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.
I was awake for sunrise on Thursday 23rd February and got up early for my cup of Yorkshire tea. I decided that since I’d had zero syns on weigh day, yesterday, I was also going to be good today. I’d done a meal plan but instead of it being for the week, I had just done it up to Saturday. This is because I would buy what was on offer at the market and plan the rest of my meals around that. For breakfast I had a banana, strawberries, pineapple and quark. Debbie (Darling) messaged me to ask if I fancied joining her and Sue after their Turkish class this afternoon and I did, as I’d not seen either of them for ages. I had my lunch first which was a bit of an eclectic mix; radishes, carrots, stuffed vine leaves, roasted pumpkin and potato wedges. I met Debbie (Darling) and Sue outside Lukka bar, where they were having a beverage. Katrina was getting ready to open up the Maizie Moo shop for the season and she gave me my dogsitting money, which was nice. It would have been easy for me then to spend that money on having an alcoholic beverage but I resisted. We wandered over to Tez bar where I just had a soda water with ice. After saying hello to Angela and chatting briefly to Gary about residency renewals, it was time for me to go. At 5pm I walked to meet Jamie, we had arranged to set off on a dog walk from Mosque Square then call in to Waterfall bar. Again, I was good and had just 2 sodas, Jamie had coffees. On my way home, I decided to treat myself at the Şarküteri where I bought the following; 1 tin Heinz baked beans 35.00 BBQ sauce 45.00 Gluten free soy sauce 50.00 1 tin Coconut milk 55.00 Total spent 185.00 lira (£8.20)
It’s expensive to buy imported food here but I’d decided that I really wanted those items and had only spent just over the equivalent of a bottle of wine from the off-licence. When I got home I made more of my fake takeaway, sweet and sour chicken, which I had with egg noodles and loved every mouthful. I had a video call with my parents, the last for a while as they were off on holiday, then I did another Decluttering Bootcamp challenge at 10pm. I was starting to see some areas I could make some small changes and improvements, which was really good.
When I got up on Wednesday 22nd February I was a bit fragile, I’d gone to bed about 3am when I had woke up a bit chilly on Mark and Kate’s sofa. Mark was already up and about, had fed the cats and was cleaning the kitchen cupboard fronts when I emerged. I got a cup of tea and a little later I decided to walk home. I got a few hundred metres when Tayfur showed up on his new motorbike and gave me a lift to Rehab bar – it was very whizzy. On the way home I called at the pharmacy where I got another box of pills for 150 lira (£6.44) and some imodium for 20 lira (86p). Back home I was keen to know my weight, I got on the scales and had lost a little bit but Carol’s scales would be the true test. I did my measurements and they were pretty good; Bust -2cm, Waist and hips no change, Right thigh and calf -0.5cm Left thigh +0.5cm Right calf no change. I had strawberries and a herbal tea for breakfast then went for a walk. I managed to catch up on the 2nd day of the Decluttering Bootcamp where I had a challenge based on some action that I would need to take. For lunch I had more vegetable soup with pasta and then went over to Jamie’s to let Norman and Edna out. Jamie was at an appointment in another town with Nanny Kay so I just spent an hour with the dogs at lunch time. Edna was so excited to see me that she went straight in for cuddles and wanting to sit on my lap, Norman seemed a bit cheesed off that I’d woken him up and he paced about a bit. Edna was wriggling about and when I laughed at her new hair do she was confused, Norman came up on the sofa for snuggles and we tried to get a group selfie. Edna was up for it, once her appearance was sorted, Norman less so. Amazingly, at Fat Club, I had lost 0.7kg (1.5lb) and was happy with that. I had a diet coke there and then walked to Rehab bar for 2 soda waters while chatting to the pool group. I left about 5pm, called to get some bread and, when I got home, I treated myself to a cheese sandwich and some mantı, Turkish ravioli. I waited up until 10pm to do the next decluttering challenge about vision and I did a couple of tasks on the back of it.
