Soccer, Wine and Payday!

 Week four of MrAndrewBradley Communications started out great ... with the knowledge that I would be getting my first client check direct deposited into my bank account (it was even better when it actually happened on Friday).

On Wednesday I played soccer at Mahany Park for the first time in years. The weekly pick-up soccer game is $5 and you're assigned a team based on when you arrive. Games are 15 minutes and teams rotate. It's a lot of fun, but I realized that although I go to the gym everyday and can run six miles with relative ease, I'm not in soccer shape, sprinting is a lot different than distance running. Hopefully I will begin playing more regularly again after my upcoming vacation.

On Friday my first check was deposited and I celebrated by heading to the foothills to go wine tasting with my mom, a friend we went on our last cruise with and her cousin. Our first stop was Bella Piazza Winery. It has beautiful grounds and has large spaces for events. Next we headed to Cooper Vineyards. There we sampled many of their wines and bought a bottle to enjoy out on the patio with our picnic lunch.

Our final stop (and the reason for the trip) was Perry Creek Winery in the Fair Play wine region. My mom had purchased a Living Social deal that included wine tasting, a winery tour and a antipasto plate. All of the wines were really good, including four that we tasted straight from the barrel, and the tour was really interesting. I work a lot in Napa and know a fair amount about the process of making wine, but each time I go on a winery tour I learn a little bit more and appreciate the final product more because I know what goes into it. One of the best parts ... I bought a bottle of wine and got a 30 percent "industry" discount since I have a winery/Napa resort client.

I wrapped up the week at Bayside where they collected well over 40,000 pounds of food for the Placer County Food Bank and I'm sure when they wrap up the drive next week, will have reached their 50,000 pound goal. This will not only break a record, but help feed the thousands of area residents who don't always know where their next meal is coming from.