Podcasts and Radio

Now I have always listened to the radio in the car but it was always the channels with the top 50 or 100 hits of the time. It was the popular music stations. As I am getting older though I have noticed I have been leaning more towards NPR and the classical music stations. I think why I have been leaning more towards the NPR radio stations because of what I want to go into. I want to be in the public relations and mass media side of communication and I have slowly realized it's really important for me to be up to date on what is going on in the news.

Other then the radio in the car I don't really listen to the radio. I sometimes pull up the radio portion on my Spotify account but even then I use that to listen to music that I don't have on my iTunes account.

Since updating my iPhone to the new IOS system I found the podcasts app to be really entertaining and fun. I have found a few podcasts that I think are so hilarious and awesome to listen to when I'm getting ready, alone in the apartment, or when I'm just surfing the web. I found that I have to be in the mood to listen to music and with podcasts they are just something I can put on in the background to have some noise going.

My dad and I just drove to my Aunt's house in Kokomo, IN for Thanksgiving and the whole way down we listen to some of my podcasts I had on my phone. It was so much fun to show him some of the stuff I'm getting interested in and plus the podcasts made the three hours drive seem much shorter.

So here are a couple podcasts that I am really into right now.

First up is Ear Biscuits with Rhett and Link. Oh my goodness are these podcasts gold. My boyfriend got me hooked on Rhett and Link's YouTube videos, Good Mythical Morning, and I thought if I love their videos so much I must like their podcasts to. This thought I had was so on point. These two men pick interesting people from the interweb/YouTube and interview them. Their not normal interviews, you get to learn about people's back stories, a little about their rise to fame in YouTube, and you get to find out some weird things about the people you watch on your computer. Then there are the few episodes where it is just Rhett and Link and that is even crazier. After listening to each podcast you feel like you know those people so much better and that they are now an old friend. They have 53 podcasts and are currently not making any. They finished season one and are taking a break to plan out season two, let's hope there will be one!

Now these podcasts I just started listening to, like literally 3 hours ago started listening to. I have always loved Jenna Marbles on YouTube. She is probably the one YouTube I have been consistently following since sophomore year in high school. I think she is clever, hilarious, and very insightful. Since Julien came into Jenna's YouTube world I have found him equally as entertaining and hilarious. So I thought that their podcasts would be something fun to make me happy and I was so right. They kind of just talk about whatever they want and don't have a set agenda. I like how they just talk about a few things with random other stories thrown in. It's a good one for someone who doesn't really like a set structured podcast.

Oh Serial. I got into this one because I had heard many different people talking about and there was nothing but good news coming from this podcast. This American Life publishes it and I have always been a fan of them. I have gotten several episodes in but I think I need to start over. This podcasts tells a story of a murder and how the narrator goes about finding clues and trying to figure out what is really going on. To me it is a little complicated and takes a little more thought to follow along but it is so worth it. I love the interviews brought in, the descriptions that are given, and the suspense it brings. I thought this might be a little scary or creepy but it is not at all so don't worry about that!

There is a fourth podcast series I have on my phone currently but have not started listening to it yet. It is called Gilmore Guys and from the description these two guys sit and talk about different episodes of the TV show Gilmore Girls. The reason I haven't started listening to this podcast yet is because I am almost done watching all of Gilmore Girls off of Netflix and want to finish that before I start the podcast. I don't want anything spoiled! 

I hope my little comments about these podcasts peaks your interest enough to go and check them out. Let me know if you listen to them and what you think about them!

Do you listen to podcasts or the radio? What do you listen to? What are your favorite podcast series? Any good recommendations?

XOXO

ZMH

Life is Rough

Boy oh boy it's for sure the end of a semester.

Everyone is stressed, falling apart, and freaking out (including me).

I never look forward to this time of year because it just gives me so much anxiety. It doesn't even matter that I will be home in three weeks for Christmas break because I just keep thinking about all of the things I have to do in between that time.

Let me start with my list of bad's:

1. My iPhone will not charge. Correction it is being very picky about charging. I will hook it up and it will occasionally charge for maybe 30 minutes if I'm lucky. So I will be going to the AT&T store this weekend with my dad and hopefully get this situation fixed.

2. I found out I am lactose and dairy intolerant. YAY...not. I guess this has always been around but it recently started turning into such a big problem that I was dry heaving and getting dizzy from feeling so ill. I hate this because I live off of dairy products but good thing I have always liked soy milk.

3. I had a huge 10page ROUGH DRAFT, mind you, due yesterday and I only had 2pages. Thankfully I was not the only one but still. I keep looking at my 2pages and walking away because this paper and class is awful and I don't want to do it. 

4. My other three housemates are driving me up the walk. Don't get me wrong I love Rachel but holy cow am I ready to be home. Not everyone is doing their chores, there is stuff everywhere, and all of this is making me more stressed. I can't even hide in my room because Rachel has almost taken over the whole thing. Don't worry I will be giving everyone a piece of my mind very soon.

So yea, that is about it. Oh wait one more!

