It would probably come as no surprise to any of you that I found myself in somewhat of a fragile state on Wednesday 15th March. I was so glad that I’d said no to the Köyceğiz boat trip with Mark, Kate, Daisy, Phoebe and others today as I would not have made it. I was still lolling about in my dressing gown on the sofa at mid-day! I’d barely got my act together by the time I needed to go to Fat Club. Today we were doing another tasting session where we all had to take something to eat that was syn free. I stupidly decided to make a red and green pepper tortilla without thinking about transporting it there. I ended up being late and having to take it on the chopping board with foil over it. I was so hungover as I stepped on the scales, fully expecting to have put weight on this week. I was surprised to see I had lost 0.4kg (again), I would have to be careful I didn’t put it on next week, though. The taster session was marvellous and, as there wasn’t many of us there, it was just the right amount of food to try. The other ladies’ contributions were fab and I enjoyed all of the dishes, which is rare for me as I’m so fussy with food. There were juicy strawberries, a delicious vegetarian ‘meatloaf’, moreish savoury biscuits, and crunchy crudites with scrumptious hummus. I loved all of it and was happy to get the recipes to try them myself another day. I didn’t have the big bottle of water this time as I was too busy scoffing the healthy treats down but 2 soda waters cost me 50 lira (£2.13), so I won’t be doing that again! I took it easy for the rest of the day and at dinner time I just had a vegetable pasta dish. I then got peckish and ate 3 ginger nut biscuits not realising they were 4 syns each! I’d had an alcohol and meat free day with exercise too so it was a good day overall. This weekend would be tricky, though, as I was planning on being away for a few days.
The one thing about being apart from your partner on Tuesday 14th March is that you don’t have to partake in Steak & Blow Job day – Google it, it’s a thing now! Lucky for me, because I’m rubbish at cooking steak! By the time I’d woke up Captain Caveman had gone back in to the cave but had messaged me at 4.30am (while my phone was on silent) to ask for me to sort out the payment to our new Pool and Garden maintenance company. Finally the other people on the complex had agreed to let Mehmet Kör at Elite take on the task. It was going to cost 50,000 lira (£2,128) for the year plus there was still the matter of getting the communal electric put back on. On another note, my ‘missing’ parents, who had failed to fly home from their holiday had managed to get in touch. They were in a hotel the other side of the world, somewhere, but the suitcases which were elsewhere had Mom’s phone charger in. Luckily it wasn’t much to worry about but it hadn’t stopped my sister and I having a slight panic on! We didn’t even know which hotel they were at, or even which country for definite. Luckily Ma & Pa managed to reassure me a little, while they sipped on the All Inclusive rum punch, that they would be coming home tomorrow. My food choices started out sensible and, as planned, with wholemeal toast, a cheese triangle and a cup of Yorkshire tea for breakfast. I did a 30 minute walk then popped in to Migros where I bought;
Lunch was the remaining chicken casserole and jacket potato (no butter), then some quark with satsumas. I had a red apple with cheese as a snack and, as I had plans for later, I warmed up a piece of nan bread to prepare me. I had to miss Singing Group in the afternoon but I did pop along to meet Mark and Kate at Tez bar where I decided I would pace myself with just a soda water for 20 lira (85p). I dropped off some old clothes and some cushions for Kaye, who was having a sale for the Earthquake charity this weekend. Daisy’s friend, Phoebe, had arrived and, after Daisy had finished work, we were all going to meet her for a night out. With it being winter, there were still only a few bars open but we decided to meet at Mustang bar. Mark and Kate agreed to come for one but then were going home as Mark was fancying a bit of scampi for dinner. The owner, Salih, let me try the wine, as I’d not been a fan of it last time but it was good tonight. Well, it must have been pretty good as I managed to have 5 red wines, a tequila, some of Daisy’s chips and the free popcorn! There was a cute resident cat who liked to get some attention. Mark and Kate ended up staying for a couple and left around 9.30pm, I got a lift with Mark on the mobility wagon to the bank so we could get more cash out. We had a right old laugh, but once Daisy had split her pants dancing, and Phoebe had started doing some sort of sexy dance, it was time for me to go home! I was home around midnight which wasn’t bad for someone who’s meant to be on a diet! Tomorrow’s weigh-in at Fat Club could be interesting; I’d had more alcohol this week but overall less total syns and a 5th of the sweet stuff compared to the previous week. I’d had exercise on all 7 days and 3 no meat days but would it be enough to still get a loss on Carol’s scales!?
