The good thing about your last photoshop post is that you are trying out forms and sizes and location. That is a good start. Even though you have used examples of actual plants, it gives you the chance to see what the "form" and shape do there. That lets you see what form looks good , and then you can check in books or other forums (although you've been given some good suggestions for actual shrubs here, too) for the actual shrubs. The ones you've got there are too architectural for you home, as noted by vicki. In general you are trying to work too tightly up against the house and in those corners. As several people have noted you need not just make the beds bigger, but move them out more from the house. That is necessary not only for the size of shrub that you need, which need to be more closely proportioned to the decking and stair height, but also because you need a couple of feet of breathing room behind the mature extent of the shrubs, to protect your home's exterior, from both the mounding of any soil and some breathing room behind the branches of the shrubs. So the plantings would be generally in those areas but more loosely around the house corner and extending more to the base of the stairs and maybe a bit along the sidewalk, more billowy/arching. If you are going to sell in a year then the most important thing is that nothing appears to have impaired the home structure or grown weedy/messy or look hard to change, and it may not matter at all what the landscape design looks like, other than that some plantings will have more innate appeal than others.

Thanks, Di! They are actually pretty quick to do after you do a few, I call them the "5 second frosting job". (grin) Even if they aren't perfect, they're fast! Party-music, I like kale with beans too. Well, I actually like beans and I like kale, so it's kind of a natural combo for me and kale is super easy to grow, so I always have some. Those little "sprinkles" on top of the cupcakes are something called "pearls", she had a black and white wedding, and regular sprinkle were just too small, so I bought the bigger pearls at one of the hobby stores that have a cake decorating section, probably Michael's or Hobby Lobby. I think they were a Wilton product. There's another tip you can use too, but I don't know what it is, because I don't remember anything any more. (sigh) Sol, my friend, I'm so glad to see you check in here again. Yes, Madison is just as "hammy" as Makayla was, a drama queen in the making. Or is that Drama Princess? Annie

All your dinners sound delicious! Ours was just for 4 of us and I did an 11 pound turkey, cornbread dressing, mashed taters & gravy, sweet potato casserole, jiffy corn casserole, the green bean dish, fresh cranberries and the canned jelled cranberries. But instead of regular pumpkin pie, I made this pumpkin cream cheese dump cake that was so good! The only thing I would change with the recipe is to add a little more milk to the cream cheese layer so that it is easier to pipe. I had to glob mine on top of the pumpkin layer, but it was still perfect! The cake mix on top with the melted butter became a streusel type topping. PUMPKIN CREAM CHEESE DUMP CAKE Ingredients: 8 oz. cream cheese 3/4 C. powdered sugar 2 tsp. milk 1 can (29 oz.) pumpkin puree 1 can (12 oz.) evaporated milk 3 eggs 1 1/4 C. sugar 1 tsp. salt 1 Tbsp. pumpkin pie spice 1 yellow cake mix (dry) 1/2 C. butter, melted 1 Tbsp. cinnamon sugar mixture, optional whipped cream Directions 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9 X 14 pan. 2. Using a mixer (a KitchenAid or hand held) combine cream cheese, powdered sugar and milk until smooth. Set aside. 3. In a large bowl, combine pumpkin puree, evaporated milk, eggs, sugar, salt, and pumpkin pie spice. Pour into prepared pan. 4. Put cream cheese filling into a small ZipLock bag, and snip off the tip the make a mini piping bag. Then pipe over the pumpkin filling (see photo). 5. Pour the dry cake mix over the cream cheese layer then poke holes using the end of a wooden spoon or a table knife through the cake mix until you hit the filling (not to the bottom of the pan). 6. Pour melted butter over the dry cake mix. 7. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar over the entire cake for extra flavor and crunch. 8. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until the top is browned and an instead knife comes out clean. 9. Let cool and serve with whipped cream! (Store in fridge) Here is a link that might be useful: pumpkin cream cheese dump cake

I talked to Ashley and she puts the kids all over Facebook, so she doesn't have a problem with me posting pictures of the girls here, although I'm still a bit apprehensive about it. Anyway, I planned to bake bread, but Madi and Maci came to spend the night Wednesday night as their Mom was "on call" at the hospital and their Dad had mandatory SWAT training or some such thing. So, Madi wanted to bake a purple cake with pink frosting as a Valentine's present for her family. Pixistix' Hot Milk Cake became purple, and the buttercream frosting was definitely pink. I let her add the color, which may not have been my best idea ever, LOL. We used the little pans that my girls used to bake cakes when they were small, and it was funny to hear them "reminisce" about back when they were kids, since Amanda is 32 and Ashley is 25. Way back when, you know? (grin) After