•  Had insomnia last night - for some reason I felt like I had 3 cups of espresso before going to bed. Adriana is traveling on business so I had a big bed all to myself! I probably finally fell asleep by 3 am.
• At 7 am (like clockwork) our 3 year old son came running and laughing into the room. I love him very much but not that early!
• While he is getting ready to go to his school I turn on my laptop and start checking messages in my 3 e-mail accounts. There are already some reservations for the weekend that I need to respond to plus other messages.
• I have a light breakfast before going to the YMCA on 249 & Cypresswood. Today is my weight lifting day. I am there from 8 to 9:30 (includes my sauna, shower, etc.)
• By 10 I am at Mezzanotte picking up the wine inventory that was left for me last night. I make a quick double check to make sure nothing was missed.
• By 11 am I am working on my 2008 financials that I need to submit to my CPA. We still have time but I don't have a lot of time to devote in one sitting so this is an ongoing exercise for a while.
• By 1 PM I am at Capriccio checking the wine and liquor inventory there. I grab a quick bite to eat (grilled chicken and asparagus) while pounding my laptop's keyboard.
• I only have until 2 PM to place orders with my wine and liquor vendors so I hurry up in doing that or I will not have inventory for the weekend.
• I have a new potential supplier that has a nice portfolio of Italian, Spanish and Argentinean wines. I spend the next 2 hours doing research on the Internet to try to narrow down a few interesting wines. By 4 PM I have a short list that I email to the new supplier. She will pull samples that I need to taste next week.
• At 4 PM I have another one of my suppliers delivering a few cases of wine at Capriccio. He has a few bottles in his car that he wants me to taste. We taste 5 new bottles and I find one Argentinean blend (Clos de los Siete) that I really like - I may order a case next week.
• At 5 PM another wine supplier stops by to narrow down the list of wines we will serve next Tuesday at our wine tasting in Capriccio. We end the meeting by 5:30 with an order. Good! Tuesday wine tasting is all set. (I need to meet with my kitchen later to decide what food we will serve with the wines).
• I am back home at 6 PM and have a chance to spend a few minutes with my son (who just turned 3 last week!). I have to check e-mail and catch up with other projects.
• I need to be back at Capriccio by 7 as I have asked some friends to come over and help me taste some new wines. Just because I may love a wine that doesn't mean it will be a hit. I need to have other people's opinions. Of course this is still work but is more enjoyable. Here is a picture of our gathering just tonight:

• OK. It is almost 10 PM now and I need to go home write my newsletter (this one).
• After the newsletter is e-mailed I still need to do some preparation work for tomorrow Friday.
• Tomorrow is Friday 2/20 which means is sales tax day! I need to submit my sales tax report along with payment.
• Tomorrow Friday is also shopping day. I need to consolidate my shopping orders from Mezzanotte and Capriccio. Everything needs to be on a single spreadsheet so that I can hit the road by 10 am.
• Tax reporting should be done (and paid) by 9:00 am so I may have a chance to go to the gym to run and spend some time in the sauna. By 11 I should be on the road to go shopping for both restaurants.
• By 2 PM I should be delivering all the food.
• By 4 PM I should be back home doing some more accounting work, answering emails, etc.
• By 6 PM I should be wearing my chef jacket and on my way to Capriccio to cook for what I expect to be a very busy night.
• By 10 PM I should be back to Mezzanotte to maybe have a bite to eat with Adriana who should be already back from her business trip.  But... wait... I will most likely find good friends at our Mezzanotte bar and we will probably stay there drinking some wine (what else) until probably past midnight.
• Allright.... I am physically dead but very happy and thankful of having such a fulfilling life. The good news is that I have my weekly massage Saturday morning at 8:15 am!! Then I need to start preparing for a very busy Saturday!

Well... that's it. A very demanding but very satisfying life. If i didn't love what I do I would probably have given up a long time ago. This business only works for people that are passionate and committed.