The Brave Babes Battle Bus - Shaking Off The Winter Blues And Getting Out Our Booze Free Summer Shoes!

[Mouseface]

Hello, tis me, Mouse

Welcome to the Bus. It's a Bus full of drinkers, non-drinkers, occasional slurpers, sneaky sippers, we're all a very different bunch but we ALL have the same thing in common.

Alcohol.

We all have a story or two to tell, we have all been through some terrible times, some more than others and we all have our reasons for drinking or even not.

The one true wonderful thing about this Bus is that we don't do judging!! We're all on a even playing field, no matter what has brought us to this thread.

So, if you'd like to talk, then talk. If you want to lurk and see how we work for a while, that's cool too :)

The Bus is never full, there's always is room for YOU.

And, if you'd like to see what started this off, amost good 5 years ago now, have a look at A TRULY AWESOME HEARTFELT THEAD HERE

And our last thread is just here too for those who would like some more history THIS IS WHERE WE'VE JUST BEEN

Hope to see you soon :) xxx

Hi
haven't had an af evening but have had a much smaller amount than usual,so I;m ok with that. Think I'll put it down as 2.5 af evenings,which is a massive fib and my nose will grow but,vastly better than non stop glugging.

I'm away for the next few days so I will drink but not much and get beck to a few af nights once school starts again.

Sorry to not NC,am knackered.

Thanks Fevvers you're right. Hope all is fine with you.

I'm grand thanks Ruby, but I'd never noticed how inefficient, gormless, flabby, airheaded, complacent, grey, and just plain daft I was until my thirteen year old informed me. By the time she turned seventeen i was the bees knees. It's a trial living up to her expectations now.

Night, Guggs, where are you going?

Smallfox - I have to ignore all other posts as I saw 98? As in 98 days DRY!!!??? You are fecking amazing!! Well done you - tick, tock, tick, tock.....

So, not to ignore anyone but I need sleep......

I love all of you lovely babes but my sleep pattern is skrewuuurrrrrrrrrrruuded.

Tonight I'm taking a sleeping tablet and hoping that Nemo going to bed an half hour earlier made tonight better.

That said, there's a really, utterly, truly sad time ahead in the Mouse house - my bestest (rl in the whole wide world), friend's dd of just 3+ yrs old's passing from Sepsis, a silent killer, hits it's first year and on the same day, my gorgeous bf is due a scan for her fourth dc. On that anniversary. Life can be cruel.

I hope that makes sense?

Sorry, I need to try and get a card finished to send in time, handmade....I'll post a pic once the anniversary has passed, and I've stopped crying!

Man, I am so glad to be sober!!!

Night those who are here, lurking or otherwise. Take good care, all we have is each other.

Mwahs xxx

Hey Mouse hope you slept. Oh you poor, poor thing and your poor friend. Can't begin to imagine how she/you must be feeling. Love and thoughts with you. She is so lucky to have you for her friend.

Yep, day 98AF (99 now, yay). In fact, it was a funny old evening and I very nearly had a drink, in the sense of slightly having forgotten that I wasn't drinking - odd. It just felt very normal to head to the fridge and open the emergency bottle that just lives there and which I was feeling quite smug about as I haven't thought about it for weeks. Anyway, I didn't, but it was a salutory reminder that constant vigilance is still necessary, albeit quite low-grade vigilance. Not sure how I feel about that - I suppose at some stage i just stupidly thought that the power of the WW would magically fade. As it was, I didn't even really have a huge pang or desire for drink or anything like that - just saw a glass of wine on the TV and went on automatic pilot to the kitchen.

Love to all, hope you have a good day. Ma, I hope that you manage to get an appointment. Sweet good luck with the ongoing erection, must be positively tantric by now

Morning.

Ruby, teenagers can be horrible, most of them have little concept of age, or of different family arrangements from their own. You were having a lovely time, being a brilliant Mum.

Small the bunting is getting longer and I will be getting the other Babes to blow up balloons later, and maybe Ma can arrange for some of her Military Chaps to drape themselves around the bus (artistically of course ).

Mouse I hope you got the sleep you needed.

Everyone else, have a good day, what ever you're up to.

I am looking in something like despair at the bits of greenhouse all over the garden. DH now confidently asserts he knows what he's doing, but he is going to work today, and there's F1 on over the weekend, so I am secretly contemplating getting a man in to finish the job (make of that what you will, you smutty lot!).

