Melissa and Joe's Deflection

Hello Baby Dolls!
 
Another roller coaster episode, right? I loved seeing everyone together again. I wish it could stay that way forever! Unfortunately when you're on TV, people want what you have. They want to be on TV too and they'll do anything to make it happen or they just want to take you down because they're sick of watching you. I get it. I've seen it happen now on every season of every Housewives show in every city. It's not fun to be the target, but it comes with the territory. The problem is when newer cast members join and get attacked, they can freak out like Melissa and Joey were. You have to stay united and refuse to let any strangers break you down. But I get that it's hard. It shouldn't be hard for family to believe family over strangers, but...
 
I'm definitely not happy to see where this season is going based on how Melissa and Joey are reacting to the rumors. It's all my fault again. I get it. It's easier to blame their own sister/sister-in-law than it is to blame a stranger. It sounds strange, but here's why.

First of all, blaming me takes all of the emphasis off the actual rumors. Instead of anyone looking into those, they're all busy looking at me. Fine, deflect away. I'm here for you.
 
Second, going after family is safe. They know I will never do anything to them. With a stranger, you can't be so sure. They don't want to go after Penny because she might take it to a whole new level. Easier to befriend her, right? I wouldn't be looking to make BFFs with someone who was talking to my ex-boyfriend and threatening to expose rumors about me, but that's just me.
 
And third, family will always forgive you, and they know it. Family will always be there. To save themselves, they feel like they have to throw me under the bus. I don't like it but I can't do anything about it. They are going to believe what they want to believe. Their beliefs make no sense to me -- they don't believe Penny one minute and the next they do. Pick one! They already confronted Penny at the Youthful 8 Milania Collection launch party and she told them I had nothing to do with it. But it wasn't enough for them. They had to keep going after her. Why? And when they did, suddenly Penny changed her mind that I had something to do with it. Why would she suddenly do that? Why didn't she say that when I was right in front of her?
 
But it's how they've chosen to deal with this and I can't seem to stop them. I've done everything I could possibly do, and now I'm done. Done.I was very happy to go support Kathy at Dylan's Candy Bar with my 4 daughters. They had a great time! Love to see people's success!

I was also so happy Jacqueline asked me to help her with her speech. It wasn't as random as you might think because in November I had just given my own first big speech at the NephCure Countdown to the Cure Fundraiser at Capitale in NYC (www.nephcure.org). It was a black-tie affair with tons of press and I was so so so nervous. But I worked it out and was excited to help Jacqueline work hers out too.

 
I love Nicholas and so does Joe. Since Nick and Audriana were born so close together, Joe always looked at Nicholas like sort of a son too. We missed him a lot.Finally, did you see my new Skinny Italian food line? I loved the visit to the showroom with my husband, mom, and mother-in-law. I'm so lucky to have such a supportive husband and parents. I love them so much! I'm so excited for you all to try Skinny Italian Foods! It's all imported from Italy and so so amazing! We have 7 different artisan pastas -- the closest thing to homemade pasta you can get. Our Extra Virgin Olive Oil is harvested exclusively from Calabria, and you can get a beautiful mix of Mediterranean Olives (Calcidica Sweet & Salted, Nocellara del Belice) as well. The Skinny Italian Balsamic Ketchup is perfect for marinating the flank steak recipe in my "Fabulicious! On the Grill" and it's great on hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken nuggets... once you try Balsamic Ketchup, you'll never go back to regular! We also have a home-style fresh marinara sauce that you can use instead of the Quickie Sauce in all of my recipes. Go to http://www.skinnyitalianfoods.com/ to order some today!
 
You can get my four cookbooks in your local bookstore or on Amazon.
 
Skinny Italian is all super healthy Mediterranean diet food and can help you lose weight: http://amzn.to/155wZDJ
 
Fabulicious! is my favorite family recipes, great for entertaining company: http://amzn.to/11udlV3
 
Fabulicious! Fast & Fit are all low-fat, super-easy recipes with 10 ingredients or less that go from start to stove in less than 30 minutes: http://amzn.to/N4lSDV
 
And Fabulicious! On the Grill are my favorite outdoor entertaining recipes: http://amzn.to/RtCq8e
 
Thank you all so much for your support! It means the world to me!
 
Tanti Baci,
Teresa xx
 
www.teresagiudice.com
Twitter: @Teresa_Giudice