Tell It Like It Is

Jill and I are both competitive. She won the tennis match last year and I know she wants to win again. I would feel the same way if the situation were reversed. We are both high-energy women who want to succeed at whatever we do. I think sometimes she shows it more than I do, but I am just as competitive. Only I tend to keep my competitive side more contained.

Jill and I are definitely getting along better this season. I really tried to make an effort to understand her better...and I think I do. Since we are both strong willed and outspoken, I have learned to take the back seat and to avoid going head to head with her. What I do is let her be strong first, contain myself (which is hard for me to do, but I am learning!) and later give her my viewpoints. I actually find I learn from her and she from me when I use this approach. Naturally there are times I cannot contain myself and we go at it. But at the end of the day, we have tremendous respect for each other and I know she has a heart of GOLD, and vice versa.

Avery has a type of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis it is called Spondyloarthropathy. It is so difficult to spell, let alone pronounce correctly. I hope Avery will grow out of it as she gets older, but we do not know. She has grown 4 inches in 12 months, which is very hard on her body and she has pain and needs to be on medicine 24/7. This problem is mainly in her foot, but she complains of aches and pains throughout her body if she is not on the medication.

We discovered it one morning when she woke up and was limping badly on one leg. I took her immediately to the doctors at New York Columbia special surgery. It is unusual for young children to have this problem, but it does exist. Avery is very athletic and at times she cannot push herself the way she would like to because of this problem.

When Jill asked me to get involved with a charity she was doing, I was a little surprised because a few weeks earlier I had mentioned I was doing one and wanted her and all the ladies to get involved, and she never mentioned to me at that time she was doing one. So at lunch I was taken aback to say the least, but Jill was gracious and said get involved in whatever level you want, no pressure. So I realized charity is charity and it really did not matter which one of us organized it. Also my daughter was just diagnosed with the disease Jill wanted to raise money for, so it was meant to be!

It was great to meet Governor Patterson at the Russell Simmons event. He was a charmer, warm and gracious. What was so amazing was how he handled and carried himself. He had no assistance from anyone and was standing on uneven ground, which was difficult, even for me. He told me his mother never treated him as he if had seeing problem and that is why he walks around seemingly as natural as everyone.He was flirting with me big time to the point where my husband Mario asked him, "Governor, are you trying to pick up my wife?" So at that point I thought to myself maybe I misread that he is blind...and asked him if he was legally blind. He got a big kick out of that and we all were laughing.

I am really into the energy of people and I just do not get good or great energy from Simon and Alex. Alex is rarely without Simon and I feel as if she acts as if she does not exist unless he is around. Again I am relating with my own personal history where I struggled to be independent and they represent everything I am not about. But perhaps if they had more depth and showed who they really are I could accept and relate to them. I think they do not know who they are and are going through life trying to be something they are not...whatever that may be?! I just like people to be real, and to me, Alex and Simon are not.

When I was single I would work out at this local well-known gym 4 to 6 times a week. When I was out one night with my sister for dinner Mario came over and said he recognized me from the gym. He asked for my number but true to my rules I took his. I had just ended a 5-year relationship and I didn't want to make any mistakes. So we dated slowly and cautiously for a year. All I can say is almost 17 years later, I'm in the best relationship, and would marry him all over again in a heartbeat! I have the best husband and daughter in the world. I am truly blessed.

I know I am going to get feistier on the show. Sometimes I cannot contain myself, as hard as I try. But I never mean to be vicious, I just tell it like it is!

To learn more go to www.Ramonasinger.com. All jewelry I wear on the show is from my special designs www.truefaithjewelry.com and now www.hsn.com under Ramona Singer.

Until next week,
Ramona