We went from a 800w to a 1300 watt and everything now beats the package instructions by 20-30% instead of being 30% longer. This micro has an inverter - its been beneficial to be able to control its intensity. For example, we can reheat coffee to really hot without boiling or toasting it. We think it works a lot better than the pulse on/off that other micros use to try and control power level. If we were choosing today, I'd likely go with another one from Panasonic. Either the new 1 cuft flat, wide turntable-less one (they rotate the waves instead of the food) or the .8 cuft Compact with an inverter running at 950w.

Thanks for all the feedback and the tips for searching the site. After reading everyone's comments, I'm thinking that the drawer MW is the way to go, probably purchased from ebay to get a good deal. I saw a mixer lift at a local home improvement store today, and I hated it! It was hard to reach the release and I think I'd have hit myself in the face with it as it popped up if it'd had a mixer sitting on it, so I think I'll just go with a pull out shelf for the mixer and lift it onto the counter myself. I'd probably use it on the counter, anyway, so that there wouldn't be flour and batter splatter inside the cabinet and so we wouldn't break the open cabinet door while using the lift.

xena45 - funny! No one ever asked about my paint color until this week and now this is the second time! The paint is Enoki by C2 Paints. It's less beige than the photo makes it out to be, at least in my house, it has a gold-green tone to it, maybe a bit more camel? Anyway, I love C2 colors, they are very drenched with color and use about an average of 7 pigment colors in each paint. We do like it, it seems to blend with many different colors. However, I have been toying with the idea of a French Grey now that our lovely countertops have been installed. You have to understand, I love change and am constantly updating here and there around my house. If we do go with the FG in the kitchen and family, we will keep the Enoki in the master suite, it's lovely. Thanks for asking! Mindi

I don't use sponges either. But I do nuke my wooden spoons after using, to make sure anything I don't want in the wood is killed. And while we're on cleaning issues--do you take your 2-piece rubber spatulas apart before cleaning? You'd be surprised what gets up in that slot between the handle and the scraper part.