There’s now been three times I have met someone in person after first getting to know her over the internet, and all three have been fabulous experiences.
The first I met in high school via a Hanson website (!) and we’ve since traveled across the country to visit each other, including being bridesmaids in each other’s weddings. We are a match made in Hanson history. Mmmbop, girl.
The second was Dawn from Tales From the Motherland; I wrote about it here. I hope Dawn and I will be seeing more of each other!
The third happened a few weeks ago now. You guys, I got to meet Jen from Sips of Jen and Tonic!
Since moving to the Portland (OR) area, I asked Jen if she maybe wanted to meet up. This was a step for me, since it’s hard for me to put myself out there, but I am so glad I did.
Our little meeting was superfun, and I think my blog-crush turned into a real life one. Jen’s writing has entertained me for several years now; her blog is so good that, when she posts, I read. It’s made me laugh so hard in the past that the milk I drank came out my nose as butter. Seriously, I still need to pick her brain about her writing process because it’s so off the wall and hilariously punchy that I wonder if she just thinks like that all day or if she hires lab mice to feed her speed pills every few minutes. (You know, the mice would run up her arms and shoulders and then reach her mouth from there. Speed comes in pill form, right?)
I’m pretty sure Jen and I talked about all the things that ever were. Awkward stages of making friends in your 20s and 30s, jobs, Portlandia, blogging, reality TV. She even laughed at my Zoolander reference! I felt like she really got where I was coming from, especially because she is also a Californian who moved to Oregon. OMG. Thank you, Jen, for letting me rant about all the things wrong about Oregon that make me feel like a fish out of water. I remember reading your blog in the not so distant past and thinking these elitist Californian thoughts whenever you made reference to Oregonian things…and now I’m right there with you. …Go Ducks?
So. If you hadn’t had the pleasure of imbibing, I implore you to partake in some Sips of Jen and Tonic. This post of hers stood out in my memory as a particularly hilarious one, probably because, like me, she is not shy when it comes to blogging about the important things (poop). But she has many other good ones. Like this one. (And then I re-read it and realized it has a similar theme…so apparently my taste is very narrow-minded. Go find your own favorite post because I give up because they are all good.)
And now for the obligatory picture:

Bonus – If you look closely, you can see the gentle curve of my butt in the background. You’re welcome.
Thanks for the fun time, Jen!
Hope you see you again soon, fellow CA—>OR.
Sorry I’m just seeing this now! I’m so happy that we had the chance to meet up. I had a ton of fun, and it was definitely nice to meet someone who understand the difficulty of moving from California to Oregon. I can’t see bad merging without thinking of you now :)
I can’t wait until we hang out again.
Ditto!
I’m flattered that horrible driving makes you think of me ;)
I could not be more jealous!! I so want to meet Jen too… that I may have to plan a Portland trip, wherein all three of us hang out and laugh a lot! Awesome coup, for both of you!
I love any reason that brings you to PDX!
Those Hanson brothers have some kind of superpower, I’d say! I met my children’s Godmother in a Hanson fan club! Go us, mmmbop girls =)
Ha! That’s awesome!