I know two women named Janet. They are similar in age and interests, but they live on opposite sides of the country. I met them both through blogging. (I will differentiate between them with the names California Janet and DC Janet, which refers, of course, to the locations in which they reside.)

I met California Janet first. I don’t recall how I discovered her blog, but I’ve been reading about her life since at least 2004.

Back in 2005, I decided to drive cross-country to live with my aunt and uncle (I ended up staying with them for a year). They lived in northern Los Angeles county’s Antelope Valley, which also happened to be where California Janet and her husband were living at the time.

She and I met for the first time in summer 2005, and continued to meet up at various times over the next year. Since then, I’ve seen her in July 2008 when we both attended the BlogHer conference in San Francisco, and in October 2009 when she came to DC for a short visit.

This is California Janet and I at a bar in the Antelope Valley, circa 2005. (My hair is now shorter and hers is longer. Funny how that works.) We were both 25 years old at the time.

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I don’t recall how long I’ve been reading DC Janet’s blog, but it’s been since at least 2006. We read and commented on each other’s blogs for at least a year before she emailed me in 2007 about a job opening at the nonprofit where she worked (she knew I had been looking for a new job).

I was called for an interview in June 2007 (which is when I met DC Janet for the first time, although she wasn’t involved in my interview process), and I ended up getting the job. We worked together for at least a year before she moved on; I stayed at the job for a little over two years. She and I have continued to get together over the years as well. She will deliver twin boys next month and I am ecstatically happy for her.

This is DC Janet and I when she hosted some female bloggers at her place in August 2008. (Our friend RA can be seen laughing in the background.)

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The two Janets have also followed each other’s lives through their blogs for many years, but they had never met in person until today. I was very excited to be involved in their first meeting (plus, I hadn’t seen California Janet in almost three years!).

California Janet was in DC this weekend to attend another conference, so the three of us met for dinner at Vapiano.

I count myself lucky to know such lovely ladies. They are truthfully two of the sweetest women I know.

This photo was taken tonight. I’m glad to have a new one to add to my collection.

(From left to right: Me, California Janet, DC Janet)