Welcome to the Cosmic Cow Pie.

I am elated you found me in cyberspace!

First things first, what is the Cosmic Cow Pie?  Cow pies are Cow pies… presents left in a field by cows. Life is full of cow pies flying around in the cosmos hence Cosmic Cow Pie.

This site has tools to help navigate all the obstacles or cow pies, flying around in your universe. It helps Connect the Dots to find balance and reduce stress.

If you’re a confused or overwhelmed individual, entrepreneur or small business owner, seeking support to figure out how to reduce stress and find balance, I can help you!

The first book in the Cosmic Cow Pie series, Cosmic Cow Pie…Connecting The Dots is available here in soft cover, CD format, MP3 and pdf download. You will also find workshops, webinars and fun stuff to reduce stress.

I am a Speaker, Writer and Consultant.   I help independent professionals, entrepreneurs and business owners to demonstrate balance and stay focused to accelerate their business profits.

I am fervent about showing fellow professionals how to develop powerful relationships and process the cow pies of life.

After applying the fourteen principles I profess, my clients typically experience a significant increase in balance and reduction of stress in their lives.

I am passionate about helping people create balance in the Cosmic Cow Pie of life!  Everything I do revolves around reducing stress and creating new relationships which complement one another.

I am available for hire as a speaker, workshop leader, or personal consultant.

I look forward to meeting you soon!

Dedicated to living life with fun and balance,

International Intrigue!

Do spy novels peak your interest!

How wild is your imagination?

Father Serafim Gascoigne Author of “The Landing Place” will be a guest on CarraRileyLive 9-9-10 at 2 p.m. PDT in Williams, Arizona.

Reverend Serafim Gascoigne was born in London in 1944 and has lived in the USA for fourteen years and currently in California. He Father Serafin Gascoigneserved as a Russian linguist in the British Army in Berlin during the ‘Cold War’ and also worked as a German interpreter.

In Berlin he came across first hand experiences of Russians who had lived in Siberia, committing their stories to memory to be used later for his own writing.

After leaving the army he taught in London and rural parts of England, and was a pioneer in computer education in the 1980s.

During this time he published educational computer books with Macmillan and later with Sybex (John Wiley) and IDG. He traveled to eastern Turkey and central Siberia where he met the archetypes for his fictional characters. He also traveled to Lebanon and Syria, visiting Christian communities and pursuing his interest in ancient languages and cultures.

In 2008, he saw a need for teen novels that are family-friendly with traditional heroes and heroines and decided to draw on his vast experience and write his own. Rev Serafim is currently a presbyter of an Eastern Orthodox parish in Seattle.

Great reviews on this Book of intrigue!

• Fr. Serafim Gascoigne has a delightful grasp of the English language and paints magnificent pictures with hisThe Landing Place cover graphic descriptions in this suspenseful read. Every page arouses your curiosity leading you to turn pages faster and faster. He blends history, drama, romance and deep life lessons within the content of the book. The series of complications involved with “The Landing Place” and the interesting characters creates a book you will not want to put down. The fascinating storyline with a Russian Imperial Air force pilot discovering the secrets of “the mountain” keeps your attention throughout the book and leaves you wanting more from the author.

• In the early 20th century, a young pilot in the Russian Imperial Air Force crash lands on Mount Ararat on a reconnaissance mission. Thus starts an adventure that touches on the mysterious and the miraculous. The author has a clear sense of place; everything, including the rocks, the plants, and the weather, is described in vivid and lively terms. The story itself is engaging and holds the reader’s interest throughout. A good read for young adult readers and their families.

• I found myself mesmerized by a time and place in history of which–I realized–I know very little. The author has a masterful way with language and creates both the suspense and the humanity that takes the reader into a different emotional space. Like others, I could not put it down. I’d like to see a sequel so I know what happens to the main characters. Just a delightful read. I hope there are more!

• Move over CS Lewis, another teller of tales that makes us seek our God has just arrived. I started reading “The Landing Place” in the afternoon. It was going to be a summer reading project. I could not put it down. In the wee hours of the morning I was racing through the finish and wanting to start it again. I only put it down once, to let the dog in, and was exasperated to have to leave the action for even a brief moment. Father Serafim Gascoigne has captured characters so passionate, so real that anyone would care what happens to them. I spent the next day feeling I know these people. His descriptions of the people, myths and culture are also accurate. I have traveled to many of the cultures involved here and can tell you he captured smells, flavors and myths and mystical powers to perfection. Children will love this book. Not only is it a moral tale, it is based on no other place than the mountain site of Noah’s Ark. Parents will love to read this tale to their youngsters. But be prepared for begging to read “one more” chapter every night.

