Thursday, February 28, 2013

Vote for me, please!

I have entered the Australian Writing Centres' "Best Australian Blogs 2013" competition.

I would really appreciate every ounce of support I can get to have my new blog considered for their Best New Blog category.

Please help me out. The competition is offering Random House prizes, and as an aspiring writer, it is a dream to get your name in front of them: And I would love to have my name in front of them!!!

You can learn more about the competition here, and you can vote for me by clicking on the at the top right hand side of my blog page or by clicking on the badge below.

Thank you so much for your assistance.  And if you like my posts, would you mind asking one of your friends if they would like to vote for me too?


Fingers, toes, legs and arms crossed!

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Reformed Smoker rant

On my way home from work this evening, knowing my LAHK's (Living at home kids) will be getting after me, I decided to take the opportunity to catch up doing my grocery shopping now that it has reached desperation-status.

While I was at the checkout still packing the last of my bagged items back into the shopping trolley, I overheard the lady after me as the Checkout Chick to please scan items on an 'item-by-item basis as I hand them to you - because I only have $109 to buy my groceries'.

I immediately felt really bad for the woman with two kids, as she carefully selected staples and essential items from her trolley, and with a deep breath first, started letting the Checkout Chick start to scan the items.

My heart went out to her. I'd hate to be that struggling that I can't buy even all the necessities on my shopping list.  I was paying by card, but still had twenty dollars in my purse, and I came with a hair's breath of handing her that twenty dollars (my own horrible financial fortnight over, and next payday now received).

What stopped me?

I had taken my purse out, and even had the money in my fingers, and mind was made up - then I saw that she had just purchased three cartons of cigarettes, and these were poking from her handbag.. Three cartons!

What stopped me being randomly generous without any expectation of anything in return, was those cigarette's.

Now, I used to smoke, but when my finances became so tight that I struggled to purchase all my essentials about seven to eight years ago now, I quit smoking immediately (and I've never taken it back up, or even desired to have a cigarette since). Unlike a few other former smokers, I didn't then start telling my still smoking friends 'you should give up' etc like I had 'endured' when other reformed smokers decided to recruit me to the 'other side', and I don't mean to start telling smokers how to live their lives now either...

BUT, lady: quit smoking!

Don't put much needed food items back on the grocery shelf.  You are wasting money unnecessarily when that money could be spent on essentials and desirables for your children and your own self, instead of your current indulging on your own want (smoking) over need (food for you and your children).

I came  |.| this close to giving you my hard earned money today because I related to you struggling financially, and how embarrassing and hard it must be for you and your children, until I realised, I am NOT responsible for the decisions you make.  You chose cigarettes, so I chose to keep my money (sorry to your innocent children).

So, because I was already going to donate that twenty dollars, I have already now given it to someone else who I KNOW is financially hard up and not making selfish, poor decisions.  (I hope my jobseeker likes the little anonymous bonus he will find in his letterbox when the mailman arrives in a few days).

Monday, February 25, 2013

Strange Rain



Driving home from work this afternoon, I drove through a patch of road that had obviously had a heavy down pour, resulting in a mini-flash flood, because the gutters were still working overtime trying to clear the water.

The strange part was though, that the section that copped so much rain was only about fifty metres (that the size of an olympic swimming pool) in length of wet road.  Before and after this section was completely bone dry - with the exception of a growing strip of water from car tyres.

I missed the downpour, but I must have only missed it by seconds, and boy was it weird driving driving through such a short wet stretch.  The clouds and thunder were still hanging about though.

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Novel Writing: The Seven Potters

As I was writing my ebook on story ideas today, I quickly reread a section of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, in search of a quote I needed to use for one of my points.



In my search for the sentence, I ended up re-reading the full chapter The Seven Potters (because I like reading that scene) when a curiosity struck me that I have never considered previously: why did J.K Rowling have all the characters take polyjuice potion and turn themselves into Harry Potters?

