Lindsay Ross Blog

Photo Display for your wall

The wall in our front room was bare for a long time. I couldn’t come up with the perfect thing to put there. And then I saw a version of this idea and decided to give it a try. It’s a fun, unique way to display photos and easy to switch them out over time.

I got two big frames from Ikea and took out the glass. The photos I printed were 3 inch by 3 inch from Persnickety Prints so I measured the space I had in the frame and divided out how many strings I could have to make each row even (explaining math on a blog post isn’t my strength).

I used a hot-glue gun (and burned myself at least a dozen times) to attach thick string to the frames. I glued one side first, let it dry, then pulled the string as tight as I could and glued the other end while I held the string there until it dried (thus the reason I burned myself over, and over, and over–there’s probably a smarter way to do this, but when I pull out the glue gun, my brain falls out of my head). If you don’t pull the string tight, it will sag once you start putting all the pictures on.

Once the glue is completely dry, I started adding photos. I got the itty bitty clothes pins from Hobby Lobby. They have multi-colored ones as well. Or you could spray paint them a different color if you were feeling extra ambitious (I clearly was not).

All of the photos are from trips we have taken to Lake Powell over the years. Powell is my happy place so I wanted something that would make me happy every time I looked at it (although in the dead of winter in Utah, it sometimes makes me want to cry).

And there they sit over my couches. My plan is to swap out the pictures with various vacations we take over the years.

If you want some more ideas for photo displays you can put on your walls, check out these eight ideas I’ve used in my home.

Or, check out this wall display that is my favorite wall in my house!

And here’s my opinion on where you should print your photos!

Surviving Cancer

On September 5, 2013, my friend Lisa received a devastating diagnosis. A diagnosis that meant almost certain death. Stage IV B, Plasmablastic non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. That’s the stage next to “you’re dead”. It doesn’t get much worse than the diagnosis she received.

For those of you who’ve been around a while, you may remember Lisa from this interview in my Women of Inspiration series.

The first cancer doctor she met with said she’d be lucky if she lived 2 months. They’d do their best to keep her comfortable but there really wasn’t much they could do. Lisa’s response: “I’m too young. I’m not done living. Figure something out”. Twenty-four hours later she met with the same doctor. He sent her immediately to LDS hospital where her grueling treatment and fight for life was to begin.

The outlook was bleak. Survival would be nothing short of a miracle. And I’m not using the word miracle lightly. She basically got a death sentence.

Over the next nine months Lisa went through 13 rounds of in-patient chemotherapy at LDS hospital. For 6 days, she received chemo treatments 24 hours a day. She then stayed in the hospital each time for another 6 to 10 days while she recovered.

Because she had lost control of most things in her life, she wanted to have control over when she lost her hair. So she chose to shave it. On September 27th of 2013 she planned what she now calls a hair funeral. I asked if I could come document it. Because documenting is what I do. Just for her and her family to have. Painful moments need documenting just as much as happy ones. It was never really meant to be shared with the public. But today she’s decided to share it. To help bring awareness. And hope.

Hopefully this will inspire anyone out there currently battling cancer or supporting and loving someone who is (pretty sure we ALL fall in to that category).

The Hair Funeral.

After the 13 rounds of chemo, she received one more round of high-dose of chemo (Beam chemotherapy) to kill all of her bone marrow. On May 8, 2014 she had an autologous bone marrow transplant (a transplant using her own blood-forming stem cells).

Her battle was more like a full-fledged war. Sick isn’t even the right word. Nearly dead many times is more accurate.

On August 16, 2014 Lisa was told their was NO evidence of disease in her body. No cancer. When she walked into the hospital the first time after she was diagnosed, there was no doubt she was capable of fighting as hard as any human has fought before for their life, but not many people thought she’d be able to walk back out at the end of all this with NO disease. And yet, she did. Her response to all of this: “You CAN do hard things when you have people that believe in you.”

Can we just take a moment to appreciate that head of hair!!!! It came back curly!

Lisa has approached her life with a renewed will to LIVE. In every aspect of her life.

She has since been nominated as a candidate for the Man & Woman of the Year fundraising campaign with LLS. She accepted the nomination to team with the Leukemia and Lymphoma society to find a cure for blood cancers. A cause that helped SAVE her life.

In an e-mail she recently sent to me she said: “Currently, there are over one million Americans battling a blood cancer. Approximately every 3 minutes, someone new is diagnosed with blood cancer. Every 10 minutes, someone dies from their cancer. But there IS something we can do. There are so many reasons to be proud to support LLS’s efforts, and dedication toward the fight against cancer. Of the 81 new anti-cancer drugs approved by the FDA since 2000, 31 of them were initially developed for blood cancers. So many of these drugs had funding from LLS and now show promise for treating other cancers and autoimmune disorders….

