Hello, have you seen my brain?

I can't believe it is already the second week of school and I feel like I'm loosing it already.

Rush started for Greek Life this past weekend so it has been a whirlwind week with that plus two jobs, school, and homework (AKA no sleep team over here).

Granted it has been so busy but I am so freaking happy! I love my classes this semester, I love my professors, I love my jobs, and I love my friends/sisters/new friends! I do already feel a break down coming around but I think that is due to lack of sleep so hopefully I will be able to fix that this weekend. Wish me luck on getting there.

So I apologize for giving who ever reads this super sporadic blog posts these next two months. Once rush and G.O. (Greek Orientation) are over I promise to give you more regular posts.

Other then that I hope everyone is doing well to!

How is your new school year going? Are you currently in the rush process as well?

XOXO

ZMH 

My mama Zoe and I

My home girl B

What a pretty family line we are

We are also a very serious family line

Happy 2015

Wow 2014 just sprinted past me. I can't believe we are in the year 2015! It will be a great year, I can feel it.

For New Years Eve I went over to my sororities brother fraternity for a bit. One of the guys was having a Gatsby party so many of us showed up all dolled up. We had fun with dancing and watching the live feed of the New York ball drop.

I did not stay there for midnight because I had promised R that I would come to his house for the new year. It was nice to go to his house with the quiet and low key feeling. We celebrated with lots of food and out parents. It was nice.

I have been thinking about a New Year's resolution and I think I found something that I can stick with. I have promised to read more books that are not for school or "fun" books. I love reading so much and I miss it during the school year so this means I need to watch less Netflix and pick up more books.

Seems easy but I'll keep you posted.

How was your New Years Eve? Do you have a resolution?

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 

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

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!

Just Three Little Letters

So I don't know if you could tell but I love my sorority and my sisters so much. I haven't known many of them for long but it feels like they have been apart of my life for forever. 

The last couple days we have been really busy with getting service events into our schedules, planning rush, and getting ready for homecoming.

We are all insanely busy and so getting everything organized and going has been kind of a challenge. Luckily we have an amazing president and vice president to help us achieve all of our goals and get things done. 

I'm so happy that I went greek last winter and it kind of makes me wish I rushed as a freshmen so I had more time with these girls but everything just seemed to line up better sophomore year. I'm proud to be an alpha gamma phi sister and carry on our traditions and legacy.

Can you tell we are in the same family line

My sister B and I at the Alzheimer's 5k walk

Our information table during Homecoming weekend

XOXO

ZMH

I'm Sorry, Please Don't Hate Me

Hello to anyone who follows my posts!

I am so sorry for not updating you all in forever. My last couple weeks, yes it has been some time, have been super chaotic and busy. Things just keep popping up for me and then once I'm done I just crash and go to bed. 

School has been crazy with papers, projects, and trying to stay on time with everything. I feel like time just slips through my fingers now a days. I have also been having a lot of events going on with Alpha Gamma Phi. We have had several service events, meetings, parties, and let's not forget about homecoming weekend. Besides those two things I have been working a lot! I love to go to work because I love to make money so that I can go and enjoy doing things with my friends and sisters.

But any-who let me give you a quick run down of what has been happening in my life lately. 

Hope College had fall break at the beginning of the month and I went to stay the long weekend at my boyfriends in Chicago. We had so much fun that weekend doing new things and visiting old places.  We ate SO much food, saw a ton of great art, visited an amazing zoo, and I even got to take a class at the Joffery Ballet.

After that I came back to school and went right back to hitting the ground running. I had many meetings for random things and trying to figure out housing for next year, yikes so far away but so close! This weekend was homecoming at Hope and so that came with many events that I had to participate in for the sorority. It was all fun and games but boy am I glad it's over... I'm exhausted.

Oh and let's not forget I turned 21 this past Monday! I did not do anything that I normally don't do on a Monday. Except my dad did take me out to eat that evening to one of our favorite delis in Grand Rapids. That day though I did feel older. It's weird being 21, it just feels different.

