Things I Can't Say

Tips and Tales from an Introverted Mom

Trying Something New and Different


I’ve become a creature of habit.

Most days it’s school drop off, home to work, preschool pick up, back home to finish up a few things, pick up the big boys from school, back home to get everyone ready for soccer, go to soccer, go home, then dinner, homework, and bath/bedtime. Sprinkle in a few trips to the grocery store and other errands, and there you have a typical weekday for me. I know, you are wildly jealous of all the excitement.

But, I used to like to try new things, just for the sake of having a new experience. That got lost somewhere in my day-to-day routine.

Last week, though, I had a chance to have some new experiences and I embraced it.

It was a “glamping” experience in California. Glamping = glamour + camping. Which basically meant a cabin with a bed and electricity and its own bathroom with a super deep tub. Oh, and wifi.  Gotta have wifi.  As opposed to camping in a tent and sleeping bag.

The cabins were cute. I sat out on my porch and got some work done, while animals ran around just feet away. I also locked myself out of my cabin early one morning, in my pajamas and no shoes. Thank goodness for twitter so someone could come let me in!

glamping in CA

The thought of the little cabin in the woods with the girl alone in the dead of night was a little creepy, but I pushed thoughts of horror movies out of my mind and was able to sleep well. The wine in my fridge probably didn’t hurt.

I also got to go kayaking out on the ocean. My kayaking partner was the fabulous Kristi from Live and Love Outloud. And we powered through two hours of kayaking, including a crazy stunt where all of the kayaks hooked together to form one big raft and she and I climbed across(okay, I crawled)all the kayaks, switching places with the two girls on the other end. All without falling into the water. And with pics thanks to my Lifeproof phone case.

Since this was a glamping experience, I also got a massage. In a little cabin in the woods. And while part of me thought about trying something else, I realized that it had been over 12 years since I had a massage, so that definitely counted as having a different experience!

Those few days have me wanting to plan a camping trip with my boys and Hubs, buy a kayak, and try to find the time(and money, of course) for a massage more often than once every twelve years. That trip also left me wanting to try more new things!

When was the last time you tried something new? What is on your list of things you’d like to try?

Disclosure: I went Glamping as part of #toyotawomen. I was selected for participation in the TWIN community through a program with Clever Girls Collective. I did not receive any compensation for writing this post, or payment in exchange for participating. The opinions expressed herein are mine, and do not reflect the views of Toyota.

Comments

  1. I have heard of glamping and would love to do that. I might even be willing to try camping in a tent. Which is probably in my future, since I am surrounded by boys. One thing I have always wanted to do, would be zip lining!

  3. Very fun!!

    I’m not very adventurous, and I have a fear of heights, so I’m pretty okay with the normal day in and day out stuff.  😉  I did go “camping” for the first time in a million years just last year though, so I guess that counts for something!

    • My boys want to go… I’m thinking if we can do a cabin like this one, I’d be okay with it!

  6. This sounds SO cool!  I would love to try it.  
    I haven’t really done anything way out of my comfort zone in a looooong time.

  7. Ok so don’t laugh but the first time I heard of glamping it was on the Real Housewives of Orange County – and I was laughing hysterically.  I even googled it to find out it was a real thing.  But it might just be because I’m camper out in the rough and camp the real way…not that I would be oppposed to glamping, it sounds relaxing!

  12. This looks like soo much fun!  Camping is not my thing but glamping I think I could do.  we recently went fishing/kayaking while on vacation in New Hampshire.  Very out of our element but the boys had a blast and it showed us that we really need to do more things like that as a family.  

    • We have a tent… and the boys have camped out in the backyard, but that’s as far as we’ve gotten with that. I need a bed. 😉

  14. Sounds like an amazing trip. I find that trying new things is addictive. I just got back from a two week European cruise and I can tell you that sitting back on my couch is very hard! I want to go out and travel and explore and live! If only we had all that time and money. 

  17. Good for you! I just went for a massage today. IT was glorious. Hmmm what have I tried…calamari…it was disgusting but I tried. I know that’s nothing compared to what you did. YEs, I lead an exciting life 🙂

  19. Glad you had fun! I would love to go glamping! I can’t remember the last time I tried something new. How sad is that?? On my list would be hiking through the mountains (any mountains would do).

    • I went for a hike this summer… and since we have NO hills here, I thought I’d die on that mountain. LOL

  20. Glamping sounds very nice….I HATE traditional camping! The latest “new” thing I tried was helping my teacher daughter feed her classroom snake. It was disgusting! But I learned something about snakes and feeder mice, so I’m still learning! I wrote a post about the snake, if you’re interested. 🙂 It’s called The Circle of Life (and one disgusting curve.) Glamping is a less traumatic venture!

  22. I would love to be in a cabin in the woods for just a weekend of relaxing. Heck, a tent would be okay with me at this point!! Awesome post!

  23. I think that’s about the only kind of camping I’d consider at this point. Looks pretty good to me…glad you had such a nice trip!!

  25. I’m definitely a creature of habit. I like my routines.

    And then I met Hunky Husband. His given name is actually He-Who-Loves-Spontaneity-and-Will-Try-Anything-Once. So we’re going on our honeymoon… across the USA… without any real plans. Yep.

    No reservations, no plotted out gas station stops…. maybe we’ll camp! Maybe we’ll sleep in the car! Maybe I’ll just have a mental breakdown and go off the deep end and throw away all my planners and to-do lists upon returning home!

    It’s gonna be awesome.

  26. Oh wow… Shell, this is awesome! I have been camping quote a few times in my life, but glamping sounds way more appealing now to be honest. I think I’m done with port-a-potties and well, going on the woods. I am always open to new experiences. On my bucket list? Ziplining. Scares the crap out of me but I’d love to try it anyway

  27. Looks like you guys had fun. I followed your adventures on Instagram. I’ve never kayaked before but would like to try it. I also would love to go para sailing again. It’s been about 17 years since I’ve done that! 🙂

  28. I love that you were able to be treated like this! You totally deserve it with all your hard work, Shell. I bet the water was sooooooo relaxing!

    I’ve made a point to try and do new things all the time. At BlogHer I even got a blow out at a salon. In Chicago O’Hare airport I interviewed random strangers for a vlog. I want to really LIVE my life, ya know?

  30. I am so wildly jealous!  But only if you are jealous of wake up, breakfast, get dressed, library/park, lunch, nap, outside or inside playtime, dinner, bath and bed lol.  Looks like you had a lot of fun!  When we went to stay in a cabin in the mountains it was just us and the groundskeeper miles from anyone else, it was so hard to get to sleep the first night because horror movies were running through both of our heads!!

  31. That sounds like you had a great experience! I haven’t really done much kayaking but would love to. It’s so great to step out of your comfort zone and try something new. I used to love camping but lately, not so much. Maybe I’m just getting older (or maybe wiser?) but glamping sounds like the way to go!

  33. Good for you! It looked like alot of fun. I have not had any time away from my kids to rest since the first was born almost 17 years ago. I could use a weekend like this. 

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