My Addiction to Ice Cream

Do not laugh at this title. It is not a laughing matter. My addiction to ice cream is deep-seated and unbreakable.  When I'm sick all I want is ice cream. When I'm sad all I want is ice cream. When it's hot outside, all I want is ice cream.  Ice cream has and always will be my favorite dessert. I am kind of picky about which flavors and brands I like.  I don't like Edy's ice creams because they have a somewhat grainy texture. I like almost every flavor by Blue Bunny and Ben & Jerry's.  My very favorites are:
1. Haagen Dazs Pistachio
2. Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia
3. Ben & Jerry's Coffee Heath bar Crunch
4. Brahms Cherry Limeade Sherbet (not quite the same, but still awesome)
ALL TIME FAVORITE:
#1 Blue Bunny's Spumoni ice cream (limited edition around Christmas)

Some things I've learned about myself throughout this lifelong addiction:
1. I should NEVER buy a 1/2 gallon carton. Why? Because I'll eat half of it in one sitting.
2. Only buy the carton when there's an especially good reason (e.g. really bad day, super crazy craving, sharing with a friend, just cuz you want it, etc.)
3. I only keep the prepackaged 100 calorie Great Value brand ice cream cups in my freezer because they taste pretty good and I don't feel immensely fat after I eat just one little cup.
4. When left to my own devices, I will consume the entire container (pint or otherwise) within 1-2 days. THIS IS NOT HEALTHY (but sometimes I do it anyway)

Courtesy of Cupcakes and Cashmere blog

I recently read a post on Cupcakes and Cashmere, a lovely blog that you should check out, about her favorite ice cream.  She lives in LA and has a place nearby that sells a Salty Caramel ice cream.  Does that not sound divine?? My favorite flavor combination is caramel, chocolate, and sea salt. I learned this when visiting Two Dumb Dames chocolate shop in Eureka Springs, AR. They sell these dark chocolate caramels with sea salt that are THE BEST THING I'VE EVER PUT IN MY MOUTH (other than my mommy's apple pear cranberry pie). So, that is why I want to go to LA. Yes, just to try salty caramel ice cream. It's an addiction people. Few things make me more excited than a trip for ice cream. Okay, a lot of things make me more excited, but I'm being overly dramatic about food right now.

This whole post is revealing a whole lot of FCI's (fat child instincts). Yes, I had an ice cream cup for my snack this morning and it was so good. Don't judge me for my love of ice cream. Everybody loves ice cream, but few will ever recognize their addiction. 

What about you? Do you share in my love of the creamy frozen goodness that is ice cream? Would you consider yourself an ice cream addict? If so, what is your favorite flavor and brand? 

Have a lovely weekend! Be sure to eat some ice cream in honor of this post!

Love so very much,
Anna

P.S. Now you can laugh.

Disappointment

Today is the first day of my sophomore year of college.  Rather than feeling excited, I'm feeling disappointed and kinda sick.  I think I'm catching that summer cold I thought I'd avoided.  The disappointment is because of audition results.  Yesterday, I auditioned for the fall concert bands.  I was really hoping to make Wind Symphony, but I was just one chair away....again.  You see, this happened in the spring as well.  The only difference between now and then is that I practiced less for this audition and I didn't cry when I saw the results this time.

The lack of crying kind of disturbs me because I always cry when I care a lot about something. So, this leads me to believe that I just don't care as much anymore. Is this a bad thing? Am I learning to not take myself as seriously?  I didn't stress about this audition. I practiced for 3-4 weeks ahead of time. I just didn't worry as much and I take that as a small achievement even if it yielded disappointing results.  Sometimes I wonder why I'm a performance major when I'm really not that great at performing. Then I remember the other music major options: Music Theory-boring and really pointless unless I want to be a professor, Music Composition- difficult and I have no desire to write music, and Music Education- dear Lord, can you imagine me trying to conduct a group of young musicians?!! You might be thinking, "Why is she a music major at all?" I wonder this sometimes, too.  I always come up with the same answer-- I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have music.  I've been in band since I was 9 years old (almost 11 years ago).  I've always had band to help me make new friends when I'm in a new setting.  Music has been my hobby and pretty much my life.  So, when I was thinking about majors, I knew that music couldn't be left out.  Plus, I got a whole lot of scholarship money that more than covered the costs of a double major.  So, here I am, a flute performance major failing to meet my own ridiculously high standards and feeling immensely disappointed in myself. 

Now that I've typed out all of my feelings of inadequacy and depression, I'll end with a good thing, bad thing overview.  Good thing, bad thing. Good thing, bad thing.
Good thing: I have Criminal Procedures class next which I'm looking forward to.
Bad thing: I didn't do as well as I'd like on my concert band audition
Good thing: I'm about to go get some coffee. I love coffee.
Bad thing: I'm getting a summer cold.
Good thing: My boyfriend brought me orange juice, cough drops, and sorbet yesterday just because he loves me. : )
Bad thing: It's a long wait til my next class.

Any ideas on how to see the good in a disappointing situation?  How do you avoid setting ridiculously high standards for yourselves?

I hope everyone else's day is going well and that you're not disappointed about anything.

Much love,
Anna