial guru, Suze Orman, who is insistent that we should be proud to say how much we make whether it is $5000 or $5 million, was the guest host. As a result the theme was about:

female entrepreneurs; featuring the inventor of Spanx, Sara Blakely, who started with the $5000 in her savings account!)
women taking control of their finances; featuring the answer to the book club, an investment club called "Chicks Laying Nest Eggs". Women around the country have investing clubs where they invest together,
women's challenges in the business world; featuring Fortune Magazine's "50 Most Powerful Women in Business" and has been called the "First Lady of American Publishing". Cathleen Black, President of Hearst Magazines, oversees 19 of the country's top magazines.
and "Hot Topics" where Suze Orman explained (much to Elisabeth's chagrin) why every marriage should have three bank accounts: His, Hers, and Ours; after all you have to prepare for a rainy day! (It is worth going to the website to watch. Click here and select "The View" under daytime. Scroll through to the clip entitled "Hot Topics: Separate Accounts."

I was riveted from beginning to end, not because there was fighting as we have seen all season long on "The View," but because each guest, each discussion was meaningful and empowering to women from stay-at-home moms, to recent college grads, to CEOs. It turns out the episode was a rerun, but I don't care, it was stellar.

-RXW

What Rox: When seeking a raise, the best time to bargain is before you even set foot in the door. Negotiate before you accept the job. Once you are there your boss is less apt to give you the raise you deserve. Don't be afraid to find out what your co-workers are making. How else will you know if you are getting your fair pay?

50 Million Pound Challenge -- Are you in?

2007-06-26T06:28:00.000-07:00

This Wednesday I am speaking at the Austin kickoff for The 50 Million Pound Challenge presented by State Farm.

Spearheaded by "Celebrity Fit Club's" resident doctor, Dr. Ian Smith, The 50 Million Pound Challenge is an historic opportunity for African Americans to come together against a growing health crisis. Our challenge is to collectively lose 50 million pounds and reduce the very real risks that being overweight poses to our community.

Being overweight leads to obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, and many other diseases.

The Challenge is free to join and provides relevant, timely, and helpful tips and guides to shedding those pounds.

I am truly excited about being a part of The Challenge because obesity is plaguing our society in all age groups. And the African American community is at a greater risk than most for the diseases brought on by obesity. As a Jazzercise instructor, I love assisting my clients as they reach their goals for healthy living. Being a part of The Challenge is an extension of that.

- RXW

What Rox: The 50 Million Pound Challenge has already 254,337 pounds and counting. To join The Challenge or to see when the kickoff is coming to your area, go to http://www.50millionpounds.com/
I would love to hear how your healthy living is coming along...

Simple Thanks

2007-06-25T16:24:00.000-07:00

One of the things I love about my relationship with my father is learning from his perspective on life. Jeffrey (yes, I call him Jeffrey) has lived a full life with tragedy and joy. He lost both of his parents by the time he was in his mid-teens and grew up poor in Trinidad and Tobago, Through his faith and perseverance he moved to the United States, earned a PhD., and is an amazing professor and soccer coach. I could go on and on about what he had done and continues to do.

My father is my go-to person for my questions about life and faith. One day he and I were talking about prayer and my father told me that when he prays he doesn't pray for anything. I asked him for clarification on this. I mean surely if nothing else Jeffrey must pray for guidance or discernment, something, Right? Wrong. My dad doesn't pray for anything. My dad's prayers consist of thanks. Nothing more than thanks. I was amazed.

In Untitled this week we were talking about when we are thankful...during the obvious times right? When we get something we have been hoping and praying for, when we just miss crashing into a car on the freeway, when our nephew is born healthy, or when a loved one goes into remission. That is when we are thankful. But how about just getting up in the morning? What about being thankful for merely breathing? We forget about the mundane or routine because we have come to expect it. Who remembers the little things.

And the conversation with Jeffrey came right back to me. His prayers are mere thanks--for nothing but thanks.

I am working towards that...

-RXW

Remember the Alamo

2007-06-22T21:02:00.000-07:00

An Austin institution is closing down! Well kind of...The original Alamo Drafthouse which has been named the #1 Theatre in America by Entertainment Weekly, is moving locations. The original location was tucked in the heart of Austin's warehouse district. But now Alamo is moving to sixth street (of all places) and expanding. Although this in theory is a good thing, I will miss the old locale. There are many Alamo locations, but the downtown/original Alamo hosts the unique events. The other locations merely show regular new releases. Where is the fun in that?

Some of you may be wondering what the Alamo D rafthouse is all about. Well in the words of Entertainment Weekly the Alamo Drafthouse is: "One of America's most fanatically unique movie-going experiences." And that is the truth.

Alamo is a full service theatre (with servers who bring food to your seat) specializing in off the wall movies from horror nights to random cartoons; to my personal favorite: THE SING-ALONGS!
Yes I said sing-along.

I personally have been to the following Alamo events to name a few: Moulin Rouge, Journey, Mickey Mouse Club (as in Britney, Christina, and Justin), and Trapped in the Closet (as in R.Kelly)--All sing-alongs, and the Saved by the Bell marathon.
In fine Alamo form each event includes props including waterguns, balloons, slap bracelets--whatever is necessary for acting out the show.

This Wednesday is the final night at the Alamo. I sadly will be out of town, but the "Last night at the Alamo Feast" includes a wrench for attendees to unbolt their seats and take them home with them. Eccentric?

Although I will be out of town for the last night, I did attend the last sing-along, thanks to my brother Daniel. Appropriately named, "The Ultimate Sing-along," the event featured songs from past Alamo Sing-alongs. During 99 Red Balloons, we blew up red balloons and bounced them around. As the audience sang to Purple Rain purple streamers were thrown all along. And as the show opened with Thriller four of the Alamo workers dressed like ghouls did the entire Thriller dance.

If you are in Austin, you need to check out The Alamo. The new location will open in September.

FYI: Monday's feature is the The Princess Bride Quote-Along.

Just in case my doctor is reading this, no, I did not sing one single note! Torture, I know, but I didn't want to strain my vocal chords. Off to Dallas today and to a special "Supper" tomorrow. I will share all next week.

-RXW

Get on Board with "Destination Joy"!

2007-06-21T15:05:00.000-07:00

So last week I told you about the national aspect of the Make-A-Wish Foundation's "Destination Joy Campaign". This week I thought I would share with you how those of you who live in Central and South Texas can get involved with Make-A-Wish. It is simple! Sign up for the newsletter. Each month you will received an enewsletter from Make-A-Wish. The Enewsletter includes, wish stories and ways you can share the power of a wish, Believe me you won't want to miss it.

All Aboard Central & South Texans for Destination Joy^SM

You and 10 of your friends have the power to grant a wish today!

Destination Joy^SM presented by Lay's^® is the Make-A-Wish Foundation's campaign to inspire and empower Central & South Texans to share their much-needed time, talents and resources to grant the wishes of the 333 local children a year who will be diagnosed with life-threatening medical conditions. Currently we can grant 200 wishes a year, and we need your help to grant 333 wishes!!!

Please ask 10 of your family, friends, and colleagues to sign up for the chapter Enewsletter, by forwarding them this email today. Help us reach 10,000 Central & South Texans via email each month with magical wish stories and ways they to can share the power of a wish^®.

I’m on board, Make-A-Wish! I want to help you reach your
destination and bring joy to children in Central & South Texas!

Sign me up for the Enewsletter

Drive me to see 7 ways to help local kids needing the power of a wish

Sign me up for the Enewsletter

Drive me to see 7 ways to help local kids needing the power of a wish

--RXW

Go Rochie aka Dr. Rochelle!

2007-06-20T12:45:00.000-07:00

Those of you who know me or read my blog (which means all of you) know that my little sister Rochelle is the apple of my eye. She is all things good in this world and I love her dearly. In fact if ever I think of going seriously wayward, I think of the example it would set for Rochelle and refrain.

Well as if the fact that Rochelle is smart, beautiful, talented, funny, caring, faithful etc., isn't enough for me to absolutely adore her, this week Rochelle gave me yet another reason for her to be my hero. Rochelle started med school! Her quest to be a doctor started when she was a little girl. The road hasn't been easy. There were so many roadblocks in her way: MCAT, classes, rejection letters, etc. All of the obstacles made it repeatedly difficult for Rochelle to reach her dream.

Honestly, I am weaker than Rochelle and would have quit by now. But Rochelle pressed on. She knew what she wanted and believed in her dream even when it was hard to believe in herself. I always knew she could do it if she wanted to. Well she wanted to and thank the good Lord, she has. And the tears that we shared and the defeat that Rochelle felt only makes her appreciate who she is, a med student, even more.

Rochelle reminded me of this: Life puts obstacles in our way as we quest for those professional goals. But if we remember that the obstacles only make us stronger. If we believe in ourselves, AND keep the faith, we can overcome anything and reach our dreams.

And now I get to call Rochelle...Doctor! (Yeah, I know she is in med school, but I figure I have the next four years to practice the term before it becomes a requirement.)

Love you Rochie...aka my hero

-RXW

Check Up On It!

2007-06-19T10:54:00.000-07:00

When you are running around with work, travel, etc. it is hard to remember to take care of your body. In addition to exercising and eating well, check ups are essential.

So in an effort to keep my life in balance and maker sure that everything is working well, I had two count them two appointments over the last week. Do you want the bad news or the bad news?

First I headed to the ENT (ear/nose/throat) doctor. For a while I have felt like my voice hasn't been 100%. My symptoms:
- It physically hurts to talk when I am out in noisy areas.
- Loss of my upper singing range. (I am becoming an alto!)
- Gut feeling that something is wrong.

Unfortunately, my gut was right. I have nods aka nodules on my vocal chords. Nods are like callouses caused by vocal abuse. Basically I haven't been speaking correctly. I haven't been using my diaphragm.

I am on the path to repair by consciously using my voice properly, avoiding smoky areas, and getting a more thorough review of my conditions. My goal is to avoid surgery! Thus far the only surgery I have had was for my wisdom teeth.

Now for the other bad news. My second appointment was for my teeth cleaning. I have always prided myself on not having cavities. Twenty-eight and cavity-less! My sisters and I have always had great hygiene, but Rhonda and Rochelle both fell prey to cavities years ago. Not I! I was the victorious one.

