Zinta Aistars's Blog, page 31
November 25, 2012
Giving Thanks 2012
by Zinta Aistars
Why just one day? I count my blessings every day, and 2012 may well rank as the most blessed year of my life. A threshold year. I moved to Z Acres, the place of my dreams, and I started my own business, Z Word, LLC. And I am loving it. All of it.
Add in ever expanding family and most beloved friends, excellent health, and I am living my bliss, my slice of heaven, my dream.
On this Sunday after Thanksgiving, I am stirring the largest kettle I own, filled with the simmerin...
Why just one day? I count my blessings every day, and 2012 may well rank as the most blessed year of my life. A threshold year. I moved to Z Acres, the place of my dreams, and I started my own business, Z Word, LLC. And I am loving it. All of it.
Add in ever expanding family and most beloved friends, excellent health, and I am living my bliss, my slice of heaven, my dream.
On this Sunday after Thanksgiving, I am stirring the largest kettle I own, filled with the simmerin...
November 18, 2012
Kids help kids through WAR International crayon collection
by Zinta Aistars for MLive.com, Advance News
November 16, 2012
They are called the Fantastic 5s. Twenty-three children, all 5 years old, attend Laura Crump's class at Cross Creek Charter Academy, 7701 Kalamazoo Ave. SE in Byron Center, and they are busy learning, broken crayons in hand.
Like most children, the Fantastic 5s like to color. But they learn even more when they give their crayons away.
Outside of the classroom door is a large bin. As the kids come into class, they drop crayons in. Brok...
November 16, 2012
They are called the Fantastic 5s. Twenty-three children, all 5 years old, attend Laura Crump's class at Cross Creek Charter Academy, 7701 Kalamazoo Ave. SE in Byron Center, and they are busy learning, broken crayons in hand.
Like most children, the Fantastic 5s like to color. But they learn even more when they give their crayons away.
Outside of the classroom door is a large bin. As the kids come into class, they drop crayons in. Brok...
November 15, 2012
Believing in pockets of green champions
by Zinta Aistars
Published in Rapid Growth Media (Grand Rapids, MI)
November 15, 2012
Brett Little (Photography by Adam Bird, www.adambirdphoto.com)
"Brett Little, administrative director of Alliance for Environmental Sustainability, doesn't just think green at work. He also made sure he lived in a green home, and spends his days making intentional choices with reducing his carbon footprint in mind."
Order up a coffee at Starbucks and you might expect a shot of cream. But a shot of green? Ex...
Published in Rapid Growth Media (Grand Rapids, MI)
November 15, 2012
Brett Little (Photography by Adam Bird, www.adambirdphoto.com)"Brett Little, administrative director of Alliance for Environmental Sustainability, doesn't just think green at work. He also made sure he lived in a green home, and spends his days making intentional choices with reducing his carbon footprint in mind."
Order up a coffee at Starbucks and you might expect a shot of cream. But a shot of green? Ex...
November 12, 2012
Drum roll: The Smoking Poet's Fall/Winter 2012-13 Issue #23!
Off the Bus by Jeff Abshear
"Words that turn the page to flame."
If ever there has been a test of my love for The Smoking Poet , these past few months have been that test. The intended fall issue of 2012 has become a two-season issue of fall and winter. In August, as we neared the fall issue deadline, I started my own business, a writing and editing service called Z Word, LLC, also the "mother ship" of The Smoking Poet. After nearly seven years of publication, I was making this thing legit. Good...
November 5, 2012
Taking the moment, mastering time
by Zinta Aistars
Rolling out of bed with a shiver, I check my schedule on my phone calendar on my way downstairs to the kitchen. I have a couple of hours. But the day is exceedingly full, including a trip south into Kalamazoo, to collect a couple of new assignments at the college, later a trip north to the 'burb of Wyoming, to attend a city council meeting. Between, I have to finish an article, deadline tomorrow noon, and schedule three interviews and photo shoots for this week's news stories...
Rolling out of bed with a shiver, I check my schedule on my phone calendar on my way downstairs to the kitchen. I have a couple of hours. But the day is exceedingly full, including a trip south into Kalamazoo, to collect a couple of new assignments at the college, later a trip north to the 'burb of Wyoming, to attend a city council meeting. Between, I have to finish an article, deadline tomorrow noon, and schedule three interviews and photo shoots for this week's news stories...