Tantric Erections! Military Men!!! I've come over all hot and fllushed

Day 10 (woooooo hooooo double figures finally!! not happened since January)

Fox 99 Days is AMAZING

Sweet can you pass the helium please

Mouse I hope you slept and my thoughts are with you and your friends family and of course yours, difficult times

Ma so glad chat with neighbours went well

Ruby darling. I am an older mum of 2 DDs and I let my hair go grey approx 5 years ago which does make me look my age (48) - it is so hurtful when the youth make comments (happened to me many times - I am often mistaken for their granny) Keep your head high, tits out and smile because you are an awesome Mum and starting later in life really does mean that you were ready for them. Squeeze them tight and remember how lucky we are

Just been paid and paid out some money I owe people from when I bought this flat (it was well overdue to them) I now have £200 left I hate working all these hours only to have nothing in the pot for the month Anyho at least I'm getting it paid off and if it hadn't been for their kindness I wouldn't be where I am today. Sorry had to get that out

Have a good day y'all x

fox and spanna well done to you both.
mouse your poor friend. How tough for her.
No plans for today really other than haircut and pottering about
No news of wry?

Feeling sad for no particular reason today. Going to sit in the sun and play with Pup.

Spanna, no inhaling the helium until tomorrow - and only if Small says you can.

Oh, a haircut, Ma I really need one of those, but I'm scared to go because I have a habit of cutting off my hair when I'm depressed, and DH would be sad. I could do something radical with the colour though, I was bright red a few years ago, but it got a bit ubiquitous, so I went blonde highlights. Right now, I'm kind of chestnut with a disturbing amount of grey at the roots (haven't seen my natural colour in so long I didn't know I had grey hairs ~ on my head).

I meant to say, Spanna, DH used to live in Chi, we still spend a lot of time there at the theatre, and BIL & SIL live in Worthing. And I bloody hate holiday makers! . Actually, as a former resident of Southampton, I keep a special kind of hatred for cruise ship passengers in big expensive cars that they can't drive, around a city they are lost in!

hey there i'm new to this bus but am glad to find a seat and shall settle in and be chatty on the ride. i gather there is a 'venus' already on the bus, sorry, hope i dont confuse things, i've been venusspecimen ever since mumsnet got started yrs ago. i'm 43 and beginning a journey of total abstinence re booze. i've learnt some great techniques for fighting the battle but am always happy to learn more tips and help anyone on their journey whilst gaining help for my own. x

Hello all, and welcome Venusspecimen We may have to call you by your full name to avoid confusion. Or just specimen but I fear that may sound insulting . What do other babes think, and what would you prefer?

Sweet for you. Am sure pup will cheer you up. I had bright red hair for many, many years and loved it, but the grey roots finally drove me to give up and go blonde again. Have some scarlet streaks in it for interest. Also lots of grey roots atm. Must get round to doing something about my appearance.

Spanna you are my age (more or less, I still have a few months of clinging on to 47), so doubt very much indeed that you look like a granny.

Ma well done on the neighbour / roof chat! bet you are glad it's over with. How are you getting on with that doctors appointment? And how is your dad today?

Khalisi, I had the best laugh yesterday on my meal out with my friend. Cheered me right up, though we got some funny looks from the waiters as I was laughing so much I couldn't breathe and had trails of mascara down my face. She is one of my old friends from school, and we shared a flat for a couple of years in our 20's so even if we don't see each other for a while we quickly get back into that shared surreal sense of humour thing. Excellent night! And I did a 1km swim beforehand (no mean feat for me, am the world's slowest swimmer!) and today am going for another run. Go me! (am feeling really good this week and beginning to fear I am bi-polar as last week I was in the slough of despond. Though I think I am just giddy with relief to be away from work and off the booze for now.) Day 9 here if I ignore the single bottle of beer on Sunday.

Ruby teenage girls are the pits. They always have something ill-informed and insulting to say. Ignore. Their parents probably had them at 16 or something. I know tons of 40 something mums (am one myself). We rock!

Fevvers glad that dds come around again at 17. My dd is 11 and mostly still adorable and affectionate but I only have to say one wrong thing to be treated with utmost scorn - can only see it getting worse! Seem to remember I was a vile cow to my poor mum though, and she was wonderful. I came out of it at 18 when I went to university and suddenly realised how much she had done for me. Distance can be wonderful for your perspective!

Mouse hope you got some sleep last night lovely, and that the smelly arm is getting better. Did you try the tea tree tip?

Right, off for my run now, then will return to bake some bus shaped cakes and put up more bunting for the Small AF Centenary tomorrow

See you later x

Hello babes welcome venusspecimen

How are you doing today ma did you get to the doctors?

sweets the geraniums say they should be planted out straight away, no mention of frost protection at all? hope you're having a good afternoon with your pup!

Hello, most darling bus Babes!

