The Brave Babes Battle Bus - Driving Through A Sober Winter Wonderland.

[Mouseface]

Hello, I'm Mouse

Welcome to the Bus, he's called Gerald.... he takes us up and down and this wondrous land, searching high and low for Babes in need of some support, a warm place to sit and chat, and to have someone to listen to them.

So, grab a seat as we swing by your way. There's lots of hot drinks, food and fleeces, places to just be and places to sit around and chat if that's what you want.

We don't judge, because we've all be in your shoes, be they stilettos, wellies or crocs!...

We're just us, we're just honest and we just do what we can to help, if we can, when we can. Let's try and have a Merry Christmas without getting off our faces this year.

Here is the very first, emotional thread if you would like to see where this all started

And the last thread if you want to keep up!

Thanks Marfisa - just trying to plan my day - load of rubbish on TV - will have to resort to netflix

Have tidied up a bit but feeling low. Shameful when the house is stuffed with goodies and lovely gifts. I dread New Year and get terribly depressed for no real reason. It just happens every year and I know it will pass but even so....

Yeah it's all a bit of an anticlimax isn't it.

I've just had a panicky moment as I can remember having a conversation last night (a normal one, I don't think I said anything stupid) but can't actually be sure whether it was a real drunken conversation, or if I just dreamed it

Been for a walk. Still feel crap

Empty bus.....are you all OK?
indie how's your mum?

I've signed up to the Dryathlon for cancer research. I need to cut out the booze, had far too much over the last few days & now my mood has plummeted, I just want to hide under my duvet & cry. So will start with January & see how I get on.

I'll join you tinselled

Still around, mixing my wine with elderflower

Are you okay ma?

Actually just got some wine out the fridge, thought "I don't really want this" and put it back! will maybe have a small baileys and then call it a night

A (very early) good morning all.

Finally de-lurking and joining this thread, if that's ok with you all?

Wine guzzler here seeking like minded friends to help me cut right back, always been far too fond of it and I feel I'm at the point where it needs nipping in the bud once and for all.

Been through a hell of a lot in the last few years and so never quite find the strength to address it but now is the time.

Going to start an AF 8 days on news years day as I have a friends birthday on the 9th so that's my short term goal. In the long term I really want to be able to enjoy a few glasses just two evenings per week. (Please no judging if you feel this won't work - I have managed this in the past and feel it's be a real achievement at this stage)

Got two wonderful and exhausting DCs to keep me busy and just returned to part time work so lots to be getting on with, interestingly writing this i think being out of the work place has stuffed my confidence and not helped my relationship with booze

Getting DH on board as frankly he's just as bad...

Anyway I'm looking forward to this journey and meeting you all so to speak, I certainly need all the support I can get...

Welcome mrsmarion. I think a lot of babes will be making resolutions for a cut down in 2015 so you will get lots of help and no judging.

Hi mrsmarion and tinselled. This is a really good time to take control back of your drinking, it helps that half the country are thinking along the same lines!!!! A new year gives us all a clean slate and and A+. I have had a horrible year and will be glad to put this one to bed. Dry January will be a great way to focus on our health, our skin, our mental well being and I really need to get this weight off!!!!

I'm committing to 30 mins excercise per day and to eat as healthily as possible. I suffer with horrendous depression but I'm sure staying sober, being healthy and enjoying the support of this wonderful bus gives me a real chance of ending Jan ready to embrace the possibilities 2015, hope you guys can join us and I look forward to getting to know you both.

Lots of warm hugs to everyone from a frosty but sunny Scotland xxx

Well started this dry January ing early - feeling good :)

I'm Dryathloning because I think it will help keep me focused plus my uncle died of a brain tumour last year so would like to raise some money whilst I do something I was planning to do anyway.

I'm really worried that I won't be as much fun without a drink, plus we have so much in the house I don't know how to avoid temptation.

I have a bad relationship with food too, at least 3 times this week I've eaten enough to make myself sick-going back to SW on Jan 1st & looking forward to a healthier 2015.

Me too 70. I was thinking of something the wonderful wise faire said, it's a really good analogy. Our cupboards are stuffed with chocolate, nuts, all things sinful and we stuff ourselves til we feel sick because it's the done thing and sometimes all we want is fruit!!!!

