Sorry

I first want to apologize, Sorry. The other night I posted a Van Gogh picture and then realized I did not give you any kind of background for him.

Vincent Van Gogh is a very interesting character, oh excuse me, artist. He became an artist basically after everything else he tried in life failed. He worked in an art gallery selling art, he was a teacher, a bookstore worker and a preacher. Van Gogh is known as an impressionist. I really like his work. I love the bright colors and I really just want to touch his works of art. Don't they look chunky and rough and great? Art has the ability to arouse all your senses. It is to be taken in by sight, smell, taste and touch.

Van Gogh was mentally ill. He also had other infirmaries like epilepsy, psychotic attacks and delusions. Another little interesting yet desturbing fact is that the Van Gogh family had an elder son named Vincent who died at a young age. After this Vincent Van Gogh was born and was named after his dead older brother. I think this may cause me some mental illness. Notice his self-portraits he is never smiling.

Vincent moved to Paris, closer to his brother Theo and met many impressionists there. He would paint pictures everyday sometimes. Van Gogh painted so much that he would run out of money. His brother would send extra money when he had it, but Van Gogh would buy paint and go without eating for days at a time.

Gauguin, another artist, became one of Van Goghs friends and they lived together in the country for awhile until Gauguin came back to Paris to do art. Vincent went into a rage and that is where he cut off part of his ear. He later checked himself into an insane asylum and that is where he painted Starry Night. Why do I say to forget the umbrella and grab the crash helmet? If I ever see things flying around and swirling like The Starry Night painting I will be taking cover in a basement not under an umbrella. I have read that it is believed that Van Gogh was watching a meteor shower when he painted this.

Later Vincent Van Gogh shot himself in the chest and died two days later from the wounds.
This painting is called Wheatfield with Crows. See how dark this one is? See the path going into the dark? This was Vincent's last painting.
I think Van Gogh's story is sad. I can imagine him being tormented by his illnesses and not having God. He was only 36 years old.

I went to Kroger tonight in the pouring rain

I went to Kroger tonight in the pouring rain. I really wanted to go by myself and take my time. I had a 55% savings tonight!

My total before coupons was $68.36 and after coupons I was at $44.93. Here is a list of everything I got.

1-12 pack of Diet Coke (FREE) thanks to a Kroger coupon
1 Fresh Express salad (FREE) with coupon
1 Rotisserie chicken 1.50 off coupon
6 packs of Kleenex 2 coupons for .50 off 3
7-8 packs of Danimals 7 coupons for .50 off any
2 bottles of Worcester sauce 2- .35 coupons
1 pack of Lenders bagels (FREE) with coupon I received for praising the company
2 Kroger cream cheeses
$15.00 in Kroger cheese it was on sale this week so I loaded up
1 Duncan Hines cake mix (FREE) thanks to a Kroger cash register coupon
4 packs of Take Alongs plastic Tupperware on sale for B1G1 and I had coupons for $1 off 2

It was a nasty night but at least it was not a Van Gogh starry night. If you ever hear a meteorologist say its a Van Gogh starry night, I suggest you leave the umbrella and take the crash helmet.

More Kroger Coupons

Today I went to the mailbox and there were more Kroger coupons, I jumped for joy. I love coupons! Here is a list of what I received.







.35 off Kroger baby carrots
.75 off red delicious apples
.60 off private selection artisan bread
1.50 off private selection creme or fruit pies
1.50 off fried chicken from the deli
1.50 off rotisserie chicken
2.00 off private selection pizza
.75 off private selection soup
1.50 off Kroger raw shrimp
20% off private selection smoked salmon
2.00 off private selection angus steak
1.50 boneless pork chops

Newspapers Newspapers!

A couple of friends and myself had been getting free newspapers on Sundays from different sources and it was good. About a month ago things started tightening up. The papers were not available and we were not getting enough coupons and we started to stress about keeping a good supply of coupons. A couple of weeks ago I decided to call our local newspaper to see if we could just buy inserts or if we could buy papers in bulk. To my surprise the man at the newspaper set me up. For two weeks I have woken up to 25 Sunday papers delivered on my front porch for a price of $7.40 a week. Three friends and I share these papers so we each pay $7.40 a month for 6 papers a week. I love this because it has truly taken the stress out of finding newspapers and worrying if we will get coupons every week. As an added bonus when there is a really good coupon coming I can call and request more papers for that week.

I like this picture with the green. Coupons are just money waiting to be saved. Coupons are extra cash in my pocket.

Walgreens is starting to upset me

Tonight after my bible study I headed to Walgreens. I was going to get Skippy peanut butter, Pert shampoo and Cheerios. The peanut butter would have came to .40 per jar, the Pert is a monthly deal that would give me $2 in overage and the Cheerios are .99 a box. All of this are prices with coupons of course. Instead of finding great deals at Walgreens all I found were empty shelves. This Walgreens always has empty shelves. The only time I can find the sale items is if I go into the store on Sunday when the deal starts. The following is a copy of what I sent to the corporate customer service complaint line. I will keep you informed if I receive a response.

My comments to Walgreens:

I went to this store tonight to buy the advertised items. I went to get Pert shampoo, Skippy peanut butter and Cheerios. The Cheerios were out of reach so I went to the cashier to ask for assistance. She called someone on the p.a. system but no one showed up to help me. Then I went to get the Pert and the peanut butter only to find that the advertised items were gone. I have been to this store on different days through the week on many different occasions only to be disappointed with empty shelves. I have not shopped in Walgreens for at least a month due to this issue. Tonight I decided to try again and again it was a wasted trip for me.

End of Comments to Walgreens.

Can you tell I am a little mad?

Kroger Coupons

I went to Kroger about 10pm on Tuesday night this week. I found a recipe for smoke brisket cooked in the slow cooker and decided to try it. When I started adding ingredients to my slower cooker I realized that I did not have any Worchester sauce. I have been waiting for Worchester sauce to go on sale for ages now and have held on to my coupons. Off to Kroger I went. When I got there I realized I needed some other things like lettuce, corn, cucumber, taco seasoning etc... I got my things and went to check out. I had about $17 in stuff and with coupons it came to be just over $14. This was not a great trip but a necessary one. After I had paid, the kid handed me my receipt and a bunch of coupons. "Are these all mine?" I said, the kid said they were and I was very excited. I received a total of 5 coupons. I got one for a free Duncan Hines cake mix and another for $1.25 off of rotisserie chicken. Ladies and gentlemen Elvis has left the building!

Vacation Approaching

As vacation approaches I am making a mental list of all the things I need to take with us. As I was thinking the other day it hit me, it hit me like a ton of bricks. I will not have a camera for vacation. My point and shoot camera was broken by little hands last week and I do not have my big, exciting, expensive camera yet. When I have a moment to sit and think I often think of this fact. I envision myself trying to get good shots with a disposable camera and it turns my stomach. I envision myself taking pictures with my old Nikon SLR film camera and this is o.k. but it makes me wonder, "Will I be able to buy film?" This picture will be me this year taking photos with the oldie but goody. Maybe I should get me a hat like that. I will run my sad sob story by my husband who will probably tell me to get over it and a disposable will be fine. No sympathy at my house.