I recently attended the reopening of Hamilton’s @spar_ni new store on the Tamlaght Road in Omagh.

I grew up with this shop and it has passed hands a few times. In 1998 Charlie Hamilton bought the shop and over the years continued to thrive.

It became tradition in our house that after rehearsals we used to go to Spar. J just loves the place and the staff are so friendly and didn’t bat an eyelid when J decided to rearrange the chewing gum stand 🙈.

The last few months were a bit like waiting for Christmas “when’s the Spar opening” “ when is it time to go back” then the countdown began, I swear it was better than any advent calendar. With rehearsals now 3 nights a week J knew this would mean 3 visits to Spar.

On the morning of the opening I decided to pop out as I couldn’t wait to that night to see it. When I arrived there was already a cue, I expected that as Charlie Hamilton had Kindly offered the 1st 50 people a golden ticket containing different prizes.

I thought sure while I’m here why not join the cue, if your not in you can’t win. The craic was good in the line, everyone was excited to see the new store and many kept counting to make sure they were one of the 50 😂. The 50 envelopes contained various prizes from a Hoover, a tablet, round of golf, wine, vouchers and much more. I’m delighted to say I got a box of wine 😊.

But the kindness of Mr Hamilton didn’t stop there …… after the 1st 50 went in, he continued his generosity by handing out silver envelopes containing some vouchers and money off your shop.

I was amazed when I entered the store it was so bright and spacious. And plenty of choice. There is the added bonus a hot food bar which I’m sure will go down very well. The staff are all wonderful, Very friendly and helpful. Especially Deirdre who J was excited to see as she always has a lovely reception for us.

As a mum on the go all the time I’m super impressed with the variety of freshly made meals to grab and heat up and of course many of them fit in with my slimming world plan. Also the fruit and veg section is better with snack pots available, perfect if your like me and could easily reach for the chocolate.

There is different fab offers every week and I’m sure you have spotted the spars 12 deals of Christmas. Still a few weeks to stock up. Personally I can’t wait to next week to the the box of oranges come out they are now a big favourite Christmas tradition in our house.

Why not head over to their Facebook page and keep up to date on all the amazing offer especially when you will be stocking up for the festive season.

https://www.facebook.com/Hamiltonsgroupspar/

Let me know what bargains you manage to pick up.

Bye for now

Love

Sara xx

Well I wouldn’t really call my son a gamer more that when he does play he’s addicted until he finishes the game, then he mightn’t look at the console for months.

Two Christmas ago my son J was looking for the new Lego game that had just been released. We came across a major problem, the game wasn’t made for his platform. I really didn’t want to buy a new console as I really couldn’t justify getting one just for this game. I give it a lot of thought and come to the conclusion that this game was all he had asked for Christmas and he really doesn’t ask for much. During the Black Friday deals I was able to pick up both the Xbox one and the game for a fab price.

So come the new year the game had been completed, J was saying he would love to try different games as he said the graphics were excellent. Ohhh now came mums problem, I was only ever used to buying him the Lego games that only came out every so often. Where the heck do I start looking for games. Going by prices I had previously seen I was dreading how much I was going to have to fork out.

My mind was buzz trying to find the latest deals, I was jumping from one site to another. I thought I found a great deal then I would go on a website and find another. Just about ready to give up I stumbled across Latest Deals. This is a site we’re deals are shared by individuals, not only are there deals but also competitions, freebie and chat. It’s a real community with real people. I liked the idea that there was people like me sitting a home looking the best deal. Instead of keeping it to themselves they are sharing. And be honest who doesn’t love a bargain.

Since finding this site I have been able to discover so much and also the fact that it was a lot cheaper for me to buy the download instead of the physical game. Seriously how did I not know this before. So much cheaper but also less mess in an already jungle of a teenagers room.

Some of the amazing deals I found for the Xbox one was:

Minecraft Story Mode Complete Adventure 

A steal at only £6.49. This has gone down a treat not only with J but also mum as I was having to normally sacrifice my phone to let him play it. Result for both.

