Cheryl Beckham

Today my one and only daughter has turned 10, two digits for you young lady from now on! I feel bad that I can’t throw her a big birthday bash like so many of her friends have been enjoying these past couple years. I don’t understand how people that are claiming to be so broke during every conversation that you hold with them, can afford to spend so much on their kid’s birthday parties. I’ve got bills to pay, food to put on the table and a car that drinks more gasoline than I drink beer! It’s a good thing that my Dad has allowed us to live with him because there is no way I could have made it even this far without him.

Anyway, the good news is that I have a coupon for a buy one dinner and get one free at her favorite restaurant, so we are going out to dinner, just the two of us and then we will use the discount tickets that I’ve been saving for a while now for us to go to the movies. Not sure what we will watch, I’ll let her do the deciding this time, unless of course it is something R rated or something crazy like that. So there will be no large, fancy parties, nor a table full of presents this year (unfortunately it was the same story last year) but at least we will have dinner and movie together for her big day of becoming a “tween” oh boy!

I had the opportunity to try a new drink last night after work. New to me, anyways. I didn’t really feel like drinking a beer for my “free after the shift is over drink” so I asked the other bartender for a suggestion and she came up with the mojito. Let me tell you – this is a great drink!

I watched her make it. She took a tall glass and dropped a couple lime wedges in the bottom. Then she sprinkled a couple teaspoons or so of sugar into the glass. Then she sprinkled some mint leaves in the glass and took a little stick-type bar tool and smashed the stuff in the bottom of the glass to mix it up. (Found out later that the tool was a “muddler.” Who knew there was a tool for this?) The lime juice melted the sugar into a thick syrup and mashing the mint leaves spreads the mint flavor through the syrup.

She then fills the glass with ice cubes and pours a couple shots of white rum over the ice. Fill the glass the rest of the way with club soda, and stir. I’ll have to start making these for some of my regulars that are always looking for something new to try that is nice and cool for these hot summer months that we are going to have to endure this year!