5. There will be some significant charges next semester for the sorority to fund different G.O. (Greek Orientation or Pledge) that I don't know if I can afford. Don't get me wrong, I love the sorority but I just cannot afford all of those extra little costs especially for events that I cannot be at because I have work. It's annoying is all.

Okay so now that is all.

I just needed to vent this and have someone else hear it that wouldn't immediately try to make everything positive and tell me it will be okay. That's nice that people want to give me support and I love it but sometimes a girl just has to be mad and think that there will be no good outcome. Just for a little bit let me wallow and be mad. Just a little bit, that's all I ask.

XOXO

ZMH 

Winter Is Upon Us

Here in Michigan there is never a shortage of snow during the winter months but this year Mother Nature decided to visit us a little early. Our first snow fall happened this past weekend and boy was there a lot of it.

There was so much snow that schools actually gave out snow days on Tuesday. Lucky for me my one class of the day cancelled and I didn't have to go into work. Since I had a free day I took the time to rest and really work on some homework. Plus I got to have a lovely lunch date with one of my roommates.

The big question is how in the world did we make it from our apartment to the restaurant. There was so much snow blowing around and man was it cold. We might have stayed a little longer at the restaurant then normal because of this. 

Overall it was a pretty great day and I wish we had another day off but alas no.

Thank goodness Thanksgiving break is next week.

Only three weeks left of the semester!

XOXO

ZMH

(I have a photo of our struggle but I am currently having problems with transferring photos from my phone so I will keep you posted until I fix it)

Instead here is different photo to satisfy your photo viewing needs

Date Night

As I write this post I am sitting on our couch in our apartment's living room not feeling to swell. It is 2:30am and all I want to do is sleep but alas I cannot. I can already tell from the last two nights this week is going to be really rough. (I also apologize that my postings will be very sporadic until further notice because I just don't have enough time to sit down and write up a bunch of posts to queue, I'm sorry)

Moving on from that this past weekend was pretty darn great. R came into town for my sororities date night. We usually only do date night first semester instead of a fall formal. This year we combined our date night with our brother fraternity, the Knickerbockers, so we could have more people and more fun.

On Saturday we all drove up to Grand Rapids for a very early (but delicious) dinner. We went to this amazing Hibachi grill and had so much fun taking pictures at the restaurant. They had a really amazing bridge with a pond that we all got to take our pictures on, the perfect backdrop. After dinner we all dispersed to do things before we headed to our after party.

R and I took a detour to downtown GR to grab some coffee from Madcap Coffee to keep up our energy for the rest of the night. From there we swung by both our places to quickly change shoes so we could dance the night away and then off we were to one of my sisters houses to party it up.

Everyone was there with their dates and we all laughed the night away. We had a great time playing beer pong, dancing our feet off, and trying to sing along to every rap part of each song (well at least I did and let me tell you did I embarrass myself). 

That night I volunteered to be the designated driver since I can't drink anyway. I got to help out a lot of sisters and brothers get home safely which helped me sleep a lot easier that night. Everyone was a doll and really helpful. 

Overall it was a pretty fabulous night and weekend. I wish it was longer but what can you do, it always seems like the most fun weekends seem to slip by without even a warning.

Are any of your sororities having a date night soon? Did you already have one? Or did you have a formal? 

XOXO

ZMH

My mama and one of her BFFs

Obligatory mama & baby Zoe picture

Rand I 

The lovely ladies of Alpha Gamma Phi (minus one or two)

Insta-holic

I must admit, I am addicted to Instagram.

There is just something so mesmerizing about seeing all those nice square photos and double tapping your favorite one. Is this just me?

Well I thought since I spend so much time on Instagram I would share with you my recent activity on Instagram. I like to use the app as a way to update family and friends with what I'm doing and so that they know I'm safe and happy.

Without further ado here we go!

This past week our college had a challenge given out to all of campus by a visiting artist. Our challenge was to find one of these big pieces of green paper and create something on it. Our only rule was we have to keep it horizontal and had to keep it the same rectangular form. I am not an artist at all but I gave this challenge a try and I must say I am very proud of what came out.

Lately I have been missing all of my friends I made in Europe. I think it must be the travel bug in me getting restless but I my heart has been a little hallow lately. So I found the necklace my host family in Denmark gave me and proudly wore it a couple times this week. Having it on made me feel comforted and not as sad.

This photo came up earlier this week in my Halloween post but here it is again. My sorority mama (or big) and I went out with the rest of our sisters to celebrate and we had so much fun! Zoe and I also dominated a game of beer pong that night, we generally avoid this game because we are awful at it. I am however very good at flippy cup!

I have seen this blog planner used by some of my favorite bloggers and they fell head over heels about it. I decided to buy one for myself to help me get more organized with my blog and I must say it is working! I also announced to Instagram that I have a blog so that was a big leap for me since no one really knows I have this yet.

(Can be found at www.heartandarrowdesign.com)

And finally a shameless selfie. I really liked the green I had going so I thought I would document it and it turns out a lot of other people really liked it to!

