Slowly but surely

Today I got another course laid on the east wall (course #4) and turned the corner on the north wall like I did on the west wall. I'm hoping that with all the window/door openings on the north wall that it will go relatively fast (less blocks to lay). My St Andrews friend Joseph Mansfield convinced me that I should go up another course so my ceiling will be 8' 8" instead of just 8'. He pointed out that even 8" more would contribute to a feeling of spaciousness in every room. It will cost more but maybe I can turn lemons into lemonade if I think about it a while. Suggestions would be appreciated. As you can see by this picture the south wall is not going to be masonry. It will be a conventional stick built wall because of all the windows and doors for my passive solar design. Using blocks would have been a nightmare with extra long lintels, etc.