The Brave Babes Battle Bus - Battling The Wicked Wine Witch, One Day At A Time!

[Mouseface]

Hello, I'm mouse, one of the Babes who have been on this lovely, rickety bus called Gerald for some time now!

There's no judgy pants worn on this bus, nor hoking of bosoms!! It's filled with every day life, love and laundry. As simple as that. The rest falls in between.

We're a welcoming, supporting thread, filled with a mine of information from many years of experience, from those who have consumed alcohol day in, day out...hidden the 'habit', the lie, disguised our drinking with many an excuse. So perfected over the years or new to the guilt of drinking more than you think you should.....

Anyway, old or new, lurker or not, come and say hello to us if you feel the need. We'd love to meet you if we haven't already :)

Thank you for reading this, find a seat, hide green opal fruits if you find any, they're like gold dust around here! Aren't they ma!!

See you soon, I hope.

Mouse x

And, if you'd like to see where we all began, sit with a cup of tea/coffee and have a peek at this - the beginning

And our latest thread that will take you back to many others enjoy your read!

Hang in there winter, you're doing brilliantly and just about to start reaping the rewards.
Big, gentle hugs to special, lobster and elba

pop, I hope you're feeling better but do give your body time to recover. Flu is nasty and you'll need to take it slowly.

I'm on day 15 but have a challenging weekend with bonkers relatives. If I'm not drinking they'll start the pregnancy speculation. If I am they'll be lecturing me about how cruel it would be to make DD an only, how I'm not getting any younger and need to get a move on.

Screw them!

And have a lovely weekend claret and wish.
I knew there was something else I wanted to say!

Thanks Claret. We will be told on March 23rd apparently, the day before our big awards dinner, when we host 310 business guests. Great!

Evening all lovely Brave Babes

Ma I hope you had a lovely day with DD1 how's she doing? Big Squeeze Ma x

Elba well done for not drinking loads last night. I hope you've had a good day today. What do u have planned for the rest of the weekend?

Claret did u have a lovely time? Did u see Northern Lights? Iceland sounds lush, on my hit list

Pop darling I hope you're feeling more like yourself today. Armed with lists I should imagine. Moving is in the top 3 stressful things to do in life BUT once it's done, you'll be able to breathe a sigh of relief when is your moving date? x

Have a great time in Ireland (can't go back a page as I'm on my phone and I know from past that I'll lose my post) sorry I can't remember who that was

Sweet you ok honey?

Hope how's your week been? I hope you're rocking those boots

Special how are you lovely? X

I'm completely knackered, working 7 days a week at the mo and it's starting to take it's toll, although not all hours in a day, hours here and there, it's exhausting trying to keep track of who I've got to visit when! doing 5 hours 2moro spread out over the day, but £15 an hour it's not to be sniffed at

Margie how are you lovely, hugs to you darling x

Fox come & say hello

Beaches I miss you flower x

Oh look what I've just found

can you throw the rest of the glass away & make a cuppa, just think ahead and how much better you'll feel in the morning

Sorry I haven't name called you all Hello everyone & I hope you're all having a good evening xxx

Big fail from me so back to square one tomorrow.

Has anybody tried counselling or hypnotherapy for drinking? Have promised DH I'll get help but don't want to go to GP.

April day 15 is awesome, well done Families are the worst at triggering my drinking (they just seem to know which 'wind up' buttons to press!!!) Could you say that you're feeling like you've got a cold coming on and you don't feel much like drinking? Or that you want to have a month off? Or you've got a dicky tummy, something you ate? Good luck x

I'm drinking this evening as it's Friday, one of my drinking days. I actually think I'm enjoying it less & less. I don't like the fuzzy edges.

Best wishes to all

Sanity you haven't failed, you've just had a blip Any chance you can pour the rest away? Or just finish your glass and hide the rest of the bottle out of sight? Dust yourself down. Tomorrow is another day & you are doing so well. One day at a time just keep getting back on this lovely bus, you will get there in the end

First full week no drinking done here! Although due to flu etc it wasn't too hard, the next week will be a challenge.

Went to the GP and mentioned my worried but way underplayed it. Just felt embarrassed. Anyway on a higher dose of ADs and have some stuff to help me sleep short term.

Annoyingly I thought after a week off the drink I would look great, lose weight and be full of energy. None of those things have happened, just feel a bit 'meh'.

