"How To Compliment Your Friend's Ugly Baby "

Not an original post, but a link to this great post on NYC moms.

Spread the Word, Peeps

This might be the biggest progress in the food allergy community yet. Check out the trailer to this documentary due on PBS in May. Perhaps now the world will finally get it.



*Thanks to nut-free mom for bringing this to our attention.

The Leak Saga, Part 3

Yesterday, a steam pipe exploded in a all in mini's room. That's right, you heard us, a steam pipe. Did you even know that could happen in apartment buildings? Apparently it can. Once every 5th floor. So now there is a hole in mini's wall that looks like this:
Of course, one could think to yourself: that's great!! This totally explains the wet plaster smell, the paint bubbling of the wall (and subsequent hole that was "dried up") yet remains inexplicably wet and thus still undiagnosed.

You could think that the mystery was finally solved, and it would be completely logical thinking. Except this wall on the complete other side on the room. So where does that leave us? One mysterious leak has been "simply explained" by poor plumbing in the apartment upstairs. Water lines were cut off. It did not dry up.

Then the "aha" of the leaky washing machine. Which was fixed except the smell was still there. And then the oven was pulled out of the wall so that we could find another leak. The water was shut off and it was chalked up to odd coincidence. Then the steam pipe exploded. And apparently this "part" that broke is only on every 5th floor.

Three (possibly four) crazy coincidences. And none of them have resolved the original issue, because somehow the wall is still getting wet. And remember also that roaches are attracted to the smell of wet plaster.


So Poker Chick is in need of help from you peeps. She needs answers to these questions:

1) Can anyone out there calculate the odds of all of this happening in the same room at the same time? There's gotta be a way to make some money off this in Vegas.

2) Can anyone advise a girl how to have the conversation with the insurance company who had already assessed and paid for the "initial" water damage? "No really sir, I realize how this must sound, I promise we are not making this up for the money.....hello? hello? Are you still there?"

Stay tuned for the exciting saga! It's too bad Poker Chick doesn't have a whole house. Home ownership is so much fun!!

Celebration in the Poker Chick Household!

The mini's eating repertoire might actually stand a chance at expanding!!!
The New York City Council just passed a bill by 46-2 to educate food service establishments and their staff on food allergies, safety, and cross-contamination concerns.

"The poster, which will be available in multiple languages, will highlight the most common food allergens, as well as provide information about how to avoid cross contamination and what signs to look for to identify an allergic reaction. The poster will be displayed in a conspicuous location that is visible to food preparers and food handlers.
'This is a small and simple thing we can do, but it has the potential to save lives,' Council Member Lappin said."

Jessica Lappin, you definitely have this family's vote and sorry for voting against you last time. And thanks to Allergic Girl for bringing this to our attention. You can read the full press release over at her site.

Jack Bauer and How He Messes With Your Head

As with "Lost", Poker Chick enjoys a healthy love/hate relationship with "24". With "Lost" there's the unknown element of science beyond our knowledge, or magic, or who knows. Regardless, it's enough for you to sort of suspend disbelief long enough to buy the show.

With "24", PC's starting to struggle a bit too much and it's as if the writers aren't even trying to explain the inconsistencies anymore. And it's ruining a perfectly good story. For example, take the chip Jack Bauer ripped out of the enemy's body. This is major news - a chip that has the name of every double crosser in the entire government. The answer to his situation. The names that will give the President security and allow federal agencies to be re-utilized without fear of being compromised. So, after literally ripping it out of some man's body, with blood on his hands - what does Jack do? That's right. He hands it off to the first person who walks by with a blase "give this to this guy, will you?"

C'mon, Jack. You know better than this. Make a copy. Stick it under your hat. At least make a show of trusting who you give it to vs. some extra who jumped at the chance to make $400 that day. Do you really expect us to believe you're that dumb?

Next there's the chick he's working with. Despite years of FBI field training she suddenly develops a conscience and turns into a whiny baby over one dead body. Not that dead bodies aren't something to cry over. But it's a complete disconnect from the enjoyable 2-dimensional character you expect.

And then, right when you're starting to lose faith, you notice the eye makeup.

Yeah, yeah. Most women have that eye smudge from makeup when they cry. But in this case? Think about it. Enough mascara to smudge? So you really want us to believe that somewhere, after going rogue, getting shot in the neck, and being buried alive, somewhere in there she found time to re-apply her eye makeup?

Please. You have got to be kidding.

So to the writers of "24" Poker Chick says: Wake up, peeps. You're getting lazy and we're not dumb.