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Ohsoamelia will be hosting another HUGE giveaway as the $100 cash giveaway was such a success last month! Interested in participating in this awesome giveaway? Keep reading for more details! You can now sign up for free by re-posting this post or purchasing a link from $5! 

We are giving away an Ipad Mini! That's right! One lucky reader will win an Ipad Mini 16gb in the colour of their choice! Last months Giveaway was a tremendous success for our participants and of course for our winnerBex who was super lucky to win $100 in paypal cash! The giveaway rang in an enormous amount of bloggers and traffic to all co-hosts blogs. Participants on average saw a growth of 200-500 GFC followers each! 

Don't want to participate? Don't forget to come back February 15th and enter for your chance to win! :)

- Giveaway will run Feb 15th – March 15th 

- Hosted By: Ohsoamelia

- Prize: Ipad Mini 16gb Wi-fi Colour of Choice!

- Open Worldwide
- Entries will close once we have reached the prize total amount.
- The blogger who refers the most amount of people gets $25 Free Paypal cash!

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Weekend recap: Rugby, Aussie Day, Football

What a weekend! I say that all the time don't I? LOL! Our weekend started early Friday night with some rival high school rugby. It's cool because the coaches for each of the 2 teams actually play rugby with Big Daddy for the Austin Blacks. It was hard to cheer for just one team LOL. Though we did cheer for the son of one of the coaches. He's only a freshman, playing on the varsity team. This kid has even played in tournaments with Big Daddy. It was fun! I miss Friday night high school games. The crowd was pumped! Granted it's not like a high school football game, but don't worry...it will be. Rugby is coming up! I also got to see the wife of one of the coaches that night. The last time I seen her was last July when we were in Corpus Christi.

When she saw me, she immediately hugged me and said "Girl! You are half your size!" At first I was a little taken aback but quickly recovered ;-). I was rounder the last time I saw her...I know I was. It just made me feel so good that now other people can see a difference.

Saturday was Aussie day at the rugby pitch. We had music set up, sold merchandise, and even sold some authentic Aussie meat pies. The day started with Division I college rugby (St. Edward's University vs University of Texas) under cloudy skies. I had sandals on and my feet were freezing! But the sun did end up coming out right before our first game.

Look at my handsome guy! Look at them legs! LOL Funny story...he was running back and forth across the field and I kept thinking to myself, something looks different about him. Then I realized, he wasn't wearing tights. THAT's when I heard the guys from the college game "teasing" him (our coach also coaches St. Ed's so we know all those guys). After the game, which they crushed 67-5, he confirmed what I knew...he forgot to pack his tights so he had to play in his underwear. LOL. Our first side (D1) played right after and also won 31-25. The Austin Blacks are now the only undefeated team in Texas. 

Can you spot Big Daddy? And no, he is NOT the one laying on the ground LOL

If you follow me on instagram (@nicolemariejohnson) then you already saw this picture :-) Seriously...look at all that hair on these boys!

There was even a mouse race after.

And some friendly arm wrestling (this was actually a rematch)

We are the Blacks' Belles :-) We made sweet treats for all four teams too.

(I realized that anytime we take a family picture, we're all in the same exact spot)

Sunday was another day of flag football for my sweet Juju. He is really loving it! He says he wants to play tackle when he's in 2nd grade...hmmm...I'm not sure yet lol. He had a great practice. They ran a bunch of different drills and got to run a bunch too.

His team lining up to scrimmage against another team.

So proud! He got his team's first good sportsmanship medal :-)

Mommy's little barbarians.

Another full weekend for us. Oh and don't you worry...like I mentioned before, sweet little BamBam will be in soccer this spring. I love being a boy mom! How was your weekend? Anything fun?

