First post of 2020

First post of 2020

In my country, the beginning of January often is described with: "Falling a in a deep black hole.." However it wasn't that heavy for me, I notice that the new year came with new things, new feelings and a lot is going on within and around me. It resulted in me having less time and motivation to update my blog. Also to gain me some experience, I started with a new job this week so things kind of need to be settled down at this point.

But that doesn't mean that I have neglected all my writings for the past few weeks. I've updated both my Loki and The Lion King fanfiction with another chapter. Okay, the Loki story I wrote a few years ago, so that one just needed some editing. But for Scar's Reign I had some new inspiration that I needed to write down.

Links to those stories:

A Loki Novel Part 1
Chapter 8: Tom's Pancakes, Chris's Eggs and Loki's Rage

(Okay I don’t know if Tom & Chris are such good eaters, but it was fun to write xD)

 “After Chris had spent the early morning to do some stretching and work-outs, Tom greeted him and together they decided to do something about their growling stomachs. Since they hadn’t eaten much yesterday, the both of them highly needed to get some food, so they simply followed the scent of freshly baked bread and pan cakes. Finding the table full of delicacies, obviously didn’t took them very long. The table already seemed to be discovered by Owen. Chris took a few eggs and Tom‘s heart probably started to beat faster when he took a bite from a pancake.”

 Continue reading: Tom's Pancakes, Chris's Eggs and Loki's Rage (wattpad) and Ao3.


The Lion King Scar's Reign
Chapter 14: The Elephant Graveyard

Credit Scar/Nala artwork: Deviant Art User Whiluna

From this story I also updated the summary:

A dark era has reached the Pride Lands, with Scar as its king. The lionesses, the hyenas: they all have to deal with each other. This story will reveal what‘s truly happened during Simba's absence. What's life like on the Pride Lands with Scar? With his chaotic mind, Scar has got his eyes drawn to Nala. 

Also his past still haunts this black maned lion. And how's Scar holding up as king himself? Every day there‘s the chance of him or one of the hyenas spilling their secret out in the open. But there‘s one other lion who knows the truth: Zira. Scar and Zira have a rather unpleasant history together and also the hyenas are wondering if he still stands on the same page as they are. While Scar is worrying about his future and the 'ghosts' of his past, Zira and the three hyenas are secretly plotting against him. Does Scar have anyone left on his side or has he, with his actions of the past, created his own Lion Graveyard?

Is Taka still hidden somewhere inside or is our pal truly destined to be doomed? (based on The Madness of King Scar & A Tale of Two Brothers) I work with the italic font to reveal a character‘s thought.

I showed a small part of the Loki story, so here's the beginning of the chapter:

Continue reading (or just read it in bigger size 😆): 

Ao3: The Elephant Graveyard

Ao3: From the beginning

Wattpad Scar's Reign

FF.net Scar's Reign

Quotes

I thought it's never too late to share some January inspiration, so here are a few inspiring quotes:

Here's a photo I made last week:

No, the picture is not edited in black & white. I was watching two squirrels chasing after each other in the trees (camera couldn't catch them). Due the light the trees looked like they were black. What's the message of this photo? Perhaps it meant: 

"Not everything always is that black & white like it seems." 

Isn't that a perfect quote to end this post with? It could be, but I want to end the blogpost with the following:

Robert Downey Jr. as Dolittle!

In my second blogpost (unless Tom Hiddleston will post a selfie of him as Loki on the set of the Loki series before the weekend) of the year I'm going to do some writing I absolutely love too, namely: blogging/reviewing films! As a animal lover I am definitely looking forward in seeing Dolittle, from which Robert Downey Jr. (definitely one of my favorite actors too!), has made me excited for with all the promotion he did on his social media.

Have you seen Dolittle already or are you going to see it? Feel free to share your opinion about this movie in a comment on my next blogpost that will be named: Dolittle Movie.


