The Brave Babes Battle Bus - Soaking Up The Warm Sunshine, Instead Of The Warm White Wine!

[Mouseface]

Hi, I'm Mouse :)

Welcome to The Brave Babes Battle Bus.

A place for pouring out your heart without being judged, mostly because a lot of us have been exactly where you are right now, or somewhere similar.

We've been around for a while, so there's not much that we've not seen..... or heard.... or been through ourselves.

Some of the Babes are newer to the Bus, some of the Babes have been here on dear old "Gerald" (The name this Bus was given by one of the Babes, I forget who now!I suspect IsinDe or Silver) for a little while longer!

EVERYONE is welcome here. Drinkers, those who are complete non drinkers, and those who are somewhere in the middle of all of the above. :)

Some Babes are in control of their drinking, some not so much. It's dreadfully hard some days, days when there is nothing going around your head except thinking that you MUST have a drink and you sit there trying to work out when, what time you can have that first mouthful of ice cold poison.

Whatever your goal here, or why you're here, we'll all help you along the way, YOUR WAY.

There will be one of us on here that can relate to your life story as if it were a mirror they were looking at, someone to hold your hand if you want it, catch you if you fall, which you may or may not. Positive thinking, just One Day At A Time.

No one Babe is better than any other, we've all been addicts. We've all suffered, yes some more than others but it's not a competition (and no-one gets turned away) but if you rack up shed loads of sober days, you will be a winner on the thread!!

So, if you want somewhere safe to sit and enjoy the warming summer sun, come find a seat, have a chat or just sit and listen to the rest of us yakking on!!

Nice to meet you :) all.

Also, here is the latest thread -

THE LATEST THREAD WE'VE SHARED OUR STORIES AND EXPERIENCES ON

And this is the very first thread -

AND THIS THREAD, THIS THREAD IS EXTREMELY SPECIAL BECAUSE THIS IS WHERE THE JOURNEY STARTED, AND HAS SINCE EVOLVED OVER THE LAST SIX YEARS

Hope to chat soon, Mousey x

Evening, tis me, Mouse

I'm so sorry for not being around..... my PC upgraded to Windows 10 and I've had to reset all of my passwords, login info etc, etc, ..................

BUT I'M BACK!!!!!!!! Phew!!

I've had a nightmare plus the summer hols restrict my time online as The Teenager (as my DD shall henceforth be known) and Nemo (our gorgeous little DS that most of you know by now!)

I haven't caught up and don't even know that there is anyone still in need of our support, but I'll read back tomorrow, or as soon as I can. :)

I really hope that you're all okay, as okay as you can be Babes.

I've missed you xxx

Hey mouse good to see you back. The Babes are either all on holiday or have left.

Quote "You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave"

Lovely to see you mouse we missed you too

Maybe everyone is playing hide and seek and we're supposed to be looking Joey

You can check the box at the back as I'm still scared of horridbabydoll

This is the sort of time that Isinde usually parachutes in with a filthy limerik poem. Bet she's luking and composing right now.

Small thanks for your kind words, I don't really know what, exactly, I want to do but just to keep it at the front of my mind that, if I want to, I can if you see what I mean?

I often feel that Septmeber is more of a new start than January. I like all the new autumn clothes in the shops, the colder air at night, open fires, that sort of thing. I would love summer if we had one but it seems we don't really any more so I'm sticking with autumn. However, it does make me think about another year ending (in nature, if not on the calendar) and the long, dark nights ahead.

I want this year to be the year that I stick to my plans, like diet and exercise, for example, so that next summer I will feel fitter and healthier and have more energy. Next summer I could actually feel younger than I do now

I've got the drink under control now so I want to work on another part of me. One day at a time. One pound a week, even half a pound a week all adds up over a year.

I think I'm going to do it. I've motivated myself now

Oooh, I had forgotten about horrid babydoll!
Get one of the newbies to check in the box at the back of the bus.....

I will try to post every day while on holiday (otherwise ma will eat all the opal fruits on her own!) but it will depend on getting wifi.

And if there are only two sockets in the caravan, obviously priority is taken by a teenager who needs to charge her mobile...

Hi, Can I ('re)join you please? I posted back in 2010 on the 1st or 2nd thread and dipped in and out for a couple of months but left feeling as failure as I just couldn't go more than a couple of days AF. I lurked for a further couple of months then even stopped doing that - in my self-loathing state it just reinforced what a failure I was.
I carried on drinking every night until this spring - I don't know what changed this time, I got sick of failing I think. I still allow myself 1 bottle of wine per week and try to make it last for 2 nights - I also make DH have a glass (he drinks very little) of it. Ultimately I would like to be totally AF, but that feels too big just now.
Since May I've been reading the current thread and have re-read from thread 1 as far as May 2011 (that's taken hours and hours!)
I just want to say thank you so much, you don't know how inspiring you've all been, and I hope will continue to be.