Must Have: All Time Fave Nail Polish

There are a TON of nail polish colors out there. And every season, they come out with new colors...it's hard to keep up sometimes. They have collections for movies, for people, even Miss Piggy had a collection. I don't get to go and get my nails done as often as I used to, so I LOVE polishing my own nails. It's my go to girly thing. It makes me smile and all my guys notice when I paint my nails.
I like to experiment with different colors...brights, darks, sparkles, crackle...you name it, I love it. I, probably like most girls, have quite an extensive collection of nail polish colors. But there is one color that is my absolute FAVE. It makes me swoon. It takes me to warm, sunny, white sand beaches...YES...it IS THAT SERIOUS :-)

I'm talking about OPIs Cajun Shrimp! This is my GO TO color...no matter the season! It's fun and bright and keeps me thinking of summer time all year long :-)

*this was last year: acrylic nails with cajun shrimp gel polish*

Here is just the regular nail polish color:

*image credit*

LOVE LOVE LOVE!!! LOL. I have 2 bottles of this in my collection. And you know what...I think I'm going to take off the polish I have now and put on some Cajun Shrimp LOL.

Do you have a favorite, go to nail polish color? Let me know what it is...if its not in my collection, I'll be sure to snag one up and try it out.

Fitness Friday - Check In

<a href="http://www.frikkenduckie.com"><img src="http://i1216.photobucket.com/albums/dd363/frikkenduckie/FitnessFridayButton.jpg" /></a>

It's the last Friday of the month and I want to know how y'all have been doing with your fitness and/or healthy living goals that you set for yourself.

My goal for this year is to train insane for a bikini/figure competition. I plan to wait to enter a competition until the end of the year or even wait until next year. I have been working out harder at the gym and revamped (again) how I am eating...LOTS of protein and veggies = as clean as possible. Now I do stray and have cheated but I don't beat myself up for it...I just work harder at my next gym sesh. As for my workouts, I am lifting weights again and am going to the gym in my apartment complex at least 5 times a week. I've been doing more cardio...riding the stationary bike at least 3 times a week tabata style: 20 seconds as fast as a I can go, 10 seconds to recover (slow pedal). I do that anywhere from 10-15 rounds. My goal is to get up to 20 rounds in the next month on my current resistance.
At the end of December I entered into the bodybuilding.com 2013 transformation challenge. Today marked day 31. All my workouts that I've been doing are through the plan I choose for this challenge. Since I started the challenge, I gained muscle and have now lost 3 lbs. I am now in Phase 2 of my program: the fat burning phase WOOHOO!!!!!

How are y'all doing? Comment below and let me know how everything is going.
(I think I will be making this a weekly linky...thoughts?)

Currently Blog Hop

The Currently Journaling Challenge takes five minutes out of your week to document your story.

8 Questions. 52 Weeks. Embracing Right Now.  Currently is a weekly journaling challenge created by Kristin from rukristin papercrafts. Currently fits in perfectly with Project Life and can easily be tailored to whatever your needs are. Every Friday, Kristin shares her Currently list journaling card on her blog, as well as on various social media sites like Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Join the Currently community, use the hashtag #CurrentlyList to share your list and find great inspiration from others.

I decided to go a different route with this and not just the "traditional" journaling way (does that make sense? LOL). My goal this year is to train for and enter into a bikini/figure competition. I thought this was a great way to track my progress :-) and see how I'm feeling week to week. 

I am thinking of having my little guys do this with me as well....I'll even post their lists here along with mine. 

Ways to play along:

• Start by downloading the Currently journaling cards, Color Edition Journaling Cards, or write out the list on your own
• Share your list on Instagram/Twitter using the hashtag #currentlylist
• Share your link in the link widget below
• Grab a Currently button/badge for your blog

Enter for a chance to with the Currently Journaling Cards: Color Edition. Each blog on the hop is giving away one set of journaling cards to a lucky reader!  These journaling cards come in both an easy to print .pdf file and individual high res .jpg images for use in digital scrapping. Leave a comment below for your chance to win a set, or purchase the cards here for $1. 

Look for new sets of Currently Journaling cards each month; each set will retail for only $1 and will be available in the rukristin papercrafts shop. 

Thank you so much for stopping by and checking out the Currently Journaling Challenge blog hop. Make sure to hop along to all the other participants for more inspiration and more chances to win a Currently Journaling card set. 

Next up is: Megan Anderson: http://thenerdnest.com

In case you get lost, here's a link back to rukristin papercrafts and the entire list of blogs participating in today's blog hop. 

