The Brave Babes Battle Bus - Shaping Up For A Super, Sober Summer!

[Mouseface]

Hey, I'm Mouse

This is 'Gerald', our trustworthy, non judgemental Bus, full of a variety of posters who have travelled long and far, or even just joined us a few stops ago.

This is a place where you can be who YOU want to be. 24/7, 365. This lovely place is just like your best friend, there's no slagging off, no judging, just us.

Drinking or not, embarrassed, fed up of the way things are, or just lonely of living the way drinking makes you do, come and take a peek and see what you think.....

THIS THE LAST THREAD WE HAD

AND THIS IS WHERE THE BUS WAS BUILT, WHERE IT ALL BEGAN

We can't wait to meet you, we won't bite! Well, unless you ask very nicely.

Take good care until we see you. :) xx

We do! We do! It would be great if all those 'old' babes would come and celebrate or at least pop their head round the door

What about MsGee and Saf and Mia/Crabby and Silver and tons and tons of others. This bus has touched so many lives.

Nemo will have to be guest of honour, we have shared his journey as he has shared ours. He was just a wee babby back then, now look at him all growed up.

And Isinde's dts born on the bus and now at school. It's really is a very long time for this old bus to keep trundling along but we're doing it babes, we are here for each other, there is always someone around ready to put the kettle on and lend an ear.

It's ironic that this sitcom was set in a bar but I do think the lyrics sum up our bus (Gawd love 'er):

Making your way in the world today takes everything you've got.
Taking a break from all your worries, sure would help a lot.

Wouldn't you like to get away?

Sometimes you want to go

Where everybody knows your name,
and they're always glad you came.
You wanna be where you can see,
our troubles are all the same
You wanna be where everybody knows
Your name.

You wanna go where people know,
people are all the same,
You wanna go where everybody knows
your name.

It was Why who got her baby back Ma. And there's I'm too. Right, have polished Barrie's tank and strung fairy lights around it, and made garlands for the camel. What now? Oh I know, baking fairy cakes

If you bake now, they will all be gone by next Sunday hope, but I don't mind a few practice batches

why of course!
And silver who used to drive the bus!
And horse who shakes her pom poms for us...
I am very pissed tonight, I must confess. Today I visited dad and tomorrow I have yet another attempt at a biopsy at hospital. There is a limit as to how much I can deal with.

Hi there. Just joined the site today and posted on the dry7 thread but not sure if it is only for people stopping drinking completely. I have been hammering it over the last year or so and really need to cut down. I know some might say stop completely and it might come to that but I hope (maybe naively) to just control it better. I see some others in a similar position. Is it ok to post here about cutting back?

Welcome stuck . of course it is ok to post about cutting back.

Hello dementedma and thank you for the encouragement. Basically drinking is causing me lots of probs. I don't drink everyday - really only the weekend and special occasions. But I have been drinking to get drunk, secret drinking, drinking every one else's' drinks etc. have been horrible to DH and kids (teenagers). At the point DH has told me he is hating my behaviour when drinking and is really unhappy. There's no way I would accept from him what he has taken from me and for that I am truly grateful. So I really need to get back to the old me and stop being such a nasty, drunken cow. Anyone had success in cutting down? Grateful for your input.

5 years? Bluudy hell- is that what the garden party invite is for ma?

stuck it's ok to post here about anything at all,pretty much any time. I think that being sober is the best thing to aim for but if that doesn't work out then cutting down is great. I aim to pick myself up and to carry on whenever I fall off the wagon.

fairie that was spot on
mouse 3 days? ffs!

It would be wonderful to hear from babes - drinking or sober,a quick catch up would be great.

I'm afraid that I caved in on friday night & had 1/2 bottle cava,then it was the bloody Euro & I'm not ready to face that sober. Still,tonight is af and I haven't been drunk in quite some time,so i think i'm making progress.

Much love to all babes,great to see new ones ready to tackle the demon drink.

Thanks Guggenheim. Part of me thinks best to go for completely abstaining but it is such a hideous thought. DH is a real wine geek and we both like nothing better than a tasting event - we are in a club and do at least 3 a month. Funny thing is - I never drink too much at these. I don't even need to try to hold back - I just have no desire to. I am not one of those who have one drink then can't stop - I make a decision to get drunk then go for it. I can also go days/weeks drinking nothing/very little then decide to buy a bottle of vodka, hide it and drink it until I pass out. I just cannot figure out WHY! I am v happily married, good job, no significant worries - I have a very nice life. So why am I self destructing like this? I need to try to get to grips with why I feel the need to drink to unconsciousness - am wondering if some sort of therapy might be the answer. Anyone tried anything like that?