I’ve struggled with the “why” of all of this. Not the “why did this happen to me,” but rather the “why am I so lucky to still be here when so many dear cancer friends aren’t”? So, “why” am I still here? I believe I am here to DO. A lot of people can ask the question “what can I do”? I believe the answer is to just DO SOMETHING. I am owning my title of a cancer survivor and DOing something. It is my turn to DO. I am rallying with the LLS to find a cure. To end the suffering. You go to war with people that have your back, people you believe in. I believe in the LLS, because they believe in me. ”

Cancer sucks. And Lisa’s trying to help find a cure.

If you’d be willing to team up with her (ANY amount makes a difference–truly) and LLS in finding a cure you can donate directly on her page HERE.

OR, you can purchase one of these ridiculously awesome t-shirts (that Lisa helped design) at this link HERE. I got the cancer fight club shirt. The sizes run a little small so keep that in mind when ordering.

Join the cancer fight club!

A HUGE thank you to Lisa for her courage, her inspiration, and her vulnerability. There was a lot of discussion before we posted this video. It was not a rash decision. But instead one with the hope of helping others. And a hope of inspiring others to team up for the fight against cancer. I tear up EVERYtime I watch it (and I’ve watched it a lot). One of the most courageous battles I’ve ever witnessed. I’m nothing but humbled to have been so close to such a sacred moment.

Peace out Cancer. Glad you’re alive my friend. Thanks for fighting every.single.day.

Health and Fitness. You just have to keep working.

It gets coooooold here in Utah over the winter months. Usually starts in October and feels like it lasts for the rest of forever. It usually starts to warm up in late April or early May. That means a lot of exercising inside instead of outside.

This year I asked Santa for a bike trainer and I have LOVED riding the bike while I catch up on my DVR shows (when I exercise is usually the only time I have to watch shows). I generally burn as many calories on the bike as I do when I run, but it doesn’t hurt as much. I’m a huge fan of watching The Biggest Loser when I work out.

health and fitness--keep working. Most recently I’ve been watching Fit to Fat to Fit. I read the book Fit2Fat2Fit by Drew Manning a while ago. Drew is a personal trainer and felt like he wasn’t reaching his heaviest clients. So he went on a mission to gain over 70 pounds so he could understand what it was like to be fat. And then he went through the journey of losing the weight. Crazy brave if you ask me. And super interesting.

Now the book has been turned into a TV series where several different trainers gain weight and then lose it with someone who has been struggling to lose weight. Again, crazy brave.

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Several months ago I got a Dexa Scan (which is a post for another time). At the time I felt I was in pretty decent shape though a few pounds had creeped on over the months as I became more lax about the things I was eating (aka, eating whatever the heck I wanted). But the Dexa scan showed otherwise and unfortunately the Dexa Scan doesn’t lie. My body fat percentage was WAY higher than I’d like it to be. While still in what is considered the “normal” range, it was much higher than I felt it should be for the amount and intensity of exercise I was doing 5-6 times per week. My V02 max (the test they use to measure your endurance and “fit” level) was above superior. But my body composition wasn’t what it should be. The classic example of skinny/fat. Even though I was in good “shape” and could do intense cardio activities, I have more fat in my body than I should (to be healthy–this has nothing to do with vanity or what I look like)

It was proof to me that the FOOD we put in our bodies is about 80% of the battle.

So the past several months I’ve been more conscious of what goes IN my body. Trying to eat REAL food. I will never, ever be able to give up some things (like pizza) but I have been trending in the right direction when it comes to what I was eating. But the past month, I’ve been feeling worse. Headaches, Migraines, fatigue, sore muscles, periodic stomach aches, and occasional lack of appetite.

So when I went down Wednesday with extreme stomach cramps, no appetite, and utter exhaustion, I was incredibly frustrated. I told my husband “screw the healthy lifestyle if I’m going to feel like crap anyway. Bring me all the food.” I was discouraged. Despite my best efforts of being more conscious of what was going in and really focusing on efficient exercise (high intensity interval training, time-limited cardio–no more than 60 minutes, and more weight training) I wasn’t feeling like I thought I should be feeling.

Then I started the never ending battle of wanting to work hard and just not caring.

But I woke up Thursday, climbed on the bike, turned on Fit to Fat to Fit and was immediately reminded that the journey to good health is just that. A journey. A long, HARD journey. And results take time. Hard work, conscious eating, and TIME. A hard reality when I want visible results yesterday.

The only way to get to where we want to get in any aspect of our life, we just have to keep putting in the work. Keep trying. Keep working. Keep doing. And one day, we’ll get where we want to be. If nothing else, we’ll be better than we were yesterday if we keep plugging along at our goals one day at a time. Something I’m having to remind myself of every single day.

All I know is I better have the nicest toned arms at the end of all of this….

Keep at it my friends. “A year from now, you’ll have wished you started today.”

Walmart online grocery shopping. Best idea ever.

