Vishi's Views

To all my readers, Merry Christmas! 🎄🎅 May your holidays be filled with beautiful and happy moments with family, friends and loved ones.  I am sending virtual hugs, good vibes and love to each and everyone of you! Also sending out extra special love to anyone who is missing a loved one this year. 🙏💓 Wishing each and everyone of you a happy new year. All the best for 2021! 

 Hello everyone, Artist, musician and actor D.B.L. has delivered an early Christmas present to his fans in the form of a brand new song! 'Your Riddim' was released on December 17 and it is one that you all should definitely add to your playlists, this holiday season and beyond. All of his previous songs are amazing so I had high expectations for this one and he did not disappoint. I love it so much! I'm wondering if the 'Riddim' in the title is a play on the word rhythm? The song has a very interesting groove to it and the beats and sounds remind me of the islands of the Caribbean, where DBL is from. I get good and happy vibes from it and it is sure to make everyone ant to dance along. In fact, as I'm sitting at my desk writing this, I am trying to resist the urge to move!  We have to give a shout out to the team that worked on this song with him - It was produced by Jeri Nova (Instagram @jeri_nova), mixed by Gmnii Riich (Instagram @gmniiriichual) and the cover ...

 In today's post, I am sharing a recipe for delicious Christmas cupcakes. Ingredients  125 g butter, softened 200 g caster sugar 4-6 drops almond exract 4 eggs, lightly beaten 150 g self-raising flour 175 ground almonds For the topping 450 g white ready-to-roll fondant icing 55 g green ready-to-roll fondant icing 25 g red ready-to-roll fondant icing Icing sugar for dusting Method Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and put 16 paper muffin cases in muffin tins. Put the butter, sugar and almond extract in a bowl and beat together until light and fluffy. Gradually add the eggs, beating well after each addition. Add the flour and fold it into the mixture, then fold in the ground almonds.  Spoon the mixture into the paper muffin cases to half-fill them. Bake the cupcakes in the oven for 20 minutes,or until they have risen well, are golden brown and firm to touch. Transfer them to a wire rack and leave to cool.  When the cupcakes are cool, knead the white icing until pliable, ...

When it comes to Christmas, the British royal family are just like the rest of us. They get together with the whole family, have meals, exchange gifts and enjoy relaxing and spending time together. In this post, I am sharing a few of the Royal family's Christmas traditions.  1. One week before Christmas, the Queen hosts a luncheon for extended family at Buckingham Palace. 2. The royals serve as patrons of many charities and they continue to support their respective causes throughout the holiday season by throwing Christmas parties for them. In 2018, William and Kate attended celebrations for military personnel deployed in Cyprus and their families in London. 3. Just like many other families, they send out annual Christmas cards to  well-wishers around the world. These cards always feature a portrait of the family. The royals official website says that the Queen and Prince Philip send out around 750 Christmas cards. She likes to get a head start on signing the cards while she i...

  It's December which means we have all started making plans for Christmas and shopping for gifts. Here, I am sharing some suggestions for gifts you can give to your loved ones if you are not sure what to get them or they haven't asked for anything,  Bath and beauty gift sets - You can get nice bath and beauty products such as hand towels, body washes, body butters and soap, make up brushes and cosmetics in gift sets from The Body Shop, Priceline and Kmart. They are useful things.  This bath pamper set is from Kmart  Candles - Everyone likes their homes to have beautiful scents in them, right? Candles are perfect for that and are sold in so many stores. Bath and Body Works has lovely scented candles and products and right now they have a mix and match deal where you save $20 when you spend $100 or save $10 hen you spend $50. Definitely check out their Christmas range!  A 3 wick candle from Bath & Body works Headphones: With most of us working from home, noi...

Christmas is a time for giving and with that in mind, I am sharing some ideas for things you could to help out your family, friends and even strangers to brighten up their day, make their life a little easier and put a smile on their face.  1. Send Christmas cards. Some people may think this is old-fashioned but I think it's nice to receive a hand-written Christmas message. You can give them to family, friends and neighbors and even hand them out to people in your local area.  2. Remember a friend or loved one's birthday by baking a cake and delivering it to their house or posting a card or gift. 3. Support small businesses, purchase something from someone's online shop or use their service.  4. If your roommates or family members are busy working, serve their meals and bring it to their area so they could eat at their desk. Make or buy them a coffee. 5. Offer to help elderly neighbors with shopping and chores. 6. Call a friend to see how they are doing. It's very easy ...

Christmas is just around the corner and I'm sure you have all started thinking about what gifts to get for your loved ones. As a book lover, I think books make great gifts and here I am going to tell you about some books which I highly recommend that you purchase. Athena Phillips is a children's author has written three great books including Carnie Vore Helps With Chores which tells the story of Carnie, a cute little dinosaur who helps her grandma with chores around the house and has fun doing it.  Donte Jackson's second book is called Herbie's Colorful World.  In this book, Herbie the dinosaur goes on an adventure with his friend Cameron the chameleon and they learns all about colors.  Donte and Athena wrote the first book of this series, Herbie's Happy Birthday, together. You can read my reviews of all three books by clicking on these links -  http://thevrk.blogspot.com/2019/02/book-review-herbies-happy-birthday.html   http://thevrk.blogspot.com/2019/08/r...

