The Brave Babes Battle Bus - Starting the New Year in Fine Style

[venusandmars]

Hello, I'm Venus, and standing in for Mouse (who usually starts all our threads)

This is a safe and welcoming place for anyone who is facing up to a problem with alcohol. It may be something you’ve known for years, or it may be that struggling with dry January has made you re-think your relationship with drink.
Anyway, welcome old and new, lurkers and posters. It can be a weird thread at times – travelling on a bus 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 been 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. If you find all the banter off-putting just jump in with a cry for help.

And HAPPY NEW YEAR xxx

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

Our most recent thread, if you want to catch up

Baby

Soc, that is a bloody inspiration, mate! That high horse is growing, and deserdly so.

Mouse, I'm pleased you had such a lovely day.

Very very tired this morning, almost sleep through my alarm. Got to dash and get day 15 started. Will catch up later.

soc you are frickin awesome and sound so happy - xxxx

Soc that is brilliant.

Ma I second the idea that you should just buy some more books for yourself (and some nice felt tips). Perhaps when it comes to their birthdays you should be too preoccupied to bother?

Soc that's fab. Bloody well done.

Ma I 3rd that you buy yourself some super colouring books and pens. You deserve it

Hello lovely babes,

Sweet love how you cherish your animals, they got very lucky with you! Day 15, day 15!!!! A huge achievement when you break a personal best - I think you should push Soc off the top of the sandcastle and bask in some glory!

Didn't you get a PB too Ma? And getting back to it on your birthday too - kudos

Soc 250!!! Enormous awe in you babe.

Mouse glad you had a good birthday and what a thoughtful gift, how wonderful.

baby I am sure you have still got it, man in van was just covering his admiring tracks

I clicked on the colouring book links and in 'people also bought' was a book called Pictures you shouldn't masturbate to (which of course I clicked on, so now I will probably get some bizarre suggestions based on my browsing history )

Waves to ruby, Soupey, 70, joey, sharp, obrigada, Spanna, Small , rural and all other babes around the bus today xxx

Day 5.

isinde hope you manage to get a good nights sleep tonight

Phew! Lunchtime (aka bottle of diet pepsi and bag of crisps at desk whilst simultaneously reading emails, the education pages of the Guardian on-line, and of course MN!

Isinde, stop describing yourself in pejorative ways. Your post was not whinging or 'poor-me-ish' in any way. you have every right to feel the way you do, and to express it - you'll explode if you don't. More from me.

Beaches, puss is definitely of the opinion that we are lucky to have her! Bun is largely indifferent - but he's old and grumpy, a bit lit DH, so I love him anyway!

I am having the odd moment of "does this mean I'll never drink again? But what about . . " but I am trying not to project - even to the end of January. I have come, finally, to an acceptance that I will never be able to have a 'normal', sensible relationship with alcohol. Not having a drink when I get home is getting easier, but it's not feeling normal or ordinary yet. I think I will build a slightly smaller sandcastle next to Soc - a sand-shed perhaps - and wave from there.

Hello everyone else, will be back later with another Tea Pig review - probably Lemongrass.

Hi all. Just on my lunch and thought I'd pop in.

Isinde not seen you for a while. Take it easy and be kind to yourself. Try and rest today. You are not wingeing just letting us and yourself know how you're feeling and what's happening.

Sweet know what you mean about the relationship with alcohol. I am becoming more and more aware of how unhealthy my relationship is with it but I can't think too far ahead and taking ODAAT.

On a lighter note I have tried tea pigs rooibos with creme caramel and it was quite nice if you're a sweet tooth type (which I have turned into since coming AF). Good if you fancy a biscuit but without the calories.

Which reminds me I had my over 40 health check today and my cholesterol was very high so will be concentrating on reducing that. My life is over .

isinde I must have cross posted with you and missed your post. You have been an absolute rock and coped with tremendous things these last few weeks. Agree with others that you don't sound a bit self indulgent, just in need of releasing some of the stresses. Such a truly turbulent time emotionally . Hope you get some well needed physical rest today/tonight.

