The cashier told me that if they do get some, it's gone pretty much as soon as the store opens. I wasn't there till an hour later.

Yesterday the University of Wisconsin- Madison recommended that students not travel for Spring break and if they do they should remain quarantined for 14 days when they returned. The students pretty much scoffed at the suggestion. Today they have canceled all in person classes starting Friday (start of spring break) until at least April 10.

I was at ours this morning too. I told the kids it was like the Saturday before Christmas. Absolutely nuts. I was there for over an hour and a half (my normal Costco trip is about 20 minutes, I have a list and know exactly where everything is and never walk down aisles that I don't need something from) Oh and my mom thought I should pick up some toilet paper from Costco for her. I told her they've were out last week. She says, "Oh, they've probably restocked by now". She is totally living with her head in the sand on this.

My DS is one who THRIVED in online classes, did ok at the computer college (small classes all under 20 students) and finds the large university classes to be absolutely soul sucking. If he could have done everything online it would have been a dream come true. He landed a professional job straight out of high school, but to advance he needs the college degree (the employer not DS is already counting down till DS finishes because they really want him in a higher position but corporate policy prevents them from doing so till he has that piece of paper). So it's not even like he's benefiting from the social and/or work connections from being at school, he's already successfully established that. I also was one who was far more productive at home than at work. I asked about working from home when my oldest was born and it was against policy at the time so I quit. 2 months later they called me back and asked if I would consider working from home (my replacement has done such a horrible job they desperately needed my experience to get things straightened out). I worked from home 2 years and went in about once a month for in person meetings and had phone conferences in between. I quit again when my 2nd was born and I didn't want to work anymore but it was the perfect arrangement for me before than. DH had a full time work at home position and that was a disaster for him emotionally (although his productivity was through the roof). He needs some people interaction. But he also finds working in the office to be horribly distracting so the ideal for him is about 3 days home and 2 days in the office. But based on what I've seen and what DH has reported, there are an awful lot of less than productive employees out there. It's amazing how many people you see playing games, on social media etc all day long at work. I can't imagine how much less they would accomplish when there was no chance of someone walking in and saying "what are you working on?". I definitely think it's a combination of personality and character that makes one able to work home successfully or not.

Ok that makes sense, I thought she meant in terms of nutrition hence my confusion. As one who was only served canned vegetables in schools (and refused to eat them), even for emergency prep I won't stock them. But I grew up helping my mom can (tomatoes) and freeze everything else so pretty much anything frozen seems fine to me in terms of taste/texture which is probably why my mind didn't go there for that interpretation.

Very curious what the thought process is behind this. Corn which is essentially a grain is preferably to broccoli? and peas I thought were pretty high in starch too. I realize in times of limited food selection that yes they would be perfectly fine but to say they are preferably to broccoli, I don't understand. Anyone want to take a guess because it's completely at odds to what I thought I knew about nutrition.

It's really hard to answer hypothetically. We recently had a family meeting (before coronavirus started) and discussed my parents end of life wishes. My 2 siblings live much closer and neither have young children so they would naturally get called in for more day to day stuff. The joke was that I would have to make at least weekly visits if something happened to my mom because I would be in charge of cooking for my dad (I'm the best cook of the bunch which everyone readily admits plus I'm used to bulk/freezer cooking). In light of that, I'm sure I could drop off food/supplies but general care taking would be difficult. I wouldn't want to take my kids there (my dad has little patience for noisy kids when he's well, I sure wouldn't even try when he was sick) but I couldn't leave the kids alone regularly either. My MIL lives close by but I would not do caretaking for her. The only time she contacts us is when she needs helps with something she can't do on her own. So I would imagine she would have to be in pretty bad shape to contact us and then DH would be torn with guilt. He has tried to maintain a relationship with her but it is very one sided. Personally I would say it's not worth the risk but it would have to be his call to make. I really can't think of any of my close friends who don't have family nearby to help so it's not likely I would get called up in those situations.

