The Brave Babes Battle Bus - Step Into Our Christmas Thread!

[Mouseface]

Hello, I'm Mouse

A HUGE welcome to the Bus!

This is the one and only Gerald. Over the years, we've travelled far and wide gathering some truly remarkable Babes along the way, all of whom have been (and remain to be) at different stages of their own personal journey to sobriety or controlled drinking, depending on what it is that they want to achieve.

We have those who drink daily, those who drink occasionally, and also those who have been sober for some time. The one thing that you won't find here, is any judgey knickers! We're ALL here because at one point or another, we've hit our own "rock bottom" and then smashed the shit out of the FUCK IT button! (makes a note to order a new FUCK IT button)

This is without doubt one of the hardest times of the year for many of us, what with Christmas parties, alcohol on tap, supermarkets who have offers galore of various tipples stacked from floor to ceiling, and EVERY advert on TV shows you what an amazingly cool person you can be if you were drinking whatever brand of alcohol they're flogging! Even Christmas puddings and Brandy creams are tempting fate because as soon as you digest even a small amount of alcohol, it makes your body crave more, just like smoking, medication and recreational drugs................

Then there's the gifts that you're given! Champagne Truffles, Liquors, wines, spirits, you name it! So unless you've told people about your planned journey, people assume that buying gifts like that completely acceptable. So, some may feel obliged to consume such gifts and why not? It's Christmas after all. Then we have the New Year festivities..... parties, friends and family over to have drinks because you'll stop drinking after New Years' Day won't you?

It's so damn hard not to drink if that's what you've been doing all year anyway before you even reach this time of year!! How will you cope with your Great Aunt who will check for dust by running finger over ever surface, or Uncle knobhead who will be there in his cream suit, with that suspicious stain on it and his burgundy shirt asking for a Babycham! Also, let's not forget the in-laws/out-laws! We can sometimes put so much pressure on ourselves that we convince ourselves that we DESERVE that glass or seven of wine etc.

At the end of the day, if you want to drink, then you will. I appreciate that doesn't sound supportive but it's certainly true in my case. As I have said before, the most amazing thing about this Bus and those who travel along with it, is the fact that every single one on board has a story, a reason why they're here, and we all need support in one form or another. Yes, alcohol may be the one thing that we ALL have in common but it goes way deeper than that doesn't it? Life, love and laundry for a start!

Even if you're not ready to stop or cut down on your drinking yet, that's fine! You're still welcome to hop aboard the marvellous Gerald. We're a very varied bunch of Babes but we welcome anyone in need of support, even if you're not ready to say everything that you want to yet, or you feel the need to name change, that's fine! Just know that we're here for YOU for as long as you need to be.

Mouse xxx

THIS IS THE PREVIOUS THREAD IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO CATCH UP FROM WHERE WE LEFT OFF

Morning everyone. Waves to all you gorgeous fellow passengers. It's-5 here and our pipes have burst. ma I feel your pain!
It's been a busy weekend going to Glasgow for Celtic Conections. Very odd going to gigs and not drinking. But watching all the drunks I'm very smug glad! At least I'll remember the gig. Ha.
We've seen some amazing bands.
Im still waiting for the results of my endoscopy. Did you know that I lost 3lb just from drinking the moviprep. Extreme dieting!!!!!

Morning All.

What a lovely summary of January, Weewee.

Argh, Mint, good-times/bad-times eh? At least being af lets us appreciate and remember the good times, and releases some energy to deal with the bad.

Beaches, another Babe with one thing after another! But your right, I think Ma has been channelling off the scale army levels of grit and resilliance!

efc my dad does the whole, not trusting people who can't enjoy themselves with a drink, thing, and claims not to have noticed any differences after a month af . He makes it very difficult for me when I visit because as retired ex-pats, their whole lifestyle is socialising and wine is part of the ritual. I gave in to it on my last visit, but in the summer I managed a whole week by saying I was on a diet and enlisting my Mum (who has some weird controlling but not quite disordered thinking around food). I should say, they are lovely people, but it's not always easy to visit.

Working from home today (always a trigger for me if no one else is home), I have an article proposal to write and mountains of admin to catch up on, so I may well be procrastinating on here, dusting Gerald's speedo, and making sure the horrid baby doll is well hidden .

Bloody Sainsbury's are out of Clipper instant hot chocolate. It's going to be a long afternoon and evening.

Afternoon lovely busbabes, too many to namecheck, apart from ma who deserves to be mentioned in dispatches and possibly receive a gong, for surviving freezing weather with no heating and for washing her hair in cold water. (I did that a few years ago and thought i was going to die)

So January is done. I wasn’t af throughout, but managed more af days than drinking days, which is a huge achievement for me. My DJ app says I’ve saved £185 and about 7000 calories which is a bonus.
I seem to have got into the habit of af Weekdays, so I’m going to carry that on. I feel better, clearer head, better skin. Still fat though.