Despite the weather forecasting that we were going to encounter quite a few days of rain, it seemed to be quite the opposite on Monday 13th March. Captain Caveman and my friend, Kat, sent me a photo of them in Coffee Station, Phong Nha, and they both looked like they were wearing warmer clothes than I needed in Dalyan. I got some Yorkshire puddings out of the freezer so that I could have them for dinner later then I had a nice walk around Dalyan, including a trip to the supermarket. I saw Gay Gaz and Roy having a beer at Ela’s Kitchen and politely declined joining them. It was tempting to give in to sitting in the sun with a cold one, and then end up having more than one and a possibility of ordering a sausage sandwich or something similarly synful. I excused myself that I needed to keep walking to get my steps in and buy fruit. As I’d not been to the weekly market on Saturday, I was short of a few things, here’s what I bought:
Bim Supermarket 2 red apples 4.79 2 grapefruits 7.55 2 onions 9.92 400g wholemeal bread 10.00 Sugar Free lemon drink 16.75 1 bag frozen green beans 19.75 2 fruit flavoured Quark 23.00
Total spent 91.76 lira (£3.90)
I was feeling quite pleased with myself for still being within my budget and not buying anything over £1 per item. After walking for almost 2 hours, I went home and had to get some less wintery clothes on after sitting on the balcony for the first time this year. I had something different for my breakfast today; a red apple and some Turkish cheese, with a Yorkshire tea, of course. Lunch was a generous portion of the chicken, aubergine, cauliflower and lentil curry which I had with steamed veggie rice to give me extra vegetables. I sat on the balcony a bit more and had to get the Factor 50 Aussie sun cream out as it was a real suntrap. I joined Jamie for a short dog walk but we resisted going for an alcoholic beverage. Once the sun went in, I put my winter clothes back on and reheated the chicken casserole and Yorkshire puddings. I chopped up the left over jacket potato in to chunks and recooked them in the oven, without oil. It was a really nice dinner and I enjoyed the healthy ‘roast’ potatoes. I made it my 2nd day of not drinking any alcohol this week as I’d only got until Wednesday to make a difference on the weight loss. Tomorrow, though, I had exciting plans!
I was starting to really like feeling fresh on a weekend after not having boozy nights out. Saturday 11th March was one of those times, which was lucky as I was off for a bit of house and dog sitting for Jamie. He and Drew were off for a cheeky night away in Fethiye. I had a banana and a linden tea then popped over to Jamie’s with my overnight bag. Norman and Edna were of course pleased to see me but they were both still a bit snoozy. The weather wasn’t good and the dogs weren’t too bothered about going out in the rain. This was good news because we were waiting for a delivery to arrive any time from 10am. I had taken over some chicken, aubergine, cauliflower and lentil curry to have for lunch and I had a treat of some nan bread to go with it. It tasted really nice and was very healthy too. I took all the ingredients to make a chicken casserole, which I did ready for dinner, with jacket potatoes. I made enough to have some another day while I had the oven on. My dinner was nice, I resisted any wine but did have cheese on toast for a snack before bed. I still had 3 days left until Fat Club but had already consumed my weekly syn allowance – I hoped a bit of dog walking would help.
There was no chance of sleeping in on Sunday 12th March. Norman and Edna were awake at 7.20am and Norman was particularly wriggly. We went downstairs for pees and poos (the dogs, not me) then I made a cup of tea. It was raining out so I didn’t take it back to bed on account of the dogs now being a little damp. The weather forecast showed it was due to rain for the next 5 days. I had strawberries, banana, fat free yoghurt and honey for breakfast with a linden tea. Norman and Edna got lots of sofa cuddles while watching TV and I didn’t even get dressed until gone 11am. The dogs looked tired and were reluctant to go for their walkies because of the rain. When we did go walking we found ourselves caught in a heavy rain shower. Norman wasn’t too bothered by it but I could sense Edna was all ready to complain to Jamie about the state of her curly ears! I got towels and dried them both but Edna did look kind of bedraggled. I gave them a treat for being good in the rain and we watched a bit of TV. I’d just warmed up a jacket potato for my lunch when Jamie and Drew arrived back. They had really enjoyed their break away too and they filled me in on their evening shenanigans. I ate my lunch while Jamie told me they had found a lovely Gay Bar in Fethiye and when I asked where it was they told me it was the Deep Blue Bar! Well, this was our favourite haunt in Fethiye where the Deep Blue Leg-ends group was formed. I was looking forward to letting fellow members Steve, Michelle, Vanessa, Matt, Mark, Kate, Ma & Pa know about it now being a Gay Bar! I packed up all my stuff and went back home, the rain wasn’t too bad and I noticed there was going to be a new fish market in the square, opposite the shoe man. It was a bit chilly back at our apartment as I started making a vegan lasagne with the left over vegan bolognese – it’s surprising how far lentils go! I also put the leftover chicken casserole in the fridge and would have it another day. The lasagne looked shoddy but it tasted really good and was filling. I was really pleased to have had a super healthy weekend and today I’d only used 1 syn for honey. Before bed, I decided to do a quick recky of where I was with my March budget so far this month. I was feeling proud of myself for having a whole weekend where I had not spent any money whatsoever. In these 12 days I’d set myself a tough target but I was so chuffed to be 297.29 lira (£12.65) under budget. I just hoped I could maintain this level of frugality and still enjoy the challenge, as I had been doing. For doing so well, I decided I was going to allow myself to spend money on something I really wanted next week, a luxury! I was so wrapped up in my frugal and healthy goings on that I almost didn’t notice that my parents had not returned from their holiday, as they should have, today!