I am very excited to meet Father Serafim Gascoigne in person on September 9, 2008 in Williams, Arizona and do an interview on CarraRileyLive at 2 p.m. PDT. Join us LIVE to hear all about his background and history which makes the book even more exciting.

Check out the website to purchase the book.

“Wow! What an exciting book. It starts off with a bang, grabbing you from the first page and then racing along, full of thrills, leaving the reader exhausted and illuminated.” ~Brian Tracy, Author, Success is a Journey

A picture says a thousand words.

Have you ever felt like someone is messing with your head?

As the Cosmic Shift Happens™ you will soon learn that if you think someone is playing with your head, they very well might be.  The fear of the “head games” keeps many people from actively participating in online venues.

Joeann Fossland, a national speaker along with being a Master Certified Coach and I have joined forces to create an e-book to help people be able to navigate the Cosmic Shift™ and feel good about engaging online.

We would like to invite you to JOIN THE CROWD in a world wide collaboration of online citizens to create a “crowdsourced” e-book. Our vision is to make it easy for people to participate and evolve to the Internet Generation.

We will be utilizing the principle of “crowdsourcing” to obtain information from individuals wanting to collaborate and help create an e-book with us .  Those selected to participate with be credited as a co-author in the project. We have a site where the invited, qualified participants will actively comment on concepts presented to be discussed by the “crowd” hence the term “crowdsourcing.” The participants can start new discussions if the ideas lead in new directions. The “crowd” will be sharing their beliefs, concerns and suggestions to help others just entering the cyber world.

Join the crowd and help us build the bridges for communication as the Cosmic Shift Happens™!

The process is easy and will flow as follows:

1. Go to Cosmic Shift Happens™ and register for the Introduction and 1st chapter.

2. If you like the questions posed in the Introduction and 1st chapter and choose to participate in discussion, just click on the “crowdsource   participation” box to fill out a short application. We need to view your online presence so will ask for links to social media sites.

3. The application will be reviewed and your sites verified because as a co-author, readers will be going to see what your profile looks like online.

Your information will not be shared or distributed in any way without your permission

4. A participation agreement will be sent via e-mail to accepted applicants which must be signed and returned.

5. Once the participation agreement is returned you will be given a private location to engage in the discussions.

6. We will be allowing 2 weeks for discussion on two chapters and so far there are 8 chapters in the e-book.

7. Once the “crowd” input has been completed we will compile the information and do final edits.

8. All selected participants will be given co-author credit with links to their profiles and the opportunity to promote themselves as being a co-author of the e-book, Cosmic Shift Happens™.

9. The e-book will be for sale. The participant will not receive payment for participation however, will be able to sell the book as an affiliate and receive 30% of the sale price. The participant will NOT be able to use the book as a bonus or give away of any kind.

If this sounds too complicated and you don’t want to be a co-author right now….

You can still join the crowd!

Connect on our facebook page at facebook.com/CosmicShiftHappens where discussions will be going on simultaneously with anyone who is interested in posting a comment and sharing ideas that could be used in the e-book even if you are not a co-author participant. Your opinions and input are valuable to us and we would sincerely appreciate all contributions for the project by sharing on the fb page.

Start now and get the Introduction and Chapter one quesitons to be discussed at Cosmic Shift Happens™.

As a respected Cyber Citizen we’d like you to participate in our “crowdsourcing” event.  Regardless of your experience and knowledge level, we know your perceptions can help us make this e-book more valuable for those just getting started. We will be happy to credit you for specific content ideas in the book even if you are not selected as a co-author.

We will be promoting the project on radio talk shows, social media and mainstream media. As a co-author participant you can also use the work you are doing for PR releases in advance of the completion of the e-book.

The mission of the project is to reach out through writing, speaking and connecting to help people adapt to the Cosmic Shift as it Happens.

Let’s create a crowd on Twitter! Please follow and tweet about us!

Raw Chef Andi from the Folsom, California area shared her beliefs about diets on my BlogTalkRadio show!

