I already filled out my planner for the day, so now I’m writing here in hopes that it will help me settle down, focus, and get started on studying. For some reason, I keep feeling like I should be doing something else first, cleaning, organizing, or taking care of a task around the house. It’s one of those days where my mind keeps searching for other things that need attention instead of letting me concentrate on what I had planned to do.

One project that keeps coming to mind is the huge collection of CDs I have. There are a few hundred of them, or more, and I still need to go through them. I know I won’t keep all of them. We’ve decided to get rid of the CDs, and I’m keeping only the ones with some sentimental value. The problem is that even after I decide which ones to keep, I’m not entirely sure what to do with them. I have a place where I can store them, but I don’t even own a CD player anymore. Like most people, I stream my music now, so there’s really no practical reason to keep physical CDs beyond the memories attached to them.

As I look through them, I’m reminded of so many artists I haven’t listened to in years. Part of me thinks I should make a list of some of those artists so I can look them up later on Apple Music and start listening to them again. We stopped using Spotify, so Apple Music has become our main way of listening to music. It’s funny how a single CD can instantly bring back memories from a particular time in life.

Many of these CDs were collected while we were living in Germany, so going through them feels a little like flipping through an old photo album. Each one seems connected to a memory, a place, a trip, or a phase of life that I had almost forgotten about. That’s probably why it’s taking me longer to sort through them than I expected. It isn’t really about the music itself; it’s about the memories attached to it.

Part of me thinks I should spend some time going through the CDs today, but I also know that I need to focus on studying. The CDs will still be there later, and my study time is important. Chris already went through some of them this morning and picked out the ones he wanted to keep, so at least some progress has been made. Maybe the best thing I can do right now is remind myself that not every project has to be finished today.

Alexis was joking around the other day, or at least I think she was. Lol. She told me that my CDs are vintage and that I should keep every single one of them. She said they were from the 80s, and I had to remind her that CDs weren’t really a thing in the 80s. They’re old, sure, but I don’t think they quite qualify as vintage yet.

As I’ve been sorting through them, I’ve noticed that a few of the cases are empty. I’m not sure what happened to those CDs. Maybe they were lost during one of our moves over the years, or maybe someone borrowed them and they never found their way back home. Either way, they’re gone.

The more I look through the collection, the more I realize it’s probably time to let most of them go. They’ve spent years sitting on shelves, collecting dust, and I rarely listen to them anymore. It feels strange because these CDs were once such a big part of my life. I’ll keep the ones that mean something.

For the rest, I think my plan is to write down the artists and albums that I’d like to revisit someday or the ones I had completely forgotten about until now. That way, I can still hold on to the music and the memories without holding on to hundreds of plastic cases.

Tommy had to work last weekend on a project for work. Poor guy, he didn’t get much of a break at all. While he was busy working, I had a fairly quiet Saturday. I watched a little YouTube, spent some time reading, and started going through some of my old CDs until Kel came home. After that, I settled back in with my book for a while.

That evening, Tommy, Kel, the girls, and I met up with some friends at our local pizza place. The pizza was good, and so was the company. It was nice to get out of the house, catch up with friends, and enjoy a relaxing evening together.

Before we left, we put Merlin in his cage because it had started raining, and whenever we’re going to be gone for a while, we usually bring him inside. What we didn’t realize was that one side of the cage door hadn’t been secured properly. So when we got home later that night, there was Merlin standing at the door, greeting us as if nothing unusual had happened.

Thankfully, he hadn’t turned the house upside down. Everything looked perfectly fine. The only casualty was Sandy’s food bowl, which we found shattered on the floor. Considering Merlin had apparently enjoyed several hours of unsupervised freedom, I think we got off pretty easy. We had a good laugh about it.

Sunday was a busy day. Kel, the girls, and I headed into the city for a shopping trip. Well, technically, the girls went shopping, and Kel and I tagged along. We left the house around 9:30 in the morning.

Our first stop was Dutch Bros. Alexis got a coffee and a breakfast wrap, while Karissa ordered a lemonade and a muffin. Kel tried a dragonfruit drink, and I kept it simple with a small mocha coffee. Once everyone was caffeinated and fed, we headed over to Old Navy.

The girls spent quite a bit of time trying on clothes and looking through the racks. Karissa even bought a pair of shorts, which surprised me because she usually has no interest in wearing shorts. Alexis ended up buying me a dress, yes, an actual sundress! Along with a few T-shirts. Kel found some clothes for herself as well.

After that, we went to Costco, where both girls had hearing aid appointments. They had their hearing aids cleaned and adjusted, and a few minor issues were fixed. Everything is working well again now. While we were there, I picked up some wax traps for my hearing aids. Before leaving, we made a quick stop at the food court, where Karissa grabbed a hot dog.

Next, we headed to the mall. We stopped at the food court there for lunch. I had a gyro, and Kel got a pita sandwich. Once lunch was finished, the girls disappeared to do more shopping while Kel and I wandered over to a shoe store.

I found a pair of sandals that I really liked. They’re cute and comfortable, and Kel couldn’t stop teasing me because we found them in the kids’ section. That’s where you have to go when you wear a size 5 shoe! The best part was that they only cost $11, which made the teasing a little easier to tolerate.

Eventually, we met back up at Macy’s. Karissa found a formal dress for the cruise we’re taking in July, and Alexis picked out a pantsuit. Both outfits looked absolutely adorable on them, and it was fun seeing them get excited about what they’d found.

By the time we finally headed home, we’d been out most of the day. Merlin, who was securely locked in his cage this time, was more than ready to be let out. The moment we got home, he began “scolding” us in his own way for leaving him there so long. As soon as we opened the cage, he practically raced outside. He looked so happy to be back in his yard.

Even after spending the entire day walking around stores, I still went for a walk with Tommy when he got home from work. We ended up doing a two-mile walk together. Afterward, we had dinner and watched the Disney movie Tangled. I’d never really sat down and watched it before, but I enjoyed it.

I’ve been reading my cybersecurity book for hours today. I finally had to take a break because I was starting to get sleepy and found myself rereading the same sections. I got up and made some iced coffee, well, coffee that would normally be iced, except we’re out of ice at the moment. Even without the ice, it was enough to help wake me up a bit.

Everest has been especially good today. I let her spend about half an hour outside to play, checking on her every ten minutes to make sure she wasn’t getting into trouble. To my surprise, she didn’t try to escape at all. I thought she’d enjoy some time outdoors since the weather is so nice today, and she seemed perfectly content being out there.

For the rest of the afternoon, I’m planning to get back to studying for a while and then spend a little time reading before I need to start thinking about dinner. Although I may not end up cooking tonight. We’re having orange chicken, and Karissa usually enjoys making it, so I might let her take over dinner duties this evening.