She's heeeeere...welcome, Naomi Ann!

After what seemed like forever, Allison and her hubby Andy welcomed their baby girl, Naomi Ann into their arms and hearts one week ago today. 

I think it's felt like forever because Al trusted me with her pregnancy secret very early on, and man oh man was it hard to keep it hush-hush until she decided to make her news public.

In true Allison fashion, everything went perfectly according to plan, from the name to the date of birth, and of course what baby N would wear home from the hospital.

We are so excited to have yet another baby in our lives, and I certainly can't wait to watch this little one grow into a latte-loving shopaholic like her mama. Congratulations Andy and Allison. Crazy Aunt Kate is ready to babysit! 

Super-duper proud "auntie" with one-day-old Nay-Nay (I doubt her mama's going to like that nickname!).

And, some Allison-related photos from the weeks prior to Naomi's birthday party!

Andy's surprise 30th birthday casino night party. Wonderful party planning, as always.

The rest of the snaps are from Al's perfectly executed baby shower, organized by lovely big sis Ashley. 

"Big brother" Hunter the golden.

Mama Fenton in the house!

So. SO sweet. Allison's grandma Naomi. She was THE BOMB. Lovely, lovely lady.

Betty and Martha back at it

When I was in college, my friend Allison would come visit me every MLK Jr., Weekend. She'd come visit me in the summertime, too. Since we met during high school and bonded over fights with our moms and our love of Starbucks, we felt oh so grown up and independent being on our own in COLLEGE.

We would always plan our cooking adventures, too, trying our hand at cooking, although neither of us really knew what we were doing. We called ourselves Betty and Martha in the kitchen. 

Now, we're really all grown up, ten years removed from high school, and still planning meals together. Though we don't get to cook in the same kitchen all that often, we love discussing meal plans and sharing tips and tricks. 

What a long introduction to the story I'm really trying to tell...

Allison knows how much I love to cook. Allison knows how much I love surprises. During a time when I should be cooking and surprising Allison (she is pregnant--due with my friend niece in June!), she planned a birthday cooking surprise for me! 

We took a "Cozy Weekend Brunch" themed class the day before my birthday a couple weeks ago, and can I just tell you, it almost made me cry. What an absolutely perfect plan. She encompassed all the things I love: spending time with her, cooking, BRUNCH, and hanging out in the Pearl downtown (of course we had to have some therapy time over lattes before our course).

Thank you, Allison. You're such a gem. You've been the best friend to me for thirteen years now. You know me very well, and your thoughtfulness is a such a blessing.

Our teacher--she was just great! I learned a lot of tips and tricks.

Focused determination on the mixing.

Here I stand...preparing to just a MEAT GRINDER for the first time.

Ah...so this is how you make pork sausage. Good workout, ladies.

More focus. Get it, Al! Show that crepe who's boss.

Our first nibble...a cheesy scone.

How cute is she? So cute. Such a good mommy-to-be.

Do you want to know what we're talking about? I'm telling her how her knife skills demonstration and also the "adding alcohol to a hot pan" portion of the class really applied to me. I don't need to remind y'all about the infamous trip to ER or the flaming Thanksgiving whiskey carrots, do I?

Inspecting the greatness.

I found out the chef is a bride-to-be, too. I asked her opinion on some cook- and bake-ware. We bonded. Can you tell?

My mouth is watering all over again. This is a brioche French toast. Very low-cal. Um. Right. 

And then we ate! The complete menu included these apple-stuffed crepes, a sweet potato hash, the pork sausage, and the French toast. The pear mimosa was a nice treat. Sorry yours had to be non-alcoholic, Al. ;)

Split personality no more

Not sure if I've mentioned, but I have a writing mentor at work, which is just plain awesome. Awe-some. I meet with her once a month, and we discuss whatever I'm working on outside of work. On work time. I'm super serious. It's just one of the many perks of my job.

You know what I've been working on for...hmmm...well I guess it's been about a year-and-a-half now?! My book. It's back. Yes, it's back with a vengeance, thanks to this monthly meeting. I'm all about the deadline, people.

