Never

     My friend Jen over at Living a Full Life wrote a  blog post about things she's never done.  I hadn't really thought much about the things I haven't done and when she tagged me to play along, I decided that would be fun.  I'm thinking it's going to inspire upcoming "things I have done" and "things I will do" posts too.

1) I have never been to Las Vegas.  Ever.  I live on the Left Coast and know plenty of people who routinely go over there but I am not one of them.  I have driven through Reno a couple of times and once I think we actually got out of the car there.  Not much appeals to me about either place.

2)  I have never been to a professional football game.  I went to a college game once (SJSU vs Stanford) because it was the thing to do.  Probably went to three or maybe four football games in high school - again, the thing to do.  Not really into crowds and watching things from afar.  I went to a SF Giants game once at Candlestick.  Stayed in the bar the whole time.  Too miserably cold in the stands.

3) I have never eaten a Chicken McNugget.  Whatever the hell that is.  I had a MacDonald's hamburger once in high school.  I had a Carl's Jr hamburger maybe a half dozen times in college.  It was the dinner of choice for some guy I was dating. I was trying to make him like me.   I don't like fast food. Period.

4) To my knowledge, I have never been on TV.  Don't want to be either.

5)  I have never been arrested.  My behavior has not always been above the law but I was never caught.  I have never gotten behind the wheel if I have been under the influence of anything.  Not right.  Could not live with myself were I to be the cause of a serious accident.

6)  I have never worn a formal dress - like one of those prom dresses.  I eschewed such things when I was in high school and, to my knowledge, those things were off the table in my college days at California public colleges.  I've been married more times than I have been a bridesmaid.  That sounds bad but really?  Really I am only in my second marriage.  I think I have only been a bridal person once and I wore a lovely street sort of dress of my own selection.

7) I have never been to a circus (unless you count my life as a circus).  Not interested in going to one either.

8) I have never ridden in a speed boat.  I've been sailing on the SF Bay (beautiful, I might add) but have never been interested in speed boats.  Notice that I didn't say I am not interested in speed; only in speed boats.  Too noisy.  I like fast cars though.

9) I have never gotten a tattoo.  I have no problem with anyone else getting one but I have yet to have something mean so much to me that I would want the image or words permanently etched into my skin.  I do have five ear piercings, however.  Nine if you count both ears...

10) Sadly, I have never been inside a synagogue, a Buddhist temple,  or a mosque.  I have spent far too many hours in Catholic churches.  I have attended a handful of wedding or funeral services in some other Christian churches.  But I have never been inside the houses of worship for many of the world's people.

Okay, so that was fun!  Thanks, Jen, for the inspiration.  I have a lot of heavy stuff on my mind right now so this light post was an especially nice birdwalk.

Fifty Ways To Leave Your Lover

 Okay, not really. I just liked the sound of it and I thought maybe it would get you to open the page.  Besides,  Paul Simon already did that one and, I might add, he did a fantastic job.

     No, this post is actually a collection of 50 things to do in 2012.  I have a best friend who told me about this list that she makes most years.  The idea is to compose a list of 50 things that you want to do in the new year. Not resolutions (I resolve to do whatever sounds so hostile) but rather intentions, as in, I intend to make these things happen.  Not 10 things, not 20 or 30 things , but 50 things.  Fifty things because it is hard to go past the first 10 or 20 things and the more you have to dig the more you might come to something new and/or meaningful.  I'm not supposed to stall around on the list either.  Just supposed to have had it.  Here goes:

1.  Go out to the beach at least once a month.

2.  Get at least 7 hours of sleep every night.

3.  Make time to paint weekly.

4.  Explore the world of ipads.

5.  Visit Alex in San Francisco.

6.  Continue to do weekend morning bike rides.

7.  Think twice before I buy anything that is not consumable.

8.  Embrace the trip to Alaska in June.

9.  Remember that life is short and then you die.

10.  Continue to walk or ride my bike to work whenever possible.

11.  Make time for connecting with friends, both new and old.

12.  Make time for seeing and supporting my mother as she moves through her 90th year.

13.  Laugh more.

14.  Let my eyes shine more.

15.  Make just three minutes more a day to stretch my body.

16.  Embrace the trip to NYC in April.

17.  Be more kind to myself.

18.  Not whine about the weather.

19.  Plan a birthday party for Meg in April.

20.  Send birthday cards to all my siblings (not just an email or phone call - a snail mail card).

21.  Accept with curiosity (as opposed to resentment) the jury summons for 1/23.

22.  Give blood at least 4 times during 2012 (at least if they let me donate).

23.  Go to the Farmer's Market here in town at least every other week.

24.  Pay attention to the rules and decide for myself if I want to follow them.

25.  Remember the person that I wanted to be.

26.  Order new walking shoes so that I don't wreck my knees even more.

27.  Take a look again at a daily meditation habit.

28.  Write, write, and write some more.

29.  Recognize that the moment is all that I have - not the past, not the future, the moment now.

30.  Breathe and pause when necessary.

31.  Renew the nightly dream journal.

32.  Take Ellie for a neighborhood walk at least two afternoons a week.

33.  Take more photographs.

34.  Go up to Bell Springs in the summertime.

35.  Say no when I want to say no.

36.  Drink more water.

37.  Get reacquainted with my mind.  We've drifted apart.

38.  Be playful again.

39.  Take another solitary road trip.

40.  Go to Ohio.

41.  Repot the house plants.

42.  Notice color and detail in the world.

43.  Look at people's faces.  Really look at them.

44.  Have fun getting dressed in the morning.

45.  Lighten up.

46.  Read at some time other than right before I go to sleep.

47.  Pay even more attention to what Meg says.

48.  Write more love letters.

49.  Test drive the new VW Beetle.

50.  Be open to adventure, novelty, and change.