How Jacqueline Got Her Sexy Back

Are you all surprised to see the way my conversation ended with Teresa after you saw the way it started? Teresa and I never got to the root of our issues during our talk that night, but at least we got to a place of peace. The goal was to be civil, not friends. I was afraid if we started getting into all the deep stuff, we would just end up arguing. I had to keep reminding myself of the goal. We agreed to disagree.

I felt hurt by Teresa, because I felt that she never appreciated all my efforts in the previous years in trying to help her mend things with her family. I resented that she got upset with me, pulled away from me, and started talking behind my back when I wouldn't call out her family, agree with her, or take her side on specific things. She didn't consider me a loyal friend because of all that. It was frustrating for me. I felt there were times she was making things worse for herself and/or the situation, and I was just trying to give her my honest advice as a friend. I cared about her a lot. I only wanted the best for her. I was her biggest supporter. Sometimes you need a friend who will tell you the truth when you are doing or saying things that could hurt you. I honestly loved Teresa. My intent was not to hurt her. She had really disappointed me. I was very hurt.It also hurt me that Teresa kept implying that because I tweet, I'm not focused on my son. My son was having 9 hours of therapy a day between school and his at-home therapies. I had plenty of time to tweet. Besides, I mostly work from my computer so it's really convenient. I didn't think that was a fair judgment. She had not been around Nicholas since he had been diagnosed with Autism, so she had no idea how much time and energy I put into recovering my son, or how emotional it can be at times.


There was no point in taking our conversation any further. She knew it, and I knew it. So we squashed it.


We actually hung out really late that night as couples and had a great time. I apologized to Joe for crossing the line when we were fighting and saying things that were not my place to say. Joe apologized to Chris for the things he had said as well. Teresa? No accountability yet. She just didn't see where she did anything wrong, even when I pointed things out. But regardless of what we said to each other, it ended with us speaking again and that made everything more pleasant. The more time we spent together having fun and without fighting, the more I would remember and miss our fun times together. I just wanted it to continue moving forward in a positive direction.When we were in the bus on our way to the Nephcure charity event, it seemed as though Teresa was trying to purposely provoke me by bringing up the sociopath thing again. It made me question whether or not she was sincere about moving forward. I wanted to believe she was sincere, but I was conflicted. After seeing the last episode, I know now that she was just attempting to "keep her enemies closer." I really didn't want to go backwards and start talking about all that again. I thought we moved on from that. I called her a sociopath and she called me evil. I'm sure there were a lot of other words we used to describe each other as well when we were upset. Regardless, that was all in the past, and I wanted to leave it there.

It was great to meet Matthew and his family at the Nephcure Zumba event. He is a beautiful and amazing little boy. Their family shows so much strength and positivity! I wish their beautiful family all the best. To learn more about Nephcure, go to www.nephcure.org.I hated seeing Greg move, especially so far away! I was very proud of him for the great job he got in San Franciso, but we all would miss him. He was always so much fun to be around. He always got me laughing. I really enjoyed him. Lucky for me, I'm still following @greggybennett on Twitter where I could check on him daily when I needed a Greg Fix. Oh my gosh! Have any of you been following his blog on www.greggybennett.com? HILARIOUS!

I realize that a tummy tuck is a serious surgery, but I checked out Dr. Brent really well first and felt very safe with him.  My decision to get a tummy tuck was easy. I always wanted one since I gave birth to Nicholas and lost all of my baby weight. My body just didn't bounce back this time like it did in the past. Dieting and exercising couldn't fix that mess you saw. It looked like an elephant leg. LOL! It didn't matter how beautiful my husband, family, or friends told me I was. I wasn't feeling it. That skin had to go, and so did that tattoo! It was cute because inside the heart was the letter "C" on top of, and connecting to, a cursive letter "L". I had that tattoo made for my husband while we were engaged. Well...that's ONE way to get rid of a tattoo! LOL!



I knew Chris and the kids would be OK. Nick had a busy schedule with school and his at-home therapies and I had my niece/babysitter, Sarah, looking after them to help Chris out. Caroline and her kids were also nearby. They were in good hands.Before my tummy tuck, I always tricked my husband with sexy mood lighting and cute, short lingerie dresses that I could lift up the bottom and pull my boobies out of the top, trying to be sexy, while secretly hiding my mid-section. He had no idea that mess was there. I hid it well. I was embarrassed of it. Now you know why! It's gone now, so who cares.

