Who Calling neatfreak!!!!!!

[joflier]

Let's here more about you, my fellow Wisconsinite (whose getting very close to 10k posts!!)

 

[neatfreak]

Awww thanks Joflier! What do you want to know? I guess first off I should confess that I am not a native Wisconsonite...I am originally from Massachusetts and moved here what seems like a million years ago already to go to graduate school. I met my husband here through mutual friends maybe the first month I moved to Wisconsin. His family is originally from San Diego, so we've got the entire country covered pretty much!

I've been on bedrest since October 3 because I am about to have twin boys! We are getting very excited...could be any day now, so if I disappear you'll know why!!! So they are at least partially responsible for my plethora of posts recently!

I'll write some more here later once I think of some things...but feel free to help the process along.

 

[iwannaprettyone]

I lurveeeee your ring neatfreak!

Sooooo, have you picked baby names??

Fave icecream, movie, musical, clothing brand??

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 12/4/2008 1:42:22 PM
Author: iwannaprettyone
I lurveeeee your ring neatfreak!


Sooooo, have you picked baby names??


Fave icecream, movie, musical, clothing brand??

Thanks Iwanna! I love yours too!!!! So many rings so little time...such a shame.

We have picked names, Maxwell (Max) Elliot and Dexter Aidan. Our last name begins with L and rhymes with plankton.

Ice cream: That''s a hard one...I really LOVE ice cream. For plainish flavors, strawberry. For decadent flavors Haagen Daz Vanilla Swiss Almond or Ben and Jerry''s New York SuperFudge Chunk.

Movie: Love Actually is up there for sure...

Musical: I love Rent and The Music Man

Clothing: My favorite brand is Diane Von Furstenburg. My favorite place to shop though is Anthropologie.

Good questions! Much more interesting than what I would have come up with!

 

[neatfreak]

Because who can resist the furballs...This is Franklin and Teddy our two puppies (well not so much puppies anymore but I still call them the puppies). They are in for a big surprise in the next couple of weeks, they are kings of the house right now. This is Franklin at the family cabin:

 

[neatfreak]

And this is Teddy. Both dogs are rescue/rehomes. We got Teddy when he was just shy of 5 months and Franklin when he was 8 months.

 

[joflier]

So how does Wisconsin compare to Massachusetts? Do you plan on living here long term?

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 12/4/2008 2:04:13 PM
Author: joflier
So how does Wisconsin compare to Massachusetts? Do you plan on living here long term?

Well...Madison is similar...then outside of Madison it's pretty different! I did grow up in the Berkshires though, which is Western MA. So we have farmland and quaint little towns similar to parts of Wisconsin. I think the biggest difference here is that you can drive 10 minutes outside of Madison and you are in the middle of nowhere with no town in sight. That doesn't really happen in MA, there are towns fairly frequently. The political differences here are obviously quite apparent too, in MA even in the small towns most people are fairly liberal/hippie dippy and here obviously they like their guns...so it's quite a culture shock for me outside of Madison.

We really do love Madison and if we could stay here we probably would. But unfortunately since my DH and I are both in academia, it is very unlikely that we could both (or even one of us) get jobs here. Schools generally don't like to hire their own PhD's...so we probably have to leave when we are done.

 

[Harriet]

What''s your area?

 

[joflier]

Your doggies are soo cute!!!

So where did you get your screename? Are you trulely a neatfreak?

How long do you have until you both are done with school?

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 12/4/2008 2:10:27 PM
Author: Harriet
What''s your area?

Public Policy is what my PhD is in. I focus mostly on policies affecting children and families, but I dabble in everything from welfare policy to health policy.

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 12/4/2008 2:32:39 PM
Author: joflier
Your doggies are soo cute!!!


So where did you get your screename? Are you trulely a neatfreak?

How long do you have until you both are done with school?

Thanks, they think they are cute too. Especially the white one, he is SUCH a ham!

I am truly a neatfreak...living with a not-so neatfreak.

He tries...but he just doesn''t understand how anxious I get when things aren''t at least reasonably clean!

We''re both writing our dissertations so hopefully less than a year at this point.

 

[amber_312]

neatfreak, what is one of the most eye opening non-fiction books you''ve read?

 

[Lorelei]

Yay Neat!!! So glad to see you have your own thread!

