I have performance anxiety.

Ok, having like, a hundred-plus people show up around here for that whole bloggy contest thing has kind of thrown me

I’m off my game.

I’ve been procrastinating about posting because I have this delusional picture in my mind that there are these smiling, upturned faces out there in cyberspace breathlessly waiting to see what that middle-aged blonde woman they’d never heard of before the afore-mentioned bloggy contest is going to write next– you know, now that they’ve discovered me and have Babybloomr bookmarked under their Favorites. What if I let them down? What if my first post after their initial discovery of me makes them say, “Meh. Next.”

HOW WILL I LIVE WITH THE SHAME??????

And what if they never come back and then I’ve blown my chance to increase my readership and squandered this wonderful opportunity to make new friends and continue my slow climb to my ultimate goal which is achieving total blog world domination? Then what??? So I’ve been paralyzed with fear and unable to string words together in my usual magically entertaining way (shut up, regular readers–they’ll find out soon enough!), which has resulted in a dearth of posts for the last couple of days.

Well, that and the fact that I’ve been really busy and couldn’t think of anything to write about.

So, hmm…

Oh wait, I thought of something–LOOK! Here’s the cake that Momma Lloyd sent Russ for his birthday!

It’s an apple cake and it was not only a lovely thoughtful gift, it was dang good.
And here’s Russ happily chowing down.
(No pressure on you new readers– you’re not expected to send us presents until you’ve been coming around for like, a year a couple of months. And cash and jewelry are always appropriate, so no worries if you’re not as culinarily gifted as Momma Lloyd.)
Come back soon. It only gets better.

28 Responses

  1. themema

    I can tell you first hand, how good Momma Lloyd’s apple cakes are. Now, I did not get a whole one, I only got half of one. And before Momma Lloyd gets all cutsie and tells you I ate a WHOLE HALF OF FRESH APPLE CAKE WHILE I WAS AT HER HOUSE, I am going to admit that to be true. I also want to point out that I was there for 10 days, and that is not a lot of cake to eat in 10 days.

    Now I have gotta go change my shirt, as I have drooled all down the front of mine, just looking at the pictures and remembering.

  2. CarolynR

    Get a grip Tori! This smiling face is still here, however it’s not upturned at the moment as I got a crick in the neck and went cross-eyed trying to type with the keyboard on top of the tallboy and my breathlessness led to hyperventilation issues and we had to call the paramedics out. Not a great success really. Does this mean that my brief sojourn in Babybloomrland is at an end? :(

    I do think though, that blog domination is only a matter of time, but just remember, when you achieve the ultimate accolade of Her Serene Blogness, who it was who introduced you to ferret racing. :P

    PS Perhaps Momma Lloyd will consent to be my new best friend and email me some apple cake, as Mr T’s rather manic expression suggests slightly more than apple, eggs and flour was included in the mix :)

  3. Alex71075

    Ms.Tori,

    I had to stay away from the blogger hunt,too much estrogen kinda scares me. Tell Russ I said Happy Birthday,by the way mine was the 15th,and since Im doin 5 of his favorite songs at a gospel show{free of course) next week,he could ride down and surprise the country folk.I could promise him a buncha mom’s homemade nanner pudding,but thats about it.HAPPY THANKSGIVING to you all.God Bless

  4. meb

    Blog anxiety, I have it every time I write a post. And I don’t have near as many readers as you. But because my mother is one of my readers, that usually causes some anxiety.

    But what I really want to know is, would Momma Lloyd be willing to share that recipe. That looks soooo good, and who wouldn’t love a good apple cake.

    Happy Thanksgiving to all.

  5. rcbeth

    The biggest problem with Betty eating half a cake was she didn’t leave me a slice AND didn’t bother to tell me she was taking the other half home with her!!!

  6. Barbara M. Lloyd

    Bless your little desperate heart, Tori….but, by all means give your new readers tips on how to go back and read some of your masterpieces. Then, of course, if they just stay tuned, more will be forthcoming. They always are.

    Beth, the truth is Betty hurriedly ate that whole half cake before you arrived and she did it on purpose.

    Carolyn, do you sing?

    Alex, Happy Birthday…..best I can do since the whole one went to “my” Russ, Betty ate half of one that was left, and Beth would be upset if you ate cake and she didn’t.

    But, here’s the recipe:

    1–1/2 cups Wesson Oil
    2 tsp. Vanilla
    2 cups Sugar
    2 Eggs
    3 cups Flour
    1 tsp. Cinnamon
    1 tsp. Baking Soda
    4 cups chopped Apples
    1 cup chopped Walnuts
    1/2 cup Raisens

    Preheat oven to 350 degrees

    Mix together vegetable oil, vanilla, sugar and eggs. Beat until well mixed. Then add flour, baking soda, cinnamon and mix well. Add chopped apples, walnuts and raisens. Bake for 1-1/2 hours in a well greased and well floured tube pan.

