The Brave Babes Battle Bus - Kicking The Wicked Wine Witch Where It Hurts! Mwahahahahahahaha!

[Mouseface]

Hey, I'm Mouse, welcome to the Bus (aka Gerald!)

We're a mixed bunch of folk, some have been here for a while, and of course we have some new additions too. It matters not one jot how long you travel with us, as long as you get something from it.

No matter your story, your needs, your fears and hopes, you CAN come on here and talk. You can cry, scream, rant, let it all out and not be judged for anything. Ever.

We've all been so very low, some have hit the very bottom of the rock, rubbed the bruising better and picked ourselves back up again but sometimes, you need a helping hand or someone to listen too.....which is why we're here, sharing our experiences, or just reading each other's and nodding as we click along.....

The support here is unconditional. :)

There are two banners down each side of Gerald, our super duper Bus saying -

1. • The Vulnerable Need Our Support, Not Our Judgement
2. • Alcohol Fosters Inertia

We have lots of food on board, but mainly Opal fruits!!! They tend to be anything other than green, as they get snapped up vair fast indeed!

If you would like to know a bit more about how we got to where we are today, you can read these threads.

THE PREVIOUS THREAD

THE START OF THE JOURNEY

Hope to see you soon :) x

morning - mouth lump an abcess - had it cut and prescribed antibiotics - :) - at least I'm still sober - 28 days :)

Morning babes. Sorry been AWOL for a few days. Been lurking but on a bit of a downer at the moment and couldn't think of anything to say . Day 5 here. Not feeling the boing though, eating badly and not exercising. I need to get a grip.

Really busy at work - ate 3 meals in front of the computer working from home one day last week. Feel like a mole in a burrow (working today in fact). And seeing as in 2 weeks we start the process to rid half of us of our jobs by Christmas it seems ridiculous.

DS and DD both injured through sport atm so bored and grumpy. Have tons of housework to do but can't find time for it! Anyway, wanted to say hi to you all

70 - almost a month AF for you! Well done, and good luck with your blood tests. How's the food diary going? I do find I eat better when I have to write it down (which I'm not doing at the moment )

Ma how's the weekend going? Glad ds is OK, I have watched my first Xmas film of the year - bit early for me but I am turning into a sloth atm so any excuse to sit on the couch . Know how you feel about Xmas and the years passing by. One of the worst things I did was get Timehop on FB. I can see my life stretching behind me and all I think is how fast the years are going by and how little progress I'm making, all that changes is the dcs getting older and more awkward and a bit nearer to leaving home, and that will leave me with ... what? Cellulite, a grumbling liver, crappy marriage and possibly no job (gulp ) (shoves head back in sand)

Joey dd wants to see Fault in Our Stars. She is 11. I read the book and thought it was awful and the characters pretentious, nobody ever talks like that in real life. I admire your forbearance going to see it. And congratulations on your 3 weeks AF!

Right, now Wry I love a hair challenge! I solved my grey issue by going blonde (from vibrant red, which really showed the roots!) If your hair is like mine (natural colour at back and white at the sides) how about a short choppy bob like... (hang on I'll be back when I find a photo)

Ok Wry, was thinking something a bit like this... and you can add different colour highlights in for variety (I have scarlet through the back of my hair, which is long) to keep it interesting. The layers and blonde streaks will stop you getting noticeable roots while you slowly let more white grown down, and the shorter top layer length will help the condition where the bleach is (that and some hot oil treatments. Then eventually you can have it at a point where most of the dye is gone. Just a thought

And having stuck my beak in with hair advice, I also have a book recommendation, Snowdrops by AD Miller. Someone gave me a copy and I adored it, so passing on the good deed. I actually got off a train in London on my way to a meeting with one chapter to go, and sat on a wall outside the station to finish it before I could get the tube to my meeting (I was a bit early, not that unprofessional, but could not concentrate on anything else until I finished the book!)

Right off for a shower and to take bored dd out now. Hope you are all well lovely ladies. Sorry for being a big at the moment. Need to drag myself out of it.