Today I am sharing 20 life hacks, ways to manage daily activities and tasks more efficiently and improve organization. Some of these hacks will save you time, hassles and embarassment! You have most likely already heard about some of these but check it out. 1. Dry clothes quickly without a dryer by putting the wet clothes on a towel, rolling it up and twist it as tightly as possible to squeeze out the excess water. 2.        To remove odours from your shoes, place a few tea bags in each shoe and leave it overnight. 3.        If you want to amplify the speakers of your phone, put your phone into a glass or bowl. 4.        When you take a cooler of drinks to the beach, a party, or anywhere, keep the ice last longer by sprinkling salt on it. 5.        Are you finding it hard to open a jar lid? Run it under hot water for a minute or two, wipe it and then it should ...

Happy Friday eeryone! It is the end of the week, or close to the end of the week depending on where you are from and after working hard, taking care of children, doing school work and whatever else you do with our time, you deserve to sit back and relax. In this post, I am sharing a videos I have found on YouTube which are sure to make you laugh, put a smile on your face and melt your heart.  This video of two year old boys, Maxwell and Finnegan, running and hugging each other in New York City went viral after one of their fathers posted it online.  On the Ellen Degeneres Show, there is a segment called 'Average Andy' in which Ellen sends her executive producer Andy to learn to do different things from professionals. One of my favorites from this segment is Andy learning to play ice hockey from the LA Kings. Andy is hilarious and a good sport.  A mother tells her daughter not to run in the shop so she stops and starts dancing! It's so cute. It's a fashion show by cats! ...

Joe Biden has been elected to be the 46th president of the United States  and Kamala Harris has been elected to be the Vice President. To celebrate, I am sharing some interesting and fun facts about Joe and Kamala.  E! Online Joe Biden  As a child, Joe had a stutter and he was bullied by his classmates for it. One of his friends helped him fix it and it stopped when he got to law school. Joe played American Football in high school After finishing law school, he was drafted for service in the Vietnam War but failed the medical test due to his asthma. His favorite movie is Chariots of Fire, a 1981 film based on the true story of two British athletes in the 1924 Olympics. He loves ice-cream. In 196, he bought a puppy for his first wife Neilia and they named it Senator.  Joe Bide and Jill Tracy Jacobs were introduced to each other on a blind date in 1975 and he had to propose to her five times before she said yes, They married in 1977. His good luck charm is a rosary whi...

Halloween isn't as big here in Australia as it is in other countries but I love seeing people all dressed up in costumes and children trick or treating.  Here are my six favorite celebrity Halloween costumes. Tanner and Jade from The Bachelor US - Love the family little mermaid theme. I have to say that I think Jade looks beautiful no matter what!  Instagram: jadelizroper Lilly Singh  Instagram: Lilly Kendall and Kylie Jenner - It's cool how they recreated costumes from their childhood! Instagram: kyliejenner Celine Dion - Looks great as Nanny McPhee  Instagram: Celine Dion  Halle Berry Instagram: Halle Berry  Neil Patrick Harris and family Instagram: nph

Hello! I am back with another 'YouTube Favorites' post where I am sharing some of my favorite YouTube channels and videos I have enjoyed watching.  1. Kaleb Dahlgren is an athlete and public speaker from Canada. This video was taken at an event in 2019 where Kaleb spoke about his life, perseverance and resilience. It was very interesting and he gave some really good advice that everyone can use. Watching and hearing him speak in presentations like this and interviews has helped a lot of people, including me. I don't really know Kaleb but I can tell he is a kind-hearted, humble person who is a role model and has done and will continue to do amazing things in life. Kaleb is the type of person everyone would want in their corner. He is a great speaker and teaches us really useful lessons like how to overcome adversity and have a positive attitude. I highly recommend watching this.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5009pfCh08U 2. Over the last few months, there have been many v...

There has been an ongoing debate over seat belts on buses and here I am sharing my thoughts on this and why I believe seat belts should be mandatory on buses.  Photo from busnews.com.au As soon as we get into a car we put on seat belts because the law states that it is compulsory. In Australia, we are so strict about car seat laws so why are bus laws so relaxed? Some children ask why they have wear seat belts in the car when they don’t have to wear them in buses. This is a good point. People could be hurt on buses in so many ways because they are big and sometimes make sudden stops and movements. Passengers get in and before they sit down, the bus starts moving, causing them to trip and fall. It has happened to me a few times. I mean, I haven’t fallen in the bus but have come close. We could slide around on the seats as it turns and if the bus makes a sudden stop, we could be launched forward, hit the seat in front or even be launched out. One afternoon when I was going home in a b...

Here is another red carpet fashion post. This time, I am sharing my favorite looks from the 2020 Billboard Music Awards which were held in Los Angeles.  Kelly Clarkson - The host looks stunning in this shiny dress. Garcelle Beauvais - Love orange on her. Lilly Singh - The suit look is great on Lilly. Jane Lynch - Casual and relaed Lil Nas X - A very unique looking suit.  Allison Holker - She looks beautiful in anything she wears. Stephen "Twitch" Boss - Always stylish. Lizzo - A beautiful role model making a statement.