Where do I even begin with this weeks edition of bits and bites?  I had a plan after Saturday, and then Sunday came around and shot that out of the water.  We had two client viewings yesterday where a comment got me thinking and then when I got home, I got to watch the Vikings game from the DVR.  Needless to say, my plans changed a bit.


1) Annie's Update - We have had multiple people ask us about how Annie is doing.  We were so delighted to hear from her Mom this morning.  She told us that there is a Caring Bridge journal set up for Annie to let people know her progress.  We are so very happy to report that the past few days have seemed to be going well for Annie and they are hoping that she will be out of ICU in a couple of days.  If you are interested in leaving her a note of encouragement, you can find her journal by going to CaringBridge.org.  Once there, you can visit her website by typing in "annieschurman" in the area that says visit a CaringBridge website.  You will need to create a login somewhere in the process. 

P.S.  If you are a little lost about Annie's story, you can read last week's Bits and Bites.


2) Clients, blogging, and the Staja Experience - Yesterday was a real treat because we had two great client proof screenings.  The day started off with Susan and Ryan's.  It was so much fun to see them again, plus we also shot Susan's sister's wedding.  There is something extra special about doing weddings for families we have already worked with.  In a way it was bitter-sweet, as Susan is the last Mortensen girl to wed....sigh. 

During the viewing, Susan's mother made a comment to me that her daughter Jenny had asked her to tell us.  Long story short, it had to do with how pictures become memories and emotional treasures of the people that are in them.  If the past few months have taught us anything, it is that you never know what life is going to throw at you.  It just helped encapsulate the reason we LOVE what we do.  We are so blessed and honored to be entrusted to capture the people and moments that we do!

Later in the day, we had Aly and Mike's viewing.  I put out the food and was tidying a few things up when Mike's mom asked if Stacey's famous pasta salad was going to be up on Bits and Bites.  I thought it was so cool that Mike's mom was keeping up on the blog and knew so much about some of the posts. 

At the end of the day it was very satisfying to hear so many nice comments.  Comments about the pictures, the way we invite clients and their families to the studio for a "Movie Premiere", the blog, etc.  It just reinforced our belief that Staja Studios is here to create an experience for people, not just images! 


3) Flipping the Script - What a fun weekend for MN football fans!  Starting with the Gophers win over Northwestern on Saturday, and finishing with one of the best plays in recent Vikings history.  In both cases, the MN fans got to celebrate vs. hang their heads in agony. 

The Gophers have had a run of bad luck coming down the stretch in games against Northwestern.  Snake-bitten, jinxed, or just bad play, no matter how you look at it, they have had some rough finishes against the Wildcats lately.  You have to look no further than last year's loss where Northwestern returned an interception for a touchdown with 16 seconds left in the game for the win.  This year it was the Gophers D making a couple big plays to help take the lead and seal the victory. 

As for the Vikings, what can you say.  It looks like the old gunslinger still may have a few bullets left in the chamber.  It wasn't a pretty game by any means, but it sure was a fun one to watch!  It was rather enjoyable to be on the right side of a Favre comeback vs. the other side.  Going into yesterday's game, 8 of Favre's 4th quarter comebacks have come against the Vikings.  For those of you who may have missed it (particularly any Packer fans :), HERE YOU GO!


4) GLEE - Has anyone seen the show GLEE on Fox?  As any good relationship is made up of compromises and doing things you may not always want to do, I reluctantly nestled into the couch to watch this new show with Stacey.  She wanted to watch it and all I could think of was GLEE club, what am I doing!  I get the football game, so I figured if She wanted me to sit and watch a bunch of awkward high school kids sing, what the heck.  Little did I know, that it would actually have some good writing and be overall entertaining.  Just don't let Stacey know I said so :).  I have to say that watching the school's football team preform Beyonce during a game, made for pretty good humor.  Sure it was a bit absurd, but it had to make you chuckle.


5) The Tasty Bite, Octoberfest Stew - Here is a nice little recipe to warm up your fall evenings!

2.5 pounds boneless beef stew meat or roast , cut into approximately 1.5 inch cubes
1/2+ cup of flour
3 teaspoons salt (I prefer Kosher)
1 teaspoon+ black pepper
3 tablespoons butter
2 cups chopped onion
2 cups cubed carrots
4 teaspoons fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
3 teaspoons chopped garlic
3 cups beef stock
2 bottles of your favorite Octoberfest Beer
3 cups cubed red potatoes
8 oz. white button mushrooms halved or quartered
1/4-1/3 cup water

In a large food storage bag, shake beef with 1/4 cup flour, 2 teaspoons salt, and 2/3 teaspoon black pepper.  Melt butter in a large (I like a 5 - 6.5 quart) dutch oven over medium heat.  Brown beef and remove.  Stir in the onion, carrots, thyme, bay leaves, and garlic; saute for about 4 minutes.  Stir back in the beef, beef stock, and the beer.  Reduce the heat and simmer until the beef is really nice and tender (3 - 3.5 hours).  Add in the potatoes and simmer until tender (20 - 25 minutes). 

Combine and stir the remaining 1/4 - 1/3 cup flour and matching amount of water until smooth; slowly pour into the stew, stirring constantly.  Cook over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil.  Boil and stir for 1 minute.  Remove bay leaves and stir in the remaning 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/3 teaspoon+ black pepper 



I personally like to enjoy with a French Baquette and a nice cold glass of Octoberfest.

We hope you enjoyed this installment of Bits and Bites.  Bon Appetit and Enjoy!