Gaming Headset, Xbox One Headset, Stereo PC Headset Noise Cancelling

Rrp price of £22.99 we were able to pick them up for only £11.49

So if you looking out for great deals of Xbox games, accessories or Console deals I would really recommend checking out this, just me it will help you save a fortune while still keeping your little gamers happy or also those big gamers 😉.

https://www.latestdeals.co.uk/tags/xbox-one?sort=popular

The week before Christmas it was time for a little treat, myself and J checked into ‘Rooms at Rue’ in @main_street_omagh for a little overnight staycation

Main St being somewhere I frequent often for coffees with the girls, lunch and the odd night odd I thought it would be strange staying there. Once the lift doors opened to the accommodation I felt like I had been transported out of Omagh. This 4 Star accommodation was so modern and fresh. 

 The rooms were very spacious and we were supplied with tea and coffee and a choice of sparking or still @ballygowan_irish_water 

After we got settled in we done a bit of Christmas shopping, being located right on the Main Street was great not to far to carry all the shopping, or should I say J’s shopping 🙈🙈.  

The great thing when we returned to Rooms at Rue was the there was plenty of storage for all our bags, so we weren’t tripping over it.

Then it was time to pop downstairs for dinner. The menu available to us was the Christmas party Menu and as you can see from the pics it looked absolutely amazing and tasted even better. We also had afters, J got a chocolate toffee pudding but it didn’t last long enough for me to get a pic 😂😂 Mum was able to relax with a nice baileys coffee ☕️.

After dinner we called into panto rehearsals, felt so strange as it stemmed like we were on holidays but could still see all our friends and do what we enjoy.

It was time to head back to our home for the night. Stocked up on goodies for a chill out night we put on our Pj’s and had a selection of freeview channels to pick from. There was also free WiFi so J was kept happy when the movie was over.

As you will see we had a trespasser in our room 🙈🙈 our naughty Elf on the Shelf ‘Sugarsticks’ thought it would be fun to join in, he even brought his pj’s and sleeping bag 😂😂

The beds were so comfy, and for being on the Main Street especially the week before Christmas when they was plenty of party’s going on I didn’t hear a thing.

We both had an excellent nights sleep and were well ready for breakfast the next morning. Which again was offered downstairs in the restaurant. A great selection of cereals and fruit juices were available and also a great choice from the cooked breakfast menu.

Sometimes you just need to get away from home as I feel you always find something to do when your at the house. This staycation was just the ticket and shows you don’t have to go far to have a break.

So if you are in need of some time out or you are visiting Omagh I highly recommend you check into Rooms at Rue. 

Rooms at Rue is situated in the Heart of Omagh. There is The Main Restaurant/Bar ‘Rue’ beside that is The Ostlers Arms and across from that is there very own thatched cottage pub Seán Óg’s, a tourist attraction in its own way with its traditional turf fire, superb range of Irish Whiskeys and traditional Irish music sessions every weekend.

Live Entertainment on the street at the weekends so something to suit everyone’s needs. 

Looking to book or for more information head over to their website. 

https://www.roomsatrue.com/index.php/#about

https://instagram.com/main_street_omagh?utm_source=ig_profile_share&igshid=m6rqo8i42qxt

https://www.facebook.com/RoomsAtRue/

Let me know if you have ever stayed or if you ever do let me know what you thought.

Bye for now

Love Sara xx

My skin hasn’t been great the last few weeks from doing panto, it was tired and not in great shape from all that stage make up. This picture was taken just before I tried the mask. 

On opening the mask it felt very light The Forever Living Aloe Bio-Cellulose Mask is made from bio-cellulose, the most effective material for sheet masks. It’s incredibly thin and forms a second skin on the face, letting ingredients penetrate more deeply than any other type of mask. It’s made from natural bio-cellulose fibres fused with aloe and sea grass, so it’s environmentally friendly. 
The mask is fragrance free which is definitely a bonus as some masks can have quite a strong odour, which can leave the experience uncomfortable while having to sit with it on your face for a while.

It’s was so easy to apply making sure you take the back layer off before you put it on. Once on the face I positioned it so my face was getting the proper coverage. Once this is done there is an outer layer to peel off. 
Any serum that was left in the packet I massaged it on my neck, no way was I wasting any off it. 

