Loving Everyday Life in Ashland, Kentucky

Traveling the World with Christie Cruise and Travel Masters

Alison Christie

I enjoy writing articles for the Beacon about my past and future travels, especially with The Gang (My sons Alex and Austin Christie and their best friend Greg Stump.) I own Christie Cruise and Travel Masters, located at 2301 Greenup Avenue in Ashland - which most of my readers have probably figured out by now, after having written over 50 articles for the Free-kin Beacon. Christie Cruise just celebrated being in business for 15 years and we have seen a great many changes in the travel industry over these past years. Travelers discovered the internet and learned how to book airline tickets and other trips themselves. However, we have seen a slow change in that and people are coming back to travel agents to book their trips to utilize the expertise and knowledge of the travel professionals. A good travel professional can save you time and money and people are starting to realize that. A common misconception is that you pay more by booking with a travel agency - that's just not true. In some cases, we find better deals and prices than you can find on your own. And we know when a "Good Deal" is not such a good deal after all. We read numerous review every day, we are networked with national travel organizations and can save you from a vacation disaster. Another great reason to use a travel agency is while you are traveling, you have an entire support team back home to solve any unforeseen problems that could arise. We are fortunate to have many long time and loyal clients who trust and depend on us to "Make their vacation dreams come true". 

I thought for this article that I would write a little bit about myself, which isn't the easiest thing for most people to do (including me). But, I want to share with my readers what I spend my time doing when I am not traveling, thinking about traveling and running my travel agency. Some of my readers might not know that I also own 2 other companies and am a Realtor with Ross Real Estate Services. Whew, I know, I have a lot of balls in the air but I love it. I used to own 25 different buildings in Ashland and I leased space in those buildings to commercial tenants. I also own Ben Williamson Industrial Supply and we supply industrial products to local plants, such as the Marathon Refinery. I also enjoy being a realtor and getting to meet different people from all walks of life. I specialize in commercial real estate but I also have many residential customers. 

I also enjoy playing tennis, playing competitively on a team. I have been playing tennis since high school and it is my main source of exercise. I love to practice yoga but I've not made the time to do it like I really want to. Notice that I said that I haven't made the time rathe than I don't have the time. I can carve out the time with better time management and that is going to be on my to-do list, starting today. 

And I have a new hobby that I want to share. I have been doing a lot of research in my spare time about essential oils, how to use them to better my life and make my home a little more "Green". By green, I mean finding different ways to clean my house as well as myself that use more natural products, without harsh chemicals that have been found to be very unhealthy for your body. This is a journey for me, definitely a marathon and not a sprint. And I am enjoying making different products, testing them and tweaking them where I need to. Here are some of  my successful products and the recipes for you to try yourself. 

My very favorite homemade health and beauty product hands down is my homemade deodorant. I had trouble finding a deodorant that worked and didn't cause me to have a rash under my arms. 90% of store bought deodorants caused me to break out and didn't even work that well. My homemade version works absolutely awesome. I have given several of my friends and co-workers a sample of it and so far, no one has told me that it didn't work for them. Here is all you need for Homemade Deodorant: 5 tablespoons of Coconut Oil, 1/3 cup of Baking Soda, 1/2 cup of Arrowroot powder, 15 drops of Essential oil of your choice (I use orange). Orange is energizing and I just love the smell of it. My son Alex chose Eucalyptus for his scent. You can also leave it unscented. 

I also just love the sugar scrub that I make. I use if on my feet, elbows and even on my face. I start with coconut oil, almond oil, sugar, vanilla, pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon essential oil. I really don't measure any of the ingredients - i just use my judgement on the consistency. 

An awesome room spray and linen spray is as easy as distilled water and drops of any essential oil that you like. Lavender is wonderful to spray on your bed, as it promotes sleep. Lemon is nice for the kitchen. I have made toothpaste, hand sanitizer, dry shampoo, regular shampoo and conditioner, laundry and dish washing liquid, soft scrub cleanser for the bathroom and an all purpose cleaner. Anytime that you are using essential oils in recipes, always use a glass container. Plastic can deteriorate when they come into contact with essential oils, so glass is best. You can recycle jelly jars, wine bottles, pickle jars - anything glass. Also, I use Young Living essential oils. They are more expensive but I trust Young Living to be pure and feel like the cost is worth it. I also love using a diffuser. I have 2 or 3 going in my house and I have one on my desk at work. The scent depends on my mood but once again, I love using orange or blood orange. Email me at awchristie@outlook.com if you have a question about essential oils, where to buy them as well as diffusers, or questions about the products that I make for everyday use. I will be happy to help you as you being a more healthy living. 

As always, safe travels and Godspeed.
Alison