Somehow I convinced my generally old school boss to let me work from home today!  I woke up so happy that I didn’t have to shower, get dressed, eat breakfast and be out the door by 7:30am.

My favorite things about working from home:

1. Leisurely drinking coffee before and with breakfast

I’m a big fan of leisurely mornings.  They are my favorite thing about vacation even if I have to beg my up-and-at-em’ husband to indulge me in them.   There’s no better way to start a day than a slow breakfast with multiple cups of coffee and good conversation.

So I took full advantage this morning.  I got up, did some me-work on the laptop, started the coffee, and had my first cup while looking out the window, watching the steam rise off the pond.  I fully enjoyed every moment.   It was so much better than having to take my travel cup of coffee to the office and end up drinking cold coffee by 10am.

2. Not driving in morning rush hour traffic

You know, the summer morning commute wasn’t so bad.  I was able to get to work in about 35 minutes.  Then school started.  All those college students commuting into the local universities in the city make my life a little miserable.  I can now depend on at least a 45 minute commute.  That’s just a much sadder way to start my day.

3. Working in my pajamas

Who doesn’t love staying in your pajamas until noon?!  So much more comfortable than business attire.  I didn’t have to do my make-up either.  Sweet!

4. Not driving home in rush hour traffic

See #2, but add 15 minutes.  For some illogical reason, my commute home has always taken longer than the commute to work.  How does that work?  Spending all that time at the end of the day in the car makes me arrive home exhausted and a little grumpy.  Just ask my husband.  Maybe that’s why he works later than me…

5. Having access to my kitchen for lunch

This is the big kicker.  Not only did I not need to pack my lunch before I left, but I could make whatever I wanted instead of whatever I could eat cold or reheat with a microwave.   And you know ice cream is really hard to transport to the office for a sweet lunchtime dessert…

To fully appreciate my “hall pass” day working from home, I made myself some banana ice cream after lunch.  If you have never tried this, you need to.  This was one of the first things I wanted to make when I got my food processor.   Today’s version was so simple.  I only needed 3 ingredients: frozen banana, peanut butter, and soy milk.  Bonus: this delicious dessert is dairy free and vegan, so everyone can enjoy it!  Unless you have a friend that doesn’t like bananas.  Or peanut butter.  But who needs friends like that?

Peanut Butter Banana Ice Cream

Ingredients

• 1 frozen banana
• 1 tbsp peanut butter
• 2-3 tbsp soy milk (or almond, coconut, rice, cow’s, etc)

Directions

1. Put the banana, peanut butter, and 2 tablespoons of the soy milk in the food processor.

2. Turn the food processor on.  Process the mixture for about two minutes, or until it resembles soft serve ice cream.  If it’s still too chunky, add a little more milk.

3. Eat it.  You could put it in a bowl first.  I did mostly so I could take a pretty picture.  You should certainly taste it straight from the processor bowl first, though.

I just put two more bananas in the freezer, so I hope I get to work from home again soon.