meet my REAL friends

So in one of my grad classes recently we were talking about how interpersonal relationships work online {yes, I have the BEST grad classes ever!}, and we were specifically discussing how people discount online relationships because they are not “real” friendships.

Now let me be honest with you. Last winter {almost a year ago now!} when I began studying blogs for school, I would constantly see bloggers rave about  all the amazing friends they met through blogging. I didn’t quite roll my eyes, but I was tempted. I mean, did these ladies really consider their blogging friends true friends? Did they have other friends outside of the internet? Maybe just the really successful bloggers were able to have true blogging friends as they mentored and supported one another and went to blogging meet ups and the like. I was skeptical to say the least.

And for the first year that I blogged. I really didn’t have any blogging friends. I don’t think anyone who wasn’t already a friend or family member read my blog for at least the first six months. But then I started to notice names on my Google Followers list that I didn’t recognize. Then I started getting sweet comments and e-mails from people like Jennifer and Jordan.

And then one day, on my one year anniversary to be exact, I received an e-mail from the sweetest girl, Heather. And I didn’t know it then, but it was the beginning of a real friendship. Through countless comments and e-mails, Heather became my REAL blogging friend.

And just a month or so ago, I met another lovely lady who quickly became another REAL blogging friend, Erin. The great thing about Erin is that she lives less than 20 minutes away from me. Take that skeptics. Erin is my internet friend and we can meet for coffee face to face any time we want!

So last Thursday night, Heather, Erin and I had the JOY of meeting up in person! We went to dinner at a fab little restaurant in Chandler, AZ and ate a smorgasbord of happy hour food for dirt cheap {sweet potato fries, mini bruschettas, and pitas with hummus equal a meal right?}, talked, laughed, took way too many pictures, and just enjoyed our real friendship that was born on this here internet.

After dinner, we headed over to the Ocotillo Country Club where we got to meet another blogging friend, Ashley, and support The Shine Project to raise college scholarships for inner city high school students. We were welcomed to the country club by a high school drum line {I am a sucker for a good drum line}, and we enjoyed delish cupcakes while we watched the high school students perform speeches and music. We laughed some more, met a handful of other bloggers that we love, and took even more pictures.

I am so, so thankful for Heather and Erin. I feel blessed to know them and I am excited to see our friendship develop over the years. They are amazing women of God with beautiful hearts and I am proud to call them my “internet” friends.

P.S. Funny story. So Erin and I were a bit late meeting Heather for dinner due to crazy directions, so Heather had to wait at the restaurant by herself for over a half hour before we finally arrived. She was dressed up all cute and sitting alone, which caught the attention of some old men sitting at a table nearby. Finally one of them turned to her and said, “Honey, who are you waiting for?” probably assuming she had been stood up on a date or something. She looked at him and said, “Oh, just two friends I met on the internet.”

And here are some of our pics from the evening. You will notice the same exact pictures on Heather and Erin’s blogs. Did we share our photos with each other? No, we asked everyone to take the same picture with three different cameras. We are those girls. Not annoying at all…

{delish dinner}

{golf cart ride from the country club parking lot}