As part of this resurgence of working on The Busy Girls Cook, I'm trying to merge blogs so I'll have one singular outlet for writing about my life, learning, inspiration, inspirational friends, and of course, cooking and baking. Right now, those aspects of my life sit here. Maybe I should say sat here since I haven't done much to add to this since November. No-vem-ber. Talk about embarrassing.

I've been cooking up a storm, especially this tax season, so I'd love to get back in the habit of documenting. My girlfriend Allison and I, and also my sis and I, have done some satellite cooking, too, where we'll choose the same recipe for the same night, cook with our own spins, and then chat about the outcome.

In related news, I've also become the self-proclaimed queen of meal planning...and now even outfit planning. With a long commute and marathon training thrown into the work week mix, I have gotten to the point where I don't want to worry about what I'm cooking for dinner or what I'm wearing to work. It pans out quite nicely because I only end up going to the store once (let's get real here, I go to several stores one day a week, just to make sure I have all the necessities, and as much as I adore TJ's, we all know they don't have some of the weekly must-haves...and we also know about my love of grocery stores, especially of the health foodie variety).

I'm really rambling. And it's my lunch break. And I think it's time to get back to work.

The whole point of this post was to see if anybody out there (so, I guess this goes out to the five people who read my blog) knows how to merge blogs. One is WordPress and this, obviously, is Blogger. Holler if you can help!

Visions of the future Biscuit Benz

Someday...somewhere...somehow...I will have a Golden Retriever of my own, and his name will be Biscuit.

When I was a kid, I wanted to have four dogs, and I had all of their names picked out. I had my own dog-walking business called Go-Dog-Go, and I walked three neighborhood dogs, including a Golden called Abby.

Now that I'm grown, I don't necessarily want four dogs, but I still want a Golden, and I still want his name to be Biscuit.

Last week, my dearest Allison was watching her nephew-dog, Duke. I've known Duke since he was a pup, so I was pretty pumped for our reunion. Allison will be welcoming a Golden puppy of her own in a few weeks, and she and her hubby are going to call him Hunter. Love the name! I can't wait to meet him, although I'm extremely jealous and sad I won't be able to take him home with me.

Kate and Duke, 2011.

Allison and Duke circa 2004? 2005?

Kate and Duke way back when.

Kicking off the Fourth in true Americana style

I can't think of a better way to jump start the Fourth of July super weekend festivities than by going to the annual St. Paul Rodeo.

Allison and her hubby Andy braved the traffic from Vancouver and picked us up en route to St. Paul. This was Allison and Taylor's very first rodeo, and between the fair food, people-watching, and bull-riding...I think we'll all be back again next year.

The wild pig races had everyone is hysterics...and I must say the new rodeo clown had some solid material this year. 

Allison's a girl after my own heart as she took down that elephant ear while Andy got after the corn dog he'd been talking about all day.

Before going any further ...

... I really must introduce the new man o' my life: Taylor.

When and where did he come from, you ask? (Wait, is it too presumptuous to think "you" six followers are still reading my blog after the LONG hiatus?) Well, anyway, just in case you're sticking around, let me take you back to Allison's bachelorette party.

It was a gorgeous Portland summer day, and we hit up wine country in a big way. I met two of Allison's friends whom she knew from her previous long-term boyfriend (see, it's important to keep the good friends, even if the boyfriend changes). These girls and I sort of hit it off in a strictly platonic way, and by the end of the evening, we were anxiously awaiting Allison's wedding so we could all get together again.

Well, at the wedding, I met these ladies' hubbies, and immediately they decided I just had to meet their buddy, Taylor. Not thinking much of it, I was surprised when my phone rang a few days later and it was one of the husbands. He was calling to set up a barbecue including Taylor and me. It was an interesting third meeting of these new friends plus a blind date of sorts. Quite the set-up.