Well...until now. My new dentist tells me that I need two fillings. The x-rays don't show cavities, but she is certain that the exist. All I can day is darnit! I tried to be upbeat as my dentist was telling me this. I told her that I was hoping to make it to fifty without cavities. She laughed and said that twenty-eight was impressive. I had a lot of questions because I am a newbie to the whole thing. I asked her if I could get silver or gold in my teeth. She looked at me mortified and I just started laughing. KIDDING!!

By the way, it is awesome that my new dentist is a woman! I love it.

All my dad could say to me when I told him was, (in his island accent) "Well Roxanne, look on the bright side...once you have a filling, those particular teeth can never get cavities again." Excellent. Dad. Thanks!

Bottom line: I know this isn't the happiest blog ever, but the moral of the story is...get yourself checked out. If you don't feel great physically it probably means something isn't right. Don't make excuses, just do it.
Cheers.

How old were you when you got your first cavity...and if you say you still haven't and you are older than twenty-eight, then I don't want to hear it!

- RXW

Community

2007-06-18T14:01:00.000-07:00

Where do you find your sense of community when you aren't near your family?

I was reminded of where I find community last weekend.
Untitled, the young professionals group at Riverbend hosted an "On Location."

What is an "On Location" you ask?
Well rather than staying at Riverbend for an event, Untitled headed downtown to the Ale House for a night showcasing creativity. It was a featuring the amazingly talented musicians from Riverbend performing their original music. In addition to the music a comedy troupe performed an improv routine that brought the group to bellows of laughter.

What I loved about it more than the music and the improv was the sense of community. I looked all around the room and could see so many people talking and enjoying themselves and the atmosphere, and I just smiled--it felt like "home."

So many times we forget how important community really is until we no longer have it. And life can get in the way of that community. I love the fact that Untitled can be and is anywhere...whether that is at church on a Sunday morning, at an "On Location" downtown, or hosting a bowling night for the girls at the state home, the sense of community is always present. It is hard to lose that sense of community when you can go so many different places within Untitled, and find it.

What does your community look like?

-RXW

Attention Men: You Can't Have Your Cake and Eat it Too!!

2007-06-15T17:49:00.000-07:00

As you know I went on a guyaitus (def. swear off men) 11 months ago. My guyaitus lasted for 7 months and in February I decided to go on a guyiet (def. lightly dabble in men in moderation but take none of them seriously). Well I have to admit I am at a loss. For all of my desire to be more cautious this time around you can't avoid everything.

Let me back up...I met a guy in March...we hit it off...I enjoyed his company...of course things were casual per the rules of the guyiet. He...let's call him Barry has just broken up with his girlfriend of about a year so he wasn't looking for anything serious. Perfect right? Ha ha ha. We hung out a couple of time and had a really good time. Great conversation, etc. But as we communicated via text message (yes this is the guy I told you about a while back) phone, email, etc., something was off. He was flaky about his correspondence with me. I knew something was wrong but couldn't quite put my finger on it. And since we weren't serious or even close to serious, I didn't worry about it.

Well after probably about three weeks of not seeing each other, we had dinner last weekend. I had forgotten how much fun I had with Barry and was reminded of that over dinner. We made plans for lunch the following week. As I was getting in my car to head to lunch, I got "the call." Something had come up and he was going to have to postpone probably about an hour. I told Barry that it was fine and he told me he would call me back. That was at 1pm on Friday. I am yet to get a phone call back from Barry! What is the deal?

It would probably be fine if that was the end, but the next day Barry and I were separately at the same event. I say "separately" because we weren't there together, but Barry wasn't alone. Barry brought his girlfriend. Yes I said GIRLFRIEND. I know this because she and others referred to the committed relationship between Barry and his girlfriend. Yikes! So basically, unbeknownst to me Barry and his ex got back together, or maybe they never broke up, I really don't know. All I know is that he and his ex insisted on hanging out with me at the event. Can you imagine with me for one moment how awkward it is to discover that a guy you were seeing has a girlfriend and in the same moment have to spend time with them as if everything was honky dory. Welcome to my world. It was so uncomfortable and disrespectful to me and to Barry's girlfriend. I am an adult, and I can handle news like "I got back together with my girlfriend." I wish that Barry had respected me and his girlfriend enough to tell me where things stood.

After the event, Barry texted me (I really do disdain and love the art of text messaging) to make sure I got home safely. That was a total cop out. Apologize! Bone up to your actions. But please don't beat around the bush.

I ignored the text but later texted him and called him out on everything. Do you know what his response was? Barry said that he thought I knew about his girlfriend and he didn't understand why it was a big deal since I am casually dating a few people. I will admit this brought out the lawyer in me!
A) I knew that he and his girlfriend were no longer...translation "off."
B) I am on a guyiet it is true, but I am only dating men that are single...translation=no wife or GIRLFRIEND!
How hard is that to understand?
All Barry could say was that he does NOT have a girlfriend. (Could have fooled me.)

Although I think Barry is a nice guy and I would could continue being his friend, I was really bothered by the lack of common decency. So many things were wrong with what he did:
- Knowing that I was going to be there, he could have told me the truth prior to the awkward and embarrassing encounter.
- Respect your girlfriend enough to treat her well and stop seeing other people.
- As Mr. Houseman (aka Jerry Orbach) said in Dirty Dancing, "When I am wrong, I say I am wrong." If you totally screw up like Barry did, admit it. Don't deny it. It makes you look worse.

Alas, these are my trials and tribulations related to dating. Do you feel my pain?

- RXW

Make-A-Wish's Destination Joy Kickoff

2007-06-14T09:33:00.000-07:00

I just returned from the Chicago's kick of for the Make-A-Wish Foundation's Destination Joy Campaign presented by Lay's.

Destination Joy is a campaign to increase awareness of Make-A-Wish's mission. In the next four years 100,000 children will be diagnosed with a life threatening medical condition. Make-A-Wish needs the help of everyone to make sure that those 100,000 children get their wish.

There are seven ways that YOU can help out:
1) Donate Cash
2) Donate Treasures i.e. frequent flyer miles, hotel points etc.
3) Donate Time & Talents (I will tell you next week how I am donating my Jazzercise talents to the cause)
4) Get involved locally (click here to find out more)
5) Get a Wish Star (available at Cold Stone Creamery)
6) Bid in the Online Auction
7) Shop to help (click here to find out more)

I was in Chicago for the official Destination Joy kickoff where I shared the message of Destination Joy with the media. The event culminated in Union Station around a wish for Christopher. Christopher's wish was to conduct a train. The awesome element beyond the fact that Christopher's wish was granted, was that Christopher conducted a train named after another wish kid, Ollie. Ollie's wish to conduct a train was granted several years ago. So enamored with Ollie, METRA (Chicago's transit authority) named the train after Ollie.

While I was there, I also met a wish kid, named Anna from Oklahoma. Like me, Anna was an ambassador for the Destination Joy campaign. To hear Anna talk about what getting her wish meant to her and her family was so touching--it allowed her to be a kid again and her parents had the opportunity to relax for a moment.

I encourage you all to get involved with the Make-A-Wish Foundation. You will be happy you did!

- RXW

Check out this television ad reenacting a young boy's wish to be super hero Beetle Boy.

Rock Climbing

2007-06-13T08:57:00.000-07:00

Have you ever been rock climbing? I love it and hate it all at the same time.

Without a fail every time I climb, I get about 3/4 of the way through and then wonder why the heck I decided to climb in the first place. I think, "I am not a big fan of heights! What am I doing on this wall? " And then I get tired and start to psyche myself out. Just when I think I want to quit, I hear the voice of a friend below. A friend that can see that if I just reached my fingers a little further and pushed up with my legs, I would reach the next grove easily. I can't see it because of my vantage point on the wall. But my friend can. And without the encouragement I probably wouldn't make it. But because I hear the voice telling me I can make it, I press on.

My friend, Andie has been struggling as of late and all I can do is try to be that voice below cheering her on. Andie and I met working on events for a non-profit. Although Andie lived a charmed life in a nearby small college town where she worked for the college 's development office.

Wanting something more from her life but not sure what, although admittedly there was the hope of being with a guy somewhere in the mix, Andie decided to take a job with the non-profit and move away from the comfortable life she lived. The grass looked greener and so Andie decided she wanted it.

A year has passed and Andie, happy Andie, is miserable beyond comprehension. You name an aspect of her life and I could tell you why it isn't going well.
The transition has been harder than she thought and it is weighing on her to the point where she wants to quit. As we talked this week, I gave her this advice:

Sometimes we leave our comfort zones only to find out that the new opportunity isn't that comfortable. But that doesn't necessarily mean that the grass isn't greener. That doesn't mean we should stop climbing the rock. I mean let's face it, if Andie went back to her old life, it wouldn't be the same. Life moves on without us...things change...a tree falls in the forest even if we aren't there to see it (you get the picture).

And sometimes we need a challenge to snap us out of an unchallenging life. Andie was coasting at her old job. She wasn't challenged, didn't have deadlines, and ruled to roost. There was nothing in her life enabling her to reach new heights. There was so much untapped potential.

Andie is so close to conquering these challenges. And aren't we all? So often we wonder if we can make it through, but that is because we are in it and can't see things clearly. We can't see that we are so close to reaching the next groove. All we need is a little faith and a voice telling us that we are so close as long as we just hang on.

-RXW

Fashion Trend: Pregnant or not Pregant? That is the question.

2007-06-12T15:57:00.000-07:00

Have you noticed that there has been a major fashion switch this season? In past seasons tops and dresses were tight and fitted to accentuate the waist. But now tops and dresses are loose around the waist. In fact this season's dresses are shirt-like, baby doll, or an updated 1960s version of the loose fitting dress. (Think Goldie Hawn in her Laugh In performance.)

And oddly enough, as fashion becomes "loose" (in a good way), maternity fashion is getting tighter by the moment. How random is that? Probably not at all. I would take the loose over the tight dress because the dresses right now are so cute.

I for one am thrilled! Loose fitting clothes equals comfort! That said, I have tried on many dresses this season that made me look pregnant. It's like loose fitting suddenly means no shape.
Bottom line, if you are going to wear the loose fitting fashion, you have to make sure there is some shape. As tempting as it is to just pick up the dress in your size and head home, consider these quick tips first:

* Take the time to try on the garment. Although the dresses look amazing on the rack, this season's dress doesn't flatter everyone. And it is hard to predict who they will look good on simply by sight.