Chef Andi Griffith has written “The Fruits and Green Diet” All the foods she promotes and recipes are for RAW foods.

There is a 10 step program in her book to to evolve into “raw” eating.

First step.. give something up then take something away.

1.  Add fresh fruit as your breakfast!  Do this daily!

Take away.. ANY fast food.. not even salads.. they wash lettuce with bleach and add chemicals.

Raw Chef Andi says “this is no ordinary diet.”

• It’s a 10 step program to help you get from where you are to dietary health.”
• Are you looking to improve your eating habits? Want to lose the extra weight?
• Ready to take control of your food instead of food controlling you?

Then you’re ready for the Fruits and Greens Diet. Raw Chef Andi has written a program designed to help those who have been struggling with their weight and are concerned about their health.

This is a way of eating anyone can follow! By focusing more on fresh fruits and vegetables and avoiding the health destroying processed foods you are able to help your body get to and maintain your optimal weight. This is the way Nature intended you to eat. It wasn’t invented in a laboratory. It’s not filled with chemicals and preservatives. It’s not weird or unrecognizable. It’s real food.

Today is the e-book launch and there are many special bonus gifts like incredible recipes: Zucchini Spaghetti with RAWGU sauce, German Chocolate Pie and more!

The book is available from Amazon value priced at $12.95.

Read more about Raw Chef Andi at Rawtada.com

Are You  A Step Monster?

Yes, I am!  Or I should say: I have been a Step-Mother for 35 years in August.

Many times the Step-Mother in a family is considered to be a MONSTER just like the character in Cinderella. I don’t think I was a monster and only the kids can tell now! We had a lot of fun but that was because I came from a divorced family and knew what I didn’t want to experience again.

Family relationships are a factor in all major decisions. The differences can become daunting if there are issues going on within the family unit.

Eleanor Spackman Alden from Denver, Colorado has written a life changing book for step family members to help adjust to new family dynamics in her  book, “StepWisdom.”

Meet Eleanor Spackman Alden, LIVE in Williams, Arizona on Tuesday, August 3rd at noon PDT. Come be part of the audience or join us on www.CarraRileyLive.com and ask step family questions.

Eleanor Spackman Alden, LCSW, BCD is a psychotherapist in private practice and has worked with StepFamilies for over 40 years. She taught graduate school at Naropa University for over a decade, and prior to that taught physicians in a Family Medicine Residency program. She became increasingly concerned at the negative perspective of so many people that stepfamilies were second best or worse, and a sign of a declining culture. This viewpoint did not fit her knowledge of cultures in history, nor her experience as a therapist, teacher, or friend to so many who came from stepfamilies. StepWisdom grew out of the frustration with the present day “myth” about stepfamilies, and from growing up as a stepchild herself.

Contact Eleanor:

• Workshops
• Lectures & Keynote Speeches
• Psychotherapy
• Coaching for Stepfamilies
• Research Regarding StepFamilies
• Articles, via Blog and StepWise Newsletter
• Contact Eleanor Alden
• Follow Eleanor on Twitter
• Like the StepWisdom Facebook Page
• website www.StepWisdom.com

My Amazon and Barnes and Noble review on the book:

Perfect “Steps” To Creative Relationships After Divorce

“I am a ‘step’ individual in every category, step daughter, step mother, step grandmother, step sister, step aunt etal. I was excited to read “StepWisdom” to see what I could learn to improve those relationships.

My expectations were exceeded and I can’t wait to share this book with others. Eleanor Spackman Alden has provided an easy to understand handbook for all types of relationships. She takes case studies of dysfunctional marriages and destructive divorces to illustrate certain rapport issues. Eleanor uses examples from the Bible, Greek mythology and Dr. Jung, a Swiss Psychiatrist to graphically depict specific behavior tenancies. She uses humor to lighten the load of uncomfortable situations and demonstrates how to correct the situation.

This book is a must read for any person wanting to nurture and progress to create loving and supportive family relationships in all circumstances. Reading this book can help avoid unpleasant interaction mistakes”

Please join us LIVE in Williams, Arizona on Tuesday, August 3rd at noon PDT on www.CarraRileyLive.com

If you have any quesitons for Eleanor you can leave them in the comments below or join us in the chat room on the show.

How can a buyer shop for a lender and feel safe with the decision?

