Furlough Day #4

Thank you, budget cuts...  Today is my 4th of 5 unpaid furlough days this fiscal year.  I'm not wearing myself out as much as I have on other days, partially because I'm still pooped from Katie having her dance recital this week!  So Colin went to work on time this morning.  I let the girls sleep in, then I:

• Took the girls to school.  Realized Natalie has water play today (oops!), so ran back to the house quickly to grab her swimsuit, towel, and flip-flops, then delivered them back to the center.
• Did a little run/walk on the trail north of my house (see Note 1).  I was going to do that and then go to the Y to lift weights, but due to the water play confusion, I no longer had time to do both and decided to enjoy the sweltering 85 degrees with tons of humidity at 8:20 AM instead.
• Cleaned up and drove over to the blood center to attempt a platelet donation (see Note 2).  Found out that the person I'm donating for is healthy enough where she doesn't need platelets anymore -- hooray!  Then chickened out and didn't make a general donation since I didn't have the best experience last time.
• Came back home and practiced my music for church on July 4.  Sousa is kicking my butt!
• Had lunch with Colin.
• Watched The Young and the Restless while doing laundry, typing email, and cutting apart all the photos from the girls' recent sitting at JC Penney.
• Went for a 3pm hair appointment.
• Then picked up the girls early so we could shop for a Father's Day present!

Not as busy as some furlough days, but I got a lot done.  Besides the fact that we don't get paid, having these extra days off really hasn't been that bad. 

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Note 1:  Yes, I am slowly getting back to running!  My follow-up appointment with the orthopedic doctor was cancelled as he had to leave the office abruptly for personal reasons and cancelled all appointments in a 2-week period.  When discussing with the office whether I wanted to reschedule or not, I decided I'd at least try running, and if I still had any pain, I'd reschedule my follow-up.  For the past week, I've been alternating walking and jogging on the treadmill and not had any problems, so I was thrilled to take it outside today even though it was oppresive out there.

Note 2:  We have a woman at church who is battling cancer and needed direct type-specific platelet donations to help in her treatments.  Since I am a compatible blood type, I tried to donate for her cause.  Of all things, I actually have enough platelets where my blood clotted around the needle too quickly and I was not able to make a complete donation for her.  I was willing to try again because she's from my church, but otherwise, I don't think platelet donation is for me.  I'll be a blood donor, but not this.  Unless absolutely necessary.