First news- I'm hosting an exchange student at my house from Aalen, Germany! Her name is Zoe, and she'll be staying with me for two weeks. Some days she'll go to school and accompany me to all my classes, and other days we're going on field trips to places all over Pennsylvania. So far we went shopping, to malls, a fall festival, the movies, mini golfing, bowling, to restaurants, and Peddler's Village. We also took a walk around my neighborhood then to the park, and today she went to school with me. Apparently her school is very different than it is here, so that was a great experience for her. And apparently, my German teacher actually sucks at speaking German.
Here are some pictures of things we did and places we went together so far.
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| Sweet 16 Party |
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| Hayride on a farm to a pick pumpkins |
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| I got so many scenic pictures on the mini golf course! |
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| Mini Golfing |
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| Tried many American foods including this homemade vegetable soup that my mom and I made together, accompanied by old fashioned grilled cheese. |
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| Shopping in Peddler's Village and stopping at a cute little café |
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| Admiring the waterfalls at mini-golf that ate all of our golf balls |
So I'll update you guys on my life! CURRENTLY. . . . . .
Current Song: Honestly, I haven't been listening to much music lately. The radio station K-Love that I usually have playing in the background of my life is doing their bi-annual pledge drive. Basically they beg for money for two weeks, so I just turn off the radio until it's over. When I'm older I do want to give money to the station, though, because I love their message and I don't know what I'd do without the uplifting music! Anyway, if I had to pick a song to be my current favorite, I'd say Little Wonders by Rob Thomas. It's such a pretty song with a positive message that makes me want to appreciate the little wonders in our everyday lives.
Current TV Show: I just finished all three seasons of Melissa and Joey that are available on Netflix and HOLY COW were they amazing! I can't even wait for the fourth season starting at the end of this month! Their Halloween special is coming up in a few short weeks, too. Seriously, M & J is worthy of being the longest running show on television because it is that good. I can relate to the family and all the characters and identify myself in each one of them. GO WATCH IT!
Current Drink: This would definitely have to be something I discovered at Target the other day while moseying around looking for new foods and drinks. It's a sugar free chai spice latte that comes cold in a box, and all you have to do is pour some in a mug, add milk (I use soy), and heat it up. It tastes best with some cinnamon or sprinkled in, or pumpkin pie spice. It warms up your whole body and the only calories are from the milk, which means for the soy milk I add it's only 30 calories! YUMMMMM!!!!
Another drink I loveeeeee lately is pumpkin spice coffee. Any kind, from anywhere. As long as it's got that pumpkin spice I'm all for it!
Current Blessing: I definitely consider the opportunity to host a German exchange student a blessing. We are having such a great time together and exposing each other to the other one's culture. I'm so thankful that my parents agreed to do this and are treating her so well and making her feel welcome. Hearing about Zoe's life in Germany makes me realize how fortunate I am, and the way she marvels at everything she sees makes me so grateful for what I have here in America! I really do live in a well-rounded, safe, and nice place compared to many other parts of the world. THANK YOU GOD!
The picture above is from the Sweet 16 party I'll mention again below. She's the blonde next to me, in the middle.
Current Triumph: I am struggling with eating enough, and my bulimia is slowly developing into a more restrictive type of disorder.. or maybe it's not, I don't know. I'm still huge. I am at my lowest weight in two years AKA my goal weight #1, but don't worry- that's not the triumph. My triumph is that I have only purged two times in the past 10 days! Normally I would purge at least twice a day, so this is a huge improvement in a short amount of time. WOOHOO, GO ME! *pats self on back* I have only binged once in that time frame as well, and I have been maintaining my vegan diet.
Current Outfit: I am pretty terrified of fitting rooms, malls, and clothes in general. There have been too many triggering events in my past caused by shopping, not fitting into clothes, finding out I've gone up a size, not going to social events or even school because I have nothing 'acceptable' to wear... the list goes on and on. Clothes are just a scary thing! If you can identify with that statement, I'm sure you can relate to the feeling you get when you find something you actually love. Well, the other day shopping with Zoe, I found a dress I LOVED for a Sweet 16 party we were invited to this past Sunday (yes, it was an amazing time!).
Current Transformation: Recently I was going through old pictures (okay I admit, it's a daily thing) and I came across some 'selfies' from last year. I didn't even recognize myself! Whether it's because I got my teeth whitened, hair extensions along with getting my hair dyed, I lost some weight, got a whole new wardrobe, or just simply the fact that I'm a little older, I think I look pretty different.
The picture on the left is from April of last year, and the picture on the right is from this September, so that makes it a difference of 4 or 5 months between the two pictures.
Current Excitement: Having a real live German live in my room, in my house, and hang out and have fun with me for an entire two weeks is PRETTY DARN EXCITING I'D SAY! We've already experienced so many things and it's only been a few days, and her stay isn't even half way over! We have many more exciting things planned and I'm psyched to do every one of them with her.
Since I've already mentioned Zoe a million times, I'll try to think of something else exciting that's coming up in my life. Perhaps... Halloween? Christmas... CHRISTMAS MUSIC ON THE RADIO. It may seem early to you, but it's never too early for me. Bring it on, Santa.
Current Frustration: Algebra. Algebra 2 will be the death of me. Piecewise functions, absolute values, graphing inequalities... I can't do it. I don't even care if I fail anymore, I've tried everything and I still can't wrap my head around all those crazy numbers. I'm thinking of dropping down a level, but it's going to screw up my entire school schedule. It's either accept the F, or good-bye social life.
Current Exercise of Choice: Really, I haven't been exercising much. I've been getting an overwhelming amount of textbooks thrown at my head every night by my teachers, and on top of all the school work I have clubs, church, babysitting, and social priorities (which usually involve some form of exercise, i.e. dances, walking, mini-golfing, etc. I have been going to the gym twice a week though with an severely overweight girl in the grade above me who I'm trying to help out. I don't get much of a workout, but any type of movement is a workout for her and will help her inch closer to her goals. Other than that, I've just been riding my bike, walking, or going to the gym on my own a few times a week. I also have 1 to 2 two-hour soccer games a week which get my heart rate soaring! Soccer games are probably my favorite way to exercise and burn calories.
Current Movie: The last movie I saw was actually just yesterday when Zoe and I decided we had to see this movie, The Maze Runner. Neither of us read any of the books nor have any interest to- we just like watching the movie long after the book comes out, haha. The movie kept us on the edge of our seats, literally falling out of the seat and screaming like little girls "DONT DO IT, DONT GO IN THERE" and what does Thomas do? He goes in there. But of course he lives. I have yet to see a movie where the main character dies- comment if you have! I feel like once one movie came out like that, there would be several more, and eventually all the movie theaters would be filled with depressing films with devastating predictable outcomes that make you want to curl up in your bed and cry as if that will make the main character come back to life.
That's all for this edition of Currently Magazine. Kidding. I don't have a magazine yet.
Kidding, I never actually will.
Kidding, think positive Leanne.
Kidding, I don't know how to think positive.
Kidding. I've been up for 20 hours, stop judging me.