Its so true, my gut is bulging, I feel uncomfortable and because I've been eating shite my demeanour feels a bit shite also. I'm thinking of booze the same way, it's actually a poison and being drunk is essentially our brain cells being paralysed, over time these start to die!!! I'm just keeping this in the forefront of my mind.

Seems ridiculous doesn't it and yet I keep on doing it , why why why???

Xxx

Morning lovely babes

Yup- I need to do dry jan too. I know that I won't manage this before the 1st though due to the overwhelming shiteness of 2014.But I'm getting myself ready to begin over again. I need to read kick the booze books,stock up on good food and drink and just get myself in the right place mentally.

I'm hoping it will help with depression too (or maybe life could give me a break,mutter,mumble) I need to get my fat arse out running and I'm ashamed to say that I've stopped socialising because life has just been too shit to face anyone- that needs to stop!

I'm not going to go back to aa as it just isn't the right place for me but I need to get out and about in the evenings or the bottle calls to me : )

So I will be back here by the 1st ready to put my big bigger knickers on and go back to sobriety,just for a while.

Morning babes

I have started walking again, easier when not stuck in work, and was out this morning. I have a set route for standard walks, its just 30 minutes round the block but I keep up a fair pace eve up the bastard hill at the end. Im hoping it will help me to feel more positive about things and not take refuge in booze every night. As its sunny and sparkly, I might go out again soon and do it again. Twice in one day!!!

Wow ma that's brilliant, I've not moved further than sofa to fridge to bed for 4 days

Thanks joey. Did a wee bit longer this afternoon - 50 minutes so a total 80 minutes brisk walking today which I'm pleased about. We are also having a fresh free salad for dinner with col cuts, and I have started to chuck out half boxes of chocolates and other crap. It isn't going to happe overnight but I feel pleased that I have done something positive. I m going into work tomorrow for a couple of hours to,just for a change of scene and to exercise the little grey cells

Fecking typos. Should be green salad with cold cuts!

That's amazing about the walking, ma. Sounds like a great way to combat the post-Christmas slump. As for your binning of chocolate, I'm half impressed, half aghast. Drastic measures those!

I'm going to try to get into the office for a couple of hours of work tomorrow too, because I'm tired of lying around the house feeling like an overfed elephant and trying unsuccessfully to keep the dc from attacking each other.

joey, this is a bit random, but I don't think I ever thanked you for all the excellent makeup advice a couple of threads ago, so thank you. Watching makeup videos on youtube is a great idea (was it you who suggested that, or someone else?).

Waves to 70, baby, guggenheim, tinselled and marion.

My AA meeting today was a real tonic. The woman who runs it is a lovely grandmotherly type and it's mostly women who attend (this isn't typical of AA meetings in my experience; they're quite male-dominated). I have been feeling quite 'flat' about not drinking over the holidays but over the course of the meeting I started to think about how much calmer this holiday period has been for me (so far!) than it has in past years. No drunken episodes to regret. Our house actually has physical damage I did to it in the past when I was drunk and depressed (cracked window, big dent in a wall). If you met me, you'd probably never imagine me capable of doing these things - it's not the image I generally present to the world. And yet I did. Ugh.

So in a sense, my Christmas was good not just because of what happened but because of what DIDN'T happen.

Thanks marfisa. That was a great post. I'm doing my first sober festive season and it's really good to put it like that. Remind myself of all the shit that didn't happen! How nice and calm its been. No hangovers. No regret. No guilt. I'm not really missing out on much at all! Xx

Great post marfisa please keep posting, your posts are wonderful. I'm starting SW and the gym today, it's frozen solid here but all affection and support on this bus are warming my heart.

Still sober and feeling good xxxx

Morning babes Merry Christmas :)

I'm another one who probably should get on board for dry january. I've drank moderately over xmas, one glass of wine xmas day which really pissed off DM, but it's been every day apart from last night :( I'm trying to get H to as well, he's put on loads of weight over the past couple of months and wants to tackle that. I know from my own dieting attempts that having a few hundred wine cals a night will stop any weight loss in it's tracks. Only blot on the horizon is I have an unopened box of wine here, it was a xmas present...