But even so, I sit faithfully by the tv every Monday night to watch new drama unfold. Currently, Deanna, the heart-broken contestant from a recent Bachelor show is searching for her true love….IN THE SAME PROCESS THAT BROKE HER HEART! To me, it seems ironic, but I guess true romantics will do anything to find that special someone. Tonight she visits the remaining bachelors’ hometowns to meet the parents. Should be interesting! A guy named Dave Campbell has been keeping a “live from LA” blog about the happenings on the show. Be sure to check his blog out at ABC.com.

For those of you who have never watched an episode of the show, good for you because it tends to become a bit of an addiction after awhile. Ask any husband whose wife watches it if he watches it, too, and he will adamantly say “no.” However, the reality is, these husbands are absolutely watching it and could tell you play-by-play what has happened so far in the season.

For the rest of you, here is a recap of the past bachelors/bachelorettes and their status after the show….

#1: Alex, a management consultant, chose Amanda, but broke up after several months

#12: Matt, a British global financier, proposed to Shayne (daughter of actor Lorenzo Llamas), and currently they are still engaged, however the show just aired a few months ago, so give it time!

Those were the Bachelors, but don’t forget about the Bachelorettes!

#1: Trista, one of the final bachelorettes from Season 1, chose Ryan. They married in 2003 and had their first child, Max, in 2007. (Finally, a success story!)

#4: Deanna, who was rejected by Brad in that eventful season….is currently the Bachelorette.

I am not excellent in math by any means, but based on the few number of successes from this process and plain old common sense, I believe this process is completely flawed. Not only is the whole dating relationship publicized and scrutinized, the kinds of dates that happen are just not based in reality. Unless you are dating a very wealthy person, which most aren’t, dates like the ones on this show will never happen in “real life.” Therefore, when the contestants continue dating after the show, all the sizzle and swinging-from-the-chandelier feelings dissipate. Only natural of course, because the nature of dating is to get to know the REAL personality, not the packaged-nicely-for-television-ratings personality.

So, while the Bachelor is a failure for dating, it is a hit for television ratings. You all know where you will find me every Monday night until this show runs dry!

As you can tell, I have music on my mind. Have you ever truly listened to the lyrics of the songs you are listening to? Even though I listen to music for the beat and musicality, I am always trying to understand the meaning of the song by listening to the actual words. Now, first I have to actually know what the words are instead of what my made up lyrics are. But once I know the right lyrics, I find the song takes on a life of its own. Some are beautiful, some sad, some with obvious meaning, and others with hidden messages. But whatever the song is, once you understand the words, you will never listen to it the same again.

For as long as I can remember, I have always associated songs with memories. So I can be listening to the radio and a song from my middle school years will come on (and it wasn’t all THAT long ago!). I am instantly transported back to that time….I can literally feel the same feelings and remember what life was like at that age. Sometimes remembering memories is a bad thing, but for the most part, it’s kind of a cool thing!

What songs make you think about memories or fun times in the past? I guarantee, even when you are 80 years old and hear that song, you will feel like you were a kid again!

Rock on….

First off, they do not use the MPH (miles per hour) system on the roadways, but rather KMP (kilometers per hour). This is a hard transition for someone like me, who is mathematically-challenged usually, and for the life of me, can’t remember being taught these measurements. (Maybe I was daydreaming that day in class). So when I say I was going 110-120, it isn’t really as fast as it sounds….it was really only 70-80mph.

The 2nd and most unusual find was milk-in-a-bag. I am totally serious! Canada sells their milk in a bag. It comes with a pitcher to pour it from I believe, but when you see it on the grocery store shelves, it’s in a squishy bag. For someone who has only ever seen milk in a carton, this is just strange! So I asked my own personal world traveler, my British husband, who else has milk-in-a-bag, and he couldn’t think of any other countries. Is Canada the only country who sells milk this way? I understand how it can help save the environment by cutting down on packaging, but I can’t help but think – when I open my fridge and see milk-in-a-bag, will I still want to drink it?

Our Canadian adventures totaled a long 8 days. It was a great trip in theory, but the logistics of it still leave us tired today – a whole day after returning. We got to see everywhere from Lansing, Michigan to Gatineau, Quebec. A day trip to Niagra Falls and a day driving to Ottawa rounded off this mile-rific vacation. While we enjoyed the sites (and learning the ever important French terms necessary to navigate through Canada), traveling by car with a 1-year old left us exhausted. He was pretty good considering how long we spent in the car, but he didn’t sleep much while actually in the car, which left us tired from trying to keep him occupied.

All in all, I loved Canada and plan to make more trips up there….but most likely, without a 1-year old!