For women going places

Thousands of travelers were stranded in the Midwest on Tuesday due to the snowstorm. If you are heading to the East Coast on Wednesday, forget it. All the major airlines have cancelled at a minimum 500 flights.

Gotta Go? Tips for dealing with delays:

• Cut your losses. If you know that there is a weather problem that will prohibit you from getting to your destination get yourself booked on an early flight the next day. I will always take the first flight out because 9 times out of 10, the plane arrived the night before. When dealing with weather I'll book the 2nd flight out in the morning. Why, because I can't be sure the plane arrived the night before.
• Sign up for flight notification from the airline. Most will call, text or email you with flight status info. No point in going to the airport when you could stay at home.

Alternative Strategy - Don't Go

Having experienced these delays first hand over the years let me offer a new approach - smile and accept gratefully a free day. I've been mad, frustrated, depressed, anxious and every other adjective one can think of and you know what? None of these emotions got the planes moving any faster.

Tips for enjoying your snow day:

• Drop the guilt. Remove the woulda, shoulda and coulda's from the equation. The planes aren't going, driving (if feasible) could be dangerous and most people understand the statement "I'm stranded due to weather".
• It's YOU time. What'll it be, movie, massage, manicure or maybe a long lunch with a good book or movie? Check the online papers to see if there is a play, musical or opera you can go see. It doesn't matter what it is -- do something for YOU. How often does life present you with a chance to indulge yourself without it being scheduled weeks in advance?