"The Day My Heart Stopped Beating"

It was this past Wednesday morning around 7:45. My husband had arrived overnight with our two new house guests. Razz a mighty miniature pincher and Roxanne a beautiful sweet-loving miniature Schnauzer.

They belong to my sister-in-law who is recovering from surgery in New York, so I agreed to look after her beloved pets while she recuperates.

Rodney got up early Wednesday to let the dogs out including my Velvet, a miniature poodle. A few minutes later he returns with a look of horror on his face saying the "dogs" are gone! What do you mean they're gone, we have a fence I said. Please tell me their collars were on when you let them out? Yes, he replied but they have no name tags with phone numbers.

I scramble out of bed, hair not done, no makeup, not stopping to brush my teeth, grabbing a miss-matched sweatsuit and headed straight for the car. Rodney searches our neighborhood, knocking on doors, while I decide to patrol a development behind ours.

We search frantically, calling their names to no avail. I literally stopped breathing with thoughts of how to tell a woman who's in the hospital that I've lost her most beloved possessions, "her children!" I notice people are beginning to stare as I continue casing the neighborhood, I wonder if they'll call police saying a strange woman is lurking in their backyards and yelling out loud to herself. If I had stopped to think about it for a moment, I must have looked quite ridiculous, but there was no time to care about that.

As I headed home with my head held low, I couldn't believe my eyes, two dogs darted out in front of my car, Its "Razz and Roxanne!" I spring from the car and yell for them, Roxanne immediately runs towards me and jumps in the front seat, but Razz takes off in the opposite direction heading into the near-by metro-park.

He's so tiny, I lose sight of him as I drive around screaming his name, calling Rodney on my cell to come help search near the park. He tells me to head home and get Roxanne's leash, thinking she'll be able to lure him out of the park.

I arrive home, pull into the drive and I see the most beautiful sight I think I've ever seen...Razz is at the front gate trying to figure out how to get back in to the gate!

How could this be? How could a dog who just arrived at a new house hours earlier find his way home? I didn't care about the answers, my nightmare was over, I could finally "breathe" again.

"A Gardner's Paradise"

I have dabbled with indoor and outdoor plants for years. I discovered in those years that I don't have a green thumb when it comes to growing plants inside, but I've gotten a lot better over the years outside. However, my garden is still a "work in progress."

My many mistakes have not deterred be from what has become truly a passion. I love gardening and trying to create a backyard oasis.

I've discovered that a lot of my co-workers love gardening almost if not more than I do and they're pretty proud of their labor of love in the yard.

I've included some photos of our outdoor prized possessions.

I'm thrilled with my thriving Weigela. Its a perennial that's grown more than 10-feet tall and spans about 12-feet wide. When I bought it six years ago, it was just a two foot shrub.

Check out Meteorologist, Betsy Kling's humongous Sum and Substance Hosta and Lydia Esparra's beloved Japanese Maple Tree.

Do you have a plant, shrub or tree you want to boast about?
I'd love to see photos of the jewels in your yard.

Just send pictures to me at romonarobinson@wkyc.com and I'll post them here!

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

The Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin sang about it and I assume most of us were taught by our parents how important it is to show it.

But as I sat at my nephew's high school graduation last week in Columbia, Missouri, I wondered what happened to showing a little "R-E-S-P-E-C-T."

I proudly glanced over at Danny Sebastian several times during the ceremony thinking about what a fine young man he had become in eighteen years. I'm especially proud that he wants to go on to college and become an educator. But just as my thoughts lingered, an outburst of laughter in the auditorium. Someone in the crowd had thrown two beach balls down from the rafters onto the eight-hundred graduating Seniors. At first it was amusing as teachers scrambled to grab the balls and restore order as the commencement speaker tried to ignore the disruption.

But minutes later several more beach balls were thrown from the stands onto the Seniors and the graduates bounced them back and forth between themselves. This continued periodically throughout the graduation ceremony, even as students started to receive their diplomas. Unfortunately, as I aimed to capture the unbelievable display of disrespect, my camera's battery dies. Even more unbelievable was when I finally got a look at some of the beach ball launchers, they were adults! No, not young adults but some looked 40 or 50 years old, smiling, even jumping in excitement at causing the disruption.

I sat there in amazement, wondering why these few adults didn't get it. This was a special ceremony to honor all of the hard work of these young men and women. Didn't they deserve a little R-E-S-P-E-C-T. I surely didn't find the humor in their childish behavior. As I continued to look around the dignitaries, district officials and high school staff had looks of horror on their faces as the ceremony seemed on the verge of total chaos.

I guess what really matters is that my nephew got his diploma and his family was there to share in his big moment, but the kids that day deserved the undivided attention of the thousands of family and friends who were in attendance.

They had no control over the three-ring circus that their graduation was reduced to by a few who apparently never learned there's a time and place for everything and that was not the time nor place for their antics.

A Weighty Issue!

Why is it, the older you get the harder it is to keep the weight off? I know all the experts say its because your metabolism slows down and maybe that's true.

However, I feel more energized as ever in my 40's, more confident, I work out on a regular basis and eat healthier now than I ever have...but the extra weight just seems much harder to keep off.

I remember in my 20's I could eat anything I wanted and I did.


...In My 20's...

Back then, fun food for me was to have a hearty breakfast: bacon, scrambled eggs and biscuits. I would grab a quick burger and fries from in Akron (my favorite burger joint) for lunch and finish the evening off with Spaghetti and Meat Balls with Garlic Bread. My eating habits were HORRENDOUS and I never gained a pound!


...In My 30's...

My 30's were a breeze too! I had become a little more educated about what I put in my body, but I must admit I still ate poorly. Comfort food was butter pecan ice cream with a bowl of barbecue potato chips. Did I mention that was my bedtime snack?

Now in my 40's, I'm eating healthier than ever. Love Salmon and sauteed spinach or mixed vegetables. My breakfast mostly includes wheat toasts, whole grain cereal, oatmeal, fruits, yogurt and scrambled eggs with cheese from time to time.


...Today...

I make sure to take my multi-vitamin, try to get enough fiber and vitamin D. I get my regular checkups and drink 6 to 8 ounces of water a day. Yet, I find I have to work really hard at staying slim now, even though I'm eating much less fats and a lot fewer calories.

Come on ladies, I'd like to hear from some of you in your 40's. Are you struggling to keep the weight off? Does it seem to be tougher to keep it off the mid-section? Share some of your success stories with me.