I left the mask on for roughly 20 minutes. It was so relaxing and unlike clay masks there was no tightening only just a moist and refreshing feeling and not at all sticky. What I really loved about this mask was that after taking it off there was no need to rinse, just to gentle massage in any residue left. Also the fact the masks are 100% compostable, so you can throw it out in the garden so your plants can get the benefit which means as it breaks down, it delivers nutrients back into the earth. It takes about six weeks for the mask to break down.

when I removed the mask my skin felt great and well hydrated, I felt I had a glowing look and made me look more awake.

not sure if you can notice the difference but I certainly felt it, even a few days on my skin feels great and not at all dry like it normally does.

The Bio-Cellulose Masks retails at £51 for a pack of 5. That works out at £10 a mask. Some may say that is expensive but I can really say I felt it to be just as good as any salon experience. 

Sara xx

After Cinderella’s father married the evil baroness, she has always dreamed of leaving her dull life as a servant at Hardup hall to meet the man of her dreams. 

The whole experience of panto from start to finish was unreal. The wonderful friends I made became family. My confidence grew each week and I started to believe in myself more. 

As a family it was the best thing me and J done together, it brought us closer. J developed many skills that before he struggled with like communication and socialisation. It really was better than any therapy or treatment for us both.

When notification. Came out for this years panto without a doubt we had to jump on the bandwagon. 

So for the 3rd year running the Strule Arts Centre we’re presenting the Community Panto under the direction of the amazingly talented production team with Stuart Gibson as Director, Orlágh Devine as Musical Director Vicky O Neill and Joanne Mc Causland as Choreographers 

This years panto was to be Cinderella. 

It was great to see so many back from last year and new members from the community joining. Just meant our family was getting bigger. As numbers are so large the cast is made up of two groups, Glitz performing the first week and Glam the second.

My confidence took a bit of a stagger this year, which left me wondering if I ever wanted to sing again but I thought to myself I will just deal with that if it ever arises again. 

People look at panto and say ‘aww sure that would be great craic’. Without a doubt it is the best craic but there is so much more to panto than people see. It is a massive commitment especially coming up to the festive season, I missed out on a few events but I didn’t mind as it was my decision and to me panto was more important. There is the learning lines, developing your character, remembering your blocking, building relationships, learning songs and dances, helping with costumes props etc. and of course the most important thing to have fun. 

My character this year is Dandini. Very different to last years, I have more interaction with the rest of the cast, so I found that I was learning off others lines so I knew where my line came in. Keywords weren’t cutting it for me as I thought the big anxious head on me would freak if they used a different word lol. So a lot of learning had to be done. I recorded myself reading the whole scenes and then again recording them leaving my line out. This way when I was rushing about as usual I could stick my headphones in all great until I was meeting people calling them ‘your highness’ lol. 

I’m also playing the role of a villager which some people might think there is not much to do, for one getting up on a Saturday more to go to dance rehearsal was a killer. Saturdays in our house normally become wined down days so we found it a struggle but we got there. Another thing I found with the chorus is that I have more costume changes than I would have in a week lol. It’s definitely taught me to be more organised, costumes all hanging up in suit bag ready to go in fear that I may have forgot something.

J has two roles this year. One week he is the Courtier and the other he is the Lord Chamberlain. Again very different to last year’s as this year he has a lot of waiting around and believe you me that boy doesn’t do waiting lol. So you can see the challenges that cast can face, no two years are the same and we have to adapt to that. It’s all part of showbiz. 

Each individual member of cast will take their own thing from panto and it is something they will cherish. This is something that can’t be taken away. For me there is so much I have taken and a big thing would be the friendships and bonds that I have made. 

We are now in the final few days before curtain up. I would urge you to get your tickets as they are selling out fast. 

If you would like to see me performing as Dandini I will be on stage:

Thursday 17th school matinee

Friday 18th school matinee 

Thursday 24th School matinee

Thursday 24th evening performance 

**Note school matinees are open to the public but please be aware that seat allocation will be given on the day and it may be a bit noisier. 

I’m telling you folks get your tickets as I won’t be on the dvd so you will have no proof that I done it lol it has to be seen to be believed 😉.