* Be adventurous. Why buy a black, red, white, or tan dress when you seize the Summer with a splash of unexpected color? Take a chance and try a blue, purple, or a pattern, etc.

* Don't be afraid to belt it. If the dress is doing nothing for your figure, don't take it home! But before you walk out of the store see if there is a belt you can use to change up the dress.

* Be comfortable. Ultimately your level of comfortably directly SHOWS! If you are tugging at your dress and looking forlorn, don't buy it! Only invest in outfits that empower you.

-RXW

What Rox: For adorable summer dresses, try Bebe.

A Spiritual Smack

2007-06-11T15:13:00.000-07:00

Have you ever had a bad/weird/bizarre day that consumes you? Have you ever been smacked out of the funk of your bad day by unexpected kudos?

I most recently had that exact experience this weekend. I had a bizarre experience Saturday night...I found out that I was being deceived by someone I guess I trusted. And the way I found out was so public that I had to act aloof. ( I will explain all on Friday...believe me it is a doozy and is well worth the wait)

Naturally I felt embarrassment and hurt among other things. But the embarrassment and hurt didn't hit really hit me until I was driving to church on Sunday. I guess I was numb the night before. But I felt it on Sunday. I woke up super early on Sunday and got some work done before church. Of course I was a little sidetracked and ended up getting to Untitled Gathering a late. As I was sitting in class listening to the discussion about adult baptism, I must admit my mind wandered to my own bizarre experience. It's weird when you find out that the wool is being pulled over your eyes because you start to question your own discernment. So there I was wondering what if anything I had done to bring this bizarre experience about. Before I knew it the Gathering had ended and it was time to head to service.

As I was heading out of the room, I was stopped by a man who came to talk to me about Footprints In The Boardroom...I did a booksigning at my church, Riverbend on Memorial weekend. This gentleman had just finished reading Footprints, was touched by it and the impact it was having on his prayer life, and wanted me to come speak to the Singles class next month. Wow! Before I could even take in the magnitude of that a woman came up to me. She had just started reading Footprints and like the man was touched. I won't go into full detail about what she said, but by the end all I could say was thank you.

I felt as though someone upstairs was telling me to stop being so silly--stop doubting yourself! Experiences happen-- good, bad, bizarre, etc...we are meant to learn from them. Some experiences sting--but we can't forget the big picture. While I was sitting there feeling hurt and embarrassed, I forgot that I can make an impact that makes an embarrassing experience seem like peanuts. Hearing the impact that Footprints was making in people's lives snapped me out of my daze and back into reality. Who says that the smallest bad news always trumps a lifetime of good news? I happily object. I would like to think that the kudos I received was a little gift from God...a spiritual smack if you will, to snap me out of it.

Does anyone else out there need to snap out of it?

- RXW

Back in Business

2007-05-23T20:09:00.000-07:00

It has been ENTIRELY too long since i have blogged. Combine a computer crashing, with travel, etc. etc., and that equals me being MIA.

Sounds like I need to work on my balance. Ha ha...which is the point of the blog.
I will write this week on a variety of subjects, but next week we are back on with a theme a day.
Monday: Spiritual
Tuesday: Physical
Wednesday: Professional
Thursday: Service
Friday: Social

So look out for tips, pics (as in pictures), and testimonials as we Find Balance together.

Cheers! No go back and watch American Idol!

-RXW

Jazzercise In Disney World/Lubbock Radio

2007-04-18T10:26:00.000-07:00

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

2007-04-17T09:59:00.000-07:00

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:

Calories Burned:

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

2007-04-16T18:00:00.000-07:00

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

2007-04-13T21:15:00.000-07:00

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

2007-04-12T20:52:00.000-07:00

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

2007-04-11T15:06:00.000-07:00

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?

2007-04-10T14:17:00.000-07:00

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

2007-04-09T09:58:00.000-07:00

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

2007-04-06T09:28:00.000-07:00

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

2007-04-05T06:29:00.000-07:00

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

2007-04-04T09:29:00.000-07:00

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

2007-04-03T08:37:00.000-07:00

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

-----
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

2007-04-02T18:58:00.000-07:00

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.

Across the Pond

2007-03-30T08:44:00.000-07:00

Last week I shared with you all my philosophy on dating and my most current phases, guyaitus and guyiet. Thank you for your responses, suggestions and additions to my list o' guidelines. They were quite helpful.

This week I thought we would talk about friendship. As a single women in my twenties, quite important. I am not married or in a serious relationship, so my support base comes from my (family and) friends. You know the drill...you go to college, make some great friends, and then you all choose a path. Some like me, continue on the single journey. Others get married and go down that path. Although you still are friends, it is natural to gravitate towards people who are in the same stage of life with the similar situations.
When I moved to Austin post-law school, I was blessed with a group of friends (fellow law clerks)who like me had just graduated from law school. It was like an instant support system. At then end of our year at The Court, most left Austin, but four of us, J (Jennie), Casey, Paul, and I stayed. The four of us started law firms together and shared the ups and downs, highs and lows of which there were plenty, together.

One time at dinner nearly two years ago, we made predictions about who would be where first, ie. married, move out of Austin, etc.

I can't remember who was right, but I am reporting with bitter sweetness that Paul is moving across the pond. Paul is moving to his firm's London office to work on hedge funds. It is a great opportunity for him and I am truly excited. But I must admit that I will miss him. Paul and I became good friends from day one. I told him that he looked like the guy (not Balki) from Perfect Strangers. Paul had no idea who I was talking about. Like a good attorney, Paul began researching this Perfect Strangers character...Larry. Within in 24hours, I got an email from Paul with a slew of Perfect Strangers links. I admit I was scared...who was this guy? But that was the beginning of a close friendship. Paul and I have given each other the hard truth when needed, laughed together, shared loss and pain together. And now he is leaving.

I had dinner at Maudie's last night with Paul...his last Tex Mex meal. How someone could leave queso and avocados behind? I have no idea. I will miss my buddy Paul...he's a nice guy. But I know that we will remain friends. And more importantly I know that people coming and going is a major part of this stage of life I am in.

Cheerio Paul! (I think they say Cheerio in London.)

-RXW

What Rox: The Texas Embassy Cantina is one of the few places where you can get Tex Mex in London. The restaurant is located at the site of the original Texas Embassy (Texas was its' own country from 1836 to 1845.). If you live in or around Texas, the food leaves a lot to be desired. But if like Paul, you move to London indefinitely or you just get tired of British food during your vacation, definitely head to The Texas Embassy.

Woman of the Year: Go Charmaine!

2007-03-29T08:01:00.000-07:00

During my trip to Nashville, Rochelle and I met up with Charmaine, my Apprentice cast mate.
As we were catching up, Charmaine shared with me that she has been nominated for Woman of the Year for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. This motivated me to find out more about what Charmaine is doing for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and about the society's mission.
If you are in Nashville, look out for Charmaine's upcoming events supporting the society.

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is the world's largest voluntary health organization dedicated to funding blood cancer research, education, and patient services. The Society's mission: Cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families.

As a Women of the Year nominee, Charmaine has developed an campaign to raise money for LLS. Here is how you can help:
Charmaine has been nominated as a candidate for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's "Woman of the Year". Find out more about these and other blood related cancers at www.lls.org

Help Charmaine with her fundraising campaign! Click HERE to submit a tax-deductible donation to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Already donated and still want to contribute? Help Charmaine with her major fundraising event scheduled for this spring. You can help by offering your goods or services for the event. (Silent Auction Items, Food & Catering, Printing, Entertainment, Venues, and Ad Sponsorship (placement at Golf Tournament and/or Gala).

Check out the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society near you a LLS. Good luck Charmaine!

What Rox: If you are in or near the Nashville area, you can also support Charmaine by purchasing a discount card for the hottest restaurants in Nashville including Cabana, for a minimum donation. The cards give you awesome discounts and through your support you are helping out the Leukemia & Lymphoma society. How great is that ? Look out for these cards around the city.

Book Tour: Costa Mesa & Nashville

2007-03-28T06:38:00.000-07:00

After my extended stop in Phoenix, I headed to Costa Mesa, California (yes some call it the OC) for less than 24-hours to appear on JCTV's "Top 3" program. JCTV is a ministry of TBN (Trinity Broadcasting Network--the world's largest faith based television network). JCTV is geared towards the 13-25 age group. "Top 3" is a talk show with a "View"-like feel with four hosts 2 female and 2 male.

Prior to the show I was able to talk to the hosts, Larissa and Reba and learn a little bit more about what they do and how they got there. Since television hosting is a passion of mine, that time was invaluable.

During the show we talked about Footprints and my experience on The Apprentice as well as reality shows in general. The show will air in April...more info to follow.

I headed back home to Austin for a short stint and then flew to Nashville to appear on CTN's Bridges with Monica Schmelter with Footprints In The Boardroom.
Monica was a great host and asked some pertinent questions about the message of the book and faith and business. The show will air on April 9 in Tennessee.

Rochelle, my little sister goes to Meharry Medical College in the heart of Nashville and I stayed with her during my short trip. I haven't seen Rochie since we came back from our Turkish Egyptian Holiday. Rochie and I drove around looking for houses (she is moving out of her apartment soon), did a little shopping, and met up with Charmaine, my cast mate from The Apprentice.

Charmaine looked fabulous as usual. It's funny—the first time I met Charmaine, like everyone else I was stunned by her accent. But when you are with Charmaine in Nashville, her accent blends in perfectly.

Next week I am back to Austin for the Baylor Women's Council Luncheon...

-RXW

What Rox: Rumba! Rochelle spends most of her time studying. But with her big sis in town, she took advantage of seeing her beautiful city. We went to dinner at a restaurant Rochelle has been meaning to try, Rumba. Rumba is an Asian/Caribbean/Latin American fusion restaurant in Nashville's West End. The atmosphere is dark with bamboo and private booths. The food was quite good. I recommend the tempura rice and the tapas. Yummy! Try Rumba.

100 Calorie Snacks

2007-03-27T23:27:00.000-07:00

My dad, sister, and I recently went to Turkey and Egypt for our fourth annual Christmas/New Year's vacation (In the past we went to London, Italy, and Greece.). If there is one thing I have learned over the years is to bring snacks! There is nothing better than touring around the city the whole day and pulling out a snack from your fanny pack (really it was a "Eurobag") and chowing down to tide you over until the next big meal.