Is the New HUD closing statement good or bad for consumers?

If you would like to have the answers to some of those questions, join Gene Mundt on CarraRileyLive.com to get the inside scoop on how to deal with the changes.

Mark your calendar for  Friday July 30, 2010 at 9:30 a.m. CDT to hear mortgage professional Gene Mundt on CarraRileyLive.com.  Gene will help “connect some dots” with guidelines that home buyers need to know about right now. Gene is a professional mortgage banker from Naperville, Illinois. Gene will be explaining some of the recent changes in the mortgage industry’s practices, and how the changes effect today’s buyers. Gene will talk about the new HUD requirements and the Good Faith Estimates for closing. He will also discuss the pre-qualification process to be prepared to go out and buy some of the fantastic opportunities in Real Estate today.

Gene Says, “With almost 30 years within the mortgage/banking industry, I can draw upon a vast background and wealth of experience for the benefit of my customers and business relations.  I thoroughly understand the lending and banking processes because I have learned and used each step during my professional lifetime. This extensive background enables me to offer a more complete and better mortgage service to my customers and referral contacts.”

Programs and services that Gene offers:

• Credit/Debt Counseling, Repair, and Management
• Small Commercial Lending
• 2nd Home/Investment Lending
• Asset-based Lending
• Financial Planning/Mortgage Planning
• Bilingual Capabilities

Connect with Gene on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and ActiveRain. Or you can visit his website at http://www.genemundt.com email  gene@chicagobancorp.com or give him a call at (815) 277-4036. And be sure to check out his great blog filled with useful information!

Please join us on Friday, July 30, 2010 9:30 am CDT as we learn what changes are taking place around the country in the mortgage business.  Bring your questions to the chat room for Gene. I look forward to to seeing you there!

Have you created some plans, set some objectives or identified goals for 2010 and are you on track?

The mid point of the year just past and it IS time to look at your strategy to assess how it is working.

Looking at the 2010 plan:

1. What is working?  Keep doing that!
2. Do the financial outcomes need to be adjusted?
3. What needs to be changed in the strategy to accomplish your objectives or goals?
4. What is not working?  Stop doing it and take it off the list!
5. Do you know what really makes you tick?  Is that your passion?
6. Are you living your passion?
7. How can you live your passion?
8. Is Plan A really working?
9. Could Plan B possibly be a much better alternative?

NOW is the perfect time to start to get a jump on 2011 and practice if you didn’t have a plan.

Nothing gets better without practice.

Start with your specific values, then create a plan to get you where you want to go.

Value concepts to consider incorporating in the new direction:

• Family
• Health
• Financial
• Spiritual
• Education
• Retirement

If your family is important to you do you have all the school games or activities in your calendar, Birthdays, Anniversaries, vacation?  If family is your priority then make them first on the list of things to do.  Make these days or times NON NEGOTIABLE Items.

Is Health important to you? Does exercise fit into your game plan to achieve better movement or weight?  Put it on the calendar and stick to the plan.

It is your life so take control and have your activities reflect what is important to you.

Do you need to prospect to find more buyers? What is your plan?

Here  is a “Cow Tip” from Carra: Last week I walked down Rt. 66 with a flyer on my new listing describing a great financing opportunity with Bond Money in Arizona where a buyer can get in with as little as $1,000 down.

I have two buyer prospects from doing the basics. Eyeball to eyeball seeing the people! What did they like?  The fact the home had the special financing, a huge detached garage along with the fact I was out on the street selling real estate.

STOP now. Write in a specific time to assess what you need to do today. this week, this month and the rest of the year.

You are in charge of you and your time! Don’t ever be fooled into thinking you can’t say “NO, not now, it works better for me at this time.” Think about how you wait for an attorney, a doctor or an accountant.  Busy people have time schedules and they stick to them working clients in in the slots they have available.

Get a partner to be accountable to!

If you create the plan you need to WORK the plan and make sure you stay on track!

Celebrate planned direction!

Williams, Arizona is home of Bearizona a Drive-thru Wildlife Adventure. The perfect place to come and enjoy the mountain atmosphere when either riding the rails or driving to the Grand Canyon.

It was a beautiful summer day to have breakfast with the new babies at Bearizona and watch their jovial antics.

Meet Cassidy and Kid the new fox babies.

