The Brave Babes Battle Bus - Carry On Past The Vineyard.

[Mouseface]

Welcome to the Bus!

I'm Mouse and you'll find me snuggled sat at the back where it's warmest!

If you're sober, drinking, or somewhere between the two, you are more than welcome on board.

No judging, no cliquey groups and no closed minds here, oh no! Chances are, no matter how bad you may be feeling right now, one of the Brave Babes will have been there too!

So, come say hi.

And, to read the last thread and other journeys so far, follow this link

Evening BB's. I have spent the evening listing crap very usefull items on Ebay.
Night 2 for me.

at the calories in a bottle of red, I have always been to scared to add up my unites per week on a bottle + 1/2 a bottle every night

Littlelegs is still coughing away so no doubt she will keep me up company later this evening.

I am so looking forward to normal sleep.

Night night x x

Oh, hello vagabond just seen you here - going back to read your post.

units not unites - bit worrying that I can't spell properly even when I am not shit facing or deathly hungover

vagabond now you've been brave enough to post please keep on doing it. I think that most on here find that lurking and reading is great, but posting and being involved bring a whole other level of support (you will have seen that happening throughout all these threads). You know that there is (usually) no pressure on here to do anything that you do not want to do for yourself. So if having 5 days without a drink and 2 days drunk is how you manage, then that is OK with us. And if, somewhere deep inside, you are not really OK with that, and you'd like to drink even less, then you'll find loads of encouragement for that too. We are just a bunch of (mostly) women sharing our experiences.

Venus I often worry about the damage I could have caused myself, on the very few times I have managed to not drink for a day or two (4 days max) I have pains in my back, side & stomach.

I had started to lie about how much I was drinking (not saying you are BB) When DH would fall asleep with wine in his bottle I would drink all of his & then tell him I thrown it away (yeah right) or persuade him he had drank it.

And as for the recycling bin I take mine to the tip & do it myself & I would hide it in the garage so nobody saw how full it was oh & I would put the odd couple every few days in the main bin so DH didn't see how many I had polished off that night.

My thinking now is - does my 8 & 6 year old think it is normal to see 3 empty bottles of wine on the side every morning?

drama the wasted calories is astounding, isn't it. I've not lost massive amounts of weight, but I do notice a change in my shape. I am slimmer round the waist (in fact my trousers feel uncomfortable because they keep slipping down) and I really notice that I am much flatter in the bit of my tummy just under my boobs - I think I have re-discovered my ribs!

Hi Venus you are right that it is restrained, but that is because I was already 'cutting down'. That is why I decided to stop altogether, since my version of cutting down is 5 + bottles of wine a week, wheras for DH and friends cutting down is not drinking at all mon-fri and a couple of drinks with a meal at the weekend.

Thanks Venus - I'll keep posting and keeping in touch. Off to bed and feeling semi-good tomorrow. Vx

Because my youngest is only 2 & she is my 3rd I have been able to blame the "last stubbon few pounds" on her {blush}

Only good side to retaining a little weight is I now have some boobs!!!

I have always known it is the wine making me fat & I have weighed myself recently & I am a stone heavier than after littlelegs was born

So that is another good reason to leave it alone, I love the boxing ring analogy & tonight when DH asked me if I was drinking tonight I instantly repied no & imagined myself stepping away from that ring.

Welcome Vagabond thanks for joining us aboard the bus. Will look forward to seeing you again tomorrow.

drama there are all kind of potential physical problems that we were risking - liver damage, cancers of the liver, mouth, throat, stomach, gut, pancreatic problems, high blood pressure, obesity. Now at least we know we have a choice.

I so understand what you are saying about the lies. The very first time I knew within myself that I had a drink problem was when I caught myself in the middle of a lie about how much I'd had to drink (having hidden the empty bottle deep in the back of my wardrobe )

I believe that there is plenty of time for your current and future positive actions to overcome the impact that your drinking may have had so far on your dcs. Lots of empty elderflower fizz bottles, empty juice bottles, your first reaction on coming home being to ask for a cup of tea. The more of those events there are, the less they will remember the wine bottles.

