I'd say, if you expect to not go to work but want to get paid, use a vacation day. I don't think it is right to lie to your employer about being sick (especially if you get paid for sick days, like I do). If you don't have vacation time, ask for a day off without pay for 'personal' reasons.
We don't have a specified amount of sick days at my work. Why? Because we found that if somebody had (let's say) 12 sick days per year allotted to them, they miraculously got sick exactly 12 days per year. If I'm sick more than three consecutive days, I need to have a Dr's note or something to show why I'm missing so much work. Other than that, there are no real limits.
I don't remember calling in sick to work, ever, and I don't think new toys are a legitimate reason for lying to your employer about it. Guess I sound like a prude...
Clocker