Wry your comments about Les Dawson and about the women's magazine tips and crafts sections made me howl with laughter. I too love those, though only read them in the hairdresser. I particularly used to like the parodies of them in Viz saying things like 'why waste money on expensive contact lenses? cut out small circles of clingfilm and put them on your eyeballs to save a fortune' . Mind you, my Christmas tree is hideous, full of stuff the kids made in primary school which even they are embarrassed by, like snowmen made out of Yakult bottles and cotton wool with one wonky eye left!!! Should photograph that for Take a Break!

Re: Les Dawson, I remember a few years ago when frilly peasant style dresses were in the shops and I loved them. However, I have the shoulders of a hod carrier and the calves of a prop forward, and when I tried them on I looked so much like Terry Gilliam in drag that even I had to laugh ....

Later taters x

Hey hope good to see you. I will check out that book, always looking for a good read. I've just finished The Lives of Stella Bain by Anita Shreve, which I really enjoyed. Now reading Entry Island nby Peter May. Love his books.
All quiet here.
mouse are you MIA? Do we need to come and get you?
Indie are you OK?
Tomorrow I have to lead on a very important meeting with the Principal of a University, a senior research fellow, 3 VERY senior military officers and.......distracted chap! How in the name of God am I going to be able to concentrate and get them all to agree to my proposal when he is sitting there? looking fucking gorgeous

Wow, it's quiet here. Just me an Ma eating all the Opal Fruits sitting here innocently (well, I am, Ma is thinking lewd thoughts ).

Have I driven you all away with my wittering?

And thinks more lewd thoughts.....

Day 23, thanks looking we watched the Fault in our Stars on DVD - at least that way we could pause every time they needed more tissues. I agree, it was a bit pretentious, but I suppose it is today's generations 'coming-of-age' film. Be warned there is Language in it.

You will need exponential tissues depending on no of girls: 1 girl, 1 tissue. 2 girls - 5 tissues. 3 girls - 47 tissues. 4 girls, 358 tissues, a roll of toilet paper and some kitchen towels.

ma !! Please describe him for us?

Hmmph, The Breakfast Club and Ferris Bueller's day off are perfectly good coming of age movies! (and Gregory's Girl - loved that one!)

Think Ma has nipped off to select a come and get me erm, businesslike outfit for tomorrow Joey

Hello everyone! Had to work today, so a bit knackered, but finally here.

joey arf at the tissue distribution rules! Is it worth a watch then, this film?

I'm with hope, a fan of The Breakfast Club and Gregory's Girl too. And Footloose! And one I never admitted to (my mates would have peed themselves laughing) the lovely, lovely, A Room With A View.

hope at Viz clingfilm tip! I adore those crafty tips, my absolute favourite magazine thing! I love Christmas trees with the little egg carton decorations, they scream what Christmas is about, love and family. if I could lowp through the screen I would give you a big snog. That's my new hair! I could cope with that! It's way past mid back and a bunch of tats at the mo. I don't have time to get it cut before I go to London but will definitely get it done when I get back, it looks perfect. I like the longer length at the front, I need that for my not so teeny nose and square jaw.

I look a bit like Daniela Nardini, a little finer featured, but colouring and features very similar.

ma I'm that chuffed you're going to be a little distracted tomorrow. Are you getting yourself ready for an assignation in the third dimension?

OMG MA have a great day x
Wry she us beautiful so u must be too x
joey lol at tissue reference - must be the hormones x -(or the who can be most upset at this and wow what a story to tell our mates !)
Looking the breakfast club is my favourite film ever (from when I was 14) - Shawshank redemption is prob my favourite film actually x
End of day 28 for me - 4 weeks tomorrow - reading The Girl with all the gifts and really enjoying it but didn't like we were liars which is by the same author (she writes under a different name for YA books)
where is mouse has anyone heard from her - hope she is good ?
Latersssss babes xx

alias he is well spoken and intelligent and very very funny. He has beautiful blue eyes which just sparkle with mischief and he is lean and well muscled. And I have to sit in a meeting with him with a wine gut and saggy tits and try and feel glamorous.....

How does your mouth feel, 70? Do you feel any better? Four weeks! Look at you! xx

My favourite films are The Godfather, Jaws and Terms Of Endearment. I will watch Up! or Steel Magnolias if I need a cry, I want to be like Clairee when I'm older.