I had a banana, Kate’s fruit salad, with added strawberries, pineapple, and quark for breakfast on Tuesday 21st February. I also tried some Linden tea which Jamie had brought me to sooth a bad stomach. It seemed to work and I wasn’t affected by the banana, like before. For lunch I had some healthy bits and pieces in an effort to get a good weigh-in result tomorrow at Fat Club. Kate was off to the UK this afternoon so had asked me and a couple of other friends to ‘look after’ Mark while she was away. Even though it was Pancake Day today, I decided I would have mine tomorrow, after Fat Club. In the afternoon I met up with Jamie, Norman and Edna and we had a dog walk along the river then Edna insisted we call in to the Waterfall bar. She had forgotten that it was a Tuesday and Skippy doesn’t go in on a Tuesday. I had a diet coke and 2 wines, we were joined by John, Andrea and Mark on their way home from Tez bar. Captain Caveman had been at his briefing for his next Son Doong trip but had managed to get a quick call in, which I took outside. We had a rough plan that I would be visiting Phong Nha, as well as having some holidays in both Vietnam and Singapore. I would only stay for 6 weeks which meant I had no visa issues and would be leaving Phong Nha when the weather was unbearable in July and August. Jamie went home to feed the dogs and have his own dinner, John and Andrea said bye too, then Mark and I bought some wine and milk at the shop, got Fikri’s taxi to mine where I picked up a bag. We drove to Mark’s and he fed the cats then reheated us up some leftover Chinese for dinner and opened the wine. The cats that stayed in were super cute and were happy to settle in to their beds for the night. We decided to watch a film, drink wine and later have cheese, chorizo and Ritz crackers. The diet had fallen short again and I’m sure it would mean a bad result tomorrow at Fat Club. It also meant that I had missed day 2 of the Decluttering Bootcamp, luckily I could catch up tomorrow on replay. It was after midnight when Mark went to bed and left me asleep on the recliner sofa, I’d obviously nodded off during the film.
My week started quite positively on Monday 20th February! I confirmed a house and pet sitting job in Rhodes. I checked out some flights and chatted to Captain Caveman about the possibility of going to Vietnam from Athens, in May. For breakfast I just had a cup of Yorkshire tea and some orange juice, left by Kate yesterday. I decided to go out for a walk as I needed to run a few errands and get some exercise in. I called at the stationers to buy a notebook and pencil which cost just 35 lira (£1.50). I went to the pharmacy to buy contraceptive pills and order more, one month’s worth was now 163 lira (£7) and they were in short supply. For lunch I had the rest of the fresh bread with tomato soup and gorgonzola cheese. Today would be a no meat, no alcohol and more exercise kind of a day. In the afternoon I decided to take my Marks and Spencer black boots to the cobbler as one of them had a cut in the rubber soul. I went for a walk around Gülpınar, checked on my parents’ place and then walked the long way back after about an hour. The boots had been repaired at a cost of 280 lira (£12) which was quite an unexpected expense but cheaper than buying a new pair. Rain was forecast later in the month so I needed these or to buy some wellies. I had a banana for a snack then had a bad stomach again – I don’t even like bananas. For dinner I had left over leek and potato soup from Jamie and I added some cooked pasta to make it even more filling. Around 6pm Jamie popped round, with Norman and Edna, as he was passing on his evening dog walk. The dogs were really excited to visit and were so happy to see me and be allowed on the sofa for cuddles. In the evening, I stayed up to join the first one of Heather’s Decluttering Bootcamps at 10pm (Turkish time) and I found it really interesting. It was all about planning, Heather did a live session where she taught us how to plan to declutter a specific small part of our home and then set us a challenge to do. We would post our outcome in the group and then join for the next challenge tomorrow at the same time.
Sunday 19th February was a lovely day all round. It was still dark when I set up my makeshift dining area, ready for my first Sunday dinner with 4 guests. Some had doubted I’d get everyone in, in our small apartment, but I’d squeezed in 7 for a curry night once, although that was a bit too much and we didn’t have enough spare chairs. I had a cup of Yorkshire tea and some fruit to start my day off then took a trip to the shop. Here’s what I bought, some of which I needed for today, with the prices in lira:
Migros Supermarket
Fresh ginger 4.00 Fresh bread 5.00 Bottle of water 5.45 Becel spread 17.45 6 bottles of soda water 18.75 Flour 19.50 White beans 27.90 Fresh milk 28.90 Fabric softener 41.50 Falafel 49.90 3 tins of tomatoes 59.76 Toilet roll 68.90 Chicken breasts 78.45 500g Diced beef 82.00 Total spent 507.46 lira (£22.26)
I called at the corner shop to chase up what had happened to my water refill and they had forgotten again. They promised it would be there by noon and it was. Jamie was the first to arrive with his leek and potato soup and a bottle of water with cordial in. Next was Matt with his slippers and he grabbed the orange chair so he could pop them on. Mark and Kate arrived late and hungover after Sofra last night. Kate had brought orange juice and soda water as she wasn’t drinking alcohol today. She’d also brought a huge fruit salad for dessert. Luckily, I had got some cream and some ice-cream at the ready. Mark brought some cans of Efes and had them in a cooler but he too wasn’t feeling like drinking much. I had been looking forward to wine today and had opened a bottle of Tılsım, just for me by the looks of it! After a bit of a chat I warmed up Jamie’s soup in the Pampered Chef jug that he said was microwave friendly. Unfortunately it wasn’t and the handle melted so we had to resort to the good old fashioned pan method. In the to-do I forgot to get the butter out of the fridge but no one commented as we ate the soup and dry bread. Jamie’s soup was packed full of extra veggies and tasted really good. Our next course was more of a chicken casserole with carrots, onion, leeks and boiled potatoes. I served this with Yorkshire puddings and mini jacket potatoes so that it was more diet friendly than a usual roast dinner. Kate had brought some stuffing to accompany it and I’d made a chicken gravy from my own stock for those that wanted it. For afters we were ate the fruit salad with different combinations of toppings (crumbled ginger biscuits, ice-cream and cream). It was a lovely get together and Mark did quite a bit of the washing up and clearing/rinsing the plates as he likes a tidy ship. Once everyone had gone I finished the wine off and chilled out on the sofa for the rest of the day.
