Finish how you mean to start!

I remember being told once that a time in my life was about to end and I was getting ready to transition over into the next season, but I must set my mind and priorities straight for the end of one season in order to start the next one well. This advice from a wise friend has always stuck with me every time I feel things are shifting in my life and I know it's timely for the end of this year too.

I like to spend time to write and create a plan of ways (usually through trial and error) on how to reach a goal or dream that develops in me after witnessing something good or injustice. For example we started out adoption process when the pull of injustice got too strong for us to carry on doing nothing. Once you have witnessed those precious little children in foster care, you cannot leave them there, which is why we will definitely be adopting again. The adoption process took us 3 years and from the very beginning of it starting out as a thought we planned on how to get to the end result. Not all plans work and we certainly had some set backs and had to start from scratch right in the middle of our journey, after pursuing adoption for 2 years. We were heartbroken and drained but we knew no matter how long it took, we would be a family for someone who needs one.

Today is a good day to grab a notebook and write down a vision or dream you have had for a while but not sure on how to get there or even what the end result will look like. That doesn't matter just yet. It might be to own your first home, reach some fitness goals, build a relationship with someone that has broken down, adoption, decorating a room just the way you dream it to look........it could be ANYTHING!

Then think of creative way on how you can achieve this. Maybe look at other peoples lives who have already done it, take some hints from them but your journey will almost certainly look different. Do not compare yourself to others, EVERYBODY is different, that's what makes us unique. You are designed for a purpose and you have a plan for your life. Those dreams and desires have been put there for you to pursue.

Lets end this year 2016 well............ and begin 2017 how we mean to go on!

Jeremiah 29:11

What is USANA?

I have been with USANA for over a year now and it has just enabled me to leave my part time job to work full time from home so I get a chance to be with the children and parent them the way we want to.

I was a part-time chef at a local private Health & Fitness club. I mainly worked weekends which kept me away from the family when we had a chance to be altogether. Weekends were when my husband had his days off after working Monday to Friday. We lived like this for a year and it was very rare that we were altogether being a family, that's when I knew I had to make the change. It actually affected our relationships with each other and no "job" is worth that.

I was also at my heaviest weight and was not happy with my health. I tried diets, cutting meals out, going days without food and we all know now the affects this has on our body. I was in a pretty bad shape and miserable. Previously I worked in cafe's and gourmet pub so my nutrition was pretty poor. It was a God send when I landed the job at the Health and Fitness club, I learnt a lot about good nutrition and had access to a gym and swimming pool (and spa). I also became a qualified Fitness instructor and REPs accredited which I am grateful for as I have something creditable to offer clients and customers. I really do want to help people who are caught up where I have been.

At this point I was desperate to try anything to lose weight, I just wanted to be healthy so I could be more active with my children and make a SMART choice for them to see how to be healthy and take care of their body. A friend of mine introduced me to USANA Health Sciences as a business. Although I didn't care about the business side of things at the moment I decided to take a leap of faith and jump right in to try the products to see if they could help me. I wanted results. After 4 days of using My Health Pak (supplements) I have never had so much energy. I felt amazing and the first thing I noticed was I had stopped taking naps in the day. I just didn't need to rest half way through the day anymore.

I continued the programme and replaced meals with shakes, ate more fruit and vegetables and drank plenty of water. I weaned myself off sugar which was the largest contribution to any weight gain. I did a Nation wide weight loss challenge and came 4th in Europe and lost 18.42% of excess weight . It was a huge turning point in my life and I am thankful to USANA for helping me achieve this. I won a whole bunch of goodies. I also, realised I could use this to change my work life too. I have introduced USANA products to friends, family, work colleges and strangers (who are now friends) I have seen business's grow, weight lost, energy increased, people sleeping better, osteoporosis improvements, eczema improvements and the best result is no more sickness. My children have not had a day off school the whole year and I have also been at my healthiest. I have not even had a cold for a year. I'm not claiming USANA cures diseases but taking the right supplements can certainly improve your health and target the areas your body lacks in. Every body is different and we all need areas to work on.

I am still on my weight loss journey as I have not yet reached my goal. I'm excited to see where 2017 leads in this particular area. This is USANA in a nutshell. It's perfectly achievable to succeed for anyone willing to try. This is the basis for the blog My SMART self, it's about making SMART choices daily, in what you put in your body, the things you choose to eat, it's a daily struggle and I have not met one person that finds this easy.  I am by no means smart.....just an average mum who wants the best for her family and to raise happy healthy children who can live life to their fullest and longest. My SMART foods by USANA are clean ingredients and carefully put together to bring you optimal health and they certainly work. One of the main ingredients I absolutely love, is Coconut oil. The shakes are packed full of the stuff and the health benefits it brings is super. I even give my dog Maximus coconut oil, it makes his coat glossy and smooth.

If you would like to learn more about USANA please feel free to contact me. I would love to share them with you. Or take a look at www.rebeccabonfield.usana.com there is a free True Health Assessment you can take part in. Just, How healthy are you?

Create a Place to reflect!

