Here's what I know... Advice for Vienna, Tenley and Ali on The Bachelor

Have you ever wondered what the girls on The Bachelor are doing wrong and how one of them will really close the deal with Jake?

Here's what I know...

The girls should have spent more time singing their own virtues rather than trashing Vienna. Jake had a thing for Vienna all the way through the show. This should have been evident to the other girls simply because even after everyone trashed her to Jake, he still never sent her home. At some point, the other girls needed to realize that their time would be better spent focusing on how to make Jake fall in love with each one of them rather than trying to make him hate Vienna.

Ali was the most clueless of all when it came to understanding how and why Jake was connecting with the other women. Ali wasted time and made herself look like a fool by obsssing over how it could be possible that Jake was interested in her at the same time as being interested Vienna. Perhaps, Ali,at 25, was too young to understand thatchemistry is an intangible and a person can feel it with many types of people.

Matchmaker in the Know: Avoiding Valentine's Day Pitfalls

Have you ever wondered if there are things you might do on Valentine's Day that will kill the night and send your relationship spiraling?

Here's what I know...

Valentine's Day is the one of the biggest breakup days of the year. As surprising as this may sound, it is true. People go into the holiday with too many expectations and as a result, the emotions run rampant. Do not let your relationship fall into this trap.

You need to refrain from having any relationshipy, "what is happening between us" conversations on your Valentine's Day date. On Valentine's Day, romance is always in the air and this will invariably draw you closer together so don't bring up that conversation and drive you both apart. He will be very resentful if he plans a magical evening for you and then you "start with him" about those things on your mind. Save it for another night.

Matchmaker in the Know: The proper Valentine's Day gifts

Do you ever feel stumped when it comes to celebrating Valentine's Day and picking the right gift or card?

Here's what I know...

- Keep in mind that if you are dating someone, you need to acknowledge Valentine's Day in some way. If you try to pull the ol', "Valentine's Day is just a Hallmark holiday and I don't believe in it," you will just end up in the doghouse. Trust me.

- Valentine's Day can be a tricky holiday because you want to do enough so that you get brownie points for effort but you don't want to do too much or go over the top because that could scare someone off or give the wrong message. Doing enough means doing something, anything, even if it's stopping at the Food Emporium Supermarket on the way home and picking up candy and flowers. Doing too much means putting on the full court press for someone you barely know with flowery love cards, and dinner at the most romantic restaurant in the city like One if By Land, Two if By Sea.

- You need to give gifts and cards that are commensurate with the level of your relationship. This means that if you have only been out a few times, you need to pick a Shoebox Greeting card that is more playful, sarcastic and funny rather than mushy gushy. In this instance, mushy gushy will make things awkward and give off the wrong message. Just the same, if you have been dating a long time, you can't get away with a funny card or an impersonal card and you can't get away with just signing your name. If you have been together for awhile, your beau is going to expect a sentimental card, a Hallmark card that has script font and with a handwritten message in it from you.

- Keep in mind that women always compare their Valentine's Day gifts, cardsand experiences with their friends and colleagues. The women always do a play by play for each other, so you need to step up. You definitely don't want your gal to be the gal by the water cooler who has nothing to brag about. You need to give her something to cluck over. And the water cooler winners are not always the ones who get the most expensive gift or were taken to the fanciest dinner. The admired woman by the water cooler is always the one who tells the most romantic story about her Valentine's Day evening that is met with the most "Ohhhhhs and Ahhhhs" about how sweet and adorable you were. Can you be that guy?

- Lingerie is a risky gift. A lot of men want to give lingerie to their ladies. First of all, they like seeing their gal in it and secondly, they think this is a good way to signal to their gal that they think she is sexy. However, if you are thinking of buying lingerie, make sure you are at the "lingerie" stage of your dating or the girl might get offended and think it is an inappropriate sexual overture. Equally, make sure that you pick tasteful lingerie- if you pick out a raunchy teddy straight from the pages of Hustler, your girl might think you don't respect her. You can only go with sleazy lingerie if sleazy and edgy is part of your sexual repertoire with your gal; don't use Valentine's Day to change things up.

- Make sure to choose a gift that your beau would like, not just something thatyou would like. For example, don't get her tickets to a Sixers basketball game rationalizing that it's a night out for the two of you and at least you get to see some basketball. Instead you should get her tickets to a Broadway show like Wicked that SHE would enjoy and you should go along with a big smile on your face. And girls, don't get him a manicure and pedicure for Valentine's Day because you think he has grody feet and you think of it as a "pampering day"; men don't find pampering to be enjoyable. Instead, buy him a day at Skip Barber race track and save the hygiene intervention for another day.