It was proving somewhat difficult to stick to the budget, more so than the diet it seemed. On Thursday 9th March I had a healthy breakfast of strawberries, banana and pineapple with a Yorkshire tea. I’d been invited on a walking tour with a friend and it did sound lovely but at 350 lira (£15.20) for a morning, I couldn’t justify it. Instead, I agreed to meet her at Ela’s Kitchen around 1pm when she got back from the trip. I usually have a full English breakfast there because it is so good but I’d decided to be good. I’d already asked for advice in our Fat Club group for ideas of what I could eat for lunch that would be within plan. When my friend arrived we ordered the same; jacket potato with cheese and beans. It was massive, came with a huge salad and, because I’m fussy, I had my beans on the side and no butter. A lunch that was Slimming World friendly and so good too but I could hardly eat it all. After a long and lovely catch up I went back home to meet a new friend. It was perching on to the gate and I wasn’t sure what species he was but he wasn’t wanting to move. Later that afternoon, I joined Jamie and Drew for a couple of glasses of wine at Lukka bar, and I had 1 glass at home. For dinner I had more vegan bolognese and some fruit then an early night. I’d spent over budget but I knew I’d be staying in over the next couple of days.
There was snow in England on Friday 10th March so I woke up to see a few photos on Facebook of the weather. Here, in Dalyan, the weather was fine and I had a quiet weekend planned. I had a banana and some Linden tea for breakfast, the 2 together seem to prevent stomach issues. For lunch I had one of my favourites, beans on toast and thoroughly enjoyed it. In the afternoon I’d agreed to help Kate set up her art at Heybe’s, ready for tomorrow’s event. When I got there the smell of cat pee was very overpowering and some of the artists seemed tense. I just set up some stuff on a table, made price tags and wrote all the items and prices on a list. I was getting a headache from the strong smell so I was glad to be finished. For dinner I made a lovely Slimming World creamy leek chicken with parmesan and it turned out so tasty. I had strawberries, pineapple, low fat yoghurt and half a teaspoon of honey for a dessert. I was pleased to have stuck to plan, I’d spent no money today and treated myself to 2 glasses of red wine at home.
Weigh-in day and Fat Club seems to come round rather fast. Wednesday 8th March had me on the home scales as soon as I woke up and I was 0.4kg lighter than last week. I had been awake most of the night, had a dodgy stomach and my eczema had flared up again. Of course, Carol’s scales are slightly different and I still had to get to 3pm. I took my measurements to find that my bust had remained the same but my waist and hips were 1cm less. I just had strawberries for breakfast with a cup of Yorkshire tea. It was John’s birthday today and Andrea had organised a surprise trip to Fethiye to go bowling. I’d said I was going and we were getting the bus at 10.30am, I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to go as my stomach was still a bit iffy. Coincidentally, I got a message from Leanne at King Emlak who needed the Aussie’s keys from me and was popping over. I’d already had lunch by the time she arrived, later than planned. I’d added mushrooms to the vegan bolognese which I had with pasta. I found out 2 bras that were now too big for me to give to someone who had said they needed them. I wrapped them up and popped them in a gift bag, then dropped them at Tez bar, so they could be picked up later. At Fat Club I had actually lost another 0.4kg (0.8lb) and although it’s not very much, it was still another loss. This meant I’d now lost a total of 4.8kg (almost 11lb). I was pleased with that but I really needed to do better if I was going to be skinny in time for boat trips this season! It was also less than 10 weeks until I was due back in Vietnam and I wanted to be the same weight I was when I left there. On the way home, I popped to the shops. Here’s what I bought which took me over today’s budget;
Migros Supermarket Plastic bag 0.25 Pasta (macaroni) 7.90 Pasta (rigatoni) 10.90 Cotton buds 11.00 Pineapple Quark 14.95 Blackcurrant Quark 14.95 Paprika 16.73 Skimmed milk 17.50 Linden Tea 19.50 3 Plain Quark 44.85 1.1kg chicken 105.26 Total spent 263.79 lira (£11.23)
I had a snack of beans on toast when I got in because I was peckish and didn’t want to eat anything naughty. Andrea had messaged to say they would be in Waterfall after getting back from Fethiye but I still wasn’t feeling like going out. I was doing so well on the diet, not too bad on the budget and I knew I’d regret it if I blew both. I decided to stay in and have more vegan bolognese, with cheese. I treated myself to 15 syns worth of birthday red wine and had more cheese with pickled onions and some lemon drizzle cake. My stomach was back to normal now but I still felt really tired and lethargic.
