Day in the Life of a Jazzercise Instructor

One of my latest passions is Jazzercise.  I recently became certified to instruct classes.  Cardio, stretches, strength training... it's a great workout.  Being strong & being able to dance really helps, but there is oh so much more that you have to do! Like being friendly, confident & aware of class participants' needs.  On top of that you have to know all of the dance moves from memory, be able to cue the class before the moves, remember to stay hydrated, don't overuse/abuse your vocal chords, all the safety tips, plus work a sound system with a wireless mic & iPod! It's a lot, but quite fun & engaging.  Today I taught the 6:05 class at the Prairieville center.  I got the class warmed up & working up the heartrate... then silence! All of a sudden, there was absolute silence! The iPod shut down... leaving me hanging with no music!  I kept the class moving, jumped off stage, & ran to get my iPhone out of my basket, only to find that I had left my iPhone in my car!  I grabbed my keys & had the class owner run out to my car praying that my iPhone wasn't in the bottom of my purse while still having the class dance to nothing other than my cues & classmates singing the song.  She came running back in with it! I was so relieved to find that my routine set of music was on my iPhone... I clicked to it & led the class into the next routine.  I held it together & the class participants were absolutely excellent! Lesson learned... make sure iPod is fully charged every single day & always have the iPhone in the building as back up :-)

"Latest News" as Bulleted List

I've been quite busy lately; what else is new!  I noticed that I haven't blogged in over a month! So here it is as a list & in no particular order:

• One of our best friend's got a job after being unemployed for quite some time! It's really exciting for them and for us.  Congratulations Daven!
• Dylan crossed over into "Boy Scouts" from "Cub Scouts".  We love his troop in Prairieville, Troop 769... they have lots planned for the boys & they hold the boys themselves responsible for activities. Downside, they have hit us up for money nearly every meeting.  We actually participated in a fundraise, which I so desparately despise, but Dylan did pretty well selling coke products.  Hopefully the money-collecting is done with for this year.
• Erin is done with competition dance at Jete'.  She and her team did really well, receiving a number of platinum & high gold awards this year.  I'm so impressed with her perseverance & love of dancing! Now to prepare for Griffin Girls (high school dance team) try-outs.  I'm sure she'll do well, although I can't believe she'll be going to high school next year!
• Wayne is in good spirits now that he has gotten his back to quit hurting.  He suffered with back pain, like an old man, for months now.  It has prevented him from giving his all to running/working out.  He went to chiropractor to be told that his wallet is his problem! Yes, his wallet (which is funny to me since he never has money in it).  When he sits at the computers at work for hours on end with his wallet in his back pocket, it causes his pelvis to tilt which has put strain on his back.  Solution... a few back adjustments & take the wallet out of his back pocket. Now to shop for a money clip (there again, for what since me & the kids smell it when he has cash).
• As for me I just finished the process of becoming a certified Jazzercise instructor! It's so much fun & I go almost everyday anyway, so instructing made sense.  It has set me back quite a bit of money for start up costs (clothes, franchise fee, liability insurance, microphone, etc), but it's well worth it.  I now get to "teach" without all the crap of being a classroom teacher, plus it keeps me working out with great intensity & fervor! I love it!  If you like to have a good time, listen to great music (my favorite Jazzercise routine right now is done to Jennifer Lopez's "Louboutins"), dance, & get fit, you should give it a try.  I'm at the Ascension Jazzercise Centers (Prairieville & Gonzales), but you can find a center close to you by checking out Jazzercise's website.

Well I guess I should wrap it up here... my bulleted list turned into bulleted paragraphs!  I'll try to blog more often :-)