Wonder Twins

Please share this and continue to nurture and challenge every child that comes your way this is absolutely AWESOME!

Paula and Peter Imafidon are just like any other 9-year-olds. They love laughing, playing on the computer and fighting with each other. What sets these twins apart from their peers, though, is that they are, hands down, prodigies who are about to enter high school and make British history as the youngest to do so.

The precocious London-based tykes, known as the “Wonder Twins,” floored academics a year ago when they aced University of Cambridge ‘s advanced mathematics exam. They are the youngest students to ever pass the test.

The future little scholars’ father, Chris , and mother, Ann, immigrated to Britain from Nigeria more than 30 years ago and have actually been down this prodigy route before with their three older children, who are also overachievers.

The couple’s oldest daughter, Anne-Marie , is now 20, but at age 13, she won a British government scholarship to take undergraduate courses at John s Hopkins University in Baltimore . Christiana ,

17, their other daughter, is the youngest student ever to study at the undergraduate level in any British University at the age of 11. Youngest daughter, Samantha , now 12, passed two rigorous

high school l evel mathematics and statistics exams at the age of 6. She mentored the twins to

pass their own math secondary school test when they were also 6.

Even with all of this, the proud dad denies that there is any particular genius in his family. He does credit his children’s success to the Excellence in Education program for disadvantaged inner-city youth. “Every child is a genius,” he said. “Once you identify the talent of a child and put them in the environment that will nurture that talent, then the sky is the limit. Look at Tiger Woods or the Williams sisters — they were nurtured. You can never rule anything out with them. The competition between the two of them makes them excel in anything they do.”

The darling duo are competitive to say the least, and this is what fuels them to out-achieve each other. Paula said, “I am excited to pass, but I should have got higher than Peter.”

As far as career paths Paula says she wants to be a math teacher, while Peter aspires to be prime minister one day.

Use These Basic Ten Tips For A Good Night’s Rest

How did you sleep last night? As an African-American, chances are you probably didn’t get enough.

It’s already a well known fact that African-Americans suffer disproportionately from just about all major diseases and chronic health conditions, including diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity and heart disease.

Here are the top ten suggestions to have good night’s rest.

1. Save your worries for the daytime. If concerns come to mind, write them in a “worry book” so you can address those issues the next day.

2.  Stick to a sleep schedule. Go to sleep and wake at the same time every day, and avoid spending more time in bed than needed.

3.  Select a relaxing bedtime ritual and relaxing techniques. Focus on calming activities and thoughts, particularly an hour before your bedtime, like a warm bath or listening to calming music.

4. Prepare your bedroom for sleep. Create an environment that is conducive to sleep that is quiet, dark and cool with a comfortable mattress and pillows.

5. Stop making your bedroom an all-purpose space. Use your bedroom only for sleep to strengthen the association between your bed and sleep. It may help to remove work materials, computers and televisions from your bedroom. If you can’t sleep, go into another room and do something relaxing until you feel tired.

6. Enjoy a carbohydrate-rich dinner or snack, as well as a cup of herbal tea. Carbs can stave off hunger, a known sleep robber. A study found that when healthy sleepers ate carbohydrate-rich suppers of veggies and tomato sauce over rice, they fell asleep significantly faster at bedtime. Also, some experts say that herbal teas, while not scientifically proven, may make you sleepy by generating body heat. Chamomile, lemon balm, hops and passionflower are all touted for their sleep-promoting properties.

7. Avoid caffeine, alcohol, and (believe it or not) milk. Caffeine affects everyone differently, so if you’re sensitive it might be worth trying to cut down—or limit caffeine to the morning only.

Also, though a glass of wine may help you fall asleep, excessive alcohol use can make you wake up in the night. One theory is that alcohol suppresses the REM (rapid eye movement) sleep state that’s critical to a good night’s sleep. Drink moderately, if at all; avoid drinking within a few hours of bedtime.

“What about a warm glass of milk!?” Well, decades ago, scientists looked into this folk remedy and posited that tryptophan, an amino acid in milk (and turkey), might be responsible for its supposed sleep-inducing effect. But in recent tests, they failed to affect sleep patterns, perhaps because other amino acids in those foods competed with tryptophan to get into the brain. Warm milk at bedtime may be comforting, but it won’t boost sleep-promoting serotonin.

8. Try alternative sleep technologies, such as RealSleep. Remember that kind of groggy, sleepy sensation you get when you’re on a bus, train or are the passenger in a car? RealSleep is a CD that helps you sleep by triggering that same sleepy sensation. It uses three kinds of nearly-inaudible sounds embedded in music to help induce a natural state of sleep, and has been extremely affective in clinical trials. “Sound can drive so much,” says Seth Horowitz. “If you’re really stressed and trying to get to sleep, this will help you.”

9.  Exercise regularly. But avoid vigorous workouts close to bedtime.

10. Talk to your doctor. Of course, if you find that nothing is helping you, or you have questions or concerns, speak to a doctor or sleep professional.

Apply these basic ten tips and Sweet Dreams!

Health Benefits of Water

How 8 Glasses a Day Keeps Fat Away

Incredible as it may seem, water is quite possibly the single most important catalyst in losing weight and keeping it off. Although most of us take for granted, water may be the only true “magic potion” for permanent weight loss.Water supresses the appetite naturally and helps the body metabolize stored fat. Studies have shown that a decrease in water intake will cause fat deposits to increase, while an increase in water intake can actually reduce fat deposits.

