Overall, a record 226 million shoppers visited stores or online shopping sites from Thursday through Sunday, up from 212 million last year, according to a survey from retail industry trade group the National Retail Federation. The survey was conducted by online research firm BIGresearch.

Each of the top five retail websites saw double-digit gains in visitors versus last year, led by Amazon.com. Wal-Mart ranked second, followed by Best Buy, Target and Apple, comScore said.

What recession?

-E

For Thanksgiving, the Simmons and Hounsou family united to celebrate their beautiful family and their wonderful lives together.

Russell headed out to LA to join his two lovely daughters, Ming and Aoki at their home to eat the ceremonious meal with their mother, Kimora and their step-father, Djimon and the cutest boy in the world, Kenzo, who even go in on the tofurkey action!  Ming and Aoki’s grandmother also joined the festivities and cousin Angela, who enjoys a meatless lifestyle as a vegetarian, stopped by for dessert.

Of course the vegan and yogi Russell kept it strictly to-furkey, but the rest of the family rocked the bird.

Besides from having one of the most beautiful families in America, the Simmons and Hounsous have much to be thankful for.

One Big Blended Family

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After your momma slaved away in the kitchen for several hours and I’m sure probably even a few days for you to smash your Thanksgiving dinner 20 minutes, don’t expect another cooked meal for at least a week! So here are some crafty meals to create so you dont get bored with those massive amounts of leftovers!!

Turkey & Yam Spicy Taco’s!! Recipe Here

Leftover Turkey Pot Pie

Recipe Here

Chutney Turkey Salad (Basically like chicken/tuna salad only with Turkey)

Recipe Here

Turkey Nacho’s!!!!!!! (Nacho’s are BOMB with just about anything on top!)

Recipe Here

Turkey Omelette  

Recipe Here

AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, THE GOOD OL’ TURKEY SAMMICH!

The traditional day after Thanksgiving Day shopping sales will begin earlier than ever this year — at midnight Friday, to be exact. Stores such as Target, Best Buy and Kohl’s are opening at 12 a.m. Friday, some four or five hours before other businesses will begin admitting Black Friday shoppers camped out in the cold.

Macy’s, Kohl’s and Best Buy are opening at midnight Thursday. Sears and JCPenney’s doorbusters start at 4 a.m. followed by Kmart at 5 a.m. Check the list of who is opening up super early.

Best Buy – Midnight Friday
Store special: Best Buy will distribute entry tickets up to two hours before midnight.
Online offer: Free shipping on everything, through Dec. 27.

BEST BUY:
Best Buy is giving out tickets for their “doorbusters” starting at 10 p.m. prior to the midnight opening. Each item has a limited number per store (10, 12 or 30 depending on the item) and is limited to one sale per customer. The best “doorbusters” include:

Sharp 42″ Class LCD 1080p HDTV for $199.99
Samsung Laptop / Intel® Pentium® Processor / 15.6″ Display / 4GB Memory / 320GB Hard Drive for $299.99
Asus TransformerTM 10.1″ Wi-Fi Tablet with AndroidTM 3.2 Honeycomb OS for $249.99
ThunderBoltTM 4G LTE by HTC (Verizon Wireless) with Two-Year Activation Plan for FREE
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 2 Blu-ray for $9.99
Hot electronics sold for exceptionally low prices at Best Buy stores from Thursday, Nov. 24 to Saturday, Nov. 26 include:
Sharp 60″ Class LCD 1080p 120 Hz HDTV for $799.99
Sony 55″ Class LED 1080p 120 Hz Smart 3D HDTV with FREE 100-Watt Home Theater System for $1698.99
Sony Blu-ray Disc Player for $109.99
Toshiba Thrive 10.1 Tablet for $270.99
Acer Iconia 7″ Tab for $189.99
Toshiba 14″ Intel Core i5 Processor with Turbo Boost Technology for $599.99
Apple iPad 2 16GB with Wi-Fi for $499.99 (Min. 5 each per store)
Apple iMac Intel Core i5 Processor for $1199.99 (Min. 3 per store)
A range of other electronics, home appliances, accessories, DVDs, video games and other items will be sold for low prices. Read the full Best Buy catalog to check out all the Black Friday 2011 sale prices.