Wouldn't it be more logical - seeing as the Order believed that Voldemort had fallen for their false trail that they were shifting Harry at a later date (yeah right, as if anyone would believe that), that in their misguided belief that they could fool Voldemort and the Death Eaters using decoys - that they would actually achieve a better result and not risk as many lives if they instead polyjuiced Harry into someone else, someone not worthy of the Death Eaters and Voldemorts consideration?  I mean, immediately, Arabella Figg, Harry's neighbour comes to my mind because she is conveniently located, a squib (who Voldemort would overlook but is capable of seeing Dementor's, unlike Muggles), and is a member of the Order of the Phoenix (sort of).

Why have so many Order members turning themselves into Harry - whose face is so recognizable to his enemy and is guaranteed to cause an attempt on his or his imitator's life - in order to effect his escape?

I've never had reason to criticize the Harry Potter books previously, but now that I've considered there was a much better way of getting him out of there, it has sort of dampened my enjoyment a little (but only a little).

In my mind's view, I see this alternative as a good way of tricking Voldemort and the Death Eaters, and that the Order's deception of doing a Barty-Crouch style switcharoo with an insignificant (to the Death Eaters) decoy could be implemented any time prior to Harry turning seventeen (up to the hour before).

Imagine, Mad-Eye Moody, Kingsley and Mr Weasley enlist Arabella Figg to pose as Harry for a day or two, and on the day the Dursley's leave, Harry to could escape without detection at all by simply leaving before or after the Dursley's disguised in plain sight as his batty old neighbour.  While the Death Eaters patiently keep up their watch (from their distance because of the spell keeping them from getting any closer), they see Arabella Figg, Hestia, Dedalus, Mad-Eye, Kingsley and Mr Weasley enter the house, they later see each of those people plus the three Dursley's leave, and are confident the real Harry alone inside, available for them to still attack the moment the charm breaks the instant Harry becomes seventeen or the Order come back to try to relocate him beforehand.  Meanwhile, the polyjuice-disguised Harry returns to his neighbours house, where he is then able to be taken by side-along Apparation to his safe house by whoever has been entrusted to get him there (I would suggest Moody or Kingsley would be most likely to have this responsibility - so whichever one it is wouldn't enter the Dursley house).

No, or much less, risk to his best friends or the Order members.

Given that polyjuice potion needs to be taken on the hour every hour in order to remain disguised, both Harry and Arabella could have resumed their normal appearances just as, from their Disapparation points, they knowingly and willingly break the charm protecting Harry and the Dursleys from Voldemort.

I seriously loved the Seven Potters concept - until now.

I loved the 'chase scene' and that J.K Rowling ruthlessly killed off Hedwig (who my daughter absolutely sobbed uncontrollably about the first time she read it) and Moody.  George losing his ear, Snape secretly protecting him, but for a long time everyone that was there that night believing he was the one casting the horrible Sectumsempra spell that caused George to lose his ear because Lupin pointed the finger Snape's way saying, "He lost his hood during the chase.  Sectumsempra was always a speciality of Snape's.  I wish I could say I'd paid him back in kind, but it was all I could to keep George on the broom after he was injured, he was losing so much blood."

I guess my more logical Order member escape planning would have ruined too many parts of the rest of the story - Snape being revealed as not such the villain at the end, removing Hedwig whose snowy-white appearance would give Harry's location not matter where he safe-housed away, and killing off the next Order leader following Dumbledore's passing.

Writer's are often advised to Kill your Darlings, meaning, not to be come so attached to your own ideas and words that you don't cut scenes and words that should be cut.

Do you think J.K Rowling seized at a great concept of having seven Harry Potters that she didn't kill her darlings, at the expense of lacking logic and good reasoning by some key characters?  Would love to read your comments!

Update  5 May 2013  I'm still working on writing this alternative scene to post as a free read...am making progress (slower than wanted, but better than no progress).