Hope If I swam 1km I'd start a bloody revolution of how its never too late and all (like most former useless gits pretending to be the chose one!).
I am absolutely terrified of water going over my head. Just thinking about it I feel panicky.
However, I have to start this year because I want to do a triathlon by 45 so have to give it a go!
You might be bipolar. But from where I'm sitting you are a woman who's gone through a shitload of stress. It is okay for the emotions to be wobbly until you settle down in whatever the future brings. God, who wouldn't be?!
But for having a ball with your friend yesterday! Nothing like a good laugh I tell you.
And go you on running!
My running is really improving. Yesterday was the first run with my group which went really, really well. I was chatting away and squeaking and just having so much fun that my beginner coach looked back in shock that I was not silently huffing and puffing but having fun!
Then he pushed me to sprint the last 300 meters because 'if you can chat non-stop for 9.km you can sprint'
Kept up to the end just to stick out my tongue (didn't do it but was very tempted).
What he doesn't know, of course, is that I had a bus full of phenomenal babes screaming and yelling and shouting and whoo whooping for me!

When I hugged him I said 'I am a Babe'. (Sure now he thinks he knows I'm bonkers!

well I'm feeling awful. Not because of booze either; in fact I drank on Tuesday night and felt great yesterday although that was maybe a combination of the beautiful sunshine and having got rid of the kids for a week!

Was AF last night but had a horrible night, eventually slept about 2 hours; dozed about 2 hours and spent the rest tossing and turning. Those of you who can remember that far back may remember this is what led me to the Bus 3 years ago - insomnia, exhaustion (and worry that it was caused by alcohol)

I'm not sure what's caused it to return, I suspect menopause - but last year my hormone levels came back 'normal'. I'm really terrified of not sleeping, succumbing to the temptation of wine to relax/forget and generally feeling ick.

The mirtazapine was helping me sleep, and I thought the sage controlled hot flushes but am so worried about it now.

Sorry for the me, me, me post it's just helping to sort out my confused, tired brain. I think, what I'll do is make an appointment with GP to discuss HRT; in the meantime halve the mirtazapine (this is a weird drug which works more if you take less, I've just been reading up about Curvilinear dose-response curves - makes no sense at all!) It's also possible that the sage tablets aren't working as well as the tincture drops so I'll go and buy more herbal new-age nonsense and then sleep. Sleep. sleeeeep

sweet my lovely girl! Hope the time in the sun does you good. It dampens my mood when you are sad because getting on the bus is always exciting especially with all the gardening and Pup, Puss, DH, DS and your wellies . Yes, I have a thing for them! And maybe your gardening gloves too!
When I have those moments, I remind myself that life it like running up and down mountains. You will turn a corner feeling all flushed and happy and (for no bloody reason) there will be the next 100m going straight up!
But you know, the recovery run down the hill will make you feel like a superstar!

ma well done for not only talking to the neighbours but being cool enough to stay and chat until everything cooled down. So very, very proud of you! Really, feeling very warm and fuzzy around the heart right now!
(And of course for having avoided a silent babes (what did sweet call it?)

spanna almost everybody would come over all hot and flushed after reading your first sentence

Ach Ruby man, don't let those little bitches get to you!

Hey alias and fevver and guggs!

Mouse Hope you got some sleep, babes.

baaaby!!!!!

Sorry, welcome venusspecimen!

oh alias honey bunch.
I'm really afraid reading about menopause.
Didn't get my period last month and it just started today but really light, like more at the end.
I read that HRT increases the risk of cancer. Please ask you GP if that is true.
If you can, go our for a walk today, lovely.

I am back on the bus !!!!! I don't know if anyone remembers me but I look forward to getting to know everyone again !

Looking and Ruby - very lively tonight on the bus, but i just wanted to say, my daughter was a horror at home, but everyone else's parents loved her. Acting out at home is the place for it to happen, so it doesn't leak out elsewhere. She is a lovely young woman, and I don't think she would have been one of those thirteen year olds in the park (Cos she could be cheeky to us instead) Ruby I'm fifty three, and my son is eleven. We are honey badgers, we don't give a shit

"Brian knew he had to get his badger under control"... this is my son's favourite non pc vid.

Mouse You encouraged me onto the bus with your open attitude and friendly welcomes. I thank you. I am very sorry for all your current troubles. x

Hello, lonnika and venusspecimen. You are in luck to have found this bus. As a recent newby, I can confirm that the women here are lovely and kind. (And some of them are a bit racy too!! Hooraah!)

Welcome venusspecimen and lonnika good to see you gain.
Still no appointment..grrr.good job I'm not dying.
DH apparently is! Fill you in later, just more shit and him going for the worst case scenario as a!ways and shuffling about like a Dementor with toothache.

Well done to the exercising babes.