Not wearing out your welcome, but a better picture would help.

I would suggest a Camellia. You say it's budding and I think I can see a couple on the left. I wouldn't 'clip off' any yellow leaves as you might inadvertantly be removing the axillary buds or leaving a damaged leaf stalk. Either let them drop naturally or give them a gentle tug and they should break off at a natural point. If they don't leave them alone. Camellias are evergreens so they will naturally be getting yellow leaves and shedding them all year round, though not always at the same rate.

Thank you! I took a closeup this weekend. Not sure if it will show up here. I'm going to try now. Using Photobucket, as someone else suggested.

BTW: I did cut off the yellow leaves, but I hadn't read this yet.

Your close up confirms Camellia, as bboy says. BTW, no need to start a new thread. You can add more pix to the same one if you want and avoid confusion. I'm sure you'll enjoy your shrub when it flowers - they're spectacular.