Monday 6th March was quite a healthy day. Before Captain Caveman had left Dalyan, he had put some chicken livers in to the freezer and I was conscious that I hadn’t yet used them. So my attempt at a chicken liver slow cooker curry became a thing. I put the defrosted livers in to a bowl of milk to soak for a bit, this takes away any taste of iron or blood. For breakfast I had wholemeal toast with a cheese triangle and a cup of Yorkshire tea. For lunch I had one of my favourite treats; Slimming World style potato wedges with a third of a tin of Heinz baked beans. I had only just discovered that baked beans were allowed on Slimming World and that made me very happy. They are quite pricey so I tend to just use a third of a tin as a portion and add a drop of milk to make them a bit more runny. Before dinner I went to the shops to buy some food and here’s the items I bought, with prices in lira;
Although chicken liver curry wouldn’t have been my first choice of meal, it was quite enjoyable with some bulgur wheat and it was diet friendly.
It was quite a disappointing day food-wise on Tuesday 7th March. There was no electricity in the morning so I couldn’t have my Yorkshire tea. For breakfast I had just had a few pieces of fresh pineapple. I’d had to make do with fresh bread and a banana for lunch but the power came back on just before I needed to leave for Singing Group. There was a bit of tension between a couple of the old dears at Singing today, but apologies were made after snappy comments. Is it wrong that I enjoy the comedy gold of the participants’ interactions more than the actual singing? I treated myself to a cup of tea from the Merhaba Cafe but managed to resist the cakes. I must be losing weight because Madge spoke to me but didn’t ask about me being pregnant, this week! After singing, Kate and I cycled to Shiela’s for our first wine making lesson. With wine prices ever increasing we thought it would be a good time to start making our own. Sheila had very kindly given us some equipment to get us started. I’d, at first, suggested keeping the fermenting bottles at mine, away from cats! However, I was hoping to go to Vietnam, so Kate was going to have it at their place, but keep it away from the cats! Sheila gave us great instructions and also a couple of samples to try out. I was tiddly by the time we stepped back outside of Shiela’s gorgeous villa. There were some goats which were friendly so I took some photos before Kate and I cycled off to meet Mark at Tez bar. Once there, we joined Debbie (Darling), Roy, Ali, Kev, John & Andrea and had a good old laugh. I allowed myself 1 glass of red wine which is 80 lira (£3.50), and couldn’t resist the crisps which Debbie (Darling) had popped on the table. When the strawberry man came round, loads of us bought some. As Kate and I already had some at home, we shared a punnet for 25 lira (£1.09) each. Back indoors, it does get nippy once the sun goes in, I had a cheese sandwich for dinner and some strawberries. It was Fat Club tomorrow and I wasn’t convinced I would have lost weight. I’d had almost double the weekly allowance of syns but only 52 of them were alcohol. I had 2 meat free days, 5 days of exercise but only 1 day without any alcohol.