Novel Writing: Ebook WIP



This weekend, rather than focus my precious writing time on blog posts, I am playing the balancing act and have dedicated my free time to working on an Ebook on the topic of 'Story Ideas' that I plan on eventually self-publishing.

I have been working on it since Friday night since I first came up with the idea of writing a short article about it. Since then, I have worked out that it is now a sort of 'how to' guide and has increased in status from being a short article to now being a potential Ebook, at this stage.

I am, so far, quite happy with how it is progressing. I've currently completed approximately, 4,700 words (articles are usually somewhere between 800 to 2500 words, from what I believe).  I still have a lot of ideas left to include. I'm thinking that once I have finished it will probably be around the 20 - 25k word mark, so my progress so far is about a quarter to one-fifth of the way.

Once again, I haven't made any progress with my current novel WIP.  But, I'll get back to it as soon as I can. But I am happy to report, that I have increased my commitment to writing significantly now that I am committed to making 2013 the year I take my writing to the next level.

How are you going with the goals you committed to at the beginning of the year?

Friday, February 22, 2013

Random Interruptous

Sometimes life gets in the way of well-intentioned writing schedules.

My youngest daughter starts University in eight days time, and received her timetable the other day and had a "Mummmmmmmmmmm' panic attack.  Why?  Every three weeks, she has to attend a different campus to the main one, and this particular campus is not accessible by public transport, and she does not yet have sufficient hours to sit her driver test.

So, life, for this instance is having to take my daughter for a two hour driving lesson.  She only needs another twenty hours to clock up before she can book her test.

Please, wish me well and hope that I do not accumulate any more grey hairs.  This next week is going to be a nightmare of 'take me for a lesson'.

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Easy Snack Recipe: Onion & Feta Tartlets

Ingredients
4 large onions (I use two brown and two purple onions)
Olive Oil
Cooking spray
Balsamic Vinegar
Brown Sugar
2 Shortcrust Pastry sheets (thawed)
1 block of Feta cheese

Makes: 18 tartlets

Special Equipment Needed
Egg ring
Cupcake tins

Method
Preparation:
1. Onions: Peel onions and cut into thin onion rings.
2. Cupcake tin: Light spray with spray oil
3. Pastry: Using the egg-ring, cut thawed shortcrust pastry into circles (I get 9 per sheet),  then carefully press one circle of pastry per 'cupcake tin well' nto lightly sprayed cupcake tins.
4. Feta: Slice and roughly chop Feta.
5. Oven: pre-heat to 180* C.

Cooking:
1. In fry-pan, saute (lightly fry) onions in olive oil for approximately 10-15 minutes until soft and browned.
2. Add balsamic vinegar and brown sugar, and cook for further two minutes.
3. Distribute (evenly) the onion mixture into each of the tartlet cases.
4. Top with Feta cheese.
5. Bake in oven for approximately 20 - 30 minutes or until feta is lightly browned and the pastry has hardened.


Enjoy!

If you make or like this recipe, please add your comments below!

Saturday, February 16, 2013

(Re-)Learning to Touch Type – the hard way




For years, I was a two finger typist.  I learned where each of the letters was on the keyboard and over time I built up to a speed of around 40 words per minute typing in this manner.  I know some people can get even faster than that, but that was my speed cap no matter how much I tried to go faster.

On one of my old computers, I had a typing program where when you were typing lengthy passages as practice it showed your current speed in the top centre of the screen. I think the software developer deliberately put the meter there on purpose, as a feature to get typists to push harder to increase the number and thus take away any thoughts of watching their fingers in action which you do to ensure the striking of the correct key until you learn to trust that your fingers will hit the right keys once the skill is ingrained.

My best friend was a touch-typist and typed everyday as part of her job.  She was always rolling her eyes at me whenever she caught me two-finger typing, and, knowing I had the typing program on the computer, would tell me I really should try to use the touch typing program and learn how to touch type. I agreed, but never did anything about it.