I’m running a local competition over on my Facebook and Instagram pages to win a pair of tickets for Thursday 24th head over and check it out. You gotta be in it to win it.

https://instagram.com/singlesara7?utm_source=ig_profile_share&igshid=157t83zbqo5z6

https://b-m.facebook.com/Singlesara7-1841243319515107/

It’s been a busy few months so I am only getting round to writing this now, you know how it is during the summer your lucky to even get five minutes.

Back in August I was delighted to be chosen to be one of ten bloggers invited to attend a tasting session at the Omagh food festival in Main Street. The Festival ran on Saturday the 11th and Sunday the 12th of August.

Before the festival began myself and the other bloggers were invited upstairs in Rue. It was like walking into Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory. We were spoilt for choice from savoury, sweet, bubbles, tea & coffee, cider, beer and much more. I felt like I was in heaven.

I love my food but I can be quite a plain eater, not a fan of sauces, spices etc. I was so surprised when I tried most things and actually liked them.

Rue had a fabulous selection of dishes and I was so proud of myself for trying them and really glad I did. The three dishes were pesto pasta, Thai prawn curry and Spanish style fish. This is me with Rue’s finest chef.

I really can’t say I had a favourite as everything was absolutely amazing but I was delighted to discover a few new places like Kennedy Bacon, I teamed this up with some delicious wheaten bread from Rue. I also had the most tasteful little slider ever from An Creggan which contained their special sauce. Well it must have been special as normally I’m a plain burger girl maybe at a push cheese. Well it was just amazing I can definitely see a wee trip up to An creggan very soon.

Sitting beside my plate was a selection of Jam from the Erne Larder preserves, now I have been a support of this company for a while but to be honest I’ve never ate jam and the thought of it didn’t appeal to me. The smell coming from the jars was so tempting and I decided to give in, I decided to go for the Irish Bacon Jam as I knew I loved bacon. Well all I can say is Declan from Erne Larder you have won me over, I’m now probably your biggest fan.

Some great news for Erne Larder is that the Irish Bacon Jam has been selected by Lidl as part of the kickstart programme to be stocked in all stores nationwide from Monday the 17th September for one week. We all need to get down to Lidl and get some so that Lidl can see we all want a bit of this yummy stuff and hopefully see there is the demand so that it can be stocked permanently.

It’s not to often I get out on a Saturday during the day was it was great to get relaxing and even better when you are handed a cider from Long Meadow Cider. Wow this mummy was having a drink during the day, so unheard of. It didn’t stop there next was a bottle of Black Sheep Stout from Baronscourt Brewing Co, now this I could get used to.

It was really great listening to Baronscourt Brewing Co tell us all about the different bears how they were made and what was used to flavour them.

Now you can’t eat all that yummy food and not have desert, although I think I was eating everything all at once definitely not in order.

There was cakes from Katie K’s cakes and bakes, melt in your mouth cheesecake from An Creggan and the chocolate fountain from Chocolate Fountain WPN and a fab selection of traybakes from the Mellon Country Inn. I probably ate a months syns in one sitting.

When we were finished we headed back down stairs. The aroma that hit me as the doors opened was absolutely amazing. The street was buzzing and the atmosphere was fantastic. I couldn’t believe that all this amazing food was local and just on our doorsteps, how lucky are we.

I headed straight to all Carro Della Pizza, how fab is this mobile wood fired pizza oven. Available for events, party’s and home visits. Can you just picture how amazing this would be sitting in the garden with friends having stone baked pizzas on hand.

BBC Celebrity chef Paula Mc Intrye was the to give a cooking demonstration and share with us her tips, wow that woman makes it look so easy.

As I wondered round all the stands I thought to myself I could stay here all day, and if I hadn’t plans on the Sunday I would have definitely been back. I’m so delighted that this is an annual event and really look forward to seeing what next year brings. I would definitely recommend that you keep your eye out for details of next years event and put it in your diary, you won’t be dissolved.

A massive thanks to the sponsors of the event for inviting me.

Below is of the fantastic vendors that I really recommend you try out, head over to my instagram to find them tagged in pictures

https://instagram.com/singlesara7?utm_source=ig_profile_share&igshid=1nn3o6oz2e9ru

I would not be at these kind of events if i hadn’t the support of all these lovely ladies. Every one is so lovely and we all work with each other, we are not in a competition we are there to empower each other. Joining the blogger community has helped me to gain more confidence and I have met the most wonderful people who I am glad to call my friends.

