National Ice Cream Month

You've GOT to be kidding me.

July is National Ice Cream Month, and no one told me????
July 21, 2013 was National Ice Cream Day, and no one told me????

Well, if this isn't worth a major pout, I don't know what is.  I love ice cream, and always have. When I first moved to Massachusetts in 1980, I was delighted to learn that most ice cream shops are open year-round, instead of just in the summer.  I was also delighted to learn that Massachusetts had the highest per capita consumption of ice cream in the U.S....  but apparently that's a claim that is open to debate, as every year there are several states and a number of cities that claim that honor.  Hmmmm... well, that's ok, because that just means I'll have to work harder to do my bit to move Massachusetts into spot #1!

It's bad enough that I've missed National Ice Cream Day 2013, I just can't let National Ice Cream Month pass by, without a mention.

All right... first let's take a look at those 'greatest consumption' stats...  AHA!  well it's certainly easy to see why there's a lot of confusion.  First, several of the 'studies' based their numbers on credit card transactions.  
Really?  Credit cards?  I know that ice cream can be pretty expensive, but ---  Credit Cards?
So, the first thing to note is that NONE of these studies have included MY ice cream consumption.

Next, the 'studies' are looking at the amount of money spent on ice cream.  Which means that those who buy a half gallon at the grocery store get almost no credit for eating ice cream.  That hardly seems fair.

And then there's the issue of size.  I'm not sure how that plays into the statistics, but while the ice cream shops are making their sizes larger and larger and larger, I've been adjusting my order, accordingly.  So when I first moved out here, I would order a medium, or sometimes a large.  Over time, I changed my order to a small.  These days, I typically order a kiddie size, and last night  (yes, I had ice cream last night... wanna make something of it?) I ordered a baby size.  No, the size of my dish of ice cream hasn't changed, it's the name of that size that has changed.

There's certainly lots of trivia out there about ice cream.... favorite flavors, and most flavors, and most bizarre flavors, and the month when the most ice cream is produced, and the history of ice cream... I'm not going to bore you with any of that.  And I'm certainly not going to waste your time talking about ice cream cones, since I don't ever bother with those.  But in case you're feeling a tad guilty when you eat ice cream, I will tell you that I found a list on Listverse that said ice cream has a low glycemic index...  it is a low sugar release food, so you're less likely to binge after eating ice cream.  
Hmmm.. less likely than what...  eating carrots?  Ok, I'll buy that.  I would agree that I'm less likely to binge after eating ice cream, than I am after eating carrots... especially if I 'mistakenly' (wink, wink) order a medium instead of a kiddie!!!

By the way, I'm not going to tell you my favorite flavor of ice cream, because I don't want to hurt the feelings of the other flavors.  I will tell you that most tea-flavored ice cream is actually green tea --- I don't drink green tea, so I don't eat green-tea flavored ice cream.

So, while I pout because I missed National Ice Cream Day (in 2014, the date will be July 20th... put it on your calendar), and I breathe a big sigh of relief because at least I didn't miss National Ice Cream Month....  I'm going to sit here and drink my tea.  And when I'm done with my tea...  well where do you THINK I'm going???!!