Hey all. Sweet what did you get instead of hot choc? I’m currently loving turmeric tea but it doesn’t quite have the same comfort factor!

Survived last night. Didn’t love it without alcohol but it was fine. So that’s good.

All in all I am a bit dispirited that I am feeling more anxious after a month off alcohol. I’m struggling with why that is. Everything is getting to me, I feel massively thin skinned and lacking in resilience. Maybe the initial euphoria and constant vigilance has worn off and my mind and body are left unprotected without their usual crutch and are trying to find equilibrium again. But i feel really vulnerable and anxious. Grrr!

Off to do some calming yoga, in heat which makes me angry and uncalm. Fair to say I am not feeling very zen!

Hope to emerge to cheerful stories of happy boinginess. Please?

Hi Small. The anxious and vulnerable stage passes. I hit the point of fully appreciating what I’d been using alcohol to mask and it was very uncomfortable.

Today’s ‘boing’ was a pleasant winter walk. I was walking with someone and some of what we talked about was the discomfort (see above) but also the boing factor in being alive in a world that’s still besutiful and being sober enough to appreciate all the colours in it.

Enjoy the yoga!

Small I am a strictly 'no-substitutions' kinda gal, (I even put it on the Alexa shopping list so that DH doesn't try to be thoughtful). I wanted Clipper instant, it's the only thing that will do! I did get some Cacoa Kefir, I tried turmeric and mango last week, and hated it, but I'm trying to heal my gut bacteria so I hold my nose and swig. Tonight I will mostly be drinking TeaPig super fruit, ordinary rather than a Friday night treat.

I think the brain goes through stages of resetting (I'm fairly sure that Claire Pooley discusses it on her blog), and getting new symptoms after a month sounds about in line with that, Small.

Thanks. Corvid and Sweet - that's encouraging. I re-read Clare Pooley the other day so maybe that's given me ideas!

Feel better after yoga, if broken. I don't have a Friday footner (is that still a thing on the bus these days?) but I did diligently buy all the foot products in the Sali Hughes Guardian column last weekend and have an appointment with the big cheese grater-y raspy thing later this evening. Blimey, I know how to live. But I can confirm that the (nite cheap Superdrug) cream she recommended is the first thing to come close to sorting the craters and crevasses in my feet out. Though the fact that I am less dehydrated may have something to do with it too..

Hope everyone has nice evenings planned

PS Sweet are you taking acidophilus tablets? I don't much like pills but they are really helping my gut bacteria I think, along with the better food choices.

Funny how my body immediately becomes a temple when I'm not drinking. I'm careful and mindful of what I put in it. Shame about the last 30 years or so, and the quantities of utter rubbish I've consumed, aided and abetted by the vats of Sancerre.

Hmm, maybe I'd better add 'self-disgust' to 'vulnerable and anxious' from earlier post. Hey ho.

Ooh, I lost the Sali Hughes thing and, with it, the name of the fearsome foot grater. Can you let me know if it’s a good buy, Small? (And what the flippin’ thing is called). ....and the name of that cream

The cream is O'Keefe's, Corvid. I've been using it every day this week and my feet are a lot better. The grater appears to be unbranded but will check my Amazon orders and come back to you!

Evening everyone,

wee sounds like a good January!

beaches ouch to the root canal.

Love all the interesting drink ideas- I like kombucha but I’ve never tried turmeric.

On drinkaware app- I had 26 dry days in jan and classed as low risk so pleased with that.

AF tonight but I’ve got 2 ‘friends’ moaning to me about not drinking on our night out tomorrow- I’m so tempted not to go if even the night before I am being pressured. I am driving and I have a 10k Sunday morning that I’m looking forward to, so I know I won’t drink. And I won’t be making plans with that group again.

Morning All.

Small I did my footer earlier in the week in prep for going back to the gym and the pool - no obvious peel yet . And I was taking acidophilus but ran out last week. Unfortunately I think my 'issues' with ibsd are stress, because they always improve over Summer and when I am on holiday, but I also have to avoid baked beans, mushrooms, onion and garlic - great for a vegetarian!

efc what is their problem with you not drinking, especially if you're driving? I presume it makes them uncomfortable about their own levels? I'd give it a swerve, you do NOT wanted to be doing 10k with a hangover, or spending the evening battling their problems.

I'm off to walk SweetDog, we avoided the worst of the snow last night by a matter of miles, so it's just cold and muddy this morning.

Babes!....THE BOILER IS FIXED!!!! Fanfares of trumpets and showers of green Opal fruit all round. Apparently the mother board which was replaced by man number 3, or 4, i forget, was faulty so all other repairs kept failing. we now have a second new motherboard and we have heating and hot water. Such luxury.
Thank you all for your support. I now have a massive backlog of laundry to get through because I couldnt get it dry before.
Tonight will be extreme soldier ogling..kilts and mess dress! mmmmm,hmmmmm!