Must Have Face Products

I LOVE face stuff. :-) LOVE! I like to try different cleansers and other face stuff but everything below is my all time FAVE stuff.

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View Entire Collection >>

TOP: L-R:
Mary Kay TimeWise Microdermabrasion - I use this probably every 3 days. It's SUPER gentle and gets rid of the grime on my face that normal every day cleansing and toning can miss. I feel like it has evened out my skin as well. And I think that old acne scars are appearing lighter and lighter too. My skin feels UH-MAY-ZING literally right after. I only use this at night.
Burt's Bees Soap Bark & Chamomile Deep Cleansing Creme - AWESOME! I have pretty sensitive, combo skin thats prone to breakouts and this is just awesome. My face feels so clean and refreshed after washing. I used to only use this in the mornings (St. Ives Apricot Scrub at night) but have started using it both day and night. I have one on the bathroom counter and keep another in the shower.
Aveeno Clear Complexion Daily Moisturizer - I started using this last summer and I have to say, it keeps my skin moisturized without being oily. It has helped so much in keeping my skin from breaking out.

BOTTOM: L-R:
Queen Helene Original Mint Julep Mask - LOVE LOVE LOVE this as a whole face mask or spot treatment. It sucks all the yuck out of my face and keeps my pores nice and small. I do a complete face mask once a week (usually a Thursday). Whenever I get one or two of those nasty hormonal breakouts, I dab a bit on the spots. (And yes, I do sometimes fall asleep with it still on my face). When I wake up in the morning, that volcano that was about to explode is noticeably smaller and not red anymore.
Mary Kay Blemish Control Toner - I only just started using this, but let me tell you, I already think its the bomb. LOL. After I wash my face (both day and night) I put a bit on a cotton ball and swipe, swipe, swipe. It picks up extra grime that the cleanser doesn't. It contains salicylic acid to help with breakouts....and OMG it helps to bring them to the surface quicker and aids in getting rid of them quicker too. My hormonal breakout at the beginning of the month was not as bad as it normally is, and I totally believe its this toner. It doesn't burn at all. The smell is kinda strong but whatev...it does its job.
Mario Badescu Drying Lotion - Now this stuff...I got it in a sample pack, and ordered it even before all the sample product was gone. This is not for those cystic, hormonal breakouts. This is more for those tiny sweat breakout/bumps. I workout a lot and noticed that my forehead, around my nose and sometimes on my chin, I got these little "oil" bumps. (I guess maybe whiteheads? IDK) Anyways...I would wash my face like normal and do all the normal stuff and it would go away, but then it would come back. Like not worse or anything. So I tried this on those bumps, and never had them again. It dries up the oil and the bumps just disappear. I only use this at night before I go to bed.

What are your must have face products? Anything you swear by? Let me know in the comments and I'll check it out too.

Fitness Friday with Duckie

*this post brought to you by Jess aka Duckie from Frikken Duckie*

Oh, hey girl, hey!

Welcome to the second Fitness Friday of 2013!

Have you been keeping on track with your fitness goals and resolutions so far?

I hope you got some inspiration and motivation from Nicole's post last week like I did!

It's still early in the year so don't stress if you haven't got the whole fitness thing down yet.  Like Nicole said, start off with planning what you want to gain (or lose) from your fitness journey this year and write it down.

Here's a list of my fitness goals for this year:

Run - I've never been a huge runner but there are so many benefits to running and I'd like to be able to join a 5k or something during the year without embarrassing myself.

Drink More Water - Baby steps...I'm not about to swear off junk food just yet but drinking water will clean out my system a lot faster and fill me up so I shove less junk down my throat!

Get Active - Those who know me will tell you that I am in no way a gym rat or workout guru! I know just by watching those infomercials that I'll probably never fall into the P90x or Insanity routines.  That just isn't me.  I do like going for walks, hiking, jumping on the trampoline, Zumba, dancing, and water sports so doing the things I love more often will help me accomplish this goal and maybe motivate me to take on other things!

Don't Quit - This should be on everyone's list! Sticking to your goals throughout the year is tough, I know. But the best way to stay motivated is to find a support system, which Is what Nicole and I are here for!

Now its your turn! Did you finish your fitness goal list yet?

