How Do I Love Thee, Pinole? Let Me Count the Ways...

Seriously, I don't really talk so fancy, but that popped into my head as a title for my post so I figured I'd just roll with it. Titles are so very much not my strong suit.

The editor suggested I introduce myself and talk about what I might write about and why I love Pinole for this, my very post here on Pinole Patch, so I'm going to give that a whirl! As it probably shows somewhere, I'm Jennifer Moore-Skallerud. I'm a mom for free and a police dispatcher for pay. I love to hang out with friends and family, and sometimes I blog.

I've lived in Pinole for three years, and you'll see that I've been near Pinole for a good portion of my life. I am absolutely the most content I've ever been, due partly to the fact that I do live in Pinole. I love it here and I hope to remain here, pretty much forever.

I'm a huge fan of in the Pinole Valley Shopping Center. I coined a new term to describe it, snacktacular. This means that going to Trader Joe's when I'm hungry is not the smartest idea. So many yummy dips and vehicles for dips (hummus and pita chips, anyone?). And everyone there is always so nice. I love to go early in the day when my daughter's in school and I luck out and pull right up to the front of the store and there are no lines. (But don't tell anyone else about this magical time, as that will ruin it for me).

is another favorite spot of mine. I would really like to look into being given my own spot, right next to the shopping cart return. I have talked to many friends who understand the phenomena of going into that store with a list containing five items and rolling out with a full cart. That's both the magic and misery of that fabulous place.

I'm a big fan of eating, in general, and specifically I love Chipotle, , , , , , , and being able to hit the drive-thru at when the mood strikes for a bean burrito with sour cream.

In a sentence, living in Pinole is not necessarily conducive to my ongoing struggle to lose some weight.

Which reminds me, I'm supposed to mention what I might write about. Struggling to lose weight and food are two of my favorite though seemingly dichotomous things about which to write, so there are a couple of possibilities.

I love living in Pinole because I'm close to so many friends and my family. I love running into people or seeing them on the road when I'm driving around town. I joke that it's about two degrees of separation in this town; if I don't know you, I will bet there's someone that both of us know, and I think that's awesome. It makes this place, for me, feel not just like a city, but a community.

Other possible topics here might be books, TV, movies, and kids. I like all of those things, especially kids, and especially my kid. Kids are entertaining and I usually have something to say about mine. Oh, and I like to share a recipe if I do something in the kitchen I think other people might like.

What I think I'm trying to say is that I might talk about anything.

I'd love to have a conversation here. I'd love to hear what you guys think about anything I say; I want your comments, I'd love suggestions. Where should I eat? Where should I go on a walk with my daughter who's six? What do YOU love about Pinole?

I suppose that will do for a first post... hope to be back soon when I figure out something interesting to talk to you all about!