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!

To paraphrase the old BT ads, Thurso, "It's good to type".

I'm so sorry I have not read back yet, I did something weird and went for a run to chase away the WW. It worked, I've been on diet lilt (really not all that nice) all evening, don't know if I'll sleep mind!

Going to spend lots of time catching up and then come back to you all.

Happy New Year to all you lovely Brave Babes

Day 11 for me!!!!!! You are all amazing and doing really well.

Ma you are doing amazingly well, keep going Babe. Garden Parties with Queenie eh?

Hare thank you for sharing, over a year is a huge milestone, well done lovely x

Baby I luffs ya, you are an amazing woman, I love your posts

Wry I scoffed a Big Tasty with bacon the other day and thought of you sending you big hugs my darling x

Beaches I'm snapping at your heals lovely one, hope all OK across the atlantic

Isinde sorry about your Mam I hope that you are finding comfort with your family. She will be with you always in your heart, sitting on your shoulder and whispering advice. She will come to you when your asleep. Take as much support as you can from those that love you and squeeze your DTs harder than you normally would, they will be a great comfort to you

Hope sending you love and strength. Hope it's all going OK and things are moving forward x

Rural good to see you

Soc you are amazing

Hello to all of you on this lovely bus. I have been reading but found myself really busy with me old folk over Christmas, worked most of the school holidays which has been tough but worth it (not financially!!!!) Good to see so many new Babes all doing so well. We're on a new page and my brain can't compute NC you all, sorry x

Pissing with rain here today and I will not be drinking. Have a good day all

Morning All. - Morning Spanna

A better night's sleep, and I'm working from home today, the weather is looking good, so I am planning a walk as well. The scales haven't moved, but as I said yesterday, I'm not trying, so no moves is good moves

Have a good day everyone - day 13 for me Wow!

Awesome Sweet have a good one, must fly and do school run

Morning all. Hi Spanna. On my way to work. Have a good day all.

Btw I have 43 pairs of knickers , I think I will be having a proper sort out soon as there is no way I'll wear some of them again!

Today I will not be drinking.

Sweet you'll be able to pick up your tea won't you? My samples arrived yesterday and I tried a chocolate flake tea. It was nice but a treat tea I think - I need to try the creme caramel rooibos at some point too and will feedback

Btw feel rough today but I am mindful of something Venus said up thread that she is aware of the times when she is feeling under the weather and is kind to herself rather than not being sure if it is a symptom of alcohol use. I have probably explained that all wrong and Venus was far more articulate but it helps me.

Morning babes, before I read back through thread, I just want to "confess" to having had a bottle of wine last night - feel rough today.

Obrigda, you know that the way you are feeling now is punishment enough, hit that reset button, you've been doing really well (you really don't want me to start singing, but:

Nothing's impossible I have found,
For when my chin is on the ground,
I pick myself up,
Dust myself off,
Start All over again.

Don't lose your confidence if you slip,
Be grateful for a pleasant trip,
And pick yourself up,
Dust yourself off,
Start all over again.

(Love a bit of Jerome Kerne, me)

What was the trigger?

Ruby, I can pick the teas up but not until tomorrow, unless DH is home early with the car.

Am I right in thinking that two very special Babes share a birthday tomorrow?

And finally, I was joking a bit yesterday about the new thread, but I'd hate to lose you all. We are very close to the limit on this one, any volunteers if the Glorious Mouse is busy? (I feel slightly disloyal saying it )

Happy New Year Brave Babes! I haven't been lurking for a while, so will go back and read what you've all been up to at some point, but just wanted to say hi as this thread had dropped off 'threads I'm on'. I've been depressed for a few months (wish I'd listened to my lovely GP when she said she didn't think it was the best timing to wean myself off my ADs after 10 years, just as I was coming into winter ) and just retreated from everything really - even MN.

Anyway started prozac about 5 weeks ago, which left me feeling totally flat throughout December (good that it levelled out the lows but took the flashes of happiness too). I knew I was drinking too much (prozac made the hangovers worse too) and not giving it a chance to work. Had a nice Christmas though and NY with friends, then a friend's wedding on Jan 3rd where I got pissed and made a tit of myself as usual. Since Mon 5th have been doing dry Jan, and on the 8th started feeling miraculously better - AD kicked in, presumably aided by not pickling it in wine every night. I feel normal! Well, how I imagine normal people feel - not paralysed by anxiety and nameless terrors, not depressed, not incredibly irritable and full of barely supressed rage, calmer, more patient, even cheerful! At the weekend I was positively chirpy - over on the dry Jan thread someone coined the phrase 'twatty sober Pollyanna' and that was me this weekend! I feel like I've come out of a long dark tunnel. It's definitely a combination of the ADs and not drinking - I managed two weeks dry in September but found the weekends teeth-grindingly tedious.

So I'm going to do DJ and then think about where to go next. I don't want to go back to drinking as much as I was, and I know my drinking was at unhealthy levels. I've said this so many times before though. I've been readng the sober blog 'MrsD goes without' and identified with so much of that. I don't want to give up alcohol completely, I want to be able to drink moderately. As the years go by though, I am gradually accepting that I probably can't do that.

Anyway, ODAAT for now, and enjoying feeling positive. I'm on day 9.

Thanks Sweet, reset button well and truly pushed xx

Welcome back Crabby. Day 13, quite surprised to get this far as I didn't intend to do dry january and then just sort of said to myself 'well at least do the first week'. I'm sleeping really well although my dreams seem more real somehow. I keep dreaming about people/things from the past but they are in the present and I wake up feeling sort of dusturbed....I will not be drinking today.

Hi Crabby, and Annie Good to see you . Glad you're both feeling positive and 'battling on'.

I'm feeling quite pleased with myself, because I am home alone and resisting the WW - yes I know it's only 11.30, but let's just say, I haven't always been quite so restrained .

I have also been nominated for a small bit of external work - something lots of academics do, and I have been struggling to break into the 'charmed circle' for years (one of those - you need the experience to do it, but no one will take you on to give you the experience things). It's only a nomination so far, and it will involve venturing quite a long way North to somewhere I've never been before - staying away and talking to strangers (gulp), but it's a real tick on my annual development review for the end of the year.

I've done it!! I've done it!! Clever me www.mumsnet.com/Talk/relationships/2281151-The-Brave-Babes-Battle-Bus-Starting-the-New-Year-in-Fine-Style

So for all of you bright young things (who are presumably a whizz of things technological) this old codger has managed to create A NEW THREAD

Remember to fill up this one before posting over on the new thread xx

Thank you, thank you, thank you Venus, you are wise, and clever and an official techie!

IsInde, lovely to see you around, hope you are ok.

DH cam home early so I have been able to go and pick up my tea pigs from the PO. I am starting with Rhubarb and Ginger, which fizzed rather disturbingly and smells like stale washing up water. Not a promising start, I'll see how it tastes and report back.

In the interests of filling up the thread, my review of Tea Pigs Rhubarb and Ginger!

The washing up smell wore off as it cooled.

Then it started to smell a bit like my cashew nut, lemon and time Christmas Nutmeat . . .

Ooops, 'thyme' not time.

It didn't taste as bad as I'm making it sound. But I don't think I'll bother with a full sized packet.

Almost there . . .

See you on the new thread (with more thanks to the Venerable Venus)