Best Buy is also celebrating Black Friday with “online-only deals” starting Thursday. Customers can check out what items with be on sale at the Best Buy website, however, the store has not yet released the special sale prices. Best Buy will offer free standard shipping on all items purchased on the Web site.

Customers can qualify for daily e-gift card giveaways during the holiday shopping season by “liking” the company’s Facebook page.

Toys “R” us will open their doors at 9 p.m. on Thanksgiving night. Shoppers can get a sneak preview of deals by going to the Toys “R” Us Facebook page, Facebook.com/toysrus. Facebook users also have an opportunity to win a red carpet shopping event before the Black Friday shoppers arrive.

Shoppers are awaiting for Toys “R” Us Thanksgiving weekend flier. The 28 page Toys “R” Us Thanksgiving flier will be in newspapers nationwide and online on Thursday , November 24th. It offers more than 300 deals. Rewards “R” Us can earn you a 2012 Super Saver Pass when shoppers buy $200 or more through Saturday, December 24th. Don’t want all the drama? Just go online that night at Toys “R” Us.com the very same offers and deals are available starting at 9 p.m. on Thursday, November 24th.

GameStop – Midnight Friday (some stores open at 5 a.m.)
Store special: Get store credit for your iPod, iPhone and iPad.
Online offer: Free Value Shipping on game and accessory orders over $20.

Office Max – 6 a.m. Friday
Store special: Save $15 on a $100 VISA or MasterCard gift card.
Online offer: Free $10 OfficeMax gift card with purchase of 2 HP ink cartridges priced $24.99 or higher

Radio Shack – 5:30 a.m. Friday
Store special: Get $50 toward an EVO 3D when you trade in an eligible smartphone.
Online offer: Shop Black Friday sales on Thursday at RadioShack.com.

Sam’s Club – 5 a.m. Friday
Store special: 96-cents for a 4G Android smartphones when you purchase a 2-year qualifying service agreement.
Online offer: Shop Black Friday deals starting 11 p.m. EST Wednesday at SamsClub.com.

Staples – 6 a.m. Friday
Store special: Free HP Everyday Photo Paper and Norton Internet Security 2012, with rebate.

Black Friday deals can be found at www. staples.com/blackfriday event. Early-bird deals include:
• Save $200-$300 on HP Laptops: (Prices starting at $299) Choose from a selection of powerful, lightweight, stylish 14-inch to 17-inch HP laptops.
• NOOK Color: $199 plus a $25 Staples gift card via Staples Easy Rebate
• Acer Iconia Tablet: $299 (regular price $399)
• Save $90 on 23-inch monitor: (regular price $189.99)
• Other deals include $299.99 for an LG 32-inch wide-screen LED TV (save $300), $199 for a BlackBerry PlayBook Tablet (save $300), $19.99 for an Omnitech Cross-Cut Shredder (save $80), $39.99 for a Staples executive chair (save $90) and $49.99 for a HG Photosmart Plus wireless all-in-one printer (save $100).

OFFICE DEPOT: No rainchecks are available. There is a limit of one per household or business. Also, there will be a minimum of four per store.
• BlackBerry Playbook for $199 (originally $499.99)
• Lenovo IdeaPad K1 Tablet for $299.99 (originally $449.99)
• Logitech Wireless Optical Mouse for $7.49
• Canon Wi-Fi all-in-one printer for $39.99
• 14.1 Megapixel Canon camera for $149.99
• Gateway Exclusive Laptop $299.99 (normally $499)
• Toshiba High Per­formance Laptop with 500GB Hard Drive for $399.99 (normally $629)
• Buy any HP PC and get a 32 GB HP Touchpad Tablet for only $149.99

Target – Midnight to 11 p.m. Friday
Online offer: Learn about unadvertised deals by texting “MORE TVs” to “Target.”

Walmart – 10 p.m. Thanksgiving. Midnight Friday
Wal-Mart’s Black Friday sale begins at 10 p.m. Thursday with toy deals and other specials, followed by discounted electronics at midnight and more new deals at 8 a.m.
Online offer: Visit Walmart.com to download a map of your store, labeled with the locations of special items.