On Saturday 18th February Jamie picked me up at 10am and we went to the Saturday market together in his car. I was glad of this as I had quite a list of things I wanted to get and knew my bag would be heavy. We were both on a tight schedule today as I had arranged to get the bus to Fethiye and didn’t know what time I’d be back. At the market I bought lots of fruit and vegetables which came to a total of 253.50 lira (£11.18). This was the most I’d spent at the market in one go, in quite a while but was also good that I was planning meals and buying more healthy fresh produce. We bumped in to Greg, a well known Dalyan resident, and he took our photo for his Facebook update. I took his photo for my blog and we had a little chat. Then Jamie dropped me back home with my heavy bags and popped in for a cup of tea. When Jamie left I chopped my strawberries and pineapple ready for later. I had already had 2 cups of Yorkshire tea so my breakfast was 1 banana and some strawberries. I’d not suffered with a bad stomach for some months now, mainly after cutting down on eating out. For some reason I don’t think my body liked the banana and I was quite poorly after eating it. I had a cheese sandwich at lunch time but still wasn’t feeling too well and wasn’t looking forward to travelling by bus this afternoon.
After a swift trip out of Dalyan for a couple of hours I was back in time to meet Ann and Jamie at Sofra bar at 5.30pm. Sofra bar is the place to watch sport on a weekend so is a popular bar for most people in Dalyan. Jamie and I had already decided we weren’t drinking alcohol today and weren’t staying out because we each had our dinner planned (there is only so many waters you can drink in a bar). It made a nice change to frequent a pub I’m usually in more of a tangle at. Around 8.30pm Jamie left, then me in the opposite direction having briefly seen and chatted to Cath, Keith, Mark, Kate, Sarah, Rach and Nuri, some of who were ordering food or staying for more drinks. For dinner I made from scratch a sweet and sour chicken, using an adaptation of a Slimming World recipe and it was one of the best I’ve had. It was also a fraction of the cost of going for a Chinese meal. The only downside was that I didn’t make more of it!
On Thursday 16th February I was looking forward to a day at home with nice healthy food, no meat, no alcohol, perhaps some exercise and no dramas. I had a slice of wholemeal toast with 1 cheese triangle on, some cherry juice, a satsuma and some quark. For lunch I had leftover vegan bolognese, some in a pasta bake and some in a stuffed pepper. I was loving this meat free alternative. I had a snack of some of the lovely chocolate that Nanny Kay had given me, then I went for a walk to one of the Estate Agents. Some friends of mine who are looking to move to Dalyan had seen a property come up for rent and I’d agreed to view it on their behalf. When I arrived at the Estate Agents they weren’t there so I waited outside for them. We drove to Arıkbaşi where the 2 bedroom property was. It was nice and there was a massive garden for the dog so I took lots of photos and a video and thought it would be a good fit. I was chatting back and forth to my friend about the property which unfortunately they got pipped at the post with and we got messaging about general life. I happened to mention that this week I had put my CV out there again due to being without work. How fortuitous that they would be looking for someone to work part time for them shortly and they agreed to send me more info. I had a veggie wrap pizza for dinner which meant it was my first meatless day for this week. I also refrained from any alcohol today, despite it being wine Wednesday. That evening it was quite chilly so I decided to put 2 duvets inside the one cover on the spare bed and move in to the spare bedroom, where it would be warmer.
Friday 17th February was a lovely relaxing day. I had fresh bread and 16 olives for breakfast with a Yorkshire tea and a cherry juice. For lunch I made an egg fried rice with 2cm of Turkish sausage, garlic, onion, carrot and sweetcorn. My Turkish class at 2pm had been cancelled so I got on with a few chores at home. For dinner I had mantı, Turkish ravioli, with a spoonful of quark on top. I finished off the white wine in the fridge from Tuesday and I made some popcorn in my popcorn maker, so that it’s oil or butter free. I added soda water and ice to my glass of wine in an attempt to be a bit healthier. I was doing well on the diet so far this week and wanted to continue to do well, even if it was just making some substitutions rather than limiting myself completely. I also decided to sign up for a free master class on decluttering with my friend, Heather, at the end of the month and put myself down for the daily challenges which would start next week. Even though I do live a minimal clutter kind of life, I still find it’s a good idea to keep on top of these things – plus Heather is just so good at what she does that I wanted to be a part of it to show support and see what I could gain from it.
