Brave Babes Battle Bus: Next Stop Fabulous February

[SweetLathyrus]

Hi, I'm SweetLathyrus, Sweet for short, and I've been on and off Gerald the Brave Babes Battle Bus since 2014. Over the years, lots of us have maintained the thread, most of all the lovely Mouse, who has been here since the early days, and still scurries onboard when she can.

The bus is a place of support, safety and occasional silliness for those of us struggling with our relationship with alcohol. Some of us are sober, some are trying to be, some are moderating and aren't ready to give up alcohol just yet.

So whatever your reason for questioning the whys and WTFs of your drinking, hop on board, make yourselves comfortable and join in. Driers and Triers, all welcome.

2018 has been a busy year so far, lots of new travellers as well as old faces; if you want to read back on the journey through Dry or Dryer January so far, here's the link to the last thread

And in case you want to know how it all started, here is the link to JWN's original, inspiring thread.

Join us on our journey, you won't regret it.

Made welcome back lovely keep posting. I hope you've had a good day. Keep yourself busy to try and keep your mind away from temptation x

Sorry that you're not well Sweet and Ma. I've got a poorly DS, who's feeling very sorry for himself and has been snuggled in bed for a couple of hours.
I've been frustrated with the house today, it's such a mess and really needs money spending on it but we just don't have it. I'm not drinking though so that's good. Would have been a bottle down a year ago.
Sleep well all.

Hi Made I'm a bob in bob outer on this thread, sometimes I feel I need to post, other times I just read and then there's the times when I just disappear.
Keep posting

Morning all. I feel like I've been hit by a bus, but I have to get DS to a Dr's appointment and then need to get to work.

Morning Sweet surely you can't go in if you are unwell? Poor you. Hope you start to feel better.
Have a good day all

` it sounds a bit martyr-ish, Sequins, but I have third years today, and options for rescheduling are limited. I'll just go in for their session - which fortunately is them presenting not me.

Morning all. It’s a beautiful day here and I will be making the most of having the day off. Taking my dog for a long walk then taking my mum for lunch and shopping then back to go to spin class later. Yesterday was such a long lazy day. Long walk in the morning then spent most of the day reading the Eleanor Oliphant book (thank you for whoever recommended that - I loved it and read it in one day) rest of day was spent making dinner (with small glass of prosecco) then dozing on and off on settee watching TV. A proper Sunday!
Sorry to hear you are not feeling well Sweet and everybody else. I wish you all better. Keep warm. It may look sunny but it’s still freezing outside

Just saying hi so this thread appears on page 1 again.
Shit day at work. Thought I was getting a promotion but been told it's not happening.
Thanks very much indeed

Did the minimum necessary at work, and escaped an hour early. I am so pleased I am doing this AF, I would feel even worse. And that would have been my response - can't feel any worse, so just numb it with wine.

sympathies sweet. Still feeling rough here too with really bad head pains.
i have an appointment with a solicitor on Wednesday. Its all very real now. It will also cost me nearly £100 for half an hour. More money wasted by dickhead's stupid behaviour

Sequins, that's rubbish, sorry.

Ma bloody hell, I knew solicitors were expensive but . Once you have advice would a DIY divorce be doable or practical?

Well Babes, it's all very quiet around here, I hope everyone is ok. I'm going to take myself to bed at the end of day 43. The DJ app says, I have saved £299, cut down 24k wine calories, and not consumed 381 units.

Night All

I'm not having a good evening. I'm really, really anxious to the point of tears and I don't know why and I can't shake it off. I'm just so worked up and I can't settle to anything. It's been months since I've felt this bad. The only good thing is I've not had a drink. I think I'm day 43 too.

I'm glad you've booked to see a solicitor Ma and hope you're feeling better Sweet

Hope I've added the book you mentioned to my list of books to request at the library. What's the one you're reading Trust?

Say I'm really inspired by you being at 100 days. When I first thought I'd have a go at AF and started properly following the thread you were at 68 ish days and I remember thinking I'd never manage that many but I'm not that far off now. Everyone plodding on gives me a bit of hope.

Sequins That's really shit about work. Hope your DS's feeling better. Mine wasn't well last week. It's hard when they're ill.

Baking hope you're feeling a bit better? Could it be hormonal? I feel very anxious when I'm premenstrual. Or could you be coming down with something?
Hope you get a good night's sleep.
DS is still poorly but on the mend I think.

Sweet glad you made it through the day. 24k wine calories . Are you noticing the money saving?

Ma £100 bloody hell. Hope your head isn't as bad.

Hi to everyone else, I'm off to sleep now.

Morning all.
Baking the anxiety is a horrible feeling especially if you can’t pinpoint it to anything. Are you feeling any better today?
You asked about the book I was reading. It’s called Eleanor Oliphant is Completely fine! There is quite a lot of reference to vodka in the book just in case anyone finds that triggering.
Sequins sorry to hear about the promotion. That is really rotten if expected. Any particular reason given for the misunderstanding?
Sweet and ma hope you feel better today. ma when you have your appointment try and make sure you have all your questions written down to make the most of the half hour. Sorry if this is stating the bleeding obvious. Good luck.
Today I am off to work.Then boxercise at the gym. I have 4 weeks tomorrow till I go on holiday so I must lose some weight! I’m fine about not eating during the week but look on weekends as treat time. Must get out of this mindset but at least I am not drinking like I used to x

It's snowing and it's Day 50 AF!!!!!

Goes back to catch up on last few days of thread

I'm sitting here with my stomach in knots as when DP gets up I have some horrible news to tell him. He's in a bad enough place as it is with no work/ money. I'm considering taking the day off work but we can't really afford it. Why does life fuck you over when you try your hardest to make it work. 😕

Morning All.

