With color, texture and grain unique to each hardwood species, these magnificent products are as individual as you. And whether on the floor or over the fireplace, in the kitchen or in the office, they provide the opportunity and means to personalize each and every space. So step beyond cookie-cutter and ascend into lavish with the allure of cherry, the iridescence of sycamore, the elegance of walnut!

The appeal is real. Today's informed buyers recognize American hardwood as the gold standard, then and now! So isn't it time to realize your vision of luxury?

For answers and inspiration, visit the photo gallery of hardwood flooring, cabinetry, furniture and millwork at www.HardwoodInfo.com. And follow us on Facebook and Pinterest @AmericanHardwoods, and Twitter @AmericanHardwds.

Watch the video here.

Today's homeowners love being outdoors, and design professionals are being tasked with creating extravagant outdoor living areas with all the creature comforts that are typically found indoors - a task they're accomplishing with natural building materials such as cypress.

Mark Tuck of the Southern Cypress Manufacturers Association, www.CypressInfo.org, says, "Cypress is a beautiful wood that looks exotic. More importantly, it is a durable wood that - when properly installed and maintained - provides long-lasting performance. It's perfect for outdoor use!"

Unlike other species that need to be pressure-treated with chemicals for outdoor use, cypress comes by its durability naturally. When growing, cypress trees produce cypressene in their heartwood. This preservative oil protects the wood from the elements, and it repels insects such as termites and carpenter bees that often feed on and nest in other species.

"Thanks to its natural characteristics," Tuck adds, "cypress has typically been used as siding or as an outdoor ceiling product. But more recently, design professionals are using it for a variety of other outdoor applications."

Cypress for the Outdoor Floor

"Outdoor rooms, peaceful spaces, and low-maintenance materials are the buzzwords I hear most from my clients," says Nancy Moore of The Porch Company in Nashville, Tennessee.

"I like to use cypress in spaces that are exposed to the elements. From my experience, it holds up well to blowing rain that may come in. I love its character, authenticity, longevity, and the fact that it is a renewable resource."

Moore says that her clients prefer porch designs that flow from the inside to the outside, which includes the flooring.

"We typically use tongue-and-groove cypress for our porch floors because it makes the space feel like another room of the house - a room that just happens to have walls that breathe."

The New Heart of the Home

The heart of the home has long been the kitchen, right? So as today's homeowners spend more time outside, creating a secondary kitchen outdoors is a top priority.

When crafting cabinetry for outdoor kitchens, Rod Richardson of Associated Construction Group, Gonzales, Louisiana, relies on cypress, and for good reasons. "It offers value, appearance, and performance that lasts," Richardson says. "In my 20 years of building outdoor kitchens with cypress, I haven't had a callback.

"There are many building materials available, but one has stood the test of time and that's wood. It offers an appearance, feel, and even smell that you can't re-create with man-made products. And when I show customers different cabinet materials - even different woods - they usually lean towards cypress."

Incorporate cypress into your lavish outdoor space. See how at www.CypressInfo.org.

This Mother's Day, graduates across the country are taking a moment to express their thanks as they get ready for the real world, and Messenger is one tool they're using to do it. In fact, Mother's Day is one of the most popular days on Messenger all year.

Omid Afshar, a singer-songwriter and actor who is graduating from college this May, has an extra special thank you for his mother.

"To my beautiful mom, thank you for motivating me every day to keep on going to school and get this degree I've always dreamt of having. I can't believe the time has finally come that I am graduating from the same college as you. I feel like the luckiest son in the world to have you love and support me unconditionally. I love you so much," says Afshar.

As grads like Afshar start college or head out into the world, Messenger has many features to help grads stay connected with their moms, other motherly figures in their lives, old friends and new, as they take the next step:

Video chat. Feeling a little homesick? See your mom face-to-face, even if you won't admit you're missing her.

Get customized. Change your mom's nickname in a chat, add a custom color and set an emoji that's just for the two of you.

Chat with the group. Stay in touch with your high school or college besties even if you're going in different directions after graduation, or use group chats to get the whole family together in one place.