Fat Club on Wednesday 15th February was cancelled because the venue was busy having taken in earthquake survivors. I got weighed at home to find I was the same as last week so that wasn’t ideal but not too bad. My measurements were as follows; Bust -2cm, Waist -3cm, Hips -2cm, Right Thigh no change Left Thigh -1cm, Right Calf -1cm, Left Calf -0.5cm. These were good results and I had Slimming World friendly soup for lunch. At 3pm I had a wander to the tea gardens near BC Spa to meet Janice and Tina from Fat Club. I enjoy seeing the ladies from this group and we talk about how good or bad a week we’ve had on our diets and share some ideas and recipes so we don’t get too bored. The sun was out, it was warm and even the street dog behind us had to move in to the shade after a while. After an hour I walked along the river and up to Rehab bar where I just had soda water with ice and lemon. I didn’t stay long, just enough to say hello to some of the Pool group and to see Matt was in high spirits round the pool table. Back home I had left over chicken şakşuka and rice, followed by quark for dinner. At 7pm I went to Lukka bar to meet Jamie and the Beverley Sisters where we played pool. Jamie and I stuck to water as we were trying to be healthy and we had a good laugh. The Beverley Sisters are really good fun and one of them was as bad as me at pool. I left before 10pm and then had a small red wine and some cheese with cream crackers before bed.
Tuesday 14th February was a good day, despite me waking up at 3.40am. It was cold and I obviously went back to sleep. At 8am I got the best message ever from Captain Caveman. We don’t often spend Valentine’s Day together so it was nice to know he loved me. For breakfast I had chocolate and tahini with bread and some cherry juice. I was trying to be good seeing as I had Fat Club tomorrow and I’d gone way over on my syn allowance this week. For lunch I had a simit with cheese spread and in the afternoon I went for a walk, then to the shops and bank. Here’s what I bought and the prices in lira;
I’d planned a non-valentine’s Valentine’s Day at mine that evening and everyone was bringing some food and drink. On the guest list was Ann, Nanny Kay and Jamie. Ann brought a massive salad and some other healthy nibbles, including potatoes, Jamie brought his version of a chicken şakşuka (aubergine and tomato based), I had the rice in the rice cooker and had made vegan Bolognese (using lentils instead of beef mince) which I’d stuffed the green peppers with then roasted. I poured the drinks and we had a good natter. We sat at the table to eat and all the food was delicious, and healthy. However, le pièce de la résistance was Nanny Kay’s dessert; she’d not let us down with her promised Christmas pudding and cream. It was amazing and quite naughty, but a great way to end our Valentine’s evening. As a treat, Nanny Kay had also bought me a bar of chocolate which looked a bit too tempting. It was 1am by the time I got to bed having had a really nice night with close friends.
I woke up at 8am on Monday 13th February and felt relatively refreshed considering I’d missed sleep on Friday and Saturday nights but had since had about 14 hours sleep, in two lots. I mixed hazelnut spread with tahini and had that with fresh bread for breakfast with a cup of Yorkshire tea. Foolishly, I didn’t have any lunch but was running late to meet Jamie, Mark, Kate, Matt, John, Andrea and Kev in Waterfall bar. Jamie drank coffee but I really fancied a beer so I had 3. Jamie, Kate and I were talking about healthy eating and roast dinners. I decided I’d try doing a Slimming World friendly Sunday dinner at the weekend and invited Matt, Mark, Kate and Jamie. Kate was doing the pudding, I the main and now we’d roped Jamie in for the soup starter. I was merrily going on my way home to make myself some dinner and have a nice relaxing day when I got waylaid. Walking past Jiks I saw Roy and he called me over to join him and Sarah, who I’d not seen since before she moved to Eskiköy in September. I sat down and ordered a glass of red wine but then, almost immediately, Roy left. While Sarah caught me up on some of her life of late I had 2 glasses of red wine and a pizza. It was a bit overdone but I manage to get it down me without realising, as I’d had a few to drink by this time. I went home feeling a bit disappointed that my lack of willpower had let me down (again), I really needed to be more motivated if I wanted to lose weight and stick to my budget. I decided I would really give it more effort this week and try to not get sidetracked on my way home in future.
joloyolo 