The hobby-less woman

When I was unemployed, I had lots and lots of time on my hands. I craved structure and a schedule in my life, but to be honest, I really didn't have enough activities to fill up my days. Throughout my time at home, my husband and my sister kept saying, "Don't you have any hobbies to keep you busy?" And the truth was, I didn't.

LoLo is, as I've said before, good at everything and has a million and one hobbies. My sister is no different. She is always busy. And if you need proof, check out her blog. She has an entire section of "remakes" where she's found some old piece of furniture and turned it into something fun and exciting. She also happens to put on some incredible parties. I can do neither of these things.

Yes, my sister remade this hutch! Cute, right? via

I don't have a creative mind like LoLo and my sister. I can't look at something and visualize how I could improve it.

Last summer, before I became unemployed, I worked from home. But honestly, there was no work to do because the company was closing at the end of September and we all knew it. So here I was, in a brand new house (shout outs to me and LoLo for having bought our house exactly 1 year and 6 days ago!!), with nothing to do and no hobbies.

Sure, I painted a few rooms of the house with the help of my family. We unpacked a few boxes too. But when all of that was done, I found myself feeling completely useless.

One of my painting jobs. "Cup of Cocoa" is an ugly color to have in your whole house!

 My sister said, "Come on, don't you want to make some fun decorations for your house? Look on Pinterest!" I looked on Pinterest, but I just felt even more overwhelmed by how much I couldn't do. 

She also suggested that I start a blog. But I kept telling her I had nothing to say. Nothing anyone would ever want to read about anyways. And all the blogs I'd seen had these super skinny girls with perfect partners, cute babies, amazing photography talents, and impeccable fashion. (These girls, remember?) Plus, my sister wrote her blog and there was no way I could be as funny or creative as her.

But right before I found my job, I realized I had a lot to say. It probably had something to do with the fact that my confidence was finally returning. My experience is different than anyone else's in the world. My marriage, my struggles, my puppy, my house, my idiosyncrasies, my voice, they are all my own and they are unique.

Last night, I was on the phone with my sister and her husband as they sat in traffic in Chicago. She told me that her husband, Adrian, subscribed to my blog. (Hi, Adrian!!) Then he said, "Erin, you said you had nothing to say and now you write more than your sister!"

I guess I've found my hobby. Now if only I had all day every day free... no, no, I don't really want that!!