Let's give this blog a kick-start.....

I am as ready as I will ever be to ‘Kick Start’ this blog!  
Trust me, I will be learning along the way!

All right, my goal is to live simply, live by intention and live a life full of love. 

Simply intentional with love!  Oooh, I LOVE the sound of that!

Well a couple weeks ago, I stayed home from my “day” job. It wasn’t intentional however; I was stricken with illness that was brought on by treating myself badly…  Let’s just say I had a rough night with the porcelain God...!  

This had me thinking about “why” I was feeling this way, “what” made me feel this way, “who” made me feel this way….  Conclusion:  I realized that I was not sick nor did I have food poisoning, I did not have the chills, but still I felt awful and my body rejected something… 

hmmm, why? Ahh-haa moment, because I was wasting too much effort and time feeling sorry for myself this past week{end}, I over indulged in any food item I pleased, I didn’t cook or prepare “real” family meals, we were on the go-go-go, I drank alcohol, ate cake, hot dogs and cheese, m&m’s, lemon bars…{light bulb} duhhh, I figured it out…! 

I completely gave up on myself; I treated my body terribly and did nothing good for my soul either.   I was just not giving my life my all.  I was actually kind of giving up... 

My excuse was that my man was M.I.A. due to work obligations for a total of two weeks in October.   The boys and I missed him dearly, he is really good at keeping us on track, and he wasn't there for that support.  Our home was completely out of sync and I spent zero time really caring about myself or for myself… 

All of those self-pity moments led me to overeating, eating unnecessary sugar, not drinking enough H2O,  and gave me days of grumpiness, irritability, sluggishness, and a general feeling of just not feeling well  “Seriously GIRLFRIEND What is your deal?” {me, talking to me…!} "LIFE IS A ROLLER COASTER! Get over it and keep going!"

I remember being called a duck by a colleague, calm at the surface but paddling like hell underneath.  That pretty much sums me up.  I tend to show a lot of self-control at the surface, I'm usually pretty coo,l calm, and collected and tend to hide the stress.  Most people wouldn’t even know how crazy I was paddling under the surface! So, being a duck, I am not sure if it is a good thing or a bad thing...? 

Here are some of my ways to get back on track…. {I need to always have a goal in mind.t}

{Photo: My favorite juice, kale, mint, pears + blueberries}

Step one… Hubby back on the juice machine! 

Seriously, we love our fresh morning green juice that he lovingly makes for us every morning, it is pure, energizing, rejuvenating, healthy, brings everyone happiness {most days}, we all get a ton of fruit and veggie servings first thing, and it has aided in weight loss!  All key factors to a healthy lifestyle, its simply intentional with love!  

{always be~e putting wholesome goodness in the body throughout the day…no snacking unless it is wholesome and good, limit eating out and bring food from home that is home-made wholesome and good!}

{Photo: My hubby making fresh healthy juice.}

Step two…  Fill my jug with crystal clear goodness!

Fill that 64 oz jug every morning and drink it throughout the day, just need to keep it close by and remember to quench my thirst once in a while…!  

{aim to try and add lemon to a cup of warm water in the morning to kick start the engines for digestion…!}

{photo: coffee, berries, notes}

Step three…Follow the yellow list, it’s a great map to where I am going! 

One of my favorite paper pads is the yellow page steno book, it’s a perfect size 6” x 9”, two columns, and yellow, so I can easily spot my list...!  I am just really bad at keeping only one note pad going at a time, I end up scribbling on sheet after sheet of paper!  And they are even in countless places.  I just need to Follow + Keep a system.  And K.I.S.S. it. {keep it simple stupid!}

{always be~e keeping up on our organization system, this is something I struggle with, I haven’t quite found my system… oh, and use the yellow iPhone notepad, it has come in handy many times!!!}

Step four… Play music, exercise and breathe.

These go hand and hand sometimes, when I turn that music on after my morning coffee…watch out, dance party USA in-my-living room!  I look like I’m nuts, if someone were to happen to show up at my door during this routine, they would wonder why I am not skinnier than I am, that's for sure!  I move, I shake, I lift my kids, I spin, I jump!  Just need to turn it into a workout routine, and I'd be set!  Another great thing I have tried and absolutely love…meditation. I really didn't understand what it was until I tried it, its refreshing, relaxing, rejuvenating, motivating, healing, I think it can really be anything you want it to be!  

{set a goal to turn on the music more often during dinner time!  Get moving girlfriend! Also aim to spend time with my friend walking the stairs at my “day” job and don't forget to add some yoga to our life! Take time to meditate.}

Step five…  Stop worrying about a clean house and get a project going even if it takes days to complete.

I love being creative, I hate clutter, and it’s a battle I am constantly dealing with…  I love being able to be a hostess at any moment so my home needs to appear clean and tidy at all times, just in case… However, these days, I have two busy bee monsters ruling the hive!  So visitors are really at a minimum these days, so why not focus on making our hive cozy and fresh and use all of the creative energy I feel and have a hive under a little construction.  Were a family and we’re constantly evolving and growing.  There are so many things I can do to make us more organized and efficient, comfy and creative! 

{aim to start a DIY home improvement project every chance I get!} 

Step six…  Eat healthy, meal plan.

I have found when I plan our meals out, consciously make a decision, then we succeed at eating healthy and on a budget.  JUST DO IT!  It feels really, really good when this is working the way I need it to.  

Cheers to living simply intentional with love~ annette

About this blog...