 

[iheartscience]

Your dogs are ADORABLE, neat! Are they poodles? I am not much of a dog person but I love dogs with long poodley hair for some reason...I think because they remind me of cats or something!

I also love the movie Love Actually! I got in a friendly debate with gwen about it over in the Hangout thread about holiday movies.

I'm super excited for you that you're having twins! And I love your boys' names. (Are you going to call them Dex and Max? Either way those names are ADORABLE.) And do you have any idea which baby you're going to name Maxwell and which baby you're going to name Dexter? Or will you see which name they look like first?

Hmm...I have more questions for you!

What's your favorite bag designer and bag?
Favorite color?
Favorite denim brand?
Favorite thing to buy overall?
Favorite book?
ETA also your favorite city/place in the world?

 

[NewEnglandLady]

I''m so glad you have your own thread, Neatfreak!!

Do you have any idea where you guys might end up after you get your PhDs? Do you have an "ideal" place in mind? Are you hoping for the East Coast and your husband hoping for the West?

 

[sammyj]

hey neatfreak! This is my first time posting in Who''s Who but i just wanted to jump in and say it''s about time you have your own thread! I haven''t been on PS for long but I could tell right away that you''re practically an icon with you diamond knowledge and helpful advice!

I was also wondering what kinds of dogs you have. My BF just told me that after I get my e-ring he wants me to buy him a puppy. I''m not much of a dog person but he''s crazy about them so we''re trying to compromise and we''ve been looking at mini goldendoodles. Is Franklin a goldendoodle?

love the baby names btw!

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 12/4/2008 3:14:24 PM
Author: amber_312
neatfreak, what is one of the most eye opening non-fiction books you''ve read?

That''s a great question...I''m a book nerd so I read a lot, but there are just so many...One I really enjoyed is Freakanomics even though it wasn''t exactly eye opening since I''m a stats nerd already! I''ll have to think about that one...

 

[Sparkalicious]

Hey Neatfreak - Glad to see you have your own thread.
I always love reading your posts - Succinct yet so insightful. You offer such sound advice.

Congratulations on your pregnancy - don''t know how I missed the fact that you were pregnant but Congrats! How so very exciting!!! Sorry that it seemingly hasn''t been an easy pregnancy...

I''m sure that you must have answered this somewhere before but how did you come up with your screen name ... Is it self-explanatory or is there a story behind it?

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 12/4/2008 3:28:14 PM
Author: thing2of2
Your dogs are ADORABLE, neat! Are they poodles? I am not much of a dog person but I love dogs with long poodley hair for some reason...I think because they remind me of cats or something!

I also love the movie Love Actually! I got in a friendly debate with gwen about it over in the Hangout thread about holiday movies.

I'm super excited for you that you're having twins! And I love your boys' names. (Are you going to call them Dex and Max? Either way those names are ADORABLE.) And do you have any idea which baby you're going to name Maxwell and which baby you're going to name Dexter? Or will you see which name they look like first?


Hmm...I have more questions for you!


What's your favorite bag designer and bag?

Favorite color?

Favorite denim brand?

Favorite thing to buy overall?

Favorite book?

ETA also your favorite city/place in the world?

Thanks Thing! We are super excited to be having twins too! I hope our boys are as close as you and your sister! We have named them in utero, Max is Baby A and Dex is baby B. They name them based on where they are, i.e., the twin named Twin A will in all likelihood be born first because it's lower down.

The dogs are poodle-mutts.

Supposedly they are a labradoodle (Teddy) and goldendoodle (Franklin) but who knows how pure of a mix they are because I am sure at least Franklin was from a puppy mill.

What's your favorite bag designer and bag?- Of things I own, Rebecca Minkoff. Love her bags, I have a preordered Devote Tote in Cranberry that I cannot WAIT to get. Of things I don't yet own a YSL Muse bag.

Favorite color?-I love color, but if I had to pick one it'd probably be blue.

Favorite denim brand?-Before I got preggers I was loving Anlo...but who knows what my body will look good in afterwards!

Favorite thing to buy overall?-Clothing and jewelry for sure.

Favorite book?-Lately, cookbooks!

ETA also your favorite city/place in the world?- Siena Italy

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 12/4/2008 3:31:08 PM
Author: NewEnglandLady
I''m so glad you have your own thread, Neatfreak!!


Do you have any idea where you guys might end up after you get your PhDs? Do you have an ''ideal'' place in mind? Are you hoping for the East Coast and your husband hoping for the West?

