School wasn’t canceled yesterday (I work at a boarding school; we rarely cancel for snow), but I got about halfway to work and turned around. The highway was a mess. The right lane and about 1/3 of the left lane was ice. I think the plows came through and did a half-assed job after the snow stopped, and didn’t do anything once it started sleeting. It was a mess and took me an hour just to make that drive (normally it’s about 1/2 hour or a little less to work).

I decided it was safer to head home and take the day off, even if it means using paid time off. (It should be noted that the state police reported183 highway accidents just on the morning commute, so I think I made the right decision.) I worked from home for a bit then decided to take advantage of an unexpected free day. Here’s what I did:

Watched the Today show – I love Today but I usually have only 10-15 minutes to watch it in the morning, so when I’m off on a weekday I always have it on.

Chatted with my neighbors – I have great neighbors but don’t see them too often during the winter, when we’re not outside as much. I caught up with a few and it was really nice to chat with them.

Baked - I finally made the oatmeal breakfast cupcakes I intended to make this weekend (my bananas weren’t ripe enough to use before yesterday). I ended up having just 2 cups of bananas so I used unsweetened applesauce for the remaining 1/2 cup the recipe called for.

The cupcakes were really easy to make and are delicious! The recipe makes 24 cupcakes so I had plenty to freeze for later. They were a little sticky (maybe from the applesauce?) so I ate them with a fork to avoid sticky fingers.

Did an exercise DVD – I didn’t feel like driving to the gym (it’s only 1 mile away but down a giant hill and I was worried my car wouldn’t make it back up), so I did my dorky Walk Away the Pounds DVD at home. It’s pretty easy but I figured it’s better than nothing. Of course my annoying cat had to be right up in the action.

Tried out my new yoga DVD – The mailman had great timing and delivered my new DVD, Crunch Yoga Mama – Prenatal Yoga, when I was wrapping up my first workout, so I decided to give it a try. I like it, though I’m not good at it. Yoga really highlights just how inflexible I am! The host is pregnant and I like that, though she is a little annoying at times (the “casual laugh” while talking got a bit annoying).

You know what else is annoying? A damn cat who won’t leave you alone while you’re trying to do yoga! One cat was sitting peacefully next to me (she loves to sit and lay on this brown paper bag and I haven’t had the heart to get rid of it).

The other cat was laying on the yoga mat, attacking the yoga mat, attacking the other cat, and generally being a pain in the ass. And she got pissed when I tried to push her off the mat. I had a really hard time relaxing and focusing on the yoga when I was constantly disciplining the cat. I finally paused the DVD and got a squirt bottle of water and that did the trick.

(In case you can’t tell, yes, I do have a preference for one cat over the other. Terrible, but I can’t help it. One is sweet and well-behaved and the other claws everything and is a hellion in general. She’s not mean to us but she beats up on the sweet cat and is just a pain in general.)

Relaxed! – Because really, that’s the best part of a snow day, the opportunity for some extra relaxation. I caught up on my DVR and read – both pregnancy stuff (Your Pregnancy Week by Week, What to Expect, Fit Pregnancy magazine) and pleasure reading (I am currently reading Arcadia by Lauren Groff).

What is your favorite way to spend a snow day?