Yes there are many different patterns to drinking. I used to down a 1/2- to a full bottle daily and always got slaughtered at parties or on nights out. I don't do those things any more,well I hope not anyway. But I know people who go weeks & moths between drinks and then binge.

The point is that we reach a place where we've had enough of booze and how it makes us feel. For some that's one glass sadly not me for some it's getting slaughtered too often on a saturday night.

I think that there are specific counsellors for addiction which might help. Cheaper options might be to start a new hobby,take up meditation. Lots of sober runners out there! So what kind of things trigger you? boredom? tiredness?

Good luck- you're doing really well by just being willing to talk about it.

Months. Sodding months. I have nothing against moths.

I'm going to bed now...

stuck welcome. WHY we drink in the hazardous way we do is a very interesting question, however don't let the wondering about it stop you from actually doing something about it

I am a great fan of experimenting - see what works (and doesn't work) for you. Take any possible reason for your behaviour... and see how it plays out.

For example, it could be that your drinking is because of a desire to shake free of the 'responsible' wife / mother / employee / daughter role, so next time the FUCK IT feeling comes do something that expresses irresponsibility in a different way. Bounce around the local park on a space hopper?

Or perhaps you have life a life that is too safe and conventional. So take some risks - abseiling, parachuting, or watch this....

Maybe it's about shocking people and being a rebel - so go out and stick your tongue out at someone as you pass them on the bus, or go out wearing one shoe and one slipper (and see if you can get away with it).

And if you do all of those, then your therapist will have a field day

guggs I used to have MOTHS between drinks - thinner than a wafer thin mint, like a micro-second

Guggenheim - I am trying to figure out what triggers the desire to get trashed. No one particular thing stands out ie not boredom, not social anxiety, depression etc - more a kind of 'f*ck it! I want to be drunk' kind of thing. God knows why. It appears random and not tied to one particular mood/trigger. I think I might keep a diary and write my feelings at the time - try and get more awareness. Have promised myself to get fit again - have put on 2 stone in last couple of years and really want at least a stone off. Also thinking about giving yoga another go -tried it once before but got paired up with a bloke I didn't know (we were the only two that did not go with someone) and I ended up having to do this hand stand thing with my head in his (very sweaty) crotch and needless to say, never went back! Thanks again.

Thanks Venus - some good points there -food for thought and it could very well be something like that. But as you say, time for doing not just thinking - doesn't matter how I dress it up, it's a problem that needs tackled.

stuck| I seem to have pre-posted an answer to your fuck-it question x

Evening, tis me, Mouse

Welcome to you stuck lovely babe.... I see you've met some of the passengers already and been given some fabulous advice and guidance from them.

I was going to post about it being five whole years on May 31st the other day..... the thing is, May 30th is my parents wedding anniversary, or rather would have been, if my mum hadn't passed away in Nov 2013... I'm trying to separate the two because the Five Year Anniversary of this thread, all the stories that we have read, all the times we've cried, laughed, begged people to come back and post, even gone to meet Babes In Need..... this Bus is truly, utterly, honestly amazing.

I love this thread, not because I keep starting them! but because of all of the friends I've made here. Because of all of the times I been able to talk to a screen and just let it all out.

Because I can be who I am on this thread, and all the others. Because the stories that I've read, are real, heartfelt, and have made me laugh, sob my heart out and also want to get into my car at Jeff knows what hour of the night and rescue a Babe.

I love this Bus, it's home to me in lots of ways - of course it's 'words in a screen' and yes, we get the odd tit head who thinks that this is one big joke to us all..... they soon get Mouseinated with an AK47 in the face...And I'm not afraid to use it!!

Yes, the Dry 7 thread is fantastic, and so have the ones before .... but they have a different POV to us, which is fine, it's not a competition, there's room for us all.

We never judge, we never turn genuine posters away, we never tell anyone how to live their lives, we always have soft, warm fluffy duvets, teas, coffees, hot chocolates, any food that you need to soak up the booze..... and plenty of TIME.

