103 Things about me

OK, here it goes!

1. I was born Megan Louise Swindell on July 28, 1978 in Brunswick, Maine.
2. I left the hospital and went to the airport where I flew to my new home in Quantico, Virginia.
3. My Dad was a Marine and had been transferred but they had to wait for me to show up before they could move.
4. I was 10 days late.
5. I have lived in a lot of different states due to my Dad's career in the military. They are:
6. Maine,Virginia, Hawaii, North Carolina, California, Georgia & Alabama
7. I had a wonderful childhood living in some pretty amazing places.
8. I have not visited only 4 states.
9. Rhett and I are having a race to see who can get to them all first.
10. I'm not sure how I can get to North Dakota without him taking me though so he has an unfair advantage.
11. I had the best of both worlds because we lived in some great places and traveled all over but also settled in Athens, GA when I was 9 years old.
12. Athens is my hometown.
13. I love Athens. It is a special place. If you have not been there you should go.
14. Preferably on a Saturday in the fall.
15. I played varsity soccer for 4 years in high school.
16. I was also a cheerleader all 4 years. Go Glads!
17. I have some wonderful friends from high school. We all still keep in touch. Even if we go for a year without seeing each other we can get together and have a great time.
18. I only applied to one college: The University of Georgia
19. I didn't have to go far to get to college. My dorm was 1.1 miles from my house and my sorority was about 150 yards from my parent's front door.
20. I was a Kappa Delta.
21. I went into college as a business/real estate major
22. One day I was reading about all of the upper level classes that I would be taking in my major and couldn't find a single one that sounded interesting to me.
23. I switched to nursing the next day.
24. I've had several interesting jobs in my life. I bagged groceries, a receptionist at the world's largest manufacturer of ball bearings, a nanny all through college, a waitress in a Sushi restaurant. I worked at Steinmart one Christmas and hated it. The only ones I have really liked were being nanny, a nurse and a mom.
25. I met Rhett, my future husband, in October of my Freshman year at Georgia. We were standing in line signing up for a ski trip.
26 He doesn't remember.
27. He does remember seeing me on the ski trip several months later.
28. We were barely aquaintances for the the next 3 years.
29. The most fun I had in college (and in my life until that point) was spending a summer in Europe. I went to school in Innsbruck, Austria and traveled around all summer. It was so much fun.
30. I ran across the Champs d'Ellyse to get to the Arc d'Triumph.
31. Note: there is a tunnel that runs underneath the 8 lanes of traffic that I (Kelly and I) ran across.
32. I decided to leave my beloved Athens and stretch my territory back out a little bit by going to nursing school at Emory University in Atlanta.
33. It was a great decision. I made some of the best friends of my life there and got an excellent education.
34. When I was little I wanted to be:
35. a baby nurse
35. a mommy
36. a fighter pilot
37. a marine biologist
38. a real estate developer
39. I eventually came back to what I wanted to do when I was 5 years old. It turns out I had a pretty good head on my shoulders back then when I wanted to be a nurse and a mommy.
40. I ran into Rhett in a bar called East/West the day before I moved to Atlanta for nursing school. We talked for about an hour and sparks flew but I left the next day and didn't see him again until January.
41. Once again I ran into him at East/West and sparks flew. This time he called me and asked me to go out to lunch.
42. Our first date was lunch at the Mayflower Restaurant in downtown Athens. I had a grilled cheese.
43. We started long distance dating then and a year and a half later I moved to Augusta where he had moved to go to medical school. We dated for ANOTHER year after that. Then we got engaged.
44. We got engaged on June 29, 2002 on Monhegan Island, Maine.
45. We got married on July 26, 2003.
46. We went to Maui on our honeymoon.
47. Since the first time Rhett and I talked we have just clicked. He is very passionate about things he believes in and I love that about him.
48. We also share a love for travel.
49. I told Rhett that before we got married he had to come to Haiti with me where I had volunteered several times in an orphanage.