Captain Caveman was back in Son Doong on Sunday 5th March, it was 7 years today since I did the cave trip with him! Here in Dalyan, the weather was meant to be terrible today but it wasn’t actually raining (yet). I had my cup of Yorkshire tea and strawberries with Quark for breakfast. I was also planning ahead because I’d been invited for Sunday dinner with Jamie and Drew at their villa later. Thoughtfully, they had even checked if I still wanted to have roast potatoes and Yorkshire pudding due to me ‘being good’ and I obviously said that I did. I was still on half as many syns than I used to be so I figured I’d chance it. I did say I wouldn’t be joining them in drinking wine though – that would test the willpower. For lunch I had the vegan spaghetti bolognese which I was really into now, but no parmesan as I was hoping for cauliflower and broccoli cheese at Jamie’s. Just as it was time to get ready to go out the torrential rain came, Jamie offered to come and get me in the car but I borrowed Captain Caveman’s waterproof rain jacket and walked over there. I had a couple of gin and sodas but resisted wine. Jamie had been busy decorating ‘my’ bedroom and so I went to have a look. If he’d asked me my opinion on the colours pink and grey, before he started, it wouldn’t have been my thing, but it did look very nice. The Sunday dinner was devine. The starter was a really healthy soup made from broccoli, cauliflower, potato, onion, garlic and was well seasoned. For main we had chicken, the skin removed and waiting for Norman and Edna to get their chops round. I had 3 roast potatoes, 1 Yorkshire pudding, a big spoonful of cauliflower and broccoli cheese and a good portion of carrots. I really enjoyed it and we had a good laugh. Drew got rather tipsy and ended up going out to the the corner shop for more wine in his slippers, in the rain! I came home at a reasonable hour and had an early night. I’d also managed to have a really lovely Sunday, only drinking 2 gin and soda waters.
As I’d limited my alcohol consumption to just 2 red wines the previous evening, I was feeling rather fresh when I woke up on Saturday 4th March. I drew out some cash at the bank so that I could get some provisions at the weekly market and I was there nice and early this week. I spent just 137.50 lira (£5.82) on red cabbage, leeks, carrots, peppers, aubergines and strawberries. I also picked up some stuff for Kate and gave a strawberry each to 2 Turkish ladies who I thought might have come from the earthquake area. They were so happy and we exchanged pleasantries, in Turkish. On the way back through town, I saw a lovely horse then I bought reusable cartons for batch cooking from the Millennium shop at 25 lira for 15. I’d held off buying more 4G data for my phone but the rainy weather was forecast for tomorrow and may mean the home internet would be cut off. It cost 115 lira (£4.86) for 5GB. I noticed that Queen Accommodation Services had put up new signs on the apartments that were being rented out on our complex and they looked snazzy. I had the Slimming World tomato soup with cheese on toast for lunch and it was really good. In the afternoon I’d agreed to help Kate so I walked over to their’s. I noticed the newly resurfaced road going out towards their villa with lots of big trucks driving down it. The goats weren’t too happy about the noise or the dust that the big wagons were causing. Mark had already gone to Lukka bar to play pool while Kate and I made jewellery for her forthcoming arts event at Heybe. Kate made cheese and potato ‘sausage’ rolls so we had one before walking in to town to meet Mark. At Lukka I was surprised to see there was only Mark, Jackie and Chris left from the pool group and even more surprising was that Mark was drinking Guinness. Some of the pool lads don’t go to Lukka bar because the beers are 2 lira (8p) more there, than at Rehab bar (I’m not joking)! The Guinness was 80 lira (£3.39) and I’d not realised they did it, it was cheaper than a glass of wine so I had that too. A lady who we call Calamari came to join us and we got chatting. Back home I had the SW tomato soup as a makeshift vegan bolognese with some pasta and a sprinkle of parmesan. It was delicious.
Friday 3rd March was not as healthy or budget friendly as it should’ve been. I started well with 2 slices of wholemeal toast and a cheese triangle, washed down with Yorkshire tea, for breakfast. I got confirmation that our Aussie friends and Dalyan neighbours, Amanda & Greg, were going to be in Dalyan from the 26th March to the 2nd April. It would be over 4 months since they’d last been here and I was looking forward to seeing them again. I tried making my own Slimming World friendly tomato based soup/vegan sauce in the slow cooker and it smelled amazing. For lunch I had a fajita wrap then some falafel with steamed rice, tahini, carrots, radishes and pickled onions. Our Turkish class was cancelled that afternoon because our teacher was on holiday for a couple of weeks. In the afternoon I was on to the bank trying to sort out the issue of them continuing to charge me £13 per month fee for an account I had not used in over a year and was getting nowhere on resolving the issue or stopping it from reoccurring. I logged an official complaint and was only just off the phone almost 2 hours later! I’d promised Jamie I would join him, Drew, the Beverley sisters and some of their friends for Lukka bar music bingo and I was looking forward to it. I managed to make 2 wines last all night but I did treat myself to sweet and sour chicken which was so nice. Both Jamie and Drew had chicken shish for their meal, the Beverley sisters didn’t eat and their friends, Angela and Neil, had burgers. The food was great, the music was fun but we only did one round and it was the 80s. The company was top notch and I had a really great night, singing away to some of my favourite songs and making new friends. After, we played pool but by 10.30pm I was knackered, so was Jamie. This going out drinking and enjoying ourselves so much on a weekend had taken its toll and we said goodnight. My total bill had been 420 lira (£17.75) which was obviously over my budget but I would cut back on the following days to compensate.