    There you go folks….and the Taffs will be gracious enough to receive any you send their way. Oh heck, an’t you see their littlesmiling upturned faces? (yep, they have them, too)

  7. Phyllis R

    Tori, you silly girl. You always have such neat things to say. You are my hero…wish I could come up with the quick wit that you have. I guess years of living with Russ you have to be quick on your feet. hehehe Just kidding, he is an awesome feller. Since I don’t have any children I didn’t respond to the “hunt” blog. But, I do check daily for your post to your blog. Oh BWT, I love the pics you post. I love Tennesse, it is sooo pretty. Ok, I am rambling (which I do quiet well thank you. hehehe), so I will hush. Have a happy day and a Happy Thanksgiving.

  8. belinda

    We all have faith in you Tori! You always know the perfect things to say and trust me, they will be back and they will love you as we do.

    Wow, what a great looking cake. Russ does look like he is enjoying that just a bit. Momma Lloyd, you are spoiling that boy! I’m sure he loves every minute of it. Thanks for the recipe!

    Everyone have a great day & wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday!

  9. Pearl

    Tori, of all the things you could choose to post- Apple Cake! The Lord is teaching me that He is keenly aware of EVERY aspect of my life and that He cares even about the small things. I had a major cooking day this weekend and ended up with an overabundance of apples. My thought was that I could make apple cake, but realized that in a de-cluttering frenzy I had gotten rid of the one recipe book that held the directions. But now, thanks to you and Momma Lloyd, I’ll be using up those apples in no time!
    (side note- why, in a world that needs so many BIG things would God care whether or not one tiny little insignificant woman had a recipe for a cake? I don’t have any idea. I just know that He loves me and He keeps showing me in the little things.)

  10. tori

    YAY Pearl! I love that!
    (And… maybe that could be my new blog tag-line: “Read Babybloomr and all your prayers will be answered!”)
    Whaddya think?

  11. themema

    It sounds so easy. But I am sure that I could find a way to mess it up. I think I’ll just go back to Aiken and see if Momma Lloyd has another 1/2 cake in her freezer.

    And while you are wondering, leading up to Christmas. Ask Momma Lloyd if she will share her recipe, and secret for the best and most beautiful Red Velvet Cake you have ever seen or tasted. Anyone got a picture that Tori could post for that one.

    … just trying to be a blessing to Tori and suggesting another blog entry.

  12. gracelynn

    That cake looks absolutely delicious and I’ll probably gain 5 lbs just looking at the picture LOL. Thanks for the recipe Momma Lloyd but I’m sure even if I try it, it could never taste as good as your cake does. They never do. I make my grandmother’s tea cakes but they don’t taste as good as hers. Betty, don’t feel bad….I probably would have gobbled down the whole cake in one sitting. LOL

    Tori, you are my hero too and I wish I could write half as good as you do. (Maybe that’s why I was a business major rather than English LOL) And Belinda is right – you always know just what to say and when to say it. Keep up the good work! I’m glad Russ had a great birthday and it is quite evident from the picture that he LOVED that cake. ;)

  13. LindaB

    Well, Tori, I wondered where you went to!!!! I didn’t have anything interesting to read! Forget all those new people—–you have a responsibility now to entertain us folks who come here regularly and have no life…….or we have a life, but we don’t like it.

    While waiting for you to get over that case of “performance anxiety”, I busied myself by going around the house and making sure all the light bulbs were screwed in properly. That was fulfilling. I tried to balance my checkbook——heavy emphasis on “tried”. Settled for “close enough”. I went through my fridge checking expiration dates, and if it was expired, I ate it immediately. (Did you know ice cream has an expiration date? Goody!) I’m so glad you finally got your groove back on——-next, I was going to alphabetize all my spices! Whew!

    Tori, you KNOW you would have to try really really hard to be boring or write boring stuff, and you’d probably fail at it anyway! So, next time you feel any “performance anxiety” coming on, suck it up and post something…..anything…..your fans are awaitin’!

  14. rockin robyn

    O.K. for all you “lurkers” out there new to this site – that wasn’t really “our” super hero, queen of the written word, say-what-you-“really feel” Tori admitting her inadequacies…. [note to Tori: shhhh, you can’t be sharing your weak moments when trying to round-up new players for the team] That was her evil twin Dori!!

    Thank you “Momma Lloyd” (excuse my disrespect if I shouldn’t be calling you that **not knowing you as well as the others in here do) for the recipe. I’m going to give it a try for Thanksgiving. The whole family is coming to my house and I think I’ll surprise them with a homemade cake for dessert. I’ll call it — I’ll call it!! “Russ’s cake”. (great pic – Tori!)

    Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Be safe if you’re traveling!!

  15. Pearl

    “Read Babybloomr and all your prayers will be answered!”)

    And you think you have performance anxiety NOW?
    I dunno, Tori, where’re you gonna get all those Caddies and Xboxes and big screen TV’s? :D

  16. Hazel

    What’s your china pattern? It looks familiar but I can’t…oh, it’s on the tip of my tongue! Oh well, glad you brought out the best to celebrate. Happy T’giving friend!

  17. tori

    OK Hazel, I was totally hoping no one was going to pick up on the ‘china pattern’…

  18. Barbara M. Lloyd

    Since this has turned into Tori’s Cake Blog, here is a recipe for the Best Red Velvet Cake around. Honest, it is a never-fail and very moist. And, it freezes nicely….except that it is a perfect color for the Christmas dinner.

    2-3/4 cups Cake Flour
    1 tsp. Baking Soda
    2-1/4 cups Sugar
    3 Eggs
    1-1/4 cups Crisco
    1-1/2 cups Buttermilk
    1 tsp. Vanilla
    1 oz. Red Food Coloring (Kroger brand)

    Preheat oven to 325 degrees
    Grease and flour 3 cake pans

    Put ingredients in mixer bowl in order they appear. Mix until blended but do not overbeat. Bake for approximately 25 minutes.

    Frosting
    1 8-oz. pkg. Cream Cheese, softened
    1 stock Butter, softened
    1 box 4-X Sugar
    1 tsp. Vanilla
    1 cup Chopped Nuts

    Gracious, Tori, I didn’t mean to turn this into a Cake Baking Session. But maybe someone will send you a cake. Might be Linda,if she has everything screwed in by now.

  19. Barbara M. Lloyd

    Ooopa, that is supposed to read:

    1-1/4 cups Crisco Oil

    And, about the Red Food Coloring…..Kroger’s brand is a pretty bright red color; whereas, McCormicks, etc., are a brownish red and not as cheerful.

  20. Pearl

    Red Velvet Cake!
    Tori, you’ll never believe this one unless you go read my blog. Coincidence? I think not. (Don’t worry I’m not after “total blog world domination”- I’ll leave that for you, the future Blog Queen. I’m happy to have my family and friends off my back for not keeping in touch. Now I can write once and tell them “go read my blog”. I love technology.)
    Barbara- “Tori’s Cake Blog” LOL!!

  21. Barbara M. Lloyd

    Tori, tell us about those beautiful Christmas cookies you make….and show us a picture of them.

    P.S. Don’t show “my” Russ that picture above. Bless his heart.

  22. LindaB

    Ya know what I noticed about that picture of the cake? Tori, you have dark painted walls in your home!!! You are so brave and trendy! So current and in style! I’m so impressed. I would never have the nerve to do that!

  23. themema

    Linda, that is because you are NOT an ESFP.

    I didn’t say that….. I really didn’t….. It was my evil alter that took over my fingers for a minute. She is soooo bad. And this time of the year, I just can’t do a thing with her!

    :>)

  24. LindaB

    Mema, I know I’m not a ESFP! I’m a ISFP. Or ESPN. I think.

    Really, I don’t know what the heck I’m talking about. But didn’t you like Tori’s dark burgundy wall? That is so cool. And brave! It’s a brave new “dark” world now. And I’m still living in a world of light beige walls. :(

  25. themema

    I LOVE her dark burgundy walls. Closest I was able to come to it was dark burgundy wall paper in my kitchen…. and I love it.

    ‘Course, our daring Momma Lloyd as beautiful dark green walls with some really wild burgundy and green wall paper. I guess everyone is more interesting…; or daring… or something that we are.

  26. Steve Weber

    Not to worry, it’s always fun to see what’s happening at your house. I’m glad that Russ had a delicious birthday!

  27. Barbara M. Lloyd

    There ya go,I’m daring and exciting and glamouress and witty….just like our Tori. And all because I have dark walls in a few rooms of my home. No wonder that woman wanted my autograph…..opps, I forgot it wasn’t her idea. Well maybe we should tell her about my dark walls.

  28. Ben Jones

    Tori,
    Boy does this make me hungry. I am printing out these recipies to try at my house. My wife and two oldest daughters love to bake and try new recipies all the time. I am amazed that we don’t all weigh 300 lbs. Seeing Russ gobble that cake is how I imagined he, Bill and Gloria enjoying ALL of that pomegranite jelly. WRONG, just WRONG. Anyway, I gotta go.

    Ben Jones

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