MAG SCANS/EXCERPTS: NICOLE ARI PARKER IN HEART & SOUL MAGAZINE.

Actress and married mother of two, Nicole Ari Parker covers the February/March 2008 issue of Heart & Soul magazine. Parker dished on her health and fitness regimen, her recent movie projects, her beautiful babies and of course that handsome, hunk-of-a-hubby of hers, Boris Kodjoe. The last time we saw Parker grace the big-screen was back in 2005 when she starred in King's Ransom. Three years, one marriage and 2 babies later, she graces the big-screen again in the new side-splitting comedy, Welcome Home, Roscoe Jenkins, which she stars alongside Martin Lawrence. Despite advancements for women in Hollywood, few actresses get the opportunity to make a stellar comeback after starting a family. Parker's acting career easily could have easily fallen off the radar when she and Soul Food co-star Boris Kodjoe celebrated the birth of daughter, Sophie, in 2005, just three months before they tied the knot. Then came son, Nicholas, in 2006. "There were people saying, 'Why would you pull yourself out of the game, get married and have kids at the height of everything?' Because I met Boris and realized what kind of partner he would be, I knew I wasn't alone. We were in this together. The minute you say 'I do' and mean it, your heart just opens. The minute you have a baby, the extra love you need is downloaded. You have space for all these people and the power and energy to do it. That also goes with weight loss,' Paker says.

PARKER ON HER HEALTH & FITNESS REGIMEN: Parker says she gained 70 pounds during her pregnancy with her son, and loosing the weight was a challenge greater than she imagined. She says she drew on her inner strength to get through those 'lazy days' when she didn't care to exercise. She also read Jackie Keller's book, Body After the Baby: A Simple, Healthy Way to Loose Your Baby Weight Fast. And she focused on 'goal-less' exercise, a concept she says should be as mindless as 'washing your butt. We have it programed we're supposed to exercise to loose 10 pounds for a reunion or a wedding or when we meet a new guy. We have to erase those tapes. If you incorporate exercise into your day, like you do taking a shower, you wake up two months later and you're the bomb.' Parker now weighs between 122-125 pounds. "I've lost 65 pounds and no one can believe it because they know me as a slim person. Boris thinks I'm too skinny. I'm going to have to round back out because I don't believe too skinny is cute. I think we need to have a little flesh on us as women."

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AFTER THE JUMP, FIND OUT HOW PARKER JUGGLES MOTHERHOOD, HER ACTING CAREER AND HER MARRIAGE TO BORIS KODJOE + MORE PICS.

PARKER ON HER LIFE WITH BORIS: "My husband is German and African, and sometimes the African king comes out. He's totally the king of his castle. When he says it's time for bed now, he wants everyone in the house to go to bed, and I'm like, 'I'm grown! It's not necessarily a pet peeve, but it did take some getting used to. People think we've been together for a really long time, but we've only been married two and a half years. It's still fresh and new. We're still learning how to be married." As for how Boris feels about his wife, the actor chimes from their home in Atlanta, 'What do I love about my wife? Oh, my God. Do you have two weeks. I love that she finds happiness in everything. I love that about her. She finds the positive in everything."

PARKER ON JUGGLING MOTHERHOOD, MARRIAGE AND HER CAREER: When she felt overwhelmed with everything, she turned to a higher power. "God has a funny way of doing things. there are days I'm just tired. That's when I pray to God, 'God, you know what I'm trying to do. Help me find 10 minutes." Parker also says having a hired professional to help with house cleaning and caring for her children gave her time for herself. Just a few days a week, she says, can give a new mother a chance to breathe. "It sounds like a luxury, but a new mom need help. When your baby is born and you have another little one, you can not take a shower. A woman needs to find her equilibrium. It's a time when you're just giving and giving. If you have a little help, it changes everything."

It sounds cliche, but Parker says her life has changed dramatically since having children. Life is less about trivial things and more about important lessons on love and happiness. "My children just backspaced and deleted a whole lot of nonsense for me. I've thought about how I'll tell them about love. Right now, I just talk to them about vegetables!"

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PRINT ADS: LISARAYE McCOY-MISICK FOR DR. BOOGIE'S HAIR CLIP-ON PIECES, CASSIE & LAUREN LONDON FOR SEAN JOHN.

