Last February, we had the chance to baby sit Robby or Jr. as we call him. This was my first time of officially changing a diaper. I have to admit I did alright. This was a great experience for me and Linda to test the waters so to speak. I was actually very nervous about being alone with an fairly newborn, but with the help of Linda I was able to baby sit Robby and have little anxiety.
Linda had been looking for a new job after working for Winco in the produce section. I kept working hard in building up business and new clients. Some time later Linda got her current job at E-replacement parts.
Since last February, it really has been a blur for me. I have been working very hard in building my company. In fact one time this guy came to Entrepreneur Launch Pad and told me about some networking places to go visit. So for the past year I have been going to many networking groups and meeting new people. At first it was very intimidating, but the more you go the more you become part of family and friends. I started getting some work and recognition at these groups, which has been very rewarding. Currently I am still going to networking groups and have made a goal to attend as many as possible. Linda gave it her all in experimenting with bagels, realizing the hard efforts she has been on hold with this, but it was good to see her working on something she likes to do; bake and/or cook.
With roller coasters, there is ups and then there are downs. As in life there has many ups and many downs as well. I will start by going through all the ups I can remember for 2014. From our Anniversary at Market Grill plus improve to August were we enjoyed going to Preston Idaho and spending time in a motel the size of a matchbox. In August for a get away we headed to Logan to get some R&R and see family. We tried to get a motel, but they were all booked up for raspberry days. So we decided to call Preston hot pots (Riverdale Resort) and they were under new management and said they had new little cabins available. It turned out that for $50 bucks we could have the pool and the cabin. With out delay we headed up. The weather was amazing, I was a little under the weather from stress and ulcers (Hence the get-a-way).
We swam and got into our little, Very little cabin - It had room for a bed, table, and small fridge. No running water, or bathroom; in fact we had to shower in the public showers along with bathroom. When we arrived we had to have them put up curtains so we could change in private. After we swam we went into Richmond for dinner. We decided to go to a small restaurant in Richmond were my parents ate a lot and I remembered the big shrimp. Luckily they still had the big shrimp and it was amazing. When we came back to our small cabin they were showing a outdoor movie by the pool; Linda and I got to sit in the hot pots and watch Short Circuit. The next morning we put responsibility to the wind and drove up to Bear Lake. We had a good time swimming and enjoying the awesome drive and weather in very familiar surroundings. On our way back to Logan we stopped for Lunch and had the best Philly Steak sandwich, and then went to my sisters to pick up Bella, for the road home. It was a great time for us to get out of Salt Lake and relax.
Now for the down in the roller coaster.. My dad (Lynn Pilkington) was found with a benign tumor in his brain the size of a baseball, which later was actually the size of Softball. His brain surgery was a very long and rough battle but he lived. It was then looking at him in this state, that I was scared to loose him. We were left with many uncertainty's about his mental health after the surgery. As the days went and weeks went by, dad's mind went from interesting to worse and worse. He now lives at the Sunshine Terrace in the Alzheimer's unit. He has lost lots of weight and now in a wheel chair. I has been very hard on me and the family to see him go down hill. We try and get up to Logan and see him as much as possible.
It was a very challenging year, and there has been many ups and many downs. Finances have been the hardest to deal with. I even went to work part time where Linda works. My heart was just not in it, I did the best I could, but it was not enough. The tale end of the year it started to pick up again and I started to get some work again. Once I left that part time job, it was scary to think of were the next paycheck was going to come from. I have been working hard a new business model that will allow me to have some steady paychecks, I am hoping to get this up by the end of March or sooner; we are awaiting some news that could speed things up any day now.
Although it has been a very difficult year, we are thankful for amazing friends, ward members, and family. With out them and or knowledge of the gospel, it would have been impossible to make it through. With the ups and downs it is about enjoying and being thankful for the ride.