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

It's bloody difficult and this is only day 1.... Keep at it babes.

Yes, indeed, Snowball - how are you doing today? Day 5? Congratulations to you - how are you feeling?

I've decided to put up a set of hooks in the under stairs cupboard - they've been sitting there for months on the floor - how bloody desperate is that? Radio 6 helping a bit. Beautiful cover of Scott walker's no regrets.

pop, that's not sad at all. At least it's productive, you'll get the double whammy sense of achievement from staying off the booze and ticking off a task.

I'm going to bed as my distraction technique (plus I was up at 2am with poorly DD and who knows what tonight holds!)

small, it sounds like you're really ready for your fresh start tomorrow. Good luck.

sweet, it's lovely to see you again. I'm delighted that you've boarded the bus again.

8.35......if I can get to nine o clock I will be OK.

You can do it. Only 20 minutes to go now.

Did you manage it Ma?

I DID!!!!!!!!. Now will see Ds off to bed and then make a cup of tea and take myself to bed early. Had a serious wobble while making dinner but I DID IT!
Who else has made it through the witching hours?

I'm thinking I can go to bed in an hour. Didn't sleep well last night but I guess cos it was day 1. Not expecting much sleep tonight. Found a packet of salty aniseed balls from Hema - helping more than I thought! Hooks up. Wouldn't have done that after 2 beers and a bottle of wine! Jesus the hours crawl by though.

They do indeed evil. Fecking DD has swiped the last teabag so in bed without a celebratory cuppa.day 1 done!

Well done, everyone. Sleep well.

Off to bed myself but not expecting to sleep well. Will take iPad and browse. Well done Ma. V proud of you. And everyone. Am I allowed to say that having only joined yesterday? Tomorrow is another day. Day 2 done.

Well done ma !

Not doing well on sober September… Everything just pants, well not really but feeling a bit bleugh.

I will try again tomorrow.dot dot dot

Can you tell I am using the voice dictation?!

Love it Joey dot dot dot

And I'm not using voice dictation but I do like the style. All is not lost on September as it doesn't actually start until tomorrow. Well, technically today as it's after midnight, but tomorrow is another day.

I'd just like to give a shout out to baby and beaches and others who may have fallen by the wayside. Don't forget we have a sidecar babes and we'd love to scoop you up and snuggle you in there with warm fluffy blankies and hot tea.

Sober September isn't for everyone and we do understand so whilst some of us are going for it, others might not be ready yet. It's ok. We just want to know that you're ok (and if you're not ok, come and tell us).

Well done ma, pop and everyone else.
Particular well done ma having to deal with the disappointment of not getting your cup of tea.

Any exciting plans for the day?
I'm hoping DD is well enough for nursery as I've got a, rare as hens teeth, couple of days off work while she's at nursery. I desperately need some time to myself to sort the house out.

Day 1. I can do this.

Morning Babes.

1st of September, new school year (for us South of the Border), new starts all round. Those of you who white-knuckled day one yesterday may not feel immediately better, but you should feel proud of yourselves; the wine witch is a vicious and persistent bitch.

Small, go back and read the threads from the beginning of the year so you get a really clear vision of how you felt, getting better and better. Remember how exciting it was reaching milestones like a week, a month - One Hundred Days!! And remember the lightness and feeling present. You done it before, and it's ace

Ma, you need your own secret, emergency stash of tea - next to the green opal fruits, obs!

Hey, April, How you doin'? Hope DD is ok.

Pop, you can say ANYTHING here, as long as it comes from a good place! But do be careful with salty aniseed balls, these babes will jump on a double entendre at any opportunity

I think your voice dictation is improving, Joey. Keep on keeping on - any better this morning?

Quite right Faire, I know I've done it myself, (because I'm a bit dim sometimes and have trouble asking for help and support), but the bus is not just about being AF, it's about finding a balance (if that's possible), and understanding and t'interbosies when it's not. So wave Gerald down and say hello.

Yes you can, Cat !!

Day 20 for me, I'm trying to identify why it's stuck for me this time, and I'm really not sure. I know I was getting angry with myself, but I also stood back and looked at my anxiety, and realised what I should always have known (and probably did), that self-medicating with booze was making it worse, not better. Anyway, I'm being hyper-vigilant at the moment because some of the benefits - clear skin, a waist, better sleep, sweeter breath, energy - are becoming normal; I don't want to forget how precious and delicate they are.

Morning. God I've woken up feeling awful. Pukey , headache, anxious. Got two extra five year olds from 930 to 2pm as school shut til tomorrow. Arghh.

Ma - get that teabag stash sorted and good luck today.

Sweet - hear you re: anxiety.

Day 3 - not sure it's going to be pretty but I'm coming out fighting.

It will get better, Pop - by 2.05pm

Go for it Isinde. DD1 poorly so managed to cancel one kid but had to have the other as her mum is working. Pouring with rain here. Thinking I might let kids watch movies all day so that I an get on with some work ahead of going back to the office after two weeks off. It's the post work drinking that I rely on to de stress although I know it doesn't help In the long run. Just end up sitting at my desk feeling pickled and bloated and tired and trying to hide it from colleagues.

Feeling a bit better but have run out of coffee ! Grrr.

Thanks for the prod Faire, and Spanna before that . I have spent most of this year trying to control the hold that the WW has over me, by making myself have regular Af nights. The upside is that I have had 150+ af nights - on the other hand, a full bottle is still the norm on drinking nights (and that is nearly 100 bottles to myself )

I don't know why I struggle to be a moderate drinker - I am clearly an all or nothing drinker, I have no more interest in one glass than I do one square of chocolate. Give me the bottle or don't bother . And the reward? Not remembering the end of the film, waking up at 4am with anxious thoughts and racing heart, feeling crap and trying to eat my way out of it. Some reward

I would love to join In with dry September - my brain and my liver are in need of the break.

Looking forward to getting back in to posting - I missed you all

well I am exhausted midway through day three. when does it start feeling any better? cant seem to concentrate on kids OR work. arghhh. time to suck on those salty balls (grin)

beaches good to see you babe
WW is here in my office already, telling me I did well yesterday so can drink tonight. Was seriously planning to stop and buy a bottle on the way home - but have come on here instead for motivation, inspiration and a slap round the chops from Barrie.
Surely to God I can do more than one day.....

Damn right you can Ma, have one tomorrow if you must but NOT today. What were your reasons again? Fed up of the fug, watching calories for a special dress do, I can't remember them all but they were good reasons. Get yourself past the shop and home, put on a onesie (or any suitably embarrassing at home clobber) and grit your teeth. We NEED you!!

Small how are you today babe?