So there's a quick recap of what I have been doing. I will try to update you all on a more regular basis. I would love to update you all everyday but I'm just starting out with this whole blogging thing and trying to figure out what to do. If you have any simple helpful tips feel free to let me know! I will try to squeeze in some time in the next couple of days to queue up a few posts to give you more details about what you've missed. I feel like that is a solid first step to getting this blogging thing down.

Well that is it and I will just leave you with that. Sorry this post wasn't more exciting.

Thanks for all of your patience and support.

Love you.

XOXO

ZMH

Hi Universe, Want to be Friends?

Do you ever have those days where you wake up and just know that nothing will go quiet right that day? It feels like the universe just decided that day that it didn't want to be your friend. 

Yea well that was how today felt for me. I woke up just not feeling today. I just knew I wouldn't win today. It's not really a day full of big important things but there have just been a few wrenches thrown into my plans today and others lives as well apparently.

This morning instead of playing around on my computer until I had to go to class I went over to Starbucks. While there I realized I didn't print out my homework that was due during this first class. I cursed myself for forgetting, the item was pulled up on my laptop and everything. I quickly grabbed my coffee and sprinted out of Starbucks like it was on fire. I was able to race back to my apartment and print my homework on time, in fact I was still my usual 10 minutes early to class. Go me. 

Afterward I went to our campus' snack cafe to meet up with some sorority sisters for lunch like normal. I grabbed my salad and other snacks and was glad that I was able to the few road blocks that were put in my way. Little did I know more were to come.

Over half of the lettuce in my salad was bad, bummer. The yogurt and fruit cup I grabbed consisted mostly of fresh pineapple which I am allergic to which was upsetting as well. Overall lunch sucked. Us girls then chatted about how everyone was just struggling in general this week. We all made each other feel better with words of encouragement, I love my sisters. 

I then decided to not go to my next class of the day and take this time to relax and write this blog post. I think I made the right decision because I'm starting to feel a little better. Granted I have to go to work today but let's hope it's okay, it probably will be a low key day. I also may have a little girl bonding session with my boyfriend's little sister tonight. She just broke up with her long tern boyfriend and is pretty beat up about it. So I suggested we hang out with our good friends Ben and Jerry and pull out a good movie to watch.

Yay for eating our feelings and making fun of movies!

Well I hope all of your day/week is going better then mine. Let's hope this weekend holds something awesome to make up for this string of bad days.

XOXO 

ZMH 

Is It Still Monday?

Holy cow today has felt like three days. I did a lot but also nothing. Do you know what I'm talking about?

I think it felt like the day was so long because I didn't sleep very well last night so I was pretty tired, boo. So the plan is to go to bed early tonight. Or at least to be sitting in bed relaxing before midnight. 

Today I got up early for some daddy/daughter time. I met up with my dad downtown at one our favorite breakfast places, The Windmill. We sat and chatted and just enjoyed some great food. Afterwards he dropped me off for my first class of the day and I hit the ground running.

I went to class like normal and talked for a bit to my middle school crush for a bit. This guy I liked ALOT in middle school, he was like my first crush. To be honest the inner middle school me still gets giddy when I see him. So silly. Anyway, afterward I had lunch with some of my sorority sisters and we caught up and just enjoyed each others company. 

Off to my next class! Man was that class long and boring. Now I like the material but going to class is just like taking a million sleeping pills, snooze! But afterwards I came back to the apartment and did some homework and hung out. 

I had a dinner date this evening with two of my sorority sisters. We went out and got sushi at this great new sushi place downtown. It was so great to just let loose and have fun with them! We ate so much food and laughed a lot. 

Overall it may have been a crazy busy day but it was so wonderful.
Today made me remember how great of a life I have and that I need to remember to cherish everything.

XOXO

ZMH

Whirlwind

Man oh man this week was just nuts!

I guess everything just decided that this was the week to keep me super busy and going all the time. Don't get me wrong, it was a fun week but I am glad this up coming week is a little calmer and more normal. 

This past week I had several shift changes at work due to dance auditions. These auditions were for the faculty showcase in the spring, it's a pretty big deal here at Hope. I went to a majority of the auditions like I normally do but sadly was not cast in anything. I don't regret running myself wild trying to get to these auditions and wearing out my body because auditions are the best place to learn and push yourself as a dancer. 

