So far there have been two big social events in January.

First up, we had Sue and J's farewell party at Opera Bar. Sue and J moved to Hong Kong in early January. Andrew and I returned home in November 2009. Since then my brother has moved to Hong Kong, my sister has moved to London and now one of my closest friends has also left the country. Andrew and I are trying not to take it personally. Good luck Sue and J! We hope you have many exciting adventures.

Andrew's birthday was the next "big" event. It was really only a quiet one as you should stop expecting people to make a big deal out of your birthday after you turn eleven. Andrew and I started his birthday celebrations with drinkies at Orbit Bar at the Summit. You'd think it was a place only for tourists but even as a resident Sydneysider you can appreciate the view. It's a lovely place to be at sunset. We then headed to the Chophouse where we proceeded to eat way too much meat. Great meal and great service. For his birthday this year I got Andrew a voucher for an hour flight in a Boeing 737 simulator. He's planning to try some aerobatics on his flight. I'm glad that there aren't any real passengers.

Last weekend Sue organised an outing to The Mahjong Room to learn how to play Mahjong. It was great fun and I think we've all become a little Mahjong crazy.

Before our outing the only thing I knew about Mahjong was from watching The Joy Luck Club. While learning to play we decided to introduce The Joy Luck Club rule to our version of Mahjong. While we shuffled the tiles the dealer (the East wind) had to tell a story about their ancestors. I told the story of my great grandfather who vanished leaving behind his wife and children in Australia (possibly back to his wife and family in China). Sue told the story of her great-grandfather who had two wives (at the same time).

I've added playing Mahjong to my 1950s Housewife resume. I am of the belief that once I have the full set of 1950s housewife skills I will travel back in time and forever be known as the inventor of time travel.

Happy Birthday Sue! On the weekend, we celebrated Sue's birthday with a very looooooooooong lunch at Woolwich Pier Hotel in Woolwich. Sue had reserved one of the exclusive bunglows in the courtyard for her birthday celebrations. We had a lovely, relaxing day. We lounged, sipped champagne and basked in the warmth of a beautiful Autumn day. (photos)

As you may have noticed from the lack of activity on FuShMuSh, I'm having a bit of a drought on words at the moment. So, I thought I'd turn to my trusty friend Google, for some words on Sue...

• Sue is so worth it!
  
  
• Sue is focusing on the season and improving her game
  
  
• Sue is a SENSATION
  
  
• Sue is guilty Guilty GUILTY!
  
  
• Sue is glorious to behold
  
  
• Sue is featured in the book "Job Hunting for the Utterly Confused"
  
  
• 'Sue' is the largest, most complete and best-preserved Tyrannosaurus rex (T. rex) to have been discovered to date.
  
  
• Sue, is there any chance?

Wanna play too? Type "[first name] is" (where [first name] is your first name) into Google and click the search button. e.g. "Jessica is", "Andrew is"

The trick to Australian slang? Just add an "ie" or "oh" sound to the end of every word. That was Duncan's advice to Ian, his Canadian friend, on our camping trip last weekend. For example: "ie" sound - Barbie, Biccies, Brissie, Chewie, Esky, Greenie, Mozzie, Nuddy, Pokies, Sickie, Surfies... or "oh" sound - Bottle-o, Nasho, Rego, Smoko, Vego, Yobbo. Then, all you need to do is throw in a g'day mate, strewth and fair dinkum every now and again and you're talking like a dinky-di Aussie.

We were appalled when we discovered that Ian was yet to try a Tim Tam. We immediately rushed out and bought a packet of original Tim Tams. We gave Ian a lesson on Australia's favourite biscuit, which included a tutorial on the Tim Tam slammer.

Step 1: Bite off Corner Take a small bite to remove one corner of your Tim Tam.
Step 2: Bite off diagonally opposite corner Take another small bite and remove the corner which is diagonally opposite to the first corner.
Step 3: Slammin' time Using your Tim Tam as a straw, drink from your beverage (Coffee or Hot chocolate works best). Only drink for a few seconds, as your Tim Tam will begin to disintegrate. Quickly shove it in your mouth, and delight in the melty, chocolatey goodness.
Thanks to my wonderful model Sue (she took time out from her duties on the Price is Right for the tutorial *G*)

Happy Birthday Duncan. Hope you had a relaxing, fun-filled birthday camping trip. (photos)

On Friday evening we celebrated Sue's 27th Birthday with a couple of rounds of mini-golf at Putt Putt Golf at West Ryde. I can't remember the last time I played mini-golf; I think I was twelve. The only golf I've played recently is Nintendo Golf. As you can imagine, I didn't play very well on Friday. Early on in the evening, I heard Sue exclaim, "It's my birthday! I'm allowed to cheat!" And I thought, "yeh that's right! It's Sue's birthday, I'm allowed to cheat!" (Jess logic, who understands it?)

Here are Jess' handy tips for cheating at mini-golf:

If you stuff up your first shot, just proclaim it a "practice shot". If your ball is about to roll back down the hill, quickly take your next shot and stop it from rolling away. I'm a big fan of the Sweep/Drag shot. Use a sweeping motion and drag your ball into the hole. Fuzzy counting is good. Who really knows whether it was 4 or 5 shots? If your ball stops against the rail, you're allowed to move it one club head width in from the railing. You can always use the "girls are bad at estimating distances" excuse and move it in a little further. A whole lot further even, put it right in front of the hole.

Unfortunately, even with my blatant and rampant cheating I still didn't do very well. I played along side Andrew, Alison and Brent and I came fourth... or, in other words, last. (Who do you think came first? Yes, I'm married to a man who is good at everything!).

Happy Birthday Sue! For an evening you could pretend it was your 12th birthday and not your 27th birthday. Thanks for the opportunity to accompany you on your regression. (photos)