Dr. Brent did tell me that it was OK if I had an alcoholic drink as long as it was earlier in the night. Considering that this was my only day to play in California before I had to lay in bed recovering for a while, I wanted to have some fun! We were going to have dinner at a place called Te'kila! How could you go to a place called Te'kila and NOT try one of their tequilas? I mean seriously. I only sipped on one shot of tequila the entire night. ONE! You can see me sipping on it like a cup of tea with my pinky out in one of the scenes, instead of throwing it back. I'm not stupid. I also only ate the lettuce part from my taco salad bowl. It was killing me not to eat the guacamole on the table. That was torture!

My Dad is so funny, isn't it he? I love spending time with my parents. They are the best! They do NOT agree with plastic surgery AT ALL, so God bless them for sticking by me. It's purely a personal choice. My parents certainly did not raise me that way. I felt bad for worrying everybody. I tried to ease their worries by showing them how NOT worried I was about it. I've always been a risk taker.Doesn't Ashlee look so beautiful? She has really matured in a lot of ways. We just don't fight like we use to. We actually enjoy each other’s company. The relationship we have now is really great. It all worked out. I was so happy to have her there with me. She hung out with me all week. We watched movies and laughed a lot. You should check out her blog at www.ashleeholmes.buzznet.com/user. She is actually staying with us in New Jersey for a while because she decided to go to make-up school in New York. I'm so thrilled to have her home. We all missed her. It's been a lot of fun having her around again.

Back to my surgery. It took 6 hours! What you don’t know was that they found 6 hernias in my stomach. Yes, 6! I am so grateful that Dr. Brent took care of that. How did you all handle seeing my cutlets on the table during surgery?  My nephews said it looked like a mac and cheese stuffed calzone. LOL! Nasty! I don't miss that part of me at all.


I LOVE my results! This was the first year that I actually wore a bikini in many, many years! My neck looks better too. I could really see the difference in my interview in my blue dress. I'm getting my sexy back! LOL!If you are looking to have a consultation, I highly recommend going to Dr. Brent. He is a double board certified plastic and reconstructive surgeon practicing in Beverly Hills and Santa Barbara, CA. My scar looks like a thin line. It's so amazing! I healed so well and so fast. My stomach is so flat and tight now!  My neck is so much better than it was! I'm very happy with the results. He is so sweet and so is his staff. I was treated so well. They made me feel very comfortable. Check out his website at www.drbrent.com and follow him on Twitter @DrBrentMD. Dr. Brent and his wife Dayna are good people!



Did you see my friend Jill? Isn't she beautiful? It was so great to see her too! I just love her. We've been friends since Ashlee was 2 years old. She was helping my parents and Ashlee take care of me while I recovered from surgery. Check out her website at www.LvLeanBox.com and @lvleanbox on Instagram and  @lvleanbox on Twitter. Tweet her and ask her fitness questions.



My other long time friend Elisa also came to visit me, as well as my cousin Jeff, his wife Sophie, and their 2 beautiful kids. It was a great visit! I really needed that and I appreciated their support even if they thought I was crazy for doing it. They are the BEST!I think it's really important for parents of special needs to take some time for themselves once in a while. A lot of effort goes raising a child with special needs on a daily basis. At times it is physically and mentally exhausting, just like it is for a parent of typical kids. If you take a little break once in a while, you will go back in fully charged, more focused, and more determined. When you take care of yourself, you can better care for others. It's easy to neglect yourself from time to time when you’re so focused on your family's needs. I just was at the point, with all that was going on around me, that I needed a little break away from it all. I had been wanting a tummy tuck for years, so I decided to take the time to myself and take care of my belly at the same time, right then and there. If not then, then when?

It's also just as important to take time away with your spouse once in a while. Date nights are great! Couple time is key to a strong and healthy marriage. I really enjoy my husband.Well...looks like there is more drama next week. Some attention-seeking people will do anything to be in the spotlight. Don't miss it next week! Enjoy!



Check out www.JacquelineLaurita.com. You can find all my social media from there.



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