The Brave Babes Battle Bus - Spring Into Summer.

[Mouseface]

Hello

Welcome to The Brave Babes Battle Bus.

This is a quest full of Babes, all fighting to remain sober, cut down or are somewhere in between right now.

You ticket to travel is free, it won't expire, and the Bus will always be here, even if there are days when you are not. So come say hi.

I'm Mouse. I have a thing for cheese and vodka, not together, well, not always!

Here is a LINK to the last thread, where you can read all of the previous threads and the journeys so far.

thanks mouse! - all positive comments gratefully recieved! (i need them more than you know!)

dh and i are off out for dinner, hopefully we will keep the conversation light and chatty!

see you later babes!

Enjoy dinner sweets. Hopefully you can both just 'be' xx

oh blimey! i hope my pity fest hasnt driven everyone away! - im so sorry to have been me, me, me today - feeling a bit calmer now, we have managed to have a meal without a row or a bicker, im totally shattered, this has been a bloody crap weekend and im glad to see the back of it! roll on the new week!

hope everyone else is ok and once again, im very sorry to have been such a negative 'vibe' the last few days!

night night

L XXXXXXXX

Sleep well JWN, you'll be back to your usual form soon

Wondering how ma is after her run... I see you've exceeded your fundraising target - well done!

Morning all - blimey sorry to hear the mills people are going through . I hope lucithings are getting better and JWN - I have had that from my eldest dd too, it really hurts I know. I was on my own with her for 4 years and yes, i fucked up quite badly, I regret it, but it's done. It's not self pitying to think of all the good stuff you did, it's hard enough with kids when you're not a drinker . Hope all improves..

I had two g and t's again on sat night, and nothing yesterday . Also today is day one of not smoking so am patched up and inhalator-ing. This is about my 'n'th attempt, have had varying degrees of success from 3 years to two weeks, so fingers crossed. Also am going to see the chap about that job on Friday so all looking a bit more up. Gtg 5 year old demanding 'puter . Good week to you all x

Oh forgot to say - it was a friends 50th birthday on Saturday and everyone was meeting in the pub in the afternoon. I really wrestled with myself about going, especially as i would be going alone as the family were all out and about. It would be so tempting...In the end, I went for a swim and drove to the pub on the way back, it was really difficult seeing the empty wine bottles but soon became easier and I listened to the same stories about three times . Didn't stay too long and was v proud of myself!

morning!

corrie, the pub scene is one i 'get' - i would have been the first to arrive and the last to leave, having 'entertained' everyone with my stories - i really now when im at that sort of occasion and get to hear the drivvle everyone talks, i always thought i was the life and soul of the party, now i know what a boring old drunk i was!

today im going to look into getting us some counselling, hopefully not just as a couple but also with dd aswell - i think it might be something quite overdue!

JWN i just wanted to send you a ((hug)). I,m not sure if this is relevant and I am a bit of a coward when it comes to offering pearls of wisdom (only have a few) But I am heading for that one year mark, and I have been feeling really quite panicky and emotional, I can't put my finger on it but I am having to work really hard to stay focused. I was wondering if that is contributing to the way you are feeling, as well as what you have told us? I think part of me wants to sabotage the whole thing, smash all my efforts to bits and let myself off the hook. Bollocks I'm crap at this Venus is so much better at it, but hey its just a thought, shared in the hope that it might help. xxx

Morning Babes

Ma - I have a deep, warm, bubble bath loaded with Radox Muscle Soak, a trashy gossip mag, and a huge mug of tea for you, ready for when you get here. Oh, and a handsome Swedish chap to rub your sore bits too!

Hope the race went well. xx

MissP - fab as ever to see you Nearly a year for you too hey? Wow! Greart going. No wonder you're emotional.

JWN - NEVER apologise for a 'me' post. This Bus has changed in a great way from one exclusively about drinking, to one of freindship and sharing parts of our lives together, no?

It all matters, it all counts. We are all in this together, old or new! xx

Nemo had a dreadful night again, so poorly. Temp, blocked nose and cleft, coughing. We've only just got up because he'd had so little sleep.

DH is exhausted and I look like I could pass as the living dead

Corrie - you should be very proud! Go you!

venus - hello xx

I keep waiting for the house to land in Oz it's sooooooooooooooo windy!!

Miss P Have you googled PAWS? The idea is that even months after stopping,we can be hit with all sorts of unpleasant emotional and physical side-effects - such as weepiness, lack of confidence, felling 'scattered' unco-ordinated and clumsy etc- it's meant to be a major cause of relapse and most often hits at 28 to 30 days, and 3 to 6 months, but can also recur at around the year mark.
lovecorrie well done girl!
jwn counselling for you all sounds like a fab idea - good for you.

Last day at work then a week and a bit off - hurrah! And I will not be drinking over this Bank Holiday!