I didn't buy much in the way of meds because we seldom use them. I do have a bottle of ibuprophen around but that's about all we use. I did focus on my "sick" foods. I bough an extra case of ginger ale (we prefer Schwepps which only comes in 12 packs so I have 24 - well 23 now, I have a kid with the stomach flu). Extra freezie pops (they can be stored in the closet until needed), extra popcicles, lots of apple juice. I have tons of buillion cubs since Costco doesn't carry them in bulk I stocked up before my Sam's membership expired last month. I also have a few boxes of the instant soup mix that we use when I'm sick or too time crunched to make homemade soup. I can my own applesauce so we are good there. I'll probably grab an extra box of soda crackers. And strawberry jello. I didn't buy water either. I did buy wipes but that's because of the kid with stomach flu. I started the younger kids on Vit D and Vit C (the adult child living here refused to take them) and have a good supply of other vitamins on hand. I topped up my other household supplies but not much more than normal (but normal for me is buying 2 of the giant Costco packages of TP at a time or 6 tubes of toothpaste so some might few mine as extreme).

I did my weekly shopping today (including Costco). I stocked up on things I wanted last week (which was mostly items that were on sale at Costco and I was buying because they were on sale and I always stock up then). My observations at my local grocery store (small regional chain with probably 20 stores but they have massive stores compared to any other grocery store in the area). The are WELL supplied on TP, The entire aisle was packed and overflowing the shelves and onto the floor. You could no longer get two carts to pass each other due to the amount of TP they have stacked in the aisle. There was a huge display of 4 pack of disinfecting wipes however, when you strolled down the aisle, the smaller quantities and single bottles was mostly empty. Water had been moved to a very prominent display in the store but they seemed to have plenty. I didn't really notice anything else different. Costco, lots more water and tp in carts. There are out of the more economical Kirkland brand TP but still had some Charmin. All upper shelves are completely cleared or water, cleaning products, tp, kleenex etc so clearly all their current stock is down on the floor. Water is being limited to 5 cases. Kleenex display is about 1/4 the size it was last Thursday. I saw some disinfecting wipes but since I don't buy those I couldn't compare to normal stock levels. Sugar and rice were also limited to quantities of 5 which I thought was kind of funny because you could buy sugar in 50 pound bags. I'm trying to figure out who would need more than 250 pounds of sugar? Hydrogen peroxide seemed fully stock. Liquid hand soap was low (low enough that it no longer has it's own display and is sitting on top of some other product). I was hoping to wait until next week to see if it was on sale but decided not to risk it and bought it today and figured I could get a price adjustment if they do put it in the next sale book (but I'm kinda doubtful based on current demand). Flour was not limited which I also thought odd because we use way more flour than sugar.

Well I for one would be THRILLED if seasonal clothing was delayed so you know they might actually sell summer clothes in the summer instead of when it's 10 degrees outside. I'd even be happy if they would sell summer clothes in the spring but usually they are clearancing it out before summer ever starts.

I for one appreciate your efforts. News coverage here has dropped dramatically because well politics is more important (at least if you go by the headlines) and I have to hunt more just to find updates of any substance. Plus in general the overseas sources just seem more comprehensive. So please keep posting!

Yep we're looking at some of that stuff too. 2DD will be starting taking online classes in the fall so I need a headset for her. I know the great majority of that comes out of China so I'm buying it now rather than waiting till fall. And DS is hoping to start a new job soon so I need a couple more thermos so he can take hot food (the stainless steel Thermos brand are made in China) with him. DH is going to need new shoes before summer etc. Things we would absolutely be buying within the next 6 months but may be harder to come buy if there is a delay in the supply chain. I did see an article that Walmart said if the shut down in China continued, they expected to start having issues by April (although I was surprised that they said 3/4 of their products were made in the US, I didn't think it would be that high). I'm not panicking but just being aware of future needs and taking care of it now if it's practical.

DH dropped his numbers significantly by doing low/no sugar and significantly reduced carbs (especially tried to eliminate wheat and used whole grain otherwise). He ate plenty of red meat, butter and eggs for breakfast everyday and the numbers were great while he stuck to that. Unfortunately, he got stressed out at work and started drinking soda and sugary snacks again and his numbers went back up. It's not the easiest to maintain but it worked well for him when he did it.

I didn't take his statement about not treating patients as they weren't treating anyone. I took it to mean they weren't treating patients whose symptoms weren't causing distress. His wife has a mild cough if I remember correctly and they had no idea that she was sick. But she's quarantined in the hospital so that she hopefully won't spread it. So It doesn't make sense to "treat" her because what she's experiencing is so mild. And since it's a virus treating symptoms is really all they can do (and are for those whose symptoms are causing distress). At least that's how "I" interpreted what he said.