Love,

xx

Nicole

Holiday in the Wild

Holiday in the Wild

Do you recognize the following: It’s easy to choose out a series to watch on Netflix, but finding a good film is quite a challenge! May I tip you Holiday in the Wild, starring Kristin Davis & Rob Lowe? Even though you might think it’s just an ordinary Christmas movie after you have seen the first scene, but I can tell you: it’s not. After her husband has left her, Kate (Kristin Davis) takes the second honeymoon to Africa herself, what she actually had planned as a surprise for her husband. There she meets Derek Holliston (Rob Lowe, doesn’t he look like Robert Downey Jr?), her pilot for doing some sightseeing in Zambia. Together they help saving a baby orphan elephant who just lost his mother due poaching. The animals and especially the baby elephants are the ones who are going to make your heart melt during this film!

Rescue our wild friends!

The film states that we, the humans are the most dangerous species living on this planet. I do agree with that and it’s absolutely sad that there’s still animal cruelty happening such as poaching. Humanity also comes with a large group of heroes, and fortunate this group is getting larger and larger. Heroes that live for their goal of rescuing the involved animals. This film sets its light on the elephants who after their futures seemed to be stolen, were found and rescued by Game Rangers International (GRI), a non-profit organisation established in Zambia. Also most of the scenes of this film were filmed at GRI. On their website I read that lead actress Kristin Davis once helped in the rescue of a orphaned elephant in Kenya, an event this film was inspired by. Kristin has a heart for animals and with that I think she surely sets the right example. She became a Patron to the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. On both the named sites above you can donate or digitally adopt a elephant, for giving these wonderful projects a financial support! This film has inspired me to do so, it’s the only thing I can do from the other side of the world.

A thank you note from Sheldrick Wildlife Trust after donating

Photo: WWF

Africa is the home of my favourite animals and also in a way the home of my favourite Disney film. If you have read one of my earlier blog posts or are following me on IG, you probably guessed that I’m talking about lions & The Lion King. Also the lion is one of the species currently in huge danger and via organisations such as WWF (Dutch name: WNF) I’ve also been supporting projects that are helping the King of the jungle to continue his existing. Also I support their project for the tiger, a specie on the brink of extinction since there are only less than 3900 tigers left in the wild! Forgive me for talking a bit off topic, nevertheless, tigers may live in a total different continent, the circumstances with poachers unfortunately are the same. But all together we'll succeed in creating a better life for all the wild animals out there!

Here at the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation you can find information about about a project called: End Tiger Extinction. Also there's an option to donate. 

Elephants, lions, tigers & all animals need our help!

Photo: David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation 

Soul trips/Dreams

Also Africa is on my to do list for future travels, not in the near future I do assume, but someday. Holiday in the Wild surely has awakened my desire of going on a safari in Africa even more. Perhaps it also gave me a country to start in, namely Zambia, I think that’s really a help since Africa by far isn’t the smallest continent.. I liked that the lead character in this film actually is doing a soul-trip. I think it’s definitely something that brings someone on their right path towards their dreams. I’m going through a lot of changes into my life and that’s good because sometimes you’ve got to change. Sometimes you’ve got to say goodbye to certain things in your life before new doors are being opened. I don’t want to spoil the film for those who haven’t watched it yet, but in this film Rob Lowe speaks a sentence about the positivity of change. At that moment I thought: “Wow, that’s so true!” Once you hear it, you know what I’m talking about.

Normally I’m not that into Netflix films, also I’ve kind of had it with those simple Christmas films (perhaps I should give Last Christmas a chance) but I already shared that Holiday in the Wild is not really a Christmas movie. Holiday in the Wild definitely is worth the watch. I think especially romantic people, creative people and of course animal lovers will love it!

Ilze Kitshoff 

Extra

I've got to share this. You know my favourite Lion King character is Scar. I ordered a Scar plush because I loved it so much. But the delivery got delayed that much (he didn't even had to come from far..) that I thought he got lost or stolen in the mail. I even didn't dared to look at the tracking link I had.. But.. Guess who showed up at my doorstep last night? Isn't he adorable (in his own way)? He's totally going to inspire me in writing stories about the Lion King! (He's standing on my town's flag.)

Tom & Charlie change character for Halloween

Tom as Daredevil, Charlie as Loki

Picture: Bruce Glikas (Gettyimages)

A few days for Halloween it got announced: A Halloween surprise at Betrayal's Stage door. Zawe Ashton, holding a camera, asked the two men what they would wear. It was a surprise. Then the speculation begun: "What will Tom wear for Halloween?"

