Menlo Park Cloistered Dominican Nuns

Wow, the chapel is amazing with the Blessed Sacrament front and center. I can't believe I didn't discover this place right across from Villambrosa until after I left CA. If the state will have me back, I would like to be in the warmth again.  8am Mass.

Los Altos Poor Clare (Colettine) Immaculate Heart Monastery

This is a wonderful monastery filled with holy women in Los Altos Hills, CA. I often see bunnies and deer in the morning and the up here is great too. Their website, created for them by someone I is here (but they don't take emails, so phone calls or snail mail is the way to go if you have prayer requests): http://poorclares.wordpress.com/

Daily Mass: 7am

Also can hear daily Matins, Terce, None, Vespers, Compline - as they are always on the other side of the chapel :)

They offer great Franciscan/Claretian spirituality books and handmade cards.

About a Year Since Starting the Camino

I can't believe it's already been 1 year and 3 days since I started walking my Camino. That time period feels so distant, yet not long ago. I do not regret my decision to make this pilgrimage, and yet, I sometimes wonder about how much I've changed, or remained the same. Transformation is a process that does not usually happen in an instant. It requires perseverance, fortitude, and constant training. If we want to become the best we can be, growing our own, unique, and individual selves, we can't just assume that one gamble will pay off big. The odds are, it won't. However, the important thing is to make the best of each situation, seeing it as a moment of growth, and embracing whatever comes your way, doing the best you can in that situation.

After having worked at one headquarters for several years, I am still adjusting to a  new consultant lifestyle requiring constant weekly travel on the road..I guess becoming a road warrior? There are some things I learned on the Camino, which I find very useful flying here and there, everywhere around the US, especially as a woman with a formerly very extensive closet (although, even with the culling I did after I got back from the Camino, I still have a lot of clothes):

-Travel light - week-long and even 2-week long trips stuffed into 1 carry on size luggage and rolling briefcase. Never check in a bag.
-Not minding wearing the same outfits on a weekly basis, as long as they're washed and clean
-Quality over quantity
-Fabrics that provide warmth in cold and cooling in heat! I love silk because it provides this in layers.
-Moisture - airports and planes are extremely drying - I've fallen in love with Kiehl's In-Flight Refreshing Facial Mist and 24/7 Activated Moisturizer...love the scent. Also, for lips, I feel like I've tried everything under the sun (L'Occitane Shea lip, Burt's Bees, Vaseline, Eucerin, Chapstick)...and my battle with dry chapped lips continued, until I met Murad Skin &b Lip Therapy, which has been discontinued, but I hold onto the sample (in the toiletry kit on the flight to Paris) for emergencies.
-Make up - I didn't really carry any of this on the Camino, except some chapstick, but travelling professionally, I personally think I've become adept at bottling items I need into the quart-size bag for carry on. Also, after using liquid tinted moisturizers- have come to love powders because I'm not restricted to TSA regulation-size bottles (BareMinerals Originalis non-drying and has become my favorite!).

Also - travelling for a living is TOUGH. Hopping on a plane twice a week, I really have come to realize that when you travel, it isn't really about where you're at, but who you're with, the journey, and living in the moment, striving to be fully engaged with those around you. However, nothing beats time with your loved ones.

Feast of St. James

Today is the Feast of St. James. On this day, I remember all the pilgrims making their way to Santiago de Compostela. I admire the fact that people can make this pilgrimage in the heat - having to make sure they have enough water. That's one good thing about walking in winter - you really don't need to worry as much about being dehydrated and thirsty.

I can hear those bagpipes playing, church bells ringing, the swinging botafumeiro (large incense burner) and organ music. How lovely it must be.

Pilgrim's Bread

I haven't written in several months, but I thought to share this. I was spending some time with Our Lord in Adoration after work today, reading some of St. Thomas Aquinas' poetry and reflections on the Eucharist.  There's been a lot going on in my head lately, so praying and sitting there does me good.  I suddenly started daydreaming back to some moments on the Camino (I haven't ever really daydreamed about my Camino since I came back), including when the little dog starting following me probably around Day 25 or so...whichever day that was that I really felt like I had entered Galicia. I reflected again on that little dog, how persevering she was, even without knowing what it would be like at the end of her journey, over all those mountains. She had nothing to eat, refusing the few nuts and bread I tried feeding her, only lapping up some water I put into a little plastic cup, when I turned my back. At the seeming end of her journey, a couple hundred kilometers later, I encountered her again, in a place, if I remember correctly, had a name close to Rosary or Rosario, or perhaps Regina. She seemed so happy chasing white chickens on a farm. Random thoughts. Then I read that the word 'viaticum', 'supplies for the journey', can be also thought of as 'pilgrim's bread'. Not sure how right or theologically accurate this is, but of course, when you mention the word 'pilgrim', I think Camino! So, I had to make sure I wrote here! We are all pilgrims on this journey of life. The Eucharist is our sustenance, and when we eat of it with clean and pure hearts (+1 for Reconciliation), how great is the effect.

Becoming The Best You Can Be

I try to lead my life becoming a better person each and every day. Sometimes, I forget that one is only as strong as its weakest point. Every so often, I like to visualize myself as a human weapon, heh, as funny as that sounds. Being human, I have to take care of my mind, body and spirit. Why? To fight evil and save the world, of course. :) All three parts must be tended to and grown for one to be well-balanced. If I neglect one area, then I am only as strong as that weakest point.

Giving Thanks For the Simplest Things

When you acknowledge and give thanks for even the smallest things that put a smile on your face, the feeling of joy and happiness amasses in your heart. St. Clare said to notice even the smallest blade of grass and we can.

There is a Poor Clares monastery in Los Altos Hills, which I visited yesterday. They have no internet or TV. The only ways to contact them are through phone, snail mail or in person visit. Yet, the ladies here are so full of joy.