Who am I?

I am Arleen Lorraine Olive Marie Sheppard Howell Froemming, a.k.a. Arleen Lorraine Froemming (ALF). Laugh if you want to!!!!! I was born to David and Pam, and I am not going to include a bunch of personal info here, because you know.... bad guys/gals out there doing stuff with peoples identifies. Also, someone might see my journal picture and look at me instead of the beautiful beach behind me, you know... crazy stalkers...

But I will tell you, I was born on May 5th, which was my grandmother Olive’s birthday. So that is where the Olive came from. Lorraine was a name my parents liked, so off we went to have me baptized. Well, Arleen Lorraine Olive didn't have any Christian names that the Catholic Church recognized, so they added the Marie. My parents are responsible for Arleen Lorraine Olive Marie Sheppard. I am responsible for the Howell and the Froemming. (pronounced fremming.... like flemming but not exactly).

From the first brief marriage (3 years) came Glen and Cady (rhymes with lady, not laddy). Glen is a pilot. He is currently looking for a job. Cady is the mother of two beautiful, who will probably be the topics of a bunch of posts here. From the second marriage (15+ years) came Kirsten, and 5 step-children. Two of which are apart of my life. Lauren and Adam.

Where it not for the grandchildren, Kirsten would be the center of all my posts. Unfortunately/fortunately, she is a pre-teen. Anything noteworthy that she does at this point is dulled by her pre-teen temperament and angst. I know that she and I will survive this difficult time in her life. Cady and I did, so chances are Kirsten and I will as well.

I am married to Brian, a renaissance man; a modern-day MacGyver. I am a stay-home mother/grandmother. One of my newest jobs is baby-sitting for Cady, whenever she works. I also volunteer at the ballet studio, which is really hard when I have to take the grandchildren there. Oh.. did I tell you Kirsten dances ballet 6 days a week, for an hour and a half. Did I also tell you that doesn’t include rehearsals?