Living in the Happiest Place on Earth…

Posted on January 31, 2013 by Devin Joubert

I have been sooo busy editing lately, I have come to the idea of sharing some pictures of my families vacation with you. I mean, everyone loves pictures, right? :) Later this week I will post a longer post. You know what? I never thought editing my manuscript would be as tough as it is. My mind has been so tired and full of thoughts and stuff that I thought you’d all enjoy the pics and I figured it would be a good break for my mind!

While in Florida, I also have a wonderful chance to go to Cocoa Beach Writer’s Conference. It was so much fun and I learned so many awesome things. Met great writers, agents, and even some publishers. I will writer more about this a bit later!

I also got a beautiful gift in the mail this week and it totally rocked my world. It was from my boyfriend. I will share some pictures this week! So, ya all come back now, ya hear! :P lol… Enjoy the pictures! :D

Me at MGM Studios, Disney World, Florida.

Disney World – Cinderella’s Castle

Village in Magic Kingdom. Disney World, Florida.

My lovely sister and brother who came down with us. So lovely to see them again!

My lovely parents who I am thankful for!

I love this shot soooo much! It is Rupunzel's tower.

I love this shot soooo much! It is Rapunzel’s tower.

Mexico, Epcot (The Worlds)… We ate supper here one night! :)

Inside Mexico… :)

The romantically lit up tables inside Mexico! :)

Skyping with my love. We were both wishing he had been with me in Florida. Know he would have loved it! :)

At Norway in Epcot (The Worlds)
This is a Norwegian Stave Church! So big in Norway and also in Minnesota/North Dakota. My Heritage. I love these churches!!!!

“The Three Amigos” together once again! :)

Hope you all enjoyed the pictures! :)

How about you? Have you ever been to Disney World or Disney Land? If so what was your favorite moment in one of the parks??

Coughing People & Long Hours in Airports

Posted on January 12, 2013 by Devin Joubert

It seems like just yesterday that I was on the other side of the world.

This is really too crazy.

I am back in Minnesota and is it ever cold here. UFFDA…
(I may have plenty of readers who don’t quite understand what Uffda means. Read about it here… It totally describes me. :P )

It felt like I was traveling for a week. Well, I was traveling for 3 days so almost, but not really.

I left Brisbane and flew to LAX via Taipei. Yes… Taipei. I had an eleven hour layover there. YES…. you heard correctly… ELEVEN HOURS…

I found out though that Taipei Airport gives a free half-day tour. So, I went on it and saw many different things. I will be sure to write an update on the tour and such.

After Taipei, I landed in LAX with a small layover of about 2 hours and 15 minutes. It was so hectic getting through immigrations and customs and security. Besides that LAX is a crazy airport. In the knick of time I made it to my gate and boarded my next flight to Denver. Only having about an hour and a half layover to make it to my next plane to Fargo from Denver. After Denver, I finally boarded my last flight of the day.

Look at the writing on the back of the pop can!!!

But, at the moment I don’t want to talk about the flying or traveling part of my journey. I want to dedicate this post to flight and airport manners or lack of them.

Okay, what are some things that I saw at the airport or in the plane?

In the flight from Taipei, I experienced something no one should ever have to experience. The man sitting next to me clearly had a cold and kept blowing his nose in his hand. YES!!!!! IN his bare hand!!!!!! And then he would wipe it onto his coat.

I was thinking, “Seriously, if you do that one more time… I am going to tell you not to do that in front of me.” But then after he did it again and continued to I just got even more disgusted and stood up for a while to escape him. I couldn’t stand being next to him. I mean… GROSS. You don’t do that.

Other things that grossed me out or annoyed me:

People who didn’t cover their mouthes when they sneeze or cough. (This happened while I was in Asia mostly, but there were many people doing this.) It made me hope I wasn’t going to catch a bug. When I got home I was sure to get a Flu shot just to be safe from this flu epidemic going around in America.
Rude people (I understand people were probably traveling just as far as I did or ever farther… but really, don’t treat others horribly…it wont make your day any smoother.)
Mean security or customs people. I am not guilty of anything just because I was in Taipei, Singapore, and Australia while on my journeys. I don’t like it how they try making you feel guilty for NOTHING. For just standing in front of them.

What are some things that annoy you when you are traveling in Airports??

Packing… STILL…

Posted on January 6, 2013 by Devin Joubert

My desk has filled up with a bunch of things….

Packing Still…

You know how they say you can learn a lot about a person by seeing what is in their locker? Or you can learn a lot about a woman by what she carries in her purse? That is a thought that came to me today while packing. Everything I pack has meaning. In each item a person could probably see that they are mine.

What about you?

Do the things you own radiate off of your personality?

But yes, I just thought I would share a few photos. Now, I am not a messy person – but if some of the photos seem crazy it is because it’s crazy to only be allowed to pack your life into two 50lb bags without exceeding the weight limit.

Packing these giants is a long process. Pack them and then weigh them. They weigh too much. REarrange things. Weigh AGAIN!!

What should I bring with me on my carry-on? AGH… troublesome thing to pack as well. Hehe… can you spot Lizzy?

I know that most people wouldn’t want to show their packing process… but I just thought… since you all are close friends and all I wanted to show you everything that I am experiencing. And part of that is the expat life I have been living.

Once back in America, I will start doing a daily goal of writing a short story everyday. I think it will be an exciting journey.

AND…

I will EDIT… Further on The Mason of Hearts… Yes, I said it…

EDIT.

Then as I do that I will also work on putting together a Query letter to send in to an agent. How exciting, right? I am kind of scared actually. But, it will be interesting none the less. I will let you tag along on my journey to finding an agent.

How about you? If you look around your room, car, house, locker, purse, or backpack… could a stranger look at all of those items and come up with a clue on what sort of person you are?

Making the most of it… 4 days left…

Posted on January 4, 2013 by Devin Joubert

Photo Credit : Pinterest

How do you make the most of a moment?

This is officially my first post of 2013. How exciting, right? No… well, it was a bit weird the other day when I signed and dated something – I almost put ‘2012’ down. Ha… but yeah, how can we make sure that we make the most of 2013 and the days that we have.

There are moments in our life that we don’t grab onto as hard as we should and make the most of it. It is almost kind of like when My family and I were hiking in Glacier Montana one time. My mom made a note on how all the people who live close to beautiful things sort of just take it for granted. I have also noticed that having lived on the Sunshine Coast… many people take for granted the beautiful beach and the ocean at their doorsteps.

But then again there is another thing that people take for granted. People. Those they love.

I remember being told a story about how when my grandpa died that my Dad wished he could have said good-bye one last time. I understand that feeling.

There are also moments where you pay attention to small things that shouldn’t be paid attention to and then that distracts from what really matters. I know I have been victim to that one.

In four days I have to fly back to America. It is bittersweet, really. I am excited to see family and my country again, but in the same breath my heart is breaking! I don’t want to leave Johan here. I guess I must just go out and enjoy these 4 days like a banshee… and then I will look forward to the future while trusting God with his plan for us. While looking forward to his visits.

So what about you? What do you do to make the most of your time that you have? Also do I have any readers who are in long distance relationships? If so, give me a wave (comment)! :)

Devin Berglund

writing through life

Monthly Archives: January 2013