It's so important to create a space for YOU. In this age of busyness and being constantly on demand with family, work, friends, there is always someone who wants your attention. It's good to be wanted and nice to do things for others but in order to keep going and prevent yourself from burning out you must be on your own. This is the time you reflect on all things that are going on, think about the good times and nice things people have said and done for you too. It's a time to be thankful and grateful for all the memories you have, the belongings you possess, the dreams and hopes you have for the future. If you like to write then perhaps make notes and plan what your next steps are going to be. Always push forward!

Back in the summer I realised I did not have this time or space to reflect. Wrapped up in a family life, school runs, preparing meals, working part time (This was before I gave up my part time job as a nutritional chef to work full time on USANA), trying to keep the house clean and be a good wife. I can't actually remember the last time I went to the hairdressers or got my nails done. Those things just do not seem important to me.

The pull got stronger to create this "space" so I got planning on where I wanted it to be, how I wanted it to look, the sights, smells and sounds that make me happy. The idea was to build a seating area in the garden for all to enjoy. We had an abandoned area at the back of the garden where the children's broken trampoline use to be. They were getting older and we had got rid of the trampoline but left the area bare. I researched youtube endlessly on how to lay a patio. One thing about having an end goal is while you discover how to get there, perhaps through trial and error, you will learn a whole bunch of new skills. Some you thought you would never be able to do. I wanted to see how cheaply this space could be created to make it possible for anyone to try.

I prepared the area, removed all the old play bark. Ordered the patio slabs and all building materials and got to work. That was a work out in itself (not much gym attendance happened that month). I took my time and did it slowly so not to create stress and it gave me time to continue to parent. It took about a month to complete (Still need to finish a bit of grouting).

The sense of completing something you saw only in a vision and creating a plan on how to get there and learning new skills along the way is pretty amazing. Once you have done it once you know you can do it again.

For 2017 my first piece of advise is to (if you have not got one already) create a "reflection space". It could be a window seat, a nice chair in your bedroom, under the stairs or outside like mine is. This is the space where you can read, be alone, be grateful, reflect on your life and think of nice positive things. Dream and set goals for your future and figure out a way on how you can get there.

Matthew 6:6

6 Days to Christmas....

WOW....where did this year go? 2016 has been quite a rollercoaster, with it's up's and downs with work, family, weight and exercise goals, work being done around the house etc. but when I look back all the stress, mess and expense was worth it. A few things I would have chosen to do differently but we learn from those things. One of my best decision's would most certainly be that I left my part time job as a nutritional chef at a local private Health & Fitness club and decided to run my MLM company from home full time. Deep down I wish I was in a position to be able to do this earlier in the year so I could have spent more time with the family at weekends but I'm just grateful it happened at all.

Set a goal, come up with a plan and work towards it. For a long time I struggled but once my mindset was shifted and I actually got serious and became intentional in what I was going to do things started to shift too. I have now been self employed for two months and the growth has been steady and at a nice pace. I have spent every weekend for the last two months with my family, for a whole year I was not present and it certainly had an affect on our relationships. The Christmas shopping was done on time...which is a huge achievement for me. No rushing around and taking in this season, with time to reflect on what is important in life and to me!

In the coming year I look forward to meeting and speaking to many mum's who are in the position I was in. Working, running a family and caught up in the busyness of what life can throw at you. I would love to be able to offer and serve those special women who seem to be "doing it all" and offer them a way that is different. It certainly is not for everyone but I'm certain working from home is for a lot more of us. It's not an easier way to provide for our families but I have discovered it is a much better way with the same results and often exceeds my expectations and goals.

So from all of us in The Bonfield household we pray you have an awesome Christmas and over this meaningful season you start to decide and dream and set goals again of where you want to be this time next year. Have a blessed Christmas.

Our daughter adopted in love. That's another blog ;)

MySMART self

So, who is My SMART self?  My name is Rebecca. I am a full time USANA associate and qualified fitness instructor REPs accredited. I have been married to my husband for 11 years and we have 4 children both birth and adopted (I forget which ones). We both certainly have a heart for adoption and will be doing it again....so watch this space :)

I was a nutritional chef at a private local Health & Fitness club part-time but have recently been able to leave so I can work full time from home. It can be done! I would love to share my experience with you all some time. I am very much interested in Health, Fitness and Good nutrition and working from home enables me to raise our children the way we feel it right and bring them up knowing how to live a healthy lifestyle. I am a keen cook and have created some child friendly nutritious food. My husband is also a vegetarian so I would love to share some good vegetarian meal plan ideas.

My husband and myself are in the middle of some home changes. We are spending a lot of time building our home, with landscaping, decorating, designs to make our home work for our family. Moving house is not an option yet, but we are working on it. Since adopting our home is pretty squidged but making simple home design changes is bringing about some much needed space and we would love to share with you our solutions for space saving. We do a lot of DIY ourselves and if we don't know how to do it we watch endless youtube videos. We are very much hands on, but can be known to ask for help. It's good to bless local business's and tradesmen too ;)

This blog will be full of parenting hacks, DIY, home solutions, meal plans, good nutrition, adoption journeys, Health & Fitness and balancing life with children. I am by no means an expert, just a mother raising 4 children, bombarded by life but figuring our how to make SMART choices that enable us to function the way were designed. Life is hard but fun and definitely worth living to its full potential!