Here is a few pics of us all hanging out at the food festival.

I hope you enjoyed this post I would love to hear what you think and let me know if you have been to anything similar and what you enjoyed.

Bye for now

Love

Sara xx

Some of you may know I’m struggling to lose weight and the summer so far has been a nightmare. You know them days when you have been away from the house most of the day, having fun, grabbing on the go. By the time I get home in the evening I haven’t the energy and I’m to cranky to start cooking.

I am currently doing a Slim for a Smile, I have decided that for me it’s not enough to set a goal to get into a nice dress etc, I wanted to make a difference to others as well.

By raising funds I will be able to help Bandanas For The Brave provide even more children and young people with a free Bandana. We all take our hair for granted but when someone going through treatment loses their hair it can be very traumatic on top of the side effects from treatment. By providing a bandanna it helps build confidence and helps to put a smile on their brave little faces.

This is not all Bandanas For the Brave do, they support family’s through their journey. As a family me and J have got so much support from them and have made friends for life. Bandanas teamed up with Irish Charity Aoibhean’s Pink tie, to give J his very own personalised wall mural by Vinyl Murals. It was amazing every Lego mini figure J loved was included.

Things have been going slow with the Silm for a Smile. When I received donations I was motivated and lost weight but when the support was quite I didn’t get anywhere. If you would like to support me and this amazing charity you can head over and donate on the just giving page. Any donation is greatly appreciated.

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/sara-wilson11

I recently decided to buy a countdown with slimming world, in the hope that it would give me some motivation. I’m of on holidays in just over a week and unfortunately I’m not the weight I would like to be. But hey ho I can’t do anything about that now. But what I can do is try my very best to eat well between now and then. At least I can enjoy my holiday without worrying that I would have twice the amount to lose when I got home.

When buying the countdown I received a fab slimming world cook book called ‘Take 5’ now this is definitely my type of cook book. Each recipe only requires 5 ingredients.

The first meal I made was ‘Cajun pork and apple burgers’.

(Photo Credit- Slimming World)

The recipe made 12 burgers which serves 4 and it worked out only 1/2 Syn per serving

Using only lean pork mince, 1 apple, spring onions, cajun seasoning and baby sweet corn. I had a satisfying meal. I added some Ainsley Harriot Cous cous (1/2 syn per 3rd pack)

Don’t think mine turned out to bad and I even have more in the freezer for next week.

My next dish was ‘Turkey jalfrezi’ not something I would normally go for but with only 5 ingredients I had to try it.

Photo Credit- Slimming World

Again the recipe served 4 so plenty of left overs.

The ingredients were a red onion, 3 peppers, curry powder, chopped tomatoes with garlic and lean turkey mince. This meal is Syn free and is good if your doing an SP day.

I wasn’t that fussed on it, but the next day it tasted delicious (why does the next day’s food always taste better, I know it’s to do with flavouring just wish it tasted like that the night of cooking). Mines really doesn’t look anything like slimming worlds version.

I was really looking forward to this next one. ‘Sticky pork stir-fry’ any food with the words sticky sounds good to me, gives me the impression I’m having junk food. My only problem was this recipe required a pork fillet, what the heck.. I’d never bought one of these is my life …. what was I meant to do with it lol.

Photo Credit- Slimming World

After all that was figured out all I needed was some mixed mushrooms, spring onions, veg stock and some teriyaki sauce. Recipe served 4 and each serving 1 Syn and again good for SP days.

I added noodles as I’m one of these people who always need that bit extra lol. Mine didn’t look as colourful but was absolutely delicious.

Last nights dinner was ‘beef and sweetcorn koftas.

Photo Credit- Slimming World

Using grated carrot, coriander, curry powder, can of sweetcorn with peppers and lean mince beef, these 5 ingredients made an incredible 24 koftas. By no means were they small. And excellent as they are syn free. I teamed mine up with cous cous. These went down very well with J.

Next on my list is going to be the ‘Popquorn’ how amazing do these look, can believe they are done with cornflakes.