Before we left, Rochie and I headed to Target to raid the snack aisle. Much to my pleasant surprise, we came along the 100 Calorie Snack Packs by Nabisco. 100 Cal Packs are designed to ensure that you get the taste of your favorite snacks without the added calories. Some selections include, 100 Cal Packs Doritos, Oreos, Ritz Snack Mix, and Cappuccino. Yes! I said Cappucino. Nabisco isn't the only company that has repackaged their product into a health conscious snack. Snackster's by Hershey's includes my most favorite Yum!
Look at it this way, a regular bag of Doritos is 140 calories for...11 chips. Doesn't everyone eat more than 11 chips? Which would you rather? Snack Packs are a great way to eat without the guilt...healthy and fun...yum yum. ;-)

So what are you waiting for?

-RXW

Meat and Potatoes

2007-03-26T22:16:00.000-07:00

When I moved to Austin four years ago, I went church hopping. Church hopping is my least favorite part of moving. It's like after you have gone through all of the unpacking, sorting, and decorating to make your new house a home, you still have the quest to find your community. Part of community for me is found at a church. But let's face it, a church can be the best community when you are a part of it, but when you are on the outside looking in, it can be unfamiliar and uncomfortable.

When I go church hopping, I have flashbacks to younger days when my mom, sisters, and I would go to different churches in search of the one that fit. There is nothing more uneasy than being a young girl searching for acceptance walking into an unfamiliar Sunday school class full of children who already have friends. Oh I didn't like it. And during service, my mother made us stand up or raise our hands when the pastor asked if there were any visitors. Of course that meant that directly after the service, people would come greet you or they would farm you off to a visitor's center. Even as a young child I never felt comfortable with this configuration because it was intimidating and uncomfortable.

When I moved to Austin, not only was I fighting flashback of my childhood, but I was church hopping alone. The key to finding a church for me, a single female, is quite simple in theory. My college friend Hector put it best, "when you go to church you need your meat and potatoes." The meat is the sermon and the potatoes are the worship, music, etc. In practice finding the right combination is harder than you think.

Determined to find a church I could call home, I went to a different church each week. Some churches served tasty meat but didn't serve my style of potatoes. Others had the best potatoes but tough and dry meat. Sometimes I would go back to a church, but three months in, I was still church hopping. During month seven, I attended Riverbend church with my friend Chris' aunt. While I enjoyed the meat and potatoes, I still wanted to make sure there wasn't more out there. Attending other churches, my thoughts still went back to the Riverbend meat and potatoes. It didn't take me long to get another helping...once I did, I knew that I had found my community...my hearty meal.

Over the past few years, Riverbend has been a source of stability, comfort, and growth in my life. Through Riverbend, I have enjoyed singing in the choir, experienced forming a young professionals group, Untitled, and made life long friends--all of this in ways that glorify God.

Recently we started a new chapter at Riverbend under the guide of our pastor Dr. Dave Haney. In addition to our Heritage, which is traditional, and Celebrate, which is choir led, services, we added Resonate. Resonate is our third service--a band led worship service. The meat is the same in each service, but the potatoes are organic. Or as Riverbend would say it, "One Message. Three Expressions."

When Resonate started, I am not sure that anyone knew exactly what to think or how to feel about the new style of potatoes. But now two months in, Resonate just clicks...the potatoes are just right. I left service on Sunday and I felt like I just shared something special with each one of the people who attended. I felt a connection...a community. And it was awesome. Finding a community makes all the church hopping I have done in my life worthwhile.

- RXW

What Rox: I was honored to recently tape a radio commercial for Riverbend Church. Click here to listen. For more information about Riverbend, go to www.riverbend.com.

A Different Dating Language

2007-03-23T16:04:00.000-07:00

So I am pretty transparent about my life in every aspect except one...my "personal life" aka my romantic (or lack their of) life. Since this is the first Friday of a new birthday year, I thought I would try something different and share a little about it. We will see how it goes...

I will be the first to admit that dating has never been my forte. I feel like I have some type of grasp (sometimes a strong grasp sometimes not so strong) on every other part of my life but the part called "relationships of the romantic sort." Why is that? I think we all have to have a weak spot and mine just happens to be dating.

Don't get me wrong, I have dated before...even seriously, but if you are the type that defines success in the dating world as "marriage," then I can't claim dating success. And frankly, right now I am not looking for that kind of "success." Maybe one day I will give you the complete history, but in the meantime here is what has brought me to this point.

The last relationship I had ended horribly last summer. We will call him, "Atlanta boy." (You should know that I have this theory...I call males "boys" until they prove me wrong. hee hee hee.) Although Atlanta boy was supportive of my professional endeavours (which is a must ladies), we were incompatible in other ways...well one big way. Unfortunately I found out all of this the hard way and well, it hurt. And I decided I was tired of being hurt by boys. I mean logically if you only marry one person then it stands to reason that there are a lot of relationships gone wrong along the way, but man it doesn't make any of those breakups hurt any less.

Being the problem solver that I am, I decided to "swear off men (and boys)" or as I called it in my "Roxanne language" Guyiatus (a guy hiatus). I officially started my Guyiatus in July. I met many guys through the next coming months. I made it clear to all of them that I was on a Guyiatus. It perplexed some, others encouraged it in a ridiculous attempt at reverse psychology. Some were even persistent and insisted on giving or getting my number. I obliged but was clear that I would not call them or return their calls. Not because I was being a "rules girl," but because I was on a Guyiatus by golly!

During my Guyiatus I found I had all this time that I didn't have before. When you consciously take a break from guys, there is a whole world of drama, insecurity, and uncertainty that is removed from you life. I had time to reflect on who I was, what I wanted out of a relationship, and what I was and was not willing to compromise. My Guyiatus caught on, and several of my my friends decided to start their own Guyiatus.

In December aka month 5 of my Guyiatus I met a boy and there was instant mutual chemistry. I thought that maybe just maybe God was nudging me off of my Guyiatus. I met JamEnglish (I call him that because he is part Jamaican and part English) at an event. JamEnglish was only in town for the weekend. Again, there was instant chemistry. JamEnglish invited me to dinner, and I obliged. Now I am a lawyer by training and an inquisitive person by birth. Add to that my skepticism where guys are concerned and a five month Guyiatus, and you get a women unafraid of asking questions. I learned a lot about JamEnglish prior to agreeing to go to dinner. But as we sat down for dinner, I noticed for the first time a ring on JamEnglish's finger. It wasn't a band but rather a ring with a lion or something on it. So I asked, "what is that ring? Are you married?" Much to my shock, he said, "Yes."
Game over! Lordy! JamEnglish was not a reason to end my Guyiatus but rather a reminder just in case I lost focus during the holidays that a Guyiatus is where I need to be.

February. How cliche. February was the month that I officially decided to end my Guyiatus. It wasn't because I met a guy, but rather because my mindset naturally changed. During the last week in January, I realized that a Guyiatus didn't really suit me anymore and I wanted a new word to describe my current state. Guyiet (Guy Diet) was what I felt best described it. My friend/brother Daniel called me out on my new term, "Guyiet and Guyiatus don't mean the same thing. Guyiet means that you have limited contact with Guys...restricted." Ahhhh, Daniel was on to something. Something I couldn't ignore. So I took the weekend to decide if I wanted to continue with the Guyiatus or move to the next phase...the Guyiet.

I thought about what I learned (all the things I mentioned above and more). The most important thing that was reaffirmed was that if I never meet a man to walk through life with, that is okay. I would rather be alone than be in the wrong relationship, i.e with a guy who doesn't treat me right, who doesn't have the qualities I value, etc. So I decided it is okay to get my feet wet.

And so the Guyiet goes: (these points may seem obvious, but I am rusty...I have been on a Guyiatus remember?)

I am open to meeting boys (they are still boys) and am even open to the fact that boys are capable of being men.

I don't run to or after a boy...they run to or after me.

I will not compromise my foundation, beliefs, etc. for the likes of a boy. A boy that expects, pressures, or pushes that is not worth my time...no matter how great he might have seemed initially.

Most relationships don't work, so I need not fret a failed relationship.

If I lose any balance/focus...if the scales tip, Guyiatus here I come!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

How is my Guyiet going? I am feeling pretty good about the Guyiet thus far. There are some boys that may turn out to be men, but I am not worried about it. Baby steps!

Have a great weekend!
-RXW

Make-A- Wish Destination Joy

2007-03-22T14:38:00.000-07:00

My first Make-A-Wish experience came while I was on The Apprentice. My team, Synergy, had won a task and for our reward, we had the honor of granting a young girl, Daeshira's wish--to have a shopping spree at Toys-R-Us. As I wrote in Footprints In The Boardroom,

(Picture of us outside Toys-R-Us waiting for Daeshira to arrive)

We took Daeshira on a shopping spree with her parents and her sister. To see the looks on their faces and the happiness it brought them was priceless. And you think: Why am I here anyway? Why am I here competing for a job? Then you realize that God puts you here for a reason and it was good for us to put all the competition aside and focus - not on ourselves, because I think this whole process can be so selfish- but to focus on Daeshira. That was such an awesome experience: to grant Daeshira's wish. What is even more notable is that she wanted to buy things for her family and her friends - not just for herself. So we said: "No take one of everything in the store!" She was so precious, quite the young lady. I'm completely enamoured by her.

I realized that I don't have to get up every morning worrying about much. But Daeshira does. She has so much to worry about and yet something such as going shopping which some would see as minor, made her day; no, her life. Daeshira's parents and her sister were also wonderful. They were so grateful; her mom kept saying. "Thank you, thank you so much." One of the best things in life is giving to others and I'm glad that as cut throat as The Apprentice was, we were able to pause, take a moment and give back.

Because of my experience with Daeshira, I am now serving as a spokesperson for Make-A-Wish's Destination Joy campaign presented by Lay's. Destination Joy, which officially kicks off in June, is the Foundation's first national campaign to inspire people to donate their time, talents, and resources to grant the wishes of courageous children. In the next four years, 100,000 children in the U.S. will be diagnosed with life-threatening medical conditions. But we all can do something to bring a little joy into the lives of these wonderful children.

And by the way, Daeshira is doing very well and still talks about her wish.

I will be blogging about Make-A-Wish and Destination Joy presented by Lay's more as the official campaign kicks off, but if you would like to find out how you can get involved visit www.wish.org.

