Farewell Piano Recital

Today was a day that I dreaded for the last month: I was the closing performance in a piano recital.
Like any day that we dread, the day came right on schedule and the recital went as planned.
I've been freaking out with stress and nerves about it. Every time I tried playing it through I made some huge mistake and worried that I'd never be ready in time for the recital.
Well, I'm back from the recital and I played last, and lo! I did...okay. I don't even feel bad about the mistakes I made (of which there were several), because everyone there was only there to have fun. I don't think anybody played perfectly, but it didn't bother me at all, and I'm sure that my mistakes won't bother them either. My dad recorded my performance, so I can relive those shaky, sweaty, knee jiggling 2.5 minutes for years to come if I choose.
No matter how I feel I did, I got compliments for my performance, and that meant a lot. My teacher told me I did great, and someone I didn't know said I gave a "rousing finale". Some people even recognized my costume! I was Finn the Human from Adventure Time; I had the Golden Sword of Battle and everything.
Next week will be my last piano lesson because I have a second job now...(drum roll)... I'm a substitute teacher! The extra money will be nice and I will eventually treat myself with the new Pokemon X/Y game. Haters back off!

Dracula!

My past week has been full of Dracula-related stuff. I finished the book by Stoker, had book club on Drac, went to a play, and drank blood to see what all the fuss was about.

First of all, I finished the book and thought it was pretty good. It was a little slow at times, but the plot was cool and the final scene was dramatic and exciting. It was also pretty long. If it were written today I bet an editor would have cut it down 75 pages or so. 

Anyway, I read it because I had to lead the discussion for book club at the library. I was totally unsure on how many people would be there, so I made lots of cake pops in case there were lots of people. I'm glad I made a practice batch a month ago because these were much easier this time. 

I went the extra-extra mile and added frosting flames and handles so they looked more like cauldrons. They turned out so great!

In addition to the treats, I made a poster and bookmarks to advertise the event. They also were awesome!

The bookmarks were little coffins! Cutting them out was a pain, but they looked way good. For the poster, I embossed with gold the black paper, and had letters from the story around the edge. I even sealed them with wax. I used a picture by Edward Gorey from his own 'Dracula' that I thought was perfect. 

Then last night I went to a production of Dracula at the Parowan theater with my friend. The play was fun, even if a LOT was changed from the original story. The guy who played Dracula himself was effectively creepy, and his accent was on the mark. The guy who played Renfield is a friend of mine, and he was good too. 

(I made this advert too, hoping it would help out the book club. I don't think it did...)

I'm in the October mood now and watching scary movies and reading ghost stories. Today I worked on my sword for my costume, and it's looking good so far! I still have to sand and paint it, but my Halloween costume is turning out nicely... I'll post a picture when I'm all done!