Photo Credit- Slimming World

So there you have it ‘Take 5’

A perfect book for anyone who is always busy or hates making anything with loads of ingredients. Because each recipe only needs 5 items, many of them are stock, seasoning, garnish it works out really cheap to make. And if like me there are only 2 people in the house you have plenty of leftovers to freeze.

Have you tried any of the recipes from the Take 5 book, would love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

Sara xx

Wow it’s been a while folks, but I’m Back.

So much has happened since I last made a post on here.

I made a few post on here but felt I wasn’t really reaching out to people. I got a bit downhearted, and began to think maybe people didn’t like what I was posting. I also had the feeling that after studying for so many years, the countless assignments I had to write just drained me did I really want to commit myself to writing more.

I will be honest with you I did give up, I felt like a failure, felt my life was to boring to share with others.

Around March time of this year a really good friend suggested that I start an Insta blog. Again I had that feeling of why would anyone what to see what I put up. But then it hit me, I needed to do this for myself, build my confidence. If I enjoyed talking pictures why not share them with others. Let me just say I am in no way great at talking the perfect pic, but in reality I like them and it’s what I see.

So Slowly SingleSara became @Singlesara7

I would post things I like, events happening in town, new businesses opening, new clothes I got, basically anything I came across that I liked.

A passion for me is about supporting others, through Instagram I found so many fab people and businesses to support and in return I have had so much support of them. Some have even become really good friends.

Instagram is great I can take a picture and give a little blurb on what it’s about, but in some posts the struggle came when I need to add a few links or it was becoming more like an essay, hence then Singlesara7 also appeared on Facebook.

Wow I now had two places where people could come and see/ read about my everyday life. Never did I think I had the confidence to do even one. I now feel in a place where I can say I enjoy what I am doing, if someone doesn’t like me or if they unfollow that is totally ok, it simply means that it’s not me personally but that they maybe don’t have an interest in what I’m posting. I don’t take it to heart anymore.

Reading over other bloggers posts, made me realise I could do this. When you are a blogger you can tailor it to suit your own circumstances, this doesn’t mean as and when you felt bothered but with a certain level of commitment this is very do able. So I have made the decision that I will take at least twice a month to give you all a little update of what’s been happening.

You can still get your everyday updates over at https://www.instagram.com/singlesara7

(Mostly everyday but summer times are me and my baby J making memories (by the way Baby J is now 16, how did that happen)

You can also catch me on Facebook

https://m.facebook.com/Singlesara7-1841243319515107/?locale2=en_GB

Keep an eye on both as I often run competitions, there is a surprise one running on Facebook at the minute.

I’m feeling positive and look forward to engaging with you all, feel free to leave comments, let me know what you think or even what you would like to see more of.

Catch up with you all soon

Love Sara 💖💖

wow so it’s been 9 months since I posted, about time I give this another go. So much has happened in the last nine months where do I start. Well the new year brought new plans but like most people I still havnt followed through. But I’m being positive, never wait till the next year, tomorrow is a brand new day.

I posted back in November about a young girl in our school community who took her own life sadly we had another student who also took her own life. Our community was and still is just devasted. Remember it’s ok not to be ok, please reach out and talk to someone. We also lost an amazing young teacher who had a very short battle with cancer. All I can say is this man was a legend, his teaching style was amazing and knew every young persons individual way of learning.

On a personal note I finished my degree this year after 8 hard long years. I can now say I have a BA bin in youth work and I am classed as a JNC professional qualified youth worker. My goodness it wasn’t easy but I got there. I know look back and think WOW look what I’ve done (believe me I never realised when I was doing it) during my time doing my degree I also got a certificate in councilling, FD in events Management, cert in wedding and party planning. And my little muckinkin took very ill being diagnosed with Aplastic Anemia. So I will now put my hands up and say ‘well done me’

A fab summer was had making memories with my munchkin and also he took his first ever drum exam during the hols and passed. I was so delighted for him.

So back now to the new school year and my little (well really he is taller than me) is staring to prepare for his GCSE’s might be hard work but I’m with him every step of the way. I believe in him so much and know that he will work hard to prove that Learning difficulties and autism will not stand in his way.

hope to be back now making this a regular thing, covering the everyday life of a single mum, giving my thoughts and feelings. Maybe sharing my opinions of different products, who knows what may come.

hope you have all been keeping well

Love

Sara