On Thursday 2nd March I had cornflakes and the usual cuppa for breakfast then got the slow cooker out to try a new Slimming World meal. I was going to give the chicken fajitas a whirl so I chopped all the ingredients and chucked it in. I met Jamie for a beverage in Jiks where I had 2 teas and he had 2 coffees, at a reasonable 100 lira (£4.21). Next I went over to the stationer’s where I got 10 photocopies of the weekly meal plans for 15 lira (63p). I called in to Şok Supermarket, as I was out of rice, and bought 1kg for 29.50 lira (£1.24). Back home I used up fresh bread to make a kind of veggie pizza and had it with another cup of tea. I got a message from Gay Gaz to say he’d managed to get his Turkish residency renewal at the 11th hour and we joked about what ‘favours’ he’d had to do to get that. Residency renewal criteria was getting more strict and, although mine wasn’t due until October, I was already preparing for what may be required. My chicken fajitas were coming on a treat and I was looking forward to trying them when Kate messaged to invite me to Tez bar for a drink. I declined as I really was trying to be good and stick to my budget and my diet plan. I had some white wine left in the fridge anyway so I decided to measure it out and have some using my syn allowance. Unfortunately, it tasted terrible and I ended up throwing it away (surely that’s a first)! The food was really nice and I had some left for another day. After dinner I got my first message from my parents, who had now been on holiday for 5 days. They were having a great time and loving being somewhere sunny again. I’d spent a total of 144.50 lira (£6.79) today, about the same as yesterday, and I was within the budget. This weekend would be a big test of whether I could stick to it, though.
Rather than get stressed about lack of money in March, I decided that I would focus on a plan to get through the month. I knew I’d be ok but I just had to be really careful and I had worked out a strict budget until I was back working again. From today, Wednesday 1st March, I would only allow myself to spend a certain amount each day. I was attempting to live on 40% less than Turkey’s minimum wage for this month and I was ready for the challenge! I had wholemeal toast with cream cheese and a cup of Yorkshire tea for breakfast, then I got on the scales at home. I was the same as last week, but Carol’s scales at Fat Club would, once again, be the judge at 3pm. I took my measurements and they didn’t look too peachy either; Bust +1cm, Waist no change, Hips +1cm, Right thigh +1.5cm, Left thigh +0.5cm, Calves no change. An art auction was taking place later this month to raise money for the earthquake survivors so I unpacked some artwork I had. I’d brought 4 Egyptian fine art prints, by David Roberts, over a few years ago but had never put them on the walls, mainly because I don’t have any walls to put them on. I decided I might be able to sell them at the event but when I looked at the value they were worth over £1,000! Kate suggested getting in touch with 2 of the well known art dealers in town, which I did, thinking if I could sell them I could give half to the earthquake fund and keep half for myself. Unfortunately, they were a bit niche for potential Dalyan customers and I didn’t get anywhere with it. Kate kindly offered to transport them back to the UK but it seemed another waste of money, I would bide my time, and be on the look out for someone who appreciates Egyptian fine art. At lunch time I got a welcome surprise, I’d received some money that I’d been owed. I didn’t even eat lunch as I went straight to the bank to take out some cash. At Fat Club it was a really hot day and there was plenty of us at the group today, which was nice. Carol gave us all a bit of a refresher on what the allowances were and how to calculate our syns. I was gobsmacked to find I had not known we could have 2 lots of Healthy A options which is calcium. Since I’d done Slimming World before, the allowance had doubled and I had not realised this – I was so happy about being allowed double the amount of cheese! I got weighed and was relieved to find that I had lost 0.3kg (0.7lb). I was still a little disappointed, though, as I’d only consumed 160 syns this week, of which 61 were alcohol. I’d had 6 days of zero alcohol, 6 days of exercise and 2 meat free days, in fact this was one of my most sensible weeks so far. Carol and the rest of the group were very encouraging and made sure I was still focused on the goal, a loss was a loss and I wasn’t to get too discouraged. One of the ladies had the same happen to her and we thought it might be that my body was getting used to the food I was eating. I drank a 1.5 litre bottle of water for the hour that I was at Nil Lounge hoping to keep my water intake up as much as possible. This week I would try my best to eat well and have lots of fruit and vegetables. After Fat Club, I walked with Andrea and Kate to Rehab bar where I treated myself to 1 beer – my first in 11 days. We had a laugh with the pool group and then Jamie came to pick me up on Derek the scooter. We’d decided to pop to Lukka bar for a bit and I got dropped off at the Turtle Roundabout. I was walking over to Lukka bar when I saw Charlie, the dog, he was walking with Gill, he saw me and went berserk. We stopped traffic and he nearly knocked my glasses off with all the kisses he wanted to give me. It was emotional and it was so lovely to see him still remember me. At Lukka I had 3 soda waters and Jamie asked me if I would come to the music bingo night on Friday. We booked in to join the Beverley Sisters and their friends, plus Drew would be back in Dalyan then so it was a good excuse for a night out. That evening I had a gorgeous dinner; chicken, carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, roast potatoes, stuffing and Yorkshire puddings. I even had some of Kate’s lemon drizzle cake for afters. I was pleased to have been out but still kept within my budget today, I’d spent a total of 144 lira (£6).
