MrAndrewBradley

My week started off with a trip to The Meritage Resort and Spa in Napa . I was  there not only to check out the remodel of Crush Ultra Lounge (they updated the area behind the bar) and revamped the menu (adding dessert ... my new favorite is the gourmet root beer float), but to help film an episode of a travel show that airs on KRON in the San Francisco Bay Area, Days with Zahrah . We filmed inside the Estate Cave , out by the pool, inside Siena , Crush Ultra Lounge and Blend , Spa Terra , the lobby, the vineyards, inside a few rooms and in a few of the courtyards. One of my favorite scenes was a wine and chocolate pairing inside Trinitas Cellars . A must do if you're at (or near) the resort, it's fun and actually very educational. There were some other fun food adventures. Starbucks is becoming a new hangout with various business meetings, I'm trying to branch out with slightly healthier options than my typical Strawberries and Creme Frappuccino or white chocolate ...

It was a good week. I had one client in the Sacramento Bee and Boston Globe , while another was interviewed by both the Roseville Press Tribune and Sacramento Bee . I continued my trend of eating out . I went to Thunder Valley Casino-Resort , won $5.02 and ate at Fat Burger with a roommate. I also had an Ahi Burger at Yard House with another client . My family and I headed to the Bradley Lodge for the weekend. We raked and burned pine needles, plus celebrated my mom's birthday with some cake and cupcakes. In 11 days we will celebrate in style ... a Celebrity Cruise up the Pacific Coast .

  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...

Over the weekend I celebrated Easter like everyone with ... with lots of cupcakes. Knowing that I would be heading out of town on Sunday, I headed to Bayside's Easter service on Friday night, the message and everything else was powerful and a great reminder of everything that was done by Jesus to rescue us. Saturday I took cupcakes to my favorite family of nine (also the only family of nine that I know), needless to say with seven kids, the cupcakes vanished a few minutes after I arrived. Sunday I picked up a Mickey Mouse Cupcake Cake from Safeway , along with some Easter Bunny Cupcakes, and headed to Richmond (by way of Sacramento and Lodi ) for a family Easter gathering and to celebrate by nephew and a cousin's birthday. My nephew had just spent the week at Disneyland so he was pretty impressed with the cakes design and liked the icing even more after he blew out the candles and could eat.

It has been a busy few weeks, so busy that I haven't had time for blogging , I'm not checking Twitter too often and I'm working lots. I've gotten clients on TV, interviews with newspapers and on various websites so far and I'm just getting started. I'm learning about new clients everyday and partnering with companies doing great things locally, nationally and internationally. Beyond work I have been eating out (no surprise). I've been to Krispy Kreme , Starbucks , Jacks Urban Eats , Togos , McDonald's (thanks to a Klout Perk ) Daphne's , Yard House , Lucille's , Smash Burger , Crush 29 , Skipolini's , Ella (for a Cal Poly Alumni event ), Old Spaghetti Factory, Johnny Garlic's , Mikuni , Leatherby's and a Placer Business Tweetup at Von Housen Mercedes Benz in Rocklin . I'm also making sure to exercise, I still go to the gym on most mornings, I walked a dog and I even rejoined my mountain biking group on a ride around ...

After officially leaving my last job on Friday, enjoying happy hour with friends and going to the Bradley Lodge , I started my own company on Monday , MrAndrewBradley Communications . In many ways life has stayed the same, but in many ways it has drastically changed. I still wake up and go to the gym , I still stare at a computer screen everyday, but now I'm learning how to create invoices , work full-time from home (and not go crazy) and what it means to be in business for myself. I have gone to networking events, including a Cal Poly Alumni night and a BNI morning meeting, I have gone out to lu nch with a few prospective clients and I even had time to do a Fresh & Easy beer tasting in preparation for St. Patrick's Day . I've gotten a lot of work done and I know there is much more learning and work to come. I am truly looking forward overcoming the uncertain and embracing my future.

It has been a dream of mine for years, but I never thought I would actually do it. Today I officially launched MrAndrewBradley Communications. Although it is still a work in progress I am already enjoying working for myself and know that there will be many struggles to overcome, while at the same time there are many triumphs enjoyed. Over the last few weeks I have been working with my now former employer, AugustineIdeas, on a strategy that would allow us to continue working together, much as I started with them nearly three years ago, as a consultant. On Friday that process was completed and today I began the process of opening my own business. After my workout, I went to the City of Roseville and received clearance to open a home-based business from the Planning Department and then got my business license . Next it was off to SAFE Credit Union to open a business checking account and finally to Costco to buy Quicken Home & Business . Now I just need to get business insur...