Paddling Lake Chinchuba

One of the best parts about this house is the lake right behind it.
It's not a big lake, by any stretch.  But it is open water that one can throw a kayak or canoe in a paddle.
Yes I will know every curve of the land in no time...
but the peacefulness of hearing only the paddle dipping in and out of the water and the boat moving through the lake is worth the possible monotony.
Here are a few pics from the only time I brought my camera kayaking.
I had to put it in a Ziplock bag stuffed into my shirt as the kayak is a "sit on top" kayak with nothing really to store anymore than your bottom! :)

Love sighting the egrets and herons that frequent the lake

So I traversed a small dam to get into Bayou Chinchuba (more water to explore), paddled around a bend, and this was in my way... till next time, Bayou Chinchuba.  I will figure a way around these trees.

Dam It!

I was not invited to this geese party.

most random place to store one's rollerblades!

My prediction of 2013 for the Blanchards

So every year for the last 4 I have done this prediction for the year to come, which I print out and put in a folder that goes in our Christmas box.  I don't read it again until I am taking out Christmas decorations the following November.  It has been funny to look back on the year through the eyes of early-January Patty.
So I was thinking last night that I needed to compose one of these predictions, which I can't even imagine the complexity for 2013... and here's why:

I will start with graduations.  Within the next 4 1/2 months, we will have two graduations in the house.  Taylor will graduate from North Cobb High School on May 24th.  What a milestone... I can't even imagine the emotional rollercoaster it will be.. I don't even want to think about it right now or I will start crying :)
So with that graduation comes the preparation for college.  And then some of the summer spent at a college campus.  But before we can even get to college, let's not forget the Spring, with Wind Symphony excitement, and a band trip to Washington DC in May, as well as AP tests for college credit, and all kind of other stuff I know I am not even thinking about right now.

Next is my graduation...the road to finish up for graduation will be hard and work-filled.. 4 months to get-r-done.  I don't even want to type more than that as I get anxious thinking about it. :)

The biggest obstacles to tackle in the next 4 months will be our pending move to Louisiana, hopefully to the North Shore.  We toured Mandeville  and really like the area.  The two high schools that are in the area have great state reports, so we are planning on heading there.  Of course, finding a house is the biggest step.  It is looking like we might attempt to buy a house, which will be an interesting feat.

Within the next handful of months, Taylor and I are running a 15K in January, and then hopefully the Publix Half Marathon on 3/17.  So somewhere in the chaos, we will be training for those... a good thing because otherwise I might be liable to shut myself up with a computer and pound out the hours for grad school!

I will say that I hope that this cold I have had for the last 3 weeks is the last one I have for a long time, as I ain't got time for the sickness!  Let's hope for lots of hand washing and hand sanitizer in the next 4 months to keep the germs at bay so that we can get through it all happy, and enough wine in our possession to momentarily be able to forget about it all :)

In closing, I leave you with this:
"Growing old is no more than a bad habit which a busy person has no time to form."
~Andre Maurois

Todd and Patty timeline

a timeline created on TimeToast.com for part of one of my classes...