Community
Summertime Safety Series Offered by La Mirada P.A.R.K. Program
The La Mirada Positive Alternatives and Recreation for Kids (P.A.R.K.) program is hosting a Summer Safety series for youth. The series will include special presentations from first responders and other safety professionals emphasizing safe behavior. The activities are held from 2:15 to 3 p.m. every Thursday, from July 9 through August 27, at the following sites:
July 9th, Gardenhill Park – Animal Safety; July 16th, Frontier Park – First Aid; July 23rd, Windermere Park – Insect Awareness; July 30th Gardenhill Park – Fire Safety; August 6th, Frontier Park – Personal Safety; August 13th, Windermere Park – Pedestrian Safety; August 20th Gardenhill Park – Bicycle Safety; August 27th Frontier Park – Electrical Safety.
“We encourage all kids to attend the Summer Safety series,” says Safety Education Officer Mary Cipres. “Through presentations and activities, children will learn valuable tips to stay safe and avoid trouble.”
The P.A.R.K. program is a free recreation program that offers a variety of activities such as reading club, homework club, science workshops, sports tournaments, crafts, and cooking classes. During the summer months, the program is open Monday through Friday from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
The P.A.R.K. program is offered at Frontier, Gardenhill and Windermere Parks in La Mirada and is available to ages 5 to 17.
For more information on the P.A.R.K program or the Summer Safety series, visit Windermere, Frontier or Gardenhill Park or call (562) 943-7277.
Annual Independence Celebration at Regional Park
La Mirada~The city’s annual Independence Celebration will be held July 3 from 4 to 9:30 p.m. at La Mirada Regional Park.
The celebration will include live music by 80's band "Neon Nation", and motown band "Stone Soul". A variety of tasty food will be on sale by La Mirada’s local service and athletic groups. The celebration will conclude with a patriotic program and exciting fireworks spectacular.
Be sure to keep the following guidelines in mind on the day of the event:
Parking: In addition to parking at La Mirada Regional Park, overflow parking is available at the La Mirada High School stadium lot, BIOLA University (entrance off of La Mirada Blvd.), and Civic Center Plaza. All red curb restrictions are being enforced. Patrons parking in red zones will be issued citations. Parking along Foster Road is allowed only after "No Parking" signs have been covered the day of the event by the City.
Healthy Mama Diaries: Freezing Foods Can Save Time and Money
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| Amanda Denker and Baby Jet |
Editors Note: This is the premiere edition of the new monthly column for the La Mirada Blog, "Healthy Mama Diaries" by Amanda Denker that will feature healthy cooking, fitness and lifestyle tips for busy Moms. You can follow Amanda on Instagram @healthymamadiaries and on Twitter @healthymamablog.
Hi La Mirada, welcome to my column, Healthy Mama Diaries. I’m a La Mirada native, wife, first time mama, traveler, social media enthusiast, essential oil wellness advocate, and I have God to thank for all of it; that’s me in a nutshell.
I am over-the-moon excited for the opportunity to write this column for you. I would like to invite you to join me on my journey of living a healthy balanced lifestyle as I share my life and experiences with you. I hope that after reading this column you feel empowered, encouraged, and inspired to make healthier choices for yourself and for your family. So, let’s get started!
Fun Foods to Freeze
On any given day I can open up the freezer at my parent’s house and find a misplaced food item or two. A chocolate pudding cup, a bag of Skittles, and a whole apple are just a few items that my dad has frozen out of curiosity, just to see if the frozen version is desirable or not. The man loves to freeze things. Unlike my dad and his curiosity, it was efficiency, and preparedness that spiked my love for freezing foods. I learned that certain foods when frozen could save me time, money, and waste.
Here is a list of 25 foods that you may also enjoy freezing:
1) Garlic-Having garlic on hand is a must, but chopping it every time you need it can be time consuming. Freezing garlic is a huge time saver. Finely chop or mince multiple cloves of garlic and add it to BPA Free ice-cube trays with a little bit of olive or grape seed oil and freeze. When the garlic is frozen, pop the cubes out and store them in the appropriate size freezer bags. Tip: I suggest mincing 4-5 heads of garlic at a time using a food processor. When doing this you can drizzle the oil directly into the food processor with the garlic and then add the mixture straight into the ice-cube trays.
2) Fresh Herbs-Whether you buy them or grow them, once cut fresh herbs do not stay fresh for long. Freezing them will allow you to preserve them longer. Wash your herbs, allow them to dry, chop them, add them to BPA Free ice-cube trays with a little oil or water, and freeze them. Once they have frozen, pop them out of the trays and add them to the appropriate size freezer bags.
3) Coffee-Pour your leftover coffee into ice-cube trays and freeze. Use the frozen coffee cubes instead of regular ice in your iced-coffee. Coffee cubes will not water down your iced-coffee.
4) Avocados-Avocados can be expensive and they tend to overripe rapidly. When you know your avocados are ready to eat but you are not ready to eat them, freeze them. Frozen avocados can be used to make ice-cream, pudding, smoothies, and guacamole. To freeze avocados cut them in half, take the pit out, and take the avocado out of the skin using a large spoon. Freeze in an airtight freezer bag. Tip: Save money by buying a bunch when they are on sale and freeze them for later.
5) Butter-Buy butter on sale and freeze until you are ready to use it.
Menchie’s La Mirada Grand Opening Celebration
La Mirada~The new Menchie’s La Mirada is now open and celebration is planned for the new shop open at 12261 La Mirada Blvd. in the Crossroads center.
Guests are invited to come by for a ribbon cutting and free yogurt on Saturday from 11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. to kick off the week-long festivities.
Saturday 11am – 1pm:
Ribbon cutting with Menchie, free t-shirts for the first 25 guests, free frozen yogurt for all guests, balloon artist (entertainment).