- RXW

What Rox:

Book Tour: Valley of the Sun

2007-03-21T15:19:00.000-07:00

My book tour took me to my hometown of Phoenix last week. My parents, sister Rhonda, nephew Willem, and extend family all live in AZ, so heading to AZ is still going home.

I began the trip with an appearance on Sonoran Living Live (ABC-15) which is a local Good Morning America type show. I fell in love with the set...absolutely gorgeous. The interview went well...but there was a moment that I admit I got a bit distracted by the smell of the eggplant Parmesan being prepared by a chef in the kitchen on set.

Next up, I did a book signing at Amazing Grace. The experience was kind of surreal because I bought my first bible at Amazing Grace (which I still have).

That night I met up with Jenn from the current season of The Apprentice for dinner. Jenn was great. I truly enjoyed meeting her.
Click here to read more about my visit with Jenn.

The next morning I went to a new bookstore, Berean Books. During my book signing, my sixth grade teacher, Mr. Robert Smith and his wife came by to get a book.

The book signing portion of my trip ended with a Sunday morning book signing at Pilgrim's Rest Church. Pilgrim's Rest has been so supportive of me and my journey, and I am truly thankful.

On Monday, I taped two episodes of Beauty For Ashes radio show with Carolyn Watson. Carolyn had read every inch of my book and had some excellent questions for me. I enjoyed our dialogue. (Audio will on my website by this weekend.)

And finally I appeared on the NBC morning show with Scott Light and Tram Mai. I grew up watching NBC. Although the anchors changed, it was still a treat to be in the NBC studio.I did not however like the concept of HD-TV. I promise you that when I played back the show at my dad's I saw a budding pimple or bump that I didn't even know was on it's way out. Granted my dad's screen is huge, but WOW!

In between the appearances I had the opportunity to spend time with my family.
Willem, my nephew started walking two weeks prior to my arrival. Can we say "fun stage?" I got Willem a cowboy hat and mask. He thought it was hilarious but didn't really want to keep it on his head for long. Too cute.

Next week I head to Costa Mesa, CA and Nashville, TN.

- RXW

March Madness

2007-03-20T21:15:00.001-07:00

March Madness is quite a tradition. It is always a fun to watch the games and see who will be the Cinderella story. We wait for One Shining Moment to play at the end of the tournament, and grown men weep. Love it.

I have been filling out a bracket since my freshman year of college--I was in a pool with the rest of my fraternity, Chamber (at the time I was the only female). With Baylor absent from the tournament, I picked teams based on what city I would rather live in or visit. And as the story so often goes, I beat the guys who had been keeping up with the basketball all season.Whoo hoo!

This year, I thought I would do a little research and determine how many calories are being burned during a March Madness game. Check out this comparison:

Approximately 0.063 Calories per minute per pound of body weight.
A game has 20 minute halves.
I weigh *** lbs.
So if I played the entire game, I would burn 327.6 calories.

But let's face it, who plays basketball? Not me. The closest I have been to playing NCAA basketball was babysittingChanning Frye way back when...he didn't really need a babysitter, but his mom and my mom were friends and his mom wanted someone to watch Channing and his little brother (who actually needed the babysitter).

I do however watch the games. Watching a game for approximately 2 1/2 hours burns approximately 120 calories. Hmmm...

But who watches the game without eating?
Check out these average sports bar& grill calories:

Pint of lager
200
Pint of bitter
200
Low-alcohol lager
100
Pint of cider
250
Glass champagne
80
Packet roasted nuts
300
Packet salted nuts
250
Packet of crisps
130
Large pizza
400
Burger
400
Kebab
500
----
It's not pretty is it...as you are enjoying the rest of March Madness, think about what you are putting in the mouth. Just because the players are working up a sweat and perhaps stressing you out, doesn't mean you are burning calories. Try eating half of your burger, chips,etc. Or perhaps alternate insert a glass of water every other drink. Hopefully when March ends, you've won your bracket, your team is victorious, and your pants still fit comfortably.
-RXW

Unconventional Prayer

2007-03-19T09:38:00.000-07:00

In a world with so many distractions, where do you find time to commune with God, mediates, refocus, and/or center yourself? For me, the time and place has changed throughout the years. When I was little I used to pray when I woke up, ate, and went to bed. The prayer before bed was simple and I could say it in my sleep:

Now I lay me down to sleep
I pray the Lord my soul to keep.
If I should die before I wake,
I pray the Lord my soul to take.

As I got older I would still say the same prayer but then add on my personal prayers. In Jr. high, I still prayed the same prayer, but I added 'journaling'. I journal my prayers, thoughts, hopes, fears, and dreams. Footprints in the Boardroom is based on my journal while on The Apprentice. I also have found value in praying in the shower, at my computer, and through music.

So this weekend as I drove to Houston for the Inspire The Desire semifinals, I refrained from picking up the phone, and instead listened to music, enjoyed the scenery, felt the rays of the sun, and took the opportunity to be closer with God. By the time I got to the Inspire The Desire semifinals, I truly felt rejuvenated. What I have learned is that there is no one way to pray, mediate, or talk with God. I have tried many different ways and they all have their value. I find comfort in the fact that I can worship anywhere and anyhow.

What are some ways you find to pray in your daily life?

-RXW

SXSW/ Heart of Texas Festival -- Going on Now!

2007-03-16T07:37:00.000-07:00

The 20th annual South by Southwest (SXSW) has landed in Austin.

SXSW is a music, film, and interactive festival and conference held every Spring in Austin. SXSW is one of the biggest music festivals, with a thousand plus performers performing in the course of a week in every venue of downtown Austin. A venue will have bands performing back to back for ours...literally some performers don't go on until 2am.
The SXSW is considered an "industry" event because the concept is for up and coming artists to perform for everyone in the biz over the course of the event. But in the last few years, fans have infiltrated SXSW making it an event for all.
When I flew into Austin yesterday, the airport was packed. I actually had to wait twenty minutes for my luggage (that never happens in Austin). I have lived in Austin for four years now and never taken in SXSW...so last night I ventured out with a few of my friends to experience SXSW. SXSW requires badges (for industry people), wristbands (for people who want to hop from venue to venue--SOLD OUT), or tickets (sold IF there is room in a venue for a specific performance).

Or so I thought...I actually ended up at the
Eighth Annual Heart of Texas Quadruple Bypass Music Festival. What? Apparently eight years ago a festival was started to highlight unsigned Austin artists. The event coincides with SXSW. The benefit to the Heart of Texas Festival is that it is completely free.

I went to see my new band, Alpha Rev. They played my song. I don't even know what the song is called, but it has a little funk and a little soul in it. In this song, the violinist, Brad (he plays as blue violin) plucks the violin like it is a guitar, Casey the lead singer starts, then the lone women/keyboardist in the group blows, wow she can sing! And then Brad, the blue violinist breaks in hitting money note after money note. Then the three break it down together--do doot do doot. You had to be there. The song isn't on either of their cds, but I am on a quest to get a recording of it.

So imagine if you will, walking down the infamous Sixth Street for example in Austin. Every single bar has a line going out into the middle of the street with people waiting to get into a venue. Some venues are strictly SXSW and some are strictly the Heart of Texas festival, and some are a mix.

If you are in Texas this weekend, I encourage you to get to Austin and enjoy the festivals. You won't be disappointed.

SXSW
Eighth Annual Heart of Texas Quadruple Bypass Music Festival
Alpha Rev

Have a great weekend! I am headed to Houston this morning to host the live Semifinals of Inspire the Desire.
-RXW

Junior League--More Than Meets the Eye

2007-03-15T15:20:00.000-07:00

A little over a year ago, I was looking for new opportunities to serve the community. Several of my friends at work (these are from the lawyer days), were members of the Junior League of Austin. Now I will admit, that initially I grimaced at the thought of the "Junior League." First of all, it sounded way too "sorority" like to me. Being a woman who was never in a sorority, I didn't want to start now. Secondly, as a minority, I had some preconceived notions of what type of woman was in the Junior League. And finally, I wasn't really sure what the Junior League did...I mean wasn't just a bunch of women who get together and sell cookbooks. I don't cook, why on earth would I want to do that? Isn't a group of high society women who made a high society organization for their socializing? Again,why would I want to be a part of that?

One year later, I am finishing up my provisional year of the Junior League of Austin. Why you ask? Because through a little bit of research, I was pleasantly surprised about what the Junior League accomplishes each year. The mission of the League is to Develop the potential of women, Improve the community, and Promote voluntarism. This is practically accomplished every day within the League. The League raises funds through "A Christmas Affair," and the Resale Shop to fund grants to non-profit agencies in the community to assist in their charitable cause. In addition to awarding monetary grants to the agencies, the League provides womanpower to the agencies in the form of "placements". Every member of the League is given a placement with one of the agencies in the community. Agencies supported by the Junior League of Austin last year include Mother's Milk Bank, the Presbyterian Children's Home, The Ronald McDonald House, and Austin Smile. This gives the members an opportunity to learn important leadership skills and make a direct impact on the community.

As a provisional, my placement was with the Resale Shop. I LOVE the Resale shop. This was my first soiree into retail, and on a personal level, I love the customer service aspect of it. And I enjoy running the cash register as well. :-) What I love most about the Resale shop is that fact that foster parents receive $20 credit each month per child to shop at the Resale shop. $20 goes a long way with children's clothes. Every third Thursday through Saturday (counted by the Saturday) we have a big sale. Clothes and shoes are usually 1/2 off during the sale. Quite a deal for our customers (especially since there are a lot of designer stuff in the shop.)

As my provisional year comes to a close, I am truly happy that I joined the League. The impact that the League makes each year on the community is substantial. I am proud to be a part of a group of women who believe in improving the community. Plus, I haven't had to cook once! Score.

For more information about the Junior League of Austin click here.
To find a Junior League in your community, click here.

- RXW
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Austinites--Upcoming Community Event:

March 15, 16, 23
WACOAL FIT FOR THE CURE -Get fitted for a Wacoal bra. For each fitting, the Austin Komen for the Cure Affiliate will receive $2 with a $1000 minimum. Click here for locations and details. For information about a Fit For the Cure event in your community go to the Wacoal Location Finder

If you have an upcoming community event (anywhere around the world!) that you would like me to highlight in my blog email me (use the mail link below) and I will put it on my blog.

