I have been eating Kit Kats religiously for years.

I love everything about them. The simple milk chocolate, the wafer, the fact that there’s nothing else mucking it up. No caramel or nougat or candy shell.

So I wasn’t immediately sold on the various far-out flavors Nestle markets to its Japanese customers. Flavors like soy sauce, ginger ale, creme brulee, banana, even corn.

I guess I’m a Kit Kat purist.

How in the world did Kit Kat, a decidedly American snack with roots in northern England, get its break — no pun intended — in Japan?

Turns out “Kit Kat” sounds awfully like the phrase, “kitto katsu,” which roughly translates to mean, “surely wine.” It’s a term used to wish others good luck, often in school before exams. The candy has long been popular among students — and many of Japan’s faddy snackers.

Taking advantage of this, Nestle has put out more than 200 special edition flavors since 2000, many of them only found in certain regions in Japan. Most are bought as gifts or omiyage. And nearly every Hawaii resident who travels to Japan brings them back to share.

Nestle hasn’t launched very many new and different flavors of Kit Kats in the U.S. The only one I’ve found on shelves in the dark chocolate version, which is somewhat appealing and hardly adventurous.

But why? Wouldn’t Americans — namely those living in Hawaii — love the unusual flavors favored by Nestle’s Asian consumers?

What do you think?

And what interesting flavors have you tried?

I tried. I really did.

I was a dedicated “Hawaii Five-0″ fan the first season, following the crazy plot lines and budding bromance between Alex O’Loughlin and Scott Caan.

I tweeted about it, I blogged about, I talked about it. Every Monday night I was tuned in, laptop on and iPhone off. This was quality time with me, Caan and some of the most stunning vistas of Hawaii.

I was there for the murders, the drama, the banter, the fun fictitious Hawaii “landmarks” like Kukui High School. I was completely on board.

Then something happened.

Maybe the back-and-forth between O’Loughlin and Caan got old. Maybe the outrageous plots were too much. Or maybe I was getting tired of the blatant product placement — Subway has got to be the worst — that became more commonplace in the second season. But I stopped watching.

And while I’m sure I’m not alone, I don’t represent the majority.

CBS announced today it was renewing “Hawaii Five-0″ for a third season. The popular crime drama won its hour for viewers and among adults 18-49 many times this season, according to Nielsen ratings.

People are watching — just not me.

Anyone else feel the same way? Or tell me what I’m missing!

Mark Twain famously said, “Cauliflower is nothing but cabbage with a college education.”

And that cabbage today would be jobless and in debt — hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt.

Not a very successful cultivar.

The New York Times published a very telling series on this crisis — with students, not cabbage — called “Degrees of Debt.”

The Times reported that 94 percent of students who earn a bachelor’s degree borrow money — through federal and private loans and from relatives — to pay for higher education. That’s up from 45 percent in 1993.

In 2011, the average college debt level was $23,300 but 10 percent of graduates owed more than $54,000 and 3 percent owed more than $100,000. What 22-year-old can pay back $100,000 in loans — with interest — fresh out of college? It’s no wonder 1 in 10 borrowers who started repaying loans in 2009 defaulted within two years.

The series featured a recent graduate of Ohio Northern who owned more than $100,000 in student debt. Her monthly payment was more than $900 a month and she was earning just $225 a week working two waitressing jobs while she continued to look for a “real” job.

That’s insane.

I’ve been out of graduate school for more than 10 years and I’m still paying student loans. It’s not $900 a month, but it’s still money that I could use for other things like, oh, rent and groceries.

It took me awhile to come to terms with the amount of money I’m paying each month toward a degree I already have in hand. I realize now — years later — how valuable that education is, that if I can make more a month than my monthly student loan payments, I was doing alright, the degree was worthwhile.

But I can’t say that for everyone.

I have friends who are still paying student loans and not working in their degree fields or — worse — not working at all. There are some who are paying off these loans and other loans, including business loans and mortgages.

You can see why we’re a generation that feels overwhelmed.

As much as it hurt to write that check every month, I can honestly say it was worth it. The experience I had, the friends I made, the learning that took place — all of it was worth the monthly payment I’m still making.

Anyone got a horror story about student loans to share? Do you think college is too expensive? Dish here!

Oprah has long said moms have the toughest — and most important — job.

I agree. And try raising three heard-headed kids, work a full-time job, and prepare a home-cooked meal every night complete with dessert.

That’s my mother, Super Mom, who has literally lifted the bar on motherhood so high, none of us have kids of our own. Likely because there’s no way we can be the kind of mom she’s been to us. It’s just not genetically possible!

I often wonder what it takes to be a good mom. Compassion, level-headedness, patience, organizational skills, commitment, and an uncanny ability to convince their kids that a) there is a Santa and b) jumping off the roof with an umbrella isn’t a good idea.

My mom possesses all these qualities and more. She’s a master at multitasking, she’s never late, she’s a phenomenal cook and baker, she remembers everything, and she can laugh — often heartily — at herself. These are qualities I’ve come to appreciate in the people around me. I figure if they’re anything like my mom, they’re worth being around.

To say my mom and I are close would be a gross understatement. We’re not BFFs, the kind of strange relationship often depicted on reality TV. No, we’re definitely mother-daughter, with me often calling her for advice and recipes and she checking in to see if I’m still alive. We watch Korean dramas together and talk incessantly about food. (This is where I get that from!) But despite our often casual relationship, she’s still my mother, someone I respect and listen to and run to for hugs, mostly virtual.

On this Mother’s Day — since I know she reads (and picks out the errors) in my blog — I just wanted to tell her thanks. Thanks for listening to me whine about boyfriends and dead-end jobs, thanks for sharing all your secret recipes and cooking tips, thanks for always laughing at my jokes, thanks for showing me it’s OK to just be me.

Mom, you da bestest.

Anyone want to give a shout-out to their moms, too? I’d love to read it!