Overall Instagram is my favorite time waster. I like to edit my photos and make them look really nice. My favorite editing app right now is Afterlight, so great! Other then that my captions are never the best but you can't be great at everything, right? 

Are any of you addicted to Instagram? Do you use other editing apps before you put your photos on Instagram? Who are some of your favorite Instagrammers?

XOXO

ZMH

Feel free to check my account out and follow me!

@zmhoover

Bookworm Status

Oh I love a good book. Heck any book that isn't a school book at this point is heaven to me. 

 I love reading so much. I have always been a reader even when I was younger. I used to just fly through books and I would read anything I could get my hands on, it didn't matter if I understood it. I really appreciate this trait that my parents gave me. Both of them have always been avid readers and would constantly read me books anytime I asked.

I always cram in a ton of fun reading during breaks from school because that is really the only time I have to enjoy what I pick up. Now I own a Nook and I love it greatly but nothing is quite the same as a bound book in your hands. I love to see the progress I make each day, it's so much more satisfying then just seeing a little percentage sign on a screen.

This summer even though I was at camp and was pretty busy I was able to read about 8 books. I was so happy! I have not been able to read that many books of my choosing in a very long time. Since school started though I haven't been able to read much. A few of the books I have read for my classes have been good but just not as satisfying because well they were required. 

At the moment I have been making my way through The Help when I have a few free moments from homework or work. 

I must say it is a great book and I cannot wait to watch the movie when I'm done! I now understand why everyone was so captivated by it when it came out. It is real, honest, and pushes boundaries. I can't wait to see how it all comes together and if Skeeter ends up with a happy ending!

What books have you been reading? Any suggestions? Are any of you on Goodreads?

XOXO

ZMH

P.S.

Be sure to find me on Goodreads and see what other books I have read or send me a suggestion! 

Registration, Wait What?

Today I register for next semester classes. This means that I am almost half way done with Junior year. What the heck? I'm not ready to be done with this year, I'm not ready to be a senior, I'm not ready to apply for graduate school, and I am certainly not ready to have a real job and pay bills.

Alas time does not stop for anyone no matter how hard you beg. So here I got taking another leap into the crazy world of school. 

I am pretty excited about the classes I'll hopefully get into for next semester. I will be sure to keep you posted about what I get into and share my excitement!

How many of you are wishing time will slow down a bit? Anyone else registering for classes as well? 

XOXO

ZMH

Boo!

So it is now officially November. I feel like October came and went in a flash. I have to say October is probably the best month of the year. It has pumpkins, chunky knit sweaters, color leaves, Halloween, and of course my birthday!

Now Halloween is probably my favorite holiday, it's in close rivalry with Thanksgiving because who doesn't love a holiday centered around good food and family? Halloween has the perfect balance of childish fun with a hint of spooky. I'm not a big fan of horror films but I do love a good psychological thriller. I feel as though Halloween is the best time to watch "The Nightmare Before Christmas," "Rocky Horror Picture Show," and those classic Disney Channel movies like "Hocus Pocus".

Growing up as a dancer I have learned to love to dress up in weird costumes and go all out with make-up. Having such a big love for those things makes Halloween an even more special treat because that is what Halloween is all about. 

This year I kind of left my Halloween costume for the last minute because I have been super duper crazy busy. I lucked out with a pretty solid and simple costume, a crazy Brazil soccer fan. I already happen to be one so my jersey and hat were put to great use Friday night. People who make their own costumes from scratch each year have crazy talent and make me really jealous because I wish I could sew awesome things like they do. I have never been one for the slutty costumes though. You have to some things in mind when participating in Halloween activities in Michigan:

Halloween night will either be horribly hot and humid

OR

freezing cold with wind, rain, and snow/sleet (that was how it was this year)

Considering Michigan can be a bit of a diva and doesn't like to make up it's mind about weather you have to dress appropriately for Halloween which makes those slutty, skimpy, sexy costumes very un-enjoyable for the unlucky girl who is wearing them.

This year I got to celebrate Halloween night with my sorority sisters, the Knickerbocker fraternity, the Sigma Sigma sorority, and the Centurion fraternity. We had a great 4-way party at a local party house and it was relatively low-key and not super out of control, it helps when the house is closed to anyone who isn't apart of one of those groups. We all danced, laughed, played beer pong, and some people may have had to many drinks but what can you do, college students will be college students.

I really have always loved Halloween and this year I just loved it even more. I think the reason why my love for it has grown is because as I get older I get to spend this holiday with people I love and just get to be a little more crazy then I normally get to be.

I hope you all had a great Halloween! 

What did you do? Is Halloween your favorite holiday? What was your favorite costume you have ever worn on Halloween?

XOXO

ZMH

Just some Alpha Gamm's going as themselves

The Zoe's took Halloween by storm

Last year's costume with R, we were Princess Bubblegum and Finn the Human from Adventure Time

Two year's ago we went with friends as the cast from Rocky Horror Picture Show

...And let's just take a moment to appreciate Neil Patrick Harris' family. They dominate Halloween every year and this year was no different, so stinkin' cute!