Going light and non-controversial this morning... partly

I considered writing about Gabrielle Giffords and the other people shot in Tucson yesterday because my mind is so full words - loud words,angry words, sad words.  Instead I'm going to share my smoothie recipe with the modifications for Lydia.   Oh - I did put in my two cents on the gun thing at the end of this post.

I use this a lot after school and the kids love it.  Yes, it's a bit of a pain to get the stuff, but once the ingredients are on hand, not so much.  I've tinkered with it a lot but it's a winner for all three, which is rare.

Makes 3 16 oz. servings
1 1/2  to 2 cups Stonyfield Farm organic yogurt - strawberry or Banilla (both are low fat)
4 oz pomegranate juice - newer addition, sub o.j. if  desired
2 oz orange juice
6-8 ice cubes
1 cup frozen organic strawberries
2 frozen bananas (I buy them, peel them, break them in chunks and store in a big ziploc bag)

Blend it!  Pour out 2 servings for those who DON'T need to gain weight.
ADD:
1 Tablespoon avocado oil
1/2 to 3/4 packet Carnation breakfast essentials, vanilla flavor

This bad boy has 350-400 calories for Skinny Minnie and only about 175 for the other two - less than a comparable amount of chocolate milk for example and with much more good stuff.  Add blueberries, mango or whatever else strikes their (or your) fancy.

I fought the urge and have failed so I just want to say this:  Guns don't kill people; people kill people.  Uh... WITH GUNS.  It's about easy access and impulse so much of the time.  Could Jared Loughner have stabbed Representative Giffords?  Well sure!  Could he have stabbed 18 other people in that span of time.  Hell no!  Could the 12 year-old son (that's right, TWELVE) of a dear friend's secretary have hung himself rather than killing himself with a family hunting rifle because of a breakup with a girl?  Of course.  Might he have been less inclined to do so with a less-instantaneous and irrevocable option?  Well, that one, unfortunately, we will just never know.

I'm so sick of hearing about gun deaths, and not "sick of" as in "bored with" - like "I'm sick of doing laundry" for example.  Sick to my stomach, sick at heart, sick with the endless losses.  When will we wake up and demand better of and for people?