I use my microwave oven every day. In fact, I use it several times a day. I use it to make tea, to cook, to heat up left-overs, and to defrost things. I’m actually defrosting frozen lasagna I made a couple of weeks ago as I type.

If you’re looking to buy a microwave, P. C. Richard & Son has been serving people for nearly one hundred years, 98 years to be exact. Their motto is honesty, integrity, and reliability. They have microwave ovens, all well as all kinds of appliances including designer appliances, electronics, and vacuums. They even have home office items and video games. So check out their prices and see if you can save money.

If you’re looking for some different ways to use left-over turkey, I’ve seen turkey enchiladas, turkey tacos, turkey pita tacos, turkey taco salad, and turkey taco soup. Of course, there’s the traditional turkey pot pie and turkey salad which are always good. My favorite when I was growing up was my mother’s and grandmother’s turkey salad. They would put apples, celery, pecans or walnuts, mayonaise, salt, and pepper in it. It was so yummy, either in a sandwich or just by itself. My mouth is actually watering right now…I sure wish I had some.

“Stands and Mounts” is a nationally recognized Internet store that offers audio racks, TV mounts, amplifier stands, component wall mounts, and thousands of other items. One item they sell that is a great idea for families with multiple gaming systems is a gaming cart. Some carts have locking cabinet doors for extra security. They also have Miniature System Stands for the small systems as well as commercial rack equipment for professional installations.

If you’re short on time &/or energy, this sounds like a great recipe. My mother used to use canned sweet potatoes, and she would make delicious mashed sweet potatoes with marshmallows on top. I guess you could put marshmallows on top of this instead of the brown sugar mixture if you preferred. Here’s the easy recipe from Southern Living, November 2006 by Jean Ellard, Birmingham, Alabama.

1. 3 (40-oz.) cans cut sweet potatoes, drain the syrup
2. 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
3. 1/2 cup butter, softened
4. 1/2 cup milk
5. 2 large eggs
6. 1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
7. 1/2 teaspoon salt
8. 1 1/4 cups firmly packed brown sugar
9. 1 1/4 cups finely chopped pecans
10. 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
11. 1/3 cup butter, melted

Combine first 7 ingredients and beat at medium speed until smooth. Spoon into lightly greased 9 x 13 dish. Mix last 4 ingredients and sprinkle evenly on top of sweet potato mixture. Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes.

With Christmas just around the corner, a lot of people are already in the middle of their Christmas shopping. Some started their shopping during the summer and are almost finished. However, with so many people to buy gifts for, some shoppers are in need of a payday loan in order to take advantage of all the great sales going on this time of year.  It pays to look at the ads, make your shopping list, and buy things on sale.  You get more for your money that way.  Just make sure not to overspend and stick to your list!

I am still seriously considering going shopping with our daughter and her friend in the wee hours of the morning on the Friday after Thanksgiving. The last couple of years I’ve thought about going, and then decided on Thanksgiving Day I didn’t want to get up that early and fight the crowds.   It will be interesting to see if I actually go this year.

These are some of the stores that have already released their ads which you can check out at:

http://www.black-friday.net/

• AAFES (for active military)
• Babies R Us
• Best Buy
• Circuit City
• CompUSA
• hhGregg
• Home Depot
• JC Penney
• KB Toys
• Kmart
• Kohl’s
• Office Depot
• Old Navy
• Sears
• Target
• Toys R Us

We like where we do banking. We’ve been banking there ever since our daughter was in elementary school. In fact, the reason that we opened a checking account there was because she won a $50 savings account from that bank for reading the most books in our library’s Summer Reading Program years ago. We’ve banked there ever since.

I know some people are not satisfied with their banks, though, because of high fees. If you are one of those people, you might want to look into opening a checking account from WaMu, especially if you want great free services with no monthly fee, free ATM cash withdrawals (foreign and domestic), free checks for life, and free identity theft services.

Here are some great ideas about house cleaning during the holidays:

• Don’t stress about it! Put on some of your favorite music. Music speeds up cleaning and makes it more fun.
• Don’t let clutter get out of control! Spend 10 minutes a day putting things back where they go.
  
• Prioritize your rooms! Clean the room that is most used by guests first. (probably the living room) Then move on from there.
• Handle mail one time! As you look through your daily mail, either recycle it, put bills in their place, or put it in a basket for things that need your attention. Don’t waste time going through your mail two or three times.
  
• Kill germs! The last thing you want is to catch a cold or get sick during the holidays. Sanitize telephones, doorknobs, remote controls, light switches, water faucets, refrigerator and microwave door handles, flush handles on toilets, anything that more than one person touches.
  

Personalized Gifts for Children make wonderful gifts for Christmas, birthdays, and anytime during the year. A personalized gift is something extra-special, something unique, and something that will be kept and treasured for many years. Identity Direct has a huge selection of gift items with over 500 personalized gifts. Their most popular gift is “My Special Christmas Adventure,” a personalized storybook where the child named goes on a magical journey with Santa Claus. They also have Disney, Winnie the Pooh, and Sesame Street selections as well.

I’ve bought several cans of pumpkin at a super sale price, so I’m looking for recipes that use pumpkin besides my traditional pumpkin pie recipe (which is a favorite of mine). I came across some recipes that sound delicious. The second recipe calls for a can of pumpkin pie mix with all the spices and sugar, so I’ll have to add my own since I have cans of plain pumpkin. Here are the recipes:

Pumpkin Spice Cake (with frosting) from Wanda at Apples-Zeros

and

Pumpkin Pie Cake from Lori at My Wooden Spoon

and

Pumpkin Spice Frosted Snack Bars from Elizabeth at Mom Cooks