Meet Our Team

Fun Facts

• I have been to 26 countries, including four that no longer exist (Czechoslovakia, East Germany, West Germany, and the Soviet Union). My favorites are: Germany, Austria, Iceland & Czech Republic!
• I narrated the German voiceover for the self-guided audio tour at Elvis Presley's Graceland in the mid-1990's
• I do CrossFit 5x a week, play competitive, fast-pitch, wood bat league baseball & ice hockey!
• I once hit a double at Minute Maid Park during the Houston Hardball League's All-Star game
• I ❤️ Golden Retrievers 🐕! Here are my current two, Ranger and Liberty
• Won a study trip to Germany as a junior in high school

Faux Pas

I spent the entire summer of 1989 at my German girlfriend's house in Nürnberg, Germany. I already spoke very good German at the time, but there was still more to learn apparently. While cutting an apple in her parents' kitchen, I accidentally sliced my finger with the knife. Instead of saying, "Ach, ich habe mich geschnitten!" (I cut my finger), I thought I needed to use the present perfect form of the verb "beschneiden" (to cut a part of one's body) instead of "schneiden" (to cut). Well, "beschneiden" does mean to cut a part of one's body. Unfortunately, it means "to castrate". Her dad laughed hysterically, and I learned a new word the hard way...well, not the hardest way, but still...

Fun Facts

• I am originally from Alberta Canada and moved to Houston in 2012 by way of Doha, Qatar. My husband and I feel we have done our fair share of snow shoveling and feel it's time to enjoy the heat!
• As a kid, I was a skinny little thing that was always picked last for team sports in school but loved to be active
• I got involved in gymnastics as a teen and then jazz ballet and love to downhill and cross-country ski. I taught aerobics for several years and also took tap dancing and belly dancing
• I've worn the soles off my hiking boots and completed one of the most arduous 7-day hikes in Canada, the West Coast Trail
• Things have slowed down a wee bit now. As a certified yoga instructor, I am passionate about teaching yoga and pursuing a certification as a Doctor of Ayurveda

Faux Pas

In Canada, we say "washroom" for the restroom or toilet. While traveling in Australia, I discovered very quickly not to say washroom when I wanted to use the toilet. When you say washroom, you are shown to the actual washing room or laundry room, and my host was rather perplexed as to why on earth I needed to see the laundry!

Fun Facts

• I once owned the 2,000th Chevrolet Vega made
• I have road tripped through 29 of the 50 states
• There are only 899 people in the world who have my maiden name
• I love history and museums

Faux Pas

I was at Texas Roadhouse with some of my kids and their spouses. We were ordering drinks and my favorite there is the "Jamaican Cowboy". I ordered one, but the waiter thought I wanted a "Naked Cowboy". Of course the jokes went around the table and I really don't remember if I actually said that, but they all said I did, and the waiter said he could try to find me one!

Fun Facts

• I believe you should give out what you want to get back. So, I live my life everyday, happy and positive!
• All of my kids are grown and I have a granddaughter that I spoil every chance I get!
• I have a “phone voice.” Any time I am on the phone, apparently my voice changes to a proper/professional tone regardless of who is on the other end, or so my kids say!
• I’m an artist/creator - in my free time you will find me painting, sewing, re-purposing something or working on one of my many DIY projects!
• I have a vegetable garden that started out with only 3 different things a few years ago but has grown to over 20 vegetables.

Faux Pas

I used to work for a non-profit organization. Soon after I started working there, our bookkeeper emailed me to say that she hadn't received a file because it was too large. In a hurry, I zipped the file and sent it to her again with the short note, "I resent you." The next day, I could tell she was not herself, and I asked if something was bothering her. She confessed that she was upset and had no idea why I would resent her. Totally confused, I told her I did not resent her and had no idea why she would think that I did. She said because I told her in my email to her the day before. Still confused, I asked her to show me what she was referring to, so she opened the email with my hastily written reply. It became clear immediately that I should've proofed my message before sending it, and I explained that I had meant to convey that I was sending the file a second time. She couldn’t believe it, but then realized that she had been so taken aback by the words she read that she had not noticed my message was a response to her and what I might have actually meant. After a few seconds, we both laughed at our mistakes. Today, many years later, we are great friends and have turned it into a running joke. I learned a valuable lesson that day. Many words have more than one meaning, and, depending on how they are used or pronounced, they can change completely and you might resent sending an email or text that you didn't proof!

Fun Facts

• Received an award of excellence ribbon on a piece of art for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo in high school
• Once sat across from Tim Robbins on a subway train in NYC
• Wanted to be a homicide detective when I grew up
• Would love to hike the Continental Divide Trail
• Have never met another Sally my age

Fun Facts

• I worked as the production coordinator for a tamale factory
• I have a fear of thunderstorm because lighting struck a tree and fell on my house
• My family calls me Sissy
• Occasionally I say words backwards
• I love to garden
• I have a daughter and two grandsons

Faux Pas

I was having a bad day and text two of my friends, Jenny and Mandy, and said "I woke up with a bee in my bonnet so please excuse my mood today." Jenny replied, "you sleep in a bonnet?" and Mandy said, "the bees are probably coming in through the cracked window." I had to explain that I didn’t really have a bee in my bonnet, and "no" I don't sleep in a bonnet, but that I was having a bad day. I laughed till I cried. Apparently, it is an old idiom that is not said often.