ODAAT babes xxx

Afternoon babes, horrible day here, but thankfully another night AF under my belt last night (not counting days after my slip up on Monday night).

Off for my meeting with the leader from the course I bailed out of last week. She is a really lovely colleague, so that will be ok, I have decided that I am going to be REALLY honest about why I didn't go, the anxiety, the grotty boss everything. I have decided that there are no bad outcomes here; I don't think she would talk to boss, but even if she did, there is nothing bad he could do.

Ruby rooibos is black tea, but naturally decaf isn't it? I don't like standard tea, so I'm not sure I'd like it even with the caramel. Is the high cholesterol some thing you can alter, or does a high reading run in your family?

Well done for keeping AF, Obrigada.

See you all later.

Sweet hope the meeting goes well - let us know how you got on.
Obrigada well done on another day AF

Good luck with our meeting Sweet and do tell her everything, we could hear the anxiety in your post last week so can only imagine how you felt x

Thanks Soupey, I was in a shop during the week and was looking at colouring books and markers and have to say I smiled - might just purchase one at the weekend in case the WW comes a knocking

AF today and off to Pilates class tonight. It might kill me.
Very important meeting tomorrow.......

Be careful ma - wouldn't want anything to be stiff tomorrow

Evening. Meeting went in a very interesting direction. CL (Course Leader) was lovely and understanding, took me through some prep I could do before the next occurrence in June. When I explained that I couldn't participate because of TB (Twatty Boss), she agreed I was right because he had talked about the initiative he excluded me from as his 'case study'. CL agreed that the work I have done to set it up can be acknowledged and used in the accreditation process, and (Hahaha in your face TB) that actually I demonstrated more leadership in the first instance that I can now say was taken up at another level. (I hope you can follow, I don't want to be too specific).

And then it got juicy, when I explained that I had developed materials for the initiative he is passing off as exclusively his, but that he had excluded me recently, CL said "Oh my God, he did that to me too". Now, she is more senior, and very generous with her intellectual property, but was really shocked at his pattern of behaviour.

I'm not yet in a place to challenge him directly, but, the are a couple of good outcomes here, first, that ,as counter-productive and damaging as anxiety is, occasionally, just occasionally it serves a really important purpose; allowing myself to listen to that anxiety prevented me from getting in to a situation where I might have done something (quite literally) mad, that could have seriously damaged my career. Second, CL assured me that I have the right experience and ability to get the accreditation at the level I want. And finally, that it really is him, not me!

Certainly, you don't want to be stiff tomorrow, Ma,
Sorry very rude!
But, you will be nice and bendy for the meeting, power points presentation.

Isinde much love to you, you have done/did do all that you can, take care sweetheart, and you and yours are still always welcome at the seaside.

Mouse I'm so happy that you had a good birthday, pm you soon.

This week has been a nightmare, we're being inspected next week! Working until silly hours, but of course, the Brave Babes, are what I need right now.

I'm so sorry not to post very much, it all gets away from me, and then I have to think to touch base, if you know what I mean.

Much love
T xxx

I also have a review for you of Tea Pigs Pure Lemongrass tea. It smells amazing, strong lovely, fresh; unfortunately, for me that is not how it tasted. I couldn't finish the cup, it tasted like dry bogies smell (don't ask, it's a traumatic childhood memory). But, before you say, "Well, thank you, Sweet for saving us from this horror in a mug", my DH loved it, drank the whole cup, and can't work out why I couldn't taste lemongrass. You pays yer money . . . !

Sweet sounds yum that lemongrass tea . Don't think i'll be trying that . Glad you're meeting went well, what an evil TB as well. Onwards and upwards.

Oh, meant to say good night all. I'm exhausted so snuggled in bed with mumsnet a book . Would like to post more but shattered.

Sleep well, Isinde, Ma good luck for tomorrow. Night night everyone, it's been a long week, and it's not over yet, so it's the end of Death in Paradise and bed for me.

Night, nights sweets and ruby,
I'm off to bed now too,
Sweet dreams xx