KOHL’S: Shoppers get $15 Kohl’s Cash for every $50 spent in store or online with no limit from Wednesday to Nov. 27. Starting today, customers can preview the Kohl’s Thanksgiving ad at Kohls.com.
Here are some early bird items on sale from midnight to 1 p.m. Friday:
• Select sweaters and long-sleeved knit tees from Croft & Barrow, Apt. 9 and SONOMA life + style for misses and petites and Croft & Barrow cardigans for misses and petites for $9.99
• Save 20 percent to 50 percent on select electronics: Polaroid 7-inch touch screen Android tablet for $99.99 (after $20 mail-in rebate). Bonus accessory kit with purchase. (reg. $179.99). Also, Vivitar 12.1 MP high-definition digital video camcorder for $59.99. (reg. $149.99)
• Save 50 percent on en­tire stock of toys: Includes Fisher-Price Dora Holiday Sparkle Doll, Fisher Price Imaginext Pirate Ship, Bar­bie Volkswagen Beetle, Ton­ka Mighty Fire Truck, Bar­bie Tawny Walking Horse, Sesame Street Ride On for $19.99 (reg. $39.99 to $49.99).
• Save an extra 20 percent on all fine and sterling silver jewelry, already 55 to 60 percent off: 23-carat T.W. genuine gemstone and diamond accent bracelet, 18k gold over sterling silver for $89.99 (reg. $450). Also, 2-carat T.W. diamond solitaire plus earrings, 10k gold for $1,899.99 (reg. $6,000)

Big Lots has a one-day advertisement for Thanksgiving Day deals from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Meijer will have Thanksgiving Day bargains from 6 a.m. to midnight, followed by a 4 a.m. Friday opening with doorbusters until noon.

BIG LOTS: Special sales Thursday to Saturday. Shoppers spending $50 or more Thursday through Sat­ur­day will receive a $10 coupon to be used for their next purchase at Big Lots. The store’s Black Friday ad will be available at www.biglots.com on Monday, according to a release.
• Pandigital 9-inch Touch Screen Android tablet with WiFi for $89 (save $80)
• Yamaha Digital Drum Pad for $44.88 (save 55 percent)
• Jazz Camcorder, YouTube ready, for $14.88 (save 62 percent)
• B&W E-reader with 100 preloaded e-books for $47 (save $32)
• Emerson Touch 4GB mp3 Player with rechargeable battery for $19.88 (save 60 percent)
• Sag Harbor Ladies Winter Boots for $10 (save $39)
• Decorative cherry fireplace with remote and heater for $269.99 (save $330)
• Select Video Games for Xbox, PS3, and Wii (includes Guitar Hero) for $5
• Polaroid 4GB mp3 player with camera for $14.88 (save 62 percent)

APPPLE
For those looking for a new iPad you may be in for a little discount from Apple. Apple’s Black Friday (November 25th) is very similar to years past meaning NOT much happening here LOL!
The deals on the Mac end cover the iMac, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro, while the iPod nano and iPod touch are the discounted iPod offerings.

The Macs will be $101 less, take about $41 – $61 off the iPads depending on capacity (16GB, 32GB, 64GB), the iPod nano will shave off $11 for both 8GB and 16GB storage sizes, the iPod touch will follow the iPad’s lead of bigger discounts for bigger capacities, ranging from $21-$41 discounts.

Apple will also discount accessories. $11 off the iPad 2 Smart Cover, $11 off ($58 in total for each) for the Apple Wireless Keyboard and Apple Wireless Magic Trackpad, $5 off ($45 total) for a $50 iTunes/App Store/iBookstore gift card, in addition to discounts on the AirPort Extreme, Time Capsule, and AirPort Express. Third-party accessories such as Western Digital hard drives, the mophie JuicePack Air, Speck CandyShell iPhone 4/4S case, Jawbone Up, a Griffin Universal Remote Control system for the iPod touch, the Jawbone Jambox, a Phillips clock radio, and more are also on sale.

You won’t likely see any Black Friday iPhone 4S deals.

Even if the doorbuster deal you’ve been waiting for isn’t available online, Amazon aims to match prices for the products they have in stock, plus there’s free Super Saver shipping on orders over $25. The e-tailer is also offering its own doorbuster deals on Black Friday like a Canon PowerShot 12 megapixel digital camera for $199, marked down from $349.