Book Tour: DC & Maryland

2007-03-14T00:37:00.000-07:00

Next stop on the Footprints Tour: Washington, DC/Maryland. This was a full-media trip, as in no book signings—one track focus. I appeared on the local ABC, NBC, and CBS stations in Baltimore. One little known fact, is that the Baltimore CBS affiliate is where Oprah Winfrey got her start. As I walked through the halls, there were pictures of Oprah with her afro of yesterday. Time flew each time, but I got the book’s message, “you can have your faith and still be successful,” out each time.

I also went to several radio stations including, the Urban League, Heaven 1580, and WPGC radio. One aspect that I like about radio interviews is that we have the opportunity to get a little deeper into the message of Footprints…less time constrains

Unfortunately, I could not convince ANYONE to Jazzercise with me. Next time…

What I loved about the entire trip was not only get the word out about Footprints, but that had the opportunity to observe the behind-the-scenes maneuvering of a media program. It is my desire to become more involved in radio and television. So as I am sure you figured, I was soaking the whole experience in like a sponge…learning as much as I could.

While I was in D.C., I also had the opportunity to see two of my dearest friends, Kim and Kristin. Kristin is my dearest friend from Michigan. Kristin and I were two of the few who chose to say in the on-campus living quarters, were clinic partners (domestic violence), and both worked the front desk/mail room. Kin is my dearest friend from Baylor. Kim and I met our freshman year and have been close ever since. I confess that Kim and I have been to two N*SYNC concerts together (one in Michigan and one in Phoenix). Need I say more? I hadn’t seen either for years. It was great to sit down with them face to face and catch up on the seasons of life.

And to add the cherry on my DC sundae, I had a one hour layover in Nashville and my little sister, Rochelle came to the airport to see me. Work, friends, and family all at once? Sweet. My D.C. trip was a rewarding one on so many levels. I am truly honored to have the opportunity to share Footprints and am flattered to have made a good impression. Next city? Think cactus, prickly pears...think Arizona…

- RXW

Workout Wherever

2007-03-13T11:13:00.000-07:00

I have been on the road for a week straight and counting; and I have to tell you that I have only exercised once! Once. Mind you, I have eaten like I exercise daily if not more often. I made it to a Jazzercise class this Saturday in Tempe, Arizona taught by Jackie. Jazzercising felt great, but between book signings, and media interviews, and spending time with my family, most of whom live in Arizona, exercising has not been one of my top priorities. I know it sounds crazy but the time on either end of actually exercising can be the most discouraging
part.

Solution? I have found something that makes it easier for me to workout wherever.
It’s called Workout Wherever by Jazzercise. Workout Wherever is a free podcast that can be downloaded off of iTunes. Each installment has new exercises and strength training repetitions you can do in your hotel room. If you have a video iPod, you can watch Shanna Missett Nelson, teaching Workout Wherever with items that business travelers have at their disposal, like a laptop case. Ahh...you didn’t think you could use that as a weight did you?

I downloaded a slew of episodes and when I am on the go and don’t have time for a full on workout and the time it takes on each side of the workout, I can turn on my iPod and at least get in fifteen minutes of exercise.

Here is a sample of Workout Wherever exercises:
Workout 1:

* Tricep dip on chair
* Abdominal rotation with laptop case
* Seated bicep curl with tube

For more information on Workout Wherever, click here.

Here are my
Self Challenge Totals for two weeks (including my impressive one day of exercise last week.)

Workout Minutes: 0 0 3 2 1
Calories Burned: 0 1 9 1 9

-RXW

That Kind Of Legacy

2007-03-12T16:15:00.000-07:00

Although I didn’t lay it out last Monday, in keeping with my new themed days, Monday will be the day I talk about spiritual things, events, thought, devotionals, experiences, you name it. (To recap: Tuesday-Physical, Wednesday-Professional (Book Tour), Thursday-Service, Friday-Social)

One of my favorite songs is Legacy by Nichole Nordeman. The lyrics of the chorus are:

I want to leave a legacy
How will they remember me?
Did I choose to love?
Did I point to you enough to make a mark on things?
I want to leave an offering
A child of mercy and grace who blessed Your name unapologetically
And leave that kind of legacy

So the past few months, I have been seeing this legacy in action at some of the biggest named events: the Super Bowl, Grammys and Oscars.

When Tony Dungy, the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts won the Super Bowl this year, becoming the first African American coach to ever win a Super Bowl, he first pointed to Jesus Christ, giving him all the glory.

Mary J Blige, R&B/Hip-Hop artist, who has lived a hard life that included drug abuse and physical abuse, turned her life around. And on a night of great celebration and accomplishment, winning three Grammy awards, Mary J pointed towards God and Jesus, before her 53 other acknowledgements.

Jennifer Hudson, American Idol reject (I still remember being furious when she was voted off…she, Fantasia, and Latoya London were in the bottom three, and I knew it was going to be a lose-lose-lose situation.) and now Dreamgirls star won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress and said, “Look what God can do.”

Did I point to you enough to make a mark on things?

Each of these three people pointed to God enough to make a mark on things…I mean not only did millions hear it live, but it was in the press for weeks to come and can be googled readily even today.

Their actions, Nicole’ song are all reminders to me to thank God each day in the big and little events in my life. It doesn’t matter whether I am touching billions like Tony, Mary J, and Jennifer, all that matters is that I point to God and give him the thanks for everything. I want to leave that kind of legacy.

- RXW

Listen to Legacy

Legacy
By Nichole Nordeman

I don't mind if you've got something nice to say about me
And I enjoy an accolade like the rest
You could take my picture and hang it in a gallery
Of all the who's who and so-n-so's that used to be the best
At such 'n such...it wouldn't matter much

I won't lie, it feels alright to see your name in lights
We all need an "Atta boy" or "Atta girl"
But in the end I'd like to hang my hat on more besides
the temporary trappings of this world

I want to leave a legacy
How will they remember me?
Did I choose to love?
Did I point to you enough to make a mark on things?
I want to leave an offering
A child of mercy and grace who blessed Your name unapologetically
And leave that kind of legacy

Not well traveled, not well read, not well-to-do or well bred
Just want to hear instead, "Well done" good and faithful one

I don't mind if you've got something nice to say about me

Alpha Rev

2007-03-09T08:16:00.000-08:00

Part of my journey for a balanced life includes my social life-family, friends, and maybe even dating (remind me to tell you about that sometime.) So in celebration of the end of another week, each Friday I will be writing about something the social aspect of my life. I will tell you about my experiences, give you a heads up on special upcoming social events, and comment on all things social.

I began March with an appearance on The Almost Late Show with Bobby Bones on ME-TV. ME-TV is a new music television station out of Austin that is making serious waves. The Almost Late Show is a thirty minute weekly David Letterman.
Daniel (who is my brother except we have different parents) and Deanna came to cheer me on in the ‘live studio audience’ (I love that phrase).
I have known the host Bobby, for a little while, so it made the appearance that much more fun.

The musical guest was, "Alpha Rev." And although I was not familiar with them prior to the show, I am a serious fan. The best way I can describe their music is an energized Coldplay. After chatting with "Alpha Rev" in the green room, "Alpha Rev" invited me to their CD release party at Antone's the following night. I must admit that I have never been to a CD release party so I didn't know what to expect. As we were leaving the green room after the show, I spotted Daniel and Deanna. Daniel looked at me and said, “Roxanne, you didn’t tell me that Alpha Rev was the musical guest.” Huh? I was like, I didn’t know, but before I could say that, Casey, the lead singer of Alpha Rev said, “hi Daniel.” And Daniel said, “Hi Casey.” “Wait,” I said “You know each other?” Not only did Daniel and Casey know each other, but they have known each other for over a year. As Daniel explained the connection, I began to remember him mentioning Casey, and Casey’s band—Small World. It turns out Daniel was already planning on attending the CD release party. Excellent!

I already had plans that night, so I got to the release party right when Alpha Rev had hit the stage. Daniel, Dave (our young professional’s pastor) and Nate (the guitarist for Resonate Band—the band for our new worship service) were all there standing center. I was even more impressed with Alpha Rev after hearing them in full force.
As you can imagine Alpha Rev sang every song from their CD. Each song they sang became my new favorite. Check out Alpha Rev on MySpace. And now I have a new band…

Living In Austin?
The Domain's Grand Opening Celebration

"Join Simon Mall on March 9-11 for the Grand Opening of Austin's most fashionable address. Visit the Grand Opening Pavilion presented by Cadillac all weekend long for fabulous fashion events, prize giveaways, celebrity appearances and lifestyle and cooking demonstrations." Stores include Neiman Marcus, Barney’s New York CO-OP, BCBG Max Azria, Tiffany & Co, and many many more! For more information go to The Domain.

In the Greater Phoenix Area?
19th Annual Ostrich Festival
Head down to Chandler’s (my hometown) 19th Annual Ostrich Festival. Yes I said the Ostrich festival.
The Ostrich festival includes a parade, Fun Run, rides, performance by American Idol’s Josh Gracin, and actual Ostrich Races! Say hi to my nephew who will be out there experiencing his first Ostrich experience, (he is 13 months) For more info go to Ostrich Festival.

-RXW

Komen For The Cure

2007-03-08T13:32:00.000-08:00

Community involvement has always been important to me. Whether it was serving in high school through the Mayor’s Youth Committee, or painting house for underprivileged at Baylor’s Steppin’ Out, giving back is what fulfills me most. Albert Schweitzer said, “I don't know what your destiny will be, but one thing I know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who will have sought and found how to serve.” In that vein each Thursday I will highlight service. I will let you know what I am up to or ways that you can give back to your community.

I traveled to Dallas, home of South Fork and the Cowboys for the Susan G. Komen For the Cure Affiliate Conference.
As a board member of the Austin Affiliate, I attended the annual conference to learn about the forecast for Komen in the new year. With the new name: "Komen for the Cure" instead of "Komen Foundation" and the 25th anniversary year, you can imagine the Komen is geared to make even greater strides in the fight to eliminate breast cancer.
In addition learning about our new programs, the progress that has been made by scientists, and the dedication our sponsors have committed to for the upcoming year, I had the opportunity to meet the members of other affiliates and share ideas.
The cheer all weekend, all year, and until breast cancer is a disease of the past was, "I Am The Cure." There is so much that each one of us can do to prevent breast cancer from taking lives: early detection, education, donating your time, talents, and treasures, just to name a few.

