a. popsicles and bose headphones.
b. she left one agency for another and had a new boss.
c. she was given the job of copy chief when she moved to cgc, long before she and ted slept together.

She does work all the time. Peggy can be bratty and annoying, but she comes from a working class background (unlike Pete), went to Miss Deaver's Secretarial School and wound up the copy chief of a huge advertising firm because she has talent and works hard. She's self-made. Don would not help her if she didn't deserve…

I say this as someone who has watched all three seasons. The show has always been inconsistent. Sometimes it's great and hilarious, sometimes it's just random and boring. It's been that way since Episode 1.

With all due respect, Marnie is clearly the Monica.