The secret of life: A good cup of coffee…

{My family}

{The Bizzy Bee Keeper}

Hi, I'm Annette Rioux and it's fabulous to have you here at My Bizzy Bee Hive!  Life is something we cherish around here; in our home {hive} we love celebrating life, making memories, being inspired and trying to find new ways to improve ourselves.   I have learned that life doesn’t have to be perfect to be great.  I’m a 30 something hard working {bizzy} Michigan girl, interior designer, wife and mother, small business owner {annette’s creation’s}, health foodie, and I am doing my best to be organized enough to keep up with life so that I can juggle it all!

{Coffee?}

One of the many reasons why I started this blog is because I really miss having my social time with my girlfriends. Like myself, most of my friends are also bizzy having ba-bee’s, raising their family, buzzing around town with their kiddos and taking care of careers, yep, there is not much room there to socialize!  One of my absolute most favorite things in life is sharing a cup of coffee with friends.  I have cherished the long talks we’ve shared over coffee; today these social hours are almost nonexistent!  Would you have a cup of coffee with me?!  Coffee to me is about taking the time to be social, it’s energizing, its warm and comforting, its casual and relaxing …its friendship; sometimes coffee is just me-time, reading-time and work-time. Either way…I LOVE it!  

{Our Hive}

Life definitely seems to move much faster today, I am married to my best friend {who doesn’t drink coffee…}, and we have 2 beautiful, super inspiring boys.  I am always buzzing around here, usually with a cup of coffee! We are currently focused on simplifying our bizzy life, building a home business {annette’s creation’s}, working on home projects and trying to hold onto money so that we don’t feel financially stressed anymore.  In short, we just want to live a healthy, happy, successful, family life in our lovely Michigan home where we are raising our children to be whatever it is they want to be in this bizzy world!  {with a little help and guidance from us of course!}  It brings us so much joy to watch them grow here…  We have learned to appreciate home ownership, we have learned it is important to adapt as well as be accepting of what we have, we plan to do what we can with what we have where we are. 

{The Bizz-ness}

I have always had a passion for having fun and I love celebrations, I believe life should be fun!  No matter how tough life can get, we all deserve to celebrate and be celebrated. {….I wish every day could feel like Christmas day….}  You will find lots of inspiration here to celebrate your life too!  I have started a home business {annette’s creation’s} that specializes in life’s celebration’s, we can design the perfect invitation, custom floral and décor, or provide you with a perfect party in a box that can be shipped anywhere so that you can have a home-made party without having to buzz around town and the internet to pull it all together!  Party planning can consume a lot of precious time if you want it to be unique and special.  I have done a lot of the homework already and I can help make your life easier, please check me out! {www.annettecreations.blogspot.com}

 

{Life Happens}

Let me tell you!  I have three boys in my life that will do anything for me?!  Seriously, what could I possibly not be happy about?!  My life is AWESOME.  There is so much to be grateful for....but times are tough, and children are demanding, and husbands can only do so much, {as well as wives, although I am infamous for wanting to do it ALL} parents are aging, and work doesn’t stop so that you can manage everything else on your plate….  Ahhhh, life can be depressing.  There are times I am consumed by negative thoughts.  These thoughts can take away every ounce of energy I have….and when I fall weak to them; I begin to lose focus on all the great things in my life.  Ahhhh, sometimes it just feels like a vicious circle!    Time doesn’t stand still, ever, I need to be organized, prepared, and ready for anything!  I believe every single person that has ever said, “Enjoy the time with them now, they will be grown up before you know it….” This thought honestly scares the bejeebers out of me!  And my boys are only 2 and 4!

{Inspired to Be{e}}

I am always searching and SEARCHING trying to find the answer to just about everything that happens in my life, I certainly don’t have it all figured out!  Talking it out with my kids, well it can work, sometimes, but I far more appreciate getting opinions and ideas from grown-ups!   Otherwise the only thing I hear from them is my own inner voice, and I still don’t have an answer!  Whether it’s a book that I’m trying to read, some advice from friends and family, or spending hours on the Internet, I will never give up trying to Be{e} a better person today than I was yesterday.

I hope you join me for a cup of coffee or two…or more!  This is my social hour and I love talking about being a mom, but that’s not all that I care to talk about! I get inspired sometimes by the littlest of things and I love talking about home, design, color, style, food, health, celebrating life, projects, business, budgeting and just the day-day happenings.  I am making healthy lifestyle changes every day. I am a tip junkie, if it can make life easier I’m in, I’ll try just about anything once!  At the moment I am deeply in love with a modern vintage style.  And I am completely obsessed with planning, being organized and having a routine!  Routine.....I wish I was good at this…  I would rather be prepared for any situation…and live life flying by the seat of my pants.  My ultimate goal is to Be{e} real, wholesome, simple, compassionate, humble, creative, loving, imperfect, worthy, grateful, successful, authentic, healthy, active and organized!

Cheers to that!  ~annette

{“No more just working, drinkin’ + dreamin’…it’s time to just do it”}

I love sketching, my mind works in a very graphic way, I am an interior designer and graduated from LTU {Lawrence Technological University}, when I plan this is usually how it looks!  These are examples of planning for my blog, as well as a party plan!  It really is an amazing tool, sketching by hand.  I can pretty much see and share what I see before it is even real! With my background being that I do commercial design in an architecture firm, I use my computer as a tool!  I will be sharing lots of my many “plans“ with you!