Free stuff and the State of the Freezer Address 5th Anniversary Edition

Do you know how many times I've written this post in my head? At least a half dozen if not more. So many different things I want to say after five years. Do I tell stories or visions? Do I look back or look ahead? I don't know. I think one blog year equals at least 10 real years, so that makes me over 50 in internet years right? I mean, I already had my mid-blog-life crisis, so it's all vacations and grandkids from here right? Hmmm, at least I haven't lost my ability to babble.

Starting over: WELCOME! Welcome welcome welcome to the blog's fifth birthday, or blogiversary if you must. I can't believe we're still here. I can't believe my freezers are still full. Let's take a quick peak at them.

Upstairs is a mess, plain and simple. The usual breakfast food, frozen veggies, and stuff you've already read about (or will soon enough). This is where ice cream goes to be inhaled by my family.... or to be left and forgotten (a few of them are a little old... shhhhh, don't tell anyone).

The basement freezer is a mess for a different reason. With a crazy rash of spring shipments coming in and mixing with my own rush to buy the latest and greatest treats, I created this staggered mess separated only by plastic bags. This was not my best idea, though I meant well as I tried to keep all nut based products away from everything else. The funny thing is that this looked alot worse just a few weeks ago. I mean it was practically filled to the top. Thankfully we are finally approaching the end of all this frozen goodness. Big, big thanks to Velvet, Blue Bunny, Weight Watchers, Hood, and New Orleans ice cream companies for hooking me up this spring. Your donations were greatly appreciated.

Will I keep blogging? Ofcourse!
Will Nick continue to contribute quality opinions? Ofcourse!
Will I ever get to go on the great american ice cream road trip? Ehhh, not yet.

Now granted, I have been trying to change my tone a little bit recently. I try to give you all the facts and then mix in my opinions and I've been trying harder to differentiate which is which. I don't have to love a product to know it's good, nor do I have to hate a product that is cheap. I know there is a large group of web surfers who come to the site wanting to see me rave about how good their favorite flavor is. The problem is, that's not what we do here. Is ours a perfect system? No. I can't anticipate how you'd feel because we're all different. We have different tastes, preferences, and dietary needs. You might like minty lowfat products, your bud might like premium coffee flavored pints, another is lactose sensitive, the world is full of lots of different people with different needs. Some of us burn 1500 calories a day, some burn 3000, but deep down we all love this stuff. I hope this blog will continue to bring you a balance of budget, mainstream, and high end products from across this great nation of ours. You don't have to take our word on something, but I want every post to encourage you to expand your appreciation for the cold stuff. Never forget that your opinion matters too so never be afraid to chime in with a comment.

Well that's it..... Wait, have I mentioned we've got free stuff?

The best-est ice cream giveaway ever

(well, that we've ever had anyway)

I went out on a limb and asked a few companies if they would help out with the blog's anniversary. After 5 years, almost 800 reviews, and hundreds of thousands of visitors, this is truly a moment to cherish. Our big prize is going to be $100 gift certificate to icecreamsource.com. Nick's a big fan of their huge selection and now you can be too. "But Dubba, that's just one prize and there are so many of us!" Well, that's why we've got prizes for the runners up too. I've got a 5 pack of free coupons from Blue Bunny as well as a 5 pack of free coupons from Talenti Gelato. How's them (frozen) apples? Big thanks to all of these companies for helping out with this!

Contest Rules:

Now we're not going to draw the grand prize until the end of the month, so make sure you check back to see if you've won. Multiple entries are accepted with each of the following methods counting as an entry.

1) Through the blog: Leave a comment below. Mention a favorite flavor, a favorite review, what new product you hope to find soon, anything. Make sure I can verify your identity if you win.

2) Through twitter: Follow @OnSecondScoop on Twitter and then tweet this "I want to win $100 of ice cream from @OnSecondScoop and icecreamsource.com". Each tweet on a new day counts as another entry.

3) Through facebook: Like us on facebook and then do one of two things. First, you can like this post for an entry to win. Second, you can also share the post for another chance to win. Everyone of your friends that likes the shared post counts as yet another chance for you to win the grand prize.

Ok, I'm sure I'm forgot something (like proper grammar), so be warned this post might update. I do try to reply to everyone's comment, but that's not really going to work for this contest :)

Oh, I can't leave without saying thanks one more time. Thanks for reading, thanks for sticking with me, and thank you for keeping your freezer stocked. Keep those spoons scooping!

6/1/2013 Update: And the big winner is....Juli! I wish I had prizes for all of you.... but then I would be broke. Big thanks again to icecreamsource.com, blue bunny, and talenti for the prizes!