The thing is, you absolutely, 100% have to want to stop drinking, but, until then, if you're not there yet, or have slip ups etc, you can stay here, with us on Gerald - The Bus, named by Silver or IsInde....I can't remember who claimed that one!

Anyway, I guess what I would like to say is that I, to coin a phrase, have had the time of my life, and I owe it all to YOU!

Thank you Babes for being there when I needed you. I know that when I came here, MIFLAW was one of the babes who I found rather brilliant in his logical ways of posting and the way that he'd try his utmost to prove his point, to the very l a s t letter!

venus saved me many a time by pointing out to me the reality of my drinking - 90 (ish) units a week, plus caring for Nemo (as someone wonderful upthread said is out Bus baby - toddler - young man - and now 6 years old!!) was a recipe for hell on earth and utter disaster. Thank you. xx

There are so many fantastic Babes that I could spend talking about but do you know what? You are all brilliant, even the new posters that remind me of where I used to be. Why I'd drink, and now, why I don't.

So, raise your glass, of whatever (semi-skimmed milk here) to this wonderful, travelling part of my life.

And thank you to you ALL for being there, or lurking whenever, knowing that I can say how I am feeling. Day or night...... Thank you to you all, Gerald and Mumsnet for keeping me sober, or rather, reaching my goal of being in control of my alcohol consumption and actually - me xxx

Ah mouse those threads that we weave together, they are not simply two cords twisted together, they are they multiple threads of our lives, the knots, the smooth, the thorny issues they create - something like macramé owl - it is twine, knots, beads. And yet it is an art , an icon, a way in which each individual has an important part to paly in creating the whole.

Just like us.

Morning all. Hello mouse - thank you for the welcome and what a fantastic, inspiring post. Your last sentence - being in control of your consumption and of you - that is really great to hear - it can be done. Maybe not everyone so I will be finding out over the next weeks/months if I too can get back in control of me. I was going to also add 'years' but decided against it - I am not going to let this go on for bloody years - if I can't control/cut down and stick to it over the next few months, it will need to be complete abstinence. Have already booked myself in to some exercise classes this week and looking around for a yoga class. I don't actually drink during the week but I want to lose some weight and get away from just watching TV every night. I used to be really fit and enjoyed exercise so this is a part of me trying to reclaim myself I suppose. Hopefully will help with my insomnia too. Anyway - off to get ready for work so will pop in again later. Hope everyone has a great day!

Morning babes

I seem to have something in my eye after mouse's post. no,it's not a bloody moth

venus I have no idea how you do it but you put your finger on the exact problem I have right now- I'm a bit bored. I'm desperate for a career change but too chicken to go for it. Hmmm...really don't want to hit the fuck it button.

stuck eeek! Sweaty yoga crotch- nooooooo! Think I'll stick to non contact sports forever. grim. That fuck it button is well known round here. Why do we press it? Who knows? That's one I still struggle with!
You're inspiring me to book into some classes,I badly need to shake my routines up a little.

Morning ladies hope you're all enjoying the bank holiday weekend

Thanks Hope for your advice re the school bus situation . The Council is run by bloody morons. We certainly won't give up without a fight.

Hi to our new babe Stuck. I've just started running (well jogging/fast walking) and have joined a zumba class. Yoga sounds good too - haven't done that for years. Has anyone here ever been to a spinning class? How skinny and fantastic will we look after all this exercise?! (She says stuffing her face with croissants )

Quite proud of myself today. Had friends over on Saturday to watch Eurovision (and as Guggs says who can watch that sober!) but I only had two glasses instead of the usual two bottles. Yesterday we went to a music festival and watched bands such as Nirvana, U2, Led Zep, The Doors (tribute acts obviously! Well the tickets were only £3!) We were a bit miffed to have missed "Guns or Roses" and "Reet Hot Chilli Peppers" which were on the previous day! Had a fab time despite the weather being freezing, and I only drank water all day!! Feeling a teeny bit smug!

Waves to all the Babes and thanks to you all for being so lovely and inspirational xx

morning all. am deservedly hung over.
hospital today. DH hadn't remembered it was today..guess its just not that important............

God luck Ma. Hope it all goes ok xx I think most DHs are a bit crap at remembering stuff! Will he be going with you? xx

Good luck with your hospital appointment today Ma xx

hands that sounds brilliant

ma good luck- hope it's all over quickly.

Hi obrigada