Here’s the truth. I’m not a huge fan of grocery shopping. Or shopping in general. So if there’s a way to eliminate some of the pain (or process), I’m immediately a fan. I’m also not a huge fan of Walmart. But their prices are generally lower. I tried the whole clipping coupons bit. It didn’t work out for me. And by that I mean I’m just not willing to try very hard. Because searching for deals is also not my jam.

I’ve waited in a Walmart checking line for over 40 minutes before. While my toddlers destroyed everything in site. And if it had been any other situation, I would have just left. But turns out we need food. I’ve also taken all four of my kids grocery shopping with me. I got a small glimpse of what hell might be like. I’ve only made that mistake a handful of times.

So when I found out Walmart offered online grocery shopping and curbside pickup at some of their locations, my first thought was “Man our society is really getting lazy.” And my second thought was “Sign me up”. And though this doesn’t exactly fit in with the content of my blog, if it makes MY life easier, I like to share it with other people in hopes it makes their life easier as well. Online shopping really is a wonderful blessing. It is definitely fair to say the advent of e-commerce has played a huge role in changing the way we shop. Salesforce has more information on this subject.

Here’s how it works.

Go to grocery.walmart.com OR click on this link to get a referral code and a $10 credit to your account.

(If you sign up through this link, you’ll get $10 of free groceries. I’ll also get $10. Score for both of us. Or, if you have a friend who already uses the service, you can have them send you the referral code and you’ll both get the $10).

You can check by your zipcode to see if the service is available anywhere near you. The closest place to me is 20 minutes away, but that 20 minute drive is 100% worth it to me. My 4 year old can watch movies in the car. No one cries. Everybody wins.

Once you’re in the system, you can start shopping. I had my grocery list ready, typed the items in the search bar and added them to my cart. You can also shop by department. Once you’ve used the service, it saves your previous items so you can easily add “favorite” items or things you regularly buy each time you shop.

I save a bunch of money shopping this way because I don’t throw a bunch of random things into my cart as I’m walking down the aisles. I am much better about sticking to my list. And I’m more likely to meal plan this way. Meal planning is my nemesis but I’m sure trying.

When you’re finished (there is a $30 minimum), you pick a time for when you want to pick up your groceries. The times available will vary from store-to-store based on how popular the service is there. Right now, for the store I use, it’s usually about 1 day out. So if I do my online shopping this morning, I’d pick a time sometime tomorrow to pick the groceries up. This obviously requires a little planning ahead. When the order is sent through, you’ll get an e-mail giving you a cut-off time for when you can add things. So if you forgot something, you still have time to add it up until your cut-off time. I always remember things later, so it’s nice you can add them.

Once you have your time-slot and an e-mail confirmation you’re good to go. All you have to do is go pick up the groceries anytime during the time-frame you selected. When you’re about 15 minutes away from the store, there’s a number to call to tell them you’re on your way (this is all explained in the e-mail confirmation).

When I called, the woman who answered told me which stall to park in and they would bring out my groceries.

When you arrive, you call the number again and they bring the groceries out to your car and load them in the back for you. I tried to tip them, but they don’t accept tips. So it really is completely free.

The entire process almost made me love Walmart. Almost.

It was fast and easy to order the things online. I was the only person waiting to pick up my groceries so they brought them out immediately to me (no waiting once I got there). They were loaded in my car in about 30 seconds and I was on my way. Fast. Easy. Done.

Huge fan of online grocery shopping. If there’s a Walmart in your area that does this, I would definitely give it a whirl. No more of this:

I know there are other grocery stores offering this as well. Macey’s is another one by me who offers online shopping with curbside pickup. And some areas have services where someone will go to whatever store you want, do the shopping and deliver it to your house. Times are certainly changing.

If you want to try Walmart shopping from your couch, you can use this link to get a free $10 credit. No more dragging the kids to the grocery store. Sweet. Mercy.

Tv shows and Podcasts–How to help others

Last year I wrote a post about How to help someone in need (for ANY reason). I read the book “Love Does” by Bob Goff and it shifted my entire thinking about how I should be living. And how I should be loving. I knew I needed to quit thinking so much about doing things and just start DOing things. Things in my own life and things for other people.

The problem, for me, is it’s often hard to think of what to do. There are so many people around me who are hurting or in need for just about every reason I can think of. Divorce, infertility, death of a child, don’t feel seen or understood, lots of children to care for, cancer, chronic illness, a difficult child, loneliness, postpartum anxiety….. The list goes on and on and on. I want to help the people I love but often I couldn’t think of exactly what to do. So too often I did nothing.

After reading the book, I e-mailed a bunch of my friends. And they helped me compile a list of things to DO which resulted in this post/resource.

In the past few weeks I had the opportunity to talk more extensively about this specific post and how it has become a resource for thousands and thousands of people in their quest to DO things for others.

You can see the TV interview I did on Studio 5 here.

I also was excited to do a podcast (much more in depth with extra insight and ideas) with Dr. Christina Hibbert here.

Love DOES things.