The Brave Babes Battle Bus - Kicking The Wine Witch Into Touch!

[Mouseface]

Hello, I'm Mouse

Welcome to the Bus. We're a group of posters who have been on a journey to here, there and everywhere when it comes to alcohol and the abusing of it.

Some of us drink, some of us don't at all and some of us are trying to get there, really trying to just stop the cycle, break the habit and calm everything down. Some of us are desperate to not be 'that' person anymore.

One Day At A Time or ODAAT.

So what have you got to lose? Weight? Saggy, puffy eyes each morning? False friends? The risk of cancers and other fatal illnesses......... why not join us?

We have a resident MonsterCat, Wolf called Seth and Squid called Barry (best not to ask about Barry! )

And, if you want to see where we've been so far, the links below will show you. The first ever thread is the best by far, because the OP is just like you. And me.

FIRST EVER THREAD

PREVIOUS THREAD

morning Babes

doing my fast today, I've never done a diet before and its weird how similar the cravings are to alcohol cravings... I suppose we just use the same techniques, distraction and so on?

ma how are things with your brother?

morning babes, im up really late as i had the most wonderful nights sleep, a proper natural sleep, i feel a bit heavy eyed but soo much better got a busy day, meetings for most of it, then a quiet evening with a garden planner and my ruler, i got a new greenhouse for my birthday and i hadnt got round to think where to site it, not going to the pub at lunch time, bought a lovley looking salad pot thing to eat at my desk, also a fridge full of lemonata, really sharp and mouth cleansing, sorry, am waffling (im still shaking, its horrible, makes it really difficult to type hope it eases a bit today)

anyway, got new dress on to help lift the old spirits and later im going to look at this fasting thing (MA made it sound so easy )

see you later babes XXXXX

btw

TODAY I WILL NOT BE DRINKING

You rock JWN - please make sure you have enough to eat at work today to feel nourished and not hungry - hope the withdrawal eases up soon x

I have only done one fast day and I expected the wine witch not to visit as I'd be so distracted about the hunger however cravings were GREATER so be prepared Joey and all others trying this.

Faire yeah I get that conversation, had it last night and let her win - 2 glasses of red, not the end of the world but grrr another day of not allowing my gastritis to heal. I WILL NOT DRINK TODAY xx

Jesus so glad to hear you had a good night's sleep xxx You sound so much more positive today! I miss my dd too, so I know how you're feeling and sending you a big hug xxx Won't see mine for two months now, just skyping and phoning and texting, but it's not the same. Going to start doing some DIY around the place (which I am completely useless not very good at), but it'll keep me busy for a bit .

All other babes ... I have A NEW WITCH in my fridge!!! She is fantastic, she lives in a green box and her spells have rustly black paper on. If you are with the WW and trying not to have anymore, or, trying not to have the first one ... have a couple of her dark square minty spells, she make the WW taste seriously eeeuuuggghhhhhh!! (for ages ). I'm going to keep her in there forever.

All babes, have a good day today and may your roads rise up to meet you. xxx Ladame xx

ladame do you have to wait till AFTER EIGHT for those particular spells to work?

Agree with you so much about mint and wine, I think that's why in the early days I found cleaning my teeth was so helpful - cleaning them twice with the strongest, mintiest toothpaste I could find help to avoid any 'accidental' slips - I had to be really, really determined to drink to get over the first glass (a bit ashamed to say that it did happen but it really did help to break the seductive charm of the first glass of something 'delicious').

Morning, tis me, Mouse

AudrinaAdare - hello [smlie] Nice to meet you. Can I just say that we have "No Matter What" for Nemo. He's Autistic too, amongst other things, and loves that book, as do I. I hold him so tight when we read it, I'm glad you bought it for your DS. xx

JWN - that's my fashion queen! New dress on!!! Yippeeeee!! . I'm so glad you slept well last night, I was lay thinking of you when I was snuggling my boy last night. I was wondering if you and DH were warm and safe with each other.... I'm so glad you're getting your greenhouse sorted! I remember you loving your garden, pottering about, sitting out of an evening with a N&T. Wanting to do so much with your life. Well, now you can lovely.

