Oh, January...

January is my least favorite month. The holidays are over, it's freezing cold, and there's not much to look forward to in the way of holidays and events. However, our foray into the world of snow sports, along with various fun events with family and friends, has made January a little more bearable. And here we are, already entering February. Just like that.

We've continued our frequent ski weekends this month, and I've enjoyed trying out my super cool Burton snow pants that I got for Christmas.

Having fun at A-Basin.

Thanks to my friend, Rachel, we've broadened our view of the hockey world. Rachel graduated from the University of North Dakota, which is apparently a huge hockey school. The alumni association was having a party downtown to watch the UND Sioux battle their rivals: the Minnesota Gophers! Matt and I tagged along and had a good time pretending to be Sioux fans.

Go Sioux! Can you tell that I'm not quite as enthusiastic as Rachel?

Woohoo! Go Sioux!

Birthday parties certainly help push away the January blues. My family gathered to celebrate the births of one of my nieces and one of my aunts. The little one loved being the center of attention, and she was even very gracious in sharing her spotlight.

Birthday fun. The baby had a hard time dealing with the fact that she didn't get to open any presents.

And, of course, I've been spending a lot of my free time practicing and perfecting the recipes I'll be using for Salem's wedding in a couple of weeks. After trying a variety of treats, we've decided on the menu: mini cheesecakes with three different toppings (sour cream topping, chocolate-caramel drizzle, and brown sugar raspberry sauce), chocolate amaretto truffles (rolled in cocoa, powdered sugar, or slivered almonds), and raspberry lemon bars. Plus I'll be making some sea-salt caramels to go alongside the crackers and peanuts set at each table. My recipes are pretty simple, but I really want everything to turn out perfect.

Baking.

I hope to take pictures of the big three-day baking process, but I'm sure I'll be a little frazzled and forget. I'll definitely get some pics of the final spread at the wedding. Hopefully, the finished products will be pretty (and tasty) enough to meet approval of the bride (and groom, of course)!