Introducing Me

At work today I had the perfectly dreadful task of talking about myself for almost a full hour. One of my team projects was getting to know each other better, so my managers and I took turns sharing 3 pages worth of  "All About Me" questions. It was very embarrassing and I'm glad it's over, but it did occur to me that it might be nice to share some of those "About Me" questions here on this blog. So I don't come across as entirely psycho when you read my impromptu ramblings every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

So hello. My name is Kelci, and I have a daughter, Peyton, who is 8. We currently reside in a split-level house somewhere in the middle of Iowa (I promise, I do know my own address!), with our dog Boo-boo and a guinea pig named Bugsy.  As a single mom, I am super-paranoid about stalkers and crazies (something about it takes one to know one, right...) so I do prefer to keep some things private.  Plus, I lived in Rochester, New York for five years, and paranoia about that kind of thing is kind of the norm up there. And even though I didn't see the movie about the Craigslist Killer, I heard the title and that's enough for me.

Here are some other things you may not know about me.

I'm Deaf. My mom had a virus when she was pregnant with me, and so I was born with a non-working right ear and severe hearing loss in my left ear. Being Deaf has presented several never-ending challenges in my life, but it has also given me a true appreciation for what I can hear, and a true appreciation for the friendships I have made with other Deaf people in my life. But that may be a story for another day.

I am currently a manager within a mortgage company, but my true passion is Interior Design, decorating and painting the heck outta things. I like change in my environment around me-it's what keeps me engaged and creating.

I love to read--anything and everything. I really enjoy reading young adult Sci Fi books- the City of Bones series by Cassandra Clare; the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer; the Fever series by Karen Marie Moning, to name a few. My favorite way to relax is with a stack of books or magazines and a glass of Moscato and read the afternoon away.

I'm not a huge fan of TV. If the TV is on in our house, it's on Disney (for Peyton). I use Netflix to catch up on series because I hate the suspense of waiting for the next piece of the story line each week. So I'm usually 3 years behind on the popular television series and I also usually get bored with the story lines after one or two season's worth.

My favorite drink is coffee. I drink coffee every day, and pretty much all day. I don't have a favorite food, though I could live off of bread and chocolate alone. I tend to go through weird food phases where I get on a food kick and eat the same food non-stop for a week and then I won't eat it again for 2 years. Yeah, I'm weird. I'm also allergic to exercise. I was very active in high school- I danced for 14 years, I did a round with tennis, tried track, played volleyball, did cheer-leading, etc. But then my knees started giving me grief and I became allergic to pain. So now I enjoy Kyaking and Horseback riding, because there's no impact to my knees.

I hate wearing shoes. And socks. I would prefer to be barefoot all day if I had my way. And I hate shoe-shopping. The apple must not really fall far from the tree because Peyton is the same way. I get cold in 70-degree weather. I don't have much (ok, I don't have any) body fat, and I get chilled very easily. Many days my gas fireplace is my best friend.

My favorite color is teal, but it's followed pretty closely right now by emerald and magenta. And yellow. And I've found myself flirting with coral. Basically, if the color wheel spit up in my house I probably wouldn't mind too much. Sometimes, though, I can be a little anal with details and I like things perfect and uniform--Peyton calls it "matchy-matchy." When we installed the marble tile around my fireplace, we ran out of tiles, so we had to go back to the store and buy additional tiles. But the pattern didn't match exactly, and ever since it has driven me nuts. 

And the last fun fact of the day...

I'm not really a collector because I usually see it as clutter.  The only thing I truly do collect is books, because I have always wanted a library in my house.  But my Nook has led me into the electronic era and there's just no stepping back from that edge.  But last year, I did start collecting Disco Balls. I used to constantly joke about wanting a disco ball in my office, and my friend found me a big one and got it for me. And the sparkles hooked me. So now, every time I see a disco ball I have to buy it. And then, I saw a pretty image of Jadeite dishes on Pinterest and I decided to start collecting Jadeite dishes to fill up my new dining room Hutch/Command Center. Oh, it's a slippery, slippery slope, my friends.

So there you have it. A few fun and random facts about me. What about you, have you slid down any slippery slopes lately?