In the comments I saw a lot passing by with two on the lead:
- Loki
- Anything Shakespeare related

But...

He came out as Daredevil and Charlie was wearing a Loki costume! Which means Tom & Charlie basically switched characters, a lovely gesture if you ask me! Zawe was dressed as Captain Marvel & Eddie Arnold was Captain America

Photos by Bruce Glikas/Getty Images

Photos by Bruce Glikas/Getty Images

> Go here for footage behind the scenes at People <

Photo by Jenny Anderson

My Loki funkopop had a original costume too..

The Madness Of King Scar

The Madness Of King Scar

My two favourite Disney/Marvel characters to write about are obviously, Loki & Scar. Today I would like to share a few parts of the scene The Madness of King Scar, which comes from my fan fiction story called: Scar‘s Reign.

Note that this isn‘t the whole scene, I‘ve picked some parts out. You can find the whole chapter here:
Ao3 c7 TMOKS Scar‘s Reign (FF.net & Wattpad link posted at the end of this post).

Scar's mind is chaos, unpredictable and the drama-'queen'(king) has a huge personality which I wanted to be fully shown in The Madness of King Scar.. This chapter is a mix of the one particular scene from the film with Scar, Zazu and the hyenas in his cave + the deleted scene and the equally titled scene from the musical. Added: My own imagination.

Italic: Character thoughts.
Bold: Character sings.
Small warning: Scar‘s words aren‘t all even (women) friendly..

"I'm the king! But why am I not satisfied?" Did I think that out loud?  Scar sunk too deep in his thoughts and had reached the point of not knowing whether he spoke aloud or in his mind. Terrific, he assumed he thought.. Scar sighed himself down at his rock.

"Sire, what's with the long face?" Zazu, the bird Scar kept behind bars dragged him out of his thoughts.

"Zazu? Why am I not... loved?" Scar decided to directly cut to the chase. The lionesses, why don't they like me? With my black manes, I must be irresistible! And I'm a king! What more could they possibly want?

"Well, why do you think you are not loved?" The hornbill spoke, to Scar's annoyance, with a wise tone.

According to Scar the bird sounded just like his father, or like Mufasa. He didn't wanted to be reminded of them over and over again. They had everything when they were kings while at Scar's reign everything got black, literally.. Scar figured he wasn't in the mood after all so he made a gesture towards Zazu, signing the bird to leave him and his mind alone.

--

"Hey, boss! Talking to the silly bird again?" Banzai called out to the lion, when he, Shenzi and Ed hopped in.

Ah, my friends! Well, 'friends'.. Since when is calling a friend 'boss' a common thing?  Every now and then, Scar wouldn't mind getting rid of them. He narrowed his eyes at the three of them. Shenzi, the female leader, who according to him, at least owned a little brain. In Scar's opinion Banzai was nothing more than a cubbish piece of junk and the last one, Ed, who besides laughing and nodding lacked any manner of communication, he thought was completely beyond redemption. He rolled his eyes as he surveyed everyone around him. "I'm surrounded by idiots again.."

When Shenzi immediately responded, there was no need for Scar to hesitate whether that was just a thought or not. "Well, thank you! What's wrong with ya lately? You are not the only one who's forced to skip breakfast!" she commented without hiding that she felt slightly offended. "Was he like this all day, Zazu?"

"Oh, he just needs a mate!" Even Zazu surprised himself by speaking this sentence. Well for this particular moment, it did gain him a little popularity among the hyenas. Leastwise that surely counted for the two male hyenas, who both had fallen into a giant laughter caused by Zazu's comment.

"Stop that! You fools!" Scar tried using his voice to overshadow their laughter, which he rated as highly annoying.

--

"Can't you not even have a little sympathy for me?" Scar acted like his pride got touched. "Don't mistake the colour of this small beating thing here inside of me with the colour of my manes," he gushed, almost in a singing tone. Dramatically, Scar held his paw on his chest, right at the place of his heart.

"Here we go again.." Shenzi mumbled, not amused.

"Tell me I'm adored! Please, tell me I'm adored!" Scar sung.

Banzai was close to bursting into laughter again. "A door?"

