Dalyan – 1st March

Sam and Paul, at Resort Experts made the Travel Weekly news and we were all congratulating them on Saturday 1st March. They, along with the developer, had created the Quoteaway quoting tool which we had been the testers and early adopters of. I loved it as it made our jobs easier and quicker when looking at package holidays. I also saw a post from a friend in America about how to support friends with small businesses which I thought was great. It was something I tried to do wherever possible to help promote others and now that it also applied to me, I was even keener to do so, as I knew how much it meant. I had reached 250 followers on my Resort Experts business page which, if I’m honest, I had hoped it would be more. I decided that this month I should maybe get back on to using Instagram as I knew it had become popular again in recent years. I did know that this month was going to be Money Minded March and I was going to up my game and get focused. Having worked out how I had done against my £400 budget, I was very pleased with myself for coming in at £350, including all bills and paying off my credit card in full. I decided I would increase the budget this month to £500 but that was only because I knew I was going to need to spend more this month, it had 3 more days in and Captain Caveman was due back to Dalyan at the end of March. I also had my residency renewal application to pay for.
I had tea and toast for breakfast on what started out as a cold, misty and damp morning – the dogs were not impressed. After transferring Captain Caveman’s money from my Wise to my Turkish account, knowing I could now get the print outs on Monday to apply for my residency renewal, I could stress less. I still wanted to keep motivated to earn enough to save money to cover expenses, plus have a few more trips once the holiday season started and I had finished with my residency renewal process. I worked all morning and then had leftover chicken with some pineapple and quark – a little unconventional but I was aware I had to reduce the amount of bread I was eating. Norman and Edna were a bit bored but by the afternoon the sun came out and we had a walk. I was too busy with enquiries to go to the weekly market this week. I didn’t really need to go but I do enjoy a wander round it.

After the dog walk in the sun, on Saturday 1st March, I arranged to catch up with friends at Mono & More cafe. Neither of us took the dogs as we thought it might be busy as it had turned in to a sunny afternoon. I’d been looking forward to a wine since Wednesday and I also tried a bit of my friend’s carrot cake – it was really lovely. I ordered a red wine and ended up having a couple for just 250 lira (£5.45) which was an absolute bargain.
As the sun went in we decided to move to Ozzy’s bar – the wine there was 160 lira (£3.49) for a glass which, although more expensive, still wasn’t unreasonable and it was a good measure. Unfortunately, we had to move seats because of expats smoking in there and I almost needed to use my inhaler as I couldn’t breathe. I went a bit mad and ended up spending 640 lira (£13.94) but it had a been the first time in ages I’d been out out. We said our farewells as I had to get back for the dogs and I remembered I hadn’t got anything prepared for dinner. I decided I would treat myself to a chicken kebab at Hatay Kebabs on the way home. Captain Caveman and I have always loved the food there and I had already blown the healthy eating plan today.
I got it to take away and the dogs were reluctant to go outside as they could smell the kebab and wanted some. I had ordered it without sauce or chillies and, when I ate it, it tasted really good. I went to bed looking forward to a leisurely Sunday and a causal meet up for a stroll with friends.

Gratitude List
1. Having the afternoon off work
2. Having enough cash to be able to afford some treats, having come in under budget for February
3. Going out for drinks with friends.