Massive hugs for you today. The shakes will pass, keep your blood sugar up today, it'll still dip and spike until the booze is completely out of your system. I hope that the weight continues to life off your shoulders as the days pass by. Keep going, a minute, hour, day at a time. Lots of love to you. xx

Nemo was crying in his sleep for most of last night, I'm not sure why, he was so unsettled. I was up to him from 12am, then for the rest of the night so today I am in agony with my back and hips. He can't help it and I don;t begrudge him a second of my time. In fact if it's me he needs to settle him, so be it. Sometimes it's DH but mostly me. I just can't bare him upset and he seems lonely at night if that makes sense?

There is something going on with him..... I'm not sure what. I think I'm going to track this cranial osteopath down today and make an appointment. She works with traumatised children, those with terminal illnesses and life long SN etc.

Help - thank you so very, very much for holding Nemo in your thoughts, that means so much to me. xx

Ma - I really hope that Richard has made contact..... I can't begin to comprehend how you are feeling but please, maybe just for a while, not worry so much about the diet, the booze etc until you are in a better place to deal with it mentally and emotionally.

None of this is your fault but I imagine that maybe you feel guilty that you can't help him? I hope not Ma. He's a grown man with a serious, complex problem with many contributing factors. It's not your fault. You and Richard are in my thoughts and I'm sending you all my love darling lady. Stay strong for your own resolve, do what you can and promise me you'll not beat yourself up about things that are out of your control. xxx

Dame - After Eight Mints are LUSH!!!!! The same affect as brushing your teeth and drinking wine but eating them is much nicer!

Right, I'm off to brave the Biblical weather and get a few bits and bobs, pick up my meds, and then back to clean the kitchen and lounge. Oh the high life.

Oh and this morning, I managed to leave Nemo almost straight away! He's such a big boy, I hope he's okay today given the lack of sleep he's had.

Anyway, waffling now! Have a safe and lovely day Brave Babes and those who are lurking too

Mouse xxxx

AudrinaAdare - sorry, here, have a proper x

venus - snap re the toothpaste post!

I'm really going now xxx

Jesus it made me smile to see you posting about your garden As soon as you mentioned 'pottering' I remembered some of your posts during the first year when you were full of the delight and enjoyment of pottering sober in your garden, and also doing crafting and sewing projects. Time to cut back on work a little and re-visit you sewing box? When I miss my dc I make things for them, and put a little bit of extra love into whatever I'm making. So this winter I've knitted some great fingerless gloves for dd2 and make a series of finger puppets for dd1.

I've got a difficult negotiation coming up - having to ask dd to clear out some stuff from 'her' room so it becomes a more usable guest room. I feel a bit bad and a bit sad about it because it feels like throwing her baby, downy feathers out of the empty nest. But I had to laugh recently because my cousin (male in his 60s) went to visit my parents, and said he slept in 'venus's room' - complete with my name plate still on the door, single bed with a big duvet, and the bookcase by the bed filled with my books (teenage). I left 'home' 32 years ago!

Morning babes, the only problem I had with not drinking was that it took a while to get to sleep, my dh snores like an elephant so it was a long night, anyway off to hospital will post later, have a great day my fellow superbabes x x x

Morning Babes just a quick check in to wish you all a fab day today. Voice is coming back and cough subsiding so looks like I'll be back to work in a few days - its wednesday but already wondering if I can stretch it out til Monday-naughty me.

Fasting again today - doing it today as I've a) got the right food in b) Felt really good after the last fast c) Really want to kick start the weight loss again after it stalled. So Today I will be drinking my teas, sipping on a low cal soup and having dinner around 6ish of get this ....
a WHOLE Gressingham Poussin Roasted with some Wilted Pak Choi and handful of Sugar Snap peas - Total Cals for day 500. And of course this is only possible because I WILL NOT BE DRINKING TODAY.

Great post koala so positive, you have come so far :)

Hi Mouse I remember Ma saying she had the book too. Nemo is gorgeous and I love hearing how he is doing. In fact I am such a stalker lurker that I went to find a lovely plush Nemo that DS once had so that I could offer to send it but it seems to have been culled

((((Mouse)))) you are just so full of love and kindness xx

just checking in - not at the pub, just looking at the sunny weather through the window, i feel totally exhausted, absolutly drained but the 'black dog' is lifting, its such a relief!!