Well if there's room...I might just squeeze on...a very shy hello from a newbie. I don't drink more than a couple of glasses a day at most. But it is too much for me and I want to know I don't have to. And that there are lots of other things out there (goes and sits quietly somewhere near to the front and listens intently!)

Welcome back AnneB it sounds like you are doing well. It may not be your idea of 'perfection' but it is more important that it is something you can sustain.

And glad to have you aboard duck - if 2 glasses is too much for you then it's too much, And you can't imagine how many on here will wish that they'd done something about their drinking at an earlier stage.

I'm off to bed now after a busy weekend of visiting but I'll look out for you tomorrow.

Welcome back Anne and well done on the cutting back.
You are very welcome too duck. Look forward to getting to know you.
Just back from picking up my travelling mother at the airport (she's 80 ffs) so because I had to drive I am AF for the first time in a while.
G'night all

Hi everybody I've been on holiday, was here before the holiday and managed to get to 7 days without drinking. Probably the first time in 7 years. It went a bit wonky on holidays but I'm back in the real world now and I need to crack it. Haven't read back through the thread, hope you're all well. Day 1 begins for me!

Clambers back on the bus
Well, those lofty predictions of not drinking on the weekend went right down the swannie. Not quite sure why. I think boredom was a factor. At stupid o clock this morning, though, I came up with a plan for next weekend (I'm not sure how cunning it is)... I've asked DP for the car, and I'm going to see some friends. Also, I'm taking the work laptop home & catching up on bits & bobs that I've not got time to do properly in a noisy office.
So. Day 1. Again. Here's hoping I can make it beyond day 6 this time.

Have a great day Babes, I'll check in to read what I missed this weekend during the day.

Well done for climbing back on board starburst - and your plan for next weekend sounds good. That's what it is all about in the long term - keeping on trying, keeping on trying new approaches, keeping on believing that you can do it.

waves at re-appearing babes.

Fusty, but still in date. Just.

I have been in league wi the saggy one. Maybe slightly too friendly with the Cidre Chick an' all. But I hope to turn over a new leaf. Kind of have to really. I have a new dog. Lifebelt Lab. A rescue who needs a LOT of training. And love. And security. Can't do that if I'm rat arsed.

I have missed you all, but my head has been unable to find my way out of my arse. Much as it was warm and secure in there, to be honest it had started to stink. As arses do.

joey, ma and everyone else who kept calling my name through the ether, feel free to kick my arse hard, I felt too worthless to reply, I was a miserable, thrawn besom. Lost in a fug of fumes and self pity.

And a love of the word arse it would seem. Vocabulary needs a revamp, eh?

I would love to join you all again, I haven't been a very good passenger of late, but I've packed me Gin Gins so I shouldn't be sick.

xx

We have to keep trying. What else are we going to do, give up?

There's a lot of angst and beating ourselves up when we fail to stick to plans but really we need to give oursleves an equal amount of recognition and reward when we do stick to an AF day. Even if it's only one.

The highs and the lows don't balance do they? The lows are really low and the highs are just, meh.

We should big ourselves up more, not put ourselves down.

On that note, today I am feeling fabulous

Know why? Today I'm not drinking. And it's great

Wry !!!

Welcome back Starburst and Nomore and Anne and Khalisii and hello to duck

It's getting like a reunion in here.

Am I getting a bit over-excited here?

Bloody Hell WRY wonderful to see you back - we have missed your colourful turn of phrase....

I've had a few work trips to the north east and I get off the train and wonder if you are around somewhere. Looking forward to hearing about Lifebelt Lab, and well done for getting back in there - that little dog deserves you.

And, even better, I managed to welcome you back before ma got in and smothered you with half eaten opal fruits not competitive at all

Wry! I was lurking on the thread when you were posting last - and I've really missed your turn of phrase - welcome back!

WRY is back!!!. Shoves faire and Venus out of the way and hurls self on wry for a t'interbosie!!!

Hello Wry and Lifebelt Lab (lovely!). So good to see you. We have all missed you lots and Ma will be utterly beside herself to see you. And (as ever) I totally agree with what Faire said about not explaining yourself/oneself.

Your post resonates so much (they always do). When you recover from Ma's inevitable friendly savaging I would be so interested to know how you felt about this thread when you weren't on it? In my periods (like now) of abstaining from abstinence (as it were), I always feel a great sense of guilt and a debt to the Babes, like I have failed them (my emotion, not theirs, obviously). Sometimes I read the thread, sometimes I am too mortified with myself to do so. But I always think of them/you all, and it is an amazing testament to an amazing bus how much everyone is in my (drunk or sober) thoughts.

So, Ma, to go back to your post of 3pm on Saturday - no, this bus is not running out of steam/diesel/sheer bloodymindedness. Look what your roll call just did, and let's all of us believe that the bus will take us all where we all need to go (we just might not know it yet).

Oh, Wry, it is lovely to have you back.

Now I need to see thurso indie ladame and rural for my cup to runneth over. And that is NOT a reference to my norks!!!!