Sunday 1pm:
Free plushie doll giveaway (qty 25), Color-in t-shirts (while supplies last), Face painting
Monday 5 – 6pm:
$1 for $1 hour – Fill up your cup
Tuesday 2 – 4pm:
Kids eat free, Arts & crafts
Wednesday 11am – 1pm:
50% off lunchtime yum
Thursday 3pm:
Free dodge ball giveaway (qty 25)
Friday 8pm – close:
Buy one cup of frozen yogurt get one free.
La Mirada Resident Alexander “A.J.” Hernandez Graduates From Boston College
CHESTNUT HILL, MA~Alexander "AJ" Hernandez, son of Michael & Leticia Hernandez of La Mirada, was awarded his Undergraduate Degree in Communication and a minor in Environmental Studies from the Morrissey School of Arts & Sciences, at the 139th Commencement of Boston College recently on Monday, May 18, 2015.
AJ Hernandez is a graduate of Servite High School. At Boston College, AJ was a Thea Bowman Scholar, a member of co-Ed a Capella group BC Dynamics, and is a mentor with Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Massachusetts Bay. He is employed with Ogilvy Public Relations in Cambridge, MA.
Congratulations A.J. from the La Mirada Blog!
Send us the info about YOUR La Mirada graduate to news@lamiradablog.com; we would to share the good news! Word up!
FROM THE EDITOR: New Healthy Lifetsyle Column Coming to the La Mirada Blog
We are pleased to announce a new column is coming to the La Mirada Blog-Healthy Mama Diaries by Amanda Denker.
Amanda's column will feature healthy cooking, fitness and lifestyle tips for busy mamas who want the best for their family. Amanda says, "Life is good, it's better when you are healthy!"
Amanda is also a doTERRA Wellness Advocate and will offer information on essential oils from doTERRA.
She is a La Mirada native and still lives in La Mirada with professional baseball player Travis Denker. Needless to say because of hubby's profession they do a lot of moving around. La Mirada is home-base for the fam, but I have a feeling Amanda will be providing some Mama Road Tips.
She is a first-time mom to 18-month old son, Jet. She is also a part-time counselor at a residential treatment center, helping clients overcome eating disorders.
She enjoys spending all the rest of her time being a mom and lives and loves a healthy balanced lifestyle through healthy eating and exercise (I should take some hints from her).
For a sneak preview, check out her Instagram feed @healthymamadiaries.
Look for her first column to debut soon. Welcome to the team Amanda!
Scouts Rise Early to Decorate Olive Lawn Memorial Park
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| Members of Boy Scout Troop 438 (Whittier/La Mirada) and Cub Scout Pack 919 (La Mirada) placed flags at Olive Lawn in preparation of the annual Memorial Day Observance Ceremony honoring our fallen military servicemen and women. See additional photo on Instagram @lamiradablog. |
Memorial Day Observance Program at Olive Lawn
La Mirada~Veterans of Foreign Wars Post #9148 will host a Memorial Day Service on Monday, May 25 from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Olive Lawn Memorial Park in La Mirada.
The service will include a Memorial Day address by the La Mirada VFW, patriotic songs, a special tribute to fallen soldiers, and placing of memorial flowers by community organizations, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and the Ladies' Auxiliary. Seating is limited so feel free to bring lawn chairs.
Olive Lawn Memorial Park is located at 13926 La Mirada Blvd. For more information, call La Mirada VFW Post #9148 at (562) 941-4097 or Olive Lawn Memorial Park at (562) 943-1718.
La Mirada Library Hosts Author Panel
La Mirada~Join the La Mirada Library as they celebrate National Library Week with an event sure to sing to a romantic heart: Romance is… an Author Panel. On Saturday, April 25, 2015; 2:00 – 4:00pm, authors will share their adventures of writing one of the most popular genres in the literary world - Romance.
Sabrina Sol is the chica who loves love. She writes steamy romance stories featuring smart and sexy Latina heroines. Sabrina lives in sunny Southern California with her husband, three kids, two Beagles, one Bulldog and is part of a larger, extended Mexican family whose members are definitely not the source of inspiration for some of her characters. At least, that’s what she’s been telling them.
Jill Sorenson is the RITA award nominated author of more than a dozen romantic suspense novels, including the Aftershock series by Harlequin. She lives in the San Diego area with her family. She’s a soccer mom who loves nature, coffee, reading, twitter and reality TV.
Genevieve Turner writes historical romance fresh from the Golden State. In a previous life, she was a scientist studying the genetics of behavior, but now she’s a stay at home mom studying the intersection of nature and nurture in her own kids. She lives in beautiful Southern California, where she manages her family and homestead in an indolent manner.
Community Carnival at Benton April 24-26th; Pre-Sale Ride Tickets Now Available
La Mirada~A fun-filled weekend of rides, food, and entertainment is fast approaching at the annual “4 La Mirada Kids” Community Carnival to be held at Benton Middle School. Volunteers are hard at work making final preparations for the three-day carnival, which will host thousands of families and friends over the weekend.
Entertainment acts scheduled for the carnival include performances by Benton Middle School Band and Cheer, Grey Matter, Royals Cheer, The Groovetones, Squirettes Dance Team, and Glory of Paradise and the Alohi Polynesia dancers.
Editor of the La Mirada Blog, Tony Aiello, will be the MC and Announcer for the entertainment Friday and Saturday evenings.
A number of craft vendors will be selling handmade items and decorative crafts. Several food trucks will be offering a variety of tasty food items for sale.
Exciting rides and amusements will be offered for those seeking thrills and rides for younger children will also be available.
Everybody knows, pre-sale ride tickets are the way to go. You can save substantially by not waiting until the day of event to purchase your ride tickets.
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