Hope everyone is having a successful Friday x

Cunning huge Well Done on one week hope your flu has gone! I promise you that by this time next week you'll be feeling so much better, for me it takes 2 weeks to get over the booze in the body syndrome you will see weight loss, you'll be so much clearer in your head, there will be no fog
Keep going babe, you will reap the benefits from all your efforts, that is for sure x

Cat good to see you and well done for moderating, Babes have said that when you've had 4 days off, over time you enjoy the booze less & less that can only be a good thing

Good grief, I think I adore Eddie Izzard.....

First Friday night without wine in years and years.
Hope everyone else is having a good one.

Stepped

Wow fantastic Stepped Cat & Cunning Hope I will manage it one day.

I love Eddie to Demented :)

Thanks for flowers!
I think I'm over the worst for tonight, now that I've stuffed my face with loads of food!!

Sober. And feeling very guilty.

Well done special. That is brilliant. Don't feel guilty. You are sober. Ace.

Morning everyone, I'm posting tucked up in bed in a lovely hotel room on a weekend away with friends (too lazy to join in the early morning swim!).

Had a bit of a realisation about my drinking yesterday, and just being lying in bed reflecting on it. I managed to moderate well yesterday and pretty much drank the same as everyone else (12 ish units), but was given wine when I arrived yesterday afternoon and I really really didn't like the way it made me feel. I think usually I would of started drinking on the train and just carried on without noticing. But yrsterday I noticed my energy and mood dropping significantly with that first drink. This morning is the first time I have ever thought positively about a potential future without any alcohol...moderating for me still seems to mean drinking at harmful levels so maybe I need to rethink all this.

Sorry not to name check anyone, just trying to put this down while I have a moment on my own, but hope everyone has a lovely weekend.

Elba that is very important thinking. Takes time doesn't it? I have vague fluey hangover. Beer plus half bottle red. Wish I hadn't. Just making Saturday morning groggy and foggy when it needn't be.

Spanna thanks for the mention flower . I have been mostly flailing about in the sidecar but am on a day 5 and feeling better for it. It is the same old 4pm mental battle that trips me up time and time again - I completely forget the morning anguish or at least minimize it, and decide a couple of glasses will be just fine. Relentless stupidity. Anyway, I am so pleased to see your posts and am so proud of you . Your job sounds challenging especially because of the stop/start nature of it but yay for £15 per hour just because!

Ma job insecurity must be taking it's toll . I love Eddie too, always have - cake or death?

Love to you all, have no chance whatsoever of naming you all but I will give an all encompassing wave around Gerald

Hey there all of you. I won't NC you all as I am also in hotel with a tiny bit of spare time. Had a good cry with my friends about my life which was what I needed. Not the drinking bit I'm doing that with my new friends on Gerald. So thanks for that. No chance of steering clear in Ireland on Paddy's weekend but determined to start AF from Mon to Fri next week.

Hang in there everyone and sending you some luck from the Irish

Huge great big bloody fail here. What an idiot. So away with friends and initially last night I was ok, drinking Diet Coke and wine alternatively. Ate a decent dinner but alas turns out that makes sod all difference and I ended up puking on the bed and sleeping in the wrong room. My friends are so unbelievably understanding but I feel so guilty.

I just don't know what to do babes. Does this finally prove I can't drink at all?? I so utterly fed up of it all.

So that's another nice weekend ruined because of my inability to stop. I'm so predictable, I don't remember the last time I went on a weekend away and didn't get obliterated the first night. What a fool.

spanna Iceland was incredible thanks, snowy and magical. Saw the northern lights twice, a beautiful spectical.

Sorry to not name check, I hope you're all ok.

Evening all.
I'm starting to get how hard this is going to be. All the crap that went away with multiple glasses of wine...it's not going anywhere now!
I know it's way to early to be expecting to feel better but I feel a lot worse than I was expecting.
I know you lovely people know all this already. I've got so much to learn!
Watching The Day After Tomorrow. So dramatic! One good thing, I'm actually watching stuff all the way through and not falling asleep half way through!! 😆

claret and stepped don't give up. It's incredibly difficult and I have been on this bus for years and am still drinking, albeit a lot less. stepped it's common to feel crap at first and then you feel cheated because you expect to feel better and if you feel this crap without the drink, well you just might as well feel crap with drink. Sound familiar?