So glad about Mooshu, but you need to stop worrying your mama, and be healthy, puppy dog.

I'm trying to get the gumption to do laundry. Must be done, but I don't wanna.

Instead, I've been researching a school that I have an interview with on Tuesday (woot!).

Rules for using a blender:

1. It's physics: don't put in more stuff than half, in general. The whirling blades are going to spin around, the higher the speed, the more up the sides.

2. Keep the cover on.

3. Experiment with the proportion of liquids to solids, as, again, physics applies: Liquid speeds up breakdown in general.

4. If you have harder things in there, use a setting that pulses or if it's a really old Blender, the momentary switch, whatever it's named.

5. Some foods do not fit in the easy rules above.

6. See #2.

don't put in more stuff than half, in general.

Especially if the contents are hot. Because when covered, the cover can go boom and you have hot soup all over your kitchen. Not that I'd know anything about that.

Yay, Mooshu! Keep feeling better!

Good luck with the interview, ChiKat. I hope it works out for you!

I am so tired I keep tripping over my feet. At least, I think it's my feet . . . I can't actually see them these days. Signed, Grumpy

Oh, Yeah, and

7. Be prepared to make a mess, even after you get good at blenders. Removal of miscellaneous things in the general area that you don't want to clean off is a good thing.

I can press the buttons; I just don't know what to put in them.

When I make smoothies at the group homes, I throw in a few ice cubes, cleaned and chopped fruit - big chunks, like an inch or more of banana, smaller for harder items, yogurt or milk or fruit juice. I've seen banana smoothies include peanut butter. I've heard of people putting various powdered supplements in, such as whey protein. I'm sure you could put a small amount of tofu in with just about anything - including some veggies, to heat up for soup.

I just don't know what to put in them.

Strawberries, bananas, yogurt, ice and fruit juice (OJ or Apple) = smoothie yum!

Also good: mango, peaches, pineapple, apples.

Also good: berries (blue, black, rasp, whatever). I haven't tried making smoothies out of melon, yet, but I suspect it could be good.

You can make soup by blending up vegetables. I like this one a lot.

You eliminate the need to deal with ice for a smoothie if you use frozen fruit. Take it straight from the freezer to the blender. Throw in milk/soy milk/juice, and puree the sonofabitch.