Artists On Tour: Erykah Badu

Narrated by Jay-Z, the clip shows some gift exchanges with her Grandmother and some sound advice to the youngsters. I personally love the “Monday to Friday, no Facebook…text book!” mandate.  (spotted @ SoulCulture.uk)

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1. If you are invited to someone’s home or just stopping by for sweet’s, bring SOMETHING!! A soda (pop), a dessert, small side dish,bottle of wine, food stamps,SOMETHING! Don’t show up empty handed. More than likely not bringing anything will get you uninvited next year or talked about when you leave.I’m Just Saying!

Kool & The Gang

2. Don’t Bring 10 extra, uninvited  people with you if you are invited over someone’s house.Bringing a significant other or a friend is cool, but not all of your homies, jumpoffs, your whole crew and sidechicks.

3. This one burns my soul. DO NOT EVER show up over somebody’s house with your own tupper ware or aluminum foil. Especially, if you didn’t bring something. If you do, bring some DRANK or food  its pretty tacky to take it when you leave too!

4. If you are bringing your whole HOUSEHOLD over to someone’s home for dinner, bring more than a little dish of potato salad. You need to bring a main dish (meat, etc) and a side dish AND at least one beverage!

5.  If you are invited somewhere and a particular dish is really good, its ok,  go back for 2nds.BUT 3rds, 4ths, and 5ths is just pure FATNESS!

6. Teach your little bad kids table manners before taking them over somebody’s house. No loud burping or other body noises, EXCUSE yourself from the table, no over eating, elbows off the table, do not eat like a barbarian, and eat with a fork or spoon, not your hands!!

7. Be Easy with the Alcohol. If you KNOW your family members are already emotionally unstable, not wired right, and have issues with alcohol. Dont HAVE IT! DONT EVEN GO THERE! If you must, have some wine or a couple wine coolers or count on all your ish being torn up and the police showing up! You know how ya’ll are!

8. If you CANT COOK!! Don’t try it at the Holiday’s! Bring decorations, or drinks, or a store bought dessert.Don’t you dare try a crucial dish like a turkey, or potato salad, or macaroni and cheese. DONT DO IT! You will be talked about!

9. Last but not least, leave all controversial family topics for the next day or just for another time. Don’t use holiday family gatherings to ask your momma  who your real daddy is, to ask your cousin why she’s a hoe, don’t ask Ray Ray if he was the one who robbed the gas station the other day, don’t bring up money or remind somebody they owe you money,or to tell your auntie that uncle rufus is actually seeing Mrs. Ethel from around the corner on the low. Leave it alone.

Bonus: if you are at someone’s home all day, help clean up!

Check out Lord Have Mercy’s “Thee Legend Began” and catch up with him at his site
TheeLordHaveMercy.com!

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Beyonce

Beyonce fans will once again get the chance to share their Thanksgiving holiday with the pop megastar.  Beyonce’s “I Am…World Tour” airs on ABC tonight at 9:30 p.m. Eastern.  The special will document the international leg of Beyonce’s 2009 tour.  Along with performances of Beyonce’s biggest hits, “I Am…World Tour” will feature backstage footage and appearances from Kanye West and Beyonce’s husband, Jay-Z. 

 On Friday, fans will be able to stop by their local Walmart to purchase “I Am…World Tour” on DVD.

“I Am…World Tour” isn’t the first Beyonce concert special that ABC has aired on Thanksgiving.  Last year, the network aired her performance in Las Vegas, “I Am…Yours.”

Happy Thanksgiving!!

I Want To Thank You – Alicia Myers

This song is so funky you almost forget that she’s singing thanks to the Man above for bringing her a man on Earth.  ”It’s been a long time since I had someone who loves me. I owe my thanks to thee”

Thank You, Johnny Guitar Watson

Johnny found himself a girl that makes him want to do freaky things that he can’t even mention on this record. “I want to thank you for being you”

Thank ME Now, Drake

As cocky as it gets, Drake pretty much allows you to thank him for his takeover of the game.  ”You could thank me now for all the info I give to you”

Thanks to You, Tyler Collins

Tyler Collins made no mistake when she found a friend in her lover, someone that supports her and guides her.”Can’t stop me from believing my Love will pull me through. Thanks to You”

Thank You, Boyz II Men

Had to save the best for last. This upbeat, fun track was inspired by fans, friends, and family of the group members. “When I fell, you never turned away. You were right there. And I thank you.”

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