Karen Springen

This June, when Amanda Moore, 25, gets married in Beverly Hills, Fla., she intends to wear a black gown with pink daisy accents. Black, she says, is slimming, and pink matches a special necklace from her great-grandmother. "My mother-in-law was the only one who was, like, 'Oh, my gosh, you have to call the church and make sure it's OK'." (She did.

Finding the perfect prom dress is tough. If you live in a small town, it may seem impossible. That's a big reason more teens are starting their search online.

By day, Mike Hepworth works full time as an oil-company consultant. By night, he cultivates his three-acre Oregon garden with his own $12,000 John Deere tractor, complete with cup holder, headlights and adjustable cushioned seat.

Oprah, add this name to your book-club address list. Jeff Henderson, 41, a cocaine dealer turned high-end chef, just signed a six-figure deal with William Morrow/HarperCollins to write his memoirs.

A generation that's killed bad breath with Listerine strips can now tackle colds and coughs the same way. Current products that melt on the tongue include Pfizer's Sudafed ($6), Novartis's Triaminic ($6) and TheraFlu ($5), and InnoZen's Suppress Cough strips ($3).

Tobacco, Virginia State Sen. Charles Hawkins reminded folks last week, is "a legal crop." But the places where you can legally use it are quickly being stubbed out.

Is your dinner fishy? There might be reason to worry. A recent study from the University of North Carolina at Asheville found that one in five women of childbearing age tested for mercury had levels that could cause neurological damage in babies.

For years, entrepreneur Howard Gould took a Lincoln Town Car to his office from his home on Manhattan's Upper West Side. But those gas-guzzling days are over.

This year about 10 million Americans will hit the slopes to ski and snowboard. One out of 250 will also hit the ground--or a tree--and go home injured. We asked the pros for some advice on how to stay safe. (See www.apta.org or nsaa.org for more info.) First, remember: it's your head, so wear that helmet.

Viviana Chapman, who's due to give birth on March 1, was looking forward to capturing the event on camera. "This was going to be our memory forever," she says.

Fifty years ago, Robert Joffrey and Gerald Arpino started the Joffrey Ballet with six dancers, a borrowed station wagon and a U-Haul. Though Joffrey himself is no longer alive, Arpino, now 83, and the company's 47 dancers are celebrating their half century of performances with productions like John Cranko's "Romeo and Juliet" (opening Feb. 15).

Should you take the weight-loss drug orlistat? It's already available by prescription, and last week a government advisory panel recommended that the FDA approve the drug for over-the-counter use.

In her bedroom bookshelf, Isidora Coric, 8, keeps more than two dozen "Magic Tree House" books lined up numerically. She reads the tales in order, too. "She will not skip," says her mom, Valeria Coric.

King County, which encompasses Seattle, has a bus fleet of 1,400. Only 236 are hybrids, but fleet manager Jim Boon anticipates that number will multiply: "Having the stored energy in the batteries gives us much better fuel economy."Seattle's taking on enviro-friendly causes is no shocker.

Think about your pediatrician's office. Chances are that "Winnie-the-Pooh" or "Sesame Street" murals decorate the walls and restless toddlers pass the time before their appointments by playing on the floor with brightly colored toys.

For thousands of people whose faces have been disfigured by third-degree burns or other injury, life often becomes an endless series of painful operations.

Can't seem to get into the holiday spirit? Here are some tips for avoiding seasonal depression. Ignore Norman Rockwell. "Don't measure yourself or your holiday celebration against some impossible ideal," says Chicago psychiatrist Nada Stotland, vice president of the American Psychiatric Association. "If Uncle Harry usually gets drunk, he's going to get drunk again.

The hottest lunch hangout at Sterling High in Sterling, Ill., is U.B.U. lounge. On school days, it's mobbed with teens who order chicken wraps and fruit smoothies.

Brandy Montoya, 28, eats healthy and visits the gym at least three times a week. But as hard as she tried, she could not get the bottom half of her body to match her smaller torso.

Most kids need at least 10 hours of sleep. But if your child isn't getting enough, should you turn to sleeping pills? Many parents do. Last week Medco Health Solutions, a managed-care company, released an analysis that showed sleeping-pill usage has increased 85 percent among kids 10 to 19 in the last five years.

People always told Jill Mattek, 55, that she looked a good decade younger. After all, the Vero Beach, Fla., spa owner works out regularly and uses Botox, sunscreen and Retin-A creams on her face.

When it comes to emergency rooms, children are less likely than adults to receive appropriate pain medication, report several recent studies. "One of the great myths that float around is that children don't feel pain," says Dr.

Forecasting heart disease is becoming an ever-finer art, as researchers learn more about the risk factors. But here's a predictor you may not have heard about: street address.

Cindy Glover, 41, remembers her high-school yearbook photos: "All the girls wore wool blazers." But for her son, Austin, 17, a senior from Spencer, Iowa--and many of his peers nationwide--it's another story.

Your bags are locked, the taxi's honking, but your 3-year-old won't leave home without her entire Barbie collection. To avoid this kind of glitch, Laurel Smith, founder of the kids' travel site momsminivan.com, asks her kids, 6, 9 and 11, to do their own packing.

By Kay ItoiAre you lonely? do you have trouble getting up on time? If you live in Japan, help is on the way. Starting this week, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries will begin taking orders for Wakamaru, the world's first communicative home-use robot.

Women who want fuller cheeks and softer lines between their noses and lips have a new tool at their disposal. Sculptra, a cosmetic "volumizer" approved last year for facial-skin atrophy in HIV patients, stimulates the growth of collagen and reduces sagging and wrinkling.

It's always nice when Uncle Charlie leaves you a fat inheritance. But a growing number of people are handing down something extra: an ethical will. The document, which can be a simple one-page sheet or an elaborate write-up with an accompanying video, spells out their beliefs and wishes for family and friends.

Three months ago, college student Megan Dougherty, 20, quit a waitressing job where she felt under-appreciated and unhappy with the "insane" turnover. She moved on to Nick's Pizza & Pub in Crystal Lake, Ill.

Joffrey Ballet dancers typically wear tights, tutus and pointe shoes. But on a Chicago stage next week, they will be dressed in sweatshirts and sneakers for a sultry pas de deux by "West Side Story" choreographer Jerome Robbins.