I think the units ishoo is a bit of a blind alley since it is not the quantity that one drinks so much as the ability to control the drinking. The real question is if having had one glass I can refuse a second, third and more, and the answer to that is NO I can't, so better not to have the first one.

venus I mentioned last night that my mum is an alcholic (and my nan & my dad).
Last year my mum had to have some test's done & she freaked out because she thought it was cancer, it was infact copd due to the huge amount of fags she smokes even though she can't complete a conversation without having a coughing fit - I've done it again, NEVER let me start about my mum. I could go on for pages

Anyhoo, she had a liver test & it came back as low grade damage, repairable? That women has drank neat whiskey since I was a baby + at least 2/3 bottles of wine during a day/evening - our bodies are amazing & I am just hoping that at the age of 33 I am stopping in time for my body to heal completly.

Very true BB I thought I had cracked it last week sometime, convinced myself if I swapped to a couple of breezers I could control it.
Err no, I drank my breezers & then my wine & then some more breezers & then I make a complete twat of myself & wake up with my jeans in the living room with no memory of how/when I got to bed.

Evening everyone...hope you are all feeling OK (aside from chronic toothache of course)
Day 3 here - feeling a little deflated but still happy to know that I won't have a hangover tomorrow.

Witchety why deflated? your on day 3 & that is bloody fantastic, how are you sleeping? < sounding a bit like your nan >

Sleep isn't so good just now. Not sure why 'deflated' -

• I have been here before and let it all slide
• Things just seem a bit of a struggle
• ex-husband is a complete arse
• I'm worried about my mood dipping

hi all!! , nice to see you all!!, blimey, just been reading about the calories in a bottle of wine!, no wonder i was turning into such a fat old lump!

venus - i would have counted 5 bottles a week, the odd g&t and maybe some champagne as a 'cutting down' , cant we just kid ourselves when we want to?, i would have consumed that lot and then wanted a bloody medal for 'being so good'!, its bloody scary to think of what ive put this poor old body through!!

i just want to reiterate (i can say these big words but im buggered if i can spell 'em ) for the 'new girls' just how good you will feel about yourselves in a few weeks - your skin will look fresher and younger, your eyes will be whiter and brighter as will your teeth, the puffy skin will certainly reduce, if not go altogether, im finding my hair is now starting to look thicker (that has taken a few months though!) and all in all i definatly look a few years younger (i know this because 'independent' people have told me so!) - i know this all sounds fairly shallow, but i think it is a huge boost to self confidence/esteem and really bucks you up to feel that you look good!, after all, when you think about it there is even a charity that helps cancer sufferers to 'look good feel good', so there must be something in it!, i think it is also good to start looking after yourself more as it helps to reinforce the fact that you are worth it, after all the years of guilt, unhappiness etc, its nice to feel nice again! - i used to spend a fortune on clothes and hair and make-up and 'stuff', but now i really feel the benifit of it all - im no longer polishing a turd!! iyswim?

witchety don't project. Just be how you are at the moment, just be. Just be sober. That is enough.

witchety - dont leave it too long to see the doc if your mood dosnet lift!, there is no shame in taking a few ADs if it helps, much better than booze!!, i too have a an arsehole of an exh - dont let the fucker grind you down!, you are worth a bloody sight more than you realise!!

I think we have all probably been at day 3 a few times The key for me is positivly thinking

"fuck the fuck off I am not fighting with you tonight your wanker"

Can't help re: the ex I am afraid but don't let the arse bring you down.

It's bedtime really & how great that although we probably won't sleep well again we also haven't consumed 3000 empty calories, made complete twats of ourselves & will be able to remember going to bed!!!!

Take care witchety you've done really well & fuck the past it's now that counts x x

I know - sober is good...I just need to remember that and not allow myself to get distracted by the other stuff.
night all.
x

Sorry, also meant to say, thanks to everyone, new and old for all the posts today - I've found them really helpful to read. Take care all
x

Project - that was the word I was looking for!!!

JWN how funny - I'm no longer polishing a turd!!!! takes shit facing to a whole new level

echo what drama says - not made a twat of myself tonight. And yes sometimes that is enough.