The Perils and Perks of Working From Home

I am a lucky, lucky girl. Every morning my commute consists of getting out of bed, feeding my dogs & sitting in front of my computer.  Occasionally I have to go into our Corporate offices and get dressed up and interact with other humans but mostly I work from home. 
Your reaction to that statement is what I'd like to address.
When I say I "work from home" I get a variety of reactions.  Mostly, that it's cool.  But I feel that some people think it's like their weekends at home hanging out. I've come to realize that people's reactions are proportional to what they would do if they worked from home.  I've found some misnomers that need to be dispelled about those of us whose commute boils down to a few steps instead of miles:

1. I do not sit on the couch and watch TV all day.  First of all, I'm weird and will not have more than 1 tv in my house.  It's downstairs and for the most part it never goes on before the sun goes down, even when I'm not working.  I don't think I've watched daytime TV since after school days watching General Hospital or Saved by the Bell or  Charles in Charge. 
2. I do not sleep in. Ok, again this is my weirdness kicking in because I normally wake up, on my own, between 6:30 and 7.  Great for me as a runner, awful for the days when I actually have no reason to be up so early.  Still, I wake up and literally the third thing I do is push the power button my laptop.  My average day starts then.  Sometimes an hour later, after my run, but almost always before 8.  And other than a quick shower there is no primping time, no sitting in traffic time, no talking in the break room time.  
3. I actually do a lot of work.  In fact knowing the amount of work that gets done in the days I sit in our Corporate offices versus the days I work at home, I am probably at least 3 times more productive at home.  There are no distractions so when I sit down to do a task, it gets done to completion.  There's no one popping their head in my office asking for something, I can turn my phone to vibrate or keep it in another room.  The only thing that comes near to a distraction is IM'ing with other colleagues but that can be turned off or marked busy.  I sit in my home office and am able to fully concentrate on a project.  
4. I am not available to run your errands during the day.  I still keep normal business hours.  All of my colleagues are working at this time and so are our clients.  There are deadlines to be met and time-sensitive projects that need attention.  There are still conference calls and web-exes to attend (even though more often than not I'm attending them in pajamas or sweat pants and fuzzy slippers). 
5. My day does not end at 5pm (or 4:30 or 3). I'm not knocking off early just because no one's keeping a time card on me.  For all the reasons in #4.  Usually the opposite is true.  A person with a commute needs to leave.  To turn off their computer and get in their car.  I don't have this impetus so often my computer stays on until well past normal business hours.  (It's 8:30 pm and I just answered an email because I have my laptop up typing this)  Another reason for the increased productivity.  My day rarely ends at 5 or 6 or 7.  

But there are some great things about working from home that I would never deny.  Again see #4 but not having to wear heels, put on makeup or a dress is a blessing that every woman (and any man who has to wear a tie) can relate to.  The downside to this is that most of these comfy clothes come with expandable fabric so you're feeling like you're svelte and then you put on those restrictive work clothes and you realize that maybe you should have done a few more miles.

I get to see my house, my lovely, beautiful house that I moved to Kentucky for.  I get to spend every day knowing that my doggies are safe and taken care of.  If I had kids I can only imagine how convenient this arrangement would be (although I'd probably have to take off the "there are no distractions" listed in #3).  I am home if the cable guy needs to come in or if a package is going to be dropped off.  I monitor the neighborhood.  At lunch I sit on my deck and eat in my backyard.  

The downside to this is that I never, ever want to leave the house.  Going to the post office that is literally 1 mile up the road seems a chore and an outing of the highest magnitude, let alone a trip to the grocery store.  I'm trying to determine how I can work hermit into being something my socialite boyfriend will accept.  But for now I will just sit and get my work done.