I know your suppose to always push yourself in class but that can be really hard sometimes. You go to the same class a couple times a week and usually it's the same handful of combinations with a few tweaks. After a while it just gets very repetitive so that's why I LOVE auditions because their that extra pepper you threw into your chili. You encounter weird stunts, interesting pairings of body movements, and the choreographer usually will play their out-of-this-world music for you. Auditions are a complete game changer.

(This photo is from a while ago but I just love it! Teagan was super excited to help me tie my pointe shoes, it was adorable)

(I don't remember where I got this photo but I feel it really shows you have to have fun and goof off once in a while in dance)

(But working hard will get you to a point of almost perfection)

Besides the auditions I just had a lot of sorority meetings and a bunch of homework that seemed to pile up out of no where. In both those categories everything worked out and got accomplished, except some homework reading, but it was a bit of a struggle.

Alpha Gamma Phi is hopping right now trying to get things going. Can you believe we are already starting to plan our rush events? Here at Hope we only have rush and pledge in the spring so it's a little bit in the future which boggles my mind that we are already having to start planning that stuff. We even talked about formal and what our guess on a reservation number might be. Our formal chairs then proceeded to remind us we would have new members by then, everyone was just so blown away by that. WE WILL HAVE NEW MEMBERS IN ABOUT SIX MONTHS!!

Overall I have enjoyed the start of the school year and am really excited to do well. Tomorrow I will be relaxing by going shopping and then finishing up some last minute reading at the apartment. 

XOXO

ZMH

 P.S. 

I promise to post photos of my apartment soon. I have just been way too busy to take a few pictures and plus our apartment needs a little sprucing up.

(A couple weeks ago I treated myself by ordering this monogrammed necklace from Marley Lilly and I am so in love! I wear this necklace everyday and always get compliments on it. I highly recommend ordering a monogrammed necklace from Marley Lilly) 

(My sorority mama and I before a party we had with Hope College's mens swim team. We had so much fun and really embraced the 'freaks and geeks' theme.)

(One of my lovely sorority sisters Brittany. One of the few girls I know who is taller then me, it is quite impressive.) 

Spring Fling and End of the Year

So I am officially done with my sophomore year! I am now a junior and half way done with my undergraduate school career! I cannot believe I am almost done with schooling and onto being a real adult. This time in my life seems to be going so fast and I cannot believe it, I love it but also want it to slow down. I kind of have a plan of what I will be doing and where I want to be but not completely.

So here at Hope College on the last day of official classes starting at 3pm we have a celebration for the whole school called Spring Fling. This is a huge picnic outside in out pine grove in the middle of campus. There are lots of blow-up bounce toys, photo booths, and zip lines. Spring Fling is a great time to relax and have a little bit of fun with your friends before you lock yourself in your room to study for finals. Here are a few pictures of me with my friends at Spring Fling:

My friends Stephanie and Yiran waiting in line to zip line! 

This is what I get for leaving my phone in the hands of Stephanie

Stephanie would be so happy to learn that this photo is being posted. Hehe.

Thanks for the candid photo Steph!

So I attempted to ride the bull at Spring Fling but I couldn't get on it. It was too difficult and not worth my time.

I found a few fellow Alpha Gamma Phi sisters at Spring Fling as well!

Three of the four roommates who will be in Parkview Apartments next year!

Aren't they just the cutest???

So now that exam week is over I can focus on relaxing and preparing to go to camp for the summer as a counselor. Cannot wait to enjoy these next couple of weeks doing absolutely nothing! Hello summer vacation! 

XOXO

ZMH

Formal

Hey everyone!

I am so sorry I haven't blogged in forever. I have been very busy the last couple of weeks. I have had formal, sorority events, Easter, preparing for exams, and packing up my dorm room.

It has been such a crazy time for me I just don't know what exactly happened the whole time and how I even survived these crazy times. During all of this I got a really bad cold that had been passed around the sorority. I unfortunately got it the worse out of everyone but I am finally almost all better just in time for exams so thank goodness!

So whats been going on with alpha gamma phi? Well we had our formal and it was so much fun! We went to JJ resort and got these cool log cabins. We all carpooled up throughout the day and then once everyone was there we went over to an Italian restaurant. The food kind of sucked but that didn't matter once we got back to the cabins and started partying. Everyone had a blast and basically all the dates were gentlemen! (I'll include pictures down below).

