4th Blogiversary

Well, would you look at that?  Today is the 4th blogiversary of Stormy Heart!  Whee!

Fist bumps to all my followers!  (Ba-la-la-la-la-la)

Last year at my blogiversary I decided to re-brand my blog with a new look and a new name.  I haven't heard much feedback about it from you guys, so... I hope you've liked it?

It's interesting how much my blogging style has changed over the years.  When I first started blogging waaaaay back in 1999 over on DearDiary.net, most bloggers that I followed used their blogs as online diaries.  (If you want a laugh, go check out the emo ramblings of teenaged Stormy.  SO MUCH DRAMA.)

Now, it seems to me like blogging is much more about sharing ideas and entertaining your audience.  Sometimes that involves sharing your life, but it rarely seems to be with the intensity and depth it once had.  That may be for the best in some respects, given how we seem to share so much of our lives via social media already.

I know the changing blogging community has been on the minds of many bloggers lately.  What do you guys think about it all?

Anyway, thanks for stopping by to celebrate the anniversary of my little blog with me!

Happy 3 years to me, and new blog design coming soon!

The 3rd anniversary of Heartache Into Beauty slipped by quietly this year, just like it did last year.  Happy (very belated) blogiversary to me!  I can't believe I've had this blog for over 3 years!

I know I haven't been posting very much since my last blogiversary, mostly because until recently I've been massively busy at work, leaving me too mentally and physically exhausted at night to work on personal projects.  I've also been struggling really hard with my depression and anxiety this year, which has been killing my motivation to do creative things like blogging.  I haven't even done anything with my new book of shadows, although at least I finally figured out what to call it: it will be my Book of Lore & Craft.  That name resonates so well with me :)

Thankfully, with the shifting weather (and less work craziness) I'm starting to feel my own shifting  - I feel a bit rejuvenated, and my creative impulses are starting to fire again.

I think that positive shift merits some external changes to this blog, especially considering that after 3 years there have been definite changes to what I'm interested in posting about.  I found a spiffy new design that I love, and I'm going to be rolling it out soon - that is, as soon as I figure out how to install an .XML file into my blog layout and customize its features.  Err...  Any advice for a blog design newbie?

I'm also pretty sure I want to change my blog's name.  "Heartache Into Beauty" had a lot of meaning for me back when I started this blog in 2011, but the content and tone of my posts has changed dramatically since then.  Obviously if/when I decide on a new blog name I will post here, there, and everywhere about the new name and any URL changes, etc. that will affect the way you read this blog, so that you can update your feed readers and what have you.

Two Years

My 2-year blogiversary slipped by quietly last Wednesday - I had actually plum forgotten it was coming up.  Since I did not at all plan out what I would do for my blogiversary, I think I will forgo the more celebratory post of my 1st year on this blog, and just say...

Yes, that bobblehead has been #VandalEyes'd by my father.  Twice, actually.  You can't see it, but underneath the giant googly eyes on the glasses, there are also smaller google eyes underneath the glasses. 

My thoughts of celebrating my blogiversary this year are dampened because I am feeling uncertain of the merits of posting to this blog with the frequency or earnestness I had been over the previous year.  You may have noticed a decrease in posting over the summer.  I'm starting to feel that, after 2 years, my blog is not providing the value to the neopagan community that I wish it were.  I've tried to use it to promote the neopagan music scene, and yet my Monday Music Break posts - what I feel is the meat of my blog - receive the fewest comments and hits.  Honestly, most of my hits are for my more ridiculous posts about things like llamas.

Don't worry - I am not quitting blogging!  Music feeds my soul, and I want to share my love of pagan music with my community.  I also want to share the music I write, however infrequently that happens.  I think I just need to know how to do it in a way that people actually want to read and respond to.

I'd really like your feedback on what I can do to spark your interest in visiting and engaging with me on my blog.  Is there something missing from my MMB and chant posts that you'd like to see?  Are you having trouble listening to the songs?  Is there another facet of the pagan music scene you'd be more interested in, like music reviews or interviews with pagan artists?  Do you prefer my non-musical posts?

Happy 1st Blogiversary to Me!!

Today is marks 1 year since my 1st post on Blogger!  Thank you to all you wonderful people who have been reading my blog and helped me get here :)  Since this blog focuses primarily on pagan music, I am celebrating by posting some of my favorite songs by pagan artists.  Enjoy the pagan music extravaganza!!

"Storm" by S.J. Tucker:  This became one of my favorite songs the instant I heard it <3

"Drawing Down the Moon" by Gaia Consort": I love how poetic the lyrics are, and the contrast between the softer verses and the more driving chorus.

"Wild" by Cassandra Syndrome: This is atypical of their usual operatic metal sound, but it's so deliciously deep and dark and wild and free, I just love it :)

"The Great Selkie" by Avalon Rising: Traditional song with such a lovely arrangement.  I was introduced to this song many years ago and it's still one of my favorites!  (Sorry, all I have is a link to a sample, but I really wanted to share either this song or "God Walks Among Us," which is completely unavailable online apparently.)

Listen

"I Walk With the Goddess" by Kellianna: I just love this chant - complex enough to be interesting, but not too hard to forget.  And it's fun!

And that's it for now.  Hope you guys enjoyed all the great music!  Please feel free to continue the blogiversary pagan music extravaganza by linking up to your favorite pagan songs in the comment section :)

My upcoming 1-year bloggiversary

My 1st blogiversary* is coming up on August 14th, can you believe that?  I am astounded and blessed that I've gotten through a whole year writing in this blog, finding my voice and what it was I truly wanted to post about, and increasing my followers from 0 to 13 in just 12 months.

Remember when I hit 1000 views in April?  I was ecstatic.  I thought it would take forever to hit another 1000 views but already I am 7 views away from 2000 views! I'm really hoping to hit 2500 views by August 14th - think we can do it?

I'm still trying to decide how I would like celebrate my blogiversary.  Posting a new (non-Sabbat) chant?  A giveaway?  A pagan music break extravaganza??  I promise to figure it out soon.  I need to get some pretty critical real-life things dealt with first, like finding a place to live come September (Hopefully that happens on Saturday, keep your fingers crossed for me!).

I hope everyone had a good Lammas, full of fuzzy llamas and funny llamas, but not drama llamas.


*I actually had to look up how to spell this, because it's not as intuitive as you'd think.  Unfortunately there is no agreement in the blogosphere about 1 g vs. 2.  The exciting life of a writer!