1. My fitness goals for this year are:_________________________________________.

2. I know I can accomplish this by:___________________________________________.

3. I'll keep myself motivated by:_____________________________________________.

4. The toughest goal on my list is:___________________________________________.

5. My motto this year is:__________________________________________________.

Copy and paste with your answers on your blog and link up over at Frikken Duckie!  And don't forget to grab our button...

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Lunch Date

Late post...this should have went up last week, when I actually went to lunch with my little guys LOL.
It was cold that day, but the sun was still out. When I go out anywhere with the dudes, just the 3 of us, I like to keep it simple and pretty. Normally I'm in some cute workout clothes, but recently my inner diva has started shining through.

Lunch date by mommybeautiful featuring skinny fit jeans

Uniqlo turtle neck sweater
uniqlo.com

Wet Seal skinny fit jeans
wetseal.com

Forever 21 lace up booties
forever21.com

Nine West cross body handbag
ninewest.com

Vince camuto
macys.com

OK, I jumped off the building....

But this is a VERY cool reason. So if you're on Facebook or Instagram, you've probably already seen this. I knew it would soon hit "blog world" but didn't know it would be this fast...wait...who am I kidding? This is the technology age! :-) So when I saw Ashley's post on It Is What You Make It, I jumped right on it and commented.

So here are the details...

A creative way to Pay It Forward:

The first 5 people who comment on this post (with their email and link to their blog, Facebook, or Instagram account) will receive from me, sometime in 2013, a surprise gift. It could be a book, a picture, cookies...anything! There will be no warning...when I see something and I think its perfect, I'm just going to send, send, send. We all deserve a little something out of the blue now and then, right?! And who doesn't love getting stuff in the mail?!

The catch?

The first 5 who comment below, please make the same offer on your blog, or Facebook or Instagram or whatever social media you are a part of.

Happy commenting! 

We are officially "in season"

Boy oh boy...what a weekend! The first of many sports filled weekends for the locker room. Saturday kicked off the new rugby season for Big Daddy. We drove to Rice University for the first rugby match against HARC (Houston Area Rugby Club).

*Big Daddy is #14...yum!*

It was supposed to be 50 degrees...but it was like 40s...with wind...and rain. We held strong...we kept it together. Well the dudes were fine, I was shivering my tiny bum off! LOL.
Here are a couple of shots at the beginning of the match. You see, I have every intention of taking great pics, but I get so involved in the game that, well...screw the pictures! And when I mean I get so involved, I mean I pace the field just like the rest of the team. And I holler. LOUD. And I curse. And you get the picture. I get very emotionally involved.

lined up for kick off

first scrum

line out

that's my guy right there...I thought I had zoomed in but meh whatev

There was also a "major" injury. (Now I say major, but everyone, including myself, were not too phased by it.) I took pictures, but I don't think I'll post them here LOL. They are pretty gruesome. A guy on our team got elbowed super hard in the head and literally knocked out for about 10 seconds. When he got up, his ear was messed up...BAD. He left the game and we were told later that he had to get 10 stitches and his ear drained. Yeah. 

our cold family right after the game. Oh and we won 26-22 :-)

and another...we were photobombed LOL. That's Pierce back there without his shirt...he's single ;-)

The drive back to Austin SUCKED!!! Like SUCKED! It was raining and the wind was blowing, and there was fog, and I was tired...and yes I had to drive back. I mean dude just played 80 minutes of rugby, I couldn't make him drive...even though he did say he could.

Sunday morning we all slept in, well except for Big Daddy. He had to go to 7s training at 10am. (He was selected for a 7s team that would be competing in Las Vegas in February.) After he got home, it was time for a quick lunch and then off to Juju's first football practice of the season.

tossing the ball around before meeting his coach for the season

huddled up with coach Jimmy. He got #14 for his jersey...that's also Big Daddy's number in rugby

he got to play center LOL

Oh what a weekend! And it's only week 1! We have at least 12 more weeks. BamBam doesn't start soccer until the spring (March I believe), but once he does, we will be completely booked. A rugby player, a football player and a soccer player. I have affectionately been dubbed the cheerleader. Pretty fitting if I do say so myself.