My wife's main hobby is cooking. What a deal for me! It's a miracle that I don't weigh 400 pounds. Recently she has been reading about Vitamix blenders. Knowing that this $400-$600 purchase was inevitable I began a Craigslist crusade. A few nights ago I searched for Vitamix for the 14th time that day and was surprised to actually see one for sale. But it wasn't the consumer model... it was the commercial version - a Blending Station. Basically this is what they use at Starbucks. I Googled the model number and saw that this thing sells for around $1000 new!

The one on Craigslist was used of course, but the price was "only" $150. While $150 for a used blender seems like a lot, an Ebay search showed that this model regularly sells for $400-$600 used, so I figured the $150 was safe if my wife got tired of it. I called the seller and told her I was on my way to pick it up.
Well, a few days later I realize that my wife is never going to get tired of it. Not that we bought smoothies very often before, but if we paid $4/each for every one we've made so far we'd have covered the cost. Last night my wife was putting veggies in the Vitamix. I asked her what she was making. Soup was the answer. But not a soup mixture to cook on the stove. She had read that the friction from the blades spinning at 37,000 rpm would cook the soup. I was skeptical, but in about 4 minutes she poured steaming soup into a bowl! Note to self: When making smoothies, don't run the Vitamix on high for too long.