Inspiration Collage

I ended up making this much faster than I thought I would - that's what happens when you're using your computer to watch the show Lost. So here it is, I may make changes to it if I find something that really strikes me.

Wedding "Theme"

Because the wedding date is in August, and we want to keep the day on the casual side with things to do outside other than dance, we landed on a picnic theme. When I first starting looking for inspiration on the internet, I saw some examples of weddings that actually used picnic blankets for guests instead of tables. Matt quickly nixed that idea, with the compromise that we could have some of our wedding photos taken with a picnic blanket.

But other picnic inspirations will live on. Here are some of the things I am thinking about...

• Colors - watermelon pink, green, and yellow (pic)
• Main flower- gerber daisies
• Food- while still to be chosen and planned, I'm thinking gourmet sandwiches, fruit salad, a lemonade cocktail
• Activities- croquet, horseshoes, badminton, ladder toss, etc.
• Tables- pale green or yellow gingham tablecloths
• Making use in some way, shape or form of- wicker baskets, galvanized steel buckets, and mason jars

I am thinking of creating an "inspiration collage," which I will post on this site if and when I create it.

What is Public Health?

I am pursuing a field that is usually misunderstood by the general public. When someone hears public health, they usually think of health inspectors and the people who report on disease outbreaks. There is so much more to public health though, that I kind of dread people asking me about it. It's not easy to explain, and until I'm done with grad school, I won't have a specific area that I work with.

The following description is taken from http://www.whatispublichealth.org

Public Health is the science and art of protecting and improving the health of communities through education, promotion of healthy lifestyles, and research for injury and disease prevention.

Pubic Health improves the health and well being of people in local communities and across our nation.

Public Health helps people who are less fortunate to achieve a healthier lifestyle.

Public Health works to prevent health problems before they occur.

I will be studying Health Behavior/Health Education at U of M. The program will prepare me to "utilize behavioral science and research methods to analyze public health issues, address health disparities, and develop and evaluate interventions and policies." Some of the areas of focus of this program are:

*health behavior over the life course
*health disparities - race, gender, class
*gender and health
*research methods
*interventions from individuals to communities to nations
*health communication

Graduates have opportunities to work in communities, non-profit organizations, schools, hospitals, government agencies, etc. Some job titles of recent U of M graduates from the HBHE program are:

Outreach and education director
School health educator
Worksite health promotion coordinator
Health media web designer
Patient education coordinator
Health literacy expert
Assistant professor

(U of M's School of Public Health, Health Behavior/Health Education)

I hope this helps shed some light on what is I'll be spending the next two years studying :)

The Place

After deciding on the date for this wedding of ours, the next big decision was where to hold the event.

~We wanted an outdoor wedding, that was easy. I don't like banquet halls personally, it's just not for me. And as far as the pictures go, you just can't beat being outdoors.

~We wanted to have things to do other than dancing, we don't like dancing. Having our wedding outdoors allows us to have a more relaxed, picnic, family reunion style wedding day. It just suits us more.

~We didn't like the idea of having to rent a park because we wanted control over how long we use the facility and where we set things up. Plus, we didn't want to deal with alcohol restrictions.

~Somehow we came up with the idea of using the Tinsey residence in Ortonville. They have a fairly large yard, a beautiful home, and neighbors who are family if we need some space in their yard. I almost didn't want to ask because it's a huge imposition, but I am glad that the Tinseys are willing to open their home up to our wedding festivities. It will be nice to spend the whole day somewhere that actually means something to us :)

Decision One: The Date

Upon news of our engagement the first question we were asked was, have you set a date? Here's how we picked August 28th, 2010...

~Originally I wanted a fall wedding, I love the fall, it's my favorite time of year. Fall of 2009 and 2010 wouldn't work because I'll be in the middle of semesters at U of M. We though about waiting until fall of 2011, but we don't know what will be going on then. Where we might get jobs, whether or not I'll start a Ph.D. program. We didn't feel comfortable playing a waiting game that could potentially go for years.

~The next decision was, do we do it while I'm still in my master's program, or wait til I'm done. Again, question of not know what comes next made us decide against the after graduation idea.

~I checked U of M's academic calender for the summer of 2010, and the summer semester ends August 20th, and the Fall semester begins September 7th or 8th. The weekend immediately following the end of the semester didn't make sense, so we went for the next one - August 28th, 2010.

Why this blog?

A way to keep in touch mostly.

For a few years before we got engaged Matt and I talked about what we wanted our wedding to be like some day. Since the official planning has started I've been pulling a lot of pictures and ideas from the internet. We don't want the most traditional wedding ever, so using this blog to share my ideas and inspirations will be a way to share what's on my mind with all those interested.
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I'll also be starting grad school in September, which I am really excited about - but also nervous. After 5 years at Eastern I was as comfortable as could be. I knew my professors (really well), I had an awesome campus job, and I basically felt right at home.

U of M School of Public Health (SPH) is one of the best schools of public health in the country, easily top 10, top 5 depending on the year you look at the survey. I was one of about 60 students admitted to the department I applied to, out of about 200 applicants. Not only will this be my first year at a new school (one MUCH different than EMU), I will also have to work harder than I've ever had to in order to prove myself.

I can't wait to have more to share on the school front. I start at the beginning of September. For now I am just working around 19-25 hours a week at the Ann Arbor District Library (AADL), and workin' on those wedding plans ;)