I should rewind and tell you I had finally gotten to that point in my life where I was extremely happy alone. I was determined to dedicate myself to my job, school, friends, and family until graduation. That was my plan, but like I should already know by now, plans just don't work out, right?

Taylor impressed me right off the bat. He was interesting and interested. He seemed like such a genuine guy, and I ended up giving him my number. When I got home that night, Mariel asked for details and wondered if he'd call. I remember saying, "Well, he called me right away so I had his number, but I didn't save it, and I don't plan on texting him. If he's interested, he'll contact me." Before I crawled into bed, he had texted me to say he enjoyed meeting me and hoped we could get together sometime soon.

He had to go out of town that next weekend, but he called me on his way back. He asked if I was up for dinner, but he thought the weather was too gorgeous to be inside, so first we went on a mini-hike in Forest Park. I can't neglect to mention he had raced in a triathlon that morning, yet he still wanted to go on a "hike." After that, we went to a brewery and enjoyed dinner on a patio and probably one of the last great sunsets of the Indian summer we were experiencing in Portland.

I remember feeling like we had such a mature and meaningful conversation on that first date. I managed to find out he was incredibly modest. How? Well, he said he did well in his triathlon, and when I later asked how he placed he said second. Not too shabby, I'd say.

There's your teaser about Taylor. Don't fret. You'll be reading more. I am so thankful we met, and I can't wait for all the adventures to come as we've already embarked on quite a handful up to this point.

Wedding central

I know I'll be going a bit out-of-order in my big summer-to-winter recap, but I just had to post some photos from the weddings of my high school best friend, Allison, and my college bestie, Emily. 

Allison and Andy were married Sept. 4 at Royal Oaks Country Club in Vancouver.

Emily and Greg were married Oct. 2 in Port Townsend, Washington. 

Both brides were simply stunning. Both weddings were perfect. Both of my bridesmaid dresses were strapless, and oh how I wished each had straps! Let's just say I should have had additional alterations made. Both couples are happy and healthy, and I couldn't be more thrilled for two of my favorite ladies in the whole world. 

I fought hard to get that bouquet at Al's wedding ... 

 Blondie's leading ladies ... 

 Shoot! Quite blurry, but I had to show a shot of that bustle! Great dress! 

 Fantastic location on the Olympic Peninsula for Em and Dirt's wedding ... 

 My partner down the aisle, Connor, and me ... 

 

The whole crew!

Serendipitous sabbatical

Much has transpired between that last post and now. I feel the need to do a mondo update, and I will. I promise.

Here's what I'll gab about:
- Arnica internship in the bag
- College hoops recruiting ... and the people I met or reminisced with along the way
- BBWCC '10 ('nuff said)
- Austin in August
- Blondie getting married
- Warrior Dash and subsequent weekend extravaganza

Whoop! That's a lot o' stuff.

I'll ramble more when I can include photos.

The troops report Wednesday, and I couldn't be more excited to begin the journey that is Coach Kate Part II.

Cheers!

Time flies by fives

Five years ago, I didn’t want to leave the comfortable confines of my high school. I had a blast. I thought those were the best years of my life. I tried to pack everything I could into four years. I met the greatest group of girls my freshman year, and even though I transferred schools after then, we’ve never lost touch. In retrospect, transitioning to a new high school was probably what shaped my outlook on life. I promised myself I wouldn’t fall into a clique or limit myself to certain classes or activities. As a result, I played three sports, had several leadership positions and a diverse group of friends. I surrounded myself with great people, I loved going to school, and I didn’t think anything could top those years. When my senior year rolled around, I started getting scholarship offers to play basketball in college. I didn’t, however, neglect my other sports or commitments. I especially enjoyed being the editor of my school newspaper. I knew then that I wanted to study journalism in college. I figured I would find a school that was the perfect fit for the whole me, not just the athlete in me. As a result, I chose Washington State University. Before I started getting recruited, I had never really followed college sports, and I had to pull out a map to find Pullman, Wash. I was nervous and excited to leave Portland, but if you asked me then, I would have never guessed all that I would experience in the four years to come.