Use payments. Out of cash? Mom can quickly send money right through Messenger. Or with group payments, go in on a group gift for mom for Mother's Day with other family members.

DigiTrax Entertainment is one company on the forefront of the AI in music movement, using AI and machine learning to analyze and create new music.

The DigiTrax flagship program, Music Builder, has proven so popular that company leaders will participate in the highly exclusive National Association of Music Merchandiser trade show in Nashville, TN this summer after winning the semifinal round of the 2018 InnoSTARS Competition in Atlanta.

"We are thrilled that the discerning panel of judges at InnoSTARS agreed that our artificial intelligence music technology represents a paradigm shift in the way we create and enjoy music," says Joseph Vangieri, CEO of DigiTrax.

"We understand the underlying technology that drives the music industry," Vangieri says.

"We have an expert AI system for music creation, and we recognized the incredible potential for the 15-billion-dollar music production industry," he explains. DigiTrax boasts a music catalog of more than 15,000 songs, and delivers music to major distribution platforms including YouTube, Google Play, and iTunes, as well as third-party software partners such as Yamaha Music Soft.

The ultimate goal for DigiTrax is to change the music industry in the way that CGI (computer-generated imagery) changed the movie industry, says Vangieri.

Challenges facing the music production industry are time, money, and the need for an extensive production team that could include composers, arrangers, and musicians.

The Music Builder program addresses all three of these challenges, and allows users to create more musical content in less time without the need for specialized staff.

The music professionals at DigiTrax are experts in producing, licensing, marketing and distributing music. In addition, their AI technology allows them to offer a service for musicians to quickly and easily compare songs if they suspect their original work has been copied by someone else.

"We believe our AI Platform, The Music Builder, will impact almost every area of music, and our seven granted patents will help protect our intellectual property," Vangieri emphasizes.

Visit themusicbuilder.com for more information about how DigiTrax plans to turn the music industry on its ears.

But did you know that even though you make an effort to eat healthy, you may still have trouble reaching your daily fiber requirement?

Many Americans average only half of the recommended 25 to 30 grams of dietary fiber per day, according to the Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics. Yet the current average daily intake of fiber is 15 grams, as the typical diet includes many foods with high calories, such as white bread, doughnuts, sodas, juices and red meat, to name a few.

It is impractical, however, to think that you can get your daily fiber requirement from food alone, even though you can find it in edible plants, including many fruits, vegetables, grains and legumes. For example, you would need to eat about 10 apples or bananas every day to obtain your daily fiber requirement.

It's a startling statistic that the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates only about five percent of Americans reach the recommended level of dietary fiber requirements. An unfortunate result is a substantial burden on the health care system and on the individual health of Americans. This is known as the "fiber gap" as limited fiber intake has been associated with colon cancer and metabolic syndrome.

The "fiber gap" exists for two reasons: people think fiber supplements are primarily for maintaining a regular digestive system, and traditional forms of fiber supplements on the market, such as powder or capsules, are inconvenient to take.

"Dietary fiber is known for keeping our bodies regular," says Michael Epstein, M.D., FACG, AGAF, a leading gastroenterologist and Chief Medical Advisor of IM HealthScience, LLC.

"Most importantly, it's essential that you get enough fiber in your diet. One way to do that is to supplement your daily intake of dietary fiber with natural, prebiotic fiber supplements. Many of my patients like the convenience and ease of taking the Fiber Choice line of chewable and gummy products."

Fiber Choice - A Convenient, Prebiotic Solution

The Fiber Choice brand of chewables and gummies is made of inulin [pronounced: in-yoo-lin], a natural fiber found in many fruits and vegetables. Inulin works by helping to build healthy, good bacteria in the colon, while keeping food moving through the digestive system. This action has a beneficial and favorable effect of softening stools and improving bowel function.

Research shows that the digestive system does more than digest food; it plays a central role in the immune system. The healthy bacteria that live in the digestive tract promote immune system function, so it's important to nourish the body with fiber. Inulin has secondary benefits, too, of possibly lowering cholesterol, balancing blood chemistry and regulating appetite, which can help reduce calorie intake and play a supporting role in weight management.