I scanned a couple of print ads featuring singer/model Cassie and actress Lauren London in Diddy's Sean John campaign ads as well as an ad of Kimora Lee Simmons'Baby Phat campaign. Check them out below.

Who knew? Well, I didn't, which is why I'm asking yall! Only RealGossip 101 favorite, First Lady LisaRaye McCoy-Misick could go from posing on the beautiful and luxurious white sand beaches of Turks & Caicos Islands print ad campaigns in order to draw more visitors and tourists to the Caribbean's best-kept secret to promoting something much more dear and near to her heart...or should I say scalp? If you guessed wigs, weaves or clip-on hair pieces, you guessed right. Hairstylist to the stars, Dr. Boogie (who has appeared on reality show Shear Genius), has partnered up with The Player's Club actress to create Island Beauty, a line of 'elegant' clip-on hair pieces endorsed by The First Lady. Island Beauty is available exclusively at high-end hotels and resorts in the Islands.

However, the print ad you see above is a part of Dr. Boogie's newly launched signature line of hair products called Boogie Secrets Hairpieces. The hair line consists 'do-it-yourself" clip-on hair extensions, wigs, ponytails and buns and bangs combos and is available both online (at boogiesecrets.com and in high-end hair retailers. Aside from McCoy-Misick, who happens to be his number one client and boss, Dr. Boogie's other star clients include McCoy-Misick's BFF, Vivica A. Fox, Gabrielle Union, Taraji Henson, Tichina Arnold, Kym E. Whitley, Meagan Good, Kimora Lee Simmons, Fergie, Tocarra Jones and LisaRaye's mini-me, Raven-Symone.

And this post wouldn't be complete without my posting one of Dr. Boogie's 'Do-It-Yourself' youtube clips. You can peep that after the jump!

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RONALD 'MR. BIGS' ISLEY LOOSES HIS APPEAL TO EARLY PRISON RELEASE; SINGER'S WIFE GIVES UPDATE ON HIS PROGRESS.

Ronald 'Mr. Bigs' Isleys's bid to spring from the Big House will not happen. At least for now. An appellate court has upheld Isley's 37-month federal prison sentence for tax evasion. The three-judge panel rejected the 66-year-old R&B singer's argument that his sentence was unreasonable due to his age, poor health and lack of proof that the federal prison system can provide him adequate health care. In its ruling, the appellate court said the trial judge was correct in sentencing and "best balanced the need to sanction Mr. Isley's `pathological' tax evasion against the need to accommodate Mr. Isley's poor health."

Isley was sentenced in 2006 after being convicted of five counts of tax evasion and one count of willful failure to file a tax return. Prosecutors said Isley avoided paying taxes numerous times over a three-year period and declared bankruptcy after the IRS seized his yacht, cars and other property in 1997. He was discharged from bankruptcy four years later, but then did not file tax returns for the years 1997 to 2001 and in 2002 did not sign his return and failed to pay all taxes due. He is incarcerated at the Terre Haute Federal Corrections Institution in Indiana and his projected release date is in April 2010.

Isley suffered a minor stroke in July 2004, but got married one year later and continuously performed concerts at that time. He and his wife, Kandy Johnson, 35 years his junior share a toddler son. Johnson gave Sister 2 Sister magazine an update on her imprisoned legendary husband late last year.

READ WHAT SHE HAD TO SAY BY CLICKING 'READ MORE AFTER THE JUMP! ON THE BOTTOM LEFT.

Johnson told S2S her husband is holding up well behind bars by eating right and has shed a few pound from exercising (there was a rumor the singer had developed kidney cancer) at the prison's track.

Johnson says, "It's a blessing where he's at because so many people look up to him and admire him. He is in there signing autographs and he's doing fine. He looks good. He does not look like he's under stress whatsoever. He's at peace. He knows that God has got His hands on him, and because of his faith in the Lord—that's what keeps Ronald going. He can see me and his son every weekend. I do miss him but I can go every weekend. He calls me every day and we talk two or three times a day. And because I can go see him every weekend, that helps us get through all of this. I go about seven hours a day.

Kandy also revealed that while her husband is locked up, she's attending to his business affairs until he's released. "And I'm involved in a cognac line that Ronald has coming up...is just in the beginning phases, and it's going to branch out this year. It's by Baron's Select. But it's a signature piece. It's a 35-year-old cognac. It's a high-end cognac and it comes in a nice bottle with Ronald's signature on the bottles."

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