- Make sure you choose a gift that has something romantic and thoughtful about it and isn't just practical. Don't buy her a new blow-dryer because you know she needs one or a gift certificate to her yoga studio. Take the time to pick out a gift she would like and wouldn't buy herself. And think about going to yoga class with her; she will find this to be romantic

- If you can't spend a lot of money, go with a creative and sentimental gift. Some good ideas are things like a handmade gift certificate redeemable for one back massage or a gift certificate redeemable for 5 "non- veto-able" movie choices. Or sprinkle rose pedals and Hershey kisses all over the bedroom and have a bubble bath drawn in a candle lit bathroom. Or make a mix CD of all of your honey's favorite songs but remember it's about his or her favorites, not yours! Gifts don't have to be expensive to be romantic.

Samantha Daniels is a well known Professional Matchmaker, President of Samantha's Table Matchmaking and the author of Matchbook: The Diary of a Modern Day Matchmaker (Simon & Schuster). Follow Samantha on Twitter- http://www.twitter.com/matchmakerSD

Heres What I know: Mixed Signals when you are dating

Have you ever wondered if you give mixed signals when you are dating?

Here's what I know:

With regard to calling after the date, it is better to say, "I will talk to you soon" as opposed to "I will talk to you tomorrow." Women take these type of statements very literally and they notice when that call doesn't come "tomorrow" but instead comes three days later. If you had said "I will call you soon" you would have gotten brownie points for the call three days later, but because you said "tomorrow" now you will be penalized for your efforts.

Here's what I know... Dating and Good New Year's Resolutions

Have you ever wondered what other single people are resolving to do or not do in the world of dating as they go into a new year?

Here's what I know...

1. A lot of people resolve to get married, to make this the year that they actually walk down the aisle in holy matrimony at the Plaza Hotel, go on a honeymoon to Fiji and move into their dream apartment on Park Avenue. If you are making this type of resolution, you might consider dialing it back a bit and resolve something with less pressure, and something that is more attainable. I would recommend that you resolve getting into a loving monogamous relationship that could lead to marriage as opposed to marriage itself. A lot of times if your resolutions are too lofty, they will overwhelm you and ultimately backfire.

Matchmaker in the know: Bad breath foods that kill a date

Have you ever wondered what foods and things are the biggest bad breath offenders??

Here’ s what I know…

-Red wine is the biggest offender. A lot of people prefer red wine, a lot of people say that red wine is good for your health and a lot of people think red wine is more sophisticated. However, red wine makes your breath smell bad and its stains a lot of people’s teeth. Translation- you breathe smells bad AND you are talking to someone you like with purple teeth. Choose vodka instead. Its odorless

-Not eating gives you bad breath. If you didn’t eat all day, then you have that I am hungry breath and that is very hard to get rid of. Make sure you pop several mints when you leave you office and grab something like a banana that should take the smell away.

-Peanuts give you bad breath and the smell lingers on you. I know its tempting to eat those peanuts on the table at the bar but choose the cashews or the pistachios instead.

-Olives give you bad breath. Don’t eat a bowl of them at the bar and on a date, don’t ask for extras in your martini so you can chow down on them, they are bad for your breath.

-Garlic- everyone knows garlic is a breath killer but these days a lot of people don’t care because they love these Pasta Puttanesca. Keep in mind that not only does garlic kill your breath but a lot of people sweat garlic out of their pours so you wind up with body odor as well as bad breath! If you want a good night kiss, save you pasta craving for football night with the guys!

Here's what I know... Men like women who act like women.

Have you ever wondered what type of women, men really like??

Here's what I know...

1. Men like women who act like women. This does not mean that you need to act like a frail woman or a Stepford wife, but it means that you should act in such a way so that he feel like he is the man and you are the woman.

2. Men like women who let a man help them. Men need to feel needed whether it's in a small way- changing a light bulb or answering a question for you or whether it's in a larger way- coming to your rescue in a bad situation or calming you down when you are freaking out. If you make him feel like you don't need him at all, he will leave you.

3. Men like women who act flirty. Flirting is the most important thing about male/female interaction- it's the best part of the "game." If you don't know how to flirt, it's important that you learn.

4. Men like women who giggle. This does not mean that you need to act like a "ditz," but keep in mind that the definition of a giggle is "a flirty laugh" and giggling tells the guy two things--that you think he's funny and that you like him because you are flirting with him through your laugh.

5. Men like women who dress like a woman. Men like women in dresses- they just do. You can make any excuse you want about thinking you look better in pants, but a guy will always appreciate and admire a woman in a dress.

6. Men like women who allow a man act like a man, women who let him watch football with the guys, have a guys night out once in awhile, even belch inappropriately from time to time. If you emasculate your guy, he will either turn into a guy who you won't respect or he will leave you because he will wind up not respecting himself.