Luckily my DH really dislikes SoCal where he''s from and so do I (sorry SoCal peeps!). Ideally I''d love Boston because my family is a few hours from there and I love the history, Maine, the Cape, etc. But we also like the idea of the upper NW, so we''ll just have to see!

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 12/4/2008 3:36:14 PM
Author: sammyj
hey neatfreak! This is my first time posting in Who''s Who but i just wanted to jump in and say it''s about time you have your own thread! I haven''t been on PS for long but I could tell right away that you''re practically an icon with you diamond knowledge and helpful advice!


I was also wondering what kinds of dogs you have. My BF just told me that after I get my e-ring he wants me to buy him a puppy. I''m not much of a dog person but he''s crazy about them so we''re trying to compromise and we''ve been looking at mini goldendoodles. Is Franklin a goldendoodle?


love the baby names btw!

Aww thanks Sammy! I am no icon, but I do love PS and helping poor clueless men buy engagement rings! Franklin is a goldendoodle we believe, but he was a rehome, and his original parents bought him at a pet store, so we don''t really know if he''s a "pure" mix or not. But he is the goofiest dog ever, and we just love him to pieces. Very smart too.

 

[bee*]

Where have you travelled to nf?

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 12/4/2008 4:03:43 PM
Author: bee*
Where have you travelled to nf?

Let's see...I lived in Italy for a year as a high school exchange student in Torino. So that was my longest excursion by far. But for shorter trips outside of the mainland US:

Mexico
Canada
Aruba
Curacao
Costa Rica
Bahamas
Puerto Rico
Hawaii
Italy
Spain
France
Switzerland
Germany
Austria
Czech Republic
China

I think that's it...but there might be more I am missing...my brain isn't working to capacity right now. And I've been to almost all of the US states with the exception of some of the southeast states (Alabama, Louisiana, Tennessee).

 

[coatimundi_org]

Hiya Neat!!

So nice to read about you! I LOVE your pups--they are so darling! My kind for sure! I also love the names you picked for your boys. You are going to be a great Momma, and I wish you much luck with the delivery. Any day now, eh? Are you nervous?

So you've been on bedrest? My sis was on bedrest for months--not a lot to do huh. How have you been entertaining yourself?--besides PS

What do you read?

eta: just saw you're currently reading cookbooks-- what besides cookbooks?

 

[Sparkalicious]

Wow! You are so well traveled - Anywhere your "favourite" place ...
Also - where would you like to travel to next?

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 12/4/2008 4:14:58 PM
Author: coatimundi
Hiya Neat!!

So nice to read about you! I LOVE your pups--they are so darling! My kind for sure! I also love the names you picked for your boys. You are going to be a great Momma, and I wish you much luck with the delivery. Any day now, eh? Are you nervous?


So you've been on bedrest? My sis was on bedrest for months--not a lot to do huh. How have you been entertaining yourself?--besides PS

What do you read?


eta: just saw you're currently reading cookbooks-- what besides cookbooks?

I am nervous, but more nervous about the delivery than the taking care of two infants thing amusingly enough! I've been entertaining myself with PS and with doing research for my Ph.D. for the most part. Unfortunately all the crafty things I like to do involve furniture refinishing, etc. so I can't really do those things on bedrest!

I read everything. I love a good chick lit book like Emily Giffin, Jennifer Weiner, etc. I also really like mysteries, political books, most things really! I really like reading the New Yorker and the Economist too. And my total guilty pleasure is US Weekly. My mailman must really think I have a split personality.

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 12/4/2008 4:15:16 PM
Author: Sparkalicious
Wow! You are so well traveled - Anywhere your ''favourite'' place ...

Also - where would you like to travel to next?

Siena, Italy is my favorite place so far. As to where I want to go next, that is a really hard question! Right now I would say to Massachusetts simply because I haven''t seen my family in a long time since I have been restricted from flying! But they are visiting as soon as the boys arrive so that urge will be taken care of.

More exotic places that are at the top of my list are Morocco and Thailand. I also really want to go to New Zealand!

 

[coatimundi_org]

Oh and poodle mutts are the best! I have a poodle mutt too--they are crazy funny and really smart. Do your guys lay with their back legs splayed out--bowed out?

 

[bee*]

Do you have Ireland on your list on places to go?