I agree with Chaz... that Cattleya is stunning! And there's the ever lovely Exotica... and your cluster of pots that look very much like the edge of my "jungle"! Twinkies... LOL! I keep picturing two actual sponge cake twinkies in Hostess packaging! I must be hungry! I never think to use plastic knives as markers, but have been looking into markers that are truly permanent! I'm tired of replacing the ones for outdoor named perennials! We've had that discussion before, a few times! Plastic gets brittle and fades, and wood rots. Metal is nice, but costly. We need a happy medium. Great photos, Kristi! Thanks for sharing!

"I just called the office to get the address for the Senior Credit Analyst from the Retention department who, on 6/25, told me the he would be working on resolving the issue. I decided that I would send all documentation to his office as well as the corporate office. The representative specifically stated that all communication must be done over the phone." "ALL communication must be done over the phone"? Don't let them pull this crap on you. They are giving you the runaround. The following has worked for me in the past when I've had problems with a bank. Years ago I had an credit card/account with Colonial bank. Introductory rate was 8% interest for the life of the loan. Colonial was bought out by Advanta and promptly raised my interest rate to 26%. I contacted the Office of the Comptroller. They asked if I had written proof. I did. A short time later a class action lawsuit was filed against Advanta for this practice. I got a check from the settlement. This is why it always pays to get everything in writing. BOA KNOWS this, which is why they want to 'talk over the phone'. So YOU don't have proof. Start taking in-depth notes of each time you call. Get the name and title of who you speak to, as well as what is discussed and what they promised to do about it (and WHEN). Anything you send should be mailed certified mail. THAT will wake them up. I also would contact someone on the board at BOA's investor relations site. Don't go to the very top, go a rung or two below and/or send it to about 5 different people with a CC of who ELSE got your letter. Tell them you will be contacting the Office of the Comptroller if they can't iron out this little problem. If that fails, contact a consumer reporter at your newspaper. Who Regulates a Certain Bank or Thrift? The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency examines nationally chartered banks. These are typically the country's largest banks, such as Bank of America and Wells Fargo. Their names are usually followed by "N.A." or "N.T. & S.A." to signify a national charter. If you have any complaints about your bank, you should always insist on speaking with a high-level manager, not a teller, and in most cases they will solve the problem. But, if you still feel that they are giving you the run-around, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency can help. Formal written complaint with the OCC about a national bank or its operating subsidiary Customer Assistance Group 1301 McKinney Street Suite 3450 Houston, TX 77010 Contact-(202)-622-2000 Links that might be useful: Office of the Comptroller of the Currency www.occ.treas.gov/Mail1.htm Bank of America-Investor relations http://newsroom.bankofamerica.com/index.php?s=company_bios

i am back to ask for more advice. my new problem is this. Since the day my husband passed away I have asked all the questions we all ask ourselves. the main one i keep asking is why was he driving so fast on that bike and why did he get on it while he was drinking.I asked everyone over and over if they knew what happened. Well i finally found out what happened and I am caught in the middle of a fight.I dont know what to do.It seems his best friend was out at a different place (my husband was at the biker rally then they decided to go to a bar if i was in town this never would have happened).his friend called and said hurry up and get here I need your help, he never was able to tell him no. I can remember so many nights we would be sleeping and the phone would ring and it would be him asking for help.no matter what time it was my husband always went to his rescue.well this time my husband didnt make it.My husband passed away at 1:09, he talked to his friend at 1:07 he was in that much of a hurry to help his friend.Then he called my husbands phone at 3:30 and said thanks alot i really needed you.(like my husband didnt go to his rescue and die on the way there.)Now the problem is my brother in law checked my husbands messages before meand erased them because he didnt want me to hear them and go kill his best friend which I wanted to do when they finally told me what happened.Now when i asked his friend he said he thought he told me, which he may have because i have not been all here these days.And yes I was mad at him but i know how my husband was with him he never let him down . my husband should not have been on the bike that night period.... But my husbands family all blame his friend and get mad at me if I talk to him. he is my daughters godfather.I try to explain to my inlaws that it is as much my fault as it is his. I never should have went out of town without him.If we were going to play the blame game we could go on forever.The fact is my husband is gone and i know he would not want us to be mean to his friend and me being nice to him is making my inlaws mad at me . what should I do. I need feedback. thanks tracy

Jerzee, I really thought about what you posted. I asked myself if I honestly was just jealous of her success. I don't think I'm jealous of her success per se, but rather her success made me question my own abilities. She's a top producer at our office, and I'm lucky to have her as a partner; she's helped me immensely and throws lots of leads and deals my way. I just got home after that day and found myself thinking, "What is WRONG with me?" Like PaigeCT, I was thinking "I *should have* done this-or-that. A "proficient" individual would have done fill_in_the_blank..." I believe that's the root of the whole thing. Her success juxtaposed with my horribly bad open house made me question my own abilities, and made me think that I'd made a mistake, I'd never get it right, I'd screwed everything up, etc. While I know those aren't rational, that's where I was. (Poor DH, when I got home and he asked me how it went, I screamed at him, burst into tears and ran back to the bedroom, leaving him standing there with a cookie crumb dangling from his lips and a bewildered and hurt look on his face.) Fact is, when I'm up, I'm pretty much unstoppable. I don't care what the *facts* are, I can get stuff done. But when my confidence is shaken and I don't believe in myself, the world becomes a very scary place! I just need to chalk that day up for what it was; a learning experience. I need to put on my *big girl pants* and go find someone else to help! (Can you tell I'm beginning to become annoyed with myself? I don't have too much tolerance for being down....) Paige, THANK YOU for sharing your own experience. I really emphasizes "That's how life is", and it wasn't just me!! And Susanfnp, I have to say that I've never thought of my "act now---question later" attributes as being GOOD things. I've always considered my impetuous behaviors to be a bad thing, and so I consequently feel guilty about 99% of the time. You really made me realize that I need to have a different perspective! Almost EVERYTHING I do is done without hesitation, and I honestly never looked at that as being a good quality. Just last week, I got the wild hair to remodel a small powder room. One minute I was telling DH that we needed to pick out tile, and then next minute I had the crowbar in my hand removing the old stuff. I felt TOTALLY guilty for 3 days, as I felt like I was "putting everyone out" and not being a good wife, mother, broker, etc. But you know what? That powder room is finished. In 3 days. Why didn't I see that as a good thing before? Wow. What a catharsis. Nothing like seeing your own mess scrawled in black and white on the WWW for a little introspection!! Honestly, thank you. I really do have a different (and much healthier) perspective. And Pecan, I would NEVER turn down your pound cake. It's to die for!