One day, she must have tried to prove her point, because she wanted to ‘have a go’ so she could work out what speeds she could get up to – it is one thing to have an official word per minute count, and a totally different thing knowing the fastest speed you can achieve (even if you can’t sustain it for long periods).

I watched over her shoulder as the ‘speedometer’ went from zero to about seventy five words per minute within seconds.  All the while, my friend was chatting casually to and occasional glancing at me as she typed the paragraphs on the screen. She was achieving this high speed comfortably, and told me that when ‘warmed up’ at work she usually typed even faster than this.  I didn’t believe it; her fingers were flying quite fast but she reassured me that ‘this is nothing!’

Five minutes later, she really got into it, and when she felt she was ready she told me to keep an eye on the counter so she could fully concentrate on typing, because every time you made a mistake in the program, you couldn’t move on until you corrected your error, and when this happened for her, the speedometer started falling and I realised she was trying to get it corrected and the speed back up before it hit zero.  Almost like if it hit zero it was game over.

And I watched as her speed got faster.  80... 90 ... 100 – I was super impressed at this stage, and excitedly announced her speed, but she wasn’t done yet – 110... 120!

I didn’t know human fingers could move so fast!  And at this speed, she had attempted to type a full sentence before she realised she had made a mistake and could slow her fingers down again to correct the error and build the speed back up again.  The highest I saw it peak at was 129 words per minute. Incredible! 

I was impressed, but not spurred on to undertake the boring typing lessons for my own self.  It took me a few years before I learned how to touch-type.  I enrolled in a Business Administration course at Tafensw while the kids were young and at school, so that I could develop some skills to allow me to gain some part time work during school hours once I completed the course.  Keyboard Basics and Keyboard Speed were two modules that formed part of the qualification.

I had a much harder time learning to touch type compared to my fellow classmates, because of my having been a hunt-and-peck typist for so long.  Other classmates had to learn where each key was, but I already knew.  And whereas in any other learning environment, already having knowledge is to your advantage, in this case, it was putting me ‘behind the eight ball’.

You see, I naturally gravitated towards continuing to use my index fingers and avoid using the other fingers which were weaker and not used to striking the keyboard.  I persevered, but had to cut back my speed to being just as slow as everyone else in the class. And I had to concentrate extra hard to make sure that the right finger was striking the right key.  By the time I had finished the Basic Keyboarding module, I no longer resented my teacher covering our hands with a sheet of paper to stop us from watching what we were typing because I now had the basics, but boy did I hate it while I was trying to retrain.  I learned, as she intended, to eventually trust my own abilities, and to allow my brain to remember that every time I see the letter ‘a’ for example, that it was my left hand little finger that had to be called into action, not any other finger, and that for the ‘e’ my middle finger had to stretch up one row.

I performed the worst in our (first) Keyboard test, which upset me.  I was never bottom of the class back when I was at school, and I didn’t like being one of two students that failed and had to repeat the test. The trouble was, I had not created new ‘neural pathways’ that overrode the ones already created, so at the time of that first test, I struggled.  Afterwards, my teacher suggested that I keep my speed lower than I could type and keep practicing to train my brain the new method. So I did this, and sighed with relief when I passed at 28 words per minute on my second attempt – you needed 25 words per minute to pass.

Fifteen years later, and I occasionally still make the odd typing mistake directly due to my past ‘bad habit’ hunt and peck typing on days when I am tired.  But my typing speed has increased to over 65 words per minute. (My last official speed test was about seven years ago and I have fastened up even more since then).

One of the (quirky, or is that eccentric) things that I did to help me improve my typing was that I started borrowing books of interest from the library, and would type up extracts or summaries of the key information that I wanted to be able to remember.  On one occasion, when I was really broke and unable to afford to purchase a really expensive helpful book on novel writing that was just so useful I really, really needed to have on hand (and not being prepared to steal the book in order to have it), I spent an entire weekend typing while reading the rest of the book (to effectively ‘kill two birds with one stone’ of reading the remainder of it and copying the book for later reference.) (A couple of years later, when I could afford it, I printed out the book I had copied word for word so I could read the hardcopy whenever I wanted, and then deleted the electronic file, because I could no longer order the book).