But getting enough fiber in one's diet can be a challenge.

So try these tips to increase the amount of fiber in your diet:

•  Make your grains whole. Read labels and swap out conventional grains for whole wheat when buying bread and pasta products, and choose brown rice over white.

•  Make your veggies green. Green vegetables, including beans, spinach, cabbage, and asparagus are good sources of dietary fiber.

•  Go bananas. Many types of fruit are high in fiber, but bananas are an especially rich source. Add mashed bananas to muffins, smoothies, or a bowl of oatmeal as a way to increase fiber intake.

•  Add a supplement. Sometimes eating enough fiber-rich foods is a challenge. So choose a dietary fiber supplement with prebiotic effects, such as the fiber found in Fiber Choice, which has been designed to promote the same health benefits as the fiber found naturally in foods. Fiber Choice chewables or gummies are gluten-free, sugar-free, and taste great in several fruity flavors - and they are easy and convenient to take anywhere and anytime. Among all other fiber products on the market, only Fiber Choice gummies contain pectin, which is derived principally from citrus and apples.

For more information about the benefits of dietary fiber and how fiber supplements can be part of a healthy eating plan, visit www.fiberchoice.com.

The usual adult dosage with Fiber Choice Chewable tablets is two tablets up to three times a day and for Fiber Choice Fiber Gummies is two gummies up to six per day.

The product is available in major retailers, such as CVS/pharmacy, Walmart, Target, and many grocery stores, and can also be purchased online at Amazon.

*THESE STATEMENTS HAVE NOT BEEN EVALUATED BY THE FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION. THIS PRODUCT IS NOT INTENDED TO DIAGNOSE, TREAT, CURE OR PREVENT ANY DISEASE.

"Wine and food pairings don't have to be complicated," says Riana Mondavi, a member of the fourth generation of the Mondavi wine family from Napa and an ambassador for her family's CK Mondavi and Family wines. "It's really about what you taste and smell in the wine and how you feel the wine brings out and compliments the food you are eating."

If done correctly, a proper pairing can enhance the flavors of both the food and your chosen bottle of wine. The intensity of a specific food or wine depends on a lot of things such as sugar, acid, salt and spice. The food should not overpower the wine (and vice versa). By matching a light wine with light fare or a heavy dish with a heavier wine, the food and wine balance each other out and their intensities line up for a perfect pairing.

For example, if you have a dish that has a lot of citrus in it, it's great to pair with a Chardonnay, as it also has hints of citrus in it. The two enhance each other and balance out the flavors. A lighter white wine, such as a Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio, pairs well with summer vegetables, as it brings out the crisp, light flavor profiles. Red wines typically pair best with richer food such as steak and sweets, but there's no set rule. Many people pair a Merlot with seafood.

CK Mondavi and Family has made wine pairing easy for everyone, and this summer they invite you to play around with pairings. They've created a downloadable "Wine pairing made simple" guide on their website: https://www.ckmondavi.com/ckm-pairings. They also added flavor descriptors to each bottle of CK Mondavi and Family. With descriptors such as "Rich & Velvety" for Cabernet Sauvignon and "Bright & Fresh" for Chardonnay, anyone can quickly decide on a wine.

Riana Mondavi also recommends impromptu wine pairings with friends. "It's fun to get together with a group to see what everyone tastes or smells in the wine," she adds. "Everyone has a different opinion and it's fun to see what we all come up with."

So, this summer, have some fun pairing wines with your favorite foods. And while doing it, enter CK Mondavi and Family's monthly #pairNpost drawing, where you can enter to win a prize. Just snap a photo of your favorite pairing and tag it with #pairNpost on Twitter or Instagram.

It's all part of a new, fun approach to wine. After all, summer is about enjoying yourself and what better way to enjoy life than at the table with friends and family?

Five to nine hurricanes - with as many as four "major" ones boasting sustained winds of 111-plus mph - is what the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration just predicted for this year's storm season. In other words, they're calling for an "active" six months or so through the end of November.