We had all of our elections for chairs for the sorority. I got the PR, public relations, chair with one other girl who just got back on campus. I am so excited to meet her and start being the best PR chair the sorority has ever had! Over all I am very happy with everyone who got positions and I think everyone will be amazing at their positions. The week after we had our last business meeting! The meeting was bitter sweet. The seniors gave their pass-downs out to everyone. I was lucky enough to get a sweater that has been in our family line for several generations. We all were sad to say goodbye to our seniors but we know that they won't be gone permanently from our lives.

During all the crazy stuff was Easter weekend! My dad and I took the weekend to go down to Kokomo, Indiana to see family. It was so nice to get out of town and see family. I didn't realize how much I needed to get out of Holland until it was time to come home! I loved relaxing with family, bonding, and eating way to much!

Well it's finals week now and I have not started studying yet. Oops! I cannot believe that I am half way done with my undergraduate career. I just realized that next summer I will be starting the application process for graduate schools! I'm not ready to grow up or have to fill out more dang applications. Oh well. I am excited for that next step because it gets me closer to my dreams and me taking that next step in life.

Until next time my darlings!

XOXO

ZMH

How is everyone's semester going? Are you ready for summer? How was your Easter?

Formal Pictures:

Me and Anne

Caroline and I

Savannah and I were each other dates for Formal because our boyfriends couldn't make it. She was such a wonderful date! 

My family line with our abroad family member back for Formal weekend!

Mama and Baby Zoe

G-Mama and Mama

My Family! Mama, Me, G-Mama, and Aunt

Some of the most amazing people in the world

Me and Brittany. We had to get a picture together because my heels made me the same height as Brittany for once! It was quiet the accomplishment. 

Dance Marathon

Here at Hope College we have a huge event called Dance Marathon. Hope College has been doing this event for 15 years now and the money we raise each year keeps growing and the participants keep growing as well.

Dance Marathon is a fundraising event that donates all of the money to Helen DeVos Children's Hospital. The hospital is one of the best children's care hospital's in the nation. They deal with very sick children every day and work miracles all the time. At Dance Marathon there are dancers and moralers. You can sign up as either one but most people sign up as a dancer. A dancer is the person who stays at the event for the full 24 hours. Dancers are expected to interact with the miracle children and their families as well as stay standing for the full 24 hours and stay awake as well. A morale is someone who is part of the team that comes and stays for 8 hour shifts and morales that dancers. They are there to encourage the dancers and keep their attitudes positive.

I was apart of my sororities Dance Marathon team. This year is was a requirement for the new members to be dancers and then the old actives were all moralers. It was my first year doing the whole 24 hours and to be honest I was terrified. Needless to say though I felt so amazing when it was done. I felt like I accomplished something great and seeing all the families and children thanking us afterward made me so happy. I was in so much pain and so exhausted but I'm glad I was able to do it.

Once the marathon was done I walked as fast as I could back to my dorm, changed my clothes, got some food, and snuggled up in my bed. I slept for a total of 16.5 hours, not all the way through, I did wake up a few times. My body hurt, and still does, so much but I keep telling myself it was for the kids and the pain doesn't seem so bad anymore.

Here is what I have done since the marathon:

I slept for 16.5 hours.

I drank 6 bottles of water.

Ate 4 granola bars.

Ate a whole can of pringles in one sitting.

Ate 2 cupcakes.

Had some McDonalds.

And watched 4 episodes of Parks and Recreation.

This was Alpha Gamma Phi's miracle child Noelle. She was such a sweetheart and so spunky.

Almost all the new members by the Dance Marathon banner. It was about 2am at this point, right before everyone started crashing.

One of our girls proved that it is possible to fall asleep while standing. We were very impressed. Unfortunately she woke up before we could get a photo of all of us around her.

Our lovely banner we made for Noelle. We worked so hard on it and I think it turned out quite well.

Here is a link for more information about Dance Marathon and what we did this year!

http://hope.edu/2014/02/24/dance-marathon-record-setter

XOXO

ZMH