Here’s why: The kidneys can’t function properly without enough water. When they don’t work to capacity, some of their load is dumped onto the liver. One of the liver’s primary functions is to metabolize stored fat into usable energy for the body. But if the liver has to do some of the kidney’s work it can’t operate at full throttle. As a result, it metabolizes less fat more fat remains stored in the body and weight loss stops.

Drinking enough water is the best treatment for fluid retention. When the body gets less water,it perceives this as a threat to survival and begins to hold on to every drop. Water is stored in extracellular spaces (outside the cell). This shows up as swollen feet, legs and hands.

Diuretics offer a temporary solution at best. They force out stored water along with some essential nutrients. Again, the body perceives a treat and will replace the lost water at the first opportunity. Thus, the condition quickly returns.

The best way to overcome the problem of water retention is to give your body what it needs — plenty of water. Only then will stored water be released.

If you have a constant problem with water retention, excess salt may be to blame. Your body will tolerate sodium only in a certain concentration. The more salt you eat the more water your system retains to dilute it.

But getting rid of unneeded salt is easy — just drink more water. As it’s forced through the kidneys it takes away excess sodium.

The overweight person needs more water than a thin one. Larger people have larger metabolic loads. Since we know that water is the key to fat metabolism, it follows that the over weight person needs more water.

Water helps to maintain proper muscle tone by giving muscles their natural ability to contract and by preventing dehydration. It also helps to prevent the sagging skin that usually follows weigh loss — shrinking cells are buoyed by water which plumps the skin and leaves it clear, healthy and resilient.

Water helps rid the body of waste. During weight loss, the body has a lot more waste to get rid of — all that metabolized fat must be shed. Again, adequate water helps flush out the waste.

Water can help relieve constipation. When the body gets too little water, it siphons what it needs from internal sources. The colon is one primary source. Result? Constipation. But when a person drinks enough water, normal bowel function usually returns.

So far, we’ve discovered some remarkable truths about water and weight loss:

• The body will not function properly without enough water and can’t metabolize stored fat efficiently.
• Retained water shows up as excess weight.
• To get rid of excess water you must drink more water.
• Drinking water is essential to weight loss.

How much water is enough? On the average, a person should drink eight 8-ounce glasses every day. That’s about 2 quarts. However, the overweight person needs one additional glass for every 25 pounds of excess weight. The amount you drink also should be increased if you exercise briskly or if the weather is hot and dry.Water should preferably be cold. It’s absorbed into the system more quickly than warm water. And some evidence suggests that drinking cold water can actually help burn calories. To utilize water most efficiently during weight loss, follow this schedule:

Morning: 1 quart consumed over a 30-minute period.
Noon: 1 quart consumed over a 30-minute period.
Evening: 1 quart consumed between five and six o’clock.When the body gets the water it needs to function optimally, it’s fluids are perfectly balanced. When this happens, you have reached the “breakthrough point.” What does this mean?

• Endocrine-gland function improves.
• Fluid retention is alleviated as stored water is lost.
• More fat is used as fuel because the liver is free to metabolize stored fat.
• Natural thirst returns.
• There is a loss of hunger almost over night.

If you stop drinking enough water, your body fluids will be thrown out of balance again, and you may experience fluid retention, unexplained weight gain and loss of thirst. To remedy the situation you’ll have to go back and force another “breakthrough.”

Housing Inventory Snapshot

I hope you will find the following snapshot of local Real Estate inventory interesting. The table represents aggregated values based on MLS data for the specified date.

Housing Inventory Snapshot May 31, 2010 Average List Price Median List Price Average Days On Market Anne Arundel County, MD Single Family under $500K $332,560 $329,000 131 Single Family over $500K $1,052,815 $749,999 180 Condo/Townhome under $300K $194,382 $209,999 128 Condo/Townhome over $300K $460,228 $379,000 131 Baltimore County, MD Single Family under $500K $280,704 $265,000 122 Single Family over $500K $914,592 $679,900 148 Condo/Townhome under $300K $169,124 $165,000 115 Condo/Townhome over $300K $433,518 $389,000 117 Baltimore City, MD Single Family under $500K $233,793 $219,900 128 Single Family over $500K $855,148 $689,900 166 Condo/Townhome under $300K $124,209 $119,900 140 Condo/Townhome over $300K $509,657 $410,000 146 Cecil County, MD Single Family under $500K $274,802 $260,000 155 Single Family over $500K $944,037 $700,000 233 Condo/Townhome under $230K $147,450 $152,150 162 Condo/Townhome over $230K $304,610 $270,000 140 Harford County, MD Single Family under $500K $311,914 $315,000 129 Single Family over $500K $734,534 $634,990 166 Condo/Townhome under $300K $186,252 $194,990 110 Condo/Townhome over $300K $424,113 $375,900 134 Howard County, MD Single Family under $500K $369,162 $375,000 111 Single Family over $500K $824,708 $699,900 154 Condo/Townhome under $300K $210,266 $219,900 93 Condo/Townhome over $300K $399,312 $365,000 65 Montgomery County, MD Single Family under $1M $528,164 $496,900 87 Single Family over $1M $2,053,150 $1,624,900 104 Condo/Townhome under $600K $261,262 $250,000 93 Condo/Townhome over $600K $1,081,597 $820,000 89 Prince Georges County, MD Single Family under $500K $255,759 $244,900 127 Single Family over $500K $848,628 $643,995 217 Condo/Townhome under $300K $163,155 $165,000 122 Condo/Townhome over $300K $386,774 $350,000 98

MORTGAGE. National Averages (May 31, 2010)* 30-year fixed Rate – 4.92% APR – n/a% 15-year fixed Rate – 4.33% APR – n/a% 5/1 ARM Rate – 3.79% APR – n/a%