Can't watch Black Beauty, Marley and Me ever again, we went en masse to the cinema to watch them and had to wait until everyone else left. We all went out to dinner with red eyes and bugger all makeup left on our faces.

The film that chilled me to the bone was Open Water. I'd just got back from a diving holiday, and you could just see how that could happen. I left the cinema feeling so upset.

I feel like a bit of a coward today, I took the shift to stop me drinking, I didn't feel strong enough to get through today. WB phoned my dad to ask how I was. Prick. Dad is very polite but gave him short shrift. But, I did it, a day's wages and no alcohol, a bit of a win. Dad looked after Little, which was a real treat for both of them, I suspect Little was rather spoiled.

Wishing you happy for tomorrow ma, you don't need to touch to have electricity, eh? Gaun yersel, ma quine, xx

I love The Breakfast Club! Except the bit where they prettyify Ally whatsername.

wry tfios is okay it's a romantic comedy. With terminal illness. 70 you are spot on with your analysis.

ma he sounds so lovely

29 days :).

Good luck today ma have fun ;)

Day 25 here, 70, off to work again. Have a good day everyone! Xx

I repeat, ma, gaun yersel, he sounds like he's a stoater xx

Morning babes, grabbing a seat on the bus and going to hold on tightly. Day 3 for me today:)

Ello all.

Feeling a bit rough today, think I might be ill (for the first time since May, so I'm doing pretty well )

DH and I went to a big party on Saturday, and I hardly missed drinking at all. I had a sip of DH's wine with dinner, for the taste, and was quite happy to leave it at that. The longer I do this the more I'm changing my habits. It's great

In less fun news, DH's dad is back drinking again. You may remember a while ago I said his doc had told him to stop for a few weeks, because the doc thought excessive drinking might be the reason for a health problem. It turned out that it was, as said problem stopped after FIL went teetotal. It was actually really nice to see both PIL at 'dry' occasions, because it was so much easier to talk. DH felt like he could enjoy time with his dad, whereas before FIL would often behave in an annoying or overbearing way at get-togethers because he was drunk.
DH and his sister chatted about it and found they were both a bit worried about the drinking and were happy he'd been told to moderate.
Fast forward to yesterday, when we visited for lunch: he'd drunk several bottles of wine the previous night, his health problem was playing up, he was already tipsy at 1:30 and actually drunk when we left (4:30). I asked him how the moderation was going, and he said he didn't drink that much compared to a lot of people, didn't have any other health issues etc etc. All very familiar. I've been there myself and I've heard it from my own dad.

He behaved like a bit of an arse (talking over other people, interrupting, being loud and argumentative) and DH just shut down . I could tell he was really annoyed by it and it spoiled the meet-up a bit. FIL also made a big deal out of the physical problem that's brought on by the drinking, and made it really obvious that it was bothering him so that he got attention and sympathy. Whilst drinking more wine

It's not a total disaster or anything, but I'm quite disappointed things have turned out this way. DH is all for keeping an eye out and seeing whether his dad's really gone back to his old ways, but I'm certain he has (or will imminently). The way he's talking is just pure denial. Now I look back on it, when he was told to stop drinking he talked a lot about how easy it was, and how that was a 'good sign.' As we Babes know, going cold turkey off an 80-90 unit per week habit is not easy. I think that even at that stage he was clearing the way to starting drinking again, by saying he wasn't an alcoholic because it was so 'easy' to stop.

Aaargh, it's difficult to know what to do. FIL is an adult and shouldn't be patronised or browbeaten, but then again it's not really OK to stand by while he goes back to drinking himself silly. Especially if every time we see him he makes it really obvious he's in physical pain and expects sympathy.

Anyhoo, I'll stop going on about myself

ma, ooh, lean and blue-eyed! Sounds tasty

70, well done on Day 29! You listen to wry about those tests though

sigh

oooooohhh ma happy sigh or sad sigh???

Both. Happy to see him and sad he is going away again.meeting went well...

Aww ma bittersweet. Here. Awa in the wi ye, they'll never know because you'll be back in an earth 5 mins. Xx

Come on Ma, tell all. Longing looks? Plans to keep in touch? (helps Wry boot Ma into the tardis )