After typing that book that weekend, the frequency of my old habits arising causing me to mistype dropped noticeably.

So where is this post leading, you ask?  Well, I guess the point here is that as an author it really is best if you develop touch typing skills. And, I suggest you learn them from the onset because it is so much quicker and better to learn how to type properly from the get-go than to have to go ‘back to the drawing board’ later to try unlearn bad habits that never needed to have been learnt in the first place.

There are some days when I am ‘in the flow’ where even at seventy or eighty words per minute which I think I now type at, my hands are still slower than my thoughts – and it is frustrating if you make a mistake and ‘have’ to fix up your error (because otherwise the error will irk at you and ruin the flow eventually) which forces you to get out of your flow.

It only takes about two weeks typing for an hour each day for you to nail the basics of using the right finger for each key and to know where each of those keys are, especially if you ‘talk’ to yourself as you are learning, and ‘say’ the letter (in your head) every time you strike the key.  After that, it is all just about developing your speed and accuracy.

So if you are one of those authors (I know you are out there!) that do not yet know how to touch type, I strongly recommend you start to learn... now!  It will really boost your novel writing, not having to work at hunting and pecking the keys while trying to capture your storylines or notes. 



Friday, February 15, 2013

Job search: Some application basics (that a lot of people get wrong!)




When I worked as receptionist for an Employment Service Provider, the one thing that really struck me about applicant resumes is that most people have no idea how to create a good one (including half the consultants creating them!)

Before you build or revise your resume, you need to know what type of job you will be applying for.  This will allow you to showcase the key skills and experiences relevant to the position type sought.  If you are applying for different types of work, then you will fare much better if you have a resume tailored to each type.

For example, when I was applying for jobs closer to home, even though I was really after an Employment Consultant position (a self-promotion for which I had no direct experience) in a narrow radius from my home address of no more than thirty minutes travel, I was also applying for Administration and Reception roles as well (for which I was directly skilled).

Now some people might combine all these closely related skills into one resume and send that out, but I learned the importance of tailoring your resume to suit each and every position on offer, so I presented my skills, qualifications and experiences in different ways to match employer needs.

With my applications for Employment Consultant positions, I highlighted my (developing) Case management skills, my skills in motivating people, my experience with working with individuals and small groups, and my resume writing abilities.

Yet, for Reception positions, I focused more heavily on my previous roles in Frontline Managing roles, including listing details of ability to answer a multiline switchboard and busy front counter, and how I successfully handled high-volume incoming calls and walk-ins.

Highlighting which software programs I am familiar with, and at what level I could operate at was more suitable for the Administration roles, as well as including details of my typing speed and accuracy level, and my organisation and prioritisation skills.

I always send out a cover letter with every application I make. And the best technique I can share in relation to this is to start by grabbing a highlighter and the job advertisement, and highlight the key (essential) requirements for the role, and then review your resume. 

Are each of these key skills and requirements mentioned in the resume?  Yes, excellent!  But are they up front, or buried so the employer has to really search to gain this detail?  If buried, bring the detail(s) up to the first three quarters of the first page of your two page resume.  No?  Then you have some work to do adding the details to your resume.

Then, with your cover letter, provide a brief professional history of your skills and experiences, ensuring you clearly mention the employers top three requirements.

Remember that all employers only care about their own needs and requirements, not that of the applicants. Your goal is to showcase how your skills, qualifications and experiences meet the employers’ needs and wants.  If they list ten essential details, then the more you can address then the better your chances the employer will want to contact you over the other applicants. But if you don’t have them all, still apply anyway and during an interview discuss your like to learn or train.

In this modern age, you don’t need to include your full address, age or state your marital status.  Actually, by including these unnecessary details you could inadvertently be turning an employer off. Most HR Managers are intelligent people even if you aren’t, so you don’t want to upset them by using outdated resume templates and list the same skills as every other applicant using the same templates.