Scar took a deep breath. He stated to be burdened with the wrong public. Scar covered up his eyes in the hope of when he lowered his paw again, all these 'odd surrounding objects' were gone. His current view isn't quite the one that he visualized and thought he signed himself up for all those years ago.

--

"And I thought we had bad under Mufasa.." Banzai sighed.

Immediately Scar jumped in front of the hyena. "What did you say!?" he growled.

"I said..-"

Quickly Shenzi elbowed him again. Preventing Banzai from repeating names from Scar's forbidden name list seemed to be her full-time job nowadays.

"I said, uh... Que pasa?" Banzai eventually answered the black maned lion.

Scar heard enough and turned his back on the hyenas. "Good, and now get out.."

Staring to the cave's wall, Scar frowned. They're still behind me, aren't they?

"But we still have no food!" Banzai confirmed Scar's thought.

"I said get out!!" Scar roared. Luckily this time, the hyenas had taken the hint. With a grin, Scar peeked backwards and saw a last glimpse of them running out.

"Zazu, where were we before those three beggars came in?" The hyenas had spoiled his mood. Scar figured continuing his little game with Zazu could restore it a bit.

--

Ever since that Scar had made Nala the lead huntress, he hoped that it eventually led her to his cave. Within himself, Scar already had plotted how he would succeed in sailing the ship off to another course. "Yes, but there's.." Like a predator sneaks up on his prey, Scar started to walk around her. "Nala.. my, how've you grown!" Quickly he cleared his throat. "There's one little title upgrade required for you to receive from me before we can make this plan work. And there's more to it! I'm brightening up both yours and little Mheetu's future!" Seductively he let his tail slide below Nala's chin. 

Nala blinked. "And what's that title?" All though that with mentioning her younger brother, Scar had awakened Nala's curiosity, still she wasn't naive. She knew that somewhere in this story there was a catch. Because involving this particular lion, there always was a catch!

Suddenly Scar's energy-meter filled itself to the max. "I shall tell you, but first let me deliberate it with myself a bit," he spoke rather mysterious while he still moved himself around her.

--

"I'm not following you!" Riddle after riddle, why can't he just be straight to the point?-, Nala wondered.

"My cylinders are firing with fervor. And you, my sweet thing, fit.. the part.." With pressing his head against Nala‘s neck, Scar softly pushed the lioness a bit.

"Oh Sire, you are not supposed to say those kind of things out loud!" Zazu, the bird Scar already had forgotten about, snarled.

Did I? Scar used his paw to cover up his mouth.

--

From the inside, Scar's blood was still flowing through his veins like flashes of energy. And so it did outside. A heavy, dark thunderstorm was overshadowing the already sad looking Pride Lands. Scar's enthusiasm only grew bigger when a lightning stroke had caught his attention. Perfect!  He stormed outside and stopped when he stood on top of the Pride Rock. He looked up, let the rain soak him. His long black gleaming manes, flattened by the rain and sticking to his skin. Scar felt no fear for the lightning at all. From afar he saw a few of the lionesses, including Nala. Of course a lot of hyenas were present too. He saw fear in some of the eyes of his subjects. Scar grimed, he imagined how frightened the sight of him must look with the lightning and the terrifying sounds of the thunder right behind him. There he felt what he desired. Power!

All eyes were still pointing at him. This moment required a speech, as Scar himself stated. Somehow Scar never lacked in finding his words, not that they always helped him. Anyhow, if there was one thing Scar kept in his mind it was to always be prepared!
--

I‘m also writing a Lion King/ Loki & Thor crossover. (more info later) While watching The Lion King Thor & Loki were sent into the film due a portal (obviously as lions..). It needs some work but these two genius minds together.. Really fun to write!

If you‘re interested in reading the whole scene, I like to refer you the fanfiction websites I've shared it on. (All rights to The Lion King belongs to Disney, but be kind enough not to copy my work.)

Other links:

Fanfiction.net TMOKS Scar‘s Reign

Wattpad c7 TMOKS Scar‘s Reign. (On here I also just posted the newest chapter called: Scar‘s Be Prepared '2.0' in which he‘s giving the hyenas an exclusive performance of so as he sees it, his improved version of Be Prepared.. I might just seen a disco edit of the scene in which Zazu is singing Scar a song..)

