Wayne Clough, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, asks “How can we prepare ourselves to reach the generation of digital natives who bring a huge appetite—and aptitude—for the digital world?” He explains how the Smithsonian is tackling this issue in Best of Both Worlds: Museums, Libraries, and Archives in a Digital Age. Libraries and archives have already made many documents available through the Internet. The digital world presents a bigger challenge for museums; producing images of 3D objects is more complicated, and collections are built with exhibitions in mind rather than open access on computers. In 2009, the Smithsonian began digitizing its vast collections to make them accessible to the millions of people who do not visit the museums in person. “Digital access can provide limitless opportunities for engagement and lifelong learning.” Clough sees museums gradually moving beyond showcasing collections to engaging the public online so “visitors” can access the objects they find most interesting. Education has always been at the core of the Smithsonian. Today, the Smithsonian offers materials and lesson plans that meet state standards for K–12 curricula; online summits on many diverse subjects; the Collections Search Center website; and apps. The Smithsonian’s website, www.seriouslyamazing.com, draws people in with fun questions and then takes them deeper into the subject. The question “What European colonizer is still invading the U.S. today?” reveals not only the answer—earthworms—but also in-depth info on worms from environmental researchers. Clough concludes with this thought: “While digital technology poses great challenges, it also offers great possibilities.”

Jake McAllister is just a teenager when he loses his father in a tragic accident. As grief overwhelms his daily life, he finds solace in nightly dreams graced by a beautiful girl who comforts him and quickly captures his heart. But as Jake matures into manhood and attains success as a cowboy boot-wearing CEO, no one ever imagines that he and his stunning guardian angel could ever become a reality. When widowed single mother Yvette Corvelle buys a ranch in Arizona, all she wants is to leave her past behind and raise her four-year-old daughter, Brandi, in a peaceful, safe environment. But when a tire blows on her Jeep one day near the McAllister ranch, her path suddenly intertwines with Jake's. After Jake realizes Yvette is the girl from his dreams, neither can deny their powerful attraction. As Jake attempts to convince her that he is not the womanizer she believes him to be, a mystery unfolds that soon leads them down a dangerous path where nothing is certain'even their undeniable bond. The Best of Both Worlds shares the tale of a cowboy CEO and his beautiful guardian angel as fate brings them together in the Arizona desert and leaves the possibility of a forever romance hanging in the balance.

Everyone has an opinion, anecdote, or horror story about women and work. Now the acclaimed author of What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast shows how real working women with families are actually making the most of their time. “Having it all” has become the subject of countless books, articles, debates, and social media commentary, with passions running high in all directions. Many now believe this to be gospel truth: Any woman who wants to advance in a challenging career has to make huge sacrifices. She’s unlikely to have a happy marriage, quality time with her kids (assuming she can have kids at all), a social life, hobbies, or even a decent night’s sleep. But what if balancing work and family is actually not as hard as it’s made out to be? What if all those tragic anecdotes ignore the women who quietly but consistently do just fine with the juggle? Instead of relying on scattered stories, time management expert Laura Vanderkam set out to add hard data to the debate. She collected hour-by-hour time logs from 1,001 days in the lives of women who make at least $100,000 a year. And she found some surprising patterns in how these women spend the 168 hours that every one of us has each week. Overall, these women worked less and slept more than they assumed they did before they started tracking their time. They went jogging or to the gym, played with their children, scheduled date nights with their significant others, and had lunches with friends. They made time for the things that gave them pleasure and meaning, fitting the pieces together like tiles in a mosaic—without adhering to overly rigid schedules that would eliminate flexibility and spontaneity. Vanderkam shares specific strategies that her subjects use to make time for the things that really matter to them. For instance, they . . . * Work split shifts (such as seven hours at work, four off, then another two at night from home). This allows them to see their kids without falling behind professionally. * Get creative about what counts as quality family time. Breakfasts together and morning story time count as much as daily family dinners, and they’re often easier to manage. * Take it easy on the housework. You can free up a lot of time by embracing the philosophy of “good enough” and getting help from other members of your household (or a cleaning service). * Guard their leisure time. Full weekend getaways may be rare, but many satisfying hobbies can be done in small bursts of time. An hour of crafting feels better than an hour of reality TV. With examples from hundreds of real women, Vanderkam proves that you don’t have to give up on the things you really want. I Know How She Does It will inspire you to build a life that works, one hour at a time.

This book has been a profound, personal journey across time, space and dimensions. Most of the poems have been given to me directly from my Spirit Guides, their words, ideas and concepts have not been altered in anyway. My role has only been to transcribe their messages, I am just the person holding the pencil. Recently, I was asked to read a few poems to an audience from Walking Two Worlds. After reading them, I realized these poems should not be read in an audience setting. The poems and drawings are so interrelated that one misses out experiencing the totality of both art forms. This book of poems is a journey that needs to be experienced and enjoyed by each person on an individual personal basis. As with all of my writing and drawings, my goal is to teach compassion, broaden narrow minds and motivate people to accept all peoples for who they are regardless of culture, race, religion and/ or sexual orientation. If only one person's life or ideas are changed in a positive way as a result of reading Walking Two Worlds I will consider it an outstanding accomplishment.