Some of our (LA) favorite things!

Zuma Beach.

Since I created The Gay Vegans blog I have written a post at the end of the year to promote people, places and things that have really turned me on during the past year. It's always been a blast, and this year feels even more fun as it is our first December in southern California.

Remember that as a blogger I promote items that we love and do not accept items to try or to blog about.

Here we go!

VeganEgg

This product surprised both of us. We typically try new vegan products but seldom think that we have tried something that we absolutely love. VeganEgg by Follow Your Heart blew our socks off.

Sun Cafe

Our new adventure living in Los Angeles has introduced us to many incredible places that serve tasty vegan food. Sun Cafe was an old favorite from when we would visit LA. Now we have been to their new spot in Studio City and experienced true hospitality with a serving of delish vegan food. We love Sun Cafe.

Zuma Beach

Our favorite beach, hands down. Worth the further drive to Malibu and a staple for our weekends and days off.

Veggie Grill

Vegan fast food. All over southern California including Pasadena, the one we frequent. Will do a restaurant review soon.

Avocado toast

Thanks to the Vegan Mos, this has become a staple in our home. I use vegan butter, avocado, nooch, pepper and paprika. Delish.

Griffith Park

Incredible park just north of downtown LA. Tons of hiking with incredible views, and you can even hike to the Hollywood sign!

Los Angeles

What a city. And an area. Seven months here and we love it. If you are ever going to come for a visit and need recommendations, let us know!

More to come! Thanks for reading!

Turning 50

If you don't die, you'll get to age 50.

I'm a few hours away and feel like I have a good chance of making it.

I feel awesome. And grateful. I hoped that I could say that I feel healthier than ever, but I have fallen off the ladder with exercise and I definitely notice it.

Don't get me wrong, I feel really good. I'm eating well and I think that all in all I'm doing great.

They say 50 is the new 30. Not sure about that. What I am sure about is that I will continue to take each day as a gift, continue to spend as much time as possible being a voice for the voiceless and work to make the world a little safer for all living beings. I will get serious about exercise again.

For my 50th birthday I decided to raise money for Urban Peak, a rock-star non-profit in Denver that serves youth experience homelessness, over 2,000 of them a year. Their staff is filled with compassionate and passionate people who give their all in service of others. I was hoping to raise $1,000 and as of today am at $2,465! So awesome.

I'd like to say thank you to all of you who have supported this blog, which has become a highlight of my activism and work towards liberation. Those who read my blog have become an awesome part of my life, and I am grateful.

Together we can do so much for so many.

If you would like to know more about Urban Peak, click here.

Thanks for reading, and thanks for being part of this blog community.

Becoming a better activist

There is a lot of yelling.

There is a lot of anger.

I see it all of the time.

I don't know how to be the most effective activist. I have learned a couple of things that have helped, and I'll share those. The bottom line for me is constantly looking within to make sure I am being a strong voice for the voiceless.

First, it helps if I know what I am talking about and not just jump on a bandwagon. I have gotten better at this especially since I started blogging. It is so important to blog about facts and when engaging in activism, to be factual. It can be easy to get caught up in some piece of "news" on Twitter or Facebook, and I've learned to investigate before sharing.

Next, I have to focus. Yes, I want to make the world a better and safer place for all living beings. I can't be all things to all movements. I try to focus on what I am most passionate about and go from there. This doesn't mean I can't participate in an action alert or a protest. It simply means to stay focused, to keep my eye on the prize.

Honor my primary relationships. So important for me. I am fortunate to have an amazing husband, a man who loves me and who I am in love with completely. I have to remember this when involved in activism. Home life is super important to me and creating and keeping peace and love at home has to always come first.

Donate smartly. In the past several years we have chosen a couple organizations that we make larger donations to. We still donate randomly when we see something that seems urgent but we still try to keep focused on making a couple bigger donations rather than a bunch of smaller ones. Note to those asking for money: remember to thank those who give you their hard-earned money.

Kindness. I write about this a lot. Activism gets crazy. With so much bigotry, white supremacy, racism, animal cruelty and violence in the our communities it's easy to get pissed off. It can be easy to blow off anyone who doesn't agree with me. I have found that this doesn't help, nor am I as strong of a voice for the voiceless that I can be . It doesn't hurt to be kind. An example is a fundraiser I went to in LA. I went to support an activist group. I left feeling like most of those present didn't really want anyone outside of their circle present. Very little interaction or welcoming. At a fundraiser.

Remember that all of these are very personal to me and how I have experienced activism over the past 30 years. I hope one of these helps you to also become a better activist.

Thanks for reading!