Random Facts

• I have never broken a bone.
• I have 2 brothers.  One 5 years older than me and one 5 years younger.
• I have been to 16 countries including China, Ireland, and Spain. Germany is my favorite. I was there when I was 21. Guess I’ve always loved fermented foods (sauerkraut).
• I met my husband in grad school. We were married when we were 27.
• I was born in Nacogdoches, Texas. My family moved to Cullowhee, North Carolina when I was 6. We lived there until I graduated high school in 1998 (Go Mustangs!). My family then moved to Denton, TX and I moved to Corpus Chirsti, TX for college (Texas A & M University – Corpus Christi). When I graduated, I moved to Denton and went to grad school at the University of North Texas. I still live in Denton.
• My undergraduate degree is in Mathematics with a focus on Calculus. I have an MBA in Finance.
• Spiders terrify me.
• I was a competitive tap dancer as a kid.

Yep, that’s a real picture of me as a tap dancer. I have many, many, many more.

• I love Tori Amos.
• I don’t like going to concerts but I love festivals.
• I love salt & vinegar chips.
• I keep cars until the wheels fall off. I currently own my 3^rd car and I got my 1^st car 18 years ago in 1996. My current car is 11 years old, has 125,000 miles on it, and only has 1 hubcap. I do not care about appearance or quality of my vehicles as long as they safely get me places.
• I have had 22 jobs, most of them waitressing / bartending.  Only 2 of those jobs have been “grown up” career jobs (my retail store and this blog).
• I owned a retail store for 7 years. It was a great business. But I will never own another retail store again. Ever.
• I herniated a disc in my back 2 months after I got married. I had a spinal fusion a couple years later.
• I pretend to know Spanish. But really, I barely know Spanglish. During my bed rest from back surgeries, I did Rosetta Stone and watched a ton of Plaza Sésamo (the Mexican version of Sesame Street). I still listen to Spanish learning podcasts several times a week.
• I pop my toe knuckles. And finger knuckles. And elbows. And hips. Pretty much every joint on my body pops.

More About Ashlee

I am a stay at home mom who is passionate about whole food and the local environment. I started my natural journey several years ago after 3 years of back surgeries. Making some simple changes in my life stopped the seemingly endless back surgery cycle immediately and I am now stronger and healthier than the doctors said was possible. I recently sold my retail store to spend time with her growing family. My son was adopted in 2012. I also volunteer at a local, organic farm. I grew up in the mountains of North Carolina and now live with my husband & son in the suburbs of Dallas.

My Healing Journey

I married my husband in 2007. I was 27 and very active & healthy. A quick 2 months later I threw out my back. I lost 30 pounds very quickly and was an unhealthy 5’10”, 120 pounds. Within 3 months of my back injury, I was bed ridden and only left the house for doctor appointments (and lots of them). I was taking over 20 pills a day (pain pills including Hydrocodone & Kadian [<- that’s morphine], and lot of pills to manage the side effects from the pain pills). I had 2 epidural injections. My first surgery (microdiscectomy) 5 months after the injury. I started to recover quickly. Until I relapsed a few months later. My disc slipped out of place and caused a lot of sciatic nerve damage. My leg started to lose feeling and movement quickly. My doctors were discussing amputation with me.

Our wedding

I had a fusion a year and a half after the first surgery in October, 2009. Followed by 3 months of strict bed rest then a year of intense physical therapy. During that time, I was coming off of all of the medications. My hair was falling out, my skin was dry and pale, I was a wreck. My body needed some serious detoxing and some serious healing. That’s when I started my holistic & natural healing journey.  I am now healthier than the doctors every thought I would be. I have regained movement and feeling in my leg (not all of it, but a lot and it’s still getting better).

Xray of my fusion

During my healing, my husband & I adopted a baby. He was born allergic to everything. When he came home, he was on a prescription formula (that was 57% corn syrup) and 4 medicines he took daily. I switched him to a raw goat’s milk formula and he was off all meds within a week. He is now a year and a half. He’s healthy, thriving, and has NO ALLERGIES.

The Moose getting his goat’s milk

I have done the research, I have been the guinea pig. I have healed my son. I’m living proof that living holistically and eating healing foods really does heal!

The Crunchy Moose

I have an B.S. in Mathematics with a focus in Calculus and a M.B.A. in Finance. After grad school, I owned a retail store. I sold my store after my son came home to spend time with my growing family. While I was at home, I decided to share my healing journey here on this site. And I am very lucky that you read it! I am excited to share my story and to help others heal and find much needed comfort.

The site is named after my son. His name is Morrison. One of his many nicknames is Moose. And crunchy like granola, as in a little hippy. So that’s how The Crunchy Moose was born!