November 2, 2012
How a Kalamazoo pharmacist becomes a creator of cosmetics
by Zinta Aistars
Published by Southwest Michigan's Second Wave Media
November 1, 2012
Christine Arseneau of Tina's Pharm (Photo by Erik Holladay)
When a woman loses the child she is carrying, the hit to her heart and health is difficult enough. For Christine Arseneau, the pain did not end there. Shortly after her miscarriage two years ago, doctors noted an odd fluctuation in her hormonal levels. Further tests revealed that some of the placenta cells had developed into a type of cancer called gest...
Published by Southwest Michigan's Second Wave Media
November 1, 2012
Christine Arseneau of Tina's Pharm (Photo by Erik Holladay)When a woman loses the child she is carrying, the hit to her heart and health is difficult enough. For Christine Arseneau, the pain did not end there. Shortly after her miscarriage two years ago, doctors noted an odd fluctuation in her hormonal levels. Further tests revealed that some of the placenta cells had developed into a type of cancer called gest...
October 31, 2012
Making your dwelling well
by Zinta Aistars
Published in Rapid Growth Media (Grand Rapids, MI)
November 1, 2012
Photography for the article by Adam Bird
Understanding houses as interconnected systems is a new way of thinking for those in the construction industry. When the housing market took a steep and long dip in 2008 and in the years following, many in the construction industry were forced to reinvent themselves. In so doing, a green building industry was born.
A sick home? We think of good health when we sp...
Published in Rapid Growth Media (Grand Rapids, MI)
November 1, 2012
Photography for the article by Adam BirdUnderstanding houses as interconnected systems is a new way of thinking for those in the construction industry. When the housing market took a steep and long dip in 2008 and in the years following, many in the construction industry were forced to reinvent themselves. In so doing, a green building industry was born.
A sick home? We think of good health when we sp...
October 22, 2012
Latvian artist exhibiting his work at Hopkins District Library
by Zinta Aistars for ADVANCE NEWS
October 22, 2012
Published in Penasee Globe
Natalie Bazan, library director, talking to artist Viestarts Aistars
It may be small, but the Hopkins District Library reaches far and pulls in close. The library often exhibits the work of local artists, and now on exhibit are five works by Latvian artist Viestarts Aistars, of Kalamazoo.
"I'm very pleased to show my work in Hopkins," said Aistars. "This is a beautiful area, and the countryside reminds me of parts of Lat...
October 22, 2012
Published in Penasee Globe
Natalie Bazan, library director, talking to artist Viestarts AistarsIt may be small, but the Hopkins District Library reaches far and pulls in close. The library often exhibits the work of local artists, and now on exhibit are five works by Latvian artist Viestarts Aistars, of Kalamazoo.
"I'm very pleased to show my work in Hopkins," said Aistars. "This is a beautiful area, and the countryside reminds me of parts of Lat...
October 14, 2012
A Daughter's Wedding
On September 1, 2012, my daughter Lorena married Derek in Chicago ... a beautiful church ceremony that concluded on a cruise ship on Lake Michigan, the incredible skyline of Chicago in the distance. Truly a day to remember, leaving this mama's heart warm with memory.
A small sample of images from the day ...
My son walked my daughter down the aisle; here, a quiet moment just before...
Sister and brother walking down the aisle
To learn more about Zinta, visit www.zintaaistars.com
A small sample of images from the day ...
My son walked my daughter down the aisle; here, a quiet moment just before...
Sister and brother walking down the aisle
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To learn more about Zinta, visit www.zintaaistars.com
October 12, 2012
Byron Center teacher brings art class into the digital world
by Zinta Aistars
Published in ADVANCE News, MLive.com
October 12, 2012
Janine Campbell
Janine Campbell, a visual arts teacher at West Middle School in Byron Center, is plugged in.
She’s so plugged in, in fact, that teachers all across the state, even across the country, are taking notice.
Campbell teaches art to seventh- and eighth-grade students, and she does much of it online, through social media, blogs and videos.
“Kids are online anyway,” Campbell says, “and they understand it well. It’s an...
Published in ADVANCE News, MLive.com
October 12, 2012
Janine CampbellJanine Campbell, a visual arts teacher at West Middle School in Byron Center, is plugged in.
She’s so plugged in, in fact, that teachers all across the state, even across the country, are taking notice.
Campbell teaches art to seventh- and eighth-grade students, and she does much of it online, through social media, blogs and videos.
“Kids are online anyway,” Campbell says, “and they understand it well. It’s an...