I have given in and called in sick. Even my hair hurts .

Mint, I don't know what to say, you are having to deal with so much

Sequins I won't notice properly until next month because we do all of our spending on a credit card (and pay in full like Martin Lewis tells us ), so it will be the bill at the end of this month that should really show the difference. But I have noticed that we've had no £100+ weekly supermarket trips in the last month.

Baking, it's a horrible feeling, but you would be feeling the same even with drink, at least 40+ days sober, you can think more objectively, as Sequins says, being pre-menstrual or coming down with a bug could be the reason. Or, you may be allowing some of the reasons you drank to surface - we do have to face those emotions eventually.

Trust kick ass at boxercise!

SmallFox, MsHoolie, Elba, Dubh, how are you all doing?

Hello all - it's twat back from holiday.

I've been in Cuba for the last 3 weeks - such a fabulous time with my bestie. I'm stepping back from the sidecar into the bus today...

Really pleased with how I went on holiday - had beers but never to excess, no hangovers or bad times. My bestie doesn't really like too much beer so she left me to it in the evening in favour of eating a lot of ice cream (a lot) and we were in bed most nights by 9pm.

Have had loads of sleep, seen and done loads of amazing stuff, and am nice and brown.

I'm going to read from the day I left (24 Jan) and through to today on the thread...am a bit jetlagged now so probably going to grab some sleep now.

Hope all babes are okay - are there any [bears] left on the thread?

xxx

And also to say that I am logging my days AF for 2018 on the Dry Jan app so today is day 22 for me. x

Mint hope you are OK? Thinking of you. You really don't need any more shit to deal with. I am worrying about you now thinking how the conversation went. We don't need details but please pop in later and let us know you are OK. Sending you masses of and

Baking how's the anxiety this morning? I get it sometimes, it comes and goes. I put it down to hormones or sometimes a bad diet (sugar makes me a bit shaky sometimes). I am not very good at mindfulness or meditation or sitting with my feelings (hence being a drinker) but I am trying to just observe it as a feeling and not let it control me, which sometimes works (a bit)

Ma - good luck with the solicitors. Could you not have got a free initial appointment though? Lots of solicitors do an initial consultation as a sort of loss leader. I know as have had them but in my case as the sole earner it was so utterly depressing it put me off! As a 1970's comedian once said, 'I would never get married again, I'd just find someone I didn't like and give them a house'.

Sequins that's shit about the job. Did you ask why the promotion wasn't happening? Did they give it to someone else or was it that classic 'act up a grade, do the extra work but we aren't upping your pay' thing? You have a right to ask whether there is a possibility of promotion in the future, surely? Hope you sort it out xxx

Trust - absolutely, kick ass at Boxercise!!! I went to 2 classes this morning which are admittedly hard but there were a couple of 20-something blonde girls in LuluLemon at the front simpering at the instructor and flicking their hair in the mirror and giggling and saying 'oooh I can't do this' (flirt, simper, giggle) 'oooh, it's too hard' (whine, simper, flirt). I actually wanted to punch them hard in the face. Letting the whole female sex down AND taking up space in an overbooked class when there are people who are normal and want to do the work. They were young and thin and there is NO WAY they were struggling to the extent they pretended. I think I am becoming a gym fascist! But then I have always loathed simpering, girly women. They are usually hard as nails underneath too!

Sweet glad you have finally taken a day off. Get plenty of rest and stay hydrated and look after yourself I hope you have some good books and boxsets and some chocolates or xxx . Get well soon.

Also a shout out to Dubh - where the devil are you? You popped in and then jumped off the bus again without letting us know how you were. Was it Ma's driving? Hope all is good with you, I miss you xxx (leaves green Opal Fruits on the dashboard to tempt back all the MIA babes)

Hi all. My head and throat hurts . Think l am getting the lurgy. DS still has lurgy. Sweet's off with lurgy, well done for taking some time to get better.
My promotion was not a complete promise but I was told that 'John' was leaving as he had a new job which would involve a move and that I would step into it - 98 % chance of getting it. Well 'John' has decided to stay as there's illness in his family and he doesn't want to move the family. So it was a 'sorry Sequins we really thought he was leaving. Hopefully something will come up in the future' conversation. I'm fuming and crying. Was awake most of the night worrying about money.
Anyway at least I didn't buy a bottle because ' I deserved it!'

What I should have said is that I would normally convince myself that I deserved a bottle of wine.
Mint hope you're ok?
Hope I'd have punched those young women too (metaphorically). They give us a bad name

Twat glad you enjoyed your holiday and well done on 22 days.

Afternoon!

sweet and ma, sorry you’ve got the lurgy. Hope the solicitor went ok.

twattage welcome back, glad you had a good time and kept control of the booze.

mint hope you’re ok

made good to see you again. Keep posting.

Day 31 (I think) here. I’m getting a bit bored now, the novelty’s worn off. I easily slipped into a bottle of wine on Sunday, so need to keep myself busy on Sundays.

I’ve got the lurgy too, feel dreadful, not helped by WH (wanker husband) driving me insane by working at home this week. I’m trying to do some planning for a couple of workshops I’m running next month, he feels the need to come upstairs every 10 minutes (I kid you not) to tell me that .......

1. He’s put the bin out. (Congratulations, medal in the post)
2. No one else has put their bins out. (Oh dear)
3. Am I sure it’s bin day tomorrow? (Yes)
4. Am I ok? (I fucking well would be if you’d leave me alone)
5. Do I need anything? (a divorce would be a start)
6. That he’s just heard on the news that.......(I heard it myself thanks)
7. He thinks his cold is a bit better (I’m delighted. Hopefully now you’ll stop blowing your nose like a foghorn every 5 minutes)

Sorry, I got carried away!