I Give Up

Okay, so I'm not going to even pretend to update this page anymore. I will keep it around in case I have something to share, but since my last post was 4 months ago it seems unlikely that will be anytime soon. Surprisingly I still get quite a bit of traffic based on my Disney posts from a few years ago, so I'll keep the page open as long as Google allows me to. In the meantime you're better off looking for me on Facebook.

Until next time...whenever that may be...

Regards,

Jared

A Walk in the Park

Some Christmas cheer at Largo Park in Clearwater, FL. Enjoy!

Oh Christmas Tree...

This video is pretty self-explanatory. It's the Tocksteins putting up our Christmas tree. We've always favored the artificial variety. The time and money saved are worth more to us than the smell of fresh pine in our living room (or the leaky water basins, or the shedding of needles, or the potential fire hazards). We've had this particular tree for 11 years, and before that my folks had this tree since the mid-1980's. So this tree has been with me since I was around 11 years old. And this will be its final year of service. It's time to upgrade. The old girl still looks great, but we are creatively hiding her flaws more and more every year. 25 years is a nice stretch for an artificial tree (probably a good 15 or 20 years past her normal life expectancy). Tune in next year to see what the Tree of Christmas Future will be like...

A Day at Work

The glamorous life of a TV producer is chronicled in this amazing piece of video!

Enjoy...and don't be jealous!

First Day of Preschool

On Tuesday, September 21, Hanna started preschool! She loved it! Below are some pictures of Hanna (and her GIANT backpack) as she embarks on this important journey. Enjoy!

Finding Nemo...and Slippers, and Princess, and Prince Charming...

The Tocksteins have had an interesting history with fish. Pet fish, not the kind you enjoy with some lemon and cracked pepper. Before Terri and I were married, she got Neptune, a fantail goldfish. Neptune was built of strong stuff. He survived a move from Knoxville to Nashville, and then from Nashville to Clearwater. We got a larger aquarium once we arrived in Clearwater, and we added some friends to his tank. One of these new "friends" was a small crayfish who decided that he liked snapping off chunks of Neptune's tail with his claws. We didn't discover this abuse until it was too late, and the toilet claimed two fish that day...the poor, deceased Neptune and the bloodthirsty crayfish (who was very much alive when I flushed him...and I didn't feel bad about it at all). When we moved into our house, our aquarium had about 5 fish in it. Over the years their numbers dwindled (and we didn't replace them), until there was one: Jango. Good old Jango was a survivor. We eventually got rid of the big aquarium and got Jango a small, sleek one-bedroom studio that he had all to himself. He flourished for 5 years, but 2 weeks ago we lost him. I found him floating next to the filter, and with a trip to the bathroom I laid him to rest.

So last week Terri takes Hanna to Petsmart, which now ranks just below Disney World as Hanna's favorite place to go. She picked out three colorful fish, and Terri got a new fish tank as well. The new fish have been christened Slippers, Prince Charming, and Princess. In the video below Hanna gives us a tour. Enjoy...

Happy Anniversary

May 3, 2010 marks the 12th wedding anniversary of Terri and myself.

It also marks the 2nd anniversary of the "Tales of the Tocksteins" blog. As I look back on this particular online journal, it certainly seems I have been more active at some times than others at keeping it updated, but it's still a nice alternative to the increasingly crowded (and more times than not irritating) Facebook.

That's it. Just a quick congratulatory post for my marriage and the blog. Keep checking back. There's always more to come...