Archive for the Just Another Mary Monday Category

School’s out, and today marks the official First Day of Summer. While many of us are planning trips to beaches, camp sites, or amusement parks, I think one of summer’s best offerings is right down the street. One of my favorite places to go on a summer afternoon is the local movie theater. It’s quiet, it’s air conditioned, and even with rising movie ticket prices, it’s still cheaper than a day at the amusement park. Besides, here in the South, we never know when we’ll get a sudden afternoon downpour, and there’s no better

On the bookshelf right beside my desk, I have a book entitled: Learning to Laugh at Work, The Power of Humor in the Workplace. I picked it up at a management training seminar, and have consulted it repeatedly over the years. It’s an “In Case of Emergency, Break Glass” title I consult in the midst of crises and work-related drama; the book reminds me that you should always keep your sense of humor. Office humor is important, so important that not just books, but entire movies (Office Space), television shows (The Office) and cartoon

I was stung by a wasp. Inside. My. Home. Yes, you read that right. I was working from my home office, and decided to take a short break and grab a snack – one of the benefits of working from home. I was in the basement kitchen, fixing my snack, when I noticed the bag of onions my husband brought home the day before. Onion skins were flaking everywhere and so, I decided to pick up the bag and do a little kitchen counter clean-up. While holding the bag, I felt something sharp digging

Andy Warhol was once quoted as saying, “In the future, everyone will be famous for 15 minutes.” It may have sounded silly in the age of television and print ads, but now, with the internet, I’m starting to think he might have been on to something. I’ve introduced you to selfies, hashtags, photo bombing, face-swapping and now it’s time to review memes. Memes (rhymes with teams) are viral photos, concepts, or catchphrases that spread across the internet primarily with the intent to make people laugh. Around here, we like our memes. They add another

I have a bad case of buyer’s remorse. Regular readers know that I pride myself on being a savvy shopper. I’m always on the hunt for the best deals, and I can smell a clearance sale a mile away. Yet in Vegas, aside from those all-you-can-eat buffets, screamin’ deals are harder to find. When I arrived in Vegas, I’d noticed a crack in my phone screen and was determined to get it fixed before my phone sustained more damage. Thankfully, only the screen protector needed replacing, but that can easily run $40-$50! On the

I get it. I write about my fabulous trip to Vegas; someone decides they want to live the Mary lifestyle; and then, that person up and steals my identity! Not really – but it did seem like I was the victim of a very strange case of identity theft in the form of an unexpected pay cut and an IRS mix-up. That’s right, Matchmaker recently received a back taxes wage garnishment for me from the state of North Carolina. With late penalties, it came to the tune of nearly thirteen thousand dollars! That was

It’s my first full week back in the office, and I’m rested, ready and rarin’ to go! In case you missed it, last week I broke the rules about what happens in Vegas. I couldn’t help it! I wanted to remember all of the fun, crazy things I saw. Besides, once you hit the airport, it’s like all the stress you shook off during your vacation just finds its way right back to you. You know the feeling – you get to the airport two hours early with great intentions. You’ve already pre-checked in

At the beginning of March Madness, Bob wrote about Cinderella stories in the sports world. But for this Carolina girl, the college basketball season had a less-than-happy ending. For those of you who missed the most exciting, nail-biting national championship game in history, UNC’s Prince Charming, Marcus Paige, made a 3-pointer with 4.7 seconds left in the game, tying Carolina and Villanova 74-74. But Villanova then scored its own 3-pointer right before the clock ran out, winning the title of 2016 NCAA Champions. If only I could re-write history, I would have had Carolina