Hi Mistyspook,
to IIS,
Your 114 is most likely the most common good, cheap beginners scope. For all the short comings as an inexpensive instrument, it will still be capable of giving good use.
I'd suggest you set up the scope during daytime, best somewhere where you have some view to distant things. You can then aim the scope to these things without worring about Earth's rotation moving them out of view.
First use your '30mm' eyepiece, and ruck the draw tube in and out until focus is achieved. My concern with the "blobs" you describe is that their might be some issue with the accuracy of the scope's mirror. However, you will need to tell us in which position of the focuser are these "blobs" the smallest- is the draw tube rucked out all the way, or in all the way.
If the scope cannot achieve focus on these distant targets, then there is a problem with the instrument. It should focus on these distant daytime targets.
Venus does not show any surface features as it is covered with thick impenetrable cloud. And it is difficult for most amateur sized instruments to show any details in the cloud cover too. What you saw were anomalies withing the scopes optics.
Say that you are able to achieve focus on these distant daytime targets, next is to try the scope with the stars and Moon. The Moon is the easiest as it is so big and bright. It Moon is just past its full phase, so it will show few craters. It will show the dark and light features known as its 'seas' and 'oceans'. Smaller phases of the Moon will better show its craters, and be less painfully bright to look at.
The equatorial mount your scope comes with is really of a low standard. It is useable, but you may have already noticed that a little bump of the scope will set it off on a long and annoying 'bouncing fit'. Not too much can be done about this other than developing a soft touch.
The other thing that can be done, and is inexpensive, is to make a new mount for it. I've done this for a school's 114 telescope that was sitting unused because its equatorial mount frieghtened the school's staff. The pictures below show the cheap mount I made for it, making the scope much more user friendly, with a very small vibration period when it is bumped. The link I've included takes you to the IIS thread I started on the making of this mount:
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/s...ad.php?t=49203
Don't worry too much about the quality of your eyepieces for the time being. They will serve you well as you begin to familiarize yourself with the instrument. There is always time to purchase better ones, should you want too.
Renormalised has given you some links to some good telescope retailers, whose business is only telescopes. You might like to look at them.
again to IIS,
Mental.