New Year's Resolution Re: Blogging

This blog is supposed to be about what it's like for our family at seminary, but I've been reflecting lately that I've so far mostly blogged about our family life, but not so much specifically about what it's like to be here at St. Vladimir's. While I regret that I missed some fresh impressions of SVS and living in Westchester county when we first moved here, my New Year's resolution is to try to include the kind of experiences here that someone might find valuable, or at least amusing, if she were to find herself in my position as a seminary wife.

To start off this new year, I'd like to begin with two items that present the pros and cons of some of our experiences so far. The first is a list of the five best things about living in Westchester county, and the second, the five worst things:

5. Trader Joe's. 'Nuff said.
4. Autumn is beautiful (remember, I came from Texas, where fall lasts about one weekend).
3. Bronx River Parkway walking trails.
2. Bagel shops and amazing bakeries around every corner.
1. Proximity to New York City (you can walk to the train station from campus).

Now for the worst:

5. Winter lasts too long for this southern girl. I want to get out my spring clothes in April and be done with it.
4. This is not an easy place for a newcomer to adjust to. You can probably find anything you might need nearby, but without knowing the right local natives to ask, you are not likely to ever find the right store.
3. The grocery stores tend to either have cramped aisles and unattractive fixtures or be very expensive. It's almost impossible to buy all of your groceries from one store in one trip.
2. It is really expensive to live here - gas, groceries, household supplies, electricity, and everything else cost more.
1. It cannot be overstated how difficult it is to find your way around here. I never thought I'd be a GPS-user, but Westchester county has converted me.

So there's your first installment in my newly-resolved more-about-seminary blog!