Life with Helen Johnson

 Our honeymoon was absolutely incredible! Not only were Andy and I married, but it was our first time abroad after COVID. We flew into Funchal in January 2023 and stayed in an all inclusive hotel for 10 days.  Where we stayed: click here to view. We chose Funchal as we wanted to visit somewhere with sunny weather, the highest temperature we experienced was 23 degrees Celsius, which was beautiful as we were mid winter back home in England. This was the view from our hotel room, we had a lovely upgrade with a sea view. We spent many days relaxing, as planning a wedding is very stressful and hard work. I would recommend newly married couples go on a long honeymoon a day or two after their wedding day so you can relax after a busy stressful season of wedding planning. One of my favourite things about travel is you get to explore a new culture, we visited the local food markets, tried the local cuisine and explored the back streets of Funchal. We went on a number of excursions and...

  When I found out I needed heart surgery one of the first things I asked is "what will the recovery be like?". I am still waiting for the surgery and I will continue to blog the journey, but there are some things I already know to expect. I'm aware when I shared with you that I needed heart surgery some of you may have thought "what will life look like for Helen after surgery?'.  1. Recovery time is from two weeks to one month  If all goes well and there are no complications then I should be returning to work and "normal" life after one month. This could take longer if my surgical wound gets infected, or if there are any other complications. If you require a stent after having a heart attack it can take several weeks or months to recover.  2. How long does the operation take? And how long will I have to stay in hospital? The operation can take up to 2 hours (if all goes well) and typically they only keep you in hospital for one night. 3. Are there any ...

  Our first year of marriage was hard. I know that seems a bit to the point, but it was. Here is a list of things we had to deal with in our first year of marriage: - We had a leak in our kitchen - We had to have some of our roof repaired (another leak) - We got scammed by those roofers and had to pay more money to get it fixed properly - We had multiple gas leaks (I hate the word leak...) - My husband lost his job - We had to buy a car for work (this drained our savings) - I got diagnosed with my heart condition As you can see we had a lot to deal with, especially a lot of financial strain. Throughout that first year Andy and I continued to fall deeper in love and were so thankful we got married, but the circumstances around us weren't brilliant. We also were newly married and new to living together, so there was a lot to learn. Below are some tips for married couples in their first year of marriage: 1. Remove your expectations and try and live in the moment I had SO many expectat...

  This year has been quite a challenging one for me and I've had to learn that in order to move forward with my life I have to fight fear, rather than succumb to it.  My husband Andy pointed out to me recently that I wasn't seeming myself and that I had lost some of what made me, me. This upset me, but in a good way (if that makes sense). It made me realise that I had let myself change without even wanting to, and not in a good way. I decided to make some changes to overcome fear, rather than give into it. Before I share the 5 ways I have overcome my fear I want to caveat that I still feel fearful at times and I am not a finished product, just someone trying to manage a little better in this chaotic life we find ourselves living in! 1. I prayed about it If you're a religious person you might be thinking 'weren't you doing that already?' and if you're not a religious person you might be thinking 'how is that meant to help me?'. What I realised I hadn...

 It seems weird to say I'm thankful for the condition I have, at times I really am not, but there are some things I am thankful for. I hope these give you encouragement to see the silver lining in your struggles. 1. I'm thankful that I've had my heart checked and will continue to get it monitored So many people die of heart attacks or strokes without knowing that they even had a problem with their heart. In a book I listened to called Outlive: The Science & Art of Longevity by Dr Peter Attia he said that many young people in their 20s who sadly passed away, after the autopsy it showed plaque build up in their arteries. I'm thankful that I can have my heart regularly checked, so if anything is starting to develop it can be treated. If you have a history of heart conditions in your family I would encourage you to ask your GP for an echo-cardiogram.  This is a photo of me being monitored (a 24 hour blood pressure monitor): 2. I'm thankful that I can enjoy my early...

  A photo of Andy and I receiving our Walx Training (the walking group we're working with to start our own business) Before we begin this blog I want to start by answering the question 'what is a side hustle?'. A side hustle is essentially an additional job or activity that you do outside of your normal job. Andy works at a university, I work as a debt advisor, our main jobs are already quite demanding, so why have we started side hustles? 1. To try new things that we enjoy  Andy has always wanted his own business and we also love hiking and being outdoors, so when an opportunity to run a walking business came up we grabbed it with both hands! I love writing and have been contemplating writing a blog for years, so I thought 'why not?'. Side hustles are a great way to do something that you enjoy that you may not be able to do full time (just yet). 2. We want freedom  Andy and I are privileged to have jobs that we do enjoy, but having to 9-5 job can make you feel rest...

  Andy and I got married on the 21st January 2023. It was a wonderful day, finally months of stress had been worth it, we were married!  Enter marriage, or should I say enter months of wondering 'is this what married life is like?'. Do not get me wrong, I love being married to Andy, the first year had some incredible moments and I was so thankful to have him in my life, as my husband. But what shocked me, was how much preparation I thought I had done, to only realise I had overlooked so many important things! So here are four things I wish I would have known before saying 'I do': 1. I wish I would have realised how selfish I was When you're dating or engaged it's so easy to love the person whilst still having independence and have certain things your way, however once you're married it feels like every decision is one you need to make together. A light-hearted example is when I realised that I wanted to pick every film we watched, every film my husband recom...

One of my favourite things to do is go for a long walk with my husband or with a friend and have a deep meaningful chat. I think there's something about walking that makes people open up and be vulnerable.  Back when my husband and I were dating (some time in 2021) my business minded husband Andy came up with the idea of starting a walking business. Andy did a business degree, so is always coming up with business ideas and somehow he's got me into it as well!  We decided to connect with an existing walking company called Walx, which have over 35,000 members across the country. Walx is an organisation that trains people up to lead their own walks in their local area and run their own business, with their own members. They deal with the booking systems and equip us to lead what I think is a pretty wonderful business. At the moment Andy and I are in training with the hope of launching our walking business in 2025. So what will this look like? It will look like Andy and I spending...

 I'm only 31, I got diagnosed with a heart condition at 24, it's not that common for a young adult to require heart surgery, so I'm sure some of you may be thinking....'why do you need heart surgery?'  Let's start from the beginning.... When my mum was pregnant with my me and my identical twin Louise the doctors informed her that she had Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome (see the link at the end of the blog for more information). With treatment there is only a 50-65% chance that both twins will survive. However in 1993 this treatment wasn't provided to my mother, without treatment the odds weren't looking too good. My mum had an emergency c-section at 7 months, miraculously both Louise and I were alive, however it took a number of months before we were both healthy.  Fast forward 24 years, I'm on my way to work and when I arrive at work I notice my pulse in my neck feels really fast. I called my GP and they asked me to come in and see them. When I ar...

 Hi, I'm Helen Johnson and this blog is about my life (the good and the bad). You could say it's the journeys the Johnson's go through (my husband Andy and I).  To introduce myself, here's some facts about me: - I'm 31 years old - I've been married to my husband Andy since January 2023 - I'm a Christian - I'm a debt advisor (I help people get out of debt) - I'm passionate about good health & fitness - I'm on a waiting list for heart surgery - I love walking and travelling  - I love food - Andy and I are currently starting our own walking business (with a few more businesses up our sleeves) This blog is going to be following the journeys I take as I became a business owner, have heart surgery, grow in my marriage and my faith, continue coming up with useful business ideas and just enjoy life! I'm excited to have you join the journey!  Next blog: Why I Need Heart Surgery