Sami's Shenanigans: December 2011

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Fa la la la

So here's a fun fact for all of you in bloggy land..

My Dad is Catholic so from there we get Christmas, Easter, and all that jazz. All very fun.

On the other side of the coin is Mom, who is Jewish. So in comes Hanukkah and Rosh Hashanah.

During the Holiday season our house sports decorations from both and we picked up a fun little term from one of my all-time favorite shows The O.C.

CHRISMUKKAH!! Oh how I miss that show :(

Anywhoo.. Last night was the 1st night of Hanukkah and my mom tweeted this picture of our family menorah!

On the topic of the Holidays I find it interesting that people either hate Christmas music or love it! I'm on the fence because I LOVE some songs but I hate others!

One of my all time favorite Christmas CD's is HANSON! I know old-school but my freshman year of college we played the CD non-stop and now it's a must!

My favorite song!

What kind of Christmas music do you guys listen to? I've heard Michael Buble is awesome but I haven't listened yet!

And just for fun.. I'm obsessed with playing Hanging with Friends on my iPhone and I recently saved up enough points to make my character a Christmas character! How fun huh?

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

The ones I'm related to..

To me families are the most precious things we have. No matter what you do or what you say they love you, unconditionally and will always be there for you.

Copper Mountain, CO

I am lucky to have 2 spectacular parents and a quirky but sweet little brother.

My Mom and I are very close. She is one of my best friends and I couldn't be more grateful for the hours and hours she listens and advises me on life's many twists and turns. She is so much fun to be around whether it's shopping, cooking, and even attending concerts together.

Maroon 5, Gavin DeGraw, and Train concert

Red Rocks Ampitheater 2011

My Dad and I are also close. He is the rock of our family and the one that is always there to remind me of the responsibilities that I can easily forget. He likes football, so I like football and there is nothing better than going to Denver Bronco games with him.

Dad's Day at OSU 2009

Invesco Field Broncos Game

My younger brother (who is 19) and I couldn't be more different. I'm an extrovert and he's an introvert. I'm loud, he's quiet. When we were younger we fought like crazy but over time we have learned to love one another and find ways to get along. This usually means a few, very competitive games of Fruit Ninja on the Xbox Kinect and yes, I have videos to prove this :)

We are a small, but loving family and don't know what I would do without them.

Just for fun a picture of my favorite little angel..

This adorable little girl is my cousin Kate. She is a little diva and I love her to death!

GO POKES!

I was born and raised in Colorado Springs, CO. The home to the Air Force Academy for those of you that don't know..

It's also home to the most beautiful hotel, The Broadmoor. It's been open since 1891!! My parent's actually got married there in the 80's! I don't have a copy of their wedding photo to show you but the next time I go home I will snap one for you! Let's just say it involves big hair and a silver tuxedo. Ohhh the 80's.

Anywhoo, my mom's side of the family are Colorado natives and I loved growing up close to my relatives!

When I was in high school and started looking up colleges I knew I wanted to go out of state because I really wanted to experience living somewhere else. In my mind after I moved away for college I would never move back.. but that is another story.

Insert OKLAHOMA. I applied to Okahoma State University and was accepted with an academic scholarship :)

This was in October when I went back to visit for Homecoming.

I visited (for the 1st time), fell in love and accepted!

It was without a doubt the best decision I ever met! I loved my major (Apparel Merchandising/Marketing) and I met my best friends for life!

My family's dog Nemo likes to support the Cowboys!

I ended up graduating in December 2010 after 3.5 years which I somewhat regret because I wish I stretched out my time before going into the real world just a bit longer!

One of my favorite parts of OSU was tailgating and football games and for those of you that don't know.. they had an incredible season this year! They were 11-1 and ranked 3rd and will be playing Stanford in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 2nd! I will definitely be watching with my family :)

My Dad and I watching the Bedlam game

I love to support Oklahoma State and even though I'm in Colorado I will be trying to visit for atleast one home game every football season!

Sunday, December 18, 2011

It's so nice to meet you, can we sit and talk for awhile..

If you're going to get to know me, there is one very important thing that you must know..

I am OBSESSED with Gavin DeGraw. It's a full on love affair.

It started when I was in 8th grade and I was watching one of my all time favorite TV shows One Tree Hill. I decided that I needed the CD of the beautiful voice that sang the opening song, also known as "I Don't Want to Be." It was all downhill from there.