venus, you are so right, i love a good 'potter', particuarly a sober one! i have plans running through my head like a stream train now that dh and i have talked (he looks a lot happier this morning, still has a sort of 'worried' expression, but he looks much calmer)

one thing we did last night was the recyling (i think he deliberatly saved everything hoping for the occasion) its was fightening, i have got through enough booze to kill an MP, and thats not counting what i had had while out he really made me look at what i was consuming, and also what it was costing purely in economic terms, when you put that cost alongside the physical and emotional costs its bloody scary - so today, onwards and upwards, another early night proberbly but thats just fine, even after just a few hours of soberity i feel better!!

btw, mouse, you say NEMO is growing, could he now be having vivid dreams? perhaps that could be whats making him cry during the night? special love to you both XXXXXX

Glad you can see the light at the end of the tunnel again JWN, your DH sounds like a star! Can you identify what it was that made you turn to the bottle this time? I know you've had stressful times before and not hit the booze; what was different this time?

I've posted photos of DD's birthday cake to my profile, if anyone's interested.
this is a creeper.

Well I've had a huge fail with the healthy diet/not drinking this week - lots of cake/icing tasting and pizza yesterday, drank moderately on Monday as parents staying, then couple glasses of red with lunch yesterday. Last night though, I drank for the sake of it - some bubbly from the night before (bit flat and not that nice) and a couple glasses of red. Noone else was even drinking and it didn't make me feel particularly good. Slept fitfully and feel a bit jaded and hungover this morning. Anyway, DD's birthday was a big success - she had a really fantastic day and was thrilled with the cake. We had a lovely lunch at a really friendly restaurant and a good day was had by all.

So back to the grindstone for me now, but why am I finding it hard to visualise getting through this evening without a glass or two of red

Afternoon, tis me, mouse

Audrina - awwwwwwwwww, that is so lovely of you, thank you very much. xx

JWN - (you are so on your way back lovely, I can feel the YOU coming through in your posts) - he does have very vivid dreams, his nurse says that often children who have gone through trauma (multiple surgical procedures) often present symptoms like Nemo does.

All I can do is soothe him. He was crying in my arms even though he could feel I was there holding him last night. It breaks my heart and I want to take that away from him.

It seems some of us are on a 'mothering' emotional roller coasters just now, empty nests, traumatised or poorly DCs.

Koala - you sound so positive about fasting, yesterday was my first day and I feel really good about today's food. Wholemeal toast for breakfast, soup for lunch and then chicken with mushrooms, garlic, chopped tomato, onion, rosemary and onion, served with a small portion of rice for dinner. YUM!

I've got lots of fruit in to snack on, and some oat cakes too. I feel better already, more mentally prepared too. Long may the fast last, day 3!

Great cake Mia - It looks fab! I'm in between 'it has to be' cakes currently but I have a feeling Nemo won't be far off asking for certain things.

How old was she? Don;t beat yourself up too much about the food, drink, etc this week, you've got a lot on atm and look at how much you're NOT drinking! Look at how far you HAVE come and take it from there...... we all have slips, we all fall flat on occasions and think 'meh' to putting effort into something for a day or two but you realise what's happening and that is massive in itself!

You've come so far. Keep going lovely, you're still heading in the right direction xx

Hmm, I appreciate it's the Daily Mail but seriously? This woman deserves a bloody good slap!

Drinking duo

Umm strikes me as some scally's wanting to make some money out of an article and not really caring what they say - Love that the DM manages to get in that she pays for her booze with child benefit

Seriously though my dad used to send me across to the pub as a teenager to get him a pint and to get myself one (as payment) I'd go to the pub (Opposite) and say my dad wants a couple of pints. According to my mother they also sent me to the local shop up the road from the age of five to buy them fags - things were different in those days I guess (and my parents are toxic twats!)

Can't do any of this right now - and don't think I want to. Can't keep the house tidy, can't keep the dishes washed, can't keep up with the laundry, struggle to keep up with the DC's homework, can't cope with the crack in the car windscreen and the fact it needs oil, can't cope with the feckin' ridiculous course and the work placement after it and, most of all, can't cope with life - I'm shit at it. Got to day 20 and given in to the whisperings in my ear. Feeling totally pathetic.

Sorry, such a 'me, me, me' post.

You're not pathetic Purple, you've just got a lot on your plate..... Can you make one of these and be a bit kinder to yourself?

Purple - I need to go and bath Nemo but will be back soon. Try and slow down or have a soft drink next. xxx