Three highlights for me were meeting Rene Syler, former co-host of CBS' Early Show. Renee recently underwent a double Mastectomy as a preventative measure--both of her parents have breast cancer. Rene was dynamic and empowering and I am excited to see what great things she will do in the future.
In fine Dallas (notice I didn't say Texas because that would include Austin ;-P) fashion, we has a Texas hoedown at Eddie Deans. Although I was a bit skeptical, I had an absolute ball. We dined on bbq, danced to a country band, watched armadillo races, took pictures, and I got a picture with a longhorn, on a longhorn!! As I was on top of the longhorn, I yelled Sic 'em Bears!"
On the last night after awards were given to the top affiliate and Nancy Brinker gave her final empowering words, we danced the night away to Starship, as in Jefferson Starship (or is it Airplane), as in We Built This City, Sara, Set the Night to Music, and Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now. Need I say any more?

I was blown away by Nancy Brinker, the founder of Komen who made a promise to her sister who died from breast cancer, that she would not stop fighting until there was a cure for this disease. The power and the emotion with which Nancy Brinker speaks about and acts to eliminate breast cancer would make one think the promise she made to her sister Susan G. Komen, was made yesterday, not 25 years ago. I commend Nancy for her strength and determination.
I encourage you all to get involved with the fight and will be sharing ways throughout the year. You can find out more about Komen at www.komen.org

- RXW

The Book Tour Begins...

2007-03-07T00:02:00.000-08:00

Now that Footprints in the Boardroom is released, I am embarking on all things “book tour.” I want you all to come along with me on the tour through The X-Factor. Each Wednesday, I will update you on the Adventures of Book Touring.

My first book signing was in Tomball, TX at Heaven's Way book store. The book signing was with Linda Davis who wrote the recently released Flying Free. I have heard that the best thing about book signings is meeting people, and can see that is true. Linda and her husband were treat. They are both ordained ministers and are involved in many ministry activities.

The book signing included music from two Inspire the Desire finalists. Brandy Bell and Patrick Pechacek, who sang their hearts out. The most interesting story attached to the book I signed was for Sherron Watkins, the Enron whistleblower. Sherron’s mother lives in Tomball and wanted to give her a copy of Footprints In The Boardroom. Exciting.

The next day I headed to Austin to do a book signing at my Jazzercise location. I have been on the road so much in the last month that I haven't had the opportunity to see all of my customers. Well Saturday morning is a perfect time to see most Jazzercisers all in one place. It also happened to be our annual Sweatheart day at Jazzercise: Students brought their sweethearts, or exercise buddies to class. That is hands down the day every year where we have more men attending. I signed books between classes and got up on stage with the Jazzercise instructors and did a few routines.

Next stop on the book tour? Washington DC and Maryland...

Self Challenge 2007

2007-03-06T11:31:00.000-08:00

I love traveling, but I have found that it breeds bad health habits. For example, I like to buy Reese’s Pieces or Gummy Life Savers for my flight; I drink ginger ale on the plane, and often get fast food in the airport. Add to that the food I eat at restaurants that are anything but healthy. I also neglect exercising! So I made a commitment this month to me and I want to share it with you. I am committed to eating well travel or no travel and exercise regularly even when I am not in my Jazzercise class. Whether you travel, sit at a desk all day, or run after little ones, you can relate to the difficulty of keeping your exercise and your diet (by diet I mean eating, not dieting) in check. Each Tuesday I will share tips I have found on the journey to a healthy lifestyle. Living “healthy” is a journey with highs and lows, so let’s take them together.
Here goes...

I am a Self magazine subscriber and this month I have decided to sign up for the 2007 Self Challenge. For the next three months, Self is giving fresh cardio workouts, strength training routines (on-line videos with demonstrations included), and eat-right ideas. According to Self if you follow the plan you will lose up to 8lbs in a month.

But that isn’t why I signed up. The beauty of the Challenge is that you can do as much or as little as you like. I signed up because I can track my workouts (as mild or intense as they may be) and eating habits online. Jazzercisers, there is even a choice for logging Jazzercise classes! And when I put in I workout, it tracks how many calories I burn. Love it! You can even print out your log and receive Challenge tips on your cell phone every week. The recipes on line are so easy that even I (the one who doesn’t cook) can follow along when I am at home.

The Challenge also has a buddy feature that allows you to email and motivate your buddies through the Challenge. Very cool!

I almost forgot, the Self Challenge is free! And there are prizes and giveaways including MP3 players, and everyone gets a week’s membership to Gold’s Gym.
Bottom line is joining the challenge makes you more aware of how you are eating and exercising. Sign up and join me in the Self Challenge. And when you do, link up to me so we can be accountability buddies.

By the way, my totals last week were:

Workout Minutes:

Calories Burned:

You can check out the Self Challenge at Self.com

-RXW

Inside Out 2007

2007-03-05T10:07:00.000-08:00

I recently participated for a second year in Riverbend Church's "Inside Out." "Inside Out" is a weekend excursion for high school and middle school students. It's an opportunity for all involved to reconnect with God in the new year.

This year's theme was "Closer than you think" as in, God is closer than you think. My friend Jackie and I co-led a group a seven eighth grade ladies.

Over the course of the weekend we discussed the theme in small groups, met at the church for praise and worship, stayed up late talking, laughing, and eating junk food (admittedly these ladies wore me out. I was in bed much earlier than they were). One of the changes we had this year was in our service project. For the last several years Inside Out served a local ranch for troubled individuals. Our tasks ranged from outdoor maintenance to working in the greenhouse. This year, we teamed up with Mt. Zion church and served East Austin by hosting a community block party

This gave the group a chance to commune with each other, their counterparts and Mt. Zion, and the community.

The entire experience was an opportunity for me to get back to the basics. It is so funny, because I volunteer for Inside Out to be a mentor and serve young ladies. But after spending five minutes with them, I realized there is so much that I can learn from them. Their perspective on faith is so much clearer at times...its like they lack some of the interference that builds up in your life after 27 years. I am also reminded that the problems facing an eighth grader young lady are not that much different than the problems that Jackie and I face in our late twenties—career/school, men/boys, societal pressure/peer pressure, body image issues, abuse of all kinds. All of these issues are issues that we all deal with. Inside Out was a chance for us to remember that God is closer than we think...he is next to us, carrying us, through the good and the bad and no matter what, he is always there.

When the weekend ended we all felt closer to God and closer to each other.
I am thankful that they...my eight graders have each other to lean on as they go through their day to day issues, and I hope they will remember that (Jackie and ) I are there for them as well.

- RXW

4th Annual Holiday Trip Part 2--Cave Dwellings and Military Visits

2007-01-27T11:17:00.000-08:00

Destination two of our holiday trip was the Turkish region of Cappadocia. Cappadocia has the most unique landscape I have ever seen. Due to two volcanic eruptions in the region, the dwellings are made out of tuffa—volcanic rock.
We flew into the snow filled city Izmir and took a bus to our hotel in the little town of Goreme. The Kelebek Hotel is literally comprised of caves. It was beautiful.
I felt like I was in a ski bungalow yet the scenery was even more beautiful then I could imagine. Our room had a wooden door with two two-by-fours for a lock. There was no phone or television in the room which forced community in the lounge upstairs. The first night we were there, I inquired about “wake up calls.” Instead of calling the Kelebek staff came to our door and knocked. Too funny.

The first day we headed to the Open Air Museum. The Open Air Museum highlights the remains of Hittite civilization.

The home dwellings all made out of the tuffa looked like caves with large angular domes on top. Inside the dwellings were remnants of kitchens and inhabitants. As we walked through the city I was amazed to see that the churches still had frescos
on the ceilings and walls depicting different biblical stories.

After walking through the Open Air Museum we headed down to the heart of the city of Goreme. Because of the snow the city was pretty quiet. We went to several souvenir shops and sent postcards back to the States. We walked past the Turkish Army office on our way back through the city. All of a sudden one of the officers poked his head out of the office and said to my dad, “Excuse me sir. Our commander would like to have a word with you.” Fear washed across all of our faces. My dad said, “Ok” and headed into the office. Right before he entered my dad turned to Rochelle, Laura, and me who were all standing dead in our tracks and said, “Come on ladies.” I thought to myself, no!!! Oh Jeffrey (my dad’s name). Unlike the United States, the military and police walk around with machine guns. It takes a little while to get used to that idea in general. Even more awkward is having your presence requested by a commander in the Turkish army...

But we followed my dad into the office. The commander had us sit down and they asked us how we were enjoying our time in Goreme. We all answered with his questions positively. Laura asked the commander if we could take a picture with them, and they obliged. The pictures broke the ice thank goodness. As we posed for the picture, one of the officers put his beret on my head.
By now we were all laughing. The officers simply wanted to chat with guests in their town...nothing to fear. We had a wonderful meal in the town and then walked up the hill to our cave hotel. Our next day would be a tour of the entire region...

4th Annual Holiday Trip Part 2--Hagia Sophia & The Grand Bazaar

2007-01-26T10:30:00.000-08:00

After the Topkapi Palace, Rochelle, Dad, Laura, and I headed to the Hagia Sophia. The Hagia Sophia will likely be crowned one of the new Seven Wonders of the World this summer. The building is significant because it was originally a Christian church that was converted into a mosque during the Turkish conquest.
Rather than destroying the Christian mosaics and symbols, the Turks simply plastered over them—preserving them. As we walked through the Hagia Sophia, which was enormous, it was amazing to see Islamic and Christian symbols side by side. There were also pictures of U.S. Presidents and other heads of states visiting the Hagia Sophia.

We walked through the rain over to one of the most prominent landmarks in Istanbul, the Blue Mosque. Unlike the Hagia Sophia which is now a museum, the Blue Mosque is a mosque that Muslims currently use. As a result, as portion of the mosque is open to tourists. The inside of the mosque was a gigantic open room with a large dome. The architecture was truly impressive but I felt like I might be intruding on those who were worshipping in the mosque.