Thanks to Pridelands.eu for the screenshots. Really worth the look, these are taken second by second.
Scar is looking really odd in some shots..

The Lion King/Scar talk

The Lion King/Scar talk

And a little bit about Mamma Mia 2 & Rush..

This blogpost will perhaps be in stead of my monthly inspiring quotes blogpost. Writing is something I love to do and always films give me a lot of inspiration. I let my dreams lead my life. I start with my blog/review about The Lion King with showing my love for Disney‘s character Scar, switching to 'Scar‘s Reign', another story I enjoy writing. This week I also saw Mamma Mia 2 again and this movie is an inspiration to follow your dreams. Let that be one of my motto‘s.. Do what brings you happiness!

It‘s no secret that Tom Hiddleston, with bringing Loki in my life, has inspired me this much in writing (& sharing it) and in to believe in my Dreams. So perhaps it‘s not strange as I say the following: For me Tom/Loki is the Circle of Life!

The Lion King

Summer 2019: Where are we going? Let‘s go to the savannah of Africa, on a safari among the giraffes, zebras and last of course: lions! But you don't really have to go that far this summer (depends on where you live of course..) Just with one single cinema visit you are there! I think you have read me by now.., I'm talking about The Lion King! This summer you can watch the Disney lions Simba, Nala, Scar and Mufasa lifelike in 3D! Obviously they cannot escape the weird bird Zazu, the giggling/drooling hyenas and the comic duo Timon & Pumbaa can‘t be missed too!

The original Lion King from 1994 was a big blockbuster at the time and I think with this version it don‘t be much different. The Lion King already is one of Disney most successful franchises for years. The musical, which stops this summer here in the Netherlands but has been playing non-stop in London and in New York for years, remains a great success.

As for the Disney Remake Live Action films there‘s always the question whether it actually works just as it did in the original. The story of The Lion King is one you should definitely not add too much changes in , Disney also hasn't done that except for some expansions and some small things. Where I believe this version of director Jon Favreau rocks in, has everything to do with the breath-taking real-looking shots. The African landscapes are absolutely stunning to see and I particularly was impressed by the scenes that showed the starry sky. During the nature scenes, pay attention to the details. I must admit: The talking and singing animals are a bit of a strange sight, but of course a Lion King movie without the well-known songs is a no go! The intro is again very amazing. During the first part of the film, the cute cubs totally steal the show. The first look on baby cub Simba was without any doubts definitely an "aww moment". The Lion King from 1994 really is one that pulls your tears out! The expectation is that not everyone will keep it dry while watching some scenes in real life. However even though they look more real, I thought they didn't had the same emotion as in the animation. I thought the interaction between the animals (especially during action scenes!) looked epic (,especially on moments where they weren‘t speaking or singing haha). The home front of Timon & Pumbaa was designed to be a bit more detailed and it got more residents, that also caused some nice effects.

English version

Disney chose to let James Earl Jones return (Mufasa) as the only one of the original voice cast. People now are wondering: Why just him? A few of the missing ones are Rowan Atkinson (Zazu) & obviously Jeremy Irons, who with his English accent, really brought Scar to life. He even appears to have shown interest in this remake, but Disney chose actor Chiwetel Ejiofor to crawl into the thin skin of this lion. However he wasn‘t bad and "Be Prepared" sounded very entertaining (too bad they shortened the song, but that‘s not his fault), but it really is no match for Jeremy Irons' performance! And concerning Beyonce (Nala), the opinions are quite different. The new song "Spirit" sung by Beyonce doesn‘t sound wrong but for me certainly didn‘t reach the goose bumps level aka "Circle of Life" & "He Lives In You", although there is also a bit of nostalgia attached to that. By the way the song that you hear during the credits is called "Never Too Late" from Elton John. Timon (Billy Eichner) & Pumbaa (Seth Rogen) provide the necessary humor. This works out very well and Seth Rogen makes Pumbaa a popper! Laughing moments guaranteed!