Check out Foxy and Memphis the new lynx babies and Sig the baby Bob Cat on the video!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Owner Sean Casey and his family were gracious hosts sharing their love of the animals with all in attendance.

The Bearizona blog series started with the soft opening May 22, 2010.

See the bear cubs getting frisky in this Bearizona update.

Share your Bearizona pictures on Flickr in the Bearizona group.

Follow Bearizona on facebook or Twitter.

Thank you Bearizona for a wonderful breakfast with the babies! Season pass owners can look forward to more fun events!

Woo  Hoo!  I really did it!  Got out of the comfort zone and put it all out there!

I had to apply several chapters in “Cosmic Cow Pie…Connecting The Dots” to my thought process to move on and just DO IT!  So that is what I did.

Yes, there were are pits in my stomach because of the UNKNOWN.

Doing the video and submitting the application was simply like applying for a job.  In order to get hired the work must be done and an interview takes place.  To that end I processed this adventure and am sharing it with you.

In life we all just keep on plugging away working toward our goal.

One of my goals is to :

“Connect on the right level with the right people to make a difference”

To that end I have submitted a video to the Oprah Winfrey Network as an audition for a new talk show host on her new network.

The name of the show:  Cosmic Cow Pie.

Please Listen to the video and if you like it, please vote for me and send the link to your friends. I would be honored if you would tweet the link and post it on your facebook wall fan/like page and re-blog this post to other groups.

NOTE:  The screen shot below is NOT live.. click this link to view the video and vote.

The message from the Cosmic Cow Pie is about creating balance and less stress. There is a surprise at the end of the video that I know can HELP many people in need today.

I hear what you are saying all over the blogosphere and want to share your messages with the world.

A final request.

1.  Share the link with your friends and ask them to vote.

2.  Tweet the link

3.  Post the link to your facebook wall and  fan/like page

4.  Vote whenever you turn on the computer.  There is no vote limit.  We have till July 3rd to get   the votes.

5.  Leave a comment under the video if you like it!

6. Re-blog to help me out if you like what I have to say
We can make a difference together.

Are you unsure of when it’s ok to answer your phone?

Do you question when it’s appropriate to text in front of others?

On Tuesday June 15th, 2010 at 9:00am, author and digital etiquette expert Michelle Cimino will be joining me on Blogtalkradio to talk about her book, “Cell Phone Etiquette, observations from a Mom.” The book is a humorous look at Michelle’s oldest daughters relationship with her cell phone. She tells funny stories, gives Do’s and Don’ts and includes an acronym list (so us parents can find out what these kids are talking about!). Join us by listening online, and participate in the chat room, or call in to (347) 994-1903.

Tune in and listen on the e-launch day for Michelle’s book and learn about special bonus features available when buying her book that day.

Michelle Cimino is a Digital Etiquette Expert and Author of two book: “Cell Phone Etiquette” and “NETiquette, on-line etiquette”. Michelle is not an international motivational speaker. No, she is not sitting on the board of some fantastic non-profit organization. And she has never flown to a third-world country to help the less fortunate…yet! She is just a regular person: a working mom and wife who noticed a lack of “manners” when it came to cell phones. Her cell phone etiquette book is receiving rave reviews from Business people to Self-Help guru’s and everything in-between. If you have a cell phone…you need her book!

It’s easy to relate to this breezy, entertaining look at the etiquette missing from today’s cell phone users—especially among teenagers! The hilarious, un-believable, annoying & silly stories will make you laugh out loud. Along with the much needed DO’s and DON’Ts of cell phone use and etiquette.

This book also gives advice….don’t let anyone take naked pictures of you! Duh! The simple format will seem as though a friend is telling you a story. It would make a great gift book for a new cell phone recipient or secretly placed on that co-workers desk. It also includes a Texting Quick Reference Acronym list, and how to make funny pictures with cell phone symbols. It is a small book, but it speaks volumes.

And remember, June 15th is the e-launch day for Michelle’s book and when you purchase a copy on that day, you will receive a ton of bonus gifts. So please check out everything you will get when you participate in the e-launch. Visit www.cellphonemom.com for more information.

How can you get in touch with Michelle? You can friend her on Facebook, follow her on Twitter, visit her website at www.getmanners.com or email her at Michellecimino@comcast.net

Don’t forget about this fun show! Set your reminder, and join us for some great humor and learn a little bit about digital etiquette!