Jamie picked me up at 11am on Sunday 26th February and we took Norman and Edna for a walk on Iztuzu beach. It was nice weather and we had a lovely walk and a chat while trying to find some sticks for Edna to fetch, they were a bit sparse today though. I left my phone in my bag in the car so I didn’t take any photos, instead I focused on the positive aspects of my Sunday; getting 90 minutes of good exercise at the beach, having day 4 of no alcohol and day 2 of no meat for this week. Back in town, I called at Migros to buy more pasta and Gluten Free wraps which came to a total of 50.40 lira (£2.14) then went home for brunch. I made a makeshift pizza with the rest of the fresh bread from yesterday, then had strawberries with quark and crushed ginger biscuit. I found more positivity in the Fat Club group chat where I borrowed a Slimming World Mac n Cheese recipe to cook for dinner. Carol suggested adding extra spring onions in, which I did, and it was very tasty. I sliced up some radishes and had a couple as a snack later on.
On Monday 27th February I decided to set up a new bank account, as the one I had in the UK had been left unused for over a year and had been taking a monthly fee out of £13 per month which I hadn’t realised. I decided to put in a complaint to the bank, surely they should only be charging the fee when I’m using the account! I had cornflakes for breakfast with strawberries and a cup of Yorkshire tea. I decided I would try out another slow cooker recipe today of fried rice and it would be my first time cooking it this way. My Decluttering Bootcamp had come in handy and my towels, utility and linen cupboards were looking smashing. For lunch I had the left over healthy Mac n Cheese, then some extra cheese and membrillo. Although it was my 5th day of no alcohol this week, I didn’t manage to do any exercise and the experimental slow cooker fried rice was not as good as doing it in a frying pan. Still, I’d made loads so I ate some and froze the rest.
I was up early on Tuesday 28th February and was aware that the internet was due to expire at any time today. I had the usual cup of tea and a bowl of cornflakes for breakfast but I had only just realised that cornflakes were not allowed as part of the Slimming World plan as a Healthy B option, and that I should have been using syns for these. If only I’d bought bran flakes or Special K instead, they would have been allowed. Now I had a massive bag of cornflakes and I wasn’t about to waste them. I took a walk to Captainnet and paid 400 lira (£16.92) for 2 months of internet. The lady in the shop said I could pay in advance to secure the rest of the year at the same price but I still wasn’t sure which months I wouldn’t be here for. Already, in Dalyan, there were more price increases and if I wanted to eat or drink out I was going to have to budget very wisely. A lot of venues would be reopening in March and April and were putting out their new price lists ready for the start of tourist season. For lunch I had a gluten free wrap pizza with green peppers, mushrooms, sweetcorn and cheddar cheese sprinkled on. I had strawberries and quark for afters and I was feeling optimistic for weigh day tomorrow at Fat Club. I had also managed 6 days this week without alcohol, 6 days of exercise and 2 days of no meat. In the afternoon I had another walk and called at the pharmacy to pick up 3 more months worth of contraceptive pills. It came to 470 lira (£19.88) but confused me because the total wasn’t even divisible by 3. I bought a small wholemeal sliced loaf at Bim supermarket (11.50 lira which is less than 50p) as it’s better for me, and I didn’t even look for any chocolate treats. On the way past the butcher’s I could not resist and bought a whole cooked chicken for 100 lira (£4.23). I bought fresh bread at 5 lira (21p) and called in to the corner shop for another filtered water which is 30 lira (£1.27) for 19 litres. You can drink the tap water safely here but I prefer to use the filtered water cooler because my stomach isn’t used to the high mineral content and I prefer to have less scum on top of my hot drinks. I had the most tastiest dinner of the freshly cooked chicken, red and green peppers, carrots, spring onion, radishes and bread with Becel spread on. At 8.30pm I had an overdue video call with Vanessa, she’d been having a busy week in England and we hadn’t even caught up on our Turkish homework. We had a good chat for a while with lots of news to tell each other about. When I came off the phone I realised I’d eaten a small jar of radishes, which I’d absentmindedly been shoving in my mouth.