50. It was a test of sorts that he passed. He fell in love with the kids just like I had.
51. He also said that he fell in love with me and knew he wanted to marry me as he watched me drain an abcess from a little boy's bottom.
52. That's not something I thought would impress a guy but hey what ever works.
53. I love Haiti. I miss it.
54. I started my nursing career on a medical floor in a children's hospital.
55. A year later I moved to the pediatric ICU where I worked for another year before moving to Birmingham where I once again worked in the PICU.
56. I work in one of the saddest places on earth.
57. It never gets easier to see sick and dying children.
58. I worked 12 hour night shifts for 3 years of my life.
59. Those 3 years are a little hazy for me.
60. We moved to Birmingham 4 years ago.
61. I love Birmingham.
62. It is a wonderful secret city and we want to keep it that way so as not to ruin it with lots of traffic.
63. I'm only on 63 ??
64. If I could change anything about our life it would be that we had more time and money to travel.
65. My favorite foods are peaches and pasta (not together).
66. I also love chocolate cake and apple pie a la mode.
67. I am also quite a fan of soul food. Fill my plate with some fried chicken, collard greens and black eyed peas, please.
68. My favorite color is blue. It always has been.
69. At one time in my life I think I had a bit of OCD. I used to be exceptionally organized. I even had my closet organized by color.
70. I got over the OCD and my closet is no longer color coordinated.
71. My life changed forever when I gave birth to my sweet baby girl, Claire Louise, on December 28, 2005.
72. I love being a mother.
73. I don't particularly like being pregnant though.
74. I threw up for 4 months during my pregnancy with Claire. I had to take Zofran so I could work. It was brutal but it was worth it.
75. It wasn't quite as bad during my second pregnancy - thank goodness.
76. My second baby was born October 17, 2007 - Ford McKey.
77. Now I love being a mom even more.
78. I am more of an attachment parent than anything else.
79, My babies have both slept next to me for between 4-6 months and nurse pretty much on demand.
80. It's amazing how God uses your children to enable you to love your spouse even more.
81. We want to have lots of kids.
82. We don't know how many exactly but Rhett says we can get one of those high top vans and paint "The Shirleys" across the side of it if we have to.
83. We want to adopt some kids too.
84. We are planning on becoming missionaries after Rhett is done with his Infectious Disease training.
85. We don't know where we are going yet but we are making a two year commitment to where ever we are going.
86. After that - who knows?
87. The only show I really watch on TV is "Jon and Kate plus 8". They have twins and sextuplets. Although I'd love to have 6 kids I'd prefer not to have them all at the same time.
88. Our kids don't watch TV at all. Ever.
89. I'm happy about that and hoping it lasts for a while.
90. I took Rhett skydiving for his graduation present from college.
91. I was trying to impress him and although it was expensive it worked and he thought I was cool and adventurous. I wasn't trying to deceive him but his thinks it was a hoax.
92. I really am cool and adventurous - I'm just a little older and more responsible these days.
93. my least favorite household chore is laundry.
94. A highlight of my day is getting the mail. I feel like I am getting a present of sorts.
95. I have next to no artistic ability.
96. If I could choose to have some artistic talent it would be with photography. I think photography is the coolest art because it's not your version of something it is reality. Some times the things that God has made are just perfect and your impression or version of them just can't beat the real thing.
97. I have played the piano, cello and flute at one point or another. I didn't really like any of them for more than a week and I still can't read music and I definitely can't carry a tune.
98. The most beautiful place I have ever been is the Napali coast of Kauai. It was indescribable.
99. If I could go anywhere in the world it would be New Zealand.
100. Did I forget to mention that I am an only child?
101. I stand a commanding 5 feet 4 inches.
102. I owe a huge thank you to my parents who have loved and supported me though my entire life and now I get so much joy out of seeing them love my children.
103. Wow - 103 wasn't as tough as I thought it would be!