Hi ladies and MIFLAW,

My mum died on Friday evening, at the age of 60. I was with her when she died.
I am very tired and cry every time someone is nice to me - but still not drinking. I can only say this isn't me doing this now, this is finally me getting the whole higher power thing. The only 'anger' bit of grief I've got is that I'm not old enough to have lost both my parents which is completely nonsensical because you don't get to choose and some people have it far worse. Mostly I'm just relieved that her suffering is finally over.
I get DD for overnights from this weekend, need to just be grateful that I am well enough and have been abstinent for long enough for that.
Love to all. x

Oh noteven, I'm so very sorry to hear about your mum.

I hope that you will be okay as time goes by and that you will only hold onto the best memories of her, not the sickness she has gone through.

It's wonderful news about your DD! Does that mean that you can have her overnight each weekend? Has SS given you a date for her to come home yet?

I bet you can't wait to have her home. Especially now.

I'm so sorry . But keep it up. You're doing so well. xx

Sad to hear about your Mum noteven, but you are doing really well to hold on to sobriety. Through all this time, please keep on getting the support from your AA group - they'll be there for you.

Very pleased to hear about the progress with DD - now that is something good to look forward to.

Thoughts are with you.

hang on in there noteven! - take care of yourself!

Oh noteven I'm so sorry. I've lost both my parents too (was 38 when my mum died) so I know about feeling like you're too young to have lost them both xxx You should be extremely proud of yourself not to have hit the bottle though! Be kind to yourself and keep leaning on your HP and your AA friends. It's a tricky road ahead but you can do it one day at a time

I googled PAWS which was interesting! I'd never heard of it before and it's always nice to find out new (helpful) things.

I'm so tired. I got home from work today, sat down with my lunch and the telly and woke up two hours later

Oh noteven I am so sorry. Sending warm thoughts your way and grab all the support you can....

Golly That PAWS info is fascinating isn't it and a useful piece of info for the 'toolbox' to tackle this thing...

I had really quite strong urges to drink this evening on the train home. I think Brain was saying: 'Hey - you're off work now! Celebrate!' It didn't get as far as planning, but almost. So I just resolutely thought how very much better I am feeling, and how I didn't want to waste my leave (like last time) being sick, hungover or drunk, or waste all the money I've been saving, or embarass myself.

Got home and ahd a juice drink and feel ok again now.

noteven I'm sorry about your sad news, Im sending you a big (((hug))).
Thanks 4c4 for the PAWS info, I was confused at first (but that's normal for me ) as I wandered on to a pet care website, who said you can't teach an old dog new tricks, eh?

Well done missP important to reinforce good grooming and teeth cleaning

And coming up to a year is an incredible feat - you should be very proud of that. It's 365 days, one hour at a time on occasions. Not easy. I know.

Noteven, I am so sorry for your loss. Thinking of you.

noteven truly sorry for your loss. Focus if you can on your huge success in getting DD back and being soer. Your mum would be very proud!

ma how was your ordeal? (I am talking about your run)

noteven so very sorry to hear of your loss. Hang in there, just remember that drinking will so not make it any easier, it can make it so much worse. In my thoughts.

JWN Sorry to hear that you are having a rough time. it is not easy, I feel that my family are delighted that I am sober, but they are also waiting for me to fail, and don't really like the fact that being sober is not just not drinking, and that I am fundamentally changing as a person, and there is a shift of dynamic within my relationship with them.
There is so so much more to this sober thing than I ever thought possible!!

Hope that things have been more settled at home this evening.

To all the other BB's - hang in there, Sobriety is a wonderful achievable lifestyle that has so many positive aspects to it.

Had another great weekend, and did not miss drinking one little bit.

And as of tomorrow - I have been sober for 6 whole months. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that I could not lift a drink for that long. Nor did I think that I could be happy about not drinking for this long!
In the past 6 months I have lost weight, my skin and hair are better. I dont snap at the kids all the time, I am more in control of my emotions.
I perform better at work. I perform better at home, housework actually gets done regularly. I open and deal with my mail. I make difficult phone calls.

The unending possibilities that my life now offers are fantastic. I am a very contented bunny, a very very far cry to the person that posted on this thread on 24 November 2010.

I love you all, and could not have done it without you.
Sleep well brave babes and I thank you from the very very bottom of my grateful heart.

K
xxxxxxx

bafana Congratulations on your 6 months today! That is so fantastic! Treat yourself today to something lovely - you deserve it!

I loved the list of benefits you put together - so true. I am re-embarking on this journey after 11 months of 'controlled' drinking after a lengthy period of sobriety. Two and a half weeks in now and am already feeling the benefits you describe - I had forgotten how great itis to stop. Far, far better than being on my daily drinking treadmill.

What you also said about the dynamic shifting in you relationships is so very true as well.

all the other babes how are you doing today?