Wanted: Two big blocks of ice while we wait

As many of you know, the Sun has taken residence right outside our stratosphere, and we are cooking like bacon down here. Snap, crackle, and pop! (Oh, wait, that's Rice Crispies...) Anyway, because of the heat, we haven't done much on the house planning front. We truly cannot do much anyway without a bid from a contractor. Just to refresh, Indy and Fishy have our plans; we are waiting on bids from them. I truly wish I had asked how long the bidding process usually takes. Naive us thought it would only take a day or two. Pickle gets our plans a week from today when we go tour some homes he has built.

Last night, Noel and I mulled over the plans for about an hour (...in our air conditioned dining room with cocktails in hand) discussing windows and reworking the kitchen. It is such an important thing to sit down as a couple (only as a couple with no one else involved) and really discuss what you like and dislike about your house plans. See, you have to lay it all out on the table. Be honest with suggestions. Be honest if you really like or dislike your spouse's suggestions. It's team work, my friend.

As I mentioned, this has been a pretty unproductive week; thus, this blog is rather brief. I wanted to give an update no matter how abbreviated, for Noel and I start seven days straight today and are then heading off to the mountains for five days. Bring on higher altitudes and hopefully cooler temps! However, I do have one last thing. In the never-ending-ness of the building process, Noel was researching countertop materials one day and happened upon concrete countertops. A couple of manufacturers exist in Chattanooga, and we thought we would pay them a visit on our trek east. Check out the websites on "Links we have used." The countertops are beautiful, and they even custom make sinks. Too cool! The one concern that is typically associated with concrete countertops (that previous research has revealed) is that they need to be resealed on a regular basis because they are porous thus can stain easily. We'll just have to ask the experts.