And while no one's saying we're in for a repeat of last season's devastating triple whammy - yes, we do mean Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria - ask anyone still dealing with the havoc of having had their house battered in one of those storms if they don't still wonder what more they could've done to be better prepared.

"It only takes one storm to devastate a community," said Acting FEMA Deputy Administrator Daniel Kaniewski.

Read on for some of the best advice on readying for the next (inevitable) storm.

* Check your insurance. The coups de grace for many of those hit hardest last year was discovering that they'd have to find a way to pay all or some of their rebuilding costs themselves. The reasons ranged from lack of flood insurance (only those with federally backed mortgages living in designated high-risk zones are required by law to buy it) to a local spike in the price of labor and materials.

"Hurricane Harvey (in Texas) showed that flooding can also damage properties outside the highest-risk zones," the Wall Street Journal noted, quoting a former New York insurance commissioner as saying that "even financially literate people" don't understand that floods aren't covered in the standard homeowners policy.

* Clean your gutters. Even in perfect weather, Angie's List says you're looking at a possible "nightmare" if they're so clogged with mounds of leaves, sticks, and other debris that it causes your roof to leak. And if you factor in a hurricane-strength rain, suddenly the very roofing system component meant to control the flow of all that water - thus protecting your roof, walls, foundation, and landscape from the aforementioned flooding - can be about as useful as spoiled milk.

"If you let gutter cleaning go by the wayside, it could cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars," the website warned.

* Make sure your roof is in good condition. The Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety actually built a test chamber where experts could simulate the effects of hurricanes and other natural disasters on full-scale one- and two-story homes. So when its president and CEO, Julie Rochman, tells CBSNews.com's "MoneyWatch" that "it all starts with the roof," you need to pay attention.

"The roof," she said, "is the largest potential opening on the house, and wind and water can do terrible things if they get through (it)."

Ergo, now's the time to have a professional roofing contractor check for (and fix) any signs of wear and tear like broken or missing shingles, fractured fiberglass mat, and loosening of the self-seal strip. These tell-tale signs, especially if they resulted from damage from hail, can be difficult to spot yourself. And if you do decide to replace your roof? "Consider shingles that have passed the UL2218, Class 4 impact test," advised Jason Joplin, program manager of CARE (the GAF Center for the Advancement of Roofing Excellence).

Joplin especially likes the Timberline ArmorShield II line of shingles from GAF (gaf.com), North America's largest roofing manufacturer. In addition to looking good, they're made with SBS modified asphalt, which he described as "a rubber-like material for enhanced flexibility and durability during extreme weather conditions."

An added bonus: Depending on where you live, shingles like these could help you qualify for significant discounts on your homeowner's insurance.

* Trim weak tree branches. Need we say more than people have actually died from trees and branches crashing into their houses?

According to the Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS), the number-one reason for a slow or delayed towing company response is the considerable time it sometimes takes for the towboat captain to seek and find the disabled recreational boat on the water. Unlike drivers on a road or highway, many boaters are simply unsure of their exact location.

However, the proliferation of cell phones and improvements in cell service over the last decade means that most anyone can use a phone to pinpoint their location and also reach a dispatch center.

A phone app, such as the one developed by BoatUS, allows boat owners to pre-program information about their boat. When they use the app to call for help with a dead battery or a tow home, the call goes to the dispatch center and immediately provides the boat's details along with the latitude, longitude, and boater's emergency contact information to the dispatcher, speeding a response.

The free app from BoatUS, available at BoatUS.com/app, also provides information about tides, weather, and wind. Boaters without the app can use their phones to call the BoatUS 24/7 Dispatch Center at 1-800-391-4869.

Boat owners can also be proactive and save money by signing up for an on-water towing plan at the start of the season.

For example, an annual Unlimited Towing Membership plan from BoatUS starts at $72/year for freshwater and $149 for saltwater.

In addition to having a towing service, boaters should be prepared to keep themselves and any passengers safe if their boat is disabled.

