happiness is...

more than anything, happiness for me is being with certain people i know love me. one on one time with particular people makes me happy...having them all surrounding me in the same room at the same time makes me ecstatic! the last time i was ecstatic was two years ago 19 days from now. my 29th birthday was one of the top two birthdays of my life. the other was my 22nd birthday. what made them the best was that my favorite people of that moment were there to celebrate with me.

almost every Monday night for the last 6 months or so a few friends and i have had a little movie night. tonight HeyPay brought an awesome surprise, her two roommates, Chelle and Pants who are usually busy with school or work and unable to come. Chelle is one of my all-time favorite people. i cannot feel depressed when i am with her, it is simply impossible because she is just so fun and happy and she is one of the few people i know without a doubt loves me.  if The Artist and Will had been here, i would have been in perfect bliss tonight.

i wish i could have a party and fill a ballroom with all the people in this world who have brought happiness into my life just through their friendship. some of them have saved my life. some have simply made it better, more enjoyable and worthwhile by being in it. one of these days i'll write a post about all these people.

i'll name a few here.

my nieces and nephews are near the top of the list of my favorite people. and i love my parents, sister, brother, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, and my two dear uncles.

as far as friends go, i have to start with Bestest Friend. she has saved my life on multiple occasions over the 18-20 years we've been friends. she knows me better than anyone, she loves me better than anyone, and she will always be the most important friend in my life.

i don't have code names for everyone i'm thinking of right now so i'll just use first names.
my high school friends, the girls who made those most depressing years bearable and sometimes even fun! generally i hated high school, i often felt alone and out of place, but the ones eho made me feel most like i wasn't a complete outcast were Glenda, Erin, Jessica and a few others from The Academy of Travel & Tourism; Lynnette, Melissa, Laurie, and a few others from the preschool program; Malissa, Emily, (Jessica & Melissa again) and some others from Concert Choir; Tara, Annemarie, Kip, Jenn, Holly, Joel, Jenseena, BJ...i feel like there are others but i can't come up with names right now. i'll have to dig up my old yearbooks to find any others.

after high school was college. my years at SLCC, particularly my last year there, were some of the best times of my life! it was the best, again, because of the people. i should dig out my journals and photo albums from that time and reexperience all the adventures. that group of friends gave me my first taste of prolonged joy! Crystal, Katie, Paige, Paul, Scott, the Erics, the Jonathans, Omar, Andy, Robbie, Jason, Missy, Ember, Christa, Clark, Dayna, Julie, Rachel, Goodie, Scott, Karen, Thomas, Jimmy, Troy, Jerry, Melissa, Mike, Dane, Dustin, Chrisian, Michelle, Todd, Laura, Trent, Kenna, Jan, Walt, Dave, Ed, Charlotte, Brian, Kyle, Brent, Aaron, Ace, Tasia (and all her sisters), Emberly, Angie, Jeremy, Josh, Brittany, James, Kyle, Blake, (i'll even add the skunkweasel because there was a time when he was a good friend), and i'm sure there were many others. practically living at the institute, frisbee at Murray Park, IWA/IMA, the 26th ward, Manti, game nights, various adventures and escapades. if i could go back in time and relive any moment, it would be any of a hundred from March 2003-July(ish) 2004. i've stopped aching for the return of those days, and i've had some pretty spectacular moments and adventures since, but your first solid group of friends, is like your first great love, nothing else compares, you never forget.

now for work friends: the Hancock Fabrics crew: Ruth and Bubba, Val, Carol, Sherrie, Mary, Juanita, Marianne...dang it, i'm blanking! the Murray Seagull Book: Courtney! she was the dearest friend that came from that job, and i'm pretty sure the reason i worked there. Cyprus Credit Union: Erin, Todd, Ziggy, ShaiLynn, Vanessa, Randall, the Annas, Brenda...the regular members who waited in my line even when others were free.

most of these people who were once near constant companions and dear every-day friends are now friendly acquaintances and Facebook contacts more than anything. i will always hold a place in my heart and fondest memories for them.

my more recent friends include the University 47th warders and Salt Lake Seagull Book coworkers.
47th warder roll call: Zak, Heather, Rachelle, Brittany, Jenn, Cody, Brett, Dale, Laurel, Nancy, Amy, Julie, Anthony, Brianna, William, Pola, Sarah, Cory, Nate, Shannon, Kayla, Laura, Bryan, all the Sterzers...so many more but i need my pictures to remember them all at this time of night.
Seagull: Myelle, Eraine, Mary, Diane, Cassie, Paul, Joe, Melissa, Charity, Pat, Trevor, Latia, Jason, Edie...i feel like i'm forgetting someone...

other friends: Bestest Friend's entire family, Kristal, Stephanie, April, Mikey, Erin, Anneliese, Weston, Nate, Jamie, Amanda, Megan, Pat, Melissa, Char, Edna, Erin, Chris, Susan, Emily, Kathryn, Ned, Debbie, next door neighbor Bishop (my Nephite dad), various Sarahs (with and without the h), various bishops and bishoprics, young woman leaders, neighbors, friends of friends and siblings.

I've been so blessed with so many amazing people in my life and i am so grateful for each one of them. they are my happiest of all happy places!  i can be content alone, but true joy and happiness can be enjoyed only when i am with the people i adore the most!

if you're reading this and didn't see your name, i'm sorry, i love you and am grateful for you, it's currently 2am and i'm writing this post from my iPod, in my bed...my brain is not at peak performance and recall. please know that i love and appreciate you and thank you all for helping to create and for sharing moments and memories of happiness! :-)