I felt very rough on Saturday 25th February as I got up to see what carnage remained in the kitchen. I had leftover curry with rice and the forgotten nan bread for breakfast, washed down with an orange juice and soda water and a cup of Yorkshire tea. I really needed to get to the market before it closed but I was feeling so fragile that I just couldn’t. I was meant to be meeting Debbie (Darling) for an afternoon drink but seeing as her Slippery Nipples were my downfall last night, I thought it would be wise to stay home instead. Around 3pm I pulled a bit of energy from somewhere and got to the market. I had a few things on my list but, after buying some strawberries for 50 lira (£2.13), I had an urgent need to get back home for a lay down. I called in to Migros on my way back to buy cornflakes and Quark which came to 51.40 lira (£2.19) and was a bit of a blur. As I came out of the supermarket Debbie (Darling) shouted me and was sat in Jiks with Brian and Ann. I was in no state to stand around watching people drink wine so I said to Debbie I wasn’t coming back out or joining them but would be on Jamie’s alcohol free night out later if she wanted to come along. Debbie (Darling) was so drunk yesterday that she didn’t recall seeing me, Jamie or Mark. I proved she had, by telling her we had restored all her lost photos on her phone and, when she checked, she was genuinely surprised. Back home, I ate strawberries for lunch, had a nap and a shower then had chicken, Turkish sausage and vegetable pasta for dinner before getting ready for another night out. This time, it was a pool night with Jamie and the Beverley sisters, which is always good fun. Both Jamie and I were on water and managed to enjoy a really lovely, civilised and sober evening. I went home just before 10.30pm and Jamie walked home past a rather lively Tez bar. I got an invite to go to Sofra bar but I declined, I was quite tired and sober on a Saturday night – it felt good!
I treated myself on Friday 24th February to a teaspoon of honey on my strawberries, pineapple and quark for breakfast – well it was a Friday! I put all the ingredients for a chicken, pumpkin and lentil curry in the slow cooker and had left over sweet and sour chicken with noodles for lunch. I decided to have Gorgonzola cheese with walnuts for a dessert and then got ready for my Turkish class at Lukka bar that afternoon. We had a good class and I was enjoying learning more sentences that might come in handy. After the class, Mark came to meet me for a drink where I decided, as it was the weekend, I would have a glass of red wine. After one at Lukka we went to Tez bar and I had a second red wine while sat in the sun. Jamie and I had arranged to do the dog walk along the river then pop in to Waterfall bar so I left Mark with some other Tez-pats. On the walk through town Jamie and I saw Debbie (Darling), Gill and Nikki having an afternoon drink in Sofra bar and said we might pop back later, without the dogs. We also saw Jackie and Chris in there and had a nice chat, Norman and Edna fancied a beverage and didn’t understand why they couldn’t go in. After dropping off the dogs at home, Jamie and I left Waterfall and popped in to Sofra to join Debbie (Darling) and her mates. Jamie stuck to coffee but I had another red wine before Mark, on his way from Tez bar, called in. Jamie and I had anticipated Mark would not be going home yet so Jamie had brought out the dog lead. Now Mark could be kept under control while Kate worried about him from Bristol. Debbie (Darling) had an alternative solution to destressing; a round of Slippery Nipples were ordered and the necking of them insisted on! Jackie and Chris joined us, they were more sensible and stuck to vodka or wine rather than silly shots. I knew I couldn’t stay out late as I had the curry in the slow cooker so, when Jamie went home for dinner I made the next Slippery Nipple my last. Debbie (Darling) kindly paid for the shots and then she headed home while Mark, Gill and Nikki headed to Rodrigo’s. I decided that I wouldn’t manage all of the chicken and pumpkin curry to myself so I invited Jackie and Chris round to help me eat it. On the way to mine, Chris bought white wine for Jackie to drink but he and I decided to open the Finnish vodka. I made some rice in the rice cooker and I kept forgetting I had defrosted a nan bread. The curry was a little over done as it had been on for a while but it tasted ok and we all enjoyed the night. I didn’t even realise that I could still get music on my TV until Chris sorted it out.
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