I did that last year. I ended up steaming it in my instant pot and dipping it in butter afterward. I just googled some recipes so I can't tell you a specific one. But it was fun to try it once and expose my kids to something new.

We have a double switch in our master bedroom. One is for the light, the second one is in case we wanted a ceiling fan, the second switch would allow the fan and light to be operated independently. Since I hate having air blow on me i'm always freezing as it is), I vetoed having the fan but the switch was still set up that way in case somone wanted to add a fan down the road. Our living room has a light switch that controls some of the outlets (so in case you want to use a lamp, you can control it from the switch) too. I wonder if your mystery switch is for one of those purposes.

Yep, many times. And I unplugged the dryer every single time and I've never been even been trained! Seems like common sense to me, takes 10 seconds and save a whole lot of trouble.

I'm not who you were addressing but here's how I make mine. Does your Instant Pot have the yogurt button? Pour 1 gallon whole milk and 1 pint heavy whipping cream in instant pot. Put the lid on. Push the yogurt button until it says boil. Walk away and return when it beeps. (I like to use a thermometer to verify it reached the 180 degrees. Usually it's good but every now and then it's not hot enough and so I just set it to go through another round of boil). Remove instant pot liner from base and set on counter (you can also cook in sink but i'm not that ambitious). Skim off the top layer (no idea what to call it but that stuff that sits on top of the milk). When its 110-115, put 8 ounces of plain greek yogurt in a bowl and stir in a spoonful of warm milk. Keep adding milk until it's smooth and liquidy like milk. Add back to milk. Give a quick stir. Add vanilla and/or sugar at this point if you wish. Put liner of milk back in the instant pot, put the lid on and use the yogurt button and set to 8 hours. Come back later and have wonderful thick yogurt.

I've had a yogurt maker, I've made it with a cooler, I've made it with a dehydrator, and I've made it in the Instant pot. The instant pot is by far my preferred method. Less, dishes, less mess, less effort on my part since I'm not having to monitor temps much. I do have a separate ring for my instant pot for sweets and yogurt because my normal cooking one does has a very strong order of the savory dishes I cook. I've heard people complain of the flavor transfer before so I bought extra rings from the get go. My yogurt has never tasted like anything but yogurt in the instant pot. I use a 6-8 ounce plain greek yogurt, 1 gallon whole milk and 1 pint whipping cream. My yogurt is just a thick a greek yogurt but I don't have to strain to get it that way.

my kids pay for half of their summer camps (although theirs are much cheaper than yours so they don't have to come up with much money) but if your kids really have that much extra free money after saving a reasonable portion (for us they donate 10%, save about 60% and get to spend 30%), then I certainly think it's time to introduce them to real world economics when you have to take money you earn and spend it on necessities and not just fun stuff. Much better to learn the lesson now than wait till they are an adult.

I was wondering if it was regional thing myself but I'm in the midwest too so who knows. It just seems here that people will eat cheese even if they prefer pepperoni but those who prefer cheese will often skip it if pepperoni is all that is left.

If 4 year old really can't make it with a parent that long, than a parent stays home. Younger siblings really don't belong on college tours. Others on the tour might find it a distraction and it's not really fair to them. Even though you have to backtrack, you just tell them all they have to stay home this time.

I agree with the basic pizzas, although I would suggest adding sausage or at least more cheese than pepperoni. What I've discovered from watching the consumption at many different events is that people THINK other people want to eat pepperoni more than people actually want to eat that pepperoni. In other words every event seems to have gobs of pepperoni left over and they can barely give it away but pretty much any other flavor is snatched up. The most recent event I went to had 3 pepperoni, 2 cheese, 2 deluxe and 1 meat lover's at it. There was 2 1/2 pizzas of pepperoni left and everything else was completely gone and that is pretty typical based on my observations.

Wow! That looks great! Would love to see a picture of the table legs too just for comparison.

Thank you all for you comments and advice. I have just sent in my "resignation" e-mail. I'm sure there will be fall-out but at this point it just feels like a relief to have this part over with. I tend to be a go along with whatever type person even when I don't agree because I really dislike conflict but I knew for my own sanity I needed to speak up and end the stress.