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Home Alone

As many of you know, my family does Thanksgiving a little differently. Every year, we head to the hills of West Virginia to spend time at Deer Camp with our nearest and dearest. I usually play the role of fry cook, which means during my “vacation” I’m up every day at 4AM, getting a huge breakfast of ‘taters, eggs, venison and biscuits ready to fuel everyone through a long day of deer hunting. It reminds me of this Mom who “vacations” at the beach! This year, Dale and the boys are heading to the

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Let’s Talk Turkey

“Let’s talk turkey!” It’s a phrase we’ve all heard before, usually when things are about to get serious. But where did it come from? Why do we say it? And what on earth does turkey have to do with serious business? While the origins of this saying aren’t clear, according to some historians, the Pilgrims would often ask Native Americans for advice about this strange new land. Many of the conversations centered on the supply of wild turkeys, and it got to the point where, whenever a colonist approached a Native American, he would

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Ironman, Diets and Little Debbie

If you’re a regular reader, then you know that Matchmaker Logistics has been celebrating the Superheroes of Shipping in 2014. Earlier this year, we all got to chose our own superhero avatars, and I selected Ironman. That would be Ironman, the cool exec with a heart of steel who fights for justice, not IRONMAN, the triathlete. For those of you who don’t know, an IRONMAN triathlon consists of a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bicycle ride and a 26.2-mile marathon run, raced in that order and without a break. Ummm….no thank you. Last week, at

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Gas Prices are Too Low

Here in Wilmington, NC, local gas prices are currently about $2.93 per gallon. It’s the lowest autumn gas price we’ve seen since 2010. Great news? Apparently, not for everyone. On Wednesday, USNews.com published an article entitled “Gas Prices Are Too Damn Low.” Now there’s a complaint I didn’t expect to hear! For the moment (and just in time for the holiday shopping season), we’ll all have a little extra cash in our pockets, which means there really isn’t much reason to complain about gas prices (unless you take the long-term view like the author

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The Nuttiest Mother at the Zoo

Recently, my son Timothy informed me that he had to dress up as an animal for the school’s “Live Zoo” performance. My first thought was, “Live Zoo? Just come to our house for a few hours!” My second thought was, “Oh, no. I’m going to have to make an animal costume!” You betcha. There is an entire kingdom of animals at the zoo, everything from lions to alligators to elephants. For some reason, my Timothy decided to be… a chipmunk. Not only did he have to dress up as one, he had to learn

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Telecommuting– The Cat’s Pajamas

Where are you reading this email? You could be at the office, working from home, on the road, or even attending the NASTC conference. These days, thanks to technology, the new way of doing business is anytime, anywhere. According to a Forbes article, an estimated 30 million Americans work from home at least once a week, and the number keeps growing. In fact, a study by the Telework Research Network estimates the number will increase 63% in the next five years. You might be wondering how working from home could possibly be good for

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Redneck Superheroes

It’s that time of year again! Matchmaker is abuzz as Pam Pickral (Sr. Sales Carrier Rep) and I get ready to head to Tennessee for the annual NASTC conference. Last year, our Star Wars-themed booth was out of this world! This time, it’s the Year of the Superhero and I can’t wait to unveil all of the fun surprises we have in store at the Matchmaker Logistics booth! Last year, I published a Just Another Mary Monday entitled “Redneck Jedis”, which proved to be one of the most popular emails I’ve ever sent. So,

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Our Halloween Rap

What did the Mummy say as he left the office on Friday afternoon? It’s a wrap! We couldn’t resist a little candy corn-iness on Halloween. In fact, inspired by that hard-working Mummy, my talented team decided to engage in a little rapping of their own. The video stars, in order of appearance: Pam as the Electrifying D.J., Shelly as Dracula, Mary as Frankenstein, Kendra as the Witch, and Tammy as the Mummy. Enjoy their incredibly entertaining Halloween card and these Halloween trivia treats below. And, have a ghoulishly delightful Halloween weekend: TOP TEN NEARLY

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Winner Winner Pumpkin Dinner

I like to win. No matter what the subject, make it a competition, and I’m in it to win it. Derek Jeter said: “You tell me you want to race down the street, I’m going to try to beat you. My grandmother asks me to race down the street, I’m going to try to beat her. And I’ll probably enjoy it.” I always knew that Jeter and I were soul mates…. When “people” (hi, honey!) accuse me of being overly competitive, I reply: “I am not! I’m the most non-competitive person in the whole

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Confessions of an Introvert

Most people would be surprised to know that I consider myself an introvert. After all, in addition to writing a weekly blog, selling, and regularly speaking to business groups, I spend most weekends playing guitar and singing onstage in a local cover band. Introvert? Whatever… However, it was very different when I was a child. When I started school, I stood by the door of the classroom and cried until my parents returned at the end of the day – for 3 weeks straight! When they took me for a ski lesson, the instructor

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