Vita-Mix 5000 Variable Speed Blender Review

I'd never give up my Vita-Mix 5000. It's great for everything. When I make bread, I grind my own flour from wheat berries, old-fashioned oats, almost any whole grain. I also use it to make fruit smoothies, whole vegetable juices (my favorite is carrot, celery, beet, apple, spinach, orange juice and ice!) , margaritas, gin gimlets, soup, just about anything you can imagine! I have ice cube trays that make huge ice cubes. This machine chews them into slush in less than a minute and it even chops up celery without the strings getting stuck in the blades. The only drawback for me is the noise but I guess that's a tradeoff for the speed and consistency of what you're making. When I do soup, which takes about 4 minutes, I put it outside to run so I don't have to listen to the noise. But, for everything else, it only takes a few seconds to a minute to make whatever it is you want. It's also perfect when I have the grandbabies over, I can blend up whatever we're having so I don't have to buy baby food in the jars.  I think just about everyone could use this mixer.  It's definitely more than just a blender.