6 Ice Cream Recipes to Celebrate National Ice Cream Month

Did you know that July is National Ice Cream Month?

Well, you do now!

Ice cream is often a guilty pleasure of mine (and my husband's). I even made an ice cream sandwich birthday cake for Gabe's fourth birthday party this year.

Obviously, we like ice cream at this house.

To celebrate National Ice Cream Month, or just because you love ice cream, why not try one of these amazing ice cream recipes!

1. Blueberry Muffin Ice Cream

from Julia at Fat Girl Trapped in a Skinny Body.  (This is an absolute must try for me!  ASAP!)

2. One Ingredient Ice Cream

a sure to be yummy and healthy ice cream variation from Andrew Olsen at the One Ingredient Chef.

3. Chocolate Chip Cookie Crunch & Peppermint Ice Cream

Yum!  My kiddo loves peppermint ice cream!  This recipe is from The Nest.

4. Ice Cream Cupcakes

OMG!  These are cute, already portioned, and simpy perfect!  From The Cupcake Daily Blog.

5. Fried Ice Cream

Uhm, yum!  Even I could make this!  Thank you Miriam at Overtime Cook!

6. Strawberry Cheesecake Icream

Oh, how I love cheesecake.  And ice cream.  Why not put them together?! From Tiffany at Creme De La Crumb.

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Where to Donate or Sell Breast Milk

There are many, many moms who struggle with breastfeeding for some reason or another. Many women struggle with an inadequate supply. Some women simply cannot produce milk. Often times there are medical issues to consider that might prevent breastfeeding.

On the other hand, there are women out there who make an overabundance of milk. Some of these women have crazy stashes of breast milk in their freezers and many even end up throwing out perfectly good milk (GASP!) because they don't know what else to do with it.

There are two alternatives to simply disposing of unused, excess breast milk: donate it or sell it.

Excess expressed breast milk can be sold or donated to be purchased or given to mothers and babies in need!

There are definitely plenty of women who have never even thought about it and not necessarily because they are against it. It's very possible that they just have been informed about the possibility.

You'd think with the way some women and children's agencies and others more or less shame mothers whose babies aren't getting breast milk; that they'd be all over advertising that you can, at the very least, donate excess milk.

1. Mother's Milk Cooperative (MMC)

Mother's Milk Cooperative (MMC) is my favorite choice, personally.  The MMC claims to be unique on two fronts:

We are the one and only milk bank owned and controlled by our donors. We also have the only paid milk donation program in the United States.

The MMC is a co-op, owned and controlled by its members (donors).  In order to become a donor, you must complete a medical history questionnaire to be pre-qualified, pass a blood test, and donate 100 ounces to cover the costs of screening you as a donor.  A minimum of 300 ounces must be shipped at a time because of the cost to ship breast milk.

2. Human Milk Banking Association of North America (HMBANA)

The HMBANA is a nonprofit milk bank where mother's with surplus milk can donate after being screened and approved.  HMBANA then distributes milk, mostly to NICU infants.

3. National Milk Bank

The National Milk Bank is literally a family business (two sisters-in-law and a daughter-in-law) with the goal of facilitating the delivery of human milk to premature and critically ill infants.  They are a donation only company.

4. Only The Breast

Only The Breast is like Craigslist for breast milk.  Buyers and sellers can post ads on their respective forums, which include a forum for selling 0-2 month breast milk (and other age groups) and a forum for men looking to buy breast milk.

I wouldn't recommend OTB for the easily offended.  It might seem like the perfect place for a quick sale, but use caution.  Even though it's not allowed, adult wet nursing ads are sometimes posted and/or ad placers are sometimes contacted about reconsidering their no adult wet nursing policy, even though it's strictly against OTB's terms.

Please NO nudity, NO pornography sales, NO adult services and NO adult wet nursing ads. We will remove any ads or members in violation.

Some people are down right vulgar when posting or contacting, too.  Therefore, I've come to believe that OTB might seem like the easy way out but it really can be challenging to find a legit buyer, if that's your goal.  The site does not seem to be as aptly moderated as it claims, either.

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First Aid Shot Review #FASTRelief

I received this item complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes. All opinions are my own and no other compensation was received. #FASTrelief #SurfsUpVoxBox.

A few weeks ago I attended a bachelorette party.  I rarely go out, have girls nights, etc.  I'm more of a stay-at-home-and-read kind of person.  If I get a night to myself, I spend it catching up on TV shows, reading a book, surfing the internet, or...sleeping.

Anyway, I cracked open my first alcoholic beverage in nearly a year; a fruity wine cooler, I knew I'd love from past experience.  Not even halfway through the wine cooler and I have the worse head ache imaginable.  I feel like the side of my face is being smashed in.

Unfortunately, on that night, I did have any First Aid Shot Therapy (FAST) pain reliever.  I was forced to drown my pain in jello shots and amaretto sour.  It was either that or call the hubby to come get me and scrap my whole night of fun.

So, it took a bachelorette party and a wine cooler to discover I have a tooth that for sure needs pulled, if not two.  However, lack of health coverage has me dentist shopping and, therefore, suffering a little while longer (and skipping the wine coolers until further notice).

FAST pain relief is a liquid, single does shot made with FDA compliant active ingredients.  When another tooth ache assaulted me the other day, I quickly downed FAST instead of my usual acetaminophen.

FAST claims to be berry flavored, but I don't really know.  I tipped my head back, dumped it in, a pretty much swallowed before I had to taste too much.  It's fairly bland if taken quickly, though I did get a quick bitter taste before I swallowed.

Bottoms up!  #FASTRelief

When I sniffed it before pouring it down my throat (yes, I did that), it was odorless.  Therefore, I wasn't sure what to expect when swallowing it.  Hence my decision to down it ASAP.

I'm not really sure when the pain relief came (between a crying baby and an only partially potty trained pup), but it was within the hour and it lasted over four hours.  I ended up going to sleep before it wore off or at least I went to sleep without my toothache returning.

Success!

FAST pain relief combines caffeine (a pain relief aid) and Choline Salicylate (a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug - NSAID) for a fast acting, convenient pain relief solution!

Find F.A.S.T. at a location near you!

I was really impressed with FAST.  As the acronym suggests and the product promises, pain relief is quick and lasting.  And the single dosage shot is super convenient!

Have you ever tried FAST or something like it?  What's your go to pain reliever?

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