Yesterday, during a trip to the faculty/copy room, I was shooting the breeze with one of the teachers I work with. She was telling me about her experiences with night sweats this past winter. Sure, I�ve seen the comic strips where the women run outside wearing thin nightgowns to cool off in the snow, but I had no idea it was really that bad!

My co-worker told me she slept with the windows open all winter, and kept her hand between the sheet and the mattress so she could search for a cool spot. Her husband had to wear a hat to bed, while she wore nothing at all. I asked her if it is true about waking up to find the sheets literally drenched in sweat, and the expression on her face was all the assurance I needed.

For once in my life, I consider myself lucky. I didn�t have to deal with anything like that. I did go through a period of daily hot flashes, but, at most I might have had six per day, and they only lasted for about 30 seconds. I still have one or two at night on occasion, but it�s really quite minor, especially in comparison to what some other women have to put up with. For example, there was Mary�s mother of all hot flashes. If memory serves me correctly, it lasted for fifteen minutes, and was accompanied by a pretty bad headache. (If diary-x hadn�t gone belly-up, I�d try to find the entry to link to, but, alas, I cannot.) Now I find myself curious about other women�s experiences with hot flashes and/or night sweats. Please share yours in the comments section.

My backyard is overrun with weeds � Bishop�s weed in particular. I hate that stuff! It�s unbelievably invasive! The previous owners let it take over. They did absolutely nothing outside for the entire 10 years they lived here. Consequently, the backyard is a mess.

I tried to fight the Bishop�s weed last summer. I had someone spread weed killer TWICE. I pulled tons of it up by the root, but it's back twice as bad this year. I don�t know what else to do, and am about to admit defeat. Before I do that, does anyone have any suggestions?

We have two proms to get ready for in the next few weeks. Rebecca is one year older than her boyfriend, and will be attending his senior prom on June 2nd. On Thursday, we headed for the Palisades Mall to buy a dress. The only one Rebecca liked was ripped on the seam, so the store offered to give us 15% off. Prom dresses are not easy to find, so we decided to buy it, and take it to a tailor for repair.

When the clerk rang up the sale, we were pleasantly surprised to find that the price on the register was less than half the price on the tag. We didn�t know the dress was on sale. That, plus the 15% discount, brought the price down to $42.00 for a dress that was originally marked $109.

Believe it or not, some girls are spending $450 on their prom dresses. Then there is the cost of shoes, nails, hair, and makeup (which many girls have done professionally). I didn�t spend that much for my wedding gown, and I did my own hair and makeup!

Leigh�s prom is June 9th. I see another trip to the Palisades Mall in my future�

Song of the Day: Night Fever by The Bee Gees