Longing for the Fall

As I mentioned the other day, I'm feeling rather under the weather. There are a few theories floating around on the internet as to where this phrase came from. A common belief (one that I grew up with) is that changes in weather can affect your health. I'm sure most of us believe that if we get stuck in the rain and end up being wet and cold, then we're more likely to get a cold. Also, maladies such as arthritis, joint pain, and migraines will sometimes flare up with bad weather. Another possible origin involves traveling via water. A weather deck on a boat can refer to any deck exposed to the outside, or the windward side deck. Thus, when people became seasick during storms, they'd often head below deck, and would therefore be "under the weather [deck]." Fortunately, I'm not on a boat (unless this illness is affecting my brain's ability to identify my surroundings) so I'm not hanging out under any decks. Plus, I get seasick when I'm not in the open air, so it'd be extremely unpleasant for me and my stomach to be hiding below deck.

Anyways, I feel a lot better than I did on Saturday, which is a pretty miraculous improvement considering my immune system's usual response time (it'd take at least two weeks for me to start feeling better again). I honestly attribute this to going Paleo. I know you may think I'm exaggerating about how terrible my health is, but I'm not. I was not blessed with a strong immune system, and I've got an entire lifetime of health records to prove it. However, out of the past five months since I started cutting out grains, legumes, and dairy, and limiting sugar, this is the only time that I've truly felt ill. Sure, there were times that I didn't feel great because of migraines, but as far as sinus infection/cold/flu, this past week has been it. It's incredible. If I compare the first seven months of this year with the first seven months of 2011, it's a dramatic difference. By this time of year in 2011, I had already had four prescriptions for antibiotics. This year: Nada! Zero! Zilch! It's really exciting to know that my eating habits have helped so much! Despite all this, one of my co-workers started off my day with "You look like shit." And another one asked me what was wrong with my nose (because it was super red). Thanks for making me feel so great about myself when I already don't feel good. Oh well. Some people need to learn filters.

So like the title of this post, I want it to be fall already. I got sick which means it has to be fall, right? This past weekend I realized how much I love fall. Every year, I can't wait for the season to finally come around. While growing up, I used to think that I loved winter, but I think that needs to be replaced with the fall. The fall has great weather and great holidays. Have you noticed that starting in May, there's a least one national holiday per month, whereas we go from New Years Day through Memorial Day without any holidays? And the fall also coincides with fall festivals, such as the Texas Renaissance Festival, the Stone Mountain Highland Games, the Sherwood Forest Celtic Festival, and Atlanta's Scandinavian Festival (I think this last one has been canceled since I last lived in Atlanta).

I was super excited when I saw Juli's post on  today. It's Sugar Detox Pumpkin Cake in a Mug with Chocolate Whip. Perfect for my recent fall-craving. I think I'll be making it sometime this week. The picture below is what Juli concocted! Doesn't it look delicious? I wish I had come up with this...