My first concert was in 9th grade at the Paramount Theater in Denver, CO. It was a One Tree Hill tour so there was also performances by Tyler Hilton and The Wreckers as well as appearances by actors from the show. This was Gavin and I's first meeting :) I went up to the stage after the show and he signed a t-shirt I had bought at the event. I was so nervous I don't think I even said a word but it was perfect.

The second concert was 2 years later at an outdoor venue in Denver. Howie Day opened and Gavin was the main act. We were far from the stage and I didn't meet him after so needless to say it wasn't my favorite. Moving on..

Gavin went on a bit of a hiatus and the next time I saw him was the summer after my freshman year of college at the very first Mile High Music Festival. It was outside in mid July and it was HOT. He was in the middle of the day so Mom and I had to weasel our way to the front but I got to see my first front row Gavin concert. At one point I yelled up to the stage for him to play "Cop Stop" one of my favorite songs and he responded "Normally I would do anything for you baby but I'm on a tight schedule." Swoon. We also got to see Citizen Cope and John Mayer that weekend and it was awesome!

My first Oklahoma concert was at the Oklahoma State Fair while I was in college. It was free with entry and I went with my best friend Katie. We showed up early and got great seats and I fell in love all over again. THEN.. after the concert he came outside and talked to fans and we took our first picture together.

My fifth, sixth, and seventh concerts were at various places in Oklahoma and they were each incredible in their own ways. I also got two excellent photos.

Diamond Ballroom OKC, OK

Spirit Bank Event Center Tulsa, OK

Skip forward to my junior year of college when I took a trip to New York for Spring Break. I had heard that Gavin owned a bar in NYC and I knew I wanted to stop by and check it out never expecting what happened next.. My friend Lauren and I were chatting it up with some nice boys when GAVIN DEGRAW himself walked into the bar. I died and went to heaven. Lauren and I chatted with him and took photos and he even told me he would play at our college's annual concert if they contacted him (too bad it was cancelled the next year.) He then got up on stage in this bar with about ten people and played a private concert. BEST NIGHT OF MY LIFE.

National Underground NYC

My most recent shows were at Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison, CO when he opened for Maroon 5 and Train and just 2 months ago at the Ogden Theater in Denver, CO. The Ogden show is a close second to NYC because my mom won tickets for a Meet and Greet before the show. We were in a room with only 8 other people and he stopped and chatted with each person. I introduced myself as I usually do but this time he says "Oh ya I remember you from New York, thanks for all of the support!" I almost passed out ;) Then my mom told him that it would make my day if he followed me on Twitter and he told me to tweet him and he would. Sadly, this never happened but I'm sure it's simply because he has alot of people tweeting him! He spent a good amount of time talking to my Mom and I and it solidified what I love about him. Not only is he an amazing performer but he is a genuine and good-hearted person. He is always interacting with his fans and making it known how much he appreciates each and every one! That night during the show Ryan Tedder from OneRepublic came out and sang with Gavin and it was the icing on the cake of a unforgettable night!

I will always, always be a Gavin DeGraw fan. Also, make sure you follow him on Twitter @GavinDeGraw because he loves to retweet and respond to people and it's actually him that runs it! I know my love for him may seem a little crazy but I'm a huge fan of live music in general and Gavin just happens to be my favorite live act :)

New Years Resolutions

Hello Ladies! My name is Sami and this is my very first post on my very first blog!

I thought I would start off my very first post by talking about my New Years Resolutions because even though I am a tad bit early.. starting this blog is at the top of that list. In the past few months, I have started religiously reading blog posts from some wonderful ladies I stumbled upon and thought to mysef I would really love to do that. I love to talk about my experiences and get feedback and believe me I have got some great little stories! I was nervous but I thought if I gave myself the push I needed to start it would be great :)

Sami's New Years Resolutions 2012

1. Start a blog -----> Check

2. Stay Facebook free

I gave up Facebook about 2.5 months ago to focus on myself and making my life better and I love it. Sometimes I get the urge to "stalk" and find out what people are up to but then I think that if I don't know already, then I probably don't need to.

3. Stay Loser free

This is sort of self-explanatory. Don't talk to guys that are losers. The end.

4. Stick to a healthy diet and a workout plan

Yes I know, so very cliche, however I really want to do this. You see, I go through stages where one week I'm cooking fresh veggies and going out for a walk or jog and then the next week I am eating junk food and being a couch potato. I know I have it in me to stick with it I just have to put more effort into it. One of my favorite workout classes is Zumba and I'm excited to find a great place to start taking classes again!

So here goes nothing.. Welcome to Sami's Shenanigans!