I Need Permission

I have been stalking Vita Mix for years.

I first discovered it as a teen at the Minnesota State Fair. They have two guys doing demos of the $400 blender, and it rocks. The blender is super powerful, like the kind they use at Starbucks. In fact, if memory serves, it may be the kind they use at Starbucks. You can put in whole vegetables and fruits, including the seeds (ok, not pits but whatever), and it will completely puree them, leaving nothin but yummy goodness for you.

Add some ice and make ice cream. Add water and let it blend for awhile, and it will get hot enough to cook soup. You can make salsa or smoothies or any number of things that are good for you and will save you tons of money.

Whenever I mention the Vita Mix, people look at me funny. One friend's husband gets it though, and the two of us joke about going out on the road to sell them. There have been days when I've seriously thought about doing it.

I've never bought one though. Spending $400 on a blender seems a little over the top for me.

Costco sells them, too, sometimes. They have roadshows where they set up the Vita Mix booths in there and sell them, and the price is lower than what it was when I visited the stand at the Minnesota State Fair this year. Plus, you get a cookbook so you can replicate what they make.

In fact, Costco currently has them on road show at the Costco near me for another four days. I've seen the demo three times since it started. In fact, I almost picked up a box the first day I saw it. I felt like it was fate as I'd had a dream about the Vita Mix the night before.

But now. Well, I neglected to tell you one thing about making Mister Man's birthday cake on Friday. When I was pureeing the strawberries, my trusty Girmi (another reason I can't bring myself to buy the Vita Mix) made some funny sounds. When I turned it off, I discovered this:

Lovely. It's leaking now.

I figured I had put it together improperly somehow, although it all clicks together. When I was washing it, I noticed that the blender gear seemed a little loose. I flipped it over to see if I could tighten it any, and I discovered this:

Yes, I know there's some rust built up on the bottom. It's been like that for awhile. The Girmi was a shower present; it's old. Look closer:

Yeah. Now I see that the rust stain is in the shape of a bolt. And that there is no bolt. And that it appears that a screw has shorn off, as well. That pretty much means this is unfixable in my book (although if you're handier than me, jump in!). I can't have my blender constantly leaking, so I need to buy a new one now, right?

I mean, this is one of my favorite kitchen tools. I can't be without a blender; I use it all the time. This has to be fate, right? Vita Mix is at Costco, and I'm spontaneously dreaming about it, and my blender just happens to break during all this. Someone's telling me to buy the Vita Mix, aren't they?

Pleeeeeeeease somebody tell me it's ok? When I mentioned the dream I had to my friend who also loves Vita Mixes, he told me that his brother now has one and loves it (and my friend has used it and thinks it's as great as he did before), and that he's jealous enough to go out and buy one. Maybe I can pretend it's my birthday present to myself.

Adding to the bummer side of things, my kitchen scale recently broke, too, which means that I've been having to estimate weights rather than knowing them exactly. You have no idea how frustrating this is to a cook from scratch baker. Yes, I weigh my flour versus measuring it. Oh, and my blender is just about shot; the top is cracked almost all the way around. All I need now is for my immersion blender to break, and I'll have lost all my favorite toys. Except my fuzzy logic rice maker. And my crock pots (yes, I have three -- one's a mini). Ooo, and my griddle. No wonder I don't have enough cabinet space!