10 Most Beautiful: Kimberly Steed
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Name: Kimberly Steed
Age: 36
Occupation: Business manager for a development and contracting company owned by her and her husband. Restaurant owner.
Hometown: Mountain View, Arkansas
Family: husband, Jay, and two children, Alexandra and Joseph
Give me three words that describe you
Dedicated, good hearted, fun
How do you deal with pressure?
I’m probably one of those people that keeps a lot of it in. I like to workout when I can, trying to get a release like that. I tend to keep a lot of it in, the pressures and stuff like that until I’ve finally had enough. Then, I really try to communicate. I’ve gotten better at communication.
What motivates you?
What motivates me is my family, to want to provide the best for my children and to enjoy life.
If you could start a new career, what would you do?
I’d love to be a doctor. I love the medical field. I have a little bit of a medical background anyway. I just love caring for people and helping people get better.
Who are your real-life heroes?
My parents. They have stuck together. They have been married for 50 years. They are just great role models. They are just fantastic people.
What’s your biggest fear?
Biggest fear… I guess my biggest fear would be something happening to my children.
What’s the best book you’ve read in the past year?
Joel Osteen’s Become a Better You. I’ve got the book on my dresser. It motivates you to become a better person, to realize that there’s something to be thankful for in everything. That just motivates you to be a better person.
What’s your favorite quote?
“Life is short, play hard.” From the Nike campaign.
When are you happiest?
Now. I couldn’t ask for more. I have a wonderful family. I have great friends. I just couldn’t ask for more.
Do you have a prized possession?
My children. I wouldn’t say that’s a possession, though. My brother’s class ring. I lost a brother in ‘94, and I have his class ring. That’s pretty special to me.
What part of the world would you like to visit but haven’t?
I would love to go to Australia. Just to see the culture and the people. It’s very intriguing, I think.
If you could share a taxi from the airport with any celebrity, who would you choose? Why?
Certainly not Brittney Spears. Julia Roberts, I think she is a very inspirational person. No, lets not do Julia Roberts. Celebrities, some of them are so over rated, I think. Let’s see … John McCain’s wife, Cindy. She’s a great businesswoman and all the charity work she’s involved in, that’s very admirable.
When you look in a mirror, what do you see?
I just had brain surgery. When I look in the mirror, I’m just thankful to be alive.
If you could eliminate a trait of your own, what would it be?
Probably that I keep my emotions in a lot, I guess. Stubbornness, of course, too.
If you could go back to a certain age again, what would it be?
Oh you know, 25 was a lot of fun. I was out of school, and just young and having fun and living life.
What are your goals?
My goals are to be a great mother and a great wife.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
It would by far be overcoming the brain tumor. It was benign, but they had to go in through the top of my brain and go in between the left and right hemispheres and remove it. I’m most proud that I had great support from my family and friends. I have no long-lasting side effects from the surgery.
What talent would you most like to have?
I’d love to be able to sing.
When was the last time you did something reckless?
I went skydiving a couple years ago, probably about 10 years ago. It was incredible. It was awesome. I’d love to do it again, but I don’t know if I would now that I have children.
What is your philosophy in life?
Probably carpe diem. You seize the day because you don’t know what tomorrow will bring. Live life to the fullest.
If you had $1 million, how would you spend it?
I would donate a portion of it to local charities. Then I would… let’s see what would I do with a million dollars? I would probably like to travel the United States. I would love to travel and see the Grand Canyon and Niagara falls. Just take my family and travel the United States.
What sort of work do you try to avoid or put off?
Paper work. It’s tedious. When something makes me stop and sit down for a while I usually try to put that off.
What do you worry about most?
As a mother, you worry about your children. I worry about my children, that they’re safe and they’re healthy. That’s probably my biggest worry.
Can you describe a situation in which you feel you behaved courageously?
When I first found out about my brain tumor, I went to three doctors whose outcome was not very good for me. I would probably lose my memory. You know, there were a lot of other side effects they were telling me would probably happen. I just couldn’t take that, I couldn’t accept that. That at 35 I would be facing something like that. I just kept researching until I found a doctor that said ‘no problem, we’ll take it out.’ [I’m proud of] not accepting an answer that I didn’t want to hear. Finding the results that I wanted. I didn’t go with the first thing someone told me. I went with my instinct until I found the doctor that was right from me.
What mistakes in your life have you learned from?
I would like to think that I’ve learned form a lot of my mistakes. I wouldn’t change anything I’ve done, mistakes or not. I would like to think it‘s a learning experience, and if you’re not learning that’s where you’re going wrong. As a new mother and everything, you make a lot of parenting mistakes. Then you kind of catch yourself and try to do better.
What was your first job?
My first job was as a waitress in a restaurant. It was called Joshua’s. It was a little country cookin’ restaurant. I was 14, and that was my first real paying job.
What do you know for sure?
I know that life is good. And it is good. You have your ups and downs, but life is good.
Is there anything you’d like to add?
That I’m very honored to be involved in 417’s 10 Most Beautiful. The person who nominated me, she’s a good person, and I’m honored she thought enough of me to nominate me.