Key tips to keep in mind include:

- Be safe. In life-threatening emergencies, call 911 immediately or use VHF radio channel 16. Know the location of your boat's safety gear and first aid kit.

- Be leak-savvy. If you run aground, immediately look for water intrusion and provide a life jacket for each passenger not already wearing one.

- Be seen. For safety and visibility in the dark, be sure all of your boat's navigation and anchor lights are working.

For more tips and information about what to do if you need on- water assistance, visit BoatUS.com/Towing or call 800-283-2883.

Turns out they know what they're talking about.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) nearly half of American adults aged 30 years and older (47.2 percent) suffer from some form of gum disease.

Gum disease, also known as periodontal disease, is one of the main threats to dental health, but maintaining a healthy mouth goes beyond the benefits of a bright smile.

Gum disease is a chronic, inflammatory condition, and recent studies suggest that gum disease and tooth decay may be associated with an increased risk of other inflammatory conditions, including heart attacks and strokes if left untreated.

The CDC describes common warning signs of gum disease, including bad breath, gums that are red, swollen, bleeding, or tender; pain when chewing; loose or sensitive teeth; receding gums; change in bite; and change in the fit of partial dentures. Additional factors that increase the risk of gum disease include smoking, diabetes, stress, and poor oral hygiene.

That said, most people can improve their dental hygiene and reduce their risk for developing gum disease by following a few simple steps:

- Brush. Brush your teeth twice daily with a fluoride toothpaste. Pick a toothbrush style that fits your mouth and feels comfortable, and you will be more likely to use it. If your teeth are sensitive or you want them to be whiter, look around; there's a toothpaste for that.

- Floss. Floss your teeth once a day. Dental floss is available in a variety of widths and thicknesses, although some people prefer disposable flossers, which are often easier for children to use.

- Rinse. Oral rinses play an important role in a dental health routine. Gum disease is caused by bacteria, but an oral rinse formulated with bacteria-targeting ingredients can help keep gum disease at bay.

Healthy Gums Oral Rinse from TheraBreath contains cetylpyridinium chloride, an ingredient approved by the FDA and clinically proven to kill the germs linked to gum disease.

"Gum disease is more serious than people think. It starts out with just bleeding and sensitive gums, but in its advanced stages, it can cause tooth loss," says Dr. Harold Katz, founder and chief researcher for TheraBreath.

For more information about keeping your mouth healthy and reducing your risk of gum disease, go to therabreathhealthygums.com.

Healthy Gums Oral Rinse fromTheraBreath is available at Walmart.

The Dell Scholars Program was developed by the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation to assist high-school seniors who have overcome significant obstacles to obtain a college education.

In 2018, of the 500 scholarships offered through the Dell Scholars Program, 281 were awarded to AVID students.

Students in the AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) program work to overcome challenges, including limited funds for college and limited family experience with college and college preparation.

AVID is a nonprofit that provides training and support to educators, so they can ensure that all of their students are college-ready. AVID educators are trained to tutor as well as mentor students, and to provide opportunities for the students to develop friendships and support networks with peers. Many of the AVID participants are first-generation college students who benefit from the mentoring and social support as well as from the academic instruction.

"The Dell Scholars are an inspiration to all of us at AVID. These students have overcome significant obstacles to succeed, and we're honored to be a part of their college journey," Dr. Sandy Husk, CEO of AVID, says in a statement announcing the scholars. "I'm excited to see what they will achieve in the Dell Scholars Program."

All students who become Dell Scholars receive not only financial assistance to help defray the cost of college, but also resources and mentoring throughout their college experience. These supports reinforce their study habits and relationship-building skills from AVID and similar high school programs that will help them succeed and earn a bachelor's degree in the subject of their choice.

According to the Dell Scholars website, "Our support is constant until they leave campus with a degree in hand."

Dell and AVID share the common goal of leveling the playing field for promising high school students who might not otherwise have been empowered and motivated to prepare for and attend college.

For more information about AVID, visit avid.org.

For more details about the Dell Scholars Program, visit https://www.dellscholars.org.