Can I jump on? I last had a drink on NYE and aim to quit completely as I view myself as a problem drinker. Weirdly, I have found it reasonably easy so far but I have never really had an issue with not drinking, it's stopping drinking once I start/moderating that is the issue. I heard Tom Kerridge (now teetotal) talking on Desert Island Discs about how he had no interest in one drink, he just wanted to get smashed and I thought " that is me". I identified with a lot of what he was saying. Then I read a few sobriety blogs and really identified with so much of it, particularly re. how when you're a heavy drinker your idea of fun/not fun becomes equated with booze/no booze, and a woman who said she always drank "at" things as an alternative to really addressing them.

Addressing the backlog of redirected anger and postponed decisions is pretty uncomfortable but I guess it needs doing. I feel like I owe it to myself.

Yay!!!!! To heat, hot water and men in kilts!

ma yay to the boiler . Is there a connection between the men in kilts and a mess on your dress?!!?

Welcome oneyear hopefully you'll find lots of support here. We've been / are where you are and there are lots of tactics for avoiding that first drink. Join in with the sensible chat, and the rubbish!

Oooh venus get yer heid oot o' yon sewer (or something)

Hello Babes. Have not been on the thread for yonks so loads to catch up with. Hope you all had a successful/reasonable Dry January. Mine was not completely dry but mindful as usual.

Small and Sweet I did a footner this week and am awaiting 'the peel'.

oneyearnobeer and all other newbies I've yet to meet, welcome to the bus. I'm an oldie and as they say on this bus, you can check out anytime you want but you can never leave

ma sounds like you've been having lots of men over so I won't ask but good news for boiler. Haven't got any opal fruits so I'll just shake me tic tacs at ya.

Great photo Mint. Can't believe we had snow here way darn sarf. Will all be gone by lunchtime.

Massive wave to all x

ma that's brilliant. Ogle a few for me! I think nature is playing a cruel trick. Have woken up today with horrible hangover symptoms. Even though i was AF?! Thumping head and feeling nauseous. Had to skip my run even though its beautiful. Wasn't myself last night and bailed out of a friends party. Now wasting my weekend 😕

weewoman that's NOT wasting your weekend, instead it's taking care of yourself, and giving your body what it needs. Previously you might have obliterated those warning signs and been feeling much, much worse today.

There are some nasty bugs around, wrap up warm, have a gentle stroll in some wintry sunshine, and be kind to your body and your soul.

venus rude!!

Morning All.

Ma the warmth must be bliss (boiler not soldiers, obviously!).

Funny day, yesterday.

AM, DH dropped a full cup of milky coffee which has noticeably spattered the wall above the fire and the ceiling (the whole room is white and about 9x5 metres, last time I painted it it was a three day job. Bugger!

Then we went out for lunch and a concert - South African Cultural Choir, completely joyous and wonderful. Nice lunch and on the way to the theatre walked past a gallery and spotted a painting (we have been looking for the right piece of art for two years (and it would have covered some of the coffee stains!). We decided to come back and look at it after the choir.

It had sold! in the space of two hours, and apparently the gallery can't keep this artist on the walls, they just sell the day they go up.

SO what do you do when you miss out on a painting - obviously you go and buy tat useful stuff from Lakeland, where we stood in the queue behind Nigel Havers.

Anyway, onwards with AF Feb. Hope the sun is shining where you all are.

Lovely day sweet, what was Nigel Havers buying? Please tell me it was something posh, a quails egg serving platter, a caviar spoon? I'm going to shift my bones and make today matter. Feeling a bit odd still, my temperature keeps spiking, like a hot flush..... But i think fresh air and fun should work. efc how was the run? Hope its as lovely where you are. small big hugs to you. Be kind to yourself, you have helped us all so much, you are fabulous. Wrestle down that anxiety - would it help to write down what is concerning you? Maybe reading it back will make it less scary, or at least help you to develop a strategy to tackle your feelings. Say a positive affirmation out loud over and over. It works!

ma tell us all about the talent!!

Morning all! Ma. The boiler!! Hurrah!

Small. Look after yourself. Sometimes it helps to think of what you’d say to a good friend who felt as you do; chances are it’ll be wise, kind words.

Sweet. Mixed day indeed. How I hate missing out on something because of hesitation, especially when it feels like the right thing. The rest of your day sounds lovely though. Celebs going about everyday stuff can be an odd one!

Mint fab photo, and wee look after yourself too. Hot lemon and honey!

I’m staring at the ironing pile, planning a walk out and wondering why there never seems enough time in a week.

Morning! On the bus to my 10k and it is freezing!

Had an awful night out last night. Person who was pressuring me to drink got so drunk she was thrown out of the bar, we had to take her home and she vomited all over my car. Huge reminder to me that alcohol and certain people are not needed in my life. I was really enjoying the evening too.

ma made up the boiler is fixed!

Hope everyone is having a peaceful, if cold weekend!