breakthesky.neti'll break the sky, for you and i are going nowhere.

When it comes to leg hair removal, I am a sufferer of the following things:

• Sensitive skin. Like, SUPER sensitive, to the point where if I scratch my leg a rash will break out.
• Pale, pale skin. Think blindingly white.
• Dark, dark hair. Think jet black. ¹
• Thick and/or coarse hair. (This one is pretty self-explanatory.)

Waxing: It works okay on my legs, except I’m not willing to shell out the money needed to see a professional regularly. Therefore, my experiences with waxing are those kits designed for you to use at home that you can buy at any good drugstore. I like the longer lasting effects of waxing, but since I’m not a professional, I don’t always rip the hair out at the root, which means I don’t get to enjoy one of the best benefits of waxing.

Shaving: Shaving is just… ugh, horrible. I don’t like the cuts and nicks, I don’t like the fact that hair grows back faster and thicker and I hate the feeling of stubble on my legs. To top it all off, my legs had a tendency to break out in a rash whenever I shaved, so it was just awful all-around. I could only shave once every two weeks, tops, because of my skin’s reaction to shaving, and because the hair grew back so fast I’d only be able to wear skirts or shorts for about two days. Definitely not worth all the trouble.

Epilating: I tried out epilating for the first time several nights ago. It’s an “electrical device used to remove hair by mechanically grasping multiple hairs simultaneously and pulling them out.” Basically, it’s most similar to waxing, minus the messy wax part. Hair takes about an estimated four weeks to grow back in and you don’t need to wait for it to grow out the length that waxing requires. Because there’s no blade, there are no burns or cuts. Yeah, epilating is going to be more painful than shaving, but I have a high pain tolerance so the pain didn’t bother me. The pain is also supposed to diminish with regular epilation.

Verdict: With the help of a little witch hazel, exfoliating body scrub and moisturizer, epilating is my favorite type of hair removal (already!). The best part? You can also use it on most areas of the body that require hair removal, so I’m only going to need my epilator and nothing else. Talk about convenience and saving money² while enjoying long-lasting hair removal!

1. Disclaimer: I do not look like a goth, despite my pale skin and dark hair. It’s just the result of my mixed heritage and which set of genes won out over the other in the looks department! [↩]
2. The epilator doesn’t need any replacement parts (e.g. you don’t need to replace the epilator head) so while the cost is higher up front, you save money with repeated use. No more need to shell out for professional waxing appointments, do-it-at-home wax kits, razors and/or shaving cream! [↩]

I called 911 for the first time today.

I was in the backseat of the car, with my mother behind the wheel and my brother in the passenger seat. I was looking out the window, listening to my iPod and not paying attention. All of a sudden, I heard my mom scream, “Oh my God, oh my God,” and I yanked my earbuds out of my ear and frantically tried to figure out what on earth was going on.

There was a sedan two cars ahead of us that randomly pulled out of our lane and angled his car so that it was perpendicular to the flow of the traffic in the opposing lane. I’m not sure what was his train of thought was or if there even was one, but next thing I knew his car had collided with an SUV that was driving in the other side of the street. The front of the sedan crumpled and the fender of the SUV fell off; the airbags deployed and everything seemed to happen so much faster than it actually did.

The SUV pulled over on the side of the road and the two passengers climbed out, both unhurt. The driver of the sedan wasn’t in great shape; his face was bleeding profusely. However, he was well enough to get out of his car and take his shirt off so that he would have something to stem the steady flow of blood (I’m assuming he had a broken nose as there was a lot of blood). My brother went to go talk to the SUV passengers and the man in the car in front of us went to talk to the driver of the sedan. Meanwhile, I placed a call to 911.

Help arrived within several minutes. The cops arrived first, then an ambulance pulled up and the medics checked on the driver of the sedan. After that, there wasn’t much else we could do, so we hoped that everything would work out okay for those involved and then drove away.

It’s so strange to look at my list of recent contacts in my phone and to see 911 listed.

This past week, it’s been my job to keep house while my mother recovers from surgery. Even though my cooking skills are nowhere near as superb as my mother’s, I am definitely a pretty capable cook. Here’s a sampling of this past week’s menu a la Manda (with all the savory dishes served with a side of pasta or rice):

• Spaghetti bolognaise
• Garlic lime chicken
• Broccoli stir fry
• Lemon pepper salmon
• Thai green curry
• Variations of eggs and toast (comfort food!)
• Caramel apple upside down cake
• Chocolate chip cookies

I’ve been unusually behind the ball when it comes to taking photos of my culinary creations, so you’ll just have to take my word that the food served in my kitchen this week has been incredibly delicious! I do, however, have my most ambitious dish yet on the menu for tomorrow, so keep your eyes peeled for the documentation in the coming week. If anyone can guess what it is, I’ll send you some ;D