After the Blue Mosque, we changed our pace and headed to the Grand Bazaar—the world’s largest market. The Grand Bazaar has over 1000 stores that carry shoes, clothes, leather goods, jewelry, spices, souvenirs, and more. It was literally a maze in there. A person could get lost in the Grand Bazaar in no time flat. Bargaining is the name of the game at the Grand Bazaar. Rochelle, Laura, and I were enjoying the shopping experience. My dad on the other hand, was not a fan. Eventually we let dad go back to the hotel so we could do take our time shopping. Our time in Istanbul was great, but it was time to head to our next stop: the region of Cappadocia…

4th Annual Holiday Trip; Part I --Istanbul

2007-01-25T12:02:00.000-08:00

In late December my father, little sister Rochelle, and family friend Laura embarked on our fourth annual holiday trip. Four years ago my father decided he was tired of the commercialism of Christmas. And so dad planned on an Australian holiday. Why Australia? Because Australia equals cricket, and every Trinidadian appreciates cricket. Australia just happens to have the best cricket team around right now. But due to some technical difficulties and the great distance between Arizona and Australia, we ended up in London that Christmas. With the intent of going to Australia every year, we have now been to London, Italy, and Greece. This year, we headed to Turkey and Egypt (neither of which is Australia, but both are special in their own right.)

When I told my friends that I was headed to Turkey and Egypt, they were alarmed at the prospect given the current social climate. I must admit that their concern made me a little nervous about spending Christmas and New Year’s in two Islamic countries. But I was ready for the experience.

Rochelle and I flew home to Arizona from Nashville and Austin, and two days later headed out. (Fortunately, I was released from my jury duty obligation.) We flew to Turkey on British Airways through Heathrow. When we arrived to Turkey it was late at night. We were picked up by the Apricot Hotel shuttle and headed to our hotel. At the Apricot, we were introduced to the Turkish delicacy, Apple Tea. Now I call it a Turkish delicacy, but I learned that no one drinks it but the tourists. Sigh. Apple Tea is like unsweetened apple cider. It is served all day long and it tastes divine!

From my hotel room I could see the Blue Mosque, one of Istanbul’s greatest sites. This was the first time I had seen a mosque up close. We woke up the next morning and enjoyed a homemade breakfast at the hotel. Then we set out to see the sites: Topkapi Palace, Aya Sofia, and the Blue Mosque.

Topkapi Palace is now a museum with amazing relics including thrones, gold and jewel encrusted items, and Islamic artifacts. As we walked through the palace and learned about the former sultans, I was surprised to learn that Topkapi Palace holds John the Baptist’s hand and Moses’ staff. The staff was not on display, but John the Baptist’s hand was… It was in that moment that I realized the amount of history in Turkey.

There were many school children touring the Topkapi at the same time. The children were more interested with my family then the history—they waved, said hello, and took pictures of us as we walked by. It was then that I realized there aren’t many black people in Turkey—we didn’t see more than ten during our entire trip.

Off to the Hagia Sophia . . .
-RXW

BET Hip Hop Awards--Part II

2007-01-02T17:13:00.000-08:00

After enjoying the prevent festivities, the morning of the Hip Hop awards was work time. I had the honor of doing red carpet interviews for BET. I must admit I was nervous and excited about interviewing the artists because this was my first experience on the other side of the carpet. When I arrived I found my spot on the carpet: right after the print photographers and between MTV and CNN. I acclimated myself with my crew, got ready for the big event, and did a stand up (a quick and fun into for the footage, describing the event). As soon as the red carpet announcer announced the arrival of the first celebrity, I knew it was game time. As the celebrities walked the carpet with their publicist, BET handlers, and their entourage, the energy grew. Everyone on my side of the red rope was vying to get the biggest named talent to stop for a quick interview. My crew and I worked as a team to get our targeted celebrities over to the camera.

Soon, I could barely hear the celebrities I was interviewing. I interviewed TI, Ludacris, Jermaine Dupri, Busta Rhymes, Flava Flav and his girlfriend Delicious, Evander Holyfield and many more. With the recent death of Gerald Levert I asked the biggest names in hip hop about the legend’s passing, in addition to questions about the significance of the first annual Hip Hop Awards. I have to admit that my biggest personal treat for me was interviewing Keisha Knight Pulliam aka Rudy Huxtable. It was a treat to meet the actress who played Rudy; after all I grew up thinking I was Rudy from the Cosby show.

My experience at the BET Awards taught me a lot about interviewing. I am looking forward to getting out there again.

-RXW

BET Hip Hop Awards Trip--Part 1

2006-11-18T16:35:00.000-08:00

Last weekend, I met my little sister, Rochelle in ATL for the 1st Annual BET Hip Hop Awards. Let me tell you, it was a weekend to remember. Rochelle and I were certain that this was our first trip to Atlanta, but my dad reminded me that we used to go to Atlanta frequently when we were little. It is funny what you forget about your young childhood.

We arrived on Thursday night just in time for dinner at our hotel, the Marriott Marquis (which if you have ever been there you know that the Marquis is one of the most dizzying hotels ever). I was pumped to see my little sister. Rochelle lives in Nashville where she is attending Meharry Medical College. She is quite studious and so I don’t see my girl as much as I used to. I was thrilled to have Rochelle as my date for the event. The next day Rochelle and I went driving around the city. Atlanta is beautiful. Rochelle is the official driver in the family which works out well with me because I hate driving. So Rochelle took the wheel and we met up with my dear friend from college and beyond, Chris.
Chris took us to an excellent restaurant owned by the Buckhead Life Group (I remember that because Chris said the name repeatedly). We caught up with Chris before we headed to the malls; there are literally two awesome malls across the street from each other, for a little shopping.

When it was time to head home, we spotted a Rochelle favorite, Panera Bread, and encountered an employee whose sole source of entertainment was tricking us. He kept leading us to believe that our order was wrong only to find out he was messing with us. After engaging the employee in his game, we headed home and got ready for the Interscope Records party at The Verve, a new downtown club. Knowing that we had two more days of events, Rochelle and I paced ourselves and went home relatively early. More on my Atlanta trip to come . . .
- RXW

Bobby Bones & Blue October

2006-11-06T18:48:00.000-08:00

So last week I had the great pleasure of attending the Bobby Bones Show 77th Anniversary Bash. Bobby Bones is my favorite morning radio show (you can listen on KISSFM in Austin).

The Bash featured Blue October. Now I will be the first to admit I knew I liked their song but I couldn’t remember which song they sang. I mean there are a lot of new bands on the scene i.e., Snow Patrol, and The Fray, Blue October, Hinder—I can’t keep them all straight! Nonetheless I was excited to see them perform and get to the bottom of this.

Never one to be unprepared, I got on MySpace and figured out that Blue October sings, Hate Me. I love Hate Me—it is the ultimate love song of thanks. And the violin is so beautiful amidst the tragic song.

I went to the Bash with Sarah (from the Baylor/UT game) and met up with Daniel and Deanna.
I will admit that I didn’t know what to expect. I wasn’t sure if it was going to be a huge party or an intimate gathering. I am happy to report that it was an intimate gathering of the show’s friends and family. We mingled, laughed, and when it came town listened to Blue October.

I walked in as a fan of Hate Me, and walked out a fan of Blue October. They were excellent live. I mean excellent. The lead singer’s voice was better than it is on the radio. And my beloved violin was there front and center. I loved Hate Me and actually loved another song they sang even more.

The Bash was fun from beginning to end, and I am glad I was able to celebrate with my favorite morning show: The Bobby Bones Show.

Thank you Bobby, Lunchbox, Sara, Amy, and Intern Carlos, for waking me up in the morning.

-RXW

Jazzercise for the Cure -- The Results

2006-11-04T20:34:00.000-08:00

I could not make it through Breast Cancer Awareness Month without doing my part for the cure! About six weeks ago, Jazzercise Inc. District Manager, Judy Carson, Donna Gore-Frieburger, Jeri Saper, Terri Bartlett, and I began talking about organizing a Jazzercise event benefiting the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. Our group along with Judith Gann soon turned into a committee organizing Austin’s Jazzercise For the Cure.

Sometimes events were meant to happen--Jazzercise for the Cure is one of those events. Everything came together and the event raised money for the fight against breast cancer, while creating as sense of community among the Jazzercisers of SWTX and the generous sponsors and vendors. I sincerely could not have asked for more. This event was bigger than my desire to do something for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Here are the highlights:

We spent only four weeks completing tasks including, setting the class schedule, coordinating instructors, aligning advertising, acquiring sponsors, selecting vendors, and encouraging participants.
In the end, 350 women and a handful of men gathered at the Hyatt Austin at Town Lake and raised over $50,000 for the fight against breast cancer.

I have to give a “shout out” to my co-emcee and Jazzercise Inc. Vice President of International and Corporate Events Kenny Harvey.
It is known that where Kenny goes, laughter will follow. Kenny is on top of his game and has fun doing it. I loved emceeing with Kenny, and definitely learned some tricks of the trade backstage.

I taught the first routine of the event. I have to say that before I got on stage to start the festivities with Kenny, the crowd seemed sparse.
But by the time I started the first stretch in the first routine the room was packed and the energy level was through the roof. For the next three hours, we danced to the music of Christina Aguilera, Natasha Bedingfield, Keith Urban, and more.

During one of the intermissions the Junior Jazzercisers of Austin performed and adorable routine to Peanut Butter and Jelly Time – they were so cute and had more rhythm than I could muster in my tweens.

I have to give a special thanks to the Founder and CEO of Jazzercise, Judi Sheppard Missett who generously taught our finale class. We were delighted when Judi agreed to attend our event.
Not only did she teach a power packed, fun-filled class, but she also was supported the local instructors by watching the two classes prior, and did a meet and greet with the participants. When you meet Judi and take one of her classes, you know why Jazzercise has such longevity and just completed its’ most successful year ever.

The success of this event would not have been possible without our sponsors: Hyatt Regency Austin on Town Lake, Persidea, The Waters, Armadillo Clay & Supplies, Anna Maria’s Boutique, and Premier Atelier.

I can’t wait until Jazzercise for the Cure 2007!
- RXW

Administrative Professionals Conference

2006-10-28T20:02:00.000-07:00

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

2006-10-26T08:48:00.000-07:00

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 . . .

2006-10-25T09:59:00.000-07:00

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

2006-10-24T17:03:00.000-07:00

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

2006-10-20T17:02:00.000-07:00

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

2006-10-18T23:13:00.000-07:00

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

2006-10-15T16:57:00.000-07:00

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

2006-10-11T09:25:00.000-07:00

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

2006-10-03T00:36:00.000-07:00

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

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Roxanne WilsonBeing 5'3 & some change is not advantageous when you are standing @Ben Harper's concert...tall peeps have no concept of their size. Likesmall dogs.

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Roxanne Wilson
Being 5'3 & some change is not advantageous when you are standing @
Ben Harper's concert...tall peeps have no concept of their size. Like
small dogs.