Once you are about five years out of school, you no longer need to include your hobbies or personal interests.  These were only meant to demonstrate school leaver’s interests and abilities, not those of adults.

But, next time you look at an ad and think ‘I might not be suitable’ rethink that.  Most skills are transferrable.  What you did in a school or voluntary capacity can transfer well as relevant skills and experience in a paid capacity. You just need to value that you do possess skills that are useful in a work environment.

Write what you love to read: great novel writing advice

I was going through my electronic Story Notes folder on the computer the other day looking for specific notes I created for one of my fantasy storyline work-in-progress, and got to thinking when I saw my rather large list of temporary and or permanently abandoned manuscripts why I have lost enthusiasm for them.

I have spent a large part of my time on each of those stories, so I wondered what was it about them that made me not feel as enthusiastic about them as I originally was - one of the story's I have consistently worked on for over three years or nearing half a million words in manuscript, outlines and story notes before abandoning that writing project. Why, after so many words, and prolonged enthusiasm, could I possibly have abandoned it?

And I think I have now stumbled upon the reason.

When I was growing up, I loved stories that were light, easy to read, had strange and quirky characters who I loved instantly, and often included magic in some form.  And, when I read back over the stories I had written, I found some of the scenes were 'heavy', clunky to read in places, and some of my characters could be 'anyone', there was nothing special about them.  The only element that is in three of my four 'serious' manuscripts is the magic, which has always appealed to me, so was the starting point (genre) I decided to try first in my novel writing aspirations.

As a child, I was strange and quirky (actually, people still think of me as 'eccentric' compared to others so maybe I didn't grow out of that after all).  For example, after reading a book (pick any Enid Blyton here, I think) that had fairies living in the back garden, or in nearby woods, I went looking to find if my own backyard had them too - or if that was just something they had in England (remember, I live in Australia, and our whole country is surrounded by ocean, so little tiny fairies would never be able to cross violent seas without human assistance!), of which case I would want my parents to come home and tell us we were going to visit England.

If I read a story that had witches or wizards performing spells, or creating elixirs, then I made sure my teddy bear wouldn't come alive at night to go and dob me in to those witches or wizards who could overpower you with one simple spell that only they could cast - I got in enough trouble with my parents as it was, I didn't need these other authorities stepping in to force me to behave.

As a child of around, ooh probably eight to ten years of age, I remember seeing a lady who looked exactly like the horrible queen dressed as an old beggar offering Snow White the poisonous apple while I was at the supermarket (Walt Disney's cartoon version, I might clarify!).  Unfortunately, she was at the display of apples and I was convinced she was looking to poison someone else! I glared at her with pure hatred until she returned the apples and moved on once she realised that frowning back at me wasn't going to stop my intense dislike or scruitinising staring. And me, well I felt quite the heroine for having just (temporarily) saved some intended victim from their terrible fate, now that she knew I was on to her. I think I might have told her as we were staring each other down that 'I live next door to a policeman, you know.'

I lived near a creek, and often went and explored it until my teenage years when my sister came home and told me she had seen a red-belly black snake and I freaked out because I never previously considered that such slithery beasts might frequent my favourite spots! I couldn't return after that.

These childhood stories of magic and adventure held me captivated, so no wonder I loved the Harry Potter books and one day while filling out an application form, genuinely, accidentally, wrote that I attended Hogwarts as my High School - though, I guess the overall storyline became darker as the series progressed - because I was distracted and trying to rush to complete it.  A mistake that any normal forty plus years person can make! (And to much amusement of my late teenage children who pointed out my error and thought I had done this deliberately).

So, I think at some stage I am going to revise some of those works-in-progress to make them lighter, funnier, easier to read, and, allow each of the strange and quirky characters eccentricities shine for all to see (without making them caricature). Maybe then, I will not lose enthusiasm after the initial writing fever abates.

Are you a writer?  Do you write in the genre of the books you love reading?  I'd love to have your thoughts on this, so please add your comments below.

And, if you are liking my blog, please click on the Google Plus button

Gotta love free Kindle books!

I found a free kindle book the other day called 'Three Wishes' by Naomi Stone.  It is three short stories about Fairy Godmothers 'interfering' to cause two people to fall in love.

I've read the first story and found it light and engaging.

What instantly appealed to me about this Kindle book in the sea of titles of free books, was I love stories containing magic. Who wouldn't wish that fairy godmothers are real, and they can, with a wave of their wand, cast a spell that changes your life for the better.

Anyway, I plan on reading the other two short stories this weekend, and will probably post a review next week.

This then, have a great weekend!

Sunday, February 10, 2013

Product Review: Sunrider Evergreen




Not getting enough vegetables in your diet? 

The beneficial properties of chlorophyll within green vegetables are why we are always being urged by dieticians and health authorities to include vegetables in our diets. 

Sunrider produces a liquid concentrate that has a delightful mild mint flavour. 

Like a lot of people, I simply don’t eat enough green vegetables in my diet, and one day because I read that Evergreen has a pleasant minty flavour, I thought I might try adding this Sunrider product to my ever increasing range.

I added it to a cup of hot peach Fortune Delight (see review here), and absolutely fell in love the combined taste.  I’ve been addicted to Evergreen ever since.


Evergreen is rather expensive, so I treat myself only once or twice a week maximum.  I don’t feel instant effects like I do with say using Sunbreeze Essential Oil (see my product review of this highly valuable oil here) but like I have mentioned in other posts, since I started using Sunrider products from April 2012, my health has improved dramatically.  I have more energy and vitality that had been lacking.

Evergreen comes in a box containing 10 vials.  I think sunlight causes chlorophyll to lose some of its beneficial potency, because the little glass bottles are that dark yellowy-brown and the cardboard box is a thick and sturdy variety. I keep my box of Evergreen in a kitchen cupboard where (I used to) keep all my other teas, coffees and sweeteners but which has now sort of become a Sunrider cupboard instead now.

I have the small quirk of when I use a bottle once it is empty I then return it, upside down, back to where I pulled it out from. I do this so I can immediately determine which bottles are used and which ones I can still use. 

I gain ‘value’ for money by not rinsing the vial out at the time that I pour its contents into my Peach Fortune Delight.  Then, when I have run out of Evergreen, I know I have two (weaker) drinks left to go because I use five of the ten bottles, add water to each, recap and give it a vigorous shake then add each of the vials diluted concentrate to the eleventh and twelfth cups, and it still tastes great!

I always feel more energetic in the days following drinking Evergreen with Peach Fortune Delight.  It is on these increased energy days that I am raring to jump on the treadmill and go for a twenty to thirty minute walk, and often up the pace and incline more than normal.

For ten bottles of Evergreen it costs about forty five Australian dollars, which is rather expensive when you live on a tight budget; but, it works out to about four dollars fifty cents (Australian) per cup.  I figure, I don’t buy a takeaway coffee on my way to work like a lot of my colleagues do, but the costs are about the same – so all I’m doing is paying for my ‘treat’ beverage once a week instead of once a day.  And, I’m spending it on giving my body foods and drinks that are far more beneficial than not.  Now that I’m not running on false highs gained from cigarettes and coffee drinking, I can now feel the real energy gained from having consumed my Sunrider health products and home-cooked ‘healthiest option from what is available to me’.

IF Evergreen was cheaper, I would drink it more frequently. I recommend you trying Evergreen if you are looking to boost the equivalency of eating green leafy vegetables, and encourage anyone who is not meeting eating their green vegetable requirements to purchase this concentrated booster into their diet as soon as possible.



Did you find this review helpful?  Please comment below and or click on the Google+ button.

If you need help finding a Sunrider consultant, please email me at Char Mesan Writes at gmail dot com [no capitals and no spaces]

Or

Order from Amazon.com here



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