Dutch version

The original Dutch Lion King is really nostalgic for me. That's why I thought it would be nice to also view this Dutch version. Although again it is not comparable with the 1994 version, I am sure that children will be impressed. Personally I had to get used to the voices but this version certainly did well in the songs. Hats off to the young talents who took care of the voices of the Simba & Nala cubs. They do an honour to the Dutch version of the song "Just can‘t wait until I'm king!" On moments I couldn‘t tell if it sounded any different than the original. Actor Jurgen Theuns also emerges strongly in this song as the silly bird Zazu. Scar was voiced for this version by Marc Jonkers. Also in the Dutch version of 1994 the voice of Scar (Arnold Gelderman) totally gave you the shivers, so the expectations for the voice of this evil lion is also quite high here! One moment, Jonkers‘ Scar sounded like an old lion, but when the tense music plays in the background (sometimes this was too loud to properly understand all what was said), it suddenly jumps over and he sounds pretty frightening. Scar’s own song is also very well sung. Against that, I am less enthusiastic about Mufasa (how is it possible with James Earl Jones in the original version!), The hyenas and Rafiki. Timon & Pumbaa are again spoken in by Belgian actors, which makes the fact that they come from another piece of land more alive.

In addition to the few changes in the story, Disney has given the animals a more realistic look to make the film appear more natural. The character who definitely looked the most unrealistic in the cartoon was (I just like to address him too often!) Scar with his black mane and orange-looking fur. That Disney chose not to stick to that look completely seems actually quite logical. However, you can still tell the difference between him compared to Mufasa & Simba. Of course the scar, from what he owes his name, can‘t be taken off! By the way, do you know there‘s a book that tells a part of the past of the 2 brothers? This book is called A Tale of Two Brothers. If Disney ever wants to make a Lion King movie again, I hope they prefer this prequel (in cartoon form!) over re-making Simba’s Pride!

The Lion King will no doubt be the cinema hit of the summer! The temperatures of Africa have already reached us (The Netherlands, 41 degrees on the 25^th of July!) and it‘s quite ironic to say that by a cinema visit to a film about these hot landscapes, you can go for cooling down. The Lion King will bring many of us back to their childhood. Don‘t be ashamed to sing along with nostalgic songs such as "Can't Wait To Be King". Go there with your group of friends and from experience I say that it might lead to do "mini Lion King dialogues" among each other. Maybe you visited the original film with your parents and you like the idea of repeating that tradition with this version? The Lion King is suitable for children 9 years and older. Simba is laughing at you!

Scar‘s Reign

I think Scar/Taka is a character Disney could have do more with. A few years ago I started writing a story a little based on The Madness Of King Scar scene (both the deleted scene of 1994‘s film and the musical version), but also I like to dig deeper into his past. This story is called Scar‘s Reign. I originally wrote this in Dutch and I‘m busy translating it, which also gives me new ideas for the continue. I just posted 'The Lead Huntress', a chapter I very much enjoyed writing. And for a upcoming chapter called 'The Madness of King Scar' I really stepped into that chaotic head of him. (I like to work with the italic font to reveal certain thoughts of the characters, but to truly show how chaotic his mind truly has become, I've written TMOKS in his perspective completely.) If you are interested in reading my story, here are a few links:

Scar‘s Reign (FanFiction.net)
Scar‘s Reign (Archive of Our Own)
Wattpad 


This is the story‘s original summary:

"This story based on 'The Madness of King Scar' & 'A Tale of Two Brothers' is, what‘s revealed in the name, about what happened after Mufasa's death and Simba's disappearance. The story starts years after that. We all know that Scar took over the Kingdom. But what happened during Simba's absence? And after that? What's life like on the pride with Scar? What's in it for the future for Nala, Sarabi and the other lionesses? And how's Scar holding up as King himself? Scar/Taka is such an interesting character to write about and with this story I‘m deepening myself into his chaotic mind. Also there‘s a closer look into his past as Taka, as it still hunts this black maned lion. Is Scar able to deal with all these 'ghosts' of the past? Is Taka still hidden somewhere inside or is our pal truly destined to be doomed? - The idea of this story actually also has to do with the fact that I wanted to be able to live the scene 'The Madness of King Scar' completely from his perspective."

Mammia Mia 2/Rush

Spoken of cooling down.. The other day it was around 35 degrees during the open air cinema with Mammia Mia 2 (if you are in need of finding inspiration for following your dreams, this one, Midnight in Paris (one of my favorite non-Loki Tom Hiddleston films) or Letters to Juliet I can recommend you.) Luckily this film had lots of goosebumps moments to cool off. Hopefully it's less hot during the showing of 'Rush' since this film with Chris Hemsworth has the opposite effect. (While I write this, I hear the F1 Grandprix from Germany in the background. The race is a bit of a problematic rainy race, oh yes I‘m looking forward in seeing this film again!)

I love the music of ABBA and when hearing Waterloo my heart just warms. Last week I also heard it when a local band played it. Waterloo, Go Your Own Way, See You In My Dreams, Don‘t Stop Believing, only a few of the songs that make me touch my heart. Also a film which concerns your own dreams, is expected to touch you. In Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again young Donna is turning the wheel in her life by with traveling she begins her adventure. Traveling is one of my dreams. "Follow Your Dreams, You May Be Surprised Where They Lead You", is a lovely inspiring quote and I got a few places/countries on the list. Freedom is important and that I‘m seeking more and more in my life. You know, there‘s so much to discover in the world, but also discovering yourself more. When you take a step sort like Donna did, you‘ll grow and you discover that you can do much more than you perhaps thought you could. Another dream of mine is having a family. Films don‘t often make me cry but all baby/pregnancy scenes hit me every single time! I once wrote my dream this way: 'My dream is to hold my new born baby for the very first time. When imagining this happening, the warmest feeling fills my heart.' (Unlike Donna in this film, I wish to know who the father is..) And I believe that whatever your dream is, you got to hold on to it, don‘t let it go. Continue believing in your dream. I know for sure, my dreams are coming true!

Listen to your Heart,
Go your own path,
Reach your dream(s)! 

An older photo of my two favorite words

Zen Blog: Inspiring Quotes and Nature 3

Zen Blog: Inspiring Quotes and Nature 3

♥♥

In my second Zen Blog Inspiring Quotes and Nature 2 I already had mentioned that perhaps I would do a blog like this monthly. And apparently the universe wants me to do that because I keep find all these lovely things on my path. Things that make my inner self jumping up side down because she can‘t wait to share it! This jumping inner self isn't new, because nowadays the feeling of sharing my vision, my thoughts to the world has grown bigger and bigger. I always was this quiet girl who never said much, (in person I‘m still not a giant talker..) or liked to stand in the spotlights. 10 years ago I always wore black clothing, even though some black clothes now and then are okay, fortunate my closet has gotten much more colorful. Someway you can say I've turned myself around with wanting to be heard. If you look on top on the page, you can‘t miss the fact that Tom Hiddleston inspired me a lot! But also his fan base brought me a lot. I've started fan accounts on Tumblr, Instagram and among others Facebook, calling myself 'Goddess of Loki' and to be honest I never imagined that so many people would want to follow something that I made! So yes, that gave me a self confidence boost!

♥♥

Once again I will also share some lovely quotes that I have found online and in magazines. And if I have given you inspiration, light and perhaps love by the time you reached the end of this post, then my task is accomplished! At the end of the blogpost you‘ll find a source list for the websites and the magazines!

♥♥

I've found the perfect bag to take with me while walking. You know a bum bag is easy, but I can‘t get a bottle of water or a small camera in it. This one does. It goes on my back without bothering me. And: The Lion King! 😁 (I‘m so excited for the film!) The Lion King‘s quote 'Remember who you are' suits walking for me, at least when I‘m going for a walk alone. This might sound a little floaty (also that‘s me), but I think there‘s always something about yourself to find out. And what‘s a better way to do that than in silence and in nature? Next part I‘m deepening this subject a little more.

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These photo‘s (and the one on top) I took last Tuesday when it was like 34 degrees on the hottest part of the day. Now perhaps you think: what fool goes for a walk with temperatures like that? But it was in the morning and it‘s cooler in the forest. Actually this was an activity that was planned months ago. It was all about finding inspiration in the forest. In stead of some heavy walking the leader gave us some things to do starting with walking a path together without talking, (for some that truly was a challenge!) but also to feel what the nature does to you and to let go! Another thing was to take a step forward and to name three qualities you possess. Light point: the clapping that follows gave a good feeling (2 people even clapped for themselves). As this was an activity for a group of people who are all searching for a new job or challenge, the last thing to do was to walk a path and to speak your goal/wish out loud! Before the path there was a obstacle to pass on which the leader had placed some plush bears. Those bears represented problems that you bump into along the way. (Beren op de weg/Bears on the road: A Dutch proverbial.) What are you doing with them? Do you prefer to walk over it with a bow? Do you accept them? Do you touch them? (I touched the panda, to express my love for animals actually) Or do you take them with you to walk the path together until they finally disappear? (When you decided to let go of) The choice is yours! 

I always like to draw cards so when I got my eyes on the cards she brought with as a bonus, my inner self started to jump again! The cards had Dutch quotes. My first one was "Today I will finish what I‘ve started" but it was the second that truly as a deeper meaning to me. It‘s the one on the image above: "Now I see my vulnerability as my strength. After searching I found the fresh breeze in life." That‘s actually something that I have experienced and still am experiencing. I've always had a small deviation in my legs/feet, restricted (<-- like this, I hate this word) me in my doings. Therefore I have told myself the following a lot: 'You cannot do that, you cannot do this..' Which was wrong! Also I never took much walks either, until like a year ago. I found out that I am very well capable of taking a walk for give or take 1,5 hour. You know, finding out you can actually do something feels really good! It even gave me strength! So yes, turning my vulnerability in my strength is a good way to put it in words. Lately I even took it a step further by standing in front at a Slash ft. Myles Kennedy & the Conspirators performance, (which I also mentioned in my Pinkpop/Music blogpost) while standing in a crowd like that, let along at front always had been something I feared.

Nature gives us a lot, more than most of us realize actually. And I think Mother Nature appreciates it if now and then, we do something back. Or spoken of last Tuesday: Take something out that doesn't belong there. I don‘t understand why people feel the need to dump their cigarettes and plastic there. I feel lots of respect for all the people who are volunteering in cleaning up this mess, but unfortunately that‘s it‘s needed in the first place. But enough about that!

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What have we got to inspire you with today?  

You know that reminds me of:

When Thor finally is reunited with Loki again, he‘s a tiger that can‘t be tamed as well! (This picture I found at the 2018 WNF Calendar for the month of May)

Sometimes life will knock you down. Perhaps it‘s to test your inner strength, but it‘s necessary to let you discover that you‘re stronger than you think you were!

Next time someone tells me they think I‘m weird, I tell them I‘m limited edition!

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Each day I still draw a card from a random online deck. The following three come from a deck called Life Goals. Sometimes I‘m still amazed how the right card (almost) always comes out!

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Is there room for one more tiger in this post?

I‘m in love with this breakfast plate. Perhaps I will buy it (and mostly use it for lunch!)

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My tea labels! ☕💚 In the mean time I got a few pages full of them. Here are three. Beautiful right?

Marbles! 💝

In case if you‘re interested: This is the tea I‘m taking them from.

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Speaking of healthy or organic food:

I love to support the local markets. The products are so lovely. I think here it still needs to grow. Some people even ask me why I‘m eating 'weird food'. For who can‘t read Dutch, these are: Raspberry jam, muesli, appel juice, dessert sauce and honey from a local beekeeper. What‘s weird about that? I understand why it‘s much more tempting to buy a much cheaper version in the normal supermarket but I love these foods, and I especially love raspberries! I haven't switched fully either, but would like to in the future. The picture is a month old, halve is gone by now..

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Don‘t look hard for miracles, but do look high in the sky..⛅

Clouds truly are beautiful. This made me stand still for a moment. I think we should look at the clouds more often. Here a darker cloud covers the sun, but she still manages to shine through. It looked much more beautiful in real.

A few moments later the sun came through.

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All right, one more tiger. I love them!

For those who are still here at the end of this blogpost, I got a little bonus. I would like to share today‘s (the date I published this post: 27th of June) message made by Doreen Virtue:

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Bless you, enjoy life & stay healthy!,

